Orange Cleopatra

 

I am pretty sure the only time I've stepped foot in a mall in the last 15 or so years was on my last birthday where a good friend took me out to a fancy schmancy dinner to celebrate, it just happened to be in the forum shops of Caesar's Palace.  I did spend quite a bit of time in malls when I was in high school and I really miss the food court, not the throngs of people and expensive clothes and those perfume ladies who you'd basically have to bob and weave just to get out unscathed and un-fragranced.  

So back to my story, I loved hot dog on a stick (I totally just found out that there are two stand alone hot dog on a sticks complete with drive to in Vegas now!  Color me tickled.  I also loved those giant pretzels slathered in butter and salt.  But most of all I love love loved Orange Julius!  So after a bit of tinkering I've found a recipe that just about fills the bill. So here it is ladies and jellyspoons, my version of the Orange Julius drink, the Orange Cleopatra..

Orange Cleopatra

Ingredients 

2 eggs*, separated (you only need the whites, use the yolks for pasta carbonara for dinner)

1-1/4 cups orange juice, freshly squeezed is best, but use the best OJ you can afford)

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp honey

Pinch of salt 

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Three large handfuls of ice (more or less depending on the texture you prefer

Directions

Add all the ingredients into a blender and zizz it (technical term) till no more chunks of ice remain, test for sweetness and adjust if necessary, serve immediately.  (Yes that is a mason jar with a sippy cup and straw attachment, super cute huh?)

*Use raw egg whites at your own risk, see tips below for substitution ideas.

** A Few Wee Tips:

~ If using raw egg whites bothers you pasteurized egg whites, egg white substitute or meringue power may be used.  I have a vanilla meringue powder I got from Williams-Sonoma which is so delicious in this recipe!

 

~ I have used flavored orange juices with great success in this recipe.  My favorites so far are Orange Pineapple and Orange Mango...yuuuum!

~ For a creamier drink, substitute milk for the water or add a spoonful or two of cream or half and half.

I will be posting my carbonara recipe soon, to use up all the egg yolks :). Enjoy!

Fit for a Queen (or Domestic Goddess) Scones

I have been lucky enough to have friends from all corners of the world.  One of the many perks is to be able learn about other cultures and their regional food that I may never have been exposed to otherwise.  My friend from England would send me his mother and grandmother's recipes for his favorite British foods in exchange for the newest indie metal bands that I've found scouring the Internet (yes, I do realize that I look more like a librarian than a metal-head but I like being unpredictable) and I totally got the better end of that deal.  

My favorite recipe he sent was for Yorkshire Pudding (I will share that recipe another time)...it's like a cross between a science project and a magic act how a simple batter can inflate into little dough balloons, the fact that they are delish is a huge bonus.  My second favorite recipe is for scones.  True to my modus operandi I have tweaked it a bit and what I've come up with is a lighter scone that is melt in your mouth moist and not too overly sweet, a perfect bite to have with a cuppa Earl Grey.  It's one of the recipes that I have to hide a scone or two because they get snatched up super quick.   So without further ado, my scone recipe. 

Fit for a Queen Cranberry and Orange Scones

2 cups all purpose flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 TBSP cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp orange zest

1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream, divided

2 TBSP decorative sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir. 

Add cold cubed butter and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the flour looks like crumbly wet sand.  

Add the cream and vanilla and using a spatula, stir just until there are no puddles of cream.  Add the cranberries and zest, stirring just a few times until evenly distributed, taking care not to over-mix which will cause scones to be dense.  

Turn out into a lightly floured surface, knead five times then form into a one inch thick round.  Cut into wedges and transfer (using a super cute ghost spatula if you have one) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  

Using the 2 TBSPs of cream that you set aside, brush the tops of the scone wedges and sprinkle with decorative sugar, if using.  

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly browned.  

A few wee tips...

* Allow to cool on wire cooling rack and put into an air tight container or zip top bag right away to prevent drying out. 

* The scones freeze well, so make a double recipe and double bag them to freeze, allow them to thaw on the counter and place in a 350 degree oven for just a couple minutes to warm up. 

* You can substitute the cranberries for just about any dried fruit.  I've had success with dried strawberries, blueberries, apricots, dates and figs. 

* Instead of the traditional wedges, use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, just don't over work the scraps to avoid dense scones. 

Dutch Baby Puffed Pancake

I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who likes a pancake breakfast complete with warm syrup or fresh berries.  I'm also sure that I'm not the only one who dreads standing over a hot stove at O'dark thirty in my pjs, cobwebs still choking my brain and my stomach doing it's best rendition of a funeral dirge.  And being the cook it's rare that you get a piping hot pancake, not to mention there is at least one burnt one (which is why Pippin the pup loves pancake day) but I have an amazing little recipe that will taste just as good as a pile o'cakes but once, the batter is made, you slide it in the oven and walk away...how freakin amazing is that!?  If that hasn't hooked you yet, wait until you see what the end result looks like.  It's impressive enough to serve to guests for brunch and easy enough to throw together on a weekday morning.

So what does a Dutch baby taste of?  Comedian, and one of my favorite people, Eddie Izzard would say chicken (he tends to be NSFW, so be warned), but the closest I can get to a description is think of the best piece of French toast you've had, soft and custard-y in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside...but to sum it up in one word, holy-buckets-this-is-amazingly-yummy!  This is one of those kitchen magic moments where people will wonder what sort of kitchen witchery you have been up to, but you can giggle to yourself because it was so simple to accpmplsh. 

The key to this recipe is a really hot skillet, and nothing cold should be added to the batter.  The only rising agent in this recipe are the eggs so it's paramount to cook it hot and fast so the eggs will do their duty making a perfectly puffed Dutch Baby. 


Dutch Baby Puffed Pancake

3 Tablespoons butter
3 eggs (see instructions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup heated milk (see instructions)
1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place butter in a heavy heat-proof skillet (like cast iron) and place the skillet in the oven to heat as the oven heats.

The eggs and milk must be warmed before placed in the batter.  In a small bowl place the eggs (still in their shells) and fill with hot water.  Then place the milk in a heat-proof bowl and heat for 30-45 seconds. When you stick your finger in, it should be warm, not hot. 

                              

In the milk bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and whisk well.  In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt and mix. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk well until it is free of lumps.  Some recipes for Dutch Babies I've come across call for mixing the batter in a blender, I get lump free batter whisking for about 30 seconds to a minute, I see no need for dirtying another dish (I'm not a fan of doing dishes) once the lumps have disappeared stop whisking so you don't end up with a tough pancake.

      

Now comes the most important part of the recipe, only because you have to be very quick.  Bring your bowl of batter and the whisk next to the oven.  Using a potholder, swirl the butter around the skillet to coat the bottom well.  The butter will be bubbly or frothy and might be a little brown, this is good, the browned butter will give a slightly nutty taste to the pancake.  

Once swirled, pour the remaining butter into the batter, quickly whisk into the batter (2-3 stirs) and pur the batter into the hot skillet in one continuous pour.  If you pause during the batter pour there will most likely be spots that stick to the pan.  Once you've done this a few times, you can pour off the butter into the batter and replace the skillet in the oven on a rack pulled out a bit and then add the batter.  The hotter the skillet is and if all your batter ingredients are at least room temperature the puffier and more impressive it will be.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Do not open the oven door, tempting as it may be, it will deflate like a soufflé.

A few wee tips:

*If you know you will be making a Dutch Baby in the morning, you can leave your eggs on the counter overnight so they come to room temperature.

*Baking for 20 minutes turns out a more custard-y texture, while the extra five minutes crisps up the edges and the tops of the bubbles, experiment and see which one you love best. 

*Once the Dutch Baby is cooked, loosen it with a flexible spatula and place on a cooling rack so the bottom doesn't end up steaming in the hot skillet and become soggy.

*There are a ton of ways to serve it. The traditional way is with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar. Maple syrup is also a winner and so is a fruit compote, like blueberries or apples. You can dunk it in applesauce or yogurt but my favorite way is plain with fresh berries.