My new obscession, continued...

So, I'm not sure if anyone but myself and the dust bunnies read/pay attention to this blog. C'est la vie! as Julia Child would say. If you couldn't tell from my gushing review a few posts previous, I really, really liked the movie Julie & Julia. I had never really heard of Julia Child - she is a bit before my time. But after seeing the movie, I wanted to learn more about this wacky, talented woman.

I just finished reading "My life in France" by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. It is Julia's life, told from her perspective. (Alex helped her write it but is not mentioned in the book except in the introduction, which is written in his perspective). I think it's a wonderful, "tasty" book that leaves you wishfully wanting more. It also leaves you jonesing for a really great meal! It has recently been released in mass market paperback, so it's an affordable indulgence. Check it out on amazon!

While researching other aspects of The French Chef's life, I came across this article on America's Kitchens and how little time we like to spend in them. Apparently we love to watch others cook and bake up a storm on tv, but when it comes to attempting those feats in our own kitchens.... not so much. Interesting.

I think partially it is because food can be as much a feast for the eyes and ears as well as the mouth. We are at least partially satisfied by hearing the sizzle of the pans, watching the process unfold on TV, and seeing the food plated in a gorgeous manner we think we could never achieve.

The problem there is cooking CAN be therapeutic and very satisfying. So perhaps in future we can learn from Mrs. Child and the time and love she put into her cooking, and treat ourselves to a little love in our own kitchens.

Enjoy!

Uncle Frank's Famous Hollandaise Sauce!

When I first started low-carbing, I really needed to friendly myself up to eggs. I am not a fancy cook, so basically the best I could do with eggs was scramble them. But in the real world, no one really wants to eat scrambled eggs all the time. Sometimes you want something a bit more...festive.

So, I turned to my uncle Frank for advice. When you go to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner, it's basically like going to a restaurant. They love cooking, and I love eating!!!

Much to my taste buds delight, he passed me over his yummy hollandaise sauce recipe.

You know, I was always a bit afraid of hollandaise. I mean, it's this weird yellow sauce on eggs that people always seem to love..and yet they describe it as "sweet" which to me, just sounds wrong when you're talking about a topper for eggs. I was very leery to even try hollandaise sauce at first, until one day I went to my aunt and uncle's and lo and behold, they were making eggs benedict. I decided to go hog-wild and give it a try...figuring it wouldn't get better than whatever sauce THEY would make, and I'm glad i did!

It's not "sweet" in a sickly sweet honey-mustard way. (Sorry fans, I just hate honey mustard.)
It's rich and buttery with a hint of lemon which I guess gives it that "sweet" descriptor. It's more like a little tang...like someone ringing a bell in your mouth. "Ding! Mmmm...so good!"

And here's how you're going to make it:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, softened.
  
• 2-3 tsp. lemon juice (I used the juice from one of those little plastic lemon bottles rather than juicing a fresh lemon)
• 4 egg YOLKS
• 1 tsp water
• if you have some: cream in case you find the sauce not thin enough!
• a pot, and a metal mixing bowl that can sit ontop of the pot without falling in!
  

Method

• Make sure everything else is done, before you start the sauce!! (i.e. eggs are cooked, etc.)
• Bring 2-3 inches of water to a boil in the pot
  
• Place the metal mixing bowl over the pot of water and then add your ingredients in the order shown above. You want to work quicklyish, so perhaps you should get the egg yolks ready so you can quickly add everything at once.
• Stir for a minute or two until everything is wonderful and all mixed together!
• If you find the sauce is a bit thick (sometimes I've had it turn out more like...cool whip consistency) feel free to add a bit of cream and stir that in to thin it a bit. Thick or thin, it tastes the same....delicious!

I did not find any crazy drama happened while making this recipe, and hopefully you won't either. It comes in quite useful for saturday morning breakfasts, or a quick, easy way to impress guests!

I generally serve this sauce overtop of a poached egg (or two), sitting on a ham steak or a slice of cottage roll. It's really nice if the ham and plate are warmed up and waiting in the oven for you to just add the sauce. If you poach your eggs and plop them ontop of the ham and then throw it in the oven, it will be all warm and ready for saucing and eating and rejoicing!

Who knew a sauce could make me get so carried away? ;)

Enjoy!

Julie & Julia

Let's take a little departure from the recipes for a second to talk about a movie I just got to sneak preview: Julie & Julia.

Chances are most of you have heard of this movie, it stars Amy Adams (Giselle from Enchanted, and also Amelia Earheart from Night at the museum 2) and Meryl Streep (who stars in too many movies to name...recently Mamma Mia!). There are a few other familiar faces as well in supporting roles.

The basic ingredients: Julie Powell(Amy Adams) hates her job as an insurance claim reviewer, working in NYC after 9/11 and is quite bummed out, but really enjoys cooking as it's a great escape from the troubles of the outside world(present day). Julia Child (Meryl Streep) is a well-to-do's wife in the 50's (mabye a bit earlier? I'm not sure) in France, who really would like to learn the art of french cooking, but can't speak french. She embarks on a mission to master cooking at the cordon bleu, and along the way meets some lovely friends who are writing a french cookbook, but need an "american's" perspective, as that is the audience they want to appeal to.

The result: A REALLY REALLY Funny, heartwarming movie. GREAT to go see with your girlfriends for a night out!! You should probably eat first though because there's some pretty yummy things in this movie. :)

For those of you who would like to see the blog which is what this movie is based upon, check out The Julie / Julia Project.

Enjoy :)

Cool Strawberry Cream Pie

Here it comes... everyone's favourite part of the meal (and one that low-carbers don't get often)... DESSERT!

Summers and cottages go together quite well, as most people are aware. I've never really been a winter-sports person, so my main idea of a cottage is a nice little house with a nice big fire pit, some water to play in and lots of old movies. My parents just happen to have such a cottage! So, my friends and I trekked down to enjoy ourselves, and I knew I would be in trouble if there wasn't at least one sweet thing I could eat. (I got into trouble anyways, but that's another story...)

I decided to show off my baking skills to my houseguests by making a pie. Not just any pie...a strawberry pie! How domestic and culinary is that?! Well, let's find out!

Cool Strawberry Cream Pie

Original recipe found at Low Carb Luxury
Serves 8. Carbs per serving: 5g.

Ingredients For Meringue Shell:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 Tablespoons Splenda

Ingredients For Filling:

• 1 small pkg. sugar-free gelatin (strawberry or raspberry) (I ended up using 2, I will explain later.)
  
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup Splenda
• 1 quart strawberries, cleaned and sliced

1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Grease one Pyrex pie plate and set aside.
   
   
2. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar then beat until whites stand in peaks. Add Splenda and beat for an additional minute or two. Spread the meringue evenly in the bottom of the plate and up the sides. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes in a 275°F oven, then raise the temperature to 300° and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool while you make filling.
   
   
3. Dissolve gelatin with 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir in 1/3 cup cold water. Place in freezer for approximately 15-20 minutes (just until it begins to gel.)
   (So far, so good!!)
   
   
   
4. When the gelatin is ready, whip the heavy cream until stiff (but not dry). Fold in cream cheese and Splenda. Fold in gelatin. Stir in strawberries (reserving a few for garnish if you like.) Pour over meringue shell in pie plate and let chill until firm. — about 2 hours.
   I was a bit worried my filling was a bit runny, so I added another packet of jello. You could just add gelatin if you had that around. Or not. Up to you. (Not sure it helped us any but it didn't harm anything either.)
   Ok. This step is where it all fell apart for me. We followed the directions like...exactly and ended up with this:ew.
   
   So this is what we think was wrong: a) I left the jello in the fridge a bit too long. However it absorbed in the end, so if this happens to you I wouldn't worry too much. b)....there is no way we could get our softened cream cheese to "fold in" like the recipe says. NO WAY! Next time, I am going at this with an electric beater. I honestly think that if you beat it and then just stirred in the strawberries as the last thing, it will turn out smooth, sexy and sweet.
   
   

What I thought...
I thought the thing turned out ok, but as stated above, it really needs to be blended fully. I was a bit weirded out when I got a little lump of cream cheese in my pie piece. On the up-side, it is quite tasty and I thought the crust turned out REALLY WELL. My boyfriend thought it was too 'eggy', but I think that's just because he was in the room while it was cooking. It did smell like eggs cooking. But it tastes more like waffle cone, or McDonald's ice cream cone. I would definitely use that meringue crust again!

Another good thing is despite it's flaws, a few people were brave enough to try it. Did they like it or were they being nice? I'm not sure. But I know next time...everyone will LOVE it.

Good luck and enjoy!

Cheesy Crustless Quiche

This is the story of the quiche which has been months in the making. Some heard rumours of this quiche waiting to be made many moons ago, and yet... nothing ever materialized.

UNTIL ONE DAY... when I finally got my butt to the store and purchased the simple handfull of ingredients this recipe requires.

Then I got home and realized I forgot the baking powder.

UNTIL ONE DAY A WEEK LATER... when I went to the store, and bought the baking powder.

Then I got home and realized that I don't actually have a pie pan.

UNTIL ONE DAY A WEEK AND A FEW DAYS LATER... when my good friend Ana took me to walmart, where I purchased a nice big pyrex pie pan. (ooh. Alliteration.)

And Thus, the Cheesy Crustless Quiche was born!

Original recipe to be found at SimplyRecipes.com
For the whole quiche: Cals 1169, Fat 93g, Sodium 2710mg, Carbs 24g, Sugar 5g, Fibre 1g, Protein 51g according to the daily plate. So carbs per serving = 3g!

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup) (Mine was unsalted. Not sure it matters.)
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
  
• 1 cup cottage cheese (NOT light!!)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 5 eggs
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (NOT light!!)
• 6 ounces shredded Swiss cheese (I actually used cheddar and mozzarella)
  
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled (Or those ready-made real bacon bits from the store!)
  
• 6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half (Yuck)
  

Here we go...
(there are some good "In Process" pics on the simplyrecipes page)

1 Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir in flour; cook, stirring until bubbly. Gradually add the milk; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. Remove from the heat; set aside to cool, about 15-20 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cottage cheese, baking powder, salt and mustard; set aside.

3 Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the cream cheese, the cottage cheese mixture and the milk/flour sauce. Fold in the Swiss and Parmesan cheeses. I have to be honest here, and say I was too lazy to find out how much 4 ounces of cream cheese was, so I just grabbed a tub of cream cheese and put the whole thing in. Ditto with the grated cheese - I just put a few good handfulls from a bag of shredded cheese until it "looked about right".

4 Pour into a buttered 10" pie plate. Sprinkle the top with chopped green onions and crumbled bacon. Arrange tomato halves, cut side up, around the top. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned. A knife inserted into the center of the quiche should come out clean. Let rest for 15 minutes, serve. Here, I left out the tomatoes because frankly, tomatoes are gross. Also in my oven, it took an extra 10 minutes to cook...so I think that the knife-coming-out-clean method of checking it's ready-ness is really key!

About to go into the oven...

What I thought...

Well. First off, this is only the second quiche I have ever tried in my life and it REALLY Surpassed its predecessor!!! (I once tried the broccoli Quiche at Cultures and it was so gross that even though I was starving, I left half of it there. I haad a coffee for dinner instead. How sad.) ((And it was even more of a piss off, because the damn thing was like...6 bucks.)) This quiche is really quite...creamy I'd say. It's great heated up in the microwave with a dollop of sour cream! I think it has staying power too, so it's a great breakfast or even lunch item. My only down point on this recipe is that because you have to make the "batter" in three parts and then mix them together at the end, it makes a lot of dishes. It does however, make one mother of a big quiche as well, so it's definitely worth the effort!

This recipe showed me why some people go crazy for quiche, and chances are I will make it again in the future :)

Enjoy!

New Cookbook!

I hit up pacific mall this weekend and bought a cookbook (which has english AND chinese language in it..) specifically on chicken wings! Kind of neat, eh?

Hopefully the recipes will be good..I'll have to bite the bullet and buy raw chicken wings.

For some reason any recipe that calls for anything fancier/different than "chicken breast" or "ground beef" intimidates me.

^_^;;

Running around like a chicken and other tales...

ok ladies and gents,

I am a low-carber who has had a glass of wine, so my typing is sure to suffer for it.

But regardless, I'd like to share something with you that I've been TRYING to find the time to cook for at least 1 week. Sheesh. Who thought finding time to make food would be so hard when I don't even have a family to trail after?

Apparently my time-management skills are lacking. (Either that, or I like watching two and a half men more than cooking... but I'm working to change that. :)

This week's recipe is a bit of a downer for me, because I didn't particularly cherish the results...and I have the leftovers in my fridge to prove it. HOWEVER, I am going to show you what I did, where I went wrong and what (I think) you can do to fix it and make this recipe fabulous!!

Here we go...

Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

(Recipe courtesy of www.low-carb-diet-recipes.com)

Calories: 157, 2 carbs, 15g fat, 4g protein.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• pinch of salt, pinch of pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tbsp prepared pesto sauce (look with the spaghetti sauce at the grocery store)
• 2 tsp grated parmesan
• 4 chicken breasts
• I added spinach...which was not in the original recipe

Directions:

1. Sauté the breasts in frying pan, then lower the heat and cook covered for another 10 minutes until no longer pink inside. (i.e. cook the chicken. lol).
   
2. In a large skillet, bring chicken broth, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a boil. Let it keep boiling until it reduces to about 1/2 volume.
   



3. Stir in the cream, and again let it boil until it reduces to about 1/2 volume. (At this step, I added spinach so I got some extra veggies also..)


4. Whisk in prepared pesto and parmesan. Serve sauce over chicken.

Here's what I did differently:

1. I misread direction 2, and added the pesto right away. I really don't think this made any difference.
   
2. I did not have italian seasoning (honestly I don't even know what it is..) so I used some mrs. dash garlic and herb. That sounds italian-y doesn't it?
   
3. Because I have a hard time adding enough veggies to my day, I decided to throw spinach into this recipe as well. I think in cream sauces, spinach is divine. It gets all wilty and wonderful! How often can you say that wilted veggies are wonderful?

The result:

Ok. It was just....ok. VERY SALTY. I am not a huge fan...I think it LOOKS wonderful (despite my bad photography...) and it smells pretty wonderful. But, for a person who doesn't really dig salt...you're going to find this dish very salty. I attribute this to the canned chicken broth I used, as well as the mrs. dash, and the pinch of salt, obviously. I also think that the chicken I used was not of the highest quality (I got it in the freezer section of walmart. It was a week for penny-pinching). and possibly there was sodium added to it as well.

What I would do differently:

I definitely think that this recipe can be fixed. What I would do is substitute your favourite white wine for the chicken stock, FORGET adding the salt all together, and use a good quality, fresh chicken breast.

I would also not break my favourite pot lid by dropping it ontop of a can opener...

Sigh :)

Anyways..I'd love to know if someone else has better luck with this recipe than I have had...let me know!!

Enjoy...;)