Classic Crepes: Sweet and Chocolate.

Crepes are one of my favorite breakfast foods. Actually, they're one of my favorite anytime foods. They are always great to have when friends come over...which is why I made them today. The ingredients and the process is simple, yet these thin pancakes are always a crowd pleaser.

The Ingredients
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk
1 cup AP flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

The Method
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the milk until no major lumps are left. Next, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Mix until incorporated. Be careful not to over mix, the combination of flour, a liquid and stirring will yield gluten...which is great for crusty French bread and pizza but not really for crepes. Mix only when necessary. Slowly drizzle the butter in while whisking. Set the batter in the fridge for about an hour.
The resting allows the flour particles to hydrate which will make the crepes come together better. Most doughs like pie crusts and cookies need this time to relax...don't we all?
After you and your crepe batter have taken a nap, get a couple of small preferably non-stick pans on medium heat. Put a little butter in the pan and wipe with a paper towel. This will leave a very thin layer to prevent sticking. When heated, take about 1/4 cup of batter and pour it onto on side of the pan. Shake and swirl the pan to coat, dump any leftover batter back in the bowl . The keyword of the day is thin.
When the edges are lightly brown, flip with a heat proof rubber spatula (my absolute favorite kitchen tool). Cook for another 30 seconds or so and start stacking up the crepes.

For a chocolate variation, add 1.5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the batter when adding the the sugar.











Fillings include Nutella and bananas, whipped cream mixed with yogurt, strawberries, caramelized apples...the possibility are virtually endless.












Hope you try and enjoy this recipe. Let me know if you need more filling ideas.

Thai Basil Chicken

The cuisine of Thailand is definitely one of my favorites. The flavors are so fresh, flavorful and leave that certain taste in your mouth, that once you have tasted it only makes you want bowls the size of kiddie pools full of the stuff. Thai food has a few key ingredients that make it distinctly unique in my book: limes, chilies, Thai basil and fish sauce. I know, I know...fish sauce. It doesn't have the appeal or allure of let's say Thai basil. However, it is one of those ingredients that by itself, wouldn't taste so great, but a dash of it makes the dish come alive and brings everything together. So don't skip on that.
This may seem like a complicated dish, but it's worth it. Try it and let me know what you think.

The Ingredients
1.5 pounds of chicken breast
1/3 pound green beans
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lime
2 Thai chiles
1.5 cups of Thai Basil leaves
.5 cup chicken broth
1-2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
vegetable oil
pepper
salt

The Method
The first step is to put the chicken breasts (wrapped in plastic wrap) in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. Take the chicken out of the freezer and take a sharp chef's knife out. The freezing will make the meat more firm and easier to cut. Take the breast and turn it so that you can cut it against the grain. Cut into thin pieces. Put into a bowl and mix with half the fish sauce and half the soy sauce to marinade for a while.
Then wash and prep all the vegetables. Cut off the stem side of the green beans and cut them into thirds. Cut open the bell pepper, remove the seed core, seeds, and ribs. Then cut the pepper lengthwise into 1.5 inch strips, and then cut those strips into small julienne. Next, the red onion lengthwise, cut off the ends and remove the skin. Make radial cuts following the natural curve of the onion to get long thin strips. This is called frenching an onion. Peel and mince the garlic.
Heat up a large pan on medium high heat with some oil. Toss in the garlic, and chicken and cook until it turns opaque. Remove and put it into another dish. Heat the pan up again and put some more oil into it.
Next, throw in all of the vegetables: bell peppers, green beans and onions. Sprinkle some salt and crack some pepper into the pan. Saute until the vegetables are slightly crunchy still but have loss the initial crispness about 4-5 minutes.
Zest half the lime with a micro plane and then juice the whole lime. Wearing latex gloves, unless you want burning hands and/or eyes, cut the chilies lengthwise and scrape out most of the seeds and rib. Cut the chiles into very thin strips.
Return the chicken into the pan. Put the sugar, remaining fish sauce, remaining soy sauce, chilies, lime zest, and juice into the pan. Cook for another minute, check for taste. More fish sauce or salt? Finally, add the heap of Thai bail leaves and toss to wilt. (Thai Bail is sweeter than normal basil) Another 30 seconds of heating and this dish is game, set, and a match for fluffy steamed jasmine rice.

Roasted Zesty Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. This recipe is quick, easy and tasty, all the essentials of a great dish.

The Ingredients
bunch of asparagus
1 lemon
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper

The Method
Wash the asparagus well and dry them with a paper towel. So asparagus comes with a tender part and a tough, woody part. The trick is to separate them. Hold the stem side in your right hand and the flower side with your left hand. Bring your right hand up, bending the asparagus and let it break naturally, don't force it. It will separate between the woody and tender for the most part. When you are done with them all, trim the bottoms off to give them a clean edge.
With a microplane, which is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, zest the lemon. Microplanes were originally used to file wood until some genius figured out they grate really great. pun. When zesting, only get the yellow outer skin and don't get the bitter white pith. When done, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the zest bowl. Then peel and mince or microplane the garlic and put it in the bowl as well.
Take out a cookie sheet and line it with foil or parchment paper. Lay the asparagus on top of it. Toss them with lemon mixture, salt, pepper and the olive oil. Spread them in a single layer.
Roast in a 450 degree oven for 6-8 minutes until tender. Serve as a side to your favorite meaty entree.

Festive Brie en Croute

Brie en Croute.The name itself sounds foreign and complicated, when in reality, this party pleasing hors d'oeuvre is simple to make. I made one for a Christmas party and everyone seemed to enjoy it. There are many variations on this encapsulated entree. Since I was making this during the holidays, I decided to make a more festive version.


The Ingredients
Brie (15oz wheel, I have made this with an 8oz and it works fine, just adjust cooking time and use less filling)
2 frozen puff pastry sheets
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar + 4 more Tablespoons
1 Tablespoons butter
1 egg

The Method
I know, I know...this is not exactly your healthy, lose-the-freshmen-fifteen kind of dish. Trust me though, it's worth it. A note about puff pastry: I am usually a sucker for homemade everything and I am not a huge fan of processed foods but making homemade puff pastry takes longer than I have time for and the frozen stuff works pretty well. Puff pastry is made with hundreds of layers of dough and butter. When heated up, the steam from the butter makes the layers puff up.

Time to get cookin'. First thing to do is take out the puff pastry and let it thaw for about 20 minutes. This allows the dough to be roll-able and stretchy like all good dough should be. In the meantime, take a small pan and roast the nuts over medium heat, just until they start to turn brown and have a nutty aroma. Anytime I use nuts in a dish, I roast them. The roasting process multiplies the flavor by a thousand...ok maybe not that much but it does increase flavor. When the nuts are lightly brown, toss in the brown sugar and stir. The oil from the nuts with the heat will cause the sugar to carmelize. When the sugar is melted and has coated most of the nuts. Take the pan off the heat. DO NOT do any sampling here because the sugar is hot, really hot.

Lay the brie on the puff pastry to get a good idea for size. Take the brie off and with a knife, Scrape off the white coating off the brie; it's edible but it doesn't melt too well in the oven. Lay the nuts, dried cranberries, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar on the bottom. Place the brie on top, then do the same treatment on the top, only this time dot the top with butter. Wrap the brie with the puff pastry and seal well by pinch or taking pieces of the other sheet. This step is important because it prevents geysers of liquid brie from escaping.

Now comes the fun part: decorating the top. Take small pieces of dough from the other sheet and place them on top. You can use small cookie cutters, cut long strips, cut out ribbons,...be creative. remember that the dough with puff vertically so don't ball the dough up and roll it out again,it won't rise. Once the decorated brie is complete, brush with eggwash (egg plus 1 tablespoon milk or water) to help the final product brown.

Place in an 425 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until brown (about 17-20 minutes for the 8 oz). I use a high oven because I do not like my brie in liquid form. I like it slightly melty, perfect for spreading.

Serve the brie on a plate with apples and sliced sweet baguettes.

Meaty Tomato Sauce

Preparing food has always been a passion of mine. The purpose of this blog is to provide a way for people, especially college students, to create their own culinary masterpieces. I will write about recipes that my friends and I enjoy to help others create their own culinary works of art.

I am going to start with the basic tomato sauce. This sauce is versatile and can be combined with all kinds of pasta for a simple and tasty meal.

The Ingredients
2 lbs of ground turkey
2 large yellow onions
6-7 garlic cloves
2 - 28oz canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup basil
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
olive oil
salt
pepper

The Method
I like to get all of my ingredients ready, or as the French call it, Mise en Place. This makes the cooking process flow smoothly and it also allows you to make sure you have all the ingredients. I start by cutting the onions in half, then peel them. Make longitudinal cuts along the onion and then turn it 90 degrees and cut a fine dice. Next, take the garlic cloves and place them on the cutting board, lay the knife on top (with the blade facing you, or this could be the last meal you cook) and smash the garlic with your fist. This should loosen the cloves from their skins. Mince the garlic finely. Next, wash and pick off the leaves of the basil. Lay the leaves on top of each other and roll them up like a cigar. Slice the basil in think ribbons. (Cutting the basil too much will render a blackish-green mess...not so great).

Now that all the prep is done, heat up a large pan on medium high heat and put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Put the ground meat in and add about a teaspoon or salt and a few cranks of pepper. When the meat is done (about 5 minutes), put the meat in a bowl and set aside.

Put another tablespoon of oil in and put in the chili flakes. Stir around for about 30 seconds and put the onions in with about teaspoon of salt. Sweat the onions until translucent, then add the oregano and garlic. Cook for another minute.

Add the ground turkey back as well as the crushed tomatoes in the pan. Once the sauce starts to bubble, taste the sauce and add salt and pepper accordingly. Lastly, add the basil and turn off the heat. This prevents the basil from overcooking and leaves the sauce with a fresh taste.

My favorite way to enjoy this simple yet hearty sauce is spooned over gemelli pasta with a sprinkle of Romano cheese. Other options include the makings of a great lasagna, or baked ziti.