This is a Swiss-German soup with a toasted flour base. It is incredibly inexpensive to make and amazing for dipping warm sandwiches!
4 Tbs All-purpose flour
Spread the flour evenly in the bottom of the soup pot. On medium-low heat and stirring constantly to avoid burn, toast the flour until it turns a soft, golden hue. Remove from pan and set aside. Rinse off pan.
1 White onion, sliced thin
2 Tbs Butter
Making sure the pan is clean, saute until the onions are transparent. Add the flour and blend.
2 14.5 oz cans beef broth (roughly 4 cups)
1/2 c Red wine (I use the Wise & Heimer Sweet Red)
Gradually add the broth and wine. Under medium heat, stir frequently, cook for about 30 mins.
For a more traditional fare, toast a slice of wheat bread and lay it in the bottom of a soup bowl. Sprinkle with Swiss or Gruyere cheese then pour the soup on top. Sprinkle with a little more cheese and serve.
For dipping soup, sprinkle with Swiss or Gruyere cheese and allow to melt slightly. Serve and dip away!
Enjoy!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
~ Garlic Chili Beef Hoagies ~
Slow Cooker Saturday!
As I struggled to name this dish, my love repeated pushed for "Addicting" to be placed into the title. This dish is best when paired with Basler Mehlsuppe, a Swiss-German beef onion soup. It is the favorite soup and dipping sandwich combination in our house. I will post the soup recipe tomorrow!
A few words of warning:
1) Like most dishes that require spirits, the wine really makes or breaks this dish. Our favorite for cooking this particular recipe is Wise & Heimer, a German sweet red nicely priced around $7/bottle that can usually be found at World Market (and the like). Another we have used is Joseph Handler Sweet Red, which is available at most Trader Joe's.
2) Chili paste can be difficult to find in large grocery stores. We get ours from a Desi Indian Market. It is a Pantainorasingh Brand medium hot Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil and originates in Thailand. It's usually a couple dollars for a 1 lb bottle. The ingredients include sugar, shallots, garlic, soya bean oil, dried chili, paprika and fish sauce.
1 1/2 c Sweet red wine
1/2 c Water
2 Tbs Chili paste
3-4 tsp Garlic, minced (5-6 cloves)
1 tsp White pepper
1 tsp Salt
Combine in a slow cooker on high heat, stirring until the mixture is lump free. Reduce to low heat.
2 lbs Beef bottom round roast, pre-sliced
Add beef to slow cooker and stir to coat each slice evenly. The easiest way to do this is to add the meat gradually, but you can also just toss it all in and break it up. Cook for 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally to ensure all of the meat is coated with the sauce. Note: This could probably be cooked for 1.5 - 2 hours on high as well, but I have not tried it.
French hoagie rolls
Spreadable butter or margarine
Provolone or swiss cheese, sliced
Spread a generous layer of butter on the inside of each half of bread. Toast in a skillet or broil for a couple of minutes in the oven. Add the sliced beef and cheese to the hoagie. Dip it in soup or add sauteed onions and mushrooms for a stand alone dish.
Enjoy!
As I struggled to name this dish, my love repeated pushed for "Addicting" to be placed into the title. This dish is best when paired with Basler Mehlsuppe, a Swiss-German beef onion soup. It is the favorite soup and dipping sandwich combination in our house. I will post the soup recipe tomorrow!
A few words of warning:
1) Like most dishes that require spirits, the wine really makes or breaks this dish. Our favorite for cooking this particular recipe is Wise & Heimer, a German sweet red nicely priced around $7/bottle that can usually be found at World Market (and the like). Another we have used is Joseph Handler Sweet Red, which is available at most Trader Joe's.
2) Chili paste can be difficult to find in large grocery stores. We get ours from a Desi Indian Market. It is a Pantainorasingh Brand medium hot Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil and originates in Thailand. It's usually a couple dollars for a 1 lb bottle. The ingredients include sugar, shallots, garlic, soya bean oil, dried chili, paprika and fish sauce.
1 1/2 c Sweet red wine
1/2 c Water
2 Tbs Chili paste
3-4 tsp Garlic, minced (5-6 cloves)
1 tsp White pepper
1 tsp Salt
Combine in a slow cooker on high heat, stirring until the mixture is lump free. Reduce to low heat.
2 lbs Beef bottom round roast, pre-sliced
Add beef to slow cooker and stir to coat each slice evenly. The easiest way to do this is to add the meat gradually, but you can also just toss it all in and break it up. Cook for 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally to ensure all of the meat is coated with the sauce. Note: This could probably be cooked for 1.5 - 2 hours on high as well, but I have not tried it.
French hoagie rolls
Spreadable butter or margarine
Provolone or swiss cheese, sliced
Spread a generous layer of butter on the inside of each half of bread. Toast in a skillet or broil for a couple of minutes in the oven. Add the sliced beef and cheese to the hoagie. Dip it in soup or add sauteed onions and mushrooms for a stand alone dish.
Enjoy!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
~ Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies ~
As most can attest to I am not a huge fan of chocolate candy, or really chocolate in general. My one exception is baking. After all, who could not appreciate a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie?
3/4 c Salted sweet cream butter, partially melted
1 c Dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c White sugar
Cream together in mixing bowl until the mixture no longer separates.
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
1 T Real vanilla extract
Add and blend well, taking care not to over beat the eggs.
2 c All purpose flour
1/2 t Baking soda
1/2 t Salt
Sift together and gradually add to the creamy sugar mixture. Blend.
1 11.5 oz bag milk chocolate chips
With a wooden spoon, stir chips into dough. Cover mixing bowl with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 min - 1 hour.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C)
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake cookies for about 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 mins on cookie sheet, then move to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
*** Chef's Note **************************************************************
The baking time for these cookies can vary based on how long they have chilled, the temperature of the house, etc. Start with 13 mins. The cookies are finished when the edges are just starting to golden. Pull out the cookies and let them cool completely. If they are not quite finished once cooled, it is fine to put them back in the oven for another five minutes or so. Just keep experimenting until you reach the desired consistency. The end result should be a chewy cookie, not a hard cookie.
*******************************************************************************
3/4 c Salted sweet cream butter, partially melted
1 c Dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c White sugar
Cream together in mixing bowl until the mixture no longer separates.
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
1 T Real vanilla extract
Add and blend well, taking care not to over beat the eggs.
2 c All purpose flour
1/2 t Baking soda
1/2 t Salt
Sift together and gradually add to the creamy sugar mixture. Blend.
1 11.5 oz bag milk chocolate chips
With a wooden spoon, stir chips into dough. Cover mixing bowl with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 min - 1 hour.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C)
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls and place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake cookies for about 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 mins on cookie sheet, then move to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
*** Chef's Note **************************************************************
The baking time for these cookies can vary based on how long they have chilled, the temperature of the house, etc. Start with 13 mins. The cookies are finished when the edges are just starting to golden. Pull out the cookies and let them cool completely. If they are not quite finished once cooled, it is fine to put them back in the oven for another five minutes or so. Just keep experimenting until you reach the desired consistency. The end result should be a chewy cookie, not a hard cookie.
*******************************************************************************
Friday, November 25, 2011
~ Rich, Moist Banana Bread ~
Bananas have a unique distinction from any other morsel as they are the only food item that, when I forget I have them and over a week later find them buried in the back shelf of my fridge, I am actually delighted to discover the softening, brown looking bunch. And we all know why. Time for banana bread!
It is important that your bananas are well ripened and starting to brown when you begin. If they are not ripe enough, the bread consistency and colour could be at stake. It is quite all right if the banana inside the skin is browning or bruised. Never substitute a fresh banana in this recipe. You will likely be unhappy with the results. Also, bananas can vary rather dramatically in size. It is important that no matter how many you use the end mashed results equals about one cup. Adding more banana than a cup will likely cause the bottom center of your loaf to remain mushy and under-cooked after baking. On average it takes two bananas to get one cup, mashed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
1/2 c butter, softened but not melted
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1) Cream together until smooth.
2 eggs
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
2) Add to creamed mixture and blend well.
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3) Some flours will come pre-sifted. Regardless, I always sift my dry ingredients together before making bread. Instead of dirtying another dish, I sift the mixture directly into the mixing bowl, stirring a bit as I go to disperse the powder evenly. Combine and mix until the batter is smooth and lump free.
1/2 c sour cream
1 c mashed, over-ripe bananas
4) Fold into the batter and mix well. Instead of mashing my bananas by hand, I toss a couple in the food processor to ensure all of the lumps are gone. You can also add the sour cream to the bananas in the food processor, then gradually stir the mixture into the batter. If you like nuts in your bread, you would add them now. I would recommend about half a cup, chopped.
5) Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan. If your oven has a history of uneven baking or crisping the edges of your bread, you can also line the pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it. The batter can be poured directly onto the parchment. When the bread is finished baking, it can easily be moved to the cooling rack by simply lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Another added bonus to this method is, of course, no pan to wash afterwards! Note: do not confuse parchment paper with wax paper. They are two totally different animals.
6) Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10-15 mins, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
It is important that your bananas are well ripened and starting to brown when you begin. If they are not ripe enough, the bread consistency and colour could be at stake. It is quite all right if the banana inside the skin is browning or bruised. Never substitute a fresh banana in this recipe. You will likely be unhappy with the results. Also, bananas can vary rather dramatically in size. It is important that no matter how many you use the end mashed results equals about one cup. Adding more banana than a cup will likely cause the bottom center of your loaf to remain mushy and under-cooked after baking. On average it takes two bananas to get one cup, mashed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
1/2 c butter, softened but not melted
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1) Cream together until smooth.
2 eggs
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
2) Add to creamed mixture and blend well.
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3) Some flours will come pre-sifted. Regardless, I always sift my dry ingredients together before making bread. Instead of dirtying another dish, I sift the mixture directly into the mixing bowl, stirring a bit as I go to disperse the powder evenly. Combine and mix until the batter is smooth and lump free.
1/2 c sour cream
1 c mashed, over-ripe bananas
4) Fold into the batter and mix well. Instead of mashing my bananas by hand, I toss a couple in the food processor to ensure all of the lumps are gone. You can also add the sour cream to the bananas in the food processor, then gradually stir the mixture into the batter. If you like nuts in your bread, you would add them now. I would recommend about half a cup, chopped.
5) Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan. If your oven has a history of uneven baking or crisping the edges of your bread, you can also line the pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it. The batter can be poured directly onto the parchment. When the bread is finished baking, it can easily be moved to the cooling rack by simply lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Another added bonus to this method is, of course, no pan to wash afterwards! Note: do not confuse parchment paper with wax paper. They are two totally different animals.
6) Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10-15 mins, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
An Introduction ... and disclaimer:
I do not have a very promising history with this sort of thing. My past offenses include the absolute and unabashed neglect of a variety of social networking outlets. The unkempt grave of my old Myspace page lies near the bramble covered stone erected over what was once a moderately loved Live Journal. My Facebook page sits untouched for months, collecting layers of app requests I never answer and pokes that go largely ignored.
That being said, welcome to Sinfully Delightful!
With such a fickle and inconsistent relationship with social media, one might ask why would I possible wish to indulge in blogging?
The answer is simple and practical. This blog will be my cookbook. I adore cooking. For most of my generation it seems a dying art. So few cook anymore. The lack of time is truly epidemic in this county. Between a full time job, aspirations of successfully completing the CPA exam and currently supporting my family, I am far from immune. However, my joy of culinary pursuits is one I hope never to surrender.
Cooking is truly a marvelous hobby. Good food brings people together. The scent of fresh baked pies brings a warm smile to the face of perfect strangers. A whiff of newly cooling cookies has the uncanny ability to pull an impish grin and sly thieving thoughts from even the most conservative of folk. Everyone loves delicious food. And whether is it the fondly recalled memories of old family traditions or the simple joy of biting into pure decadence after a long and tiring week, all appreciate the efforts and spoils of the chef.
... except perhaps kinderflock, unless they get to help. And teenagers of course, but they hardly count. I really don't reckon they get much of an opinion anyway, seeing as any humane individual has continued the age old tradition of locking them in a closet till they reach their early twenties.
That being said, welcome to Sinfully Delightful!
... may it last longer than its predecessors...
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