9 posts tagged “honey”

I really wanted to participate in Danielle and Robin's Recipe Remix this time around, since I didn't get a chance to the first time. I think this is such a great idea because really, what do most creative cooks do but remix some sort of existing dish to make it more appealing,  more delicious and more personal to them. The theme this time around was breakfast.

I wanted to do something Greek-inspired and I started thinking that pretty much every Greek desert has some sort of simple syrup-based liquid in it, which makes it perfect for breakfast. You already have your syrup! I decided to go with what is probably the most famous Greek desssert--baklava--and make a baklava French....I mean, Greek....toast. French toast is probably my favorite breakfast item.

I made the typical baklava filling and sandwiched that in some tsoureki (Greek Easter bread). This is a loaf I got from my grandma but if you want to make your own, there are several Greek bloggers who have made it. Then, I made the baklava syrup which is essentially honey, sugar, and water. You can add some lemon rind or a cinnamon stick, too, if you'd like.

I wish I could make this look as good as it tasted. Unfortunately, my loaf of tsoureki was not really French toast material. It was a loaf my grandma made me over Easter, which I then I froze (I had eaten too much tsoureki in a 3 day period!), but it was a very small loaf. You couldn't make normal slices from it (because it was only a couple inches high) so I had to slice it the long way which made for some interesting slices and some falling apart. Oh well!

There isn't much of a recipe because the only things I truly measured were the syrup ingredients but the process is below.

 

  

Baklava French Toast

Crush some walnuts in a food processor and stir in some cinnamon and cloves to taste.

In a small saucepan, bring equal parts sugar, water and honey to a boil (and lemon rind/cinnamon stick if you want). Thicken it by simmering for a bit.

Slice your bread (challah or brioche would also be great here) and spoon the walnut mixture over half the slices. Place the remaining slices on top of the ones with the walnut mixture, basically making walnut sandwiches.

Make your standard French toast mixture, including a beaten eggs and some milk or cream. You can add some vanilla and cinnamon, too, if you'd like. Pour the mixture into a dish big enough to hold your sandwiches and layer them in there. Let them soak for a couple minutes before flipping (carefully...I lost some of my mixture here due to poor bread cutting and flipping) and soaking them on the other side.

Melt some butter in a nonstick skillet or griddle. Add the Greek toast and cook for a couple minutes per side, until golden.

Top with the syrup and some cinnamon, if you'd like.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: I am SO not going there. ;)

 

 

 

A while back, I was talking to Peabody, and I asked her to make some loukoumades so I could live vicariously through her blog.  One, because I don't make doughnuts and two, because I already look like I wear a doughnut around my waist so I don't need to be eating said doughnuts. Loukoumades are Greek doughnuts/fritters that are doused in (what else) a honey syrup and served warm with cinnamon and walnuts (or whatever you want, really). If you haven't guessed by the description, they are delicious. Then, the other day, I came across this Time to Make the Doughnuts event hosted by Peabody and Helen of Tartelette and decided this was my chance. Loukoumades, here I come!

Well...there is a small problem with me making loukoumades. Okay, there are a few. For one, I have never worked with yeast, or at least, not yeast that hasn't been manipulated in a bread machine. I'm actually pretty terrified of yeast. But, working with yeast was one of my 2008 cooking resolutions, so why not knock it out in February?

Second, frying and I do not get along. When Tom and I were first dating, I decided to make some homemade french fries for him. He was really amazed by this, like no one ever makes fries at home. Well, somewhere in between my saying, "Oh, it's no big deal!" and "Really, it's not hard. My grandma and I would always make these growing up!" I managed to burn the &*_$%@# out of my wrist when grease splattered all over it. Five years later, the scar is still noticeable. That wasn't the first time I had deep fried anything...but it was the last.

When I decided to tackle both these fears, my next step was finding a recipe for loukoumades--not an easy task, apparently. I must have looked at 4 dozen recipes for loukoumades and I'm pretty sure no two were alike. Now, with cooking recipes, this isn't a problem. I know what works and what doesn't, at least for my tastes. With baking (which I am not good at) and yeast (which I have never worked with) I'm not quite as confident in combining recipes to make the right one. There were recipes with milk, recipes without. Recipes that called for one packet of yeast and 4 cups of flour while others called for a packet of yeast and 2 cups of flour. Out of nowhere came a recipe with vanilla and, even more surprisingly, a recipe with eggs. My head was starting to spin. I frantically searched Peter 1's blog, Peter 2's blog, Ivy's blog, Laurie's blog..surely one of these great Greek bloggers has made loukoumades. I know I can trust their recipes. No dice! Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Eventually I went with this recipe from recipezaar of all places. I halved the recipe. I also used more flour and omitted  the oil because it was the only recipe I saw that had oil in it. Otherwise, I followed the recipe for the doughnuts (I always make my honey syrup for everything the same way so I didn't even bother looking at that portion of any of the recipes).

After a couple hours my dough had risen! Hooray! Elly: 1, Yeast: 0.

Now, the frying...eh. For one I don't have a candy thermometer. I used the wooden spoon trick (you know, if it bubbles around it, it's ready to go) which worked. But by the end I think the oil got too hot because the doughnuts were a tad soggy. But that's ok! They get that way with the syrup anyway.

What I did not get and what I STILL do not get is how to make these things actually look the cute little dough balls I get at the Greek festivals and church, all the same shape. This batter was the consistency of a thick pancake batter so I couldn't exactly shape it before dropping it into the oil. I got all kinds of crazy shapes, although most of them looked like animals.

This one sort of looks like a rooster, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this one, a bit like an aardvark, perhaps?

 

 

 

 

 

This resembles a seahorse. Or maybe a dead zebra. I'm not too sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some turned out better than others, obviously, but you get the point. Still, I will take misshapen fritters to check "work with yeast" off my 2008 list any day.

 

Loukoumades

Batter
1 package dry active yeast
1 cup warm (100-110 degrees) water
1/2 cup milk (brought to room temperature)
2-1/4 cups flour (maybe more) 
1.5 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Syrup (you may or may not want to reduce this to 1/2 cup of each of the following; it did make a little too much but it all depends how syrup-y you want your loukoumades)
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup sugar

Vegetable/neutral oil for frying
cinnamon and chopped walnuts for garnish

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add that, along with the milk, to the  yeast. Add more flour if necessary to achieve a thick pancake batter like consistency. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm place (80-85 degrees) for about 2 hours.

When the batter has risen (it will be about 3 times its original size) heat your oil to about 365 degrees (if you have a candy thermometer) and drop the batter by the teaspoonfull into the hot oil. Fry until just golden brown and then put them on a cooling rack placed over a pan (to catch the oil).

To make the syrup, bring the honey, sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Boil for a couple minutes to thicken slightly and then skim the foam off the top. Pour the mixture over the fritters. Top with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.

 

Oops, this was not supposed to  happen...

 

 

 

 

Melomakarona are one of my favorite cookies on the planet. Like most Greek desserts, they have honey, cinnamon, and walnuts. What can I say? We don't like to mess with a good thing.  But, it's this mixture that makes them perfect for the holidays (or really, year round, if you're me!).

The dough for this cookie is pretty basic, but what makes them unique is the honey/simple syrup mixture the cookies are dunked into and the texture that arises from that process. The dipped cookies are pretty soft, due to the syrup, but are not chewy. The finished cookie has sweetness from the honey and sugar, a little spice from the cinnamon and cloves, and a nice crunch from the walnuts. That's why they're pretty much my perfect cookie.

 

 

 

Melomakarona
makes 4-5 dozen cookies

Cookie Dough
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1.5 cups vegetable oil
6 cups flour
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Syrup/topping
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups honey
1/2 lb. walnuts, crushed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves

 

To make the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated. Add the oil and orange juice, mixing until smooth and combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. If necessary, add more flour to make a workable dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll cookies into oval shapes with the palm of your hand and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Press the cookies down slightly with your fingertips, and then prick them with a fork several times. Bake the cookies for about 25 minutes or until done. Set aside to cool completely.

To dip the cookies:
Mix the walnuts, cinnamon and cloves together in a bowl and set aside.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, start making your syrup. Bring the water, honey and sugar to a boil in a large sauce or saute pan (I like using a high saute pan, the bigger surface area across will let you dip more cookies at once). After it has boiled for a minute or two and thickened slightly, skim the foam off the top. Turn burner to low, just to keep the syrup warm.

In batches, dunk the cookies in the honey syrup. Leave them in there for about 40-50 seconds or so, before removing them with a slotted spatula and placing them on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.  Top the dipped cookies with the walnut mixture.

Store these in an airtight container and they should keep for quite a while (if they last that long :) 

 

 

About once a month, I find myself with a couple of thawed pork chops and no ideas for them. See, I am not crazy about pork chops. I will definitely eat them, but they're not my favorite. My husband, on the other hand, loves pork chops...which is why I try to make them about once a month.

After a day out in Chicago's "wintry mix" of snow, rain, wind and ice, I was definitely not up for making a run to the grocery store, so I had to work with what I had on hand--which wasn't much. I figured I would marinate the pork chops in something simple, and then remembered a marinade Giada used on her show for drumettes, so I decided to use that. I have made this recipe with chicken before here and it's great.

After marinating the chops, I pan fried them for a couple minutes to caramelize before putting them in the oven. I actually preferred this marinade with the pork over the chicken! I definitely recommend the pan frying because the caramelization gives them extra flavor and makes them so good.

We had this with some brown rice and a really simple recipe for golden-crusted brussels sprouts. It was so easy and turned out delicious! I used grana padano for the cheese.

Balsamic Pork Chops
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

2-3 pork chops (I used center cut, boneless)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tbsp. canola oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

In a ziplock bag, combine the vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary and garlic. Shake/squeeze the bag to dissolve the brown sugar. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Place the pork chops in the bag and massage the marinade into them. Marinate the chops for 3-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400*

Heat the canola oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the pork chops (reserving the marinade) and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, until they caramelize. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes  or until pork chops reach an internal temperature of 150.

Meanwhile, add the reserved marinade and a pinch of red pepper flakes to a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil,  then reduce the heat slightly and cook until thickened (the 15 minutes the pork chops are in the oven should do it).

Brush the cooked pork chops with the marinade and serve.  

 

   

I decided to enter the Weekend Breakfast Blogging Event #12: Spice it Up!, hosted this time by The Spice Who Loved Me.

I really like the combination of oats and spices, so I assumed I would go that route. I debated on some baked oatmeal or oat muffins but ultimately landed on scones, because I had never made them before.

I looked at a few recipes until I felt comfortable creating my own (in terms of flour and baking soda ratios, etc.). Then I decided that one of my favorite things with not only scones but with spices like cinnamon and cloves is honey. So, I went with a honey-spiced oat scone. I also wanted to keep this relatively healthy which is why I used a mixture of whole wheat flour, AP flour and oats, as well as low fat buttermilk.

This makes 6-8 scones, depending on how you cut them, how big you want them, etc.

Honey-Spiced Scones

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup oats
1/8 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
a little buttermilk and sugar for topping, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a baking sheet.

Sift together whole wheat and AP flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in sugar and oats.

Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or use a food processor) until pea-sized.

Add honey. Stir in buttermilk until a dough forms (you may need a little less than 1/2 cup).

Knead dough onto a flour surface 8 or 10 times.

Roll and cut the scones any way you like (I used a biscuit cutter; you could just make a circle and cut 8 wedges out of it).

Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired.

Bake for 18 minutes or until done.

Overall I thought these tasted great, especially with some jam.  Unfortunately my scones didn't rise as much as I wanted them to. Of course, when I checked my baking powder, I realized it had expired by quite some time (that's what I get for not checking the date when I bought it).

Also, none of my pictures turned out particularly well. Sorry!

 

You know we are low on groceries when the pork chops come out. Like I said in a previous post I really am not all that crazy about pork chops. Clearly, we are in need of a trip to the grocery store :) I decided to just do a rub and grill the pork chops. To make matters even easier, I didn't even use my own rub!

This is not really much of a recipe, but I thought I would post it anyway in case people needed ideas for a quick and easy (but still flavorful) meal.

I used a jerk rub for the chops. Obviously you could make your own jerk rub but I had some leftover from a trip to St. Martin, so I decided to use it. I just patted the pork chops with a paper towel, and then rubbed the seasoning into both sides. Put them on an oil-sprayed grill, cooked till internal temp was about 140.

I also decided to make some potato/veggie skewers. These didn't turn out too visually appealing since they didn't have much color. I thought I had some grape tomatoes, but it turns out they didn't look so hot. For these, I blitzed a clove of garlic with some fresh lemon juice (about a tablespoon; lime or orange juice would work!), oil, honey (about 2 Tbsp), oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. In the meantime, I halved some baby yukon potatoes and boiled them until *just* fork tender. Tossed those with some green peppers, mushrooms and pinapple chunks into the honey mixture. Threaded them on skewers, and tossed those on the grill, too, brushing with the marinade a couple times.

 

You know, it's funny. It's like the emptier my fridge/freezer/pantry get, the more recipes I follow instead of just making up my own. You'd think it would be the other way around, but I guess I must cook with more ingredients when I'm winging it. I feel so limited in the kitchen before this move, yet I am managing to find a million and one recipes/ideas for which I have all the ingredients.

Today I made Cooking Light's Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs. I was short one ingredient, however--cider vinegar. I decided to use balsamic instead. I used bone-in thighs (still skinless) and ended up broiling them about 9 minutes per side. These were great!

We had this with grilled potatoes. I processed a clove of garlic with some salt, pepper, a little rosemary, and olive oil. Tossed the skin-on potato slices in the mixture, and grilled about 8 minutes per side.

I also sauteed some asparagus in a touch of butter, some balsamic vinegar (which I am now officially out of), garlic, salt and pepper, and a tiny bit of thyme.

The pictures didn't turn out well, but here is one of the least crappy pics. Canarygirl, will you please come take pictures for me next time? :)

 

Tonight, I tried Giada's balsamic chicken drumettes. Rather than using drumettes, I used thighs and drumsticks. The only other change I made to the recipe was to add a pinch or two of red pepper to the marinade I thickened on the stove top to give it a little kick. These were incredibly easy and very tasty.

We had it with some brown rice (really basic, just cooked in chicken broth instead of water) and some peapods I sauteed with a little oil and some toasted sesame seeds.

 

Happy New Year!

Well, like 90% of the planet, we are on a health kick. Typically we eat fairly healthy foods but we fell off (and subsequently got run over and dragged by) the wagon the last couple of months. I  haven't cooked in a long time because of the holidays/traveling and as a result my jeans are right.

So, as for tonight, one more freezer/pantry dinner before we finally get groceries. I wish I had some veggies to throw in with this, but no dice. We had sesame chicken over brown rice. I used Soy Vay teriyaki sauce, my favorite ever.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Allrecipes.

Sesame Chicken

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, divided

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 chicken breast halves, cut into bit sized chunks

1.5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce/marinade

 

In a ziplock bag, combine flour, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, 5 spice powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Add chicken pieces and shake until coated.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook through.

Add remaining sesame seeds, teriyaki and honey and stir until thickened.

 

Normally, I add vegetables to this (I like peapods and green peppers), but since we had no groceries...well, we had no groceries. If you want to do that, either cook the veggies with the chicken, or remove the chicken once cooked, add the veggies to the same skillet and cook, then re-add chicken and sauce mixture to skillet.