Strawberry and blackberry shortcakes with Grand Marnier whipped cream

It’s finally berry season and these strawberry and blackberry shortcakes went over very well at a meeting with my foodie friends at a backyard barbeque recently.   Slightly sweet and very tender, these shortcakes are a cinch to make.   Similar to scones and Southern biscuits, shortcakes contain a ‘healthy’ dose of shortening (or my preferred butter) which creates a “short” and delicate crumb.   Filled with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a combination of fresh summer berries soaked in a little bit of orange decadence (aka Grand Marnier), this dessert prettily announces the beginning of Summer.

As wonderful as all berries are, I had a major run-in with them in Oregon during a wine-tasting trip in the Willamette Valley.  It was late September and much to my delight I found the country roads surrounding our Bed and Breakfast lined with enormous wild blackberry bushes - hundreds of them – loaded with thousands upon thousands of blackberries at different stages of ripening!  These impressive, sometimes 12-foot tall plants use boundary fences and posts as support for their thorny, entangled canes.   They provide a wonderful feast for the birds for several months and I was astounded that so many perfectly ripe and sweet berries were left to rot.   I couldn’t wait to get my mitts on them!

Fearless of the possibility of snakes which make the bushes their habitat, I dove in and moved from branch to branch and ate more than I was putting into my Ziploc.  I was not intimidated!   I conquered!   Unable to pace myself midst such glorious fruit, I became an uncontrollable glutton.   Here was my chance to load up for free on vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, fiber, and oh yeah…I forgot…sugar!  

It was a morning (and sometimes evening) ritual, with a healthy dose of wine-tasting in between (I know…more sugar).  I had totally ignored the warnings of my friend Ralph, who predicted my affliction.   In a couple of days my mouth was reeling from a serious overgrowth of yeast.   Generously fueled by my greed and the sharp increase in sugar, I had a veritable bloom of yeast buds splurging in my mouth.   It was not a pleasant feeling and nothing short of a drastic change in diet and a few pills would stop it.  

But don’t let me stop you from enjoying these shortcakes with berries…in moderation of course!  Our group is planning a wine-tasting trip to Washington state this fall...

Strawberry and blackberry shortcakes with Grand Marnier whipped cream

Makes about 10 – 16 shortcakes. Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

¾ teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons sugar

1½ sticks (12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter), cut into small chunks

1½ cups cold heavy cream

Center a rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the chunks of butter and quickly work it in the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is the size of small peas.

Pour the cream over the mixture and mix it gently with a fork until the dough is just combined but there is still flour on the bottom of the bowl. Use your hands to form a rough ball but don’t overwork the dough or it may become tough.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to about ¾-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch or 3-inch cookie cutter, cut circles out and place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Collect the scraps, re-roll and cut more dough circles. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, turning the cooking sheet around about half way through the baking time. When the shortcakes are light golden brown, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool.

When ready to serve, slice each shortcake horizontally in half. Place the bottom half on a serving plate and top with a couple of spoonfuls of the berries and whipped cream. Top with remaining half of shortcake and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Strawberries and blackberries in Grand Marnier

2 lbs strawberries and blackberries (the proportion is up to you)

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Wash berries and place on clean kitchen towel to dry. Hull strawberries and then slice them into thirds. Transfer strawberries and blackberries to a bowl. Add sugar and Grand Marnier and mix gently. Set aside to macerate for about an hour.

Grand Marnier whipped cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon orange zest

Whip cream and sugar in a bowl until it begins to thicken. Add Grand Marnier, vanilla essence and orange zest.   Whip carefully until it’s thick.  

Prijatno!

Slow-roasted BBQ pork sandwiches with Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw from Mustards Grill

Stacey’s Shredded pork tacos in Colorado last year were spicy and succulent and I have been looking forward to experimenting with a pork ‘butt’ again .   Slow-cooked all day, the pork ‘butt’ is actually part of the shoulder and is the perfect example of an inexpensive cut of meat that turns into wonder when cooked in low heat over a long period of time.  Marbling that runs throughout prevents the pork from drying out and eventually melts away allowing it to be ‘pulled’ or shredded effortlessly.  I have considered becoming a vegetarian many times, but I always reconsider when thoughts of tender smoked ribs, sugar-crusted ham and pulled pork come to mind! 

Having dined at Mustards Grill (an institution in the Napa wine country) our wine group agreed that Cindy Pawlcyn and her crew are experts in preparing pork.  Their BBQ Baby back ribs are marvelous and the Mongolian pork chops with braised red cabbage has been a signature dish for many years.  Fortunately for us, the Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook was published in 2001 and it remains a favorite until today. 

It is SOME COOKBOOK!  Our wine group has used it many times:  Hanger steak with watercress sauce and Onion jam at Jeff and Doris’ was to die for and the Crab cakes with red beet and horseradish remoulade and Seared Ahi tuna on sesame crackers with wasabi cream are brilliant appetizers.  Brian and Helen have mastered the Mongolian pork chops.  Strawberry-rhubarb cobbler with black pepper biscuits topped with Caramel ice cream, and Lemon-lime meringue pie (with it’s sky high brown sugar meringue) are most impressive – just ask Nina!  Being a person who doesn’t partake of dessert very often, she scarfed a generous slice of the pie down in no time and we’ll never let her forget it!  

Slow-Smoked BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Ooo-Eee! Sauce is a great recipe that requires the meat to be smoked over a period of several hours.  Having endured unusually frigid temperatures in Houston of late, setting up the smoker was out of the question!  I opted to slow-roast it in the oven and was rewarded with sweet, juicy and very tender meat that took no effort to pull apart.  Apply the seasoning rub the night before you plan to roast it, if possible.

Slow-Roasted BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Ooo-Eee! Sauce and Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw adapted from the Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook

1 (2½ - 3 lb) bone-in pork butt or picnic roast (I bought a 7lb picnic roast and doubled the rest of the ingredients)

rind of 1 orange, grated finely

1½ tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons ancho chile powder (or chipotle chile powder – for a spicier finish)

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon hot paprika

1/4 cup kosher salt

3 tablespoons sugar

Ooo-Eee! Sauce

½ cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup apple cider

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup water

You will also need:

½ red onion, thinly sliced

6 seeded bread rolls

Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw (see recipe below)

Lay the pork butt skin side up on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin off the pork butt through the fatty layer dividing the skin and the meat. Set the skin aside.

In a small bowl, combine the orange peel, black pepper, ancho chile powder, sweet paprika, hot paprika, kosher salt and sugar. Rub this mixture liberally on the pork, using your fingers to push the seasonings into all the crevices and indentations by the bone. Replace the pork skin on the meat and season it as well. Cover the meat and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

To slow-roast: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the pork butt in a heavy roaster which is just big enough to fit the roast. You want the roast to fit snugly in the roaster so that the moisture is not dispersed too much. Cover roaster with the lid and place in the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 225ºF and allow the meat to roast for about 5-7 hours. You can even do this overnight.

During the last hour of roasting, remove the lid and allow the pork skin to crisp. Remove from the oven and test for doneness: prick the meat with a fork and twist the fork. If the meat falls apart, it is done! Allow the meat to cool for a little while and then pull it apart, removing any fatty parts that have not melted away.

Towards serving time, combine all the sauce ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until it is slightly thickened. Carefully add the pulled pork pieces to the sauce and stir together to coat the meat.

To assemble the sandwich: Cut the bread rolls open and remove some of the soft bread inside (this will provide a nice ‘nest’ for the meat). Toast the rolls. Scoop a generous amount of pork on one toasted half of a roll, top with sliced onions, Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw, and top with the other half of the roll. You can also serve the coleslaw on the side, if you prefer.

Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw

½ to ¾ head of red or green cabbage, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and grated

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine sliced cabbage, bell pepper and carrots in a large bowl. To make the dressing, combine the sugar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in vinegar and olive oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Cool for about 5 minutes and then pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Refrigerate until ready to be served.

Prijatno!

Grand Marnier date balls

2010 is almost upon us so let the New Year’s Party preparations begin!  If you’re just about ‘baked up’ as I am, you’ll be thankful for this easy recipe that takes less than 5 minutes to make and a few more minutes to form into balls for a pretty presentation. 

These Date balls shown in enormous detail above! are a standard dessert item at our annual Eastern Orthodox St. Nicholas celebration every December 19th and continue to please at every occasion beyond.   The infusion of Grand Marnier and orange zest in the dates creates an elegant and decidedly adult treat.  Chocolate plays second fiddle and acts merely as a binder.

I prefer Medjool dates for their dark, succulent flesh and intense honey-like sweetness.  Also known as the Queen among dates, the Medjool palm originated in Morocco and was brought to California in the early 20th Century where it has been cultivated ever since.  Dates were an important fuel for the desert tribes and nomads of north Africa and the Middle East.  Because they travel well, they were successfully introduced to the Greeks and Romans on the other side of the Mediterranean, where they were highly prized and sold at markets wrapped in gilded paper.  

Dates are high in potassium, fiber and  natural sugars which make them a perfect energy snack for athletes.  Check out my date energy bars that I make for my ride during the MS150 every year.  They are also marvelous in savory dishes.

I suggest you make the mixture a couple of days before you plan to serve the balls.  It will allow the rich flavors to ‘marry’ and we all know that good things come to those who wait ….

 

Place pitted dates, walnuts and Grand Marnier in a food processor

Process until it’s a coarse mixture 

Add orange zest and melted chocolate and pulse until it all comes together

It’s that simple!

 

Date Balls – if possible, make the mixture a couple of days before you plan to serve.  Makes about 40 balls.

8 oz. (2 cups) pitted whole dates, preferably Medjool

1 cup walnuts

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier, brandy or orange juice concentrate

fine zest of 1 orange

½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (Callebaut, Ghirardelli 60% cacao or Guittard would work well.  The cheaper brands have too much sugar and are less flavorful).

sparkling (sanding) sugar or confectioner’s sugar

Put dates, walnuts and Grand Marnier in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped (see photo above).

Melt chocolate slowly in a double boiler or microwave. Add zest and melted chocolate to the date mixture and pulse just until the mixture comes together.  If necessary, add a little more melted chocolate.  Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill for a couple of days so that the flavors can blend.

When you are ready to make the date balls, scoop a little of the mixture (I use a melon ‘baller’) and shape into small balls using your fingers .  Roll in sparkling sugar or confectioner’s sugar.

Serve in decorative paper cups, if desired.

  

Prijatno!  

Home for the holidays with a Chinese twist!

I just love it when my kids are home from college! They bring back the sounds that I miss so much while they are away: the sound of feet tripping up the stairs; Alex's booming voice; their music dominating the airwaves; the punching bag taking a serious beating, and Emilia's sweet voice asking me for a favor.

It's amazing how they take over the house: the laundry room is always filled to the hilt; the dining room becomes a computer centre and my hairdryer moves to another bathroom. But the best takeover ever, is when they take over the kitchen!

Let me tell you about my son, Alex. He is well on his way to becoming a chemical engineer. He has been an engineer since he was very young - crafting forts, coffeemakers, waterways and everything imaginable out of odd objects around the house. "He comes by it honestly!" Grandmother Harris would say in her Southern drawl. You see, her son, my husband and Alex's daddio, is an engineer himself.

More recently, Alex has taken an interest in cooking and has even brewed his own beer! The other day, he came downstairs in chef's pants, yes, chef's pants (gifted to him by his lovely girlfriend), and expressed a craving for Orange Chicken.

I had developed a healthy version of Orange Chicken in which the chicken is the main ingredient and not the greasy, heavy batter that hides it (which is the standard prefabricated fare served in many Chinese restaurants). My chicken consists of fresh orange rind and juice and chicken breast pieces that have no batter at all. What Alex was interested in was a version with a light batter and a thick, spicy orangey sauce. After a short time on the web we found a recipe that had potential and developed it to our liking.

I happily became his minion as he led the way. We fiddled with the proportions of ginger, garlic, sugar and orange. What resulted is an amazing dish with a serious orange punch. Spicy, less sweet, and tender chicken, with a very light brushing of flour. You won't miss the extra fat or carbs!

Alex's Orange Chicken

Adapted from Allrecipes' Asian Orange Chicken

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons freshly grated or thinly sliced dried orange rind (we prefer the fresh rind)

1 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed

1/4 cup lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (seasoned is ok)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

vegetable or olive oil, as needed

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

4 tablespoons chopped green onions

Place 3/4 cup water, orange peel, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger root, garlic and red pepper flakes in a pot and heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar melts and the mixture is barely warm. Cool for 5 minutes.

Place chicken in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of orange mixture and stir to coat the chicken pieces. Set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Place flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and combine. Drain the chicken pieces and add the marinating liquid to the rest of the sauce in the pot. Preheat the oven to 300F.

On high heat, heat a small amount (about 1 - 2 tablespoons) of oil to cover the bottom of a wok or saucepan. Take about 12 pieces of chicken and lightly coat them in the flour. Using tongs, quickly saute them until browned, turning once. They should not be completely cooked. Remove from wok or saucepan and place in an ovenproof dish. Continue sauteing the rest of the chicken, adding oil sparingly to the pan. Cover the chicken tightly with foil or a lid and place it in the preheated oven to continue cooking while you make the sauce.

Pour the orange juice mixture in the wok or saucepan and, bring the orange juice mixture to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl until well blended. Pour into orange mixture and cook until thickened. Add green onions. Remove chicken from the oven and pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve with steamed vegetables and rice.

Prijatno!