food – Inspiration

Creamy Potato Soup

Stokes — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 12:00:10 +0000

There is no better way to stay warm this winter than with our healthy and light recipe for creamy potato soup! Makes about 8 bowls.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 ½ onions)
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound cubed peeled baking potato (about 2)
1 pound cubed Yukon gold potato (about 4)
5 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 bay leaf
1 pound cauliflower (about 1/2 head)
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup fat-free fromage blanc (such as Vermont Creamery) or sour cream
2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

What You’ll Need

Directions

Chop the garlic and green onions, peel and cube the potatoes, cut cauliflower into florets and set aside. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to the pan and coat the bottom. Add onions, thyme, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Once the onions are tender, add potatoes, stock, ½ teaspoon salt, and the bay leaf and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce the heat and let simmer for 35 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Stir occasionally.

After 35 minutes, remove from heat and discard the bay leaf.

Directions Cauliflower * while potatoes simmer

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, cauliflower, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and coat well. Roast at 350° for 20 minutes or until browned, turning once. *Watch carefully as they burn quickly.

Place cauliflower mixture and milk in a blender or food processor. In order to allow steam to escape, remove center piece of blender lid, secure blender lid on blender, and place a clean towel over.Blend until smooth then pour the cauliflower mixture into a large bowl.

Assembly

Add half of potato mixture to blender and pulse 5 to 6 times or until coarsely chopped. Pour into thr bowl with the cauliflower mixture. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.

Place cauliflower-potato mixture in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 cup green onions, and fromage blanc. Stir until fromage blanc melts.

Top evenly with remaining green onions, cheese, and bacon.

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Suite 88: Chocolate Mousse Pecan Brittle Cake

Stokes — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 12:00:28 +0000

Suite 88’s Chocolate Mousse Pecan Brittle cake is perfect to serve at your next holiday party as it will surely impress your guests. But, be sure to make extra because one piece of this light and crunchy dessert is just not enough!

What You’ll Need

Step 1: Pecan Brittle

Ingredients

450g sugar
300g corn syrup
5g salt
100g water
200g pecans
50g butter, softened
10g baking soda
10g vanilla

Directions

Measure sugar, corn syrup, salt and water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Add pecans. Using a candy thermometer, cook to 165C.

Working quickly, add butter, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well. Pour onto a baking sheet and spread as thinly as possible. Set aside to cool.

Step 2: Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

115g softened butter
150g sugar
2 egg yolks
4g vanilla
75g flour
55g cocoa powder
5g baking powder
125g milk
2 egg whites
1g salt

Directions

Mix together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder with a whisk. Set aside. Beat butter and 100g sugar until light and fluffy then add egg yolks and vanilla

Alternating between dry mix and milk, beat into batter. Begin and end with dry mix. Whip up egg whites slowly adding the remaining 50g of sugar until firm then fold into batter.

Using a pastry bag, pipe batter into two 9” circles then Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes

Step 3: Chocolate Mouse

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
50g water
100g sugar
300g 72% chocolate
100g butter
550g whipped cream

Directions

Melt chocolate and butter, let cool.

With whisk attachment, slowly mix yolks together, while heating sugar and water to 121C. Slowly add syrup to yolks. Whisk medium high until pale yellow, cool and doubled in size.

Fold yolks into chocolate

Fold in whipped cream

Fold in chopped pecan brittle

Step 4: Assembly

Put one layer of cake into bottom of ring then add mousse to halfway and spread into sides.

Place second cake layer on top and finish with rest of mousse.

Top with roasted chopped pecans

Let it set overnight then enjoy!

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Restaurant Monsieur: Mushroom Risotto

Stokes — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 12:00:58 +0000

This week we met up with restaurant Monsieur to make Chef Kim and Vicky’s Local Wild Mushroom Risotto; the perfect comfort food to keep warm this season. This recipe is simple to make and allows you to prepare beforehand, making dinnertime a breeze.

Ingredients

5 litre vegetable stock
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Butter
1 French shallot (finely chopped)
4 branches of thyme
400g Arborio rice
2 cups of white wine
1 cup of cream
Pint mixed mushrooms (of your choice)
2 spears of asparagus
1 handful of baby spinach
½ clove of garlic
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

What You’ll Need

Directions: Preparation

Add vegetable stock to a pot and bring to it to a boil. In another pot, melt the butter and add the olive oil, shallots and thyme. Sweat it at medium heat for 8 minutes without coloring.

While you wait, chop the asparagus and mushrooms, and then set aside. After 8 minutes, add the rice and stir it well for one minute. Add the white wine and deglaze it, continue stirring until it almost reduces.

Slowly add the vegetable stock with a ladle and stir it until the water dissolves and the rice becomes translucent (aldente style), keep the leftover vegetable stock to add in later. Once dissolved and translucent, spread and lay out the rice on a baking tray to cool off.

Cooking

In a pot or pan, sauté the mushrooms with garlic, salt, and pepper. When the mushrooms are nicely colored, add the chopped asparagus and then the spinach.

Add the cooked risotto, from the baking tray, with 1 cup of vegetable stock and cream. Add Parmesan, salt and pepper and stir until the rice is creamy but firm. You can add more vegetable stock if you need based on taste.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese and micro flowers or greens.

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Spooktacular Healthy Halloween Treats

Stokes — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 11:00:30 +0000

Happy Halloween! The night we’ve been waiting for all October is finally here! It’s time to dress up, watch our favorite scary movie and eat candy all night long. Before indulging in our sweet tooth, try these spookily healthy Halloween treats even the kids will be sure to love!

What You’ll Need

Apple Bites: 1 Apple makes 4 treats!

Apples
Almond Slivers/ sunflower seeds
(Option: Peanut Butter/ Jam/ Strawberry)

Directions

Core and quarter the apples then carefully cut the middle of the quarters to create the opening for the mouth. Place slivered almonds/ sunflower seeds into apples as teeth.

Variations: You can add peanut butter inside for added protein, jam for added gooeyness and a sliced strawberry for a tongue.

Banana Ghosts: (serves 4)

This one is very easy no skills are necessary and it’s a great healthy snack before all those sweets are collected.

4 Bananas
24 Chocolate Chips (can get regular size or mini)

Directions

Peel bananas and cut them in half. Place the cut side down so the banana halves stand up. Use small chocolate chips to make ghost eyes and large chocolate chips to make ghost mouths. It’s that easy!

Pizza Mummy Bites: 4 mini bites

This is the perfect lunch to get into the spirit on Halloween day.

2 English muffins (can also use mini bagels or 4 mini pitas)
¼ cup pizza sauce
2-4 stuffed green olives or pitted black olive slices
Mozzarella String Cheese

Directions

Slice and toast the English muffins/ mini bagels. Preheat oven to 350. Lay 4 muffin halves on baking sheet. Spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each muffin half. Set 2 olive slices in place for eyes on each muffin half. Pull string cheese into pieces and lay on muffins above and under “eyes”, layering them to look like mummy wrappings. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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Homemade Apple Pie

Stokes — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 14:29:48 +0000

Everybody loves pie, and what better kind than homemade apple pie for fall! Not only is it a delicious treat, but it gives us the perfect excuse to enjoy our favorite fall activity; apple picking. It’s a great way to enjoy the fresh fall weather, get our apples for pie, and spend quality time with family, friends, and even the dog!

Ingredients Filling

6 cups peeled and sliced mixed apples (such as Mutsu, Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Honey Crisp, Cortland or others) – about 5 medium apples
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp rolled oats
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 egg mixed with 2 Tbsp water, for brushing
sugar and cinnamon, for sprinkling

Ingredients Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (plus extra for rolling)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup cool water
2 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice

What You’ll Need

Directions: Dough

*Dough can be made up to 2 days before and stored chilled, or can be frozen up to 3 months then thaw in the fridge before rolling.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and oil in an electric mixer and blend until the flour looks evenly crumbly in texture. Add butter to the mixture and blend until rough and crumbly but small pieces of butter are still visible. Then stir in water and vinegar/ or lemon juice. Mix until the dough comes together then shape the dough into 2 disks, wrap and chill them until firm (at least an hour).

Directions: Filling

Peel, core and slice the apples. Once all apples are sliced, preheat the oven to 400 F. While oven is preheating, toss sliced apples with lemon juice. Place half the apples in a large pot and heat over medium heat (until the juices cook out and the apples soften – about 10 minutes). Once soft, remove the apples using a slotted spoon

In one bowl, stir cooked with uncooked apples to let cool down the cooked apples.In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and add it to the apples, stir it, then set aside.

Remove dough from fridge and let sit for 15-30 minutes before rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough to just less than a ¼ inch thick.

Lightly dust the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate with flour and line the plate with the dough then sprinkle oats on the bottom of the shell to help absorb excess juice.

Once your pie crust is made, spoon the apple filling into the shell then roll out the second piece of dough to the same thickness and place over the apples. Trim the excess dough and pinch the edges of crust together – creating a fluted edge. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash.

Mix a little bit of cinnamon and sugar together to sprinkle on top. With scissors, snip the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes at 400 F. After, reduce the heat to 375 F and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes (until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool the pie for 2 hours before slicing to serve.

Enjoy!

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