<![CDATA[Markers.com - \"I followed the recipe, except for. . . \"]]>Mon, 01 May 2023 11:39:47 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Italian Sausage, Tomato and White Bean Soup]]>Fri, 05 Jan 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.markers.com/i-followed-the-recipe-except-for/italian-sausage-tomato-and-white-bean-soup
Italian Sausage Tomato & White Bean Soup
File Size: 103 kb
File Type: pdf
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I received "Yum & Yummer" for Christmas from a childhood friend.  This was the third cookbook written by Greta Podleski I had received from this friend, so I knew that the recipes would be fun and yummy to cook/bake.
As I flipped through the cookbook, I started to tag recipes that I wanted to try.  Which one should go first????
"Italian Turkey Sausage, Tomato, & White Bean Soup with Kale" won the draw. 
How many have already noticed that the name of my recipe doesn't match the cookbook title?  Yes I started improvising out of the gate, couldn't find Italian turkey sausage, but found Hemplers hot Italian sausage which has no preservatives instead.  I'm not a fan of kale, so baby spinach was added instead.
This has become a favourite after the first batch.
Italian Sausage, Tomato and White Bean Soup
1 lb hot Italian sausage (Hemplers, no preservatives - Safeway)
½ cup chopped onions
1 ½  cups chopped carrots
1 ½  cups chopped celery
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
6 cups chicken broth
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can (14 oz) cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups packed, chopped baby spinach.
  
  1. In a large soup pot over medium high, cook and stir sausage until lightly browned, breaking up any large pieces
  2. Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add Italian seasoning and mix well.
  4. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Discard bay leaf
  6. Add beans and spinach, simmer for 5 more minutes.
   From: Yum and Yummer cookbook by Greta Podleski.
]]><![CDATA[Angel Food Cake]]>Tue, 26 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.markers.com/i-followed-the-recipe-except-for/angel-food-cake
Angel Food Cake
File Size: 451 kb
File Type: pdf
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Hmm what do you do with all the egg whites left from making multiple recipes of creme brulee?  You make angel food cake! 
I dug out my mum's recipe from her dog earred, butter stained notebook cookbook.  Thought not in the instructions - I did remember that you don't let any fat near your beaters, spatula or bowls, or it will not rise!
I couldn't read how long and at what temperature to cook the cake.  The internet came to the rescue - Betty Crocker's version was almost the same as mum's. 
Made the original version, then someone suggested - wouldn't lemon taste great in this cake.  So the next couple versions had lemon added.  Let's just say the lemon was a bit hit.
Angel Food Cake
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 ½ cups egg whites (10 = number of yolks from 2 crème brulee recipe)
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1/teaspoon salt

​Lemon variation – 1 ½ tsp lemon zest (2 lemons)

​ 
Original recipe:
​https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/heavenly-angel-food-cake/47fb0100-5df4-4dd4-b4e1-f5db1475954b
  1. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375ºF.
  2. Sift powdered sugar and flour; set aside.
  3. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.
  4. Beat in granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high speed, adding vanilla, almond extract and salt with the last addition of sugar. [Add lemon]Continue beating until stiff and glossy meringue forms. Do not underbeat.
  5. Sprinkle sugar-flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, over meringue, folding in just until sugar-flour mixture disappears.
  6. Push batter into ungreased angel food cake pan (tube pan), 10x4 inches. Cut gently through batter with metal spatula.
  7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly.
  8. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. Loosen side of cake with knife or long, metal spatula; remove from pan.
]]><![CDATA[Creme Brulee]]>Mon, 25 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.markers.com/i-followed-the-recipe-except-for/creme-brulee
Vanilla Crème Brulee
File Size: 97 kb
File Type: pdf
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We were out for dinner enjoying the creme brulee at a local restaurant.  My friend and I, as we savored the creme brulee, started discussing, "how hard can it be to make" and "wouldn't it be fun to make it for Christmas dinner"!
Thus began my month long pursuit of perfecting creme brulee!
I found a straight forward recipe on the web, but after the first time had to make some adjustments. Soon mum's rejoinder "I followed the recipe except for . . . ." was heard when I described my process to friends. 
By the end of December, I had bought a cooking torch to make the nice crisp crust; bought more little bowls; also admitted why I had so many little ones already (Costco sells creme brulee); experimented with lemon and chocolate variations and became very popular with friends when there were left overs to take home.
Vanilla Crème Brulee
 
2 cups (1 pint/ 473ml) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
5 eggs yolks
½ cup white sugar
 
  1. Heat oven to 275F
  2. Combine cream, vanilla bean (cut in ½, scraped of seeds), salt into microwave safe bowl [use 8 cup Pampered Chef]
  3. Heat in microwave for 1 min @Power 7, stir in between for a total of 3 rounds.
  4. Let cool, then remove bean from cream.  If using vanilla extract add it now.
  5. In a bowl whip egg yolks and sugar until light.
  6. Stir about  a soup ladle of egg mixture, mix into cream mixture.
  7. Pour egg-cream mixture into cream mixture, stir thoroughly
  8. Using soup ladle, pour into ramekins (8 – ½ cup Costco bowls // 7 – 6 oz pyrex bowls).
  9. Place in metal cake pan, pour hot water around ramekins.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pan, bake for another 20 minutes or unit centers are barely set.
  11. Once glass has cooled enough, remove ramekins from pan, place on cookie sheet refrigerate.
  12. To do sugar topping – sprinkle with sugar, using culinary torch until brown.
 Original recipe: Mark Bittman from Cooking NYTimes. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9039-vanilla-creme-brulee
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