Anchovy Crackers with Habanero Honey and Goat Cheese

Savory crackers lightly flavored with anchovy, spicy-sweet honey and creamy goat cheese - perfect with before dinner drinks!

For the anchovy crackers:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, chilled

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

6-8 anchovies in oil, drained

1 tsp ground black pepper

Oven at 400 degrees.  Grease a baking sheet or two.  Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until it comes together into dough.  Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about twenty minutes.  Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutter, or into squares/wedges with a knife.  Place on greased baking sheets, and put in oven for 6-8 minutes, or longer, until golden around the edges.  

For the habanero honey:
1-2 habanero peppers
1 cup honey

Heat honey in a small saucepan until warm and liquid-y.  Meanwhile slice habanero pepper(s) into quarters, removing stem, and seeds if you want, I leave the seeds in.  Add as many quarters to the honey as you would like.  Eight quarters in very very very very spicy!  I only recommend it if you are sure you like spicy food, very spicy food.  I use three quarters. And it is plenty spicy for my taste. Leave the pepper quarters in the honey for a bit, the longer you leave them in the spicier it gets.  Stir and taste often.  When it is spiced enough for your liking, strain the peppers and seeds out.  Let it get to room temperature and thicken up.

To serve:


Arrange the crackers on a platter, alongside the honey and some goat cheese.  I rolled a goat cheese log in fresh cut chives, which was nice.  Habanero honey is good on lots of things - I like it in tea and on peanut butter sandwiches, but try in in place of honey anywhere you see fit!

Red Wine and Ginger Syrup (with poached pears)

Rich dark syrup with a strong wine flavor and a hint of ginger and spice.  Goes wonderful with pears.

Recipe:
1 bottle red wine (this is what your syrup will taste like, so use one you enjoy)
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh ginger, sliced
1/2 cup water
2-4 tsp ground white pepper

Boil the water with the ginger in it, after five minutes add wine, sugar and pepper and reduce heat.  Simmer until it is a medium-thin syrup, it will thicken quite a bit as it cools.  Strain out ginger.  It's done now.  Use it warm or at room temperature.

Variation with pears:

Increase water to 2 1/2 cups, add all ingredients to pot at once and also add a few peeled pears (I used the Bosc variety).  Simmer for about half an hour, turn the pears over a few times while it is simmering so they cook evenly and get pretty colored.  Remove pears.  Let the remaining liquid turn to syrup.  Remove from heat, strain out ginger.  Serve the pears with the syrup.  I like whipped cream on it.

Uses:
Over waffles (especially good with my new recipe coming soon - spicy nut waffles)
On yogurt for breakfast (good with the greek yogurt, feels like dessert for breakfast!)
In drinks (I like it in sparkling water)
As a drizzle on a plate (very pretty with a slice of chocolate cake)

And whatever else you can think of!

Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Langostino Tails

A delicious summery salad ties the sweet-tart grapefruit to the creamy avocado with a balanced cabernet sauvignon and balsamic dressing.  

For dressing:

3/4 cup cabernet sauvignon, or other red wine if you desire

1 cup olive oil

5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp honey

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp red wine vinegar

salt

pepper

Reduce wine in a saucepan until it is slightly less than half volume.  Mix 1/4 cup of the reduced wine with all other ingredients.  Shake well and chill.  

For the salad:

1 bag baby spinach leaves

1 pound langostino tails, cooked

2 ruby grapefruits

2 ripe avocados

4 green onions

Divide baby spinach onto chilled plates, I found it works well for four dinner salads or six to eight side salads.  Cube grapefruit and avocado.  Slice green onions.  Top spinach with grapefruit, avocado, langostino tails and a sprinkling of green onion.  Drizzle dressing over top, as much as you feel fit, there will probably be extra dressing.  Grind pepper overtop.  Enjoy!

Chocolate-Ginger Cupcakes with Sweet Wonton

Chocolate cupcakes filled with a dark chocolate and ginger ganache.  Topped with burnt-sugar-caramel frosting and a mango ginger wonton.

For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cream + enough hot water to make 1 cup
1 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Oven at 350 degrees. Two regular sized muffin tins, lined or greased and floured. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy (two minutes? three?). While it is beating - sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Back to the mixer, add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each until it is well mixed. Beat in the vanilla extract until just incorporated. Mix in half the flour mixture on medium speed. Then mix in the hot water/cream. Then the remaining flour mixture. Let it sit until cooled. Meanwhile pulse the chocolate chips until coarsely chopped. When the batter has cooled, stir in the chocolate. Put in muffin tins, slightly above a 1/4 cup in each. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, but a few crumbs are ok. ((if they look done but the tester comes out completely gooey, you might have stuck it through a melted chocolate morsel, so try again)) Mine took about 19-21 minutes, but all ovens are slightly different.

For the ginger ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

2-3 tbsp freshly grated ginger (to taste)

Bring cream just to a boil, pour over chocolate.  Let sit for a minute or two, then whisk until glossy and no lumps remain.   Let cool for an hour or so.  Stir in ginger.  Let cool to room temperature.  It should be spreadable.

For the buttercream:

4 tsp meringue powder
1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp warm water
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Once the sugar is dissolved, gently shake the pan over the heat until it is medium to dark amber colored, the darker it is the more smoky and burnt tasting your buttercream will be.  Remove from heat and let cool until it is not hot, but if it cools too much it could harden.  If you decide to taste it, which I advise against, it will taste awful, don't worry - your buttercream will not taste nearly that burnt.

Beat meringue powder and water until stiff peaks form.  Add sugar in a slow steam, beat until the peaks are glossy and stiff.  Add butter in 1-2 tbsp pieces.  Make sure there are no lumps before adding the next bit of butter.   Once all butter is added and it is smooth, add burnt sugar syrup until it tastes how you want it to.

For the wontons:

1 package small wonton wrappers

1-2 fresh mangos

1/2 cup diced crystalized ginger
1 egg white
oil for frying
sugar for dusting

Cut mango into small cubes, make about 1 cup or a little more.  Mix with the finely diced crystalized ginger.  Let it sit together for around an hour, keep it cool.  Take the wonton wrappers and lay six or so out on a cutting board.  Place a small mound of mango/ginger mixture in the center of each wrapper.  Fold over and seal by brushing egg white around edge and pressing.  Repeat for all wonton wrappers, or as many as you'll need.  Heat the oil for frying, drop wontons in in batches of three or so.  Fry until golden brown.  Repeat for all.  When they are cool enough to touch, toss in sugar.  

Assembly:
After the cupcakes have cooled, cut a small cone shape out of the top of each. Then, cut off the bottom of the cone so you are left with a hole in the cupcake and a round "lid". Fill the hole with the cooled ganache (I piped it in). Put the lid on. Then, top with the buttercream (again, I piped it on, but with no tip on my piping bag).  Top with a cooled wonton.  Dust with gold lustre dust if you'd like.  


Finished!

Lime Cupcakes with Chile-Mango Buttercream

A yummy summer treat, cool lime cupcakes topped with a sweet and spicy buttercream, perfect with iced black tea.

For the cupcakes:

4 egg whites

4 egg yolks

2 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup lime juice

Oven at 350 degrees.  Muffin tins lined or greased and floured.  With a mixer beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.  Cream the butter and slowly add in the sugar.  While the butter and sugar are getting fluffy, sift flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.  Once the butter mixture is light, add egg yolks one at a time, beating well between additions.  Add vanilla extract to butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Add lime juice to the milk.  Using a spoon or spatula, add the flour alternating with the milk, about three additions of each.  Fold in the reserved egg whites.  Fill mini muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Bake.  Mine took about 19-21 minutes if I only had one pan in the oven at a time.  Test them often.  Cool before removing from pan.

For the buttercream:

1 cup butter, unsalted, softened

4+ cups powdered sugar

1/2 - 1 cup pureed mango

chile powder to taste

Cream the butter until fluffy, add about 1/2 cup pureed mango, beat until smooth.  Add powdered sugar gradually until you've added 3-4 cups, then add more pureed mango and the chile powder.  Add more powdered sugar until you reach a consistency you like.  If it is too thick, add some milk.  Done!

Assembly:

Frost cupcakes.  I garnished mine with lime zest and a green fondant rose.  Yay!

Banana Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream and Candied Pecans

Lightly sweet banana cupcakes with a almost smoky caramel frosting, topped with spicy candied pecans, a fall favorite.

For the cupcakes:
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, unsalted, softened
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups mashed bananas (the one with some brown spots are best)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Oven at 350 degrees.  Muffin tins lined or greased and floured.  Mix dry ingredients together.  In a large mixer, cream butter and sugar together for about three to five minutes, it should be fluffy and lightened in color.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until well-incorporated after each.  Stir together mashed banana, buttermilk, and vanilla in a bowl.  Add 1/3 flour mixture to butter mixture.  Then 1/2 banana mix.  Then 1/3 flour.  Remaining half banana next.  Finally the rest of the flour.  Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake until slightly golden on top, and a toothpick comes out clean.  About 20 minutes or so.  Cool before removing from pan so you don't squish them.

For the buttercream:
4 tsp meringue powder
1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp warm water
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Once the sugar is dissolved, gently shake the pan over the heat until it is medium to dark amber colored, the darker it is the more smoky and burnt tasting your buttercream will be.  Remove from heat and let cool until it is not hot, but if it cools too much it could harden.  If you decide to taste it, which I advise against, it will taste awful, don't worry - your buttercream will not taste nearly that burnt.

Beat meringue powder and water until stiff peaks form.  Add sugar in a slow steam, beat until the peaks are glossy and stiff.  Add butter in 1-2 tbsp pieces.  Make sure there are no lumps before adding the next bit of butter.   Once all butter is added and it is smooth, add burnt sugar syrup until it tastes how you want it to.

For candied pecans (not in the picture, but a lovely addition):


1/2 cup pecans
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground white pepper
1-3 cardamon pods or 1 tsp ground cardamon
1 tsp ground cloves
pinch of smoked paprika

Put pecans, sugar, water and spices in a saucepan.  Dissolve sugar and bring to a boil, but don't let it boil, turn down the heat and simmer for a while.  Usually about 7 minutes, but just keep an eye on them.  You will know it is done when they are nicely coated and most or all syrup is gone.  Lay them to dry on parchment paper, single layer.  Once they are cooled (completely!) check their crispness.  If you want them crisper put them in the oven for a little bit, don't let them burn though.


Assembly:


Pipe or spread buttercream, sprinkle with candied pecans, enjoy!

Coming soon...

Chocolate cupcakes filled with a dark chocolate and ginger ganache.  Topped with burnt sugar caramel frosting and a mango-ginger compote wonton.

Keep your eye out...