Homemade Fettucini

I have been remiss at posting all the great things I have been creating lately, so here I make amends.

I have been trying out different homemade pasta recipes since receiving my pasta machine last December, this one is pretty basic and a great way to start out.

Ingredients:

2 ½ Cups plain flour

½ Teaspoons salt

4 room temperature eggs

flour for dusting

Sift flour and salt together onto a clean work surface. Use your hands to shape the flour into a circular mound. Make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs in the well and use a fork to lightly whisk. Using fingertips to gradually blend flour into the egg mixture. Continue to gradually draw the flour into the centre until the mixture forms a dough. Dough should not stick to fingers. 

Lightly flour a flat surface. Firmly knead dough with heel of hand, folding over and turning. Knead for 6 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap with light olive oil coverage for 30 minutes.

Lightly flour surface and pasta machine and turn knob to 7. Divide dough into 4 pieces and flatten one slightly. Roll dough through machine 3-4 times, folding sheet over once before inserting.

Turn setting down to 6 and repeat rolling process 2 or 3 times. Do this at each setting until you get to setting 1. Roll through setting one twice. Attach slicer to the machine and run the sheets through.

Dry on rack to prevent sticking for 30 minutes, or flour and make a nest our of cut dough. Dough cam be frozen at this stage. Cook for 4 minutes in salted, boiling water or until al dente and serve with desired sauce.

Cheesecake pops

Recently I have become an addict of the Food Network show "Bake" with Anna Olson. The following is an account of my endeavor to recreate her Cheesecake Pops for friends.

Making the New York Style Cheesecake was fairly easy, despite the many hours and steps. It is also quite delicious, especially since I am not an avid fan of cheesecake.

Classic New York Cheesecake 

Makes 1 9-inch cheesecake.

Preparation time:
Cooking time:
Yield: 12

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pan

Cheesecake

• 4 packages 250 gram packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 3 large whole eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (not low-fat), divided
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• I also added the seeds of a vanilla bean 

Assembly

Directions

Crust

Cheesecake

Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. For the crust, stir the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter until evenly combined and press this into the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake this for 10 minutes, then cool. Brush the sides of the pan with a little melted butter.
3. For the cheesecake, increase the oven temperature to 400 F. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the 1 ¼ cups of sugar a little at a time, and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl often. Beat in the cornstarch, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat in the eggs one at a time, on a lower speed, and scraping after each addition, then beat in the yolk. Still on low speed, beat in ¾ cup of sour cream. Scrape this over the cooled crust.
4. Bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes at 400 F and then reduce the oven temperature to 225 F and bake for 25 more minutes. Turn off the oven, and leave the cheesecake in for an hour, cracking the oven door after 30 minutes. While the cheesecake is baking, prepare the sour cream layer.
5. Stir the remaining ¾ cup of sour cream with the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar and the lemon juice. Spread this over the top of the cheesecake as soon as it has come out of the oven. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely to room temperature, then carefully run a spatula around the outside of the cheesecake to loosen it from the pan, then chill the cheesecake for at least 6 hours before slicing and serving.
6. The cheesecake will keep, refrigerated, for up to 4 days.

Now comes the tale of the cake pops. My boyfriend was not pleased that I "ruined half a cheesecake" to make cake pops when he could have eaten it as is. The recipients of the pops; however, stated they were "Sex on a stick" and fantastic. I suppose all the heartache was worth it, and a learning experience.

The kitchen was too warm, so the scooped pops would not support the lollipop sticks upright. Dipping the pops in melted chocolate proved to be messy, and I could not get them to stand upright to dry properly in a container of sugar. They aren't perfect but are tasty. Oh well, you live and learn.

Cheesecake Pops  

Preparation time:
Cooking time:
Yield: 24

Ingredients

• 1/3 a prepared cheesecake
• 24 lollipop sticks
• 3 ounces dark chocolate, melted
• 3 ounces milk chocolate, melted
• 3 ounces white chocolate, melted
• graham cracker crumbs, coloured sugar, pearl dust, small sprinkles for decor

Directions

1. Gently stir the cheesecake, crust and all, in a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment, or by hand with a spatula, until the crust has mixed with the filling. Use a small ice cream scoop or melon baler to scoop 1-inch balls of cheesecake an roll them in your hands to shape more precisely. Insert a lollipop stick into the cheesecake and place on a parchment lined baking tray (if the cheesecake mixture seems too soft, you can freeze the scooped balls for 30 minutes before shaping and inserting the sticks). Freeze the pops for an hour, while preparing the chocolate and accents.
2. Dip the pops in your choice of chocolates and then dip or sprinkle the accents on at your choosing. For presentation, arrange the dipped and decorated pops in a vase filled with coloured sugar, or in a lollipop stand (available at kitchen supply stores).

COOOOOOKIES!!!

One day while shopping in Crate and Barrel I found these dog cookie cutters and couldn't resist.

I used them with a recipe that I found in Canadian Living. My Beagle sure went nuts while I was making them.


Dog's Breath Cookies from Canadian Living

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) whole wheat flour
• 1 cup (250 mL) rolled oats, (not instant)
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) cornmeal
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) minced fresh mint
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) minced fresh parsley

Preparation

In bowl, whisk whole wheat and all- purpose flours, rolled oats, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, beat butter with peanut butter; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in flour mixture, mint and parsley to make soft dough. Divide in half; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.  

Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2-inch (1 cm) thickness. Using 4-inch (10 cm) bone-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes. 

Arrange on prepared pan; bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until golden and firm, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool. Makes 12-16 cookies.

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of Hendrix enjoying the cookie, there was only a 30 second window of opportunity before he was under the futon with it.

Potato Bacon Soup

Yay Fall!! I've been thinking about creating a potato soup for years, finally got around to it yesterday and it was worth the wait. My boyfriend and I are gladly taking it to work every day this week.

1 Leek, white and light green part diced finely
6 slices of Bacon, roughly chopped
5 medium to large Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces
2 cups Chicken stock
2 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Cream (I guess you could use any percentage of milk if you care about the fat content)
1/2 cup grated desired cheese

In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium. Add leek and bacon and cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Blend flour and 1/2 cup of the milk together. Slowly add to potato mixture, stirring to combine. Add the remaining milk to soup. Increase heat and stir constantly until it boils and thickens (constant stirring prevents milk skin forming on top).

Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper.