Miso Soup…Western Style

I’m telling you right off the bat,I’ve never been a fan of Miso soup. Instant or the ones I have had at some sushi places really don’t appeal to me. I want to like Miso,I really do.I hear people wax poetic over it and I never got the hype. I have had some terrific dishes with Miso as a component and have loved it!Just not the soup.There are so many benefits to Miso that I want to explore it more, on my terms.
Saturday I have a big last minute invite to a Gala at the Opera.I had been quite involved with them for some years, but have dropped out of the ‘scene’. My aunt is still a grand dame on the social scene and quite the fashion plate. Pick up a magazine or social page and there she is. So what does this have to do with Miso? Not much, but I can’t fit into any of my many ball gowns and need to eat light for a few days and drink tons of green tea. Not much notice is there? So trying to figure out a low cal healthy dinner with Certain Someone out with his boyz all night, I ventured to the new improved Hyde Park Produce. Since Co Op is no more and Treasure Island is still not ready, the expanded neighborhood produce shop was packed.It has everything. It reminded me of a mini Whole Foods with good prices. In wandering the aisles I found this.

I decided to revisit the Miso and have a light dinner. The instructions were simple enough. It takes no time and its essentialy simmering onion, Wakame Flakes, carrots, etc. in a broth or water(The Miso soups I have had before didn’t have much in it). You add the Miso diluted slightly in water , but NEVER LET IT BOIL(or it loses it good properties). In quick research of Miso and Wakame I find its packed with health benefits( reduced cancer risks,restorative powers,etc). Wakame has been found to burn fatty tissue! I was amazed how this sea vegetable expanded!There’s a lot of it in the world and we need to eat it up. Wakame if anything, was the only thing I ever liked about Miso Soup in the past and now I want to find other ways to use it like a Tofu Salad. My contraversial deviation was that I used chicken broth( I hear the gasps) rather than dashi. I know its not pure Miso Soup, but tough , I liked it!I also added some fried tofu cubes. A light refreshing lunch/dinner that I plan to consume until Saturday. I have changed my mind and homemade Miso soup is pretty good.

Sweet Tart I Love You…Daring Bakers Challenge Lemon Meringue Pie


They look sweet and innocent don’t they? Those are the ones you always have to watch out for

my mother always warned me!
In my four months as a Daring Baker I have never seen people get worked up over something as they did with this pie /tart .When Jen at Canadian Baker announced her topic as host this month reactions were varied. It seemed as if some were disappointed in this pies simplicity.But don’t judge a book by its cover! A natural reaction after all of our creative juices were let loose on the Yule Logs prior. I welcomed the challenge as I love lemons and need to work on pie crust skills.A very nice crust I must say!

For the record I have not liked lemon meringue pie for most of my life. My mother loved it and used this recipe with Real Lemon. I found the taste weird. Every now and then I found a lemon dessert I liked, but for the most part I stayed away from it. Certain Someone admits its never his favorite flavor.He likes chocolate naturally! Give me lemons in my teas, salads, fish,etc. and I’ll run to it. In dessert I approach with caution and may be just inclined to like it. The glamah gal I am decided to use those famous Meyer Lemons everyone goes on about. Expensive , but so juicy and good!Only the best for my tartlettes.All that said this pie/tart didn’t disappoint. I loved it. I loved it so much I didn’t want to waste any of tartlettes and tried to find them good homes while they were fresh. Time was of the essence because these babies only look and taste good young, but who wants an old soggy tart. So Hollywood, so 15 minutes of fame!Soon they would be all washed up and experiencing a meltdown.My greedy self popped a few over a time and even the Mister said they taste good. Those sweet thangs managed to seduce him for a moment.I could have dropped my tartletts ! So thanks Jen for zesting up our lives in this dreary winter.Next month we will move on to the next hot pastry.It may be sweet, it may be savory. Kind of like, do you gravitate to Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston.I myself like the femme fatale type.But we will always remember those pies. Check out the other Daring Bakers and see their experience.

Challenge Requirements:1. Pie flavor must be lemon

Allowed Modifications:

1. You may make either the pie or the Lemon Meringue Free Form Tartlets (recipe follows Lemon Meringue Pie)

2. You can compliment your pie with a sauce. For example, you can serve it with raspberry or white chocolate sauce.

3. You can use a piping bag to apply the meringue if you like

4. Decoration is up to you – lemon zest or fruit are totally acceptable.

5. High altitude modifications are allowed as long as you stay “true” to the recipe.

6. Conversion for certain dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc. is allowed.

7. Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region.

Lemon Meringue Pie courtesy of Wanda’s Pie In The Sky by Wanda Beaver 2002

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:

3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces

2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar

1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt

1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:

2 cups (475 mL) water

1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarh

5 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 cup (60 mL) butter

3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar

1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract

3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

To Make the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Daring Bakers Extra Challenge: Free-Style Lemon Tartlets(from “Ripe for Dessert” by David Lebovitz)

Prepare the recipe as above but complete the following steps:To roll out tartlet dough, slice the dough into 6 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each circle of dough into a 5 inch disk. Stack the disks, separated by pieces of plastic wrap, on a plate, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cream Limoncello

A few weeks back my blogging pal over at Proud Italian Cook suggested in the comment box for me to use my Meyer Lemon Syrup in making Limoncello. I decided in talking to my good friend Gabi that this would be perfect for her in our belated Christmas gift exchange. She loves it and mentioned a cream limoncello she had in Capri once. So with some Internet research I found the recipe.Can I just say this is some yummy brew. Limomoncello is relatively simple and the Cream version just takes some added steps. The debates out on the length of time required for it brew. All in all I steeped my lemon zest over 1 and half weeks. Added the cream sugar mixture and let it sit for another 1 and half weeks. Tonight I finally decided to bottle it up. Be careful with the straining as the use of milk or cream causes some curdling action. I used Everclear which has a very high proof, but the taste and smell are nonexistent which makes this perfect to showcase the lemons and not mention give you a good buzz!


Improvisation Can Be A Good Thing

I wasn’t planning on being home tonight , nor cooking.My catering job was cancelled due to water main break. Certain Someone had to fend for himself the night before with his favorite ‘Cluck, cluck’,Harold’s Fried Chicken. I bet you he was anticipating it tonight too. No such luck. I took some frozen beef cubes and placed in the Dutch oven to roast a few hours until he came home.I knew I wanted to use these spices I picked up at World Market the other day.And this beautiful Swiss Chard that screamed healthy! I have a zillion cookbooks but still find myself referring to Internet searches for ideas .I love the look of Star Anise , but feared it due to bad experience with Chinese 5 Spice once. Chef uses it quite a bit in passed appetizers and seared tenderloin.So I wanted to revisit this spice. The meat was roasting nicely and called me to do something. I ground the Star Anise and threw it in. I saw on searches that cinnamon , star anise, and beef seemed to be a popular theme. I threw in some Sherry, vinegar, Soy Sauce, Thai Chili’s,onions,and water to the pan. The result was a slow cooked caramelized melange of aromatic spices and tender beef. Certain Someone came home and sniffed the air. The one drawback was that he wanted his noodles and more of a sauce. No to worry. Although I said I was trying to avoid his ‘Big Ass Food'( ie: noodles).He retorted who was I calling Big Ass! I added more water to the roasting pan to deglaze, and boiled up some noodles. The result was this.A rather good improvisation if I do say so myself. Even Certain Someone agreed.

Coco’s Asian Style Beef with Red Swiss Chard
* this recipe was improvised so measurements were approximated.
1 lb beef cubes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2-3 ground Star Anise
1 cup sliced onions
1 bunch Red Swiss Chard
1 cinnamon Stick
2 Thai Chili’s
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 Sherry
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups of water
Asian noodles

Roast beef cubes in oiled covered Dutch Oven seasoned with salt and pepper for 1 hour. Add sliced onions , spices,Soy Sauce, Sherry, Vinegar, sugar, garlic and continue to roast covered for another hour. Check pan periodically and add water as needed . You want a small amount of broth /sauce in the final product.
Wash and stem the Swiss Chard. Roll leaved and slice like chiffonade. Oil fry pan. Saute Swiss chard until just wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Prepare noodles.
Assemble beef atop noodles. Top with Swiss Chard and drizzle with juices from the roasting pan.

60 Minute Gourmet

I never throw anything out. My Mother thankfully kept a lot of good stuff I valued. My fashion magazines and books were stored in boxes.The fashion magazines have long since gone,but a lot of cookbooks remain.One of my first cookbooks as a pre-teenager was The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet(1979). Yes that’s was the type of child I was.The late Pierre Franey collaborated with the late Craig Claiborne on this great book and others that changed the way America cooked at home. Pierre Franey believed many great gourmet dishes can be prepared in a hour with good preparation and well stocked pantry. He pairs a entree and a side on each page.I chose to make a cheese souffle , which I never made before,and he makes seem so simple.I paired this with another entree, since the souffle was so light.Rather than the Swiss or Gruyere cheese, and Parmesan ,that was called for, I used Gouda,Peccorino Romano and some chives for color.I chose Poulet Scarpiello (chicken in white wine)as the main entree. Can I just say I love making souffles. My first attempt was sloppy(need one big dish rather than individual ramekins) but I can see myself having fun with these.Pierres Franey took the fear of making these out. No more images of the famous scene in Sabrina where all the classes souffles fall. The taste was pretty good. Light and buttery. Certain Someone came home a little later than planned and was hungry. He ate all, but declared it wasn’t his type of food( naturally it wasn’t pasta or sausages for a change). Certain Someone went into the refrigerator for leftover SPAM. Yes we have SPAM. He loves it. I have come to tolerate it , but it has to be cooked crisp like bacon for me. I admit I was still hungry afterwards too. I ate another mini souffle. but still was hungry. The meal had a lot of flavor but was very light. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing as I want to cut back but eat well.
Souffle au Fromage adapted from The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet 1979
Pierre Franey
Cheese Souffle
1/4 Swiss or preferably Gruyere
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of butter
6 large eggs
4 tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1/4 finely grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Grate cheese into tiny cubes. It should be about 3/4 cup. Set aside. Heat milk to just about to boil.Butter your souffle dishes/dish with the 2 teaspoons of butter.Separate the egg yolks from whites.Put whited into mixing bowl to beaten stiff .
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.Add flour and stir with wire whisk until smooth. Add hot milk to mix,stirring rapidly with whisk. Add salt,pepper,cayenne,nutmeg, stirring for approx 5 minutes.Blend cornstarch and water and add. Remove from heat.Add yolks stirring rapidly.Scrape mixture into a large mixing bowl and add Parmesan cheese. Beat egg whites until stiff.Add half the whites to the sauce and fold in with the whisk. Add remaining whites and grated cubed cheese and fold into mixture with rubber spatula.Fold until all is Incorporated.Pour and scrape mixture in souffle dish and bake for 20 min.