Cafe World Challenge Week 26

I made two more dishes this week. I started with Corn dogs, which I just don't eat or for that matter allow my kids to eat. So I had to get creative to make something I would put in my mouth. While I'm typing I waiting for my Sorbet to finish making. I bought a new little toy....an ice cream machine. Actually after getting home I realised it was a "Soft Serve" ice cream machine, so hopefully it works for the sorbet. It was a choice between this cute little maker for $40 or the MUCH bigger Cuisinart all purpose maker for $100. I know I'm cheap, but I also just don't have the space for the big one. At least the little bowls for my model fit in my freezer without me having to completely empty it and I can store the lid/motor/paddles in the space I have available.




Corndog

I spent most of my life never having heard of this fast food option. It simply doesn't exist in South Africa where I grew up. So I naturally had to try when I encountered this thing when I moved to North America. I wasn't impressed!!! It was heartburn on a stick!! For my readers in other parts of the world who likewise know nothing of this, check out the wikipedia entry that will fill you in. It is basically a frankfurter/wiener/Vienna sausage encased in a corn batter and deep fried. Since I had to make this at some stage for the challenge, I thought about what exactly I didn't like about the corn dogs. Firstly I hate deep frying foods, so I would not do that, I also don't like the spongy consistency of the corndogs or they usually use those red sausages that have a more fake flavour. So after some research I found a kids cookbook at the library that had a recipe for Corn Doggies and this was perfect, they use pie crust mix and corn meal with a bit of chili powder and these are baked, not fried, healthier and they were crispy, so I actually liked them. I used the smoked wieners too, so it tasted very much better than those I'd eaten before.



Sirius Sorbet

This dish was part of the Alien theme, so it has some fantasy components. According to Cafe World the steps were: Dust Stars, Gather Plasma, Refine Light, Condensing Nebulae, Pureeing Stardust and Freezing Plasma. Which evokes some really cool images, but alas not practical for the kitchen. I was just going to flip through a few cookbooks and find a recipe for some refreshing sorbet, which would be great in this HOT weather. I was uninspired by the options in many of the books, but picked up SAHA, a cookbook I got for Mother's Day and haven't made anything yet. Check out this previous post to see the book. It has an entire chapter dedicated to ice creams and sorbets. So I started having silly thoughts rather cornier than my corndogs, and figured that Alien can mean Foreign, so if I made the Lebanese Lemonade Sorbet, it would fit the theme?? It works for me.

I love all things lemon, so this sorbet would be perfectly refreshing and delicious.

An adaptation of the recipe from the book (as well as a few others)can be found on The Stone Soup Blog, scroll right to the bottom for the sorbet recipe.

I had to wait a few days to be able to make this one as the store had these pitiful-looking lemons, not good enough for my needs. Eventually I went in and found these beautiful big yellow darlings. I bought the 10 required for the recipe and when I started cleaning and preparing them, the little sticker told me...grown in South Africa. Awesome, way to go homeland!!! So I couldn't resist taking a photo.


After using the ice cream maker, I wish I'd gotten a different one, it just makes 1 or 2 person servings at a time. I have two bowls, but they have to get frozen again before I can make some more. That sucks. So I will keep the lemonade mix in the fridge and make the sorbet as I want it. Luckily it only takes 10 minutes to make a batch.

Excuse the sorbet pic below....I got distracted by kiddie needs and my sorbet started melting before I could get a shot, but you get the idea!!



Cookbook Additions

Ranch Beans have been included for the Wild West theme and I've completed a new team catering challenge and unlocked the Birthday Cupcakes, bad timing I could have made them two weeks ago for mine.

Up Next: Shrimp Cocktail, but not North American style...

Progress: 50/78 (that looks good only 18 more)

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Cafe World Challenge Week 21

I had bumper week with three recipes completed. It was almost four, I wanted to make a fruit salad, but every time I opened the fridge or looked in the fruit bowl my supply had been obliterated. I suppose I shouldn't complain that my family likes fruit.

So recipes this week were for Super Sliders, Spicy Devil Eggs and Ice Cream Sundae using homemade ice cream.




Super Sliders

If you live in Canada, you can find the cute little sliders buns and burgers at Presidents Choice stores.
I really love their brand and am always impressed with the PC products.

This dish seems to disappear and return in the Cafe World Cookbook. I'll included it, it was in the cookbook when I made it over the weekend and its gone again now.

I used the PC slider buns and burgers with lettuce and cheddar cheese. I added a dollop of my homemade tomato sauce, which made them delish. So I'll share that recipe quickly. I use it with pasta, mixed with veg or on top of fish. I made a big batch and it is always a crowd pleaser and super simple.

Versatile Tomato Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 tomatoes chopped
1 tsp salt
Dried herbs to taste.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 10 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes, salt and herbs and cook until tomatoes break down and sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.

I used a marinara herb blend this time, but like basil or oregano too. I've also added fresh basil when I make a smaller batch that will get used up in one meal.



Spicy Devil Eggs

I translated this as Devilled Eggs, which I love. I make these every month or two, usually as a lunch or as part of a casual family dinner. They are also great for pot luck. I made mine with diced deli meat that was in the fridge and added some pickles too. Its so simple you just make hard boiled eggs, scoop out the yolk, mix with mayo and Dijon mustard and anything else that tickles your fancy and pipe into the egg white halves. I use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off for my piping.
I found this recipe that seems to resemble my eggs I made for a lunch with the kids. I forgot I was sharing these with you all, else I would've made them prettier, Sorry!!!!



Ice Cream Sundae

The showpiece for this week, my homemade ice cream. I like making ice cream if I can play with the flavours and make something you can't get in the store. This time I made a Praline ice cream. It should have been praline and ice wine, but I didn't add enough ice wine to affect the flavour. It was an ice wine and brandy blend that I thought would be good. I made the sundae with dark chocolate dessert topping and sprinkled with praline mixed nuts.

Praline Ice Cream

Praline:

Use equal weights of chopped blanched almonds and sugar
I had 120 g of nuts so I used 120 g of sugar
lemon juice

Heat sugar and some lemon juice in a small saucepan until the mixture develops a deep caramel colour. Add the almonds and stir until they are browned. Pour the mixture onto a greased baking sheet (I used a thin layer of oil) and allow to cool. When cold and brittle, grind up with a mortar and pestle or bash into smaller pieces using whatever implements you have on hand.

Ice cream:

500 ml milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 egg, beaten
800ml whipping/double cream
5 ml vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
prepared praline
liqueur or brandy to taste (optional)

Heat the milk in a saucepan. Combine the sugar and cornflour and add to the milk, stirring constantly.
Boil, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool slightly. Carefully add the egg while whisking constantly. Add the salt and praline.
Cool the mixture completely and stir in 500 ml of the cream and the vanilla. Place the ice cream in the freezer to start freezing. After about 30 minutes to 1 hour, remove the ice cream and break up any ice crystals with a fork. Stiffly whip the remaining 300 ml of cream and fold into the ice cream with the liqueur, if using. Freeze again until stiff.






Cafe World Cookbook

It seems they added Escargot right at the back last week and I didn't notice it. This will be made for hubbie, don't think I'd want some...or they could remove it before I ever have to consider it. HINT, HINT!!!!!

Up Next: My beef will be done corning, I'll cook that up and hopefully make some fresh healthy fruit salad to offset those unhealthy jelly donuts.

Progress: 42/74

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 17

I had a more productive week, finishing 3 more dishes. I would have done four, but had a last minute visitor the night I wanted to do lobster, so I will try and do it this weekend.
I think I must give my hubbie some royal treatment with lobster, before he attends the Official Dinner with The Queen on Monday, he's among the group of servicemen (and women) being honoured for their service in Afghanistan. I'm very proud of my Navy man.

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers...hope you all had a fun and relaxing day yesterday. To my friends south of the border, Happy Independence Day also.












Herbed Halibut

Lets start by saying that wow, Halibut is expensive. I haven't bought any in a while and forked out $31 for the two pieces. So this recipe would work with any fish. I actually used a similar technique in this previous post. I love making fish in a foil package in the oven. You're basically steaming the fish and you can add all sorts of lovely flavours. It's healthy too, as you're not frying or breading.

Recipe

2 large halibut or other fish fillets
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine
3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, chive and dill)
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, sliced

Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F
Brush fish with the olive oil.
Put the fish on a sheet of aluminum foil.
Cover fillets with remaining ingredients and surround with lemon slices.
Fold over foil and seal to form a parcel. Bake until fish is no longer glossy and flakes easily.



Falafel

For those who haven't had this before, it is a Middle Eastern fried ball made from ground chickpeas.

I've made them often, but found a dry "falafel mix" which you just add water to and fry, it was really easy. The falafels batter recipes I've used before are often too liquid and didn't work well. So I experimented a little and came up with a recipe that seems to work.

I like serving mine in a wholewheat pita bread with hummus or tahini and sometimes add tabbouleh. I mentioned my problems with salsa in my last post, well I have the same issue with hummus. I had 3 half used containers in my fridge and just loaded my pita with hummus and falafel, I know a chickpea overload, but a delicious one.

Recipe

540 ml (19oz) can of chickpeas, drained
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp fresh coriander
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 pinch cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Shape into small balls. Deep-fry for about 3 minutes or brush with olive oil and bake at 350F/180C for 15 minutes.

I used both cooking methods in my experiment, in the photo below you can see that the upper falafel were fried and the lower ones were baked. I'm not a fan of excess oiliness, so I preferred the baked version, but traditionally they are fried.








Chocolate Cream Pie

I admit, the above heading should be in air quotes. The version I made didn't have real cream or possibly even real chocolate (you never know). I completely buckled to consumerism and made Cool Whip Pudding Pie.
I re-organized my baking supplies and had a box of Oreo crumbs make its way to the front and this recipe is on the box staring at me every time I open the cupboard. So what the hell, its close isn't it? For now I'll count it, I might make a real version at another time and I'll post the pic. For what its worth, it was okay, but not as good as the real thing.



Up next: I'm hoping I can finally get my lobster done

Progress: 35/70, halfway, for now at least.

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 15

I managed two dishes this week, something spicy and something sweet.

Although there have been no more additions to the basic cookbook this week, Cafe World has introduced an Advanced Cookbook for level 75 and up, but since I'm not at that level yet in the game I won't include them in the challenge....yet. I did take a glance on another website and there are only 4 dishes at the moment, Chicken Vindaloo (a HOT favourite), Osso Bucco, Confit de Canard and Kabayaki.






Lavish Lamb Curry

The Cafe World version had yogurt and uses ground lamb. I thought I'd use what I had at home and made a version of Lamb Madras instead. It is usually red in colour with lots of chili powder. You can change the amount of fresh chili and/ or chili powder used depending on the spiciness you prefer. If you want it hotter, keep the chili seeds in, otherwise remove them as most of the heat is in the seeds.

Lamb Madras

2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
red chillies (I used 1/2 fresh, hot chili deseeded)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 lb lamb (1 kg), cubed
sprigs of cilantro
large can tomatoes 28 oz (796 ml)
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the lamb and cook until it is browned. Set aside.
Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until translucent.
Add the garlic, chili powder, garam masala, red chillies and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the meat to the tomato mixture and cook for 30 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt. Serve with rice and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

This recipe was enough for us for two nights, so it would probably serve 4 people.




Delicious Chocolate Cake

Cherries were on sale this week and my big bag at home inspired me to make Black Forest Cake. It isn't the cake that Cafe World meant to be served, but it is chocolate, it is cake and boy is it delicious. If you want a really decadent Chocolate Cake I recommend using Martha Stewart's Moist Devil's Food Cake and be sure to use the frosting recipe too, it is too die for.

Another great recipe I've used is this one from a previous post.

I used the following chocolate cake recipe for mine, but use any chocolate cake recipe you like and then follow the construction steps, also the amount of cream etc you'll need will depend on the number of layers you make. This time I made just 2 layers, since I cut my first layer skew, but three layers is great.

Black Forest Cake

200g/ 7oz plain chocolate broken into squares
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs separated
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
3 tbsp Kirsch
2/3 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup ground almonds

Filling & topping:
Plain chocolate
3 tbsp Kirsch
425g/15 oz can stoned black cherries, drained with juiced reserved
2 cups whipping cream/ double cream, whipped
fresh cherries with stalks

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F. Grease or line with parchment paper, a 20 cm/ 8in round cake tin.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, keep stirring to mix. Remove from heat and leave until barely warm.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until thickened. Add chocolate mixture and the Kirsch. Fold in the flour and almonds. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold into the mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until firm to touch.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out let cool on a wire rack. Use a long serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into even layers.

Construction:
Mix the Kirsch with 6 tbsp of the reserved cherry juice. Place the bottom cake layer on your serving plate and sprinkle with 3 tbsp of the Kirsch syrup.
Spread cream over the sponge layer and scatter with the canned cherries. Place the next sponge layer on top and repeat adding kirsch syrup, cream and cherries until top sponge layer is added. Sprinkle top with kirsch syrup and top with cream. Use a potato peeler to make chocolate curls and sprinkle over top of cake. Top with fresh cherries.

Store any leftover cake in the fridge, since there is lots of cream involved and if you cannot find Kirsch, use brandy. If you don't want alcohol, you can leave it out, just drizzle the cake with the cherry juice.



Progress: 31/67

Next Up: Not sure...again.

* Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property.

Plum Almond Phyllo Tart

Monday seems to be baking day for me. I suppose I browse through recipes on a Sunday evening after a hectic weekend with the family and have a breather again on Monday with hubbie at work and James at preschool.

Today I made a plum tart recipe that I found in a Canadian Living recipe booklet. It was simple and tastes great. Served with some whipped cream, it was a perfect dessert.

Plum Almond Phyllo Tart

3 phyllo sheets
2 tbsp butter melted

Filling:
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
dash almond extract
2 tbsp flour
3 plums
3 tbsp smooth or strained apricot jam

I used a 9-inch (23cm) pie dish. Brush phyllo sheets with melted butter and fold in half cross-wise to form a crude triangle. Place each in bottom of pie dish at angles to cover the bottom. I had my triangle points falling over the sides. But you could fold them in.
Filling: Beat together almonds, sugar and butter. Beat in egg and almond extract. Stir in flour. Spread in phyllo shell. Cut plums into 8 wedges each and place on top of almond filling.
Heat baking sheet on bottom rack of 375 F (190 C) oven until hot. Place tart on sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool on rack.
Brush apricot jam over filling. Serve at room temperature.

Cafe World Challenge Week 6

I had my most productive week yet, finishing 5 dishes. A successful repeat, a Chinese New Year dish, a dessert and two chicken dishes.



French Onion Soup

I tried this one in week 2 and was disappointed by the result. I had a bag of onions to finish, so I gave it another try. I used the same recipe as before, but this time I got the onions caramelized, used commercial beef broth and added snipped chives at the end.

It worked!!! Hubbie liked it (no references to onions in water), James actually had two huge bowls and I had the leftovers the next day for lunch.

Failure is nothing but the step to success in this case.



White Radish Cake

I'd made bread the night before (see previous post) and my house smelled divine...well it pretty much reeked after this dish.

I should've looked at the steps in the Cafe World game, because it seemed that they used bacon instead of the horribly stinky dried shrimp in my recipe. I suppose using bacon is very westernized. In my post-cooking analysis I also found a vegetarian version in my Vegetarian Thai cookbook.

I used this White Radish Cake recipe. It provides great descriptions and step by step photos.

My other problem with this dish was the steaming then frying. My cake seemed like a jellied mush and getting it out the steamer and then fried was a mess.

Although I really did enjoy getting to browse through my local Asian food store, I think I'll stick to eating this in restaurants.




Triple Berry Cheesecake

The Cafe World version has only strawberries, but done three ways: sliced, diced & pureed. My version has strawberry and wildberry swirls and is topped with strawberries and raspberries.

I went to the CookingwithPhilly.ca website and scoured their abundant resource of cheesecake recipes and settled for the New York Style Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake. I've made a few of their cheesecake (and other) recipes and have always had great results. I used half strawberry and half wildberry jam for the swirls and substituted one of the three cream cheese packages with the reduced fat version.

This cheesecake didn't last long...it was a hit with the whole family. Actually I don't think I've met a cheesecake I didn't like. ;)




Spitfire Roasted Chicken

Roast chicken is a classic and I love to make different versions. I'm not sure about Spitfire Chicken, as suggested by Cafe World, it kind of has images of chickens roasting on a spit over a fire, but I decided to go classic and used lemon like the Cafe World version.

Roast Chicken Recipe

1 whole fresh chicken
1 lemon
2 sprigs rosemary or thyme
olive oil or melted butter
salt & pepper

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Prick lemon all over. I find a wooden skewer works well. Place lemon and herbs in chicken cavity and truss chicken.
I then rub the outside with the oil or butter and then season with salt and pepper.
Roast at 350F for 20 minutes per pound. I usually check the breast with a meat thermometer to make sure it's at 180F. I let it rest for 10 minutes before I carve (or I ask my husband to do it).

I added white wine to the pan drippings, let it boil and added a little flour & had an easy gravy.



Voodoo Chicken Salad

This was my delicious find of the week. I wanted to use the leftover chicken from the roast, but it seems the leftovers "disappeared" from the fridge. I did a web search for Voodoo Chicken Salad to get some ideas and found this recipe on Cooks.com.

On reading the recipe, I thought there was a lot going on with that dressing, just too many flavours, but I'll attest that it is superb. I little bit spicy and sweet. I used walnut oil instead of the sesame/olive oil in the recipe.

I'll definitely make this again....give it a try.



New Cafe World recipes

Two more dishes have been added: Vegas Buffet and Sirius Sorbet



Progress: 17/61

Up Next: Not sure, check in next week.


* Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property.

My Sweet Valentine

My husband and I don't exchange much for Valentine's Day, usually just flowers and we usually avoid the crowded restaurants. But I do try to make a nice treat each year and it usually involves decadent rich mixtures of chocolate and berries.

This year I chose a treat from Canadian Living magazine's January 2010 edition.
You can find the recipe for Black Forest Mousse Parfaits on their website.

Now how do I describe the taste sensation.....it has moist, decadent chocolate cake drizzled with a boozy cherry syrup, then a layer of white chocolate mousse with cherries mixed in. The mousse is gorgeous...another dessert on it's own.

Lets say my husband was REALLY happy about this present.

The only drawback about this recipe is time. I made it in stages, making the cake the day before and the rest a few hours before serving. The mousse also needs contant stirring and attention. In other words, lots of LOVE went into making it. But it was sooo worth it.



Since I wasn't blogging this time last year I remade last year's treat to share too. I made a chocolate mousse using marshmallows, the recipe is here.



Lastly, I couldn't forget the kids. So I made up some cookies. I made these Chocolate Coconut Chewies. They were very yummy, so lets just say they weren't just for the kids. The meringue, since it's gluten-free, adds a nice crunchy, chewy texture which combines well with the coconut.

Gingery Bread Pudding with Orange

This dessert is made in a slowcooker and comes from Judith Finlayson's book Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes.



A link to the recipe is here.

I chose this recipe because I have an abundance of bread in my house and it must be used up. I liked this particular recipe because the ginger and orange marmalade is an interesting alternative to the apricot/peach jam and raisin version that is most common.

Hubby is away on business, so I will be snuggling on my couch, having dessert and watching TV tonight. It was 12 grain bread, so not too figure unfriendly, so I will be allowed to eat it with whipped cream to balance things out ;)






Note: I'll try as far as possible to provide the actual recipes I use, but will not reprint recipes from books as I believe this is a copyright violation. If I find the recipe on another site, I'll provide the link.