I know..you wonder why I have waited so long, don;t you?

Honestly, it was pure D. laziness on my part.  He sent me this awesome recipe but when I tried to publish it there was a lot of code that I needed to delete.

So I deleted the whole thing because I was in a hurry.

This Asian inspired calamari salad is incredible.  I am very picky about calamari.  I have had it at the Sardine Factory in Monterey, as well as a place that used to be on Canary Row called the Outrigger and I liked it both times…but I won’t order it unless I am pretty sure of the chef.

Well this was amazing.  My favorite.  Addictive.  I could eat TONS of it.  Pinkie swear.

It isn’t really a salad, the greens are wilted and it is served warm…but oh my gosh….

Do try it because it is just that awesome.  Oh, and if you are not sure about calamari? Try it with chicken breast. 

Chef Jeff’s FIVE SPICE CALAMARI WITH ASIAN GREENS
Recipe Courtesy of Chef Jeff Moschetti, Warwick Melrose Hotel

VINAGRETTE

Makes 2 cups
1 cup Sweet Thai chili sauce*
2 tablespoons Rice wine vinegar, unseasoned*
2 tablespoons Lime juice
1 cup Grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons Sesame oil*
2 tablespoons Soy sauce*

Add the chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and the lime juice to a blender. With the
motor running, add the oils slowly to emulsify. Makes 2 cups

FIVE SPICE DREDGE

2 cups All purpose flour
3 tablespoons Chinese five spice powder*

Mix well.

CALAMARI Serves: 4 – 6

2 cups Calamari tubes – cut into rings
Five spice flour
¼ cup Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Caramelized yellow onions
1 cup Mizuna
1 cup Totsoi (mixed greens can be substituted)
1 tsp. Black Sesame Seeds
Nori seaweed * – cut into ¼” x 2” long strips
Salt to taste
Dredge the calamari in the five spice flour and shake off the excess. Fry until golden brown and let drain.

Toss the calamari with the vinaigrette, greens and the onions. Place in a bowl and garnish with nori seaweed and the black sesame seeds.

Serve with chop sticks.

* Can be purchased at an Asian market or Central Market

Image:(c) 2009 Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

You know what that means, right?

How are you going to look your kids, your husband, your neighbors in the face and tell them you did not bake sugar cookies on sugar cookie day? Don’t even think about it.  It is too awful to imagine.

Don’t worry, I have ya covered.  Here are the sugar cookie variations that have been posted here on Baking Delights:

The BEST Sugar Cookies

Rose Crackle Cookies 

Lemon Snaps 

Sugar Cookies  

Homemade Animal Crackers 

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I think I inherited a passion for chocolate from my dad.  He was a chocolate freak. His favorite besides chocolate cake was Hershey’s with Almonds.  Oddly, he disliked chocolate ice cream and chocolate pudding.  Go figure!

He was such a chocolate fan that when we lived in Pennsylvania he used to buy cocoa hulls (that came from Hershey, I think) to use as mulch in his garden. The entire yard smelled like Willy Wonka’s place.  I don’t know if you can still do that but if you can…you should!  It is amazing.

To me there are few desserts I like more than chocolate meringue pie.  Creamy and rich, piled miles high with fluffy, sweet meringue; chocolate pie just is the perfect make ahead dessert for summer.

Review how to make a perfect pie crust with the tutorial.  Prick holes all over the crust with a fork and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake it at 425 until  golden.  Now you are ready to go!

The filling can be made with heavy cream, half and half, or whole milk.  It can be made with a combination of them but do not make it with skim milk.  You will lose the texture completely.

Filling for Chocolate Meringue Pie 

3 c milk

1 c sugar

4 egg yolks, beaten

1/3 c cocoa

1/4 c flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c unsalted butter

Whisk milk and sugar until smooth.

Mix the flour, salt, and cocoa and then carefully whisk into the milk mixture.  Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.  Add some of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and then quickly stir the egg yolks into the pudding mixture and heat for approximately one more minute.  Mixture will be quite thick.

Remove from heat and add the butter.  Stir until melted and add the vanilla.  Pour into baked pie shell.

Rinse a mixer bowl and balloon whisks with vinegar.  Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until frothy. Slowly add 1/2 c sugar and continue to beat until stif, glossy peaks form.  Spread thickly over hot filling and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden.

Serves 8 (one 9 inch pie)

Image:Marye Audet 

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Summer is the time for cook-outs for sure. When you can make homemade, delicious (soft!) hot dog and hamburger buns in less than an hour why in the world would you buy them?

Did I say less than an hour? Yep!

These freeze well so you can make them ahead of time. If you have a regular baking day, or OAMC weekend make up a few batches of these for the month and freeze them for quick meals anytime.

Most of us do not consider how many chemicals we take into our bodies. We watch fats, and eat healthy, but when you are buying prepared foods, like bread, you are getting all kinds of things that are unpronounceable. Even if you are not eating organic (and I really encourage you to do so as much as you can) making your own foods will keep many chemicals out of your family’s bodies.

And just because I am on a soapbox here….

Rant:Americans, for the most part, spend the least percentage of their paycheck of anyone in the world  on groceries. We would rather have cable t.v. and a new car than high quality foods. What has happened in the last 50 years is that we have lost flavors! We are used to eating so bland that fresh foods taste too intense sometimes. You cannot buy a two week old carrot from Kroger and expect it to taste like a carrot picked fresh from your garden. You cannot buy beef that has been raised in stressful factory conditions, pumped full of hormones and antibiotics and forced to be cannibalistic, ground up and then pumped full of stuff to make it red, and expect it to taste like beef that has been pastured and allowed to be raised in a humane and ethical manner. It amazes me that people will pay 4.00 a gallon for gas so they can run to the mall and yet will gravitate toward the 1.99 a lb stuff at wal-mart. End Rant

Give these a try, even if you aren’t used to working with a yeast dough. They are super simple!

Homemade Hot Dog or Hamburger Buns

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups flour (unbleached, whole wheat, or a mix)
1 package instant yeast
1 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, room temperature

Heat the milk, water, honey and butter until butter is melted. Check temperature. Depending on the temperature, let cool to 120F. Carefully beat in egg.
Mix 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix into the milk mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition.
When the dough pulls together, (it will form a soft ball) turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. This should take about 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 -16 equal pieces. This will depend on the size you want for the finished bun. Shape into smooth balls, flatten slightly, and place on a silpat covered baking sheet.
Let rise for 30 to 35 minutes. When buns have almost doubled bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
If you are making hot dog buns I find it easiest to roll the dough out into a large rectangle and cut into smaller rectangles. Let rise with sides touching.

You can brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse sea salt, or whatever you like. You can add dry onion soup mix for onion rolls. These are very versatile!
Makes 12-16

Image: Marye Audet

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I never did get the recipe for these posted last week. Things got hectic, what with Daring Bakers and then Amada’s kindergarten graduation and then Chris coming in…Today is Marc’s birthday…

This summer is certainly starting off to be a party! I am not sure I have partied this much since the late 70s!

These cookies are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. I am not sure how you measure a truly good cookie but for me that is the standard. I think crunchy cookies taste like store bought. I am always trying tofigure out the exact time to take cookies out of the oven to get the right texture and making little notes on my recipes! You don’t want these to get brown.

Anyway. These are an old fashioned treat, made special by rose and vanilla. If you are making them for a shower or a tea just make them smaller and sprinkle with pink sugar crystals. I took them to a birthday party and they disappeared really fast.

If you have some time and/or want to make them extra special take two and sandwich them together with some white chocolate ganache.

If you have never tried rosewater flavoring you are missing our on a wonderful, delicate flavor. It is hard to describe but easy to eat!

If the cookies don’t crackle on their own, you may need to push them down gently while they are still warm.

Rose Crackle Cookies

2 2/3 c flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c butter

2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp rosewater

Sugar for rolling (you can use rose flavored or vanilla flavored sugar for this if you like)

Cream butter and 2 cups of sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating thoroughly after each. Add vanilla and rose and beat until smooth.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Beat until well blended. Chill for 2 hours.

Roll into balls, using a tablespoon of dough for each ball. Roll in sugar and place on an ungreased baking sheet (I like to use the silicone baking sheet covers). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 5 dozen

Image: Marye Audet

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights

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