We enjoy the small plate style of Tapas now and then and two of our favourite dishes are Patatas Bravas and Crab Cakes. While it’s lovely to go to Meditrina or Martine Cafe (two of our favourite local tapas restaurants) and order many small plates to share- occasionally we like to make our own at home.

Patatas Bravas (brave potatoes) are very easy to make and so delicious.
In exploring some Spanish cuisine I’ve found that spicy foods are not often the standing order. A Spanish friend of mine once complained that black pepper was too spicy. So these potatoes are for those with “machismo.” 

Patatas Bravas

• Potatoes as many as you like, scrubbed and dried -about 2 pounds will serve four people
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 large or 3 small dried chiles- I use Guajillo, remove seeds and break up into pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon of toasted and ground cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 2 Tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
• pinch of salt
• olive oil for frying
• one bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• salt and pepper to taste for finishing
• chile salsa mayonnaise or romesco sauce for serving

Boil the potatoes until almost tender- about 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool them.
While the potatoes are cooling, place the garlic and chilies in a mortar and pestle and pound them until a smooth paste forms, add the cumin, paprika, vinegar and salt and mix well. Set aside.

Slice the potatoes about 1/4″ thick or even a little thicker. Heat a heavy, wide skillet for a few minutes over medium flame and then add olive oil to thinly coat the bottom. Add the sliced potatoes in a single layer and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Fry until golden on one side and then flip. They will stick at first- but will release once a crust is formed. Fry the other side until it releases and add the sliced pepper and fry until the pepper is tender. Add a tablespoon of the garlic-chile paste and turn the potatoes into it to coat all sides. Fry for a few minutes and then serve. Drizzle a  bit of mayonnaise mixed with some salsa to taste over the top or serve a romesco sauce on the side.

The chile-garlic paste will keep for a few days in the fridge so you can cook extra potatoes and make these a few times, or use the paste in other dishes to add some spice.

I know it’s not usual to use King Crab in crabcakes but I had some on hand and they were delicious.

King Crab Cakes

• 1 cup cooked king crab meat, picked over for shells
• 1/2 cup red onion minced
• 1/2 cup celery minced fine
• pinch of old bay seasoning
• pinch of chile powder- I use Rick’s homemade mmm
•  a couple of teaspoons of mayonnaise
• about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of moist bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• panko bread crumbs to coat
• salt and pepper to taste
• chile mayonnaise or romesco for serving

Mix all except the panko crumbs until you have a light mixture that will hold together when pressed lightly. You may have to adjust the bread crumbs but don’t add too many or you will make the crab cakes heavy. Form small cakes and coat with panko crumbs. Fry in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat in a little olive oil until cooked through and browned on all sides. Serve with a bit of chile-mayonnaise or romesco sauce.

I made a nice Pom spritzer – with Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice and a bit of San Pellegrino sparkling water and lemonade to go with these one night. Janny from Pom Wonderful was nice enough to send me some a while ago. I do really like and use their very healthy product and have posted about it before, we make a lot of Pom martinis and cocktails around here. I also like it in smoothies, have used it to make granola, had it over cereal and we even add it in a splash to our water with meals for a refresher. There is always a bottle in our fridge.

Try using some in Sangria- I made a pitcher of that on another night that we had Tapas.

Pom Sangria

• one bottle nice Spanish red wine like Rioja
• 1- eight ounce bottle Pom Pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup orange brandy or Gran Marnier
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Sparking mineral water such as San Pellegrino to taste
• Sliced fruit- oranges, lemons, limes or even grapes and peaches etc.

Mix the first 5 ingredients making sure the sugar dissolves. Add sparkling water to taste to dilute or add fizz. Add the sliced fruit and enjoy responsibly.

Do you ever enjoy an evening of Tapas- what are your favourites?

xo

I’m a little late getting my post up today for this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge. Frankly I ran off with Rick to see the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit in Orem while it is still there- (more on that later) and we didn’t get back until late this evening.

 I really enjoyed the challenge this month- many thanks to our lovely Daring Bakers hosts for the month Natalie at Gluten A Go Go and Shel from Musings From the Fishbowl.  This is the first time we have had two “Alternative Bakers” -the Daring Bakers members who spend each month adapting the recipes to fit Gluten Free, Vegan and other special diet recipes. They chose a recipe by one of my favourite bread gurus, Peter Reinhart -his Lavash  from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”

A Daring Baker’s September Challenge

This month we are making Daring Bakers history as our September challenge is vegan and/or gluten free. For the first time ever, the torch has been passed to « Alternative » Daring Bakers : Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl. We wanted to make something savory this month, and we chose the recipe for Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (pp 178 – 180).

Here’s a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids…It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flat-breads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)…

The key to a crisp lavash…is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.

* The key to crispy crackers is rolling out the dough as thinly as possible. We noticed that the crackers turned out better if you divide the dough in half before rolling. You’ll roll out the dough as per the directions, decorate and cook the crackers in two batches.

Lavash Recipe

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe) or 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot starch, 1 tsp chia seed meal
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt – a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

RECIPE – Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.

My Verdict-Super easy to make and delicious to eat (I used regular AP flour)- we were allowed to use any toppings or flavours we chose and asked to make a spread/dip of our choosing to go with them. Since Natalie’s blog focuses on Gluten Free Baking we were given the option of exploring a gluten free version of the recipe. I was focused on trying to make my Lavash look like Armenian tiles in the “Tree of Life” pattern so I followed the non-GF recipe and topped mine with pistachios, pumpkin seeds, parsley, flax and sesame seeds (black and white) sunflower seeds, sea salt and Z’atar. I think I probably should have docked the dough to allow the pattern to stay as planned but the since the risen parts are yummy in lavash  I’m not too unhappy.

Note-my apologies I guess I missed the line that said the dip had to be Vegan and gluten free- I just thought my crackers were vegan and the dip was gluten free- Sorry-forgive please?

I chose to make a Chevre, Parmesan and Artichoke Baked Cheese Dip to go with my Lavash:

Baked Chevre Artichoke and Parmesan Dip

• 6 ounces Chevre
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• one green onion chopped
• 2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese plus more to top
• 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 4 (or to taste) dashes smoked Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
• 1 heaping teaspoon jarred minced garlic or 1-2 cloves fresh minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor and spread into an oven proof dish. Top with additional Parmesan cheese and put into the oven with your crackers until it is bubbly and baked through. Enjoy with your crackers!

Now for lots more fun go forth and see the other Daring Bakers beautiful Lavash here!

Enjoy xo

It’s that time again and I’m just getting my post up for today’s reveal of this month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge. This month our hosts are the lovely and talented Meeta of “What’s for Lunch, Honey?” and Tony of Olive Juice. The recipe is Chocolate Eclairs by Pierre Herme and consists of three elements: a choux pastry, a pastry cream and a glaze. At least one of the non-choux elements was required to be chocolate. I chose to make chocolate pastry cream and top my eclairs with an espresso/chocolate glaze.  For my glaze I just mixed a shot of espresso with 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar and about 4 buttons of dark Guittard Chocolate. I used Callebaut Bittersweet for the chocolate in my pastry cream. Otherwise I followed the recipe below.

I couldn’t resist making some small swan puffs. I’ve had a love affair with eclairs most of my life- they were some of the first “exotic” foods I ever explored and I remember making eclairs at about age eight with a little help from, my then stepmother, the lovely Virginia. I came across a picture of a cream puff swan in “Cosmopolitan” magazine when I was about 14 and so then started making them for parties fairly often. They are a fun addition when you are making eclairs. Just pipe some little bodies with a swish of a tail, use a smaller tip to make necks/heads and then cut the top third off the puff and split for wings which you stick back in at an angle. A little sprinkling of powdered sugar is pretty too. I like a bit of choc on the beaks and an eye as well.

I also must admit that I only made 4 eclairs and 3 swans out of this recipe. I turned the rest of the choux into gougeres by adding some cheese and a bit of pesto and they are in my freezer waiting for the odd cocktail hour. Choux dough is very versatile.

Here’s the challenge recipe and notes from Meeta and Tony:

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
hand-mixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.  In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled.  Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it  remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104  F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)


• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly.  Then reduce the heat  to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or  a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Thanks for visiting- you can see all the other Daring Bakers’ amazing eclairs here!

Enjoy! xo

It’s time for Blog Party again and that lovely hostess with the mostess- Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness is holding Blog Party#37  with a Retro-Party Redux theme to kick off a fabulous 4th year.  So I’ve decided to go a bit classic and swank with a cocktail named after legendary New York hot spot- The Stork Club.  This was the place to see and be seen for the ultimate in glamour and was in business from 1929 to 1965. There’s even a 1945 Hollywood light romantic comedy featuring it and starring comedienne  Betty Hutton, called (of course) The Stork Club.

As an exclusive club- it was not without its issues and Grace Kelly reputedly refused to ever go back after leaving as a protest for the shabby treatment  that Josephine Baker was receiving from the staff. That’s the Princess Grace I respect and love. I hope had the club had lasted into modern times it would have seen the light and changed its ways.

So here’s my cocktail:

The Stork Club cocktail

• 1-1/2 ounces Gin
• 1/2 ounce Triple Sec
• juice of 1/2 lime strained
• 1 ounce of orange juice
• dash of Angostura Bitters
• twist of lemon peel for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the Gin, Triple Sec, juices and bitters. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist (My tip: use a church key tool to cut zest into a long piece and wrap in a spiral around a chopstick and chill to make a corkscrew twist if desired.)

For lots of ideas and a great read on vintage cocktails check out this great book:

“Cocktail Hour Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920 to 1960″, by Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel.It’s delightful to read and see all the great vintage illustrations.

-And for my hors d’oeuvre I’m bringing a somewhat classic cheese puff canape. BTW this lends itself to all kinds of add-ins like tapenade, ham, sundried tomatoes, pesto etcetera- the sky’s the limit and you can change the cheese as well if you wish:

Hot Cheese Puffs

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 3 minced green onions including green tops
• 3 dashes smoked chipotle Tabasco sauce
• enough Hellman’s/Best Foods mayonnaise to bind
• 10-12 slices fine textured white or even wheat or ten grain bread, crusts removed and cut into triangles, rounds or whatever shapes you like

Mix the cheese, green onions, Tabasco and mayo together. Under the broiler toast one side of the bread triangles until light brown. Flip them over and top evenly with the cheese mixture. Return to the broiler for about 3 minutes or until browned, puffed and bubbly. Don’t burn your tongue

This time I’m also wearing a special party frock (haven’t decided which one yet) just for the occasion- can’t be swank with out it-

Oh… and I’ve decided that my escort must wear tails:

So thanks for the swellegant party Stephanie -I’ve had a lovely time- see you next month!

Update: here’s a look at all the party fare and the lovely guests: Blog Party #37 roundup!