Category Menus & Recipes

Parties That Cook’s Classic Cookbook Club: The Essential New York Times Cookbook

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, Menus & Recipes, News & Events Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , May 18th, 2011 @ 3:46 pm

I’m of the opinion that (good) things are better late, than never. In sticking to my beliefs, and ignoring the option of being on time, I bring you a PTC Cookbook Club of the past! Let’s just say I was saving it for a rainy day…

This last cookbook club featured The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century. Featured in Amazon’s Best of 2010 Book Section, this cookbook boasts recipes from many a noted chef, as well as renowned kitchens and New York Times writers. Once again, because of the sheer mass of this book and the great variety of recipes found within (over 1,000!), we came together for an assortment of dishes.

Creamy Farro and Chickpea Soup. A great start to the lunch, Carolyn’s soup was delicious! This Paula Wolfert recipe is super simple – a well-deserved break for Carolyn after her last Cookbook Club endeavor. There was definitely enough left over for the entire office to have lunch the next day (and we took advantage). For an online version of this recipe, go here!

Potato Salad with Shaved Ricotta Salata and Green Sauce. Rosie solved the mystery: the green sauce is basically a pesto. And just so we’re clear, Fetta makes a wonderful substitute for Ricotta. I was not the only one eager to revisit this dish in the fridge the next day – everyone loved it!

Sformata di Ricotta: Cassandra was a bit disappointed with the resulting tomato and ricotta pie/tart. When she selected this recipe, she was expecting bolder flavors and hoping for tastes of tomato in every bite. This lead to the conclusion that it would be good to note the seasonality of ingredients included in each recipe. Still, everyone enjoyed the dish, and I found myself heading back to the fridge for more tastes of the sformata! For an online version of this recipe, click here!


Leek and Shiitake Bread Pudding: Due to either lack of ingredients or cooking equipment, Traci did some major off-roading on this recipe. She must be the MacGyver of cooking, because, BOY did it pay off! I would be glad to find this dish on my table any day, though we all wondered how the original dish would compare. Another delicious bread pudding recipe can be found in our Side Dishes section!

Chicken Roasted with Sour Cream, Lemon Juice and Mango Chutney. Bibby tried her best to stick to the recipe, and despite some minor adaptations, she succeeded! The chicken had the perfect texture, and the flavor was great – not too bold to share the table with the variety of dishes we had. We couldn’t tell there was mayo in the recipe, though that’s probably for the best. This dish (which yields A LOT) makes excellent leftovers!

Orange-Braised Short Ribs with Fennel and Oregano. Crissy did an outstanding job on these short ribs! I was in love, and I doubt I was alone. The meat was perfectly tender, and the flavor was spot on! What more can I say?


Clove granite: An incredibly light frozen dessert with a unique flavor. If you’re expecting Ice Cream, leave now (at least you made it to dessert!), clove granite is more like a slushie. We got to try TWO versions because after Erin completed one (off-roading), she decided to stick to the recipe, and redo it! To me, the result of using light brown sugar is not all that different from dark brown sugar, though many preferred the off-roaded version!

I must say, Cassandra did a nice job in selecting this cookbook! It’s definitely one for the wish list. With so many recipes available, it’s not only hard to decide where to start, but it would be hard to finish! It’s amazing that Amanda Hesser tried them all in about two and a half years! The next cookbook on the menu: The River Cafe Cookbook by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. Stay tuned!

Put a Spring in Your Step with Parties That Cook’s Banana-Mango Spring Rolls

1 comment By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , May 13th, 2011 @ 5:33 pm

As we move into Spring and the weather warms up, you’re going to start to crave more fruit. It’s just a fact of life (much like how Dads are the original hipsters). In any case, these Banana and Mango Spring Rolls are sure to satisfy! The delicious Caramel-Rum Sauce provides  just the right “kick” to take this sweet appetizer (or snack) to the top! You can even make them as a post-Bay to Breakers reward!

Banana and Mango Spring Rolls with Caramel Rum Sauce
This recipe can also be found in our Appetizer Recipe Library!

Ingredients
Spring Rolls:
4 cups canola oil, for frying
4 bananas
1 mango
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup rum
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut for filling
12 (8-inch) square frozen spring roll pastry wrappers, thawed
1 egg, beaten or water

Caramel-Rum Sauce:
6 Tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup rum
1/4 cup coconut milk

Garnish:
Toasted coconut
Powdered sugar
Mint sprigs

Methods/Steps
Preheat oven to 200ºF

Heat Oil: Heat the canola oil in a wok or frying pan to 360°F.

Cut Fruit: Peel the bananas and cut them in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Cut the bananas into a 1/2-inch dice. Cut the mango into 1/2 inch dice as well. Roughly chop the macadamia nuts and mince the ginger. Set aside until ready to use.

Sauté Fruit: Melt coconut oil in a medium sauté pan.  Add brown sugar, minced ginger, rum and salt; bring to a boil, then add the fruit.  Sauté for about 2 minutes until the fruit softens slightly. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.  Let cool slightly. Mix in the toasted macadamia nuts and coconut right before ready to make the rolls.

Make Spring Rolls: Place 1 spring roll wrapper on work surface in diamond shape (1 pointed end toward you and 1 pointed end in opposite direction). Cut off 2 inches of the end pointed towards you. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the fruit mixture in the center. Fold bottom (now cut) corner of spring roll wrapper up over fruit, and then fold in sides over fruit. Brush remaining unfolded part of spring roll wrapper with water or beaten egg. Roll up wrapper, enclosing fruit completely. The spring roll should look like a log. Place onto a sheet pan. Repeat with remaining spring roll wrappers and fruit mixture.

Fry Rolls: Working in batches of about 6 rolls at a time, add spring rolls to 360°F oil and cook until golden brown and crisp, turning often, about 5 minutes per batch. Using a skimmer, transfer spring rolls to a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Keep warm in a 200ºF oven until ready to eat.

Caramel-Rum Sauce: Combine butter, brown sugar, salt and rum in heavy medium saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and starts to bubble and turn darker brown. Add coconut milk and whisk until mixture is smooth.

Serve: Slice spring rolls in half on an angle. Place sliced spring roll on a serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, powdered sugar and garnish with mint.  Serve caramel-rum sauce in a bowl for dipping.

Serves/Makes
Makes 24 Pieces

Recipe created by Parties That Cook® www.PartiesThatCook.com.

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