Caprese Salad on Stick

Here is a salad on a stick recipe that I recently brought to a potluck barbeque. This salad recipe is so easy to make, healthy to gorge into, and tasty to savour and enjoy. It’s actually a salad that originates back in Italy and is usually seasoned only with salt, black pepper, and olive oil. However I decided to top it with a homemade BALSAMIC VINEGAR dressing to compliment the sweetness of the CHERRY TOMATOES, the subtle peppery flavour of BASIL and the creaminess of the bocconcini.  BOCCONCINI is a type of mild unripended cheese like mozzarella. Traditionally it is made with buffalo’s milk but nowadays it’s made using a combination of both cow's and buffalo's milk.  This salad recipe is very easy to prepare. Not only is it fit for a summer barbeque but a good starter to any meal.  Enjoy the summer!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

4 tbsp. olive oil

rock salt

ground black pepper

3 tubs of bocconcini (about 56 pieces)

2 tubs of cherry tomatoes 

fresh basil leaves

27 small wooden skewers

Directions:

In a small sauce pan add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Let is simmer for a while until the brown sugar disolves in medium heat. Once sugar has dossolved remove from heat and whisk in the  olive oil until it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper according to your taste.  

Place tomatoes, basil and bocconcini alternately into the wooden skewers and top it off with the balsamic dressing. Refrigerate before serving. Enjoy!

Spring Mix Salad with Low Fat Dill Dressing

Here is a simple recipe for a green salad and a low fat dill sour cream dressing. This salad is very filling. It can be serve as a meal in itself or as a side to any dish. Pair it with roasted chicken, seared pork tenderloins or any fish dish. It's simply amazing!

The dressing in this recipe yields about three cups and it stores very well. It can be used any time as a sauce or garnish for basically anything that desires some creaminess without indulging in too much fat. Use  the dressing as a topping to baked potatoes or as a dip to fresh vegetables.

For the salad:
Yields 5 large individual servings

500 grams mixed greens
250 grams seedless graped or cherry tomatoes ( whatever is available)
300 grams sliced ham, sauteed with a bit of olive oil and a 2 tablespoon jam (Any jam will do but I used strawberry jam)
Low Fat Sour Cream Dressing
5 hard boiled eggs, sliced into lengthwise in quarters

Directions:

Plate mixed greens. Top the salad with grapes, ham and hard boiled eggs. Dredge over sour cream dressing.

For the Low Fat Dill Dressing:

2 cups or 500 ml low fat sour cream
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise  (I used home made aioli. Recipe follows)
1 T coarse grain Dijon mustard
1 big bunch of dill weed, chopped
1/4 cup honey
1 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a big bowl add the sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard and dill. Mix well until combined. Add honey and lemon juice. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper to suit ones taste.

Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise):

3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 egg yolk and 1 egg
1 cup canola oil 1 teaspoon vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:


In a blender, add the garlic and 1/4 cup oil. Blend until the garlic has liquefied. Add in the eggs and blend. While blending add the olive oil very slowly, if possible drop by drop. This is key to the success of the mayonnaise.

Do not not rush to ensure the oil

and the egg mixture emulsifies to

a thick consistency.

Fluffly Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

If you love light fluffy cupcakes with a buttery flavour then this recipe if for you. These cupcakes will not weigh you down unlike eating one dense cupcake. I adapted my recipe from James Peterson's Baking cookbook. I paired the cup cakes with a delicate vanilla butter cream frosting.

BTW before I forget I made use of a kitchen aid stand mixer when I made these cupcakes. You can make them using a hand held mixer.
Warning! It's difficult to stop eating these unless you give them away!

For the cake:
Yields 20 - 21 cupcakes

1 1/4 cup cake flour
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of cream of tartar, unless using a copper bowl

Directions:

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin pans with cupcake tins. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and wisk to combine.

Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a heavy spoon, a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until the butter softens and switch to a whisk thereafter. Continue whisking for about 5 minutes. Add in egg yolks one at a time until the mixture is smooth. Alternately add the milk and vanilla and continue to whisk adding the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Add in the canola oil and continue mixing. Transfer the egg mixture to larger bowl to make folding egg whites easier later on.

Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Soft peaks would mean the peaks fall over when the wire whip is removed. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar until medium peaks form. Medium peaks would mean sharps peaks form when wire whip is removed but actually the whites are still soft and not stiff.

With a rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of the egg whites to the egg mixture prepared earlier to lighten the batter. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Scoop 1/4 cup batter to each of the cupcakes tins. Bake the cupcakes from 15 - 20 minutes or when the cupcakes cool. Remember each oven works different so careful not to over cook or under cook. A good way to test the cupcakes is to insert a toothpick or a small steak knife in the middle cupcake and if it comes out clean then your cakes are cooked.

Set aside to cool.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:

I  adapted my recipe from James Peterson's but reduced the sugar 1/2 cup less.

For the icing:

1 1/2 cups sugar ( original recipe called for 2 cups)
2/3 cups water or more as needed
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 tsp good vanilla extract
a dash of salt (This is not in the original recipe but I added this to liven the sweetness of the frosting)
Food color (optional)

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar and water. Simmer over medium heat.

While syrup is cooking. In a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks until they quadrupled in volume and becomes very pale in color.

While egg yolks are beating check the syrup. It should be simmered to boil lightly into a 'soft ball' consistency. This means that if a small amount of syrup is added to a bowl of water the syrup actually forms into a (soft) ball that can be formed ( it should not harden). The consistency you are looking for is a medium think consistency. To the test of adding a small portion into water to achieve the soft ball stage.

When the syrup and yolks are ready, turn the mixer into high speed and pour the mixture into the yolks in between the the whisk and the sides of the bowl. It is important to keep the syrup from hitting the bowl or the whisk or else it will harden. Obviously this is unavoidable where a few drops may stick to it. But be careful when adding the syrup; we want it to blend into the egg mixture.

Turn down mixer to medium speed and add the a few pieces of butter until it gets incorporated into the frosting. If you want to add some color, just drop in a few liquid food color until you get the hint you are looking for. Continue beating for 10 more minutes until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.

Once the cupcakes have cooled. Pipe the icing into the cupcakes. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

I love hummus! It's so good that I can eat it all day long. Hummus is a middle eastern spread made from chick peas (i.e. garbanzos as others call it). It makes a perfect dip sans the cream, the cheese, the mayo and everything the usual dip has that we are accustomed to. Not only does it have tons of protein from the chickpeas but it is vegetarian as well.

This is spread is something you can easily whip and store in your fridge. Indulge in it every time you are craving for something to dunk your favorite bread, chips, veggies, or pita bread. It tastes soo good that I go as far as making it my sandwich spread and unbelievably when I eat it I do not crave for anything but more of it!

Traditionally hummus has tahini sauce which is a sesame paste. I am not really fond of it so I opted out. But for this hummus recipe I made, I've added roasted red bell pepper to add some flavour and garlic. Some recipes may call for roasting the garlic but I prefer the pungency of raw garlic as it adds a slight kick to the taste.

For the Hummus:

1/2 cup flavorless oil, I used canola oil
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
1 roasted red bell pepper
Juice of half a lemon
1 can of cooked chick peas (540 ml)
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
10 pita bread, toasted in a pan and sliced in triangular shapes

Directions:

Drain the chick peas and discard juice. Slightly mash them with a fork. Set aside.

In a blender, add half of the canola oil followed by the roasted bell pepper and the garlic cloves. Blend the first three ingredients until they form a paste. Add in the mashed chick peas little by little. If you find that your blender does not budge due to the thickness of the chick peas, turn off blender, remove blender from the motor and loosen the mixture with a spoon. While blending pour in little by little the remaining canola oil.
Blend the mixture well until you get a soft consistency. Add in the lemon. Season with salt and pepper.