Whisk Wednesdays -- Peches, Poires et Pruneaux au Vin Rouge

This week for Whisk Wednesdays I made Peches, Poires et Pruneaux au Vin Rouge or Peaches, Pears and Prunes in Red Wine Sauce. A month or so ago our weekly Whisk Wednesdays' assignment was to make Savarin aux Kiwis et aux Fraises or Rum Savarin with Kiwis and Strawberries. Although I did make the Rum Savarin, my pictures did not turn out well at all. So in place of the Savarin, which was delicious, I decided to post my Poached Pears in Red Wine Sauce. OMG...were the Poached Pears delicious!

I followed the recipe except I eliminated the prunes and we had no peaches so I substituted some of my home canned Peach Butter and just added it to the wine sauce. Also I used Raspberry/Nectarin Freezer Jelly in place of the Red Currant Jelly and ground cinnamon in place of the cinnamon stick. And I did leave the pears in the sauce over night for a more intense color.

The Poached Pears in Red Wine Sauce was probably one of the easier desserts I've made in months and yet it was so elegant and down right gorgeous. Since you can make everything the night before and the dessert is so pretty and not too sweet, it would be a perfect dessert for a holiday meal. I could not wait to serve it to Mr. Tastebuds who thoroughly enjoyed each and every bite!







Peches, Poires, et Pruneaux au Vin Rouge
Recipe adapted from Le Cordon Bleu at Home

24 pitted prunes (I eliminated the prunes)
6 small peaches (I subbed 1/4 c. home canned Peach Butter)
6 small pears
1/2 lemon
1 bottle dry red wine, preferably burgundy (I used Merlot)
12 ounces red currant jelly (I subbed home canned Raspberry/Nectarine Jelly)
12 peppercorns
1 stick cinnamon (I subbed 1 tsp cinnamon)
1 tsp vanilla

Garnish:
Mint Leaves and I used some slices of Kiwi Fruit

Soak the prunes in cold water to cover for 20 minutes

Peel the peaches and pears, leaving the stem intact on the pears. With a vegetable peeler carefully remove the pear core and discard. Rub the fruit with the lemon to avoid discoloration.

Combine the wine, jelly, peppercorns, cinnamon and vanilla in a deep sauce pa and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Add the prunes, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the peaches and pears and continue simmering for another 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the burner and let the liquid cool to room temperature.

When the liquid is cool, remove the pears with a slotted spoon to a dessert plate or bowl. Strain the wine sauce. Drizzle some of the wine sauce over the pears. Garnish with mint and serve.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

TFF - Roasted Tomato Soup

Well it's that time of year and our tomatoes are coming in. I was leaving town for a few days and I had to find a way to use about twenty tomatoes! Let's see, even if I had time there were just not enough tomatoes to bother canning them. Then it came to me..SOUP! I knew if I made soup I would use all the tomatoes with just one recipe so I googled. WOW..there's got to be at least 1,000 tomato soup recipes on the internet and I'm pretty sure they are all good but I was glad that I found a recipe from Tyler Florence!

I made the recipe exactly as it read except I did remove the tomato seeds. Next time I make this recipe I think I will roast the tomatoes and onions on the grill just to make clean up a bit easier. The recipe was quick and easy and made a delicious soup. I served the soup with some of my homemade breadsticks.







Roasted Tomato Soup
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small yellow onions, sliced
Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of heavy cream.







Please visit Tyler Florence Fridays and see what the rest of Tyler's groupies are up too this week.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Pink Saturday -- Past and Present

Fall is coming so quickly this year. Yesterday, it was so cold I closed all the windows in our barn and almost put the furnace on in the house! Although I love fall and actually enjoy the solitude of winter, I'm just not quite ready to let go of summer yet! Not at all!

As soon as the air started to chill, I turned my thoughts to warmer days and a Chocolate Ice Cream Soda! If you would like the recipe for the Chocolate Ice Cream Soda and the Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut please click here.






And some pink from the little flea market held every Saturday in the village just south of my home.














And some Pink from the past.















Thank you so much for visiting my blog for Pink Saturday and please visit Miss Beverly of How Sweet the Sound and see what the other Pinksters are up to!

And don't forget our Pink Saturday motto:

Get Pink !!!
It's not just a color, it's an attitude.




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

A Tablescape for a Rooster Party Parade

This is a dual post combining Tablescape Thursday and the Show us Your Rooster Party! It should be fun albeit a bit of a long post so hold on!


When I set my table for the Rooster Party I wanted it to be bright and colorful and fun! So I just went through my cabinets setting aside the brightest colors I could find!





The bright striped napkins, $.10 each, came from the Goody Barn in Flint, MI, long out of business. The Goody Barn was the best place to shop and so much fun. You never knew what they were going to have from one week to the next. I could literally spend hours in the store and because it was about the size of a Walmart I never really saw everything they had and I doubt anyone did! There was no rhyme nor reason to their stock, washing machines could be next to office supplies and mixed in with the office supplies you might find toothpaste.












I just picked up this small woven hen a few weeks ago at a local flea market. It's actually a music box and ironcially plays the theme from "Doctor Zhivago"! The weaving is very detailed even down to the little chicken feet!






I bought this shallow bowl years ago at TJMaxx. I usually serve our dressing it in at Thanksgiving.






My Revol Roaster! This is my favorite roaster and I use it all the time. Unfortunately this design is now discontinued!






My Mom gave me this set of little chicks. They usually hang out in my kitchen but can pop up just about any where I need a splash of color!






This is my Rooster Roaster and it's the perfect size to roast a duck!






This is my big Rooster and he usually stays pretty close to the fireplace in the Dining Room. On occasion he has wandered out to the porch and patio but he does not stay for long.






And last but not least is my Kitchen Twine Dispenser with a Rooster on top! I use my kitchen twine all the time and picked up this dispenser at Homegoods a few years ago.





Tablescape Thursday is graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you!

And the Rooster Party was the fabulous idea of Barb of Bella Vista. If you'd like to see more roosters on parade, click on over and have some fun.




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Stuffed Giant Yellow Squash!

When I was at the Wisconsin Garlic Farm last week the owner, Mike, gave my husband a giant yellow squash! As soon as I saw it I thought "what the heck am I going to do with this?" But I was leaving to visit my family in Ohio so cooking, not even a gorgeous squash, was not on my agenda...out of sight, out of mind!



Here's Tinkerbelle checking out the squash which is almost as big as she is!


But upon returning home, not only was there a giant squash sitting on my kitchen counter but Mr. Tastebuds had picked about five dozen tomatoes. Something needed to be done with these vegetables!

So I decided to stuff the yellow squash and set to work making some stuffing with our home grown tomatoes and my homemade Italian Sausage. The Stuffed Squash was wonderfully delicious and I will most definitely be making this recipe again!






Stuffed Giant Yellow Squash
Recipe developed by Big Black Dog

1 large squash or several medium sized squash, split and cleaned of seeds
1/2 lb Italian Sausage, cut into small pieces, fried and drained
3 cloves of garlic (I used Kettle River Giant Garlic)
2 TBL EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
2 TBL balsamic vinegar
4-5 pieces of bread torn into 1" pieces, toasted
5-6 medium sized tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut into chunks
8-10 fresh Basil leaves, minced
3-4 sprigs of fresh Tarragon, minced
4-5 green onions, chopped including the tops
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan
1/2 c. shredded Mozzarella

Tear up the bread into 1" pieces. Spread out the bread cubes on a baking sheet and put it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the bread is completely dried out.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Horizontally slice the squash and clean out all the seeds. Discard the seeds and set the cleaned squash on a parchment or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Set aside.

Cut sausage into bite sized pieces and fry just until you can see no pink. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

In a small frying pan add the EVOO and heat to a low simmer. Place 3 cloves of garlic into EVOO and saute slowly until just golden brown. Remove garlic to a cutting board and smash with a fork. Set garlic and EVOO aside.

While the garlic is simmering, put a large frying pan on medium low heat and add the tomatoes. Simmer until there almost all the liquid is gone. Add the sausage, basil, tarragon, garlic and green onions and mix well. Stir in the EVOO and toasted bread crumbs.




Fill the squash cavity half full with the tomato/sausage mix. Sprinkle some of the cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Mound up the rest of the stuffing mix in the cavity and drizzle with the remaining Balsamic Vinegar.

Put the stuffed squash in the oven and bake for at least an hour or until the squash is soft. When the squash is soft, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. When the cheese is completely melted, remove the squash and serve.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

BBA - Italian Bread

This week for the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge we made Italian Bread. I like to serve breadsticks in place of crackers and since soup was on our menu that week I made breadsticks instead of loaves.







Of course I have to change the recipe a bit and so I added 1 TBL slightly crushed whole fennel seeds and about 1/2 c. sesame seeds. I know it looks more interesting with the sesame seeds sprinkled on top of the breadsticks but I can not make the seeds stay put and believe me I've tried every which way, egg wash, olive oil and even tried embedding the seeds into the dough with my rolling pin. But still the seeds fall off and make a mess. So now I just add the seeds right to the flour and no more sesame seed showers!


And who knows you might even organize a quick game of chopsticks!







Google Books has the entire book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread", by Peter Reinhart, scanned and you can find the recipe on Page 172 by clicking here.




Below are a few of my fellow BBA'ers, please feel free to click on the links to see their interpretation of this recipe.

Emily of Flickr Photo Album.
Brandy of Flickr Photo Album.
Paul of Yumarama.




Gadgets that Work






One of my very favorite baking tools is my Flour Wand. I've had my Wand less then a year but it is one of my most used tools. The Flour Wand is very easy to use and securely holds the flour until you are ready to dust your pastry cloth.

To fill the wand just dip the Wand into your flour bin, press the handle together to open the coiled oblong spring and fill it with flour. And when you are ready to dust some flour, quickly flex and release the handles while waving the wand over your pastry cloth and the flour sprinkles out in an even dusting. I love my Flour Wand!

If you are wondering what the flowered cloth is that's a vintage tablecloth and I use it as a pastry cloth. The tablecloth is a very heavy 100% cotton and gives me a larger work area when I am rolling out any kind of dough. I do wash them in cold water and hang to dry. You can pick up the small vintage tablecloths at flea markets or garage sales for $5-10.


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Cupcake Dreams

A short time ago I found a wonderful video, "Sweet Dreams", by Kirsten Lepore, a free lance illustrator. The video is so cute and stars a cupcake making some tough life decisions and even becomes romantically involved with a squash! Although it is a bit beyond what I usually post on my blog, I could not resist sharing.





After finding the video, it reminded me that I've not made cupcakes in quite a while. For about two years I was making full recipes of cupcakes at least once and sometimes twice a week. But since we've completed our construction and my crews are now gone I don't have enough people around to eat cupcakes any more. But I do miss making the tasty little morsels of goodness topped with sweet frostings and sprinkles. So I whipped up a small batch of cupcakes and I ate each and every one of them too!







Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe developed by Big-Black-Dog

Yield: 8 cupcakes

1/4 c. plus 3 TBL Flour
1/2 c. sugar
3 TBL cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 TBL EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 whipped egg (just eye ball it)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tin with 8 baking cups.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into standing mixer’s bowl or you can use a hand mixer. In another bowl, combine the milk, vinegar, oil, egg and vanilla. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add the cocoa and keeping the mixer on low slowly pour in the hot coffee. Being that this is a small batch recipe it is crucial that you continually scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure every bit of batter is thoroughly mixed.

The batter will be very thin. Carefully pour into cupcake liners filling each about 1/2 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.





Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle's Cupcakes

8 ounces cold cream cheese
1 stick butter, firm but not cold
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes. Add sugar until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. It should be thick but not fluffy. Add vanilla.











All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Whisk Wednesdays -- Coquelets sur Canapes and Pommes Pont Neuf

This week for Whisk Wednesdays we made Coquelets sur Canapes and Pommes Pont Neuf or Roast Squab with Chicken Liver Canapes and Mushrooms and Thick-cut French Fries. This was quite a long, involved recipe but really not difficult at all. And the end result was a juicy chicken breast with a delicious thin brown sauce on fabulous canapes.






It's so ironic that this weeks recipe is from Julia Child and the movie Julie & Julia just opened last week! I was looking forward to this movie for at least two months and on the day it opened, I was in line for the 10:30 am showing!

And I loved it!

Being a food blogger one would think I would easily relate to the Julie Powell character but I really did not. I guess I was too involved with Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia to try to put myself in Julie's shoes. Meryl was exceptional as Julia Child, she had Julia's accent, mannerisms and ever her body language down cold. I only remember seeing Julia Child's TV show, The French Chef, once and I believe it is around 1969-70ish. I was a young child at that time but my memories are very clear on this episode of The French Chef. Julia was talking about tenderizing meat and she had various meat tenderizing tools set out and then from behind the counter Julia pulled out a baseball bat. You have to love anyone that tenderizes meat with a baseball bat or even suggests it!







Coquelets sur Canapes
Recipe adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking; Vol 1" by Julia Child

Mushrooms:
1½ lbs. fresh mushrooms
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
A 10-12 inch non-stick skillet or sauté pan
1 Tbs. minced shallots or green onions
½ clove minced garlic

Trim and wash the mushrooms. Leave whole if small, quarter if large. Dry in a towel. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes in hot butter and oil until they are very lightly browned.

Stir in the shallots or onions, and garlic and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Set aside.


Canapés:
Homemade style white bread
½ cup clarified butter
A skillet
6 poultry or game livers from the birds
3 Tbs/ fresh, raw pork fat; OR fat bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes rinsed and dried
¼ tsp. salt
Big pinch of pepper
1 Tbs. Madeira, port or cognac
Optional: 2-3 Tbs. foie gras

Cut 6 slices of bread, ¼ inch thick. Remove crusts, and cut slices into rectangles, 2 by 3½ inches.

Sauté the bread lightly on each side in hot clarified butter.

Trim the livers, cutting of any black or green spots. Chop very find, almost into a purée, with the port fat or bacon. Then blend the liver in a bowl with the seasonings, wine, and optional foie gras. Spread the mixture on one side of each rectangle of sautéed bread. Arrange on a broiling pan and set aside.
(Preheat broiler in time to cook the canapés just before serving).


Roasting the Birds:
Six 10-12 ounce, ready-to-cook squab chickens, game hens, squab pigeons, or game birds
½ Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. finely minced shallots or green onions
½ tsp. dried tarragon
4 Tbs. butter
6 strips of bacon simmered in water for 10 minutes, rinsed, and dried.
A shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the birds easily on their sides
3 Tbs. butter, melted with 1 Tbs. good cooking oil
A basting brush
½ Tbs. salt

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Season the cavities of the birds with a sprinkling of salt, shallots or onion, and tarragon, and a teaspoon of the butter. Truss the birds, dry then and rub with butter. Cut the blanched bacon in half, crosswise, and tie 2 strips over the breast and thighs of each bird.

Place the birds in the roasting pan and set on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Baste and turn the birds every 5 to 7 minutes until they are done.

Chickens will take from 30 to 40 minutes; they are done when the last drops of juice from their vents run clear yellow with no trace of rose.
Game Hens, as their flesh is usually firmer than chicken, take about 45 minutes; they are done when the flesh of their drumsticks is soft.
Partridge and Quail, if young and tender, may be judged like chicken; if older, like game hens.
Pigeon and Dove may be served slightly underdone if you wish, when their juices run a very pale rose rather than a clear yellow.

When done, remove trussing strings, sprinkle the birds with salt, and place then on a warm platter. Set in the turned off oven, with its door ajar.


The Sauce:
1 Tbs. minced shallots or green onions
1½ cups brown chicken stock, or canned beef boullion
¼ cup Madeira or port
1 to 2 Tbs. softened butter

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan, Stir in the shallots or onion and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the stock or bouillon and wine and boil rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices until liquid has reduced to about ½ cup. Correct seasoning. Off heat and just before serving, swirl the butter into the sauce.

Final Assembly:
1 Tbs. butter
¼ tsp. salt
Pinch of pepper
A handful of water-cress leaves or parsley springs

Just before serving, run the liver canapés under a hot broiler for a minute, until they are sizzling.

Toss the mushrooms over moderately high heat with the butter, salt and pepper.

Place a canapé under each bird. Surround with the mushrooms, and decorate with water-cress or parsley. Spoon the sauce over the birds and serve.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

My Garlic Adventure

On Friday I went to, We Grow Garlic, a farm in Wisconsin and hopefully bought a year's worth of garlic! I know that you're thinking "I did not know you could grow garlic in Wisconsin". Well, I wondered about that too. I'm not sure if it's the climate, the soil or maybe the loving hands of the garlic farmers, Karen and Mike, but this is the best darn garlic I've ever had in my life!

I placed my first order for Wisconsin garlic last year and was so excited when it finally arrived. Who knew that so many varieties of garlic even existed and that each would be so unique! We are serious garlic lovers and in 2008 I ordered twelve different varieties and took notes on each one for reference.

When the 2009 growing season began I kept a close eye on the We Grow Garlic website and placed my order as soon as the crop was harvested in July. Last year I had my order shipped but this year I wanted to drive up and see the farm myself. I was so excited when we finally found the farm and it was exactly how Karen had described gray house with a red barn. Good thing the house was gray because all the barns in Wisconsin are red! The farm is located in an absolutely gorgeous area just outside Madison and we had no problem finding it.

Mike and Karen were both there to greet us and then Mike gave my husband and I a guided tour of their farm. I was thrilled! First we went into the vintage Corn Crib which they use to dry and then display the garlic varieties. One thing led to another and Mike and I discussed drying techniques, barn architecture, barn fans, air circulation and fertilizers with both of us agreeing that horse manure is the very best! It's so much fun talking shop with a hands-on farmer.














Then Mike took us on his ATV and we went out to their garlic fields. Garlic is planted in October and harvested in July so the fields have a short 2-3 month rest before being planted again. Isn't the landscape gorgeous! And look at that Wisconsin sky!








Next Mike took us into the large horse barn where next year's garlic seed crop was drying and we met the horses and the little pony. My husband enjoyed petting and fussing with the horses.














It was a wonderful day! I saw my first garlic farm, made some new friends, spent the entire day with my husband and hopefully bought enough garlic to last until this time next year!





I've already had several questions on twitter about storing garlic to avoid sprouting. The amount of time garlic will last depends on a number of factors including the garlic variety, its age and how it was handled during harvesting. The key to storing properly handled fresh garlic is a cool area with low humidity, good air circulation and little to no light. Do not store garlic in the refrigerator nor immersed in oil!

When Karen and Mike organize an order each variety of garlic is divided into small mesh bags and labeled. I put all the small bags into a large mesh onion bag with a drawstring closure. I hang the large mesh bag behind the door of my basement laundry room which has no windows. And whenever I do laundry I do turn on the exhaust fan for an hour to dry out the room of any humidity. I had little problem with the Wisconsin garlic sprouting even though I stored it almost a year after harvest.


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog