Simple For Recipe: May 2019

Sunday 26 May 2019

Côte de Boeuf with Chimichurri Sauce

Côte De Boeuf is a steak cut from the rib primal with the rib bone still attached but depending on where you live it will have different names. In French cuisine the same cut also with bone attached is called côte de bœuf, which translates as “beef rib”. In Australia and New Zealand a bone-in rib steak is called a "ribeye". In the USA it is known as a rib steak or cowboy steak. It delivers amazing flavour from all the marbling that runs through it, and makes an ideal sharing steak for a dinner for two. Chimichurri is mainly made from chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, chilli flakes, and red wine vinegar. It's great to use as a condiment for the meat, but can also be used as a marinade.

A bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1-2 tbsp Oregano
2 Garlic cloves
1 Shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
4 tbsp Olive oil
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tsp Red wine vinegar
25 g Butter,
1 / about 700 g Côte de Boeuf
Salt and peppers
Arugula

To make the chimichurri, blitz the parsley, oregano, garlic, shallot and chilli flakes in a food process. Add olive oil, the lemon juice, vinegar and some seasoning, and pulse to combine everything to a saucy consistency.
Take Côte de Boeuf ouf of the refrigerator 1- 2 hours before the preparation. Season steak well with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Heat the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the beef for 2 minutes on both sides then cook in the oven for 16 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve with the prepared chimichurri sauce over a bed of arugula salad.

Labels: beef

Sunday 19 May 2019

Strawberry Streusel Slices

It's a spring coffee cake with three delicious layers. On the bottom is a spelt pastry made with Quark (German fresh cheese) and olive oil, sweetened with erythritol (a sugar alcohol that has zero glycemic index and it does not increase the blood sugars), followed by a layer of fresh strawberries, then it's finished with a buttery crunchy streusel. This is an easy and delicious way to enjoy strawberry season.

Topping & Streusel	Crust with German Quark and Olive Oil
100 g Refined spelt flour 50 g Erythritol Pinch of black salt 80 g Unsalted butter, chopped 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 600 g Fresh strawberries, halved	150 g Quark (German fresh cheese) 70 ml Milk 75 ml Mild olive oil 60 g Erythritol Pinch of black salt 280 g Refined spelt flour 12 g Baking powder 3 / 9 g Strawberry flavoured tea bags 30 g Almond meal

Place spelt, erythritol and salt for the streusel together in a mixing bowl. Add in chopped butter and vanilla extract. Rub everything together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Place all the ingredients for the crust, except 30 grams of almond meal, in a mixing bowl. Beat with a handheld mixer until a smooth dough forms. Press the dough evenly into a 22x26x4cm baking pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the reserved almond meal over.
Gently press the halved strawberries into the crust and top with the prepared streusel.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the bar in the middle of hot oven for 40 minutes until nicely golden. Remove and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing into bars.

Labels: cakes, Cheese, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Sunday 12 May 2019

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Source: Happiness Is Baking: Cakes, Pies, Tarts, Muffins, Brownies, Cookies: Favorite Desserts from the Queen of Cake (Little, Brown & Company, 2019), pg. 43.
Also: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 96.

It has taken me a long time to try this wonderful recipe and it has to be one of Maida's best. Although it calls for fresh blueberries, I used frozen ones that I had in the freezer from last year. It was delicious. It is especially a wonderful treat with coffee in the morning.

A very easy recipe to put together -

Topping:

1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 oz. (1/2 stick) cup butter

Cake:

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 1 pint)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 oz. (1/2 stick) cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 cup walnuts, cut medium fine
Confectioners sugar (0ptional)

The recipe as written can be found at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

When using frozen blueberries vs. fresh, I am usually perplexed as to whether or not you try to dry them after thawing. I did put them on a paper towel and pat them lightly. I don't think that did very much and it certainly did not seem to affect the recipe. I think the best option would be to use them frozen and not let them thaw. Nevertheless, thawing did not seem to make a difference. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients on the berries and softly stir.

Make the topping by using a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Beat the butter

Add egg and beat for one minute

Add the sifted ingredients alternately with...

the milk

Add the lemon zest

Add the batter to the berries (it will be stiff)

Fold gently

Spread the batter into the prepared pan

Sprinkle the nuts on top

Add the reserved topping. Baker in 375 degree oven for 40-50 minutes until the top is brown. Let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before removing.

The recipe says this is good served either warm or cold. I tried it both ways (of course!) and it is good either way. You can sprinkle confectioners sugar on it but I did not do this.Yum

Labels: cakes

Peanut Butter Poppy Bread

It's basicall a yeast spelt loaf rolled around with a mixture of crunchy peanut butter, poppy and goji berries. The reason I used poppy seed filling was that I just had some leftover from making cookies a while ago. If you can't find poppy, just use more peanut butter or simply skip it.

Dough	Filling
180 ml Kefir, room-temperature 1 Large egg, room-temperature 60 g Butter, melted and cooled slightly 50 g Red Wheatberries, milled into flour 300 g Refined spelt flour 1/2 tsp Sea salt 1 tbsp Raw sugar 6 g Active dry yeast Egg wash 1 tbsp Sunflower seeds for the topping	100 g Crunchy peanut butter 100 g Dr. Oetker poppy filling 30 g Dried goji berries, chopped

Add keifr, egg, and melted butter to the pan of the bread machine, then flours, salt, sugar and active dry yeast. Or place them into the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
Program the machine for dough cycle, and press Start. When the cycle finishes, remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle, about 12 by 9 inches. Spread peanut butter over the dough to within one inch of the edges, then top with poppy filling and sprinkle the chopped goji berries evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly on the short side to form into a evenly shaped roll. Place the roll into a 30cm loaf pan lined with baking paper.
Cover it and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about an hour. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle the sunflower seeds over. Bake the loaf for about 28 minutes until golden brown.

Labels: bread, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Sunday 5 May 2019

Sour Cream Black Fudge Loaf Cake

Sour Cream Black Fudge Loaf Cake

Source: Happiness Is Baking: Cakes, Pies, Tarts, Muffins, Brownies, Cookies: Favorite Desserts from the Queen of Cake (Little, Brown & Company, 2019), pg. 43.

I've been looking through Maida Heatter's new book Happiness Is Baking which is a collection of her best known recipes. I have made most of them although there are still quite a number I haven't gotten to yet. One of them was this one. It is a fairly simple loaf cake with an intense chocolate flavor. It definitely needs the icing or it would be a bit bland.

Of the recipes I've have not tried yet, I am looking forward to trying the "Abby Mandel's Boule de Neige (Snowball)" and the Cranberry Upside Down Cake. I still can't believe I have not made the "Queen Mother's Cake" yet!

I was also not familiar with the "September 7th Cake" and do not recall seeing this recipe in any of my books. I may have just overlooked it. This is one of her favorites and she plans to have it on her upcoming 103rd birthday! It has to be awesome.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. dry instant coffee
1 cup boiling water
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. sweet butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Icing

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 TBS butter (room temperature)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup strained powdered sugar
1 large egg

The full instructions for the recipe can be found at Genius Kitchen.

Labels: cakes

Seedy Keto Burger Buns

These keto burger buns are nutrient-dense and delicious thanks to the almond flour, seeds, eggs and ghee. If you’re enjoying a low-carb dinner with some juicy burger patties, then these keto buns with tender crumb and crisp crust are perfect. Enjoy them fresh, warm straight out of the oven with a smear of butter. You won't be disappointed. They keep fresh for 3-5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container and freeze really well.

Dry Ingredients	Wet Ingredients
100 g Blanched almond flour 12 g Psyllium husk powder 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tbsp Black sesame seeds 1 tbsp Sunflower seeds 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt 1 tsp Garlic powder	1 Large egg 2 Medium egg whites 1 tbsp Lemon juice 3 tbsp Ghee 4 tbsp Boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wood spoon.
Slowly pour in the boiling water and continue mixing. The dough will be quite thick and expand as it absorbs the water.
Grease your hands with a bit of olive oil and shape the dough into 4 balls. Place them on the prepared baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes. Take out and let cool on a wire reach before using.

Labels: bread, Gluten Free, Keto, Nuts and Seeds

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