Cooking for Seven

Today is (my eldest sister) Janna’s birthday. In celebration, I have decided to make this Toasted Almond Panna Cotta for supper. I know, dessert for supper sounds strange; that’s how we are. Afterwards, we plan to watch one of our favorite new movies.

Continue Reading for the recipe » »

Summer is quickly coming to a close. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy delicious, creamy homemade ice cream.

I was surprised by how smooth and tasty this ice cream is was. The list of ingredients is so small. But oh, do those ingredients pack in the flavor.

I would suggest going easy on the salt for the nuts. I salted mine a leeetle too much, and the whole ice cream flavor took on a saline quality. The recipe was very good, but I’m not big into salty ice cream.

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Maple Pecan Ice Cream

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from epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pecans
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract, optional (I left this out)

A few weeks ago, I learned about Superior Nut: a company started in 1929 that provides gourmet nuts, dried fruits, and chocolates. They showed an interest in my blog, and graciously sent me a sampling of their nuts to taste and review.

What initially impressed me about the nuts was the size - larger than most that I normally find at the supermarket. The flavor and texture of the nuts are very good. It was hard to keep from munching on them before this review was finished. *Blushes*

These roasted tamari almonds are made with organic, wheat free soy sauce which is slowly fermented over two summers! They make a delicious snack.

The very kind people over at Superior Nut sent me so many delicious nuts that it was very hard for me to decide what to make with them. I wasn’t very familiar with cooking with macadamia nuts, but I have always been slightly fascinated with them. So I decided to try them!

Am I glad I did! These brownies were about the best I’ve ever made. The macadamia nuts were mild enough not to detract from the chocolate flavor yet tasty enough to add a special touch. Of course, you could substitute any other kind of nut you wish, but I highly recommend macadamia nuts.

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Macadamia Nut Brownies

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped roasted and salted macadamia nuts plus extra for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 13×9x2-inch baking pan.

2) Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Mix in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and nuts. Spread in pan. Sprinkle with remaining nuts.

3) Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pans. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut into bars and serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 24 bars

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I have so many delicious nuts that I may have to share another recipe with you…

A week or so ago Mom made a trip to our favorite co-op. She brought back many delcious things, including some chopped dates. When she noticed me mixing them into my oatmeal, she protested and expressed a desire for date bread.

I was more than happy to oblige. So I found a recipe from a trusted source and gathered the required ingredients.

Confession: I made two mistakes while preparing this loaf. And it still turned out great! Gotta love Joy of Baking.

1) I added too much flour. Don’t ask me why. I just didn’t trust my usual, fail safe method of weighing the flour. So I had to add 1/4 cup of milk at the end of mixing. Surprisingly the extra mixing didn’t turn the bread into a brick.

2) I completely forgot to add the walnuts. The bread was sitting cozily in the oven when I noticed the walnuts, sitting on the counter, toasted, chopped, and ready to be used. Oh well. I took it in stride.

This bread was very moist and soft, even though I used all whole wheat flour. If you are leery of 100% whole wheat bread, simply use all-purpose flour in place of all or part of the wheat. Serve plane, with butter, or cream cheese.

And the word from Dad, the date hater: “That’s pretty good date bread.” Wow. It must be good.

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Date and Walnut Bread

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (225 grams) pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
• 2 cups (8 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/2 cup Sucanat, demerara, or brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1) To prepare the dates: In a large bowl mix the chopped dates with the baking soda and a pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon). Pour 1 cup of very hot water over the dates, stir, and leave to cool to room temperature (about 1 hour).

2) To make the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.  Set aside.

3) In a food processor place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Process to combine and then add the butter. Process until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the chopped walnuts.

4) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with the vanilla extract.  Fold the flour mixture and beaten egg mixture into the cooled dates (with their water). Stir until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Gently slide a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Or, if you will not be using the bread immediately, when the bread has almost completely cooled, wrap well in plastic wrap and place in a zippered bag to store.

Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Here is my favorite method for toasting nuts. I find it much easier than continually having to open the oven, take the nuts out, give them a stir, and put them back in the oven.

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:: How to Toast Nuts Over the Stove ::

Place the desired nuts into an appropriate sized skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are toasty and fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Cooking time will vary, depending on the type of nuts used.

It’s just that simple!

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