Cat Food

Ahh the first warm Spring afternoon ...

Had a nice afternoon of baking for a change and finally perfected my basic biscotti recipe. I've used fresh lemon zest and rosemary here but feel free to experiment with any flavors you like. If you try the recipe shoot me a note and let me know what you came up with!
Here's the recipe as a PDF - Lemon Rosemary Biscotti

Lemon Rosemary Biscotti
Ingredients:

sugar 2/3 cup
eggs 2 large
vanilla 1 tsp.
baking powder ¾ tsp.
salt 1/8 tsp.
flour 2 cups
lemon zest 1 tsp.
rosemary (finely minced) 2 tsp.
almonds (whole, toasted) 1 cup

1 egg plus a little water mixed together for egg wash


Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. mix eggs & sugar together till thick and pale yellow
2. add vanilla, lemon zest & rosemary to eggs and sugar
3. sift dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture
4. add the almonds & mix till just well combined
5. because dough will be sticky, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about a half hour
6. roll dough into a 12 inch by 2 ½ inch log, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until firm to the touch
7. remove from oven, cool slightly and then slice into ½ thick slices
8. return slices to the oven for 10 -15 minutes until light golden brown and dry

The Eggnog Conundrum

First off - I really do like eggnog. When it first appears in the market this time of year I always buy some but after the second little cup or so I've had enough. Inevitably there's a quart of it languishing in the back of the fridge until I discover it some time in the new year. A frightening discovery that is!

Last weekend when it was bitterly cold outside I was craving pancakes like nobody's business and decided to substitute eggnog for half the milk in my usual recipe. I also kicked in a little extra nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon and a drop of vanilla and my eggnog pancakes were born. This may not be news to lots of folks but it was a revelation to me. No more scary bloated containers lurking amongst the seltzer bottles. Nope - I went through that sucker and am thinking about getting some more!

Herewith my new eggnog pancake recipe. I think it would be fantastic for waffles too but you might want to make the batter a bit thicker with some extra flour so it doesn't run out the sides of the waffle iron before it starts cooking.

Ingredients

2 eggs
5 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup eggnog
1 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Dash of vanilla
4 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp, salt

Method

1) In a small saucepan combine the milk and butter and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Remove for the heat and allow to cool.
2) In a separate bowl whisk the eggs till they are blended. When the milk mixture has cooled, whisk this into the eggs along with the eggnog and the vanilla.
3) In another bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together and then add the egg mixture to it.
4) Stir everything together till all the dry stuff is moist.
5) Heat a griddle until very hot then spray with vegetable coating. Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter for each pancake onto the griddle and allow to cook until bubbles break on the surface. Turn cakes over and cook for a minute more so the bottom is lightly browned.

Makes about 2 dozen small pancakes

Download Eggnog Pancakes printer friendly

Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

This Just In ...

"At the thought of a kedgeree made with smoked haddock and plenty of hard-boiled eggs, English eyes grow dreamy and the smell of an English country house dining room at breakfast time...comes back to tease and tantalize."

Thus wrote Elizabeth David in Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen. Our Wandering Scotsman has sent us the recipe he uses for this great UK favorite. It's traditionally eaten for breakfast but here in the states we'd probably be more interested in it come supper time.

Buttery Kedgeree
Serves 4

Ingredients
8 oz. Long-grain white rice
16 oz. hot liquid from cooking fish (see below)
1½ lb. thick smoked haddock fillets*
4 oz. Butter
1 onion, chopped
¾ tsp. hot curry powder (Madras)
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled & chopped
3 heaping Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
1) Place haddock in a sauté pan and cover with 1 pint of water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes. Drain the fish, saving the cooking liquid and keep fish warm while preparing the rice.
2) Take the same pan and sauté the onion in half the butter until softened and then add the curry powder and lightly toast.
3) Add the rice and 16 oz of the cooking liquid from the haddock to above and give it a little stir. Cover and allow it to come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes till rice is tender.
4) While rice is cooking flake the reserved haddock with a fork.
5) When rice is done add the flaked fish, eggs, parsley, lemon juice and the remaining butter.
6) Toss it all to combine and warm and tip out onto a warmed platter.

*I myself have made this dish on a number of occasions and I've been using some fantastic smoked trout that I find at Whole Foods Market instead of the haddock. It's also nice if you add a tablespoon or two of cream at the very end to give it a more luxurious sauce.

Concord Grape Jelly

I think my jelly was successful. I won't know till the jars cool and I can see if they have sealed properly but I think it all went well. That's the thing about home canning... I've done it a few times and things have always gone well but then you start to watch a show like Good Eats and it makes you feel like there's a one in a million shot that whatever you've canned will end up being safe to eat when you pull it out of the cupboard in a couple of months! Don't get me wrong, their intense attention to detail can be great if you want to know every little thing about a subject but let's face it - most of our grandmothers or great grandmothers spent the better part of their summers putting up preserves, pickles, fruits & veggies of all dimension. That was the main way they could have fruits and vegetables all year round. It's really easy to do.

That being said - here's a recipe for Concord Grape Jelly. A reader asked when concord grapes would be available and according to The Concord Grape Association these grapes are harvested in the fall between September and October. Here are a couple of great resources for everything you could want to know about the Concord grape:
The National Grape Cooperative
The Concord Magazine
The International Jelly & Preserve Association

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs. Concord grapes
½ -1 cup honey or ¾ -2 cups sugar
4 tsp. Pectin powder
4 tsp. Calcium water

Method

1) Put the rinsed grapes in a sauce pot with about a ½ cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
2) Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. You can store the puree at this point in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the jelly.
3) When you're ready and you've pre-boiled your jars and lids to make sure they're sterile, you're ready to make the jelly.
4) Pour the grape puree into a sauce pan and add the calcium water. Mix thoroughly.
5) In a separate bowl measure out your honey or sugar and add pectin powder. Mix thoroughly.
6) Bring the puree to a boil and add the sugar/pectin mixture and stir vigorously to make sure it all dissolves. Once it has returned to the boil remove from the heat.
7) Using a canning funnel (wide mouth**) fill the sterilized jars to a ½ inch from the top.
8) Screw on the two-piece lids and put the jars into a pot of boiling water to cover. Boil for 5 minutes and then remove.
9) Check the seals by pressing the center. If it pops up it didn't seal properly and you should keep it in the refrigerator and use it within three weeks. Otherwise the lids should be sucked down tight and once cool you can store them at room temperature in a dark cupboard.

Yield: 4-5 cups

As I usually make jam and not jelly I did a lot of research to find the easiest jelly recipe I could find and after a few hours on the internet I decided to use the one on the package of pectin. It's Pomona's Universal Pectin and it 100% pure citrus pectin.

**It seems that canning supplies can be hard to come by these days so if you're in the Montclair NJ vicinity you can get everything you need at American Royal Hardware at 251 Park Street - tell 'em Cat sent ya!

My Inspiration has returned!

Well - it's been a little over a week since I threw my back out and I'm just now able to sit at my desk and start writing again. Yippee!

This morning while I was doing some research on Concord Grapes I decided a hearty breakfast was in order. It was so beautiful when it came out of the oven I had to give you a peek and the recipe for this amazingly simple "pancake".

Baked Puffy Pancake
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 Tbs. butter

1) Take an 8 or 9 inch cake pan or pie plate, put the butter in the bottom of the pan and pop into the oven to melt the butter
2) In a bowl, mix the ingredients together till there are no lumps
3) Remove pan from oven and swirl the butter around the pan to coat it evenly
4) Pour the batter into the pan and put back in the oven and bake it for 15 - 20 minutes without opening the door
5) Remove pan - pancake will be huge!
6) Flip pancake out of the pan and onto a plate and top with fresh fruit - honey - maple syrup - the sky's the limit! I've used the peach and raspberry sauce from last week's demo on my pancake.

Serves 1 but the recipe can be expanded for any number of people

Coming later today ... Concord Grapes!

What a Blast!

Thanks everyone for coming out and supporting Cat Food and Barista of Bloomfield Ave. at yesterday's farmer's market. I had such a great time - I hope you all did too!

Over the next couple of weeks Cat Food will be expanding with more cooking classes - ingredient resource information - nutrition information and lots more recipes! The new segment Cat in the Kitchen that is launching at Barista will be expanded here to include NYC restaurants and tours of all kinds of food related businesses in and around the New York metro area. Check back often to get the latest scoop!

As promised - here's a recap of the recipes from yesterday's healthy breakfast demonstration. Try them with your kids and let me know what you come up with!

Mixed Fruit Granola
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Ginger
½ cup brown sugar
½-¾ cup orange or apple juice
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
½ cup coconut
Pinch of salt

1) In a saucepan warm the juice with the brown sugar and spices till the sugar melts
2) In a large bowl toss the oatmeal flakes, almonds & coconut with the sugar/juice mixture till it's all coated
3) Spread out on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 - 30 minutes till it starts to get a golden color
4) Remove from the oven and stir in the chopped fruit and let it all cool together
5) The granola will be a little sticky at first but will crisp up as it cools
6) Store in an airtight container for up to a month

Gingerbread Waffles with Warm Fruit Compote

Waffles
Makes about 5 waffles

2 cups Flour
3 tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ginger
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Cloves
½ tsp. Nutmeg
'4 Tbs. Brown sugar
1 Tbs. molasses
1 egg
¼ cup canola oil
1½ cups milk

1) Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine
2) In a separate bowl whisk the egg till it's frothy then add the brown sugar, molasses, oil & milk and mix to combine
3) Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until it's smooth
4) Pour about a half a cup of batter onto a well heated non-stick waffle iron and lightly spread it out. Bake until it's a deep golden brown for about 5 minutes. Waffle should not stick if it is completely cooked.

Fruit Compote

Use whatever is in season at the farmer's market. Chop fruit to equal about 4 or 5 cups and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 2-3 Tbs. of lemon juice over the fruit to brighten the natural flavor and add a couple of Tbs. of honey or maple syrup and a couple Tbs. of water. Toss everything together and then warm in a sauté pan till the fruit breaks down and has a sauce-like consistency. You can add additional flavoring like spices or citrus zests or vanilla extract. Be creative!

Oven Baked Veggie Frittatas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

This is a super easy way to make quick frittatas. Take whatever veggies you have in the frig - tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, etc. Dice them up to equal about 2 Tbs. per cup of a 6 cup muffin tin - give or take.

Spray or brush each cup in the tin with olive oil put about 2 Tbs. of the veggies in the bottom of each cup and pop it into the oven while you get the eggs ready. The veggies will roast quickly.

Take 6 eggs, which equals about 1 egg per cup and break them into a small bowl. Whisk them as you would when making scrambled eggs and add any flavoring you'd like. I've used fresh herbs and a little parmesan cheese here. I've also added a little milk.

Take the muffin pan out of the oven and fill each cup about half full with the egg mixture. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and pop back in the oven. Now don't open the oven door for at least 15 minutes.

The eggs are done when they're all puffed up and are golden brown on top. Take the pan out of the oven and let them cool slightly. They will fall back down - don't be alarmed!

Remove the eggs with a spatula to a plate. Now, you can either eat them plain with a garnish of more fresh herbs, salsa & a dab of sour cream or you can make a McMuffin by putting one on a toasted English muffin - add a slice of cheese and top with the other half of the English muffin.

You can make these frittatas ahead of time on the weekend and keep them in the frig for during the week. They reheat really well in the microwave on high for one minute. This is a much healthier alternative to a McDonalds Egg McMuffin and you're getting one whole serving of protein, vegetables & dairy without all of the fat.

Fruit & Yogurt Smoothies
Serves 1 person

1 banana
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, i.e. berries, peaches, pears, apples etc.
1-2 Tbs. honey
2-3 Tbs. low fat yogurt
1 cup Milk or juice
Ice

1) Place banana, fruit, honey, juice or milk & yogurt in a blender with about 1 cup of ice and blend on high till thick and creamy
2) You can add protein powder if you'd like or any number of other flavorings - ½ tsp. of cinnamon or ginger or good vanilla extract - even a couple of Tbs. of peanut butter! Garnish with a little fresh fruit and enjoy.

**To enjoy the scrumptious fruit available from the farmer's market all winter long. Wash the fruit well, chop and then spread out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the fruit is frozen transfer it to a zip lock freezer bag and pop back in the freezer. Now you can use it all winter long!