Butternut Squash Crème Brûlée

You might or might not have noticed that my last post on Thanksgiving Dinner 2010 does not have any dessert. Well, there is in fact one and I was saving this dessert as an independent post. It is not your traditional Pumpkin Pie nor a Pumpkin Rice Pudding nor a Pumpkin Cheesecake. What is "better" than these dessert? A crème brûlée. A few months ago, my Mexican friend tried to make vanilla crème brûlée, but it was not a great succes. Now, my Australian friend attempted of making one with butternut squash and I was surprised how good it tasted. I can even say that this is one of the best crème brûlée I have ever eaten. I'm so glad that he shared this recipe.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Cooling Time: at least 2 hours or overnight
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

½ butternut squash, peeled
6 egg yolks
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tbsp raw sugar + 2 tbsp white sugar

Procedure

1. Cut butternut squash in cubes. Roast in oven for 60 mins at 350F. Purée.

2. Beat egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of sugar until thick and creamy. 

3. In a saucepan, heat cream over low heat, stirring, until it almost comes to a boil.

4. Add a little of the cream to the egg mixture, whisking briskly, then pour the mixture into the hot cream and whisk. 

5. Stir mixture and spices into squash purée. Adjust spices and sweetness to taste.

6. Preheat oven to 375F.

7. Pour mixture into individual ramekins or a large oven-proof dish. Put in a baking dish or tray, with hot water halfway up the side. 

8. Bake in the water bath at 375 F for 20-30 minutes. When it's done, it should have a jelly-like jiggle when you shake the dish slightly. Cool in the water bath for about 15 minutes, then chill in the fridge at least 2 hours or overnight.

9. Before serving, combine raw sugar and white sugar and sprinkle on top. Shake to remove/redistribute excess sugar.

10. Caramelize with kitchen torch or broiler, taking care not to burn the sugar.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Finally, this is the time to enjoy great meal with great company. This year, one of my friend was lending his place to cook a full Thanksgiving meal with colleagues. As can be seen on the plate, the meal includes the traditional turkey stuffed with bread and raisin, tofurkey for the vegetarian (and non-vegetarian) and homemade cranberry sauce. We also have candied yams even though it is a dish found in American Thanksgiving. In total, we were 12 people and we had lots of leftovers at the end of the evening. Here are a couple of recipes that are not found in this blog.

For the first time, I made cranberry sauce from scratch and I was amazed how the taste differs from canned cranberries. A hint of orange juice is used instead of water.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

Makes 4 cups of sauce
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 12oz. bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, pale ones removed
1/2 cup sugar
2 oranges, juiced and zested
1 cinnamon stick

Procedure

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until cranberries burst and sauce thickens, about 15 mins. Adjust sweetness if necessary.

2. Cool and refrigerate or serve at room temperature. Remove cinnamon stick.


What can I say more about this dish, it was yummy and gooey. You can find a quick Candied Yams recipe from one of my past post. Here is a not-so-long version of candied yams. Thanks to my friend for providing pictures of his dish.

Candied Yams

Serves 12

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 40 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cups margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups marshmallows
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 13''x9'' baking pan.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and boil until slightly undercooked, about 15 mins. Drain and cool.

3. In a large saucepan, heat margarine over medium heat. Add in brown sugar, 2 cups marshmallows, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook until marshmallows are melted, stir occasionally.

4. Mash half of sweet potatoes. Stir in mashed and chunk-sized potatoes into marshmallow sauce. Pour into baking pan.

5. Bake for 15 mins. Remove from oven and cover evenly with marshmallows. Return to oven, bake until marshmallows are golden brown.

This dish is made by a Paraguayan friend. Don't get fooled by its name as it is not a soup, but a Paraguayan version of cornbread. A fun story is found on wiki where this dish is designated as a "solid soup". I think what special about this cornbread is that cheese are mixed with the batter to give a cheesy bite. I'm not sure if that is the case for other variations of cornbread.  

Sopa Paraguaya (Paraguayan Soup)

Serves 12

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Baking Time: 40 mins

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 large onions, chopped

1 tbsp salt

6 eggs

2 lb corn flour

4 cups milk

1 can corn kernels

500g mild cheese, grated (gouda, cheddar and/or ricotta)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions until soft but not brown, add a bit of water if necessary. Season with salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and mix in onions, corn flour, milk, corn kernels and cheese.

4. The mixture should be liquid. Add milk if necessary. Pour batter to a greased 13''x9'' baking pan.

5. Bake for 40 mins or until it passes the toothpick test.

Tofurkey

When I watch Thanksgiving event on Food Network, it is all about roasting or deep fried the turkey. I was shocked that there is a "turkey" version for vegetarian made out of tofu stuffed with whole wheat bread crumb and wild rice. I really enjoyed it and tasted strangely like turkey. This tofurkey is bought from the Tofurky brand.

Here is how it looks like once cooked, it resembles a lot like a roast.

This is how it looks inside when carved. If you want an alternative to turkey for the next Thanksgiving, this is it!

Finally, for the meatarians, I have to admit that this is my first attempt of roasting a turkey. It is also my first time carving a turkey. Usually, in every Thanksgiving, my mother roasts the turkey and always ended to be very juicy and flavorful. For the first time, Thanksgiving happens at my friend's place, I have to conquer the fear of roasting and carving the turkey. For a fully cooked and tasty turkey, the rule is to roast for 15 mins/pound and baste the turkey every 20 mins. This recipe is inspired from allrecipes.com. To carve the turkey or any poultry, the easiest way is to use a sharp knife and carve along the bones.

Perfect Turkey with Apple Stuffing

Preparation Time: 30 mins

Roasting Time: 3 hours for 12lb turkey
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
3-4 tbsp salt
1/2 cup butter or olive oil
1/2 cup water
Vegetables (carrots, onions, celery), cut in half or in quarters

Stuffing
4 cups sweet apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup margarine
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp zaatar
6-8 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
2 cups raisins
1 cup apple juice
2 eggs, beaten

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large skillet, sauté apples, almonds, onion and celery in margarine for 5 mins. Remove from heat. Add in salt, cinnamon and zaatar.

3. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, raisins and apple mixture. Mix in apple juice and eggs.

4. Season turkey inside and out with salt. Rub turkey with butter or olive oil. Place breast side down in a roasting pan. Use half of the stuffing and place it inside the turkey cavity. Pour water and scatter vegetables at the bottom of the roasting pan.

5. Cover with aluminium foil and roast for 3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 180F. Carefully turn the turkey breast side up at about 2/3 of its roasting time. Baste turkey every 20 mins. Let it rest for 30 mins before carving.

6. Bake remaining stuffing, covered, for 30 mins. Uncover, bake for an additional 10 mins until lightly golden brown. 

This is pretty much all of it. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bouillabaisse

The name bouillabaisse is divided into 2 French verbs : bouillir  means to boil and abaisser means to reduce, together it means to reduce by evaporation. Bouillabaisse is a fish stew which originates from the city of Marseille in France. This is also known as a fisherman's soup using the remains of the day's catch. It consists of a variety of herbs and spices mainly saffron, garlic and bay leaf as well as a variety of white fishes and seafood. You can imagine the amount of seafood flavors in this stew. It is like eating a paella where you can't stop eating until you are full. Try it out, use any seafood and white fishes and let me know the results. Bon appétit!

Serves 6-8
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 50 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
4-5 cups vegetable or fish stock
1 1/2 cup white wine
5 fresh bay leaves
1/2 tsp saffron threads
200g mussels, cleaned
250g cod, cut into 2-inch pieces
250g haddock fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 lb shrimps, peeled and deveined
100g scallops

Procedure

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cook for 5 mins. Stir in tomatoes, stock, wine, bay leaves, and saffron. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins.

2. Put in mussels in the pot. Cover bring to a boil for 4 mins.

3. Turn heat to medium-low, add in fish and cook for 3 mins. Simmer for 2 mins. Afterwards, add in scallop and shrimps until the shrimp changes colour, about 3-4 mins. Make sure that the liquid is covering the seafood, add more stock if necessary.

4. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves, and ladle into serving bowls.

Banana-Honey Cake

Sometimes, when I go to my Taiwanese friend's place to cook, he usually bake a dessert which involves the use of bananas. In the past, he made banana chocolate chip bread, moist and healthy banana muffin and strawberry banana muffins. Recently, he bought the full collection of Food Made Fast by Williams-Sonoma. These cookbooks seem to "break the routine" of buying a cookbook, try out a few recipes and put it back in the shelf. The recipes are quick and simple to follow and the results come out great. We would highly recommend it. This cake recipe is taking out from Food Made Fast: Baking. The cake turns out moist along with the crunch of walnuts and with a satisfying amount of sweetness. Try it out and you will see.

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Baking Time: 35 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
3 bananas, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8-inch square pan. Sprinkle with flour and tap off excess.

2. In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and honey, beat until smooth.

4. Combine half of the dry ingredients to the creamy mixture, beat until smooth. Afterwards, mix in the mashed bananas. Finally, blend in the remaining dry ingredients.

5. Spread batter evenly in the baking pan. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

6. Bake for 35 mins or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool completely. Serve.

Yellow Pepper and Tomato Frittata

What filling do you put in your frittata? While writing this post, I never thought of asking myself the difference between a frittata and an omelet. The difference is very small. An omelet is usually thin and ingredients are placed on top. As for frittata, the ingredients are cooked along with egg mixture. It has been more than a year since my last made frittata which is the mini prosciutto frittata. This time, leftover ingredients are used to prepare this frittata. Here, the vegetables were cooked at the same time as the egg mixture. You can also cook the vegetables first then pour in the egg mix. Personalize it to your own taste!

Serves 4-6
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 6-8 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

6 large eggs
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 medium tomato, diced
salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Beat eggs until frothy. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Pour beaten eggs into skillet. Let eggs set for 2-3 mins. Add bell peppers and tomato.

3. Let the frittata set entirely. Loosen frittata from skillet and slide it onto a plate. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Acorn Squash Raviolis

What is your favorite ravioli filling? Since my purchase of the pasta machine, I have been making taglatielle and spaghetti pasta. I went a step further and attempt making raviolis using acorn squash as a filling. It took me about an hour to get the hang of putting the right amount of filling and seal it carefully. It is not as bad as I thought and I was amazed of the final result.

Serves 4
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 25 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
2 lb acorn squash or any other squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
pasta dough
1 egg, beaten
Favorite pasta sauce

Procedure

1. Roll out the pasta dough into pasta sheets. For raviolis, make the sheets a bit thicker than usual, about the same thickness as a nickel coin. Let it dry.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil and melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook squash until soft.  Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg.

3. Purée squash with a hand mixer or blender.

4. To assemble raviolis, prepare a floured surface. Lay out pasta sheet.

5. Place teaspoons of purée on the pasta sheet, spaced about one-inch apart.

6. Brush beaten egg on pasta sheet between the mounds of purée. Cover with another sheet of pasta.

7. Use a pasta cutter or knife to cut raviolis apart.

8. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add raviolis, and cook for about 5 mins.

9. Drain with a colander and serve with your favorite pasta sauce. If you have some purée remaining, serve it as a side dish.

Tartiflette

The main dish presented with sweet mashed potatoes is tartiflette. For those who don't know, think of it like a casserole with lots of potatoes, onions, bacon, cream and a dash of white wine, topped with an entire wheel of rich and creamy cheese flowing onto the potatoes. This cheese known as reblochon has similar texture as brie but with strong and fragrant flavors. Here is the official recipe for tartiflette.

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 50 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 kg Yukon potatoes, peeled
2 cups cream 15%
1 wheel reblochon cheese
500g lardon or slab of bacon, cut into thirds
2 onions, diced
1 cup white wine

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large pot, boil potatoes in salted water, about 20 mins. Drain and let it cool. Slice potatoes.

3. Meanwhile, heat skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until soft and slightly brown. Add in onions and cook until transparent.

4. Turn heat up to high. Add in white wine and let it all evaporated.

5. Turn heat down to medium. Add in cream and stir until smooth.

6. In a 13'' x 9'' baking pan, place a layer of potatoes at the bottom, pour half of the sauce on the potatoes. Repeat this process again.

7. Cut cheese in half lengthwise. Place the cheese skin-side out on top of the potato mix so that it covers most of the surface.

8. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve.

Indian-Style Mashed Sweet Potatoes

What twist do you add to a regular mashed potatoes? This week, we had our cooking session at my Australian friend's place. His place has a large pantry of Indian spices so I wanted to make a dish with a twist of Indian flavors. A great healthy side dish is mashed sweet potatoes which go well with any rich and creamy main dish. I love dishes that every bite tastes something different, this is one of them which consists of a blend of vanilla, cinnamon, cardamon and cayenne pepper.

The main dish shown in the presentation picture will be my next recipe. Can you figure it out? Here's a hint: it is a French comfort dish from the Savoie region which involves using reblochon cheese.

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

5 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Place sweet potatoes in a large pot. Fill it up with enough water and add about 1 tbsp of salt. Boil potatoes until tender.

2. Drain, and bring back potatoes to pot. Turn heat to low until most of the water is evaporated. Add butter, milk, vanilla and honey to potatoes. Mash potatoes until all ingredients are well mixed.

3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamon and cayenne pepper.

4. Add sugar mix to potatoes until incorporated and smooth. Add salt to taste. Serve.