Henna-inspired wedding cupcake tower

This beautiful set of a wedding cake and matching wedding cupcakes, all done with henna-inspired designs, is by Harrogate, UK-based Homebaked Heaven, via Flickr. I love how the colors work together to create a very stunning display. You can also find them on Facebook.

Google-eyed chocolate monster cupcakes for Halloween!

Blogger Mrs. Fox's Sweets made these fun googly-eyed monster cupcakes and shares a bit of her process, with a little help from the video tutorial below by Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson (who are going to be sharing cupcake decorating tips on our August 2012 Cupcake Cruise). Via Flickr.

Apple cupcakes and more by The Cupcake Tree

These apple and other cupcakes are by The Cupcake Tree, of Lebanon, Indiana, via their Facebook page. They can be reached at zionsvillecupcakes at yahoo.com or 765-894-6390. Some of their cupcake flavors include:

Applesauce Spice with Brown Sugar Buttercream

Bacon Maple Cupcake with Maple Frosting and Bacon Sprinkles

Coconut with Coconut Cream filling

Banana with Peanut Butter Frosting

Chili Pepper with Mangos and Rum

Chocolate with Marshmallow Filling and Marshmallow Icing

Peppermint Bark with white Chocolate frosting

Rolo Chocolate, Caramel

Peaches and Cream

Collegiate Cake Pops with Tutorial Link

Talented blogger and baker, Pink Martinis and Pearls, shares a tutorial on how she made these spirited collegiate cake pops. While you're there, be sure to check out her other inspiring baking creations!

Breast cancer awareness cupcakes and cake pops, plus autumn leaves cupcakes

These breast cancer awareness cupcakes and cake pops, made for charity event MacMillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning 2011, and autumn leaves cupcakes are by the UK's Darcy's Cupcake Creations, via their Flickr account. You can also find them on Facebook.





"chocolate and vanilla cake pop covered in white and milk chocolate. Decorated with pearlised nonpariels and handmade sugarpaste ribbon with silver dragree."



autumn leaves on red velvet cupcakes

CupcakeCamp New Haven (Connecticut) coming October 22nd

Heads up: On October 22nd from 11 am to 1 pm CupcakeCamp New Haven (Connecticut) is happening. Click here for the official event page and here for the Facebook event invite. The event takes place at BAR at 254 Crown Street and you need to register as a baker here (taster slots are sold out). You can also keep up with them @cupcakecampnh on Twitter.



The 2nd annual CupcakeCamp New Haven will be held at BAR in New Haven!

Join us from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 22nd for an unforgettable experience. Cupcakecamp was born of the desire to enjoy cupcakes in a free and open community environment. Since it's inception, there have been camps held all over the world. For more information on Cupcakecamp New Haven, to share your cupcake recipes and learn about all of the awesome bakeries who've signed on as sponsors, check out the blog!

And it's all for charity!

"Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital have joined forces to create Closer to Free, a fund that provides essential funding for breakthrough cancer research and compassionate patient care by combining the gifts of many donors."

They're also selling these t-shirts for $12 by October 15th, and they warn that they will likely sell out:

Organic Glenarm salmon:-tea smoked, tartar, Ballotine and blinis & salmon eggs

The third course of the evening.

This dish again was designed to create a dramatic effect with a box of salmon being presented at the table, lid removed and a cloud of tea scented smoke filling the room. We knew from the start that this dish would be smoked tableside; we just hadn’t worked out how to do this for 90 people at once. I had been looking around for weeks to try and find anything that would work as a smoked and that wouldn’t cost us a small fortune at the same time. Then I had been in the wine cellar talking to Marco the hotels food and beverage manager, when I saw in the corner a magnum of champagne in a large wooden box, this would be exactly what I needed to smoke the salmon at pop up Belfast. I got on the phone to James Nicholson and before you knew it we had 10 perfect boxes. The boxes again where sent over to Stuart and within a day he had transformed then into a home smoker.

All we needed now would be to find the perfect smoke mixture. Walter Ewing our fish supplier for the hotel, is renowned for his famous smoked salmon, so after a quick phone call to him he had sorted us out with the oak and we mixed it with Lapsang Souchong which has a very distinctive, Smokey character and would work beautifully with the dish.

So below is the salmon 4 ways course, it is a very adventurous dish to recreate at home, but even if you just want to try some of the elements individually, you will still have a great course for a dinner party at home.

Serves 10

Ingredients;

For the Ballontine;

1 side of salmon skinned                                                                                                                                                                           

2tblsp Maldon salt

250g parsley and chervil very finely chopped      

For the tartar;

250g very fresh salmon skinned, pin boned and all brown flesh and belly fat removed

4 shallots peeled and finely diced

50g capers very finely chopped

250g parsley and chervil very finely chopped

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Maldon salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the Blinis;

70g buckwheat flour

70g plain flour

⅓tsp baking powder

⅓tsp dried yeast

175ml warm milk

1 egg separated

125g melted butter plus 1tsp extra

For the poppy seed vinaigrette;

5g Dijon mustard

50ml white wine vinegar

50ml balsamic

200ml hazelnut oil

200ml olive oil

Seasoning

6 cloves of garlic crushed

6 sprigs of thyme

Chervil and tarragon

30g poppy seeds

To serve;

Wooden wine boxes or other boxes you can smoke the fish in

10 white Chinese style serving spoons

10 x 50g portions of lightly smoked salmon

1 Aladin smoker

1tblsp oak wood shavings

1tblsp Lapsang Souchong

10tsps salmon eggs

Baby coriander cress to garnish

Method;

For the Ballontine;

Trim the salmon, remove the tail and the top piece to leave the salmon in a perfect rectangle shape, remove all of the fat and brown flesh from the belly and all of the pin bones. Split the salmon fillet into two lengthways and sprinkle each half with a little salt. Place one piece of salmon on top of the other, season with Maldon salt and roll into perfect barrel shape in cling film, making sure it is very tight, allow to set for 2 hours. Place the salmon into a water bath set at 42c and cook for 1min for every 100g of the salmon weight, plus 20mins extra. Remove from the water and chill overnight.

The next day remove the salmon from its cling film covering and cover with the chopped herbs, season again lightly and re roll the salmon in cling film. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

For the tartar;

In a large clean cold bowl add the salmon. Add the diced shallots, capers and chopped herbs and mix well, making sure all ingredients are evenly distributed. Add the lemon juice and zest and season to taste. Try to make the tartar just before serving as the lemon juice and the salt start to cure the fish and this will change the texture of the overall tartar.

For the Blinis;

Sift the buckwheat flour, plain flour and baking powder together. Mix the dried yeast with the warmed milk, then separate the egg and add the yolk to the yeast mix.

Next whisk this into the dry ingredients to make a smooth batter. Stir in the 1tsp melted butter.

Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks, and then gently fold into the batter, keeping as much volume as possible. Clarify some butter by gently melting it in a pan, then pour off the clear yellow liquid to use (throw away the white bit left behind in the pan). Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan and drop in dessertspoons of the batter. Cook until the surface starts to bubble, then flip over and cook the other side.

Cut the blinis with a small cutter about the size of a 2 pence coin.

For the poppy seed vinaigrette;

Mix the mustard and vinegars together.

Mix the oils together, then slowly add the oil to the vinegar mix, add the seasoning, garlic and herbs and leave in a warm place to infuse for 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve, add the poppy seeds and store ready for use.

To serve;

Get the wooden box ready to serve. Place 10 spoons in the box.

Heat a large pan over high heat and add a little olive oil, pan fry the smoked salmon pieces until just golden brown on the service side. Remove from the heat. Flip the salmon pieces over and allow to warm in the residual heat of the pan. Keep the salmon pink in the centre.

Place the salmon portions onto each spoon in the box. Working quickly place the wooden shavings and the Lapsang Souchong tea into the top of the smoker and using a blow torch light the shavings. The smoke will be released through the smoke tube. Place the tube into the box and allow the box to fill with smoke. Shut the lid quickly and allow the smoke to sit in the box while you plate the rest of the dish.

Cut 10 slices of the Ballotine and place onto each serving plate.

Warm the blinis and place onto each plate just beside the Ballotine.

Using two spoons shape the tartar into quenelles; place a quenelle of tartar just above each portion of Ballotine.

Drizzle the plates with a little of the poppy seed vinaigrette and garnish with coriander cress.

Serve each dinner a plate each and bring the box to the table, remove the lid and the smoke will fill the room, guest can then help themselves to a smoked salmon spoon each.

Authentic Oktoberfest Cupcakes

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany is in full swing!  With it's final weekend coming up... I wanted to share with you some amazing Oktoberfest cupcakes from Munich's only cupcake shop!

Iris, co-owner of Wir Machen Cupcakes, sent me these pictures...

These cupcakes are a take on the traditional German ginerbread hearts called Lebkuchenherzen which can be found at Oktoberfest and most large German fests! (I've had my fair share of them! Yummy!)

When my husband, daughter and I went to Oktoberfest two weeks ago in Munich, we noticed that almost all the women were wearing the traditional German dress, the dirndl.  These cupcakes that Wir Machen Cupcakes made are based on just that style of dress!  Boobs and all! 

Next year... I'm definitely wearing a dirndl to Oktoberfest! 

Magnolia Bakery to open in Chicago Saturday, October 1st

The famed Magnolia Bakery, which recently opened up in Bloomingdale's in New York City's Upper East Side, will open in Chicago on October 1st. From Eater Chicago:

New York's iconic Magnolia Bakery will finally make its Chicago debut at Block 37 this Saturday, Oct. 1. The look of the location is very vintage and reminds you of a seaside bakery from the '50s. This is the first Magnolia store in the Midwest, coming after openings in LA and Dubai.

The 28-seat location will offer cakes, pies, creamy banana pudding, cookies, brownies, mini cheesecakes and fresh-from-the-oven breakfast muffins. From Double Crust Pies ($24) and Strawberry Icebox Cake ($24) to Red Velvet Cake ($55, 3-layer) and S’mores Cupcakes ($3.25 each), Magnolia harkens back to the flavors and traditions of classic American baked goods.

In other Magnolia Bakery news, via their Facebook page, they are selling a Rosh Hashanah honey cupcake: "spiced honey cake with walnuts and a touch of citrus zest."

You can also follow them @magnoliabakery on Twitter.

5 coffee cupcakes and a recipe link to wish you a Happy National Coffee Day!

Happy National Coffee Day! I've been drinking coffee for about a year and can safely say that I'm now addicted to the taste and feel and, yes, caffeine. It's gotten to the point that until I've had my first cup in the morning I'm not really all there (sometimes, I'll admit, it's more like until I've had my second cup).

What about you? Do you like coffee cupcakes or would you prefer to enjoy a cup of coffee alongside a cupcake? Long before I started drinking coffee, I enjoyed the flavor of coffee ice cream, and to me that is what a coffee frosting should try to approximate, a sweet but strong flavor. But there are all sorts of ways to incorporate coffee into a cupcake, from the cake to the frosting to adding beans on top and much more.

In the spirit of coffee-loving as well as appreciating the spirit of food holidays, here are 5 coffee cupcakes as a way to celebrate.


Caramel latte vegan cupcakes by Sweet Elites Vegan Cupcakes of Fresno, California, via Flickr



coffee and chocolate cupcakes by purecakes (lizzie) on Flickr



Mocha bean cupcake (Devils food cake, mocha frosting topped with chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate covered coffee bean) by cup.cake.CT in Durham, Connecticut, via Flickr



Coffee and donut cupcake (the frosting is a very strong, delicious coffee flavor) I recently tried by Retro Bakery in Las Vegas, Nevada - and yes, I know my photograph perhaps doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it was good, and if you're ever at Retro I would definitely try this one. The coffee frosting and glaze on the cake balance each other out very well.



Coffee cupcake by blogger dulcis in fundo, where you can get the recipe!

Spatchcocked Spatchcock

“Spatchcock” refers to the method of cutting open a whole chicken, so that it sits flat in a pan, or on a grill. However, it wasn’t always the highly amusing verb it is today. 

Originally, it was a highly amusing noun used to describe a small, young chicken. Since these tender birds were usually butterflied to cook faster and more evenly over the coals, “spatchcock” became the culinary term for this technique. So, if you use a small, young chicken like I did, then you’re actually spatchcocking a spatchcock, which is about the most entertaining answer ever to the question, “What are you doing for dinner?”

Above and beyond how fun it is to use in casual conversation, the technique really does work beautifully for grilling a whole chicken. Once you remove the backbone, and set free the sternum from its covering of cartilage, you'll have a bird that will cook quicker and more evenly. It also looks pretty damn cool.

If you don’t own a sturdy pair of kitchen shears, then I hope this video inspires you to go out and get this must-have piece of equipment. They make this technique incredibly fast and easy, and you can also use them to completely section a whole chicken into serving pieces, as we showed in this video demo.

Anyway, I hope you pick up some spatchcock soon, and give this whole spatchcocking thing a try. I’ll be showing a recipe I did using this technique in a future video, so stay tuned for that, and as always, enjoy!

Halloween apple spice cupcakes with maple buttercream and leaf and pumpkin toppers!

Yes, blogger Farrah's Kitchen has gone all out and shows you how to make these apple filled spice cupcakes with maple buttercream, including recipes, and how to make these adorable Halloween-themed cupcake toppers!

She writes:

I’m not a spice cake fan, but I really enjoyed the spice cake with the maple buttercream frosting. This time I added a filling to the cupcake. Apple pie! I loved the texture and taste that the apple pie brings to this cupcake.

Carpaccio of Organic shorthorn beef, Herring roe, crispy quail eggs and parmesan

This course, the second course for pop up Belfast, again was designed as a sharing platter. Gary Bell had given us this dish and showed us a bone that he usually would serve this in. Johnny and I thought this would be a great idea until the day all of the bones arrived into the kitchen and the realisation of the mammoth task at hand became apparent. All of the bones had to be removed of marrow, scrapped spotlessly clean and scrubbed. Then boiled in salted vinegar water, cooled, scrapped again and this process repeated. Finally after two days they were then buffed and smoothed by Stuart who restores all of the hotels antiques.

The hard work was well worth all of the effort that Johnny and the team put in as now we have 100 perfectly cleaned bones to use as we wish!

The beef carpaccio was a great choice for the second course, light, full of flavour and well balanced, also because it was served cold it gave the team time to regroup after the scallop course.

The quality of the beef is the most important thing in this dish. Good local Northern Irish beef from a good butcher will do the trick. I would recommend Hannon’s just outside Moira.

This is a great dish and can be simply served on a plate at home without the entire dramatic hay and bone garnish.

Serves 10 people;

Ingredients;

For the beef;

500g beef fillet cut from the centre of the fillet and left in one piece

Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1tbslp Melted bone marrow or olive oil

For the parmesan crisps;

1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated through the smallest holes on a box grater.

For the quail eggs;

10 soft boiled quail eggs, each cut in half

2tblsp chopped fresh parsley

2 eggs beaten

3tblsp flour

3tblsp fresh breadcrumbs

For the horseradish aioli;

2 egg yolks
1tblsp lemon juice
300ml of half rendered marrow bone fat and olive oil or all olive oil
3tbsp. prepared white grated horseradish, or to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced or to taste

Maldon salt and pepper to taste

To serve;

1kg sterilized hay or artificial hay

10 cleaned out bones (optional)

20 baby gem lettuce leaves, kept whole

50g Herring roe

1tblsp olive oil

Maldon salt

Cracked black pepper

Method;

For the beef;

Lay the beef onto a work surface and season all over with salt and pepper. Make sure you season well as the beef will be served cold. Place a pan large enough tom hold the beef over high heat. Add the melted marrow or olive oil; add the beef to the pan and brown very quickly on all sides, until golden brown. Remove the beef from the pan straight away and leave to cool.

When cool enough to handle wrap the fillet in cling film tightly to form a perfect cylinder. Place the beef into the freezer and freeze over night.

For the parmesan crisps;

Line a non stick tray with either parchment paper or a nonstick silicone baking pad. Using a tablespoon measurement, drop even mounds of parmesan cheese on the baking sheet. Use your fingers to pat the cheese into a thin circle about 3 inches across in size. Make sure none of the circles are touching. You should get 10 parmesan crisps in total.

Bake five minutes, or until golden and crisp. When the crisps are still warm, cut them through the centre and leave to cool.

For the quail eggs;

Lay 3 small trays onto the work surface. In the first place the flour in the second place the beaten egg and in the third place the breadcrumbs. Dip each egg into the flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the breadcrumbs.

Heat a deep fat fryer to 180c or heat a small pan of oil to 180c. Working in batches, fry until golden brown all over and heated through.

Drain on kitchen paper.

For the horseradish aioli;

Place yolks and lemon juice into the bowl of a blender. Mix lightly. Combine oils and add drop by drop to yolk mixture. As sauce thickens, oil can be added in a very thin trickle. (Avoid adding too much oil at one time, or eggs and oil will not blend.) Add horseradish and garlic, season to taste.

Chill before serving.

To serve;

Remove the beef from the freezer and slice into 30 thin slices.

Place the hay onto a large serving board and place the 10 bones on top. Place two baby gem lettuce leaves into each bone. Place three slices of beef per bone on top of the lettuce. Spoon the aioli over the beef. Spoon 5g per portion of the herring roe on top of the beef. Drizzle all of the bones with olive oil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish each bone with two parmesan crisp halves.

Serve in the middle of the table for all of your guest to share.

Hello Kitty Cupcake

I can't see a Hello Kitty anything without thinking of Rachel, who adores the iconic kitty.

Cute shot by Lumberg the Loquacious Llama.

Issan Samaga Wattakka Soup (Pumpkin Soup with Shrimp) Recipe

This recipe for Issan Samaga Wattakka Soup is similar to the recipe for Soupa de Jerimum, a Portuguese dish. This is most likely attributed to the Portuguese influence in Sri Lanka during the Colonial Period when Portugal's trading empire stretched from Lisbon to most of East Asia.

The flavors of these two soups are quite different, however, as Issan Samaga Wattakka features shrimp instead of sausage. Issan Samaga Wattakka is also seasoned with spices popular in Indian cuisine such as cumin and coriander while Soupa de Jerimum relies on parsley and sage.

Recommended Equipment:
blender or food processor
large pot or Dutch Oven with a lid

Ingredients:
1/2 (approximately 4 1/2 pound pumpkin)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tspn kosher salt
3 + 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow onions, diced
1 leak (white portion until it turns a deep green), sliced into rounds
1 bay leaf
2 tspn brown sugar
1 tspn ground black pepper
2 tspn coriander, ground
2 tspn cumin seeds, ground
1 tspn chile powder
1 tspn cayenne powder
1 32 oz. box of chicken stock (about 5 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preparation:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and stringy interior. Reserve the seeds for garnish (see recipe for baked pumpkin seeds). Cut the tough outer layer of the pumpkin from the softer flesh of the interior. Cut the flesh into small 1/2 to 1 inch cubes.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin cubes, 2 tbsp olive oil, and 1/2 tspn salt.
3. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add 3 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp flour. Stir the mixture continuously for about 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture becomes the color of peanut butter.
4. Add the pumpkin cubes and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the onions, leek, brown sugar, black pepper, coriander, cumin, chile powder, and cayenne.
6. Cook over medium heat until the onions become clear and translucent.
7. Pour mixture into a blender or food processor and puree.
8. Pour the pureed pumpkin mixture back into the large pot and add the chicken stock, bay leaf, and 2 tbsp of vinegar.
9. In a skillet over medium heat, place 2 tbsp butter and the minced garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
10. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until the shrimp turns color about 3 minutes.
11. Remove the shrimp and pour the garlic and butter to the pot.
12. Chop up 1/2 of the shrimp into small pieces and then add all of the shrimp to the pot.
13. Serve hot garnished with baked pumpkin seeds.

Sri Lanka [ print this recipe for Issan Samaga Wattakka Soup ]

Spatchcock Chicken Tease

Chocolate Devil's Fire Cupcakes with Recipe Link

Blogger, Brooks Walker of Cakewalker used a spicy combination of chocolate and habanero chilies to make these flaming Chocolate Devil's Fire Cupcakes. A complete step by step baking and decorating tutorial is provided at Cakewalker.

Rosh Hashanah Jewish New Year honey apple cupcakes and recipe link

Tonight is the first night of the Jewish New Year, aka Rosh Hashanah. One tradition is to eat apples and honey for a sweet life, and blogger The Shiksa made honey apple cupcakes with special Rosh Hashanah cupcake picks as toppers, and gives you the recipe and printable design for the toppers. To those who are celebrating, L'Shana Tova! (That means "To a sweet year.")

Cupcake Cruise 2012 to Bermuda tickets on sale now!

Just a reminder that our 2012 Cupcake Cruise to Bermuda, August 19-26, 2012, featuring Nichelle and Rachel of Cupcakes Take the Cake, Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, authors of Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake?, Red Hook and Charleston Baked bakery owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Baked Explorations, and Alison and Matt Robicelli of Brooklyn cupcake bakery Robicelli's, plus many more special guests to be announced! Stay tuned to @cupcakecruise on Twitter and Cupcake Cruise on Facebook for more information.

You can now put down a deposit to reserve your spot. The indoor staterooms are $999 per person and you can see other prices on the site. You can book your tickets on the site or by calling 800-828-4813, and you can email info at cupcakecruise.com if you have cruise-related questions.


Cupcake Cruise logo by Jessie Oleson

Tennis ball and racket cupcakes

These cute tennis cupcakes are by SWEET! cupcakes on Flickr.

Junior Mint and Oreo eyes, candy nose on very cute Halloween owl cupcake

Owl cupcake cuteness alert! By lavendermindy on Flickr.

Seared scallops, aubergine caviar, toasted almonds, spinach and saffron air

This was the first course for our very first Pop up Belfast, set in the decaying structure of the Titanic drawing rooms.

We wanted to make an impression with this course because it was to lead the way into this unique dining experience and let the customers (who had followed and trusted us in this secret event), know that they were in for a something completely different throughout the night. The saffron air was proably the most asked question when people where talking about the Pop up Belfast menu. What is saffron air???? They would say confused. Well the saffron air was to be a dramatic effect with dried seaweed, saffron and dry ice put into a bucket. When the tray arrived at the table boiling water was added and a stream of air engulfed the table, bringing with it the smells of seaweed and saffron, an effect that I think worked really well and got the crowd talking.

The recipes created for pop up Belfast are not straight forward and are not the easiest things to create at home, but I really wanted to add these recipes to the blog, just encase anyone on the night might like to recreate this experience at home.

Ingredients;

For the aubergine caviar;

2 aubergines

2 cloves of garlic cut in half

4 sprigs of thyme

1tblsp olive oil

Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1 red pepper, roasted, skinned and deseeded

Juice from ¼ of a lemon

4 large leaves of basil very finely sliced

For the saffron foam;

5kg of fish bones, soaked in cold water and guiles removed

5ltrs of cold water

2 onions, diced

2 leeks, diced white part only

2 sticks of celery diced

12 white peppercorns

4 bay leaves

1btl white wine

50g mixed chervil, parsley, tarragon and coriander

1 onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic crushed

200ml white wine

200ml Noilly prat

250ml double cream

1tsp saffron

 

For the toasted almonds;

1tblsp almond flakes

For the scallops;

10 medium Irish scallops, White meat only, trimmed off all coral

Salt and pepper to taste

1tblsp olive oil

25g butter

Squeeze of lemon

For the spinach;

50g spinach, washed and picked

10g butter

To serve;

Cream gun with 2 gas canisters

Seaweed and netting

1 Wine bucket

100g Dried seaweed

1tsp Saffron

200g dry ice

Method;

For the aubergine caviar;

Pre heat an oven to 200c.

Slice the aubergines in two lengthways, and then score the flesh with the tip of your knife in a criss-cross pattern. Rub the garlic halves over the scored sides of the aubergines and stud two halves with sprigs of thyme. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon salt and pepper. Sandwich together, with the garlic halves, and wrap tightly in foil to resemble a Christmas cracker. Repeat with the other two halves. Place on a roasting tray and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
Remove the foil from the aubergines, discard the herbs and scrape the flesh and garlic on to a chopping board. Chop to a coarse paste.

Finely chop the red pepper and add to the aubergine. Add lemon juice and basil and adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside ready for service.

For the saffron foam;

In a large pan sweat the vegetables over medium heat until translucent. Add the peppercorns and bay leaves and pour in the wine, reduce until almost evaporated. Add the bones and herbs and cover with water, bring to the boil and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Simmer for 20mins, remove from the heat and allow to settle for at least 2hours. Skim the stock well and ladle the stock through a muslin lined sieve. Try not to disturb the bones to much as this will make the stock cloudy. Do not be tempted to try and get all the liquid from the pan. At this point the stock for the pop up Belfast would have been reduced by half and put over fresh fish bones and repeated one more time. This will add a very deep flavour to the sauce and also adds natural gelatine to help hold the final foam.

For a simpler version at home reduce by half and add two softened gelatine leaves.

Cool and store in the fridge over night. The next day remove all the fat from the surface of the stock.

Place a medium sized pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until translucent, add the white wine and reduce until almost all has evaporated. Add the Noilly Prat and reduce to ¼ its volume. Add the fish stock and reduce by ¾. Add the cream and bring to the boil, turn the heat to a simmer and continue to simmer for 5mins. Remove from the heat, add the saffron and keep warm.

For the toasted almonds;

Place the almonds in a heavy, ungreased non stick pan. Place the pan over a gentle heat and stir often until golden brown, remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool store in an airtight container ready for service.

For the scallops;

Place a large none stick frying pan over high heat. Add a little olive oil. When the oil is hot, season the scallops with salt and pepper and panfry over high heat for 1½ minutes. This should give the scallops a lovely golden caramelised surface. Turn the scallops over and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt and spoon the butter all over the scallops; cook for a further 45seconds or until just cooked through and no more. Add a squeeze of lemon and remove from the heat and keep warm.

For the spinach;

Cook spinach on medium heat with 5g butter in a small pan. When the spinach has just wilted remove from the pan and place on a clean kitchen towel. Remove as much moisture as possible, season to taste, keep warm and set aside.

To serve;

Prepare a large tray with some seaweed and netting, leaving a space for the wine bucket and the water jug. Warm the scallop’s shells and place on top of the seaweed.

Place a little of the spinach into the bottom of each shell. Warm the aubergine caviar and place on top of the spinach. Place a scallop on top of each shell.

Pour the warm saffron velouté into a cream gun. Add two gas canisters to the gun to create the foam.

Point the cream gun at the scallops and cover the scallops with the foam.

Place the wine bucket onto the tray and add the dried seaweed and dry ice. Place a water jug filled with boiling water at the bottom of the tray and carry the tray to the table.

Pour the boiling water into the wine bucket and this will release the air all over the table.

Risotto Milanese Recipe

Legend has it that risotto Milanese dates back to 1574, when a stained-glass artisan, Zafferano, added the saffron he used for his paintings to his daughter's wedding risotto. It became (and still is) the talk of the town!

Tips:
If you don't have saffron, omit the hot water, increase the chicken broth to 3 cups(750 mL) and replace the saffron with 2 tspn(10 mL) ground turmeric, adding it with the broth.

The risotto will hold on the Keep Warm cycle for about an hour, but you'll need to add 1/4 cup(60 mL) more broth for a creamy consistency. Wait until you're ready to serve before folding in the Parmesan, seasoning and garnishing.

Recommended Equipment:
Medium to large rice cooker; fuzzy logic (preferred) or on/off

Ingredients:
1 tspn crushed saffron threads
1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 tspn butter, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup Arbrorio rice
1/4 cup white wine
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
additional freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine saffron threads and hot water; set aside to steep.
2. Set the rice cooker for the Quick Cook or Regular cycle. When the bottom of the bowl gets hot, add oil and 1 tbsp (15 mL0 butter and let butter melt. Sauté onion for about 3 minutes or until softened and translucent.
3. Sauté for about 4 minutes or until rice is mostly translucent and only a dot of white remains. Stir in wine and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until evaporated. Stir in saffron infused water and broth. Close the lid and reset for the Porridge or Regular cycle. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Stir two or three times while the risotto is cooking.
4. When the timer sounds, check to make sure the risotto is al dente. If necessary, continue cooking, checking for doneness every 5 minutes. Fold in the remaining butter. Fold in Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Recipe courtesy of 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes by Katie Chin

Italy [ print this recipe for Risotto Milanese ]

Fig Brulee with Burrata Cheese – Let’s Burn the Top of Some Fruit!

I love a crème brulee as much as the next portly chef, but when you consider the custard base is egg yolk-thickened, sweetened heavy cream, it’s not something you should be eating more than occasionally. But, why waste such a great technique when it can be applied to other things, like fresh fruit?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I chose figs here because I received a generous sampling from the California Fig Advisory Board, and decided this would be a wonderful way to enjoy them. As I mention in the video, this technique also works on fresh banana, a roasted peach or apple, and basically any tender fruit you can slice and sprinkle with sugar.

While this will work with white sugar, the Demerara sugar you see in the video seems to work best. It’s a type of raw brown sugar, and pretty much the same thing as you get in those little, brown “Sugar in the Raw” packages at the coffee shop. Let me be clear – I’m not suggesting you borrow a few of those to use for this recipe. That would be as illegal, as it would be free and convenient.

These were amazing with the fresh, creamy burrata, but any style cheese plate would benefit mightily from the shiny, sexy fruit. If cheese isn’t your thing, go grab a pint of vanilla ice cream, forget all about that sweet-savory thing, and just go full dessert.

Anyway, thanks to California Fig Advisory Board for inspiring the recipe, and if you want more info on how awesome figs are, you can check out their homepage here. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!