Category: Recipes (Page 15 of 26)

I made this butter (from epicurious.com) last night to serve with swordfish (but I think it’d work with other fish as well) and it was incredible, one of the best things I’ve ever tasted (even though I didn’t use prime ingredients) – and it couldn’t be simpler. The key to having it not separate (a complain with some of the reviews in epicurious) is to start whisking as soon as you add the balsamic vinegar, and to whisk briskly after each ingredient. Don’t forget to season appropriately at the end – it’s the salt which really brings out the flavor of this butter.
Balsamic Butter for Fish

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• salt to taste

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it starts boiling, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately whisk in the balsamic vinegar, honey and mustard. Season with salt. Serve immediately or reheat (while whisking) prior to serving.
Marga’s Favorite Recipes

A few days ago I bought 36 eggs at Safeway because they were cheap and they had a buy-one, get one-free offer. We are not big egg eaters so I had to figure out what to do with them. My answer was to make flan. Flan may be my favorite dessert in the world – though it being so sinful, it’s not something I often partake of, and I wanted to try making it from scratch. It really cannot be more simple – though I had a problem with the cooking time. I doubled the recipe I found to fit my somewhat large fluted pan – but I wasn’t sure how long it’d take to cook and at what temperature. I started with 275F, but after two hours it hadn’t set. Then I cooked it at 325F or so for 45 more minutes and that seems to have done the trick. I think the next time around I’ll start it at 325, and see how long it takes. The problem may also have been that I used 1% fat milk – what I had available.
I’m giving the measurements in metric because this time, instead of converting them, I actually weighed the sugar and I used a metric measuring jar. Sorry about that.
In any case, the results were amazing, too amazing – I can’t stop myself from eating it now!
Ingredients
-600 grams + 2/3 cup sugar
-1 lt. milk
-2 Tbsp. vanilla
-12 eggs.
Melt 2/3 cup sugar over medium heat in a small sauce pan. When it’s just light brown, remove it from the heat and immediately pour it on the bottom and sides of the mold you’ll be using. Be careful not to burn yourself and do it quickly before the sugar hardens.
Put the milk and the vanilla in a medium to large saucepan, mix and heat over medium heat until warm. Add 300 grams of sugar, stir until blended, and cook, stirring occasionally until it boils. Remove from the heat and transfer to a very large bowl to cool down.
Meanwhile, put the eggs in another large bowl and beat. Add the remaining 300 grams of sugar and mix well.
When the milk mixture is almost at room temperature, pre-heat the oven to 325F.
Wait until the milk is at room temperature, then pour in the egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Strain into another bowl and pour into the prepared pan.
Fill a large deep baking pan (I use my lasagna pan or my roasting pan) with 1″ water, and place the pan with the flan in the middle. Put in the oven and cook until it solidifies.

For Xmas morning I made buttermilk pancakes, with butter & maple syrup, and bacon (from TJ’s). The pancakes were absolutely delicious, very fluffy and light and with a good flavor of their own. I made them from this recipe (also copied, with modifications, below) from allrecipes.com – but I added a little bit more sugar to the batter and substituted milk & cream for a third cup of buttermilk, as I didn’t have enough. So, if you don’t have cream, you can just use 3 cups of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of milk.
The original recipe asks that you don’t mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones until you are ready to cook the pancakes. I did so for my first batch, but a few ours later I wanted some more and I used the leftover batter (which I’d left on the counter); I did not perceive any difference in quality. I did follow the original instructions about gently mixing the dry with the wet ingredients, until the former were just moistened. Though that meant the flour wasn’t fully dissolved, this was not an issue when cooked.
Buttermilk Pancakes
3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted + butter for cooking
Mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, milk, cream, eggs and melted butter. Pour the buttermilk mix onto the flour mix and gently mix, with a fork, until just moistened.
Heat up a large griddle to medium/medium-high heat and melt a small pat of butter. Pour about 1/2 cup (I used a ladle filled half-way) batter onto the griddle and cook until the bottom starts to brown, flip and repeat. Serve with butter and real maple syrup.
Marga’s Best Recipes

Made that last night, from an epicurious.com recipe, and wasn’t thrilled. I liked the roasted grapes & shallots (Mike/kids didn’t), but the chicken was sort of bland. Alas, I used rosemary instead of thyme, so that may have been the reason. In any case, not a recipe I’ll repeat.

I was very fond of my mother’s semolina gnocchis when I was growing up. I’ve always meant to make them for my kids, but have not yet gotten around to it, probably as I’d first have to go hunting for the semolina. Still, I went ahead and got the recipe from my mother, which I’m now translating into American measurements and posting for future use.
Mamá’s Semolina Gnocchi

• 6 1/3 cups (1 1/2 liters) milk
• 1 2/3 cups (300 g) semolina flour
• 1 cup (100 g) Parmesan cheese + more for sprinkling
• 7 Tbsp. (100 g) butter
• 2 egg yolks
• nutmeg
• salt

Instructions
Pour the milk and salt into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the semolina flour, stirring constantly. Gently boil, stirring, until it becomes quite thick. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese, the butter and the egg yolks.
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a large baking sheet.
On a flat working surface, flatten the mixture with your hands to a 1/3″ to 1/2″ height. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake in the oven until the gnocchi dry up and become golden. Eat warm.

When I was a little kid, once in a great while, my father would make cinnamon rolls. It was an all-day affair, usually done on weekends at our country house (it sounds fancy, but it was just a small bungalow in a yet undeveloped area outside La Plata). The warm cinnamon rolls were beyond delicious, definitely one of my favorite treats as a child.
Decades have gone by and I’m finally ready to attempt them myself, so I asked my dad for the recipe which I’m copying here. I’m thinking of making them soon.
Note that I don’t have the recipe for the sugar glace, though that should be easily found online.
Papá’s Cinnamon Rolls

• 2 Tbsp. yeast
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup cooled boiled milk
• 7 cups sifted flour
• 6 Tbsp. room-temperature butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 t. salt
• Additional butter for greasing and brushing
• Additional white and blond sugars
• Cinnamon

Directions
Dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbspl. sugar in the warm water. Add the milk and 3 cups of flour. Beat until it produces a smooth dough.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter with 1/2 cup sugar.
Add the butter to the dough and add the eggs, slat and the remaining 4 cups of flour. Mix well until you get a smooth, white dough. Knead the dough with your hands.
Butter a large bowl and place the dough on the bowl. Cover and keep in a warm place* until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.
* – If you don’t have a warm place at home you can heat the oven to 200F, turn off the heat and place the dough inside.
Once it’s risen, lightly flour a large working surface and roll the dough with a rolling pin to a 1/2″ height. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle with white and blond sugars and cinnamon. Roll into a large roll and cut it into thick slices. Generously butter a large baking pan and place the cinnamon rolls on it, being careful not to crowd them. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 more hours.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Bake the cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20′. Glace, remove and eat warm.

I made this epicurious.com recipe for Chicken Breasts with Chive and Mustard Sauce a couple of nights ago, as chicken breasts were on sale at Safeway. We all liked it very much – even Mika (who was mortified she liked a sauce that had mustard and alcohol in it). Camila ate the chicken without the sauce, which is typical.
The one problem with the recipe is that it was very, very liquid – even though I only used 1 cup of chicken broth. Next time I’ll use 1/2 a cup and I may add some cornstarch to thicken it. The flavor, however, was wonderful.

I made this recipe for Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Yukon Gold Potatoes last night and we all loved it. The flavors are not extraordinary, but the chicken was succulent, flavorful and utterly satisfying. This is really comfort food at its best. My only concern is that it’s pretty fattening, next time I’ll try to reduce the amount of fat a little bit – but I’ll definitely make it again.
I followed the original recipe closely, but I used regular yellow potatoes (which next time I’ll peel, per my daughter’s request) and forgot the chives and the nutmeg. The amount below will feed two adults and two children without leftovers.
Roasted chicken thighs with carrots & potatoes

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 6 large bone-in chicken thighs
• 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. ground black or white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
• 2 lbs yellow potatoes
• 2 lbs carrots
• 3 Tbsp. chopped chives (optional)

Preheat oven to 450F
Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with 1 Tbsp. oil. Rub the skin of the chicken thighs on the oil in the baking sheet and then set on the baking sheet skin side up.
Mix the salt with the thyme, pepper and nutmeg, if using. Sprinkle half the salt/thyme mixture on the chicken thighs. Place baking sheet in oven and roast for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel potatoes and carrots and cut them into 3″ x 1/2″ sticks. Put them in a bowl, add the remainder of the salt/thyme mixture and olive oil and mix well. Set aside while the chicken cooks.
At the end of the 30 minutes remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully remove the chicken thighs. Place in a bowl or deep dish, cover and set aside. Place the potatoes and carrots on the baking sheet and toss to cover with the drippings. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Return the chicken thighs to the baking sheet, placing on the vegetables, and pour any accumulated drippings from the bowl on them. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with chives (if using) before serving.

Marga’s Best Recipes

I made this epicurious.com recipe for Linguine with Pears and Gorgonzola Cheese using spaghetti but otherwise faithfully following the instructions. We found the sauce pretty good and appreciated the texture element that the pears brought to it – but all in all we found it an unnecessary element. Next time I’ll just skip them. I’m typing up the recipe because 1) epicurious.com has this habit of changing the urls of their recipes and 2) after the closure of Gourmet I’m concerned about how long epicurious.com may be around.
Pasta with Gorgonzola sauce

• 12 oz pasta
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 5 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped roasted pecans

Boil water and cook the pasta. Drain.
Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Add the rosemary and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
Add the chicken broth, Gorgonzola cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream. Mix well. Simmer until the sauce is somewhat thick, about 6 minutes, whisking occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the pasta and the pecans. Mix well and cook for about 3 more minutes.

This is not a recipe as much as a method for cooking spare ribs in the oven. It results in delicious, fall-of-the-bone ribs. The best part is that you don’t need either to boil or grill the ribs. Use any sauce you like with these ribs – go Asian with a soy sauce/vinegar/honey sauce (Mike specially liked this one) or use a very-American BBQ sauce. If the latter, you may want to start brushing the sauce in the last 15 minutes. The cooking method comes from someone who commented on this recipe
Oven-roasted spareribs

• 1 rack of spareribs
• salt & pepper
• your choice of seasonings or rubs (optional)
• your choice of sauce

Preheat oven to 250F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
Cut the spareribs into individual serving pieces. Season with salt and pepper and any other seasonings or rubs that you might like.
Place ribs on the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 2 hours. Remove and turn oven temperature to 375F.
Remove the ribs from the pan and drain off all the liquid. Return ribs to the pan and brush with sauce. Return them to the oven and roast uncovered for 30 more minutes, basting two times and making sure that the sauce doesn’t burn. Serve.