Thursday, November 30, 2017

Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce

This cake is the result of a sleepless night.
Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce
Not really, but I was trying to think of a cake to make for the Legion Cake Raffle, I make a cake every other week and donate it for them to raffle off.   I don't really like to do repeats, other than my Chocolate Cake.
I was torn between these two cakes, the Candied Ginger and Pumpkin Cake and the last one I did which I called a Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cake, and then got that WOOHOO!!!! AHA!!! moment and decided to combine them.
Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce

Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce

Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce
So for your dining pleasure I present the Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce with lots of  Chopped Dried Cranberries and Pecans sprinkled along the top. This was such a great cake.
Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce


Yield: 1 bundt cake

Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce
Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Bundt with Rum Toffee Sauce

prep time: 20 MINScook time: 45 MINStotal time: 65 mins
This is a great way to add some more sweet potato to your diet, not to mention it tastes wonderful. The addition of the cranberries and pecans adds to the festive feel.

ingredients:


  • 2 cups self rise flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 eggs
  •  1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
  •  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground cardamom
  •  1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
  •  3 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger
  • 1  cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1  cup dried cranberries
  •  2 tablespoons dark rum
  •  3/4 cup molasses
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 cup each, chopped dried cranberries and pecans for topping cake
Buttered Rum Toffee Sauce
  • 1 stick butter (1/4 lb.)
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed *
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons rum (add more if you like)

instructions:


  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour a 9-10 inch bundt pan. Sift together the flour and  spices, and add the pecans here as well,  set aside. Add the molasses and baking soda to the boiling water, then stir in the chopped candied ginger, set aside for a couple of minutes to cool. Add the pumpkin puree, let sit til cool. Add the 1 cup of cranberries to the rum and let sit while the molasses mixture cools.  Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, continue to beat for another minute or so, until it's lighter in color. Add the cooled molasses mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, mix at low speed until combined. Add the cranberries and rum, and mix.  Then fold in the dry ingredients until they are barely moistened. Much like making muffins. Pour or spoon into the bundt pan and bake for 35-45 minutes until the top of the cake is firm and springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let sit for 5 minutes after removing it from the oven, place a plate over the pan and invert it. The cake should come right out. Let sit to cool while you prepare the toffee sauce.
Buttered Rum Sauce
  1. Combine the cream, sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, whisk the ingredients together and let it come to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook, stirring constantly for 12-15 minutes until the sauce thickens. I use a spoon and check to see if it coats the back of the spoon, as soon as it does, stir in the Rum. Whisk together and let cool. It will thicken even more as it cools. Pour over cake just before serving.
  2. Sprinkle top with the chopped cranberries and pecans after you pour the toffee sauce over it. 

notes

* If you don't have any dark brown sugar, you can add a teaspoon of molasses to the sugar and mix well.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. Available as a Kindle e book or in paperback. Autographed copies are also available at the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, Iowa or on their website.
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

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Sunday, November 26, 2017

Tapas for November 2017

I was just trying to remember just how many Tapas Nights we've hosted, and I've lost count.  Just as I've lost count of all the great foods that some of our fantastic cooks have brought and shared with us. 
I feel as if I'm a very lucky person.  These are just some of the food that was brought and shared last night.  And as usual, I missed a couple of pictures, and took some that were too blurry to share as well. 
And I get to play with food as well.  Even if yesterday wasn't one of my best days in the kitchen. 
I'd baked a loaf of ryebread, which turned into a rye brick, because for some reason I forgot to add the yeast to the sourdough starter and didn't realize it until the bread was half baked.  I'll tell you how brick like it was, my good slicer is now my not so good slicer, I had to get out the heavy duty combo slicer and cleaver just to cut through the crust.  Good thing I had some ryebread in the freezer I was able to pull out and use.
And then there was the 'incident' with the egg whites.  I was busy beating the egg whites for the dessert, Citronfromage, when somehow I lost my grip on the bowl and the partially beaten egg whites cascaded over the counter, the front of the cabinets and onto the floor.  And on me as well.   I got it cleaned up, grabbed the last pasteurized egg out of the fridge and managed to get yolk into the white as I separated it.  Whites do not whip when they're combined with egg yolk.  OK, onto plan C. Well, B didn't work.  I grabbed two more eggs out of the fridge, separated them just fine and proceeded to beat them to a nice fluffy state, folded them into the rest of the dessert.   Of course while I was cleaning up the egg whites the timer went off on the stove and the Scottish Sausage rolls were ready.  I had to leave them for a minute or three longer than needful, but luckily they just got a little bit browner.
Let's not forget the Ciabatta bread.  They were a little on the flat side.  But they tasted good.  I'll share that recipe another time, as soon as I make them again.
Well, now that you've heard about my bad day, let me share my great evening, at least the pictures I took of the food.














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Monday, November 20, 2017

Pimento Cheese

I have to admit I'd never heard of Pimento Cheese until we moved to the south.  And I also have to admit to looking at it with a touch of suspicion. 
Pimento Cheese

I know, right?   I'm a Dane and we eat and love stuff like Liverpaste and Pickled Herring and all kinds of good stuff like that.
But there was something about this cheese mixture that made me look at it sideways and with suspicion.
I really don't know why.
Then I got brave one day and ordered a Pimento Cheese sandwich in a restaurant and it was pretty good.
OK, so it was really good.
After that if someone brought some Pimento Cheese somewhere I'd eat it.   I tried buying some pre- made cheese once but it was awful.

Then somehow I got a wild hair the other day and decided to try making some and I shared it with some friends, who are southern and they said it tasted pretty authentic, so I thought I'd share it here.
Pimento Cheese

Pimento Cheese
And did I mention you can use it to make an awesome grilled cheese sandwich? 


Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Pimento Cheese

prep time: 5 MINScook time: total time: 5 mins
Not only can you serve this with crackers for a nice appetizer but you can also make an incredible grilled cheese sandwich with it.  

ingredients:


  • 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( I used a mixture of Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
  • 1 jar (4 oz) diced pimento
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup good heavy mayonnaise, enough to moisten ( I like Dukes brand)
  • 1 small shallot, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (you can always add more)

instructions:


  1. Mix all the ingredients together and place in the fridge for at least an hour, this lets the cheese and mayo and pimento get acquainted. 

notes

Serve this with crackers or lightly toasted bread.
Created using The Recipes Generator

Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. Available as a Kindle e book or in paperback.
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

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Saturday, November 18, 2017

Potage Parmentier for #SoupSaturdaySwappers

It's time for Soup Saturday Swappers and this time round Sally of Bewitching Kitchen is the inspiration and the hostess for this month.  She wanted us to do a French or French inspired soup.
My final soup inspiration was by Julia Child and you can't get too much more french than that.  OK, so she was an American, but she learned how to cook French Cuisine and shared her knowledge and her expertise.  I make a version of French Onion soup all the time, but I've already posted about that.
 
Potage Parmentier with Beet Tops and Arugula

All righty then, I was all set with making a Soupe au Pistou for Soup Saturday Swappers but then decided against it cause I'm just not that fond of basil. sigh 
Then I decided on a Shrimp Bisque but talked myself out of it. (I did a lot of deciding against soups this month)
However, I had boiled up a pot of red potatoes and I also had a ham bone which had been cooked up with some leeks and carrots for a pea soup I was making, and then I decided on a Potage Parmentier.
Which is just a fancy way of saying Potato Soup.
Leeks

Potage Parmentier before blending
 It looked a little bland and tasted bland as well.
 So I went into the fridge and found some goodies to add. Beet tops and some arugala that I chiffonaded,  (A friend let me loose in her garden with a pair of scissors the other day.  I still have some Bok Choy, Kale and Chard left to devour).
and then wilted them for just a couple of minutes in the heat from the soup, and after I took the picture drizzled some cream on top.

This is loosely based on a Julia Child recipe I got from here .
I did change it up a little.  Cause I could.

And I wanted to add this.  You can add some finely diced ham to this and use the immersion blender to whizz it all together.  I just had some that way. 
Yield: 4 servings

Potage Parmentier or Potato and Leek Soup

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 40 mins
This is a rich,filling soup that hits the spot for a lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:


  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups Ham Stock
  • 4-6 small potatoes, cooked til soft.  Russet are best for this.
  • 2 leeks, whites and the pale  green, sliced
  •  2 garlic cloves, minced
  •  1/2 cup heavy cream divided in half
  • Fresh ground pepper
  •  Opt.  1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
  • Chopped chives for garnish if desired
  • 1/2 cup chiffonaded beet leaves and arugala

Instructions:


  1. Cook the potatoes and garlic  in the ham stock until soft.  Saute the leeks in the butter until softened, but do not let them brown.  Add them to the potatoes and ham stock and continue to cook until softened.   When it's all cooked, taste for seasoning and add pepper and salt to your taste.  Using an immersion blender, blend it til smooth.   Add the beet and arugala leaves and let sit for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat, and add half the cream.  If too thick for your taste, add a little more cream or milk.   To serve, ladle into bowls and top with the chopped chives, beet leaf stems and a drizzle of cream.  Serve with crusty rolls.
  2. I tasted this and added some finely chiffonaded Beet leaves and Arugala that I'd gotten from a friend as I thought it needed 'something' more and tasted it again, and finished my bowlful and life was good.
Created using The Recipes Generator




Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. Available as a Kindle e book or in paperback.
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

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Friday, November 17, 2017

Sole with Crab Cake Stuffing for #FishFridayFoodies


 It's Fish Friday Foodies time.
This event happens the third Friday every month and is hosted by various bloggers who suggest a theme for the month.  This month the theme is Fish or Seafood with Stuffing.  Our hostess this month is Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.  
She's also the one who started this whole crazy idea a couple of years ago.  And it's been fun.  I love looking at all the inventive, not to say, downright yummy seafood ideas others come up with.  I've even contributed a couple of dishes myself.  One year I did shrimp every single month.  It's sorta like chicken, you can play with it, dress it up, dress it down, and just plain have fun.  
As soon as I saw the theme this month I had an idea and then shelved that idea.  I wanted to use Salmon, but I wanted the wild caught Pacific salmon, not the farmed stuff. 
Then I looked at the price. YIKES!!!!  So I decided to go with Plan B.
Except there was no Plan B, until I went in my freezer and a container fell out and landed right on my little toe, sigh.  That container had some leftover crab cake mix from when I made some of my Award Winning Crabcakes for some friends last month.  I'd made way too much for the four of us, so I froze the rest.
I got the message. Especially since the Sole I had in the freezer just happened to bump my hand as well.
The light bulb turned on, (a mega watt bulb, BTW).

To start with, I took the sole out, thawed it, and patted each fillet dry.  Then I cut them in thirds.  I took a spoonful of the crab cake mixture and placed it on each piece of fish, rolled it up and secured them with a toothpick, temporarily.   Set that aside for a minute.  I took some creme fraiche,  whisked it up , added some hot sauce, just a few drops.  In a separate dish I had some panko, instant potato flakes (garlic flavored), and a little flour.  I dipped each roll in the creme fraiche and then rolled them in the panko mixture.   I fried them in some clarified butter, over low heat as I didn't want the creme fraiche to burn,  rolling them around in the butter so they could cook evenly.  They tasted pretty good, but the breading fell off as I moved them around the pan.   And the sole is such a delicate fish, well, it turned into a real Prima donna in the pan, so the next time I make it, I'll use a fish that's a little less prone to temper tantrums and instead of the creme fraiche (which tasted wonderful), I'll dip them in egg.   As it was only one of the stuffed filet's was even the least bit photogenic. sigh
Sole with Crab Cake Stuffing

Sole with Crab Cake Stuffing

Sole with Crab Cake Stuffing

Shameless promotion here:
Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. 
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

 


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Monday, November 13, 2017

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cake


Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Cake

Right off the top here I have to admit to a 'Oops'. But it was a good tasting oops.  I made a cake for the Legion Cake raffle, I make one every other week for them to raffle off, they use the proceeds to fund various good deeds in our community.
I had designed a cake in my mind, figured out how to balance the flavors and then my mind got stuck on making it into a three layer cake with 7 minute frosting.
Yeah, about that frosting, ummm, I'd forgotten how much of an escape artist that it could be.
It tried to escape, not just from between the layers, but it tried sneaking off the top of the cake as well. 
I caught it, and luckily for me, someone at our table won the cake so I got to cut it.
And taste it as well.

I also want to say I looked at this site and this site for inspiration.
I used my potato ricer to make sure that the sweet potato was nice and smooth.  I rarely use it for mashed potatoes, but it worked like a dream for this.
Riced sweet potato
I also had fun making the frosting.  Just remember that the water underneath has to be boiling, otherwise you get little sugar granules in the frosting.
Making 7 minute frosting
7 Minute Frosting
 As you can see the frosting was already oozing out.
Frosting the Thanksgiving cake with 7 Minute Frosting
And here's what I mean when I say that the frosting is an escape artist.  I had to skewer the cake to keep it from sliding around when I cut it.



Yield: A two layer cake or a bundt cake

Thanksgiving Cake - Sweet Potato Cake

 

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 45 MINStotal time: 60 mins
This was an amazing tasting cake and perfectly balanced on flavors

ingredients:


  • 1/2 cup  salted butter ( you can use unsalted butter if you like but would need to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cup flour
  •  2 tablespoons Potato Starch
  •  1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  •  3 eggs
  •  1 1/2 cups cooked sweet potato, riced or mashed well
  •  1/2 cup milk
  •   1/2 cup dried cranberries
  •   2 tablespoons bourbon
  •   1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced candied ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup each chopped pecans and dried cranberries for decorating the cake (opt.)
Felicity or 7 Minute Frosting
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup hot water

instructions:


  1. Cook sweet potatoes, peel and mash, measure out 1 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 large sweet potatoes) set aside to cool.
    Hydrate 1/2 cup dried cranberries in 2 tablespoons bourbon, set aside.
    Mince finely some candied ginger, measure out 1 tsp.  If you chop a little extra, you can add it to the topping.
    Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans or one bundt pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    Sift flour, potato starch and baking powder together, add the cinnamon and the ginger.
    Cream salted butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time and mix.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of the flour mixture, then add the sweet potato and mix well.  Mix in half the flour and continue to mix on low speed, add the milk, blend and finish off by adding the rest of the flour.  Fold in the chopped pecans, dried cranberries and the bourbon.   Divide the batter in between two 9 inch pans or one 10 cup bundt pan. 
    Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes for the layer pans or 35-40 minutes for the bundt pan.  The cake is done when it springs back when touched lightly in the centeror when a toothpick comes out clean.
    Let cool and frost with 7 Minute frosting.  If doing the 2 layer cake, the frosting will try to escape from between the layers.  If doing the bundt cake, just frost the top, the frosting will figure out how to cover the cake, all on it's own. 
    You can sprinkle the top with the additional chopped pecans and dried cranberries if you like.
  2. Felicity or 7 Minute frosting
    Combine all ingredients in top of double boiler
    Beat over boiling water for about 5 minutes or until thick.
    Remove from stove, beat over hot water for another 2 minutes.
    Beat over cold water until thick enough to stand in peaks.

notes

The frosting will try to escape from between the cake layers so it's best frosted just before serving.
Created using The Recipes Generator

 
Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life.   You can purchase it on Amazon - here's the link   


All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof. 

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Saturday, November 11, 2017

Home made Lime Extract

A few years ago a friend gave me some Limes.
Rangpur Limes
These weren't ordinary limes, no, they were some of the most incredibly flavorful limes I'd ever tasted.  They're called Rangpur Limes.   They're the orange fleshed fruit here, alongside a lemon and a lime here for comparison.   The lemon was from my Meyer Lemon tree, the other lime was from a store.
Rangpur lime, Lemon and regular lime

I said before that the juice from these were industrial strength, and I meant it.
Lucky me, my friend shares some limes every year with me and this year was no exception.  I'm giggling at all the Gin and Tonics I can enjoy with the juice I squeezed and froze.  I can also use the juice in many other recipes as well.
But honestly, they go so well in a G &T.
I really hate wasting any part of the fruit so not only do I zest the limes and freeze the zest, I also decided this year I'd make some Lime Extract so I can use it in my Candied Ginger and Lime cookies.  (You can also freeze the whole limes as well, but I have limited freezer space so I have to consolidate the limes as much as possible.)
My kitchen smelled so good as I was doing this.
It's so simple you don't really need a recipe, just a little time and effort.
Zest some limes.  I had a few...  place the zest into a clean jar.  I used a small mason jar.  
Rangpur Limes being zested
After you've zested all the limes, you can then cut them in half and juice them so you can freeze the juice.  A few years back I learned it was a lot easier to zest the limes whole, before trying to juice them.
Pour about a half cup of neutral vodka over the lime zest, place a lid on it, and into the cupboard for a couple of weeks.
Home Made Lime Extract

You can strain out the zest when you use the extract, or let some of the zest play with whatever you're making.
Just as soon as it's ready,  I'm going use some to make some more of my Candied Ginger and Lime Cookies.  They go so well with a cuppa in the afternoon.  

And, you happen to strain out the zest, keep it, put it back in the jar and add a little bit more vodka if you like.  It's all good.

Christmas is coming and my cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. 
 



All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.



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