Waffle Cones/Bowls Revisited

Joy of Cooking

So I know I blogged about waffle cones 2 weeks ago, but it's in my obsessive nature to surf the web until I feel I have exhausted my search.  I'm pretty certain I can add "FIND THE PERFECT WAFFLE CONE RECIPE" to my bucket list along with the perfect chocolate chip cookie and other recipes that elude me.  I enjoy the process and keep mental checklists of foods that I love and want to make.  Waffle cone recipes are easy to throw together.  I tried two recipes : one from the Joy of Cooking and the other by David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.  Being the King of Ice Cream, I was hoping David's recipe would be top notch.  I am sad to report that it was one of my least favorite attempts to date.  The recipe gets 5 stars for appearance and sturdiness, but along with that came a tough, thick cookie that lacked flavor. As it cooked the nice buttery cookie aroma was missing - all I smelled was flour. The Joy of Cooking recipe had a better aroma and taste. Both recipes were not easy to roll into cones. Instead, I opted to make them into waffle bowls by inverting them onto ramekins.

I am surprised that I haven't found more blog postings about making waffle cones. It seems that many of the stores use a purchased mix and just add water to make their batters. I am so tempted to buy a mix just to try it out, but I am certain a made from scratch recipe is out there for me. Otherwise I will need to tinker with the one really good recipe I have to see if I can improve upon it. Just to recap, I have made 5 different ice cream cone recipes so far and the clear winner at the moment is the one from IceCreamUniversity.org - read my previous post. Rest assured that I will be making more in the future - all this experimenting is for me you.

Top View of Waffle Bowls - Joy of Cooking (left) - The Perfect Scoop (right)

Side View of Waffle Bowls - Joy of Cooking (left) - The Perfect Scoop (right)

Close up of Waffle Bowls - Joy of Cooking (left) - The Perfect Scoop (right)

Joy of Cooking Waffle Bowl served with Homemade Ice Cream - yay!

Chickpea Croquettes

Chickpea Croquette

Up until now I was a firm believer that a dinner meal should consist of an animal protein, a starch and a vegetable. Having flirted with veganism for the past few weeks, I no longer miss meat when it is absent. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a good steak or lamb chop, but if I only eat meat twice a week that is fine with me. Today I have a nice vegan recipe to share. I was pleasantly surprised that it was flavorful and satisfying enough to keep me from craving anything else. My husband thought it was delicious as well, so we have a new dish to add to our rotation.

I must admit that I was a little worried when I started cooking today. Last week I made a very yummy black bean soup. Although it tasted great, I can never make it again. All the negative press about beans causing gastric distress came to pass (yes, pun intended). I would have shared that recipe with you, but I like you too much to put you through any embarrassment or pain. The croquettes have whole chickpeas and chickpea flour in it...a possible double dose of trouble. Maybe it's TMI, but we did not escape the side effects. Was it terrible? No, not black bean soup terrible. Based on this isolated incident I would brave the chickpeas again...gassiness and all.

Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean Flour

Chickpea Flour, Cumin, Salt, Chili Powder

Red Peppers, Chickpeas, Garlic with Lemon, Olive Oil, and Parsley

Mixing the batter

Croquette Batter

Cooking in a non-stick pan with olive oil

Chickpea Croquette

Top with chopped tomatoes and lettuce

Notes: I didn't follow the recipe exactly since I was lacking some ingredients. I skipped the scallions/green onions. The original recipe calls for a Greek salad topping, but I didn't have any cucumbers. Instead I topped it with chopped tomatoes (seasoned with olive oil, S&P), shredded lettuce and Trader Joe's Goddess dressing. I just discovered the Goddess Dressing. I really like it but be forewarned it is high in fat and calories. A little goes a long way.

Chickpea Croquettes
Adapted from Vegetarian Times

1 cup chickpea flour
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 green onions, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1. Whisk together chickpea flour, cumin, chili powder, and salt in bowl. Whisk in 3/4 cup hot water. Stir in remaining ingredients, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

 2. Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Scoop 4 ı/4-cup dollops of chickpea mixture into skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden.

3. Flip with spatula, and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Repeat with remaining chickpea mixture. Serve each Croquette topped with chopped tomatoes (seasoned with olive oil, S&P), shredded lettuce and Trader Joe's Goddess dressing.

Waffle Cones

Chef's Choice Waffle Cone Maker

I felt like a kid in a candy shop today. Yes, I realize what makes me giddy doesn't necessarily float everyone else's boat, but I know I'm not the only one who gets excited about kitchen gadgets and appliances. Today I took my new waffle cone maker and cone holder for a test drive. Unfortunately I couldn't find many homemade ice cream cone recipes online. I picked 2 promising recipes and set out with high hopes to make a delicious cone.

The first recipe was very good. The cone smelled good while cooking and it tasted good. I wish it had been thicker and less fragile with more of a chew to it. The kids enjoyed the cones with some store-bought ice cream. Yes, I know it's almost blasphemy to serve homemade cones and not have homemade ice cream, but I didn't have the energy to do both today. Tomorrow is another day. I probably should have quit while I was ahead, because the second recipe was a bust. The batter was way too thin and yielded a mess. There were holes in the cone which sorta defeats the purpose of using a cone as a vessel to contain ice cream. It called for using a pizzelle maker, but I still proceeded with my cone maker. Perhaps it was my fault for not following the recipe. Anyway, I added some extra flour, egg and powdered sugar to try to improve the consistency of the batter. It helped a little, but still was not great. It was an ok tasting cone, but definitely not better than the first recipe. If anyone out there has a great cone recipe to share, please send it to me!  I promise to invite you over for ice cream. :)

Prior to today I tried the Gourmet Waffle Cone recipe that comes with the Chef's Choice machine. I give that recipe a thumbs down. Too thick and lacking flavor. The recipe that was a bust was from Foodista.

Waffle Cone Batter

Cooked until Golden Brown

Form into a cone shape

Stacked cones on the nifty cone holder

Waffle Cone Recipe
from IceCreamUniversity
http://icecreamuniversity.org/waffle-cone-recipe/

Ingredients:
3/4 stick sweet butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon water
3 egg whites
1/2 cup flour

Preparation:
- Melt the butter slowly
- Beat the egg whites and add the sugar to them
- Combine the egg white mixture with the butter mixture
- Add the vanilla extract and water
- Add the flour to the above mixtures, blend well.
- Let the batter stand for one hour in the refrigerator.

The waffle cone baker is now ready for baking. At this point, simply follow the instructions for using your waffle cone maker.

Yield: 8-10 cones

Devil's Food Cake

Devil's Food Cake

My husband turned the big 4-0 this week. For every special (or even not so special) occasion that requires dessert I go on an immediate hunt for a new recipe. I had originally planned to make a frozen lemon cake, but then changed my mind. The kids probably wouldn't eat a lemon cake and the little one was insisting that Daddy had to have a chocolate cake. After scouring the web and a few books for chocolate cakes, I almost settled on making the Devil's Food Cake on David Lebovitz's website. Then it occurred to me that the hubby always compares all chocolate cakes to the Devil's Food Cake from The Cake Bible. He says it is his favorite, but would he be able to identify it without being told? Is it the cake he likes or the fact that it is usually covered in mousse and ganache? Here was my opportunity to put his discriminating taste buds to a test.

I halved the Triple Layer Devil's Food Cake recipe from The Cake Bible. I lost my favorite chocolate mousse recipe so opted to make the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. We are on a "diet" so I decided to forego the ganache. It was definitely chocolatey enough without it. This is probably one of the ugliest cakes I have made in a while, but with limited time I didn't care as long as it tasted good. So did he pass the test? He was able to recognize it was Devil's Food...not necessarily THE Devil's Food he's had many times before. He gets a passing grade since he didn't say, "I like that other recipe that you usually make". The kids loved it and the birthday boy had 2 slices. I guess sometimes it's good to stick with the recipes you know that work.

Ready to be baked

Folding Whipped Cream into the Mousse

Tips: Be sure your butter is room temperature and softened so that it incorporates into the batter easily. I found some updates to the recipe on Rose Levy Beranbaum's site after I made the cake. You might want to incorporate these changes if you give it a try. I only made half the cake recipe below and a full batch of the mousse to yield at least 9 servings. Updates to the Triple Layer Devil's Food Cake.

I cut my one 9 inch cake into 2 layers then put a layer of mousse in the middle and then covered the entire cake in mousse. The finishing touch would be to cover the cake in ganache.

Triple Layer Devil's Food Cake
from The Cake Bible
Serves 18

1 cup unsweetened cocoa (nonalkalized such as Hershey's)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
4 large eggs
1 T vanilla
3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, must be softened

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl whisk together cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cool to room temp.

 In another bowl combine eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add butter and then the remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop cake's structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Gradually add the egg mixture to batter in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate ingredients and strengthen structure. Scrape into three 9" by 1 1/2 inch cake pans which have been lined with parchment, then greased and floured. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean.


Chocolate Mousse
from Cook's Illustrated

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped coarse
4 T unsalted butter
Pinch salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 T strong coffee or 4 teaspoons brandy, orange-flavored liqueur, or light rum
4 large eggs , separated
2 T granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

 1. Melt chocolate any of the following three ways: in medium bowl set over large saucepan of barely simmering water; in uncovered Pyrex measuring cup microwaved at 50 percent heat for 3 minutes, stirring once at 2 minute mark; or in ovenproof bowl set in 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Whisk butter into melted chocolate, 1 tablespoon at a time; stir in salt, vanilla, and coffee or liquor until completely incorporated. Whisk in yolks, one at a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated before adding the next; set chocolate mixture aside.

2. Stir egg whites in clean mixing bowl set over saucepan of hot water until slightly warm, 1 to 2 minutes; remove bowl from saucepan. Beat with electric mixer set at medium speed until soft peaks form. Raise mixer speed to high and slowly add sugar; beat to soft peaks. Whisk a quarter of the beaten whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in remaining whites.

3. Whip cream to soft peaks; gently fold into mousse.

Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Starch Noodles with Vegetables)

Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)

I found a wonderful food blog, Eating and Living, written by a Korean-American mom. She shares many authentic Korean and Korean-Chinese recipes. I have used her kalbi recipe on numerous occasions and is now my go-to recipe for Korean BBQ. After my 3 year-old sampled and loved the Japchae at the Korean market, I knew I would have to make it for him at home. It has been years since I have made Japchae. It is one of my favorite Korean dishes, but I have never been able to get the seasoning just right. This was by far my best attempt to date - evidence of a well-written and tested recipe. The only change I made was to season the cooked spinach with sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds (in addition to the salt and pepper). My little munchkin gobbled up his noodles and didn't even complain about the carrots or spinach!

Dried Shitake Mushrooms, Scallions, Onions, Red Pepper, Spinach and Carrots

Soy Sauce, Sugar, Seasame Oil, Garlic (add roasted sesame seeds)

Japchae

Japchae (Korean Stir-Fried Starch Noodles with Vegetables)
Recipe as printed on the blog Eating and Living

4 Servings

Ingredients

6 oz Korean potato starch noodles (dangmyeon)

5 dried shiitake mushrooms* (soaked until plump)

1 bunch (6 oz) fresh spinach

1 small carrot

1 small sweet onion

1/2 red bell pepper

2 scallions

(4 oz lean beef like sirloin or rib eye - optional)

oil to stir fry vegetables

salt and pepper

* Dried shiitake is ideal for its concentrated flavor and meatier texture, but you can use any kind of fresh/dried mushrooms such as oyster or button mushrooms.

Sauce*

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

(*Does not include marinade for the optional beef.)

Combine all sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Cook noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse in cold water and drain. Cut the noodles with kitchen shears into 6 -7 inch lengths. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce and set aside.

(If using beef, cut into thin 2-inch long strips. Mix in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 clove garlic minced, and a pinch of pepper. Marinate while preparing the other ingredients.)

Blanch the spinach in boiling water only until the spinach is wilted. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Cut into 3-inch lengths (unless using baby spinach leaves). Lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut stems off the mushrooms and slice into 1/4-inch thin strips. Season with 1 tablespoon of the prepared sauce. Set aside.

Julienne the carrot and red bell pepper into 2 - 3 inch long strips and onions lengthwise. Slice scallions into the same lengths.

In a lightly oiled non-stick skillet, sauté each vegetable (except the spinach which is blanched) separately over high heat, sprinkling salt and pepper to season. (Do not overcook. Vegetables should be crisp.) If adding beef to the dish, sauté the beef now. Cool sautéed ingredients.

Sauté the noodles, stirring frequently, until translucent and sticky (about 5 minutes) and cool in a large bowl.

Combine all ingredients and the remaining sauce with the noodles. Add additional soy sauce or sugar as necessary.

Tips: The real secret to successfully create the authentic flavors of this dish is to find the right balance between soy sauce and sugar. You might think the amount of sugar this recipe calls for is a lot, but it is needed to balance the flavors. It does not make the dish too sweet. Also, leftover japchae should be kept refrigerated. Japchae reheats well in the microwave. The noodles will get soft and chewy again.

Azuki Beans with Kabocha Squash

Azuki Beans and Konbu that have been soaked overnight in water

It's getting incredibly hard to maintain my weight as I approach forty. Up until now I have been able to exercise moderately and maintain a reasonable weight. The days of eating whatever I want are now a thing of the past. In an effort to battle the bulge I decided I need to make a radical change to my diet. Diet = eat less meat + eat more vegetables. I even bought my first vegan cookbook! If I were single and didn't have to feed a house full of growing boys, I could easily see myself being vegetarian. Alas, I know it's not realistic considering my oldest child rarely eats veggies. I am excited about exploring the vegan world in search of flavorful and satisfying recipes. I turned to my only vegan friend, Keri, who generously shared some of her favorite recipes. I was intrigued with the recipe for Azuki Beans with Kabocha Squash. I have eaten these two food items separately - azuki beans normally in some dessert form and the Kabocha either roasted or in a puréed soup.

I really, really wanted to love the recipe. Was it bad? No, I thought the natural sweetness of the squash was nice, but the beans weren't anything special. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but I can appreciate the simplicity of the dish. The husband gave it a thumbs down and felt incredibly unsatisfied with dinner. I had to compensate by giving him unhealthy treats after dinner. It's one of those dishes you know is healthy, but leaves you wanting FLAVOR, or worse yet, a steak.

The quest has only begun.  I look forward to sharing some winning vegan dishes where you won't even miss the animal protein.

Kabocha Squash

Add Scallions and Shoyu

Azuki Beans with Kabocha Squash
Recipe by Alicia Silverstone from The Kind Diet
**I added a lot of more shoyu than the recipe called for and scallions instead of parsley/cilantro.

Gingerbread House and Cookies

Gingerbread Men

The Christmas tree has been stored away, the Christmas stockings no longer hang on the staircase and the holiday cards are now in a shoebox. Being that it is January 2nd, the signs of the holidays are appropriately no longer visible. But, here I am blogging about Gingerbread. Most of you would consider my post very late, but I like to think of it as VERY early for 2012. Hey, better late than never! I made 2 small gingerbread houses, one for each of my children. The rest of the dough was used to make gingerbread cookies. The baked cookies need a lot of sweetened icing to make them tasty. The dough is not very sweet so pile on an overabundance of royal icing. The gingerbread men in my pictures do not have enough icing. I also like to leave them slightly underbaked so they stay tender.

When it comes to decorating the gingerbread houses with candy, I let the kids do as they wish.  I am thinking next Christmas I will make a separate one for myself so I can take part in the fun.

Gingerbread Trees

Candy

Small Gingerbread House Template

Baked Gingerbread - enough for 2 small houses

Gingerbread Houses "glued" together with Caramelized Sugar

Gingerbread Dough
Recipe Adapted from Epicurious.com
Yield: One large Gingerbread House or 4-5 small houses

6 3/4 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup robust (dark) molasses

Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cardamom into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add molasses and beat on high speed until well blended. Add dry ingredients in 4 additions, beating at low speed until dough forms. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into rectangle. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Gingerbread House templates can be found at
JustGingerBread.com

Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until about 1/8".   Place the templates on the dough and cut around template with pizza cutter or knife.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. Work quickly but carefully when assembling the cooled gingerbread together with the caramelized sugar.

Caramelized Sugar
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water

Cook until golden brown. Only a half recipe is needed if making 2 small houses.


Icing
I shy away from raw egg whites so I mix small amounts of heavy cream with powdered sugar to create the icing.
Keep the consistency thick so it acts as a good glue.

Gingerbread House 1

Gingerbread House 2