I can't claim credit for this Limoncello but it does rock the house down.

I can't claim this recipe as my own. What I do with it however is my own more or less. The recipe comes from celebrity chef Mario Batali and it can be found HERE.

So what have I done with it other than serve it straight up over ice as an apertif? A few things actually.

A trick or two...don't use plastic in the process of making the recipe. The lemon oils with the help of the vodka will permeate the plastic and ruin it for anything else. Learned this the hard way so pay heed to this little warning. Storing the final product I found that using the Efferve stoppered bottles makes for a tight seal as well nice presentation. (I'm totally fond of the Efferve lemonade and blood orangeade so having empty bottles around is not an issue...rather than recycle I reuse this time around).

Limoncello marinated fruit is awesome over icecream or pound cake. Take strawberries, peaches and whatever other fruit you like that is in season and cut up into bite sized pieces in a bowl. I use a ratio of about 1 part limoncello to 4 parts cut fruit. Let it marinate overnight or at least 6 hours for all of that boozy lemony goodness to soak into the fruit before serving.

Limoncello cocktails...light and refreshing. Use equal parts club soda and limoncello over ice and a sprig of mint.

Limoncello cake....make your basic yellow cake. When done baking and cooled to room temp remove the cake from the pan. On a wire rack place cake, poke it with a cake tester (toothpick will work too) all over the top. Carefully and slowly pour 1/4c limoncello over each layer of cake.

Take the cake layers and frost as usual. (I haven't made a limoncello glaze yet but imagine it can be done and its on my test agenda to take the lemon taste up one more level).

I

Mocha Cheesecake - or mini cheesecakes of you like

Cheesecake is really not that hard to make, this version falls into the stupid easy category. Why? I use eagle brand sweetened condensed milk rather than sugar as it yields a creamier texture without as much work trying to cream it all. All the sweetness without the risk of a grainy cheesecake.

A secret to keep the large cakes from cracking too much is to add 1 tablespoon of corn starch to the batter. The starch blends nicely with the fats in the cream cheese and creates just enough stabilization to keep the cake from cracking too badly in the center.

Melting the chocolate can be as easy as using a double boiler or if in a hurry a microwave. If using microwave heat on high for only 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each micro-blast. This will keep the chocolate for scorching. Total microwave time in a 1200 watt unit worked out to be about 30 seconds.

Mocha Cheesecake

• 1 pkg graham crackers (8 crackers)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/3 c melted butter
• 
  
• Filling
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
• 2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 T instant coffee
• 1 T corn starch
• 
  
• Ganache
• 9 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 C heavy whipping cream

Combine crackers and sugar in food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Pulse in melted butter until evenly blended. Press into 9 inch spring form pan.

Combine cream cheese, coffee, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Let sit about an hour until it comes to room temperature. In mixer beat until creamy and fluffy. Beat in corn starch. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended.

Add the filling to the spring form pan. Put in preheated 300F oven and bake for about 65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and then chill in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Make ganache by mixing chocolate chips and whipping cream. In microwave heat 1 minute on high then stir. Give it 1 more minute on high then stir until chocolate is completely melted and incorporated into the cream. Cool to room temp then drizzle over the chilled cheesecake. (There will be leftover ganache that you can save to make truffles or even use as a frosting for cupcakes).

Mini Cheesecake variation. Line 24 cupcake pans with paper liners. Divide the graham cracker crumb mixture between all of the tins. Press lightly to compact. Divide the filling between the paper liners filling just until the top of the liner. Bake in 300F oven 25-30 minutes until the centers test clean with a toothpick. Chill and garnish with the ganache.

Yikes..Donut Summit

The usual stuff has kept me from this blog the last few weeks. Don't worry we've been eating, just not blogging a whole lot as I've not been experimenting much in the kitchen.

This weekend was the blogging.la Donut Summit in Elysian Park here in Los Angeles. It was a meet up of donut fans bringing their favorite dozen with them to share and vote to determine who makes the best in all of LA. Donut Man in Glendora won for best filled for its "Peach filled" donut, yes big chunks of fresh peaches inside a donut. Stan's in West LA Won Judges favorite with their Peanut butter filled, chocolate glazed. Newcomer to town, Babycakes won Best Overall.

More pics of the silliness in my flickr set.

Curry along sweetie the heat will get you...

Yup turns out am a fan of curry after all these years. If you like spicy Mexican of Szechuan you'll love the deep rich spicy flavor of curry. Got hooked on the stuff when I tried a recipe a few months back, since then its been experimenting with curry.

This recipe has a jumble of flavors some Thai, some classic Indian but tasty none the less. It is spicy, but I suppose you could dial it back if you want by reducing the amount of chili peppers in it.

Thai chilis are so hard to find at my local grocery but I learned on the food channel you can swap out a couple of red jalapenos for them with great success. Which is what I do, can't justify spending a ton in gas tracking down just one chili and no need since red jalapeno are so easy to find at my local groc.

I have learned the hard way that it is best to crush your cardamom seed pods and just extract the seeds for your cooking. The pod itself is way too harsh a spice and if you bite into it you've ruined your mouth for the next few bites. Seriously take the couple of seconds required to bust open the pods and extract the seeds. A little of them go a long way but at least you don't have a big nasty mouthful of pod when you toss them after a seed extraction.

Thai Chicken Curry

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken - 1" dice
• 1 bell pepper coarse diced
• 2 red minced
• 1 onion coarse diced
• 1 bunch spring onion, diced, green tops reserved.
• 1 T garlic
• 1T olive oil
• 1 T sesame oil
• 4 cardamom seed pod crushed and seeds removed
• 2 T curry powder
• 1 T cumin
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 c water
• 2 T peanut butter
• Chopped cilantro
• green onion tops
• salt to taste.

Heat oil over medium high flame until shimmering. Add the diced vegetables and stir fry until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from pan. Add chicken, curry powder, cumin and cardamom seeds and stir fry until well browned.

Return veggies to pan. Add coconut milk, water, soy sauce, fish sauce and peanut butter, stir until smooth. Test for salt and add some if needed. Bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Serve over rice with a sprinkle of green onion tops and cilantro.

Cherry Preserves

Its that time of year. Fresh fruit galore is in season and I have once again bought more than we can eat...but who can resist all of the goodies rolling in? I bought cherries the other day and haven't touched them as there were other things too good to pass up for snacking. Fortunately they didn't "go bad" so I decided to turn them into preserves this morning.

Thank gawd I paid attention to my Mom and grandmothers making preserves over the years. I tend to go with the high sugar and no pectin way whenever I can. Not that pectin is bad for you, its just that its just not a pantry item I stock and don't feel like running out to the store for just that one item...so its pectic free for me when I impulsively decide to make some preserves. Yes, you do cook a bit longer to get a gel but its still just as flavorful with the right consistency in the end.

Of course it means I got to use a new toy today. I picked up, on sale no less, a cherry pitter at Sur La Table the other day and this was the perfect excuse to break it out. Love cooking with cherries, just hated the old knife pitting method. This little "gun" makes it so easy just load, squeeze the trigger and out comes the pit! Worth the few bucks it cost.

Cherry Preserves

• 2 lbs pitted fresh cherries
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 c water
• juice of 1 lemon

In large, heavy (Thick bottom and side) pot add sugar and water. Bring to boil and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add cherries. With potato masher carefully mash down the fruit to release juice and break up fruit. Be careful not to over mash the fruit as you still want big chunks. Bring back to boil then reduce heat to low boil. Simmer at low boil 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice. Put into hot sterile canning jar(s). Makes about 2 cups preserves.

What a low boil looks like...more than a simmer but not much.

day old baguette=croutons!

Its been a very hectic few weeks around here. So much so that I have little time for anything much less all my blogging. This morning however I have a few minutes freed up so here goes...

What does one do with a day old baguette that is starting to get just a little too hard? Make croutons off course. Using the microwave takes something that is easy into the fast and stupid easy. Plus you get that half eaten bread off your counter and use it for something other than feeding the black trash can instead of becoming a biology experiment.

Easy Croutons

• day old baguette (or any bread)
• dried parsley
• garlic powder
• cooking oil spray (I use olive oil kind for this)

Cut bread into 1/2" cubes. Spritz cubes and toss several times until all are lightly coated. Sprinkle on parsley and garlic to taste. Toss to evenly distribute. Microwave 5-7 minutes tossing at 2 minute intervals to evenly brown them up.

Quinoa and veggies

Believe it or not sometimes the ancient grains and food stuff are the best for us. Take Quinoa (pronounced Kin-wa) that originated in South America eons ago and has been adopted by us 21st century folks. Its very high in proteins and essential amino acids yet is easy to prepare and is a great flavor transporter.

Quinoa cooks up fast. Use a 2 part liquid to 1 part quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes and voila it is ready.

I like it mixed with a huge veggie saute as a side with my main protein to help get my diet better balanced and live in a healthier way.

Quinoa Vegetable Saute

• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 C quinoa
• 1 bell pepper coarsely chopped
• 1 onion coarsely chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced
• 1 zucchini halved and sliced
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Combine your chicken broth and quinoa to sauce pan and bring to simmer. Simmer covered 15 minutes. Turn off heat and keep it covered until needed.

Coat a large skillet with olive oil. Add mushrooms and pepper to taste. Saute over medium high heat until mushrooms start to brown. Add bell pepper, zucchini, onion and salt to taste. Saute until onion is translucent and the pepper and zucchini have begun to brown...about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into cooked quinoa. Serve warm as side to meat, chicken or fish.