Crepes: Sweet and Savory

A few weeks ago I ran across a recipe for coconut whipped cream, and since then I was trying to find an excuse to make some. The excuse I finally landed on was that I would make crepes. The crepes were delicious and the coconut whipped cream was both yummy and a bit odd.

The Recipes

Crepes (recipe found in The Joy of Cooking ) 

-I made one recipe of batter, I used the first half for the savory crepes then added the sugar for the sweet crepes.

Ingredients

Savory

1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat, half all-purpose)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup warm water (I don't believe I actually added this)

4 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter

pinch of salt

Sweet (for half the recipe, double these measurement if you would like to make all sweet crepes)

1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, whisk until smooth. Allow to sit for around 30 minuets. Heat a large non-stick frying pan or crepe pan to medium heat. Put a small amount of butter (maybe 1/8-1/4 tsp) in the center of the frying pan. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter in the center of the frying pan, quickly pick up the frying pan and tilt it around in a circle so that the batter thinly and evenly covers the whole bottom of the frying pan. Wait till small bubbles appear, check to see if the side cooking is a light golden brown color, if it is it is time to flip the crepe. To flip a crepe gently lift the edge of the crepe with a spatula, the gently grab the crepe with your fingers and flip it over. Cook for 15-30 seconds more or until the second side is golden brown. Enjoy.

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream 

Recipe found: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-whipped-cream-from-152490  

Ingredients

1 can of coconut milk

2 tsp sugar

Lime Zest(optional)

Directions

Allow the coconut milk to sit in the refrigerator overnight so that it can solidify. Scoop the solid coconut milk out of the can into a medium sized bowl, leaving the liquid bit at the bottom in the can (this can be used for a smoothie or drink). Using an electric mixer whip the the coconut milk until it starts to stiffen, add the other ingredients and continue to whip until stiff (you get little peaks of whipped cream when you turn off the mixer and pull it out). 

Top your sweet crepes with the coconut whipped cream and strawberry slices and enjoy.

Savory Crepe Filling (my personal recipe, and favorite way to eat eggs with or without the crepes)

This is what I put in my crepes but you can put anything you like in your crepes. Also, these measurements are not exact. This fed three people and we had some left over.

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic (minced and crushed)

1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms 

3 handfuls of kale (freshly washed and ripped)

1 Tbsp white wine 

1 1/2 cup egg beaters or 6 eggs

1 handful mozzarella cheese or whatever cheese you like

salt

pepper 

Italian spices

Directions

Heat large frying pan with olive oil to medium-high heat, add garlic, cook till golden brown. Add mushrooms, saute. Add kale, cover with lid, and quickly add wine (this helps steam and flavor the kale), cook the kale till it has changed color and shrunk slightly. Spice the mixture and mix thoroughly, add eggs(or egg beaters), scramble. Add cheese and enjoy.

What I did with my leftover Coconut Milk

6 slightly over-ripe strawberries (over-ripe means more flavor when it comes to smoothies)

1 ripe mango

however much coconut milk you have left(I had around a 1/3 cup)

Chop fruit and throw in a blender with the coconut milk, enjoy.    

    

 

Chicken with Creamy White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Yesterday evening I made chicken for the first time. This was big for me for a few reasons. First, I typically stick to a vegetarian diet for both health and moral reasons. However, I figured after having been sick for close to two months now I needed the protein. Second, I typically stay away from chicken because in my opinion chicken that isn't made well tastes the way sweat smells (the "I've been out in the sun too long" kind, not the "I just ran 10 miles without deodorant" kind).
This recipe is just me experimenting with chicken for the first time and I think it turned out great. A quick disclaimer: I made these recipes as I went along based on what flavors I know go well together from past experience and what smelled delicious. So, once again, these measurements are estimates of what I used.

Recipes: (I used 6 chicken breasts)
Marinade (my personal recipe)
Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic (roughly chopped and crushed)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 bay leaves
5 leaves fresh sage (roughly chopped)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Pepper
Salt

Directions
To make the marinade I essentially just throw everything together in a sauce pan and brought it to a boil. For the rosemary and thyme remove the leaves from the twig-like stems then roughly chop up the stems and throw those in along with the leaves(the stems aren't great to eat but have a ton of flavor that's great for marinades). Allow to simmer for just a minute or two to allow the flavors to mix together. Allow the marinade to cool.
While the marinade is cooling rinse your defrosted chicken.
I then, having no experience with chicken, decided that it made sense to poke holes in the chicken. I figured this would allow the flavors of the marinade to really infuse into the chicken. So I took a fork and stabbed each piece of chicken breast about 100 times, top, bottom, sides, everywhere (while wearing gloves and making faces because I refuse to touch raw meat). I then put the chicken in a large bowl and poured the marinade over top. Next I put my hands in the bowl and massaged the chicken allowing the flavors of the marinade to really get inside the chicken. Then I left the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for about 4 hours.
When the chicken is done marinating heat a frying pan at medium high heat, melt a little butter if the pan is not non-stick. Cook the chicken till golden brown on both sides (about 5 minutes each side).

Creamy White Wine Mushroom Sauce (my personal recipe)
Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic (minced and crushed)
12 oz mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup chicken or mushroom stock (I used chicken)
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 bay leaf
5 leaves fresh sage (roughly chopped)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (remove leaves from stem, throw away stem)
5 sprigs fresh thyme (remove leaves from stem, throw away stem)
Pepper
Salt
1 cup light cream

Directions
Heat butter and olive oil at medium-high heat, add garlic, cook till lightly brown. Next, add mushrooms and sauté. After the mushrooms are sautéed add lemon juice and spices. Stir in stock and wine, simmer for about 10 minutes or until only about half the liquid is left. Stir in cream. Spoon over chicken and enjoy. Can served over pasta, rice or with potatoes.

Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli with Vodka Sauce

This past Friday I spent a few hours making spinach and mushroom ravioli with vodka sauce and garlic bread. Creating the ravioli took a rather long time but was worth every second. A quick disclaimer: I use recipes as guides as opposed to rules so many of the measurements are estimations.  

The Recipes:
Pasta Dough(found on foodnetwork.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 whole eggs plus 1 yoke
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
some salt
1 or 2 tablespoons of water

Directions:
Put the flour on a clean dry work surface. Make a hole (this is also called a well) in the center of the flour pile that is about 8 inches wide (bigger is definitely better here). Crack all of the eggs and the yolk into the hole and add the olive oil, salt and water.

Using a fork beat the eggs together with the olive oil, water and salt. Using the fork, begin to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture; be careful not to break the sides of the well or the egg mixture will run all over your board and you will have a big mess! Also, dont worry about the lumps. When enough flour has been incorporated into the egg mixture that it will not run all over the place when the sides of the well are broken, begin to use your hands to really get everything well combined. If the mixture is tight and dry, wet your hands and begin kneading with wet hands. When the mixture has really come together to a homogeneous mixture, THEN you can start kneading.

When kneading it is VERY important to put your body weight into it, get on top of the dough to really stretch it and not to tear the dough. Using the heels of your palms, roll the dough to create a very smooooooth, supple dough. When done the dough should look VERY smooth and feel almost velvety. Kneading will usually take from 8 to 10 minutes for an experienced kneader and 10 to 15 for an inexperienced kneader. Put your body weight into it, you need to knead! This is where the perfect, toothsome texture of your pasta is formed. Get in there and have fun!

When the pasta has been kneaded to the perfect consistency, wrap it in plastic and let rest for at least 1 hour. If using immediately do not refrigerate.

Roll and cut the pasta into desired shape.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/chef-annes-all-purpose-pasta-dough-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback


Ravioli Filling(my personal recipe)
Ingredients:
~2 cups of mushrooms (minced)
~2 cups fresh spinach (minced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced and crushed)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine

1/4 tsp lemon juice(fresh is best)
salt
pepper
Italian spices
bay leaf

16 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1 egg


Directions:
In a large nonstick frying pan heat olive oil on medium-high heat add in garlic cook until just golden brown. Add mushrooms to the pan, saute. Add spinach quickly followed by wine and cover for a minute or two to allow the spinach to steam. Remove cover, mix in lemon juice, add the bay leaf and various spices. Lower the heat, allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes until 90% of the liquid is gone.
While the mixture is simmering in a large bowl mix together the cheeses and egg and more spices. After the stove top mixture is done reducing (don't forget to remove the bay leaf) add to the cheese mixture, mix together quickly so the egg does not cook.

How to Make the Ravioli (be prepared this takes a long time) 
Lightly flour a clean dry work surface, roll out about 1/4 of your dough. Cut the sheet of dough into two similar sized planes. On one sheet place heaping teaspoon sized balls of filling at about 2 inch intervals. Get a small bowl and put water in it. Dip your clean finger in the water the dab water around each ball of filling(this acts like a glue). Lay the second sheet of dough on top of the the first sheet with the filling balls (you may need to re-roll the second sheet a bit as the dough has a tendency to contract). Use the side of your hand to press the dough down around the filling balls. Then use your fingers to really press the to sheets of dough together so that you don't have exploding raviolis. If you have one use a ravioli cutter (looks like a tiny, zigzaggy pizza cutter) to separate into individual raviolis (if you don't have a ravioli cutter I imagine that a knife would work but I don't know as I have a ravioli cutter). Continue this process until you have the desired amount of raviolis.
To cook the ravioli bring as much water as you would use to cook a pound of pasta to a boil. Add the ravioli and watch as they cook rather quickly. Ravioli are done when they float to the top. Also, I cook the vodka sauce and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees while waiting for the water to boil.


Vodka Sauce (my personal recipe)   
*This is a double recipe. I always make a lot since I like to keep it around for a few days because its so delicious. When I make this with Penne I often add mushrooms.
Ingredients
6 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of Garlic (minced and crushed)
1 medium-large onion (finely chopped)
2 28 oz. cans of whole plum tomatoes (mostly drained then coarsely chopped)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vodka
~24 fresh basil leaves(must be fresh and coarsely chopped)
Italian spices
salt
pepper

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Add garlic, cook till golden brow. Add onions cook till lightly brown. Mix in tomatoes, red pepper flakes and vodka, bring to boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 10 minuets. Mix in basil and spices, add cream. EAT!


Garlic Bread
Ingredients
Bread (I used a hardy whole grain bread, but u can use Italian bread, a baguette or whatever bread suits your fancy)
olive oil
a couple garlic cloves
Romano cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the bread into slices, lay the slices on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in oven for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. While the bread is in the oven peal the garlic cloves and cut in half. After the bread is done toasting, while it is still very hot, rub each piece with the cut side of a garlic clove, infusing the bread with flavor. The hot bread cooks the garlic a bit aiding the infusion. Sprinkle with Romano cheese.

I found that I had some left over ravioli filling and untoasted bread slices. So for lunch today I lightly toasted the bread so that it was crispy but not browned at all. Then I smeared on some ravioli filling, topped it with a little vodka sauce and put in back in the toaster oven for a few minuets. It was quick, easy and delicious!




 
 

A Little About Me

Hello! I'm Hope, I am 20 years old and from Maryland. I am currently going to school in hopes of getting a degree that allows me to integrate Photography and Marine Science. If I could I would spend all of my time traveling around the world to various fantastic places. However, I don't have the funds for this and instead spend my free time hanging out with friends, rock climbing, working on my photography portfolio, and cooking.  

Recently I have found myself unable to go out on Friday nights as I have to be up ridiculously early for work on Saturday mornings. So rather then sitting around the house being bored I have decided to put my Friday evenings to good use. Each Friday I plan on fulfilling my passion for cooking by trying out a new recipe each week. In the past I primarily have cooked Mediterranean style dishes but my plan is to branch out and try cooking dishes from all corners of the world.

So this blog going to primarily be a food blog but i will likely include; things that I find helpful or amusing, fun little everyday experiences, my travels, and a few tips for people like me who have crazy curly hair.