Thursday, September 8, 2011

how to make cheese cake


ingredients:
• 15 Graham Crackers (crushed)
• 2 tbsp Butter (melted)
• 200 gms Cream Cheese
• 1-1/2 cups White Sugar
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 4 Eggs
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
How to make Cheese Cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a spring form pan.
• Take a bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and press onto bottom of the pan.
• In a large bowl, combine cream cheese with sugar till smooth.
• Combine it with milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate.
• Add sour cream, vanilla and flour to it, mix well till smooth.
• Now pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour.
• Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven for about 5 to 6 hours.
• Place it in the refrigerator till serving.

Monday, September 5, 2011

how to make nachos


there are basically four primary ingredients:

1. Tortilla chips

2. Refried beans

3. Ground beef, browned and drained; seasoned with taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or plain old salt and pepper.

4. Refried beans and ground beef.

True, you can use other meats if that's what you have in the can, the fridge or the freezer. Just remember to layer, layer and layer some more. And then, to heat your fully loaded platter in oven or microwave until cheese is melted.

You can also top with salsa and/or sour cream.

Now, all of this said--Create and Enjoy

Wow, that sounds easy enough Caj, Thanks for the advice let’s get those tortilla chips layered and start spreading the goods.

Here are a few more suggestions for you to continue in your own personal pursuit of mouthwatering winning tasty recipe that you are about to create.

Ready, starved yet?

Drizzle the layers of tortilla chips with your favorite homemade salsa or taco sauce, mild or hot your choice.

Spoon on some canned refried beans, black olives, canned or fresh green chiles. Then add some of the Captain’s favorite fresh avocado slices and don’t forget to throw on some chopped green onions or scallions.

Do you have some left over cooked chicken in the fridge?

Chop it up toss it on as one of the layers for some appetizing chicken nachos.

Slide the pan into a preheated 400 F degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Watch them closely. It will not take long at this temperature.

Now, go back to your movie with your favorite cold beverage and enjoy your own winning Nacho recipe.

Here are some salsa recipes to use with your delightful recipe.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

How to Make Delicious Homemade Donuts


Recipe for Basic Cake Donuts
This is the easiest recipe for cake doughnuts that I have. I use it over and over again, varying it with different topping and icings.

4 1/2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Beat eggs with sugar until light.
Add butter, mil, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed. Do not over mix.
If dough is too soft to roll, chill it for an hour.
Roll dough out 3/8 inch thick on a floured surface and cut with donut cutters.
Fry in 370 degree oil until golden on both sides, turning once.
Remove from oil, hold over hot oil for a few minutes to drain, and then finish draining on absorbent paper.
While still warm shake in sugar, sugar- cinnamon mixture, dip in glaze of choice, or dust with powdered sugar.

Friday, September 2, 2011

how to make lasagna


What You Need
Ingredients
Pasta
1 pound dried lasagna noodles
Olive oil
Salt
Meat Sauce
1 1/4 pound (1 package) uncooked spicy pork or chicken sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
One 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, with their juice
One 12-ounce can tomato paste
One 28-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Large pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons salt, divided
Cheese Layer
15 ounces ricotta cheese, drained
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
Small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
4 cups (2 packages) grated mozzarella cheese
Equipment
Extra-deep 13x9-inch baking dish (should be at least 3 inches deep!)
Baking spray or olive oil for greasing the pan
Large pasta pot
Towels for noodles
Colander
Deep sauté pan OR wide saucepan
Medium bowl
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 425°F and lightly grease the baking pan with olive oil.
2. Place a large pot of water over high heat. Drizzle in a glug of olive oil and salt the water generously.
3. Bring to a boil, add the lasagna noodles, and bring back to a boil. Cook until the lasagna is al dente.
4. Drain and lay the noodles out on clean kitchen towels.
5. Place a large skillet over medium high heat.
6. Cut open the sausage casings (I like to use kitchen shears for this) and crumble the sausage. Crumble in the ground beef, and add all the meat to the skillet.
7. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef is very well browned.
8. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and the garlic.
9. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and turn down the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 10 minutes.
10. Take off the heat and drain most of the fat away from the meat.
11. Place back on the heat, and add the tomato paste. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring it into the meat.
12. Crush the plum tomatoes in the can, and then add them with their juices, as well as the tomato sauce, into the meat. Stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer for at least 15 minutes, while you prepare the cheese layer. When you take the sauce off the heat, stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
13. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, olive oil, and minced parsley in a large bowl.
14. Count your noodles. You will need four layers of noodles total. It is best to start and finish with wider layers, so if you have less than 16 noodles, put your extra noodles in the bottom or top layers. (For the purposes of this recipe, I'll assume you have 15 noodles.) Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with 4 cooked lasagna noodles, overlapping them.
15. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture on top.
16. Spread about one-third of the meat sauce on top of that.
17. Sprinkle with about 1 cup of grated mozzarella and top with another 3 noodles. Repeat layering the ricotta and meat sauce with the cheese. Repeat again with 3 noodles and another layer of ricotta, meat, and cheese.
18. Finish by topping the lasagna with 4 noodles — one crosswise and four lengthwise. Sprinkle any remaining mozzarella cheese on top of the noodles, as well as the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. (At this point the lasagna may be covered and refrigerated for up to 48 hours. It may also be securely wrapped and frozen for up to a month.)
19. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
20. Bake for 30 minutes.
21. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. for Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Additional Notes:
• This recipe is adapted from my own recipe from my book, Not Your Mother's Casserole Cookbook, which will be published by Harvard Common Press in January 2011.
• This lasagna can be made up to a day ahead, then covered and refrigerated. It can also be frozen, before baking. If you freeze it, let the lasagna thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking it, then bake as directed above. If you don't have time to let it thaw, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees, and bake for an additional half an hour, or until the center is steaming hot.
• This recipe feeds 6 to 8 people.

how to make pasta(italian)



Step 1: You will need
Units:
700 g 00 flour
5 medium free-range eggs
5 ltr water
6 tsp salt
olive oil
1 blunt knife
1 sieve
1 bowl
1 rolling pin
1 spatula or pastry scraper
some cling film
1 colander
1 fork
Serves:
6
Preparation Time:
1 hour
Cooking Time:
3 minutes

Step 2: Mix
Pour 700 grams of flour directly onto a flat wooden surface. Make a well in the centre of the mound and crack the 5 eggs in one at a time. Using a blunt knife, gradually mix the flour into the eggs. Keep the mixture moving at all times. It may take a while to incorporate enough flour into the egg to create a doughy consistency

Step 3: Knead
When the mixture gets too thick for the knife, use a pastry scraper or spatula to turn the dough over. Then begin kneading it with your fingers. The mixture will eventually form a ball of dough, with lots of the flour left over.

Place the dough ball to one side, scrape the remaining flour into a sieve to separate the finer flour from the doughy crumbs. Use this flour to help the kneading process

Work the dough with your hands for several minutes, pushing your palm into the dough. If your hands begin to stick dip them in a little of the left over flour. To see whether it's ready, press the dough with your finger - if it springs back it is done. There should be no visible lumps of flour, only small air bubbles.

Step 4: Leave it to rest
Flour the dough ball and wrap in cling film, or place it under an up turned bowl, and leave to rest for about 20 minutes.

Step 5: Roll it out
Dust a heavy rolling pin and work surface with flour. Begin by flattening the dough with the palm of your hand. Roll forward in short controlled pushes, then back towards you to even out the dough. Whenever it begins to stick to the rolling pin, dust with flour. Turn the dough regularly to keep its circular shape

HANDY HINT
When the dough spreads out, roll with half on the table and half off. This will make for a more accessible area to roll. Then turn and do the same to the other side.

When the dough becomes too large and thin to pick up, roll it around the rolling pin, this will prevent it from tearing as you turn it. Stop when the dough is about 1 mm thick, or thin enough for you to see your fingers through

Step 6: Form the pasta
Fold the two sides of the pasta until they meet in the middle, each fold should be around 5 centimetres

You can make any shaped pasta from this dough. To make fettuccine, cut the rolls into 1 cm strips. Then slide a knife through the middle of the roll and lift to unfurl the pasta strips. Alternatively cut into 2 cm strips for pappardelle or 2 mm strips for tagliolini. Maltagliati, literally meaning badly cut is pasta randomly sliced.

To make lasagne sheets, unfurl the roll and slice into 12 centimetre squares. To make cannelloni roll a 15 cm square into a parcel shape, - this will then hold the filling. You can also use any crumbs left over from making the dough as soup croutons.

Step 7: Boil the water
Put 5 litres of water into a large pan and place onto a high heat. Add 6 teaspoons of rock salt and leave to boil.

HANDY HINT
If you don't serve the pasta immediately you can store it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Step 8: Cook the pasta
Drop the pasta into the pan of boiling water and stir well. The thicker the pasta is, the longer it takes to cook. This fettuccine takes 4 minutes. To see if it's ready taste a strand. Strain through a colander and tip the pasta onto a tray or dish. Drizzle over a little olive oil and mix well with a fork to coat each strand. Add a little more olive oil if you think it is needed.

Step 9: Serve
Stir into a hot sauce of your choice. Try Video Jug's 'How to make a basic tomato sauce' for another Caldesi recipe. Garnish with torn basil leaves and grated pecorino cheese

Sunday, August 28, 2011

how to make pancakes



Step 1: You will need:
Units:
180 g flour
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
200 ml milk
75 ml water
30 g melted butter
some extra butter , for frying
some caster sugar
1 lemon , halved
1 bowl
1 whisk
1 frying pan
1 serving plate
1 spoon
1 ladle
1 sieve
Serves:
4
Preparation Time:
5 minutes
Cooking Time:
20 minutes


Step 2: Mix the batter
Begin by sieving the flour into a bowl. This will help to make the pancakes light as air. Now add the salt, sugar, eggs, milk, water and butter and whisk well into a smooth batter.

Step 3: Cook the pancakes
Place the frying pan over a medium to high heat and allow it to warm through. When hot, add a little of the melted butter, and then three quarters of a ladle of the batter. Move the mixture around so that the batter spreads evenly over the pan. Let it brown underneath for about 30 seconds and give it a little shake to release it from the bottom. It's very important that it doesn't stick to the pan. Also the top should look almost set.

Step 4: Toss the pancakes
Flip the pancake over. Don't worry if you can't do it the first time.Practise makes perfect! And you can always use a spatula! Cook it for a few seconds more and remove. Place the pancake flat on the serving plate. Repeat exactly the same process with the rest of the batter.

TOP TIP: Flip the wrist so that the pan moves in an upward arc which causes the pancake to slide up and out of the pan. A direct lift leaves a partial vacuum under the pancake which tends to keep it in the pan. The movement in the arc supplies the torque to flip the pancake.

Step 5: Garnish and serve
Place the pancakes flat on a plate. Squeeze a little lemon and sprinkle a little sugar over each one before folding in half and then half again to make a fan shape, or you can simply roll them up! Put them on a serving plate, sprinkle over more lemon and scatter over a little more sugar and serve. Warm and cheering, they make the perfect way to celebrate "Shrove Tuesday" or every day!