Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Tupelo Honey Cafe: Blueberry Chipotle Flank Steak (not suitable for Vegetarians)



Zok altered this recipe by using just dried chipotle peppers, not canned ones that were in adobo sauce as called for in the recipe book.  We would have had to make the sauce ourselves and we didn't have the time.  However, peppers in adobo sauce is now on our preserves list so we will feature it sometime next month when we are back in Australia.

I am going to write up the recipe as Zok made it. This is a two-part recipe
This is for two servings but you could use the same amount with a 2 pound or about a kilo to serve four people.

2 chipotle peppers diced (seeds and all)
3/4 cup blueberry jam (we had to use store bought)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbl. olive oil
1/4 cup honey 
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tsp. salt
a single slice one pound flank steak (1/2 kilo)

Combine the peppers, jam, vinegar, olive oil, honey, molasses, and salt in a bolw and comine well.
Pour this marinade into a sealable plastic bad and add the flank steak to the bag. Seal and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 48 hours. (It is recommended to turn the meat occasionally) Zok did a 24 hour marinade, as this was a test rust of the recipe just for himself.

When you've marinated the meat for the amount of time you choose, remove the meat but keep the marinade mixture for the glaze (below).

Grill your meat over medium-high heat for ten minutes per side (Zok says the time is the same for a steak- so 8 minutes is on the rare side- 12 would be medium- 14 for well done)
Slice your meat across the grain and drizzle with the glaze and serve.


Blueberry Chipotle Glaze

2 cups reserved blueberry chipotle marinade (see above)
1/2 cup apple juice (Zok used organic-100% apple juice)
1 tbl. all-purpose flour
1 tbl. milk

Combine your marinade, apple juice into a small pot and bring them to a boil.
In a small bowl, whisk together your flour and milk, and then whisk this into the hot glaze.  Simmer the complete mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently

*Zok made this here in Sweden during winter, but the recipe book recommends and Zok enthusiastically agrees that this is a BBQ grilling recipe.
As an Aussie he would like it noted he means to say on a real outdoor gas BBQ, not a Swedish one use, and only charcoal if you are familiar with grilling. 

**Zok decided he would reduce the amount of cider vinegar by 1/2.  





Monday, December 29, 2014

Gingerbread (Pepparkakor) Pancakes




I am a fan of eating pancakes plain, which is one reason I love these so much.
They have a lot of flavor without putting anything on top.
This was my choice for Christmas morning breakfast.

3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. of baking soda
1 tablespoon of baking powder
 1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger spice (we used dried/powdered)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves (we used cloves that were already ground)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (freshly grated)

3 cups buttermilk (kärnmjölk)
3 eggs (at room temperature)
1/3 cup of molasses (you could probably substitute treacle but as we are in Europe we are using molasses)

Whisk all your dry ingredients together, well, in a large bowl
 Then, whisk into the mixture your eggs and molasses-
Let the whole mixture rest for about 15 minutes, you should see the mixture bubbling a bit which means the batter is aerated and ready to cook.

*Zok says if you can't find buttermilk you can add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice for each cup of whole milk.


The second photo is just a close up of the bubbles you want to see before cooking.

 
 Here is a photo of the buttermilk.
 

 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Tupelo Honey Cafe: Baked Walnut-Stuffed Apples (gluten free optional)



I voted for this recipe because at xmas time I feel like there are a lot of candy treats around, so a nice baked apple with nuts for protein feels healthy.

2 cups walnuts (a cup is 240 milliliters)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbl. all-purpose flour (Zok substituted corn starch as we went gluten free)
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 tbls. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. found cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 salt
4 large Granny Smith apples

(you can optionally add ice cream when you serve these)

Preheat your oven to 350 f (175 c) and position the rack in the upper third of the oven.

Place walnuts, brown sugar, and flour (or corn starch) in a food processor and process until the walnuts are coarsely chopped, 5 -6 seconds.
Add in your butter, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Cover and pulse for 4 to 5 seconds, until the mixture clumps together.

Remove the stems from the apples and then cut them into halves - lengthwise.
Use  a spoon to core out the seeds.  Brush the cut surfaces of the apples with the remaining lemon juice. (this prevents browning).
Place your apple halves, with the cut side up , in a glass baking dish.
Spoon the walnut filling into each apple half, dividing it evenly and packing the filling with the back of a spoon.
Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes until the apples are tender.
Serve them warm - with ice-cream if desired.





Tupelo Honey Cafe: Sweet Potato Coconut Bisque, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluton Free





Sweet potatoes are a vegetable that I think I should like, but when face to face with say 'mashed' sweet potatoes I don't get past a few bites.
However, I love this soup.

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
4 cups plus 4 1/2 tsps water
1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (our can was 12 oz)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. honey (of course the book calls for tupelo honey but if you live in Australia, you will have a hard time finding that and besides we say 'go local!'.)
2 1/2 tsp. sea salt (we use Murray River salt)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (we used a wee bit of nutmeg/cloves)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (you could use just paprika if you are adverse to the spice level of cayenne)

In a large saucepan (if you really get into soups, and stews like chili, a good investment is a cast iron/ceramic coated saucepan- larger is always better because everything has room to cook evenly).
combine the sweet potatoes and 4 cups of water over high heat, bring this to a boil, and boil for about 20 minutes, or until your potatoes are tender.
Then reduce your heat  to medium and then using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in your pot.
Now, add in the coconut milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, salt and spices and lastly your ground pepper.
Stir and simmer this for about 15 minutes or until you notice the soup thickening.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and the remaining 4 1/2 tsp. of water to form a thick paste.
Add this mixture and your cayenne pepper to the soup and reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes longer (or until the soup coats the back of a spoon).
Now use a hand held mixture to puree the soup (while it is still in the pot) to a smooth consistency.
(You could also in small batches transfer the soup to a stand mixer or processor).

Now your soup is ready to serve!

 

Tupelo Cafe: Nutty Fried Chicken (gluten free optional)




Zok loves a recipe that calls for 'buttermilk'.  If you want any frying tips please look at the fried chicken blog entry here:

Zok said that this recipe is not like the southern fried chicken in taste- although the process is similar.  This time he sort of 'filleted' or cut each chicken breast, so that it was smaller and therefore easier to cook all the way through. An added bonus of these smaller cuts was as our guest Sofia mentioned "gives a better chicken to tasty coating ratio."

6 (6-ounce/250 grams) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups buttermilk (300 ml)

2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 cups roasted and salted mixed nuts

2 cups canola oil

Marinate the chicken in  the buttermilk in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (Zok marinated his for 3 hours but only because our building lost power for two hours...he does think that it is worth it to do an overnight marinate if you want to make sure your chicken is moist).

Combine the bread crumbs (Zok used gluten free store bought bread crumbs)
and nuts in a food processor and grind until fine.  In a cast-iron skillet, heat your oil to 325 f. (Zok says if you cast in a pinch of your nut/bread crumb mixture and it sizzles then you know its ready.
Take your chicken pieces and one by one dredge them through the mixture to coat them well  and then fry each piece for about 4-5 minutes on each side- this should give you a golden brown color (Zok let his go a bit longer- he says its all individual choice).
Use paper towels to drain the oil by putting each piece on the towels  as you cook, this gets rid of excess oil.

This recipe is meant to go with milk gravy and mashed sweet potatoes.
All meat eaters heartily approved of this combination.