Queen of Puddings

August 18, 2008 | Filed Under Baking, Blog Anniversary, Desserts/Sweets, Guest Bloggers, Puddings | 28 Comments

Please help me welcome this week’s guest blogger, Elizabeth of The House in Marrakesh and About New York. It is especially fitting that she’s made a tasty dessert because today happens to be the three year anniversary of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. Yay! So, we can celebrate with her delicious-sounding Queen of Puddings. Help yourself, everyone! Thank you, Elizabeth!

Paz

Photo from DeliaOnLine.com

I am honored to be a guest blogger for chef Paz!

Some while ago, we were discussing our favorite dessets. We like dessert!

In these days of increasing food prices it is good to be thrifty. What better way to use of stale white bread than a delicious

Queen of Puddings?

Also called Queen Pudding, this dish, based on a 17th Century version, was created for Queen Victoria by her chefs at Buckingham Palace. You can tell Chef Paz and I like to be in important company! This is a great favorite with my family and is easy to make.

Serves 6-8

You need:

2 cups stale white breadcrumbs (you can make these in your blender from any stale loaf)

1 tbl sp castor sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 1/2 cups milk

60 gm butter

4 eggs separated

1/4 cup raspberry jam

3/4 cup caster sugar (extra)

2 tsp crystal sugar

Method:

1. Combine breadcrumbs, castor sugar, essence and rind in large bowl.

2. Heat milk and butter in pan until almost boiling, stir in to bread mixture; stand 10 mins

3. Stir yolks into bread mixture, pour into shallow ovenproof dish (five cup capacity).

4. Bake uncovered in moderate oven about 35 mins until set.

5. Carefully spread top of pudding with warmed jam.

6. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add extra castor sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved.

7. Spread meringue over pudding, bake in moderate oven about 10 mins or until lightly browned.

Serving Suggestion: Recipe best made before serving, not suitable for freezing or microwaving.

Pollo Arrosto per Paz (Roast Chicken for Paz)

August 4, 2008 | Filed Under Briciole blog, Fellow Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Poultry | 27 Comments

Please help me welcome Simona of Briciole, this week’s guest blogger! Thanks so much Simona for helping out!

Paz

One of my favorite posts by Chef Paz is (Christine’s) Sunday Night Whole Roasted Chicken, which I refer to as "the disappeared roast chicken" post, because of the great photo of the empty serving dish where the roast chicken of the title once was. Reading that post made me laugh heartily and generated a lasting memory. The photo of the suggestively empty serving dish came back to my mind in the occasion of the production of my first roast chicken ever.

Let me back step a second to give some background information on my meat-eating habits. On December 25, 1997, at the end of a traditional English Christmas dinner, I told my husband that I would stop eating meat, which I proceeded to do for many years. (Clarification: the dinner was nice and was not the cause of my decision, which I had been mulling for a while.) Fast forward to the summer of 2008, when good influences of various nature have inspired me to taste meat again, and you will find me buying a Red Broiler, described as the true "slow food" chicken by the young woman who raises this variety (in small flocks that enjoy "sunshine, fresh air, grubs, green pasture, room to stretch their wings, and protection from predators") at a local farm (Wild Chick Farm). I went to pick up my order at the appointed time and location and brought it home, not a little intimidated and wondering what I would do next. You see, my mother never liked to use the oven, so, growing up, for me pollo arrosto always meant roast chicken from a rotisserie.

On Epicurious, I found Thomas Keller’s recipe for My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken, and decided to go with it. The word "simple" in the title was quite tempting, since I needed something extremely simple for my first venture. But I was also charmed by the way the famous chef describes eating the roast chicken. I followed the recipe as is, and the result was excellent. Of course, I had no benchmarks in my career of amateur cook against which to measure the result, but I also needed encouragement for future endeavors, so I declared it excellent and my husband agreed. We didn’t put anything on the cooked meat: no butter, no mustard, just the salt and pepper I had added before roasting. Delaying a bit my reward for not much toil but a lot of anxiety, I took a photo before carving the chicken.

Thomas Keller suggests serving it with a simple salad on the side. I love roast potatoes and since the oven is already on, there is no excuse for not making some, like fingerling potatoes, tossed with a bit of freshly-ground pepper and a mix of fresh herbs from my garden, finely chopped (rosemary, dill, sage). I added them half-way through the cooking time of the chicken, so they would be ready at the same time, or shortly thereafter, while the meat is resting before it is cut. Unfortunately, I have no photo of the potatoes: I can assure you, they were good.

Dear Paz, this pollo arrosto is dedicated to you, with heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery, a big hug (Italian-style) and many thanks for our blog-friendship.

Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

July 28, 2008 | Filed Under Cheese, Guest Bloggers, Quinoa, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, South American Cuisine | 40 Comments

Please help me welcome guest blogger, Layla of Laylita’s Recipes. Thank you, Layla, for being here!

Paz

This is my first time as a guest blogger and I’m very happy that it is for Paz, who has been one of the warmest and friendliest people I’ve met since I started my food blog. I wanted to make something that I would make for her if I lived nearby and could bring it over to help her recover, too bad Seattle is kind of far away from NY, so I made a quinoa and cheese soup that is both tasty and healthy. Soup is the answer to all problems, at least that’s the way it seemed when I was growing up in Ecuador: you’re not feeling too well? Eat your soup. You want to get bigger, taller, skinnier, smarter, etc? Eat your soup. You want dessert? Eat your soup. You want to go outside and play? Eat your soup. You would think I would have ended up hating soups, but I actually really enjoy a good bowl of soup, it’s one of those things that I crave when I’m feeling sick and wish my mom lived next door –instead of 4,500 miles away –so that she could make me some homemade soup.

The first step to making a good soup is the refrito, also known as sofrito, which is the base of the soup, it consists of heating oil or butter –or sometimes lard – and adding onions, garlic, tomatoes (peppers, celery and other vegetables can also be added depending on the soup) along with the spices and seasonings you will use for the soup, I almost always add ground cumin and achiote or annatto powder to my refrito, for this quinoa and cheese soup I also added some dry oregano and ground coriander seeds (which are seeds from the cilantro plant that have been dried). This soup has quinoa – which is healthy and all of that good stuff, but what I like about quinoa is the texture, I love the way the little seeds pop in your mouth -, as well as potatoes, cheese and cilantro, which remind a lot of another delicious soup called locro de papas. Whenever I make a soup that has potatoes in it, I like to add the potatoes to the refrito and let them cook for just a few minutes so that they get just a little bit browned and then add the water or broth. I used queso fresco, which is fresh Mexican cheese that you can find in most supermarkets, but you can also use feta cheese instead, feta is a little bit more salty so adjust the salt according to your preference; and like many other Ecuadorian soups I serve this one with some diced avocado and hot sauce on the side.

Paz, thank you for this opportunity and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

2 cups diced white onion, about 1 large onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped finely

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp achiote powder

1 tsp dry oregano

¼ tsp ground coriander

5-6 potatoes, peeled and cut in small chunks

1 cup uncooked quinoa, pre-washed

8 cups water or broth

1 cup milk

2 cups grated or crumbled queso fresco, can use feta cheese

4 tbs finely chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Sides – avocado and hot sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onions, garlic, tomato, cumin, achiote, oregano, coriander, salt and pepper, mix well and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the chopped potatoes, stir them well to coat them with onions and spices and cook them for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the water or broth, bring to a boil.

4. Add the uncooked quinoa, reduce the temperature and simmer until the quinoa and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

5. Add the milk and cheese, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Add the chopped cilantro or parsley, taste and add additional salt/pepper if needed.

7. Serve warm with diced or sliced avocado and hot sauce.