Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

I have been a very bad blogger! Even though I have not posted for awhile, I have not stopped cooking!

Rachel K. brought back this apron for me from Paris! Thanks Rach! Isn't it adorable?!

I got the idea of making an artichoke bisque after having lunch at Ingredient recently. Their artichoke bisque was creamy and had a little kick to it and I was hooked. While I did not have the recipe I thought that it would be easy to whip one up. I decided to add blue cheese to give it an extra depth of flavor.

Artichoke & Blue Cheese Bisque

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 8-oz packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

1 small tomato, diced

homemade croutons, (recipe follows)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer until all liquid is evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add artichokes, broth and thyme. Simmer until artichokes are tender and begin to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using an immersion blinder, blend soup until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, blend soup in batches in a blender. Once smooth, stir in blue cheese and cream and whisk constantly, bringing to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add diced tomatoes. Ladle into bowls and server with croutons.

Croutons

1 whole wheat baguette

3 tbsp olive oil

Kosher Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cube baguette and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over bread and toss to coat. Bake until croutons are golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Cool and keep in freezer bag up to a week. Great for salads and soups.

I purchased this apron when I was in Philly, thank you for modeling Spencer! He was my fabulous sous chef that day!

Guinness Brownies

My co-workers have become accustomed to me bringing treats to work for practically any occasion, mainly because I need people to test out my recipes! I made these brownies in honor of St. Patrick's day and the Guinness brings out the intense flavor of chocolate. But watch out, these brownies are really rich! I took this recipe from bitchincamero's blog . My changes are marked with an *.

1 cup flour*

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes

8 oz dark bittersweet chocolate chopped (I used 60% cocoa)

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

4 large eggs

1 cup sugar*

1 1/4 Guinness Extra Stout beer, room temperature and foam skimmed off

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment . Whisk flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.

Using a double boiler, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and butter together until fully melted.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until frothy. Very slowly, pour in chocolate mixture while whisking the eggs.

When your chocolate mixture and eggs are combined, whisk in the Guinness. Fold in flour mixture. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and top with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove baking dish and let cool completely.

Cut into squares and then diagonally. Dust with powdered sugar (optional).

Red Velvet Cake

Even though I have not posted in two weeks, I have been baking up a storm! This week has been super busy with work, Birthday's St. Patrick's day and a Blizzard!

I started off the week with a Red Velvet Cake made for my friend who grew up in Georgia. This super moist cake is topped with cream cheese frosting. While I would have spent more time decorating this cake, but after frosting it I like the "no frills" look and so did the Birthday boy!

Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted, plus more for pans

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 tsp salt

2 one-oz bottles liquid red food coloring

3 tbsp lukewarm water

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8x2 inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper and butter again. Dust with flour, and tap out the excess; set aside. In a medium, sift together cake flour, cocoa, and baking powder; set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer combine butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, food coloring and water; beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk; beat on low speed until well combined.

In a small bowl stir together baking soda and vinegar; add to batter. Beat on medium speed for 10 seconds. Be sure not to over beat! Divide batter between prepared pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack: let stand until completely cook.

To make frosting cream butter using an electric mixer, add cream cheese and mix until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until thick and creamy.

Place a later n a cake stand or plate and spread about 1/3 of the frosting over top. Place the second cake on top and spread with the remaining frosting over the tops and sides of assembled cake. Transfer to refrigerator and chill until ready to serve. (Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Happy Birthday Chris!

Edamame Dumplings

I originally had this dish at Buddakan in Philadelphia. After discovering Chef Michael Schulson's recipe online, I found his recipe to be richer than I remembered. The original recipe had cream and truffle oil, but with my adjustments it turned out great.

Edamame Filling

3 cups edamame

1/2 pound unsalted butter

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup truffle oil

Kosher Salt

16 oz vegetable broth

Dumpling Dough

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp boiling water

Shallot and Sauternes Broth

16 oz shallots, thinly sliced

3 cups Sauternes (can use a Riesling or a sweet white wine if you cannot find Sauternes)

1 cup low sodium chicken stock

pinch of rosemary

salt and pepper

1 green onion, chopped

Place flour in a large bowl; make well in center. Add boiling water and stir until mixture forms dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover dough and let rest for 30 minutes.

Bring vegetable broth to a boil and cook edamame until tender, about 8 minutes. Strain and puree with other ingredients. Let filling set in fridge overnight or until firm.

Divide dough into two equal portions; cover one portion with a towel while working with other portion. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8- inch thickness. Cut out 3-inch circles with a round cookie cutter or top of a glass.

Place 1 tsp of filling in the center of each dough circle. To shape each dumpling, lightly moisten edges of dough and fold in half.

Starting at one end, pinch curled edges together making four pleats along edge, set dumpling down firmly, seam side up.

Caramelize the shallots, and deglaze with wine. Reduce and then add chicken stock. Simmer with rosemary for ten minutes and season with salt and pepper if needed.

While sauternes sauce is reducing, steam dumplings until tender (about 5 minutes). To steam, place bamboo steamer on top of a large pot of boiling water.

Place 5 dumplings in a shallow bowl and add 3/4 cup of Sauternes broth over dumplings and garnish with green onions.

I was hesitant at first to use Sauternes in this broth because it is a sweet wine, but with the combination of the caramelized shallots and chicken stock it paired well with the richness of the dumplings.

Fleur De Sel Caramels

These caramels have the perfect contrast of sweet and salty, but watch out! They are addicting!

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp fleur de del, plus extra for sprinkling (fine grain sea salt is also good)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides

In a deep saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel is a warm golden brown color. Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end!

In the meantime, bring the cream, butter and 1 tsp fleur de sel to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

When the caramelized sugar is the right color, slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel - it will boil up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.

When the caramels are cool, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut the caramels into 3 logs and lightly sprinkle with fleur de sel. Cut into 1 inch squares.

Cut parchment papers in 6 by 4 1/2-inch squares and wrap each caramel in a paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature. (Adapted from Ida Garten)