Yummiesta

No-Bake Berry & Black Pepper Cheesecake from the ‘First We Eat’ Cookbook

August 01, 2018

It’s been a hot, searing summer here the past couple weeks, but it’s resulted in a very large berry boom from the garden so I can’t complain TOO much about it. So, with a bounty of extra berries at hand, I decided to whip up one of my favorite dishes from my cookbook First We Eat, —this berry and black pepper cheesecake. The recipe in the book calls for blackberries, but it works just as well with a mix of whatever berries you have on hand, which is what I used here.

I love this recipe because it’s not too sweet (cloyingly sweet cheesecakes are not my jam), the subtle kick from black pepper balances out the bright tangy berries perfectly, and it is no-bake, which means you don’t have to turn on the oven and heat up your house in the height of summer. There’s just a bit of gelatin in it, so you put the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm it up before serving.

I also made a fun little stop motion video showing you guys how I make a swirly pattern on top of my cheesecakes—I hope you like it! They’re a blast to put together, and I have a new online course out at First We Eat all about making food videos, so if you’re interested you can learn how to shoot your own stop motion videos from the comfort of your own home.

And one more thing, my Croatia photography workshop is all sold out (it happened in 24 hours—crazy!), and l only have a couple spots left for my Ireland photography workshop. You can read all about it here, I’d love to have you join me and teach you all about photography + styling while surrounding you with delicious foods and beautiful scenery!

No-Bake Berry and Black Pepper Cheesecake

This cool summer classic is a recipe from my First We Eat cookbook.

Brown Butter Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Berry Black Pepper Compote

1 pound ripe berries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 packet unflavored gelatin ((0.3 ounces))
3 tablespoons cold water

Berry Black Pepper Cheesecake

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup berries

Line the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with strips of parchment paper.
For the brown butter crust, in a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
In a small shallow skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Swirl the pan around a bit every couple of minutes to help it cook evenly. Over a period of several minutes, you’ll notice the foam at the top of the butter start to change from a light yellow to dark tan. Once it reaches the dark tan stage and the butter looks light brown and golden, smell it. It should smell nutty and similar to toffee. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
Stir the brown butter into the bowl with the graham cracker crumb mixture. Pour the crust mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
For the berry black pepper compote, in a small saucepan, combine the berries, sugar, black pepper, and cinnamon and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, then uncover and cook until the sugar has melted and the berries are very soft and have partially disintegrated, about 5 minutes more. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and set aside for 1 minute to bloom. In a small saucepan, combine the gelatin mixture and the berry puree. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the gelatin mixture dissolves completely. Remove from the heat and set aside.
For the berry black pepper cheesecake, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream on high speed until it holds soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl and set aside.
In the clean bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar, honey, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add ½ cup of the berry compote and mix until completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and fold in the whipped cream with a spatula. Pour the filling over the crust and even the surface with a spatula. Tap the pan down on the counter several times to help release any air bubbles in the cheesecake and flatten its surface.
Pour the remaining berry compote in concentric rings on top of the cheesecake so it looks like a target symbol. Use a toothpick to drag across the compote, creating swirling patterns on the surface of the cheesecake. Cover, taking care not to let the covering material touch the surface of the cheesecake, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Remove the springform pan ring, garnish with the fresh blackberries, slice, and serve.

The post No-Bake Berry & Black Pepper Cheesecake from the ‘First We Eat’ Cookbook appeared first on Adventures in Cooking.

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molly yeh

citrus rose thyme loaf cake

August 01, 2018

This is a fantastic phase of summer!!! Everything in our garden is suddenly ripe or about to be, the weather is still warm but hints to us in the evenings that fall is coming, school supply commercials are on the TV (!!!!!!!), and Eggboy is in his calm before the harvest storm. July is the month that is safely nestled between the end of spring planting the beginning of fall harvest, which means that he can take full days off at a time to do things like zip down to Chicago for a quick lil visit and clean out half of his office to make room for a desk for me so that I can clear out my kitchen desk to make room for our rice cooker and microwave. Going to Chicago and making room for our rice cooker have both provided me with endless amusement and excitement.

We had just a couple of days in Chicago last week, but we packed them to the brim with fun awesome summery things: Rite of Spring at Ravinia followed by a trip down Steak n Shake nostalgia lane with Jaclyn and Katie, falafel twice from my favorite falafel place, a Cubs game (which felt a little weird since I grew up a Sox fan but the Sox were at an away game and E-boy wanted to see Wrigley Field), a stroll around the Botanic Garden that transported us to Japan and back, and a Frank Lloyd Wright walking tour which honestly freaked me out because his houses, while beautiful, look dark and haunted. I also got to sample a ton of sweets that Mia made at baking and pastry camp. Baking and pastry camp!!! Kids are so cool these days. Overall it was a successful trip but I unfortunately could not locate the Caboodles in my stash of childhood things at my mom’s house so after this I’m going to put on my helmet and dig through Ebay. I mean, name a more perfect food coloring and piping tip container.

Speaking of cake decorating supplies, here’s a cake!!!

In Paris I spotted a beautiful citrus rose loaf cake at Rose Bakery and promptly wanted to recreate it. My version is similar to the grapefruit olive oil yogurt loaf in Short Stack Yogurt but uses lemon in the batter and rosewater in the glaze, and is sprinkled with fresh thyme since the thyme in our garden is currently very happy. The texture of this cake is what I love most: it is soo dense and luxuriously moist, yet it doesn’t feel too heavy thanks to the brightness of the citrus. And this is a really versatile cake! My friend Sam used orange zest/juice in this to make a layer for her wedding cake, and while I’ve never tried it, I feel like lime would be delicious in this as well. Overall it's a very simple cake to make but between the olive oil, rosewater, and thyme, it totally tastes ~fancy~.

citrus rose thyme loaf cake

makes 1 loaf

ingredients

1 1/2 c (190g) all-purpose flour
1/2 c (56g) almond meal
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, from about 2 sprigs, plus more for decorating
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 c (68g) lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
3/4 c (169g) whole milk greek yogurt
3/4 c (150g) extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 c (250g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract

Glaze
1 c (120g) powdered sugar
2-3 tb (28g-42g) whole milk greek yogurt
3/4 tsp rosewater
1/4 tsp almond extract
A pinch of kosher salt

red or pink food coloring, optional

sprinkles, for decorating, optional

clues

Preheat the oven to 350ºf. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the parchment comes up all the way on two of the sides.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, almond meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, thyme, and zest. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and yogurt until very smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking very well after each. Add the dry ingredients and yogurt mixture in three alternating additions, whisking after each until just combined. Pour into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; begin checking for doneness at 55 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then use the parchment wings to lift the loaf out of the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons yogurt, rosewater, almond extract, salt, and food coloring, if using. It will seem like there isn’t enough yogurt at first but keep on stirring. If the mixture is too thick to spread once it’s fully combined, add more yogurt bit by bit until it becomes spreadable but you want it fairly thick so that the drips hold their shape down the side of the cake. Spread the glaze onto the top of the cooled cake, sprinkle with thyme leaves and sprinkles and enjoy.

-yeh!

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Skinnytaste

Grilled Bourbon Chicken

August 01, 2018

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Not Without Salt

Mac and Cheese “Carbonara style” with Blistered Snap Peas

August 01, 2018

*This post is created in partnership with Cabot Creamery. They are a cooperative owned by 1,000 farm families throughout New York & New England and remarkably they get to boast the incredible title of the World’s Best Cheddar. How do we know? Well, they have won every major award for taste. All I know is that I can’t stop eating it and it makes this pasta dish I have for you today irresistible.

I recently got the chance to eat cheese and drink wine with them in Napa and while we were there we created three recipes that I think you all will love. Make sure you follow them to get all those recipes and more. Now let’s talk cheesy pasta.

Even with the sun pouring through the windows, the house well-heated as a result, I still get the occasional craving for a abundant bowl of cheesy pasta. Sometimes I have the appetite of a child but really, when doesn’t cheese and pasta sound good?

I’m pretty excited to share this technique with you all. It’s a sort of macaroni and cheese/ carbonara hybrid. It has the craveable cheesiness of macaroni and cheese with the simple technique of carbonara. It’s incredible pantry-friendly and highly adaptable. Don’t have bacon or pancetta? No problem, it’d be fine without. Have a glut of zucchini (so often the case this time of year)? Roast or caramelize in a pan then use that in lieu of the snap peas. Fresh cherry tomatoes or blistered corn would also be lovely if those happen to be lingering. And never hesitate to toss in fresh herbs by the handfuls.

In order to get that creamy sauce that coats the pasta in that unmistakable carbonara-like way – you know what I mean, right? It’s slick but not greasy, covers the pasta but isn’t thick and gluey. In order to get that consistency we whip eggs with the finely grated cheddar cheese and add the hot pasta directly to the eggs. The starchy pasta water holds the secret key to the magic is its heat helps to further melt the cheese while the starch creates a cohesive sauce coating the nooks and crannies of each individual noodle.

The sugar snap peas are quickly sautéed just after the pancetta crisps. Their pleasant bite brings to the dish virtue and a delightful crunch that sets off the creaminess brilliantly. If pea vines are still available I recommend crowning the pasta or arugula will fill in nicely.

Sit down with a bowl along with a chilled glass of crisp Chardonnay.

To see the technique in action watch the video on my Instagram or Facebook.

Mac and Cheese “Carbonara style” with Blistered Snap Peas Serves 4 to 6

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

6 ounces/170 g pancetta or bacon cut into 1/2 -inch strips

1 pound fresh snap peas

1 pound/ 450 g short pasta (macaroni, gemelli, or orecchiette)

Sea salt

6 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) grated Cabot Alpine Cheddar cheese

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to finish

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus more to finish

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 ounces pea vines (optional)

Olive oil and flake salt to finish

Instructions

Add enough water to fill a large dutch oven or stock pot up halfway then stir in enough salt to make the water taste of the sea. Bring this to a boil.

While the water comes to a boil, crisp up the pancetta in a large skillet, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sugar snap peas and cook just until their color brightens and exterior blackens in parts, 2 to 3 minutes.

Cook the pasta until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes.

In a large bowl stir together the cheddar cheese and eggs until thoroughly combined.

Add the hot noodles directly to the egg mixture and stir well and quickly so as not to cook the eggs. Add a bit of the pasta water as needed to create a creamy sauce.

To the pasta add the pancetta and sugar snap peas then stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Transfer the pasta to a serving platter then top with the pea vines and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add flake salt to finish.

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Recipe Girl®

Greek Bulgur Salad with Chicken

August 01, 2018

If you’re looking for a delicious and unique salad recipe, try this Greek Bulgur Salad with Chicken.

When people ask me which ethic food is my favorite, I almost always tell them “Greek.” And when I tell you this salad is Greek, what I really mean is that it contains the typical flavors of Greek food.

In this Greek Bulgur salad you’ll find things like lemon, cucumber, tomato, parsley, red onion, feta cheese and kalamata olives. It’s a most delicious combination of ingredients that works very well with bulgur.

I must tell you that if my Mother saw this recipe on a restaurant menu, she’d ask me to explain what bulgur is. It’s not a very commonly used ingredient, but it’s definitely one that is underutilized. Unfortunately for my Mom, I’d have to tell her that she couldn’t eat it as it’s made from wheat (she’s gluten free).

What is Bulgur?

Bulgur is a whole wheat grain that has been cracked and partially pre-cooked. It’s most commonly used as the main ingredient in tabbouleh salad. You can also use it in place of rice or other whole grains.

Where can I find Bulgur?

Bulgur is located in your grocery store where you might find all of the other whole grains like quinoa or barley. If your market has a bulk foods section, you might be able to locate bulgur there. It might be in the cereal aisle, near the oatmeal and other breakfast grains. And if all else fails, it’s probably in the international aisle since it’s commonly used in Middle Eastern food too.

This Greek Bulgur Salad is tossed with a very simple lemon and olive oil mix. That’s all it needs to make this salad awesome!

If you’re looking for more salad recipes using grains, you might like to try my Mexican Quinoa Salad or this Tomato Cucumber Barley Salad. Tabbouleh and Mediterranean Farro Salad are good choices too.

Greek Bulgur Salad with Chicken

I love all of the Greek flavors in this salad!

4 1/2 cups water
3 cups uncooked medium bulgur
3/4 cup (about 4 lemons) freshly squeezed lemon juice, (divided)
2 teaspoons salt, (divided)
2 1/2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
2 1/2 cups chopped and peeled cucumber
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 whole pitted kalamata olives, (chopped)

Combine water, bulgur, 1/2 cup juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Uncover and cool to room temperature.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup juice, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss to combine. Add cooled bulgur mixture; toss well to combine. Cover and chill.