Easy Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1 stick butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 package Philadelphia cream cheese (NOT LOW FAT!! OR ANY OTHER BRAND!!)
2 c whole milk (can replace with 2%, half and half, or cream, but not skim)
6 oz finely shredded Parmesan cheese (NOT KRAFT!!)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

Directions:

1. NOTE: have pasta ready before making sauce
2. Heat butter on stove over medium heat.
3. Add garlic.
4. Add room temperature cream cheese. Whisk. Get it as smooth as you can.
5. Add warm milk. Whisk till smooth. DO NOT boil.
6. Add parmesan. DO NOT bring to boil or it WILL separate. Whisk till smooth.
7. Take off heat.
8. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
9. Sauce will get thicker as it cools.
10. Add sauce to pasta and enjoy!

Emeril’s Jelly Donuts

Link here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jelly-filled-donuts-3644849

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 ounce (4 1/2 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon mace
2 tablespoons nonfat powdered milk
1 large egg
3/4 c milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour

1 1/2 cups raspberry, strawberry, blueberry or your favorite jelly for filling doughnut
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

1. Microwave 1/4 c milk at 15 sec intervals until it is warm BUT NOT HOT. Place the yeast in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and pour the heated milk over the yeast. Stir the milk into the yeast and allow it to bloom for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, butter, salt, mace, and powdered milk and mix until just well combined. Do not overmix. Add the egg and mix gently. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of milk and mix briefly. Add the flours and yeast mixture and mix to form a smooth dough, about 6 to 8 minutes at second speed.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Set aside to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Let dough sit undisturbed for 5 minutes to allow the dough to relax. Using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, cut doughnuts into rounds about 3 inches in diameter.
5. Add enough oil (or vegetable shortening) to a large saucepan or deep-fryer to come halfway up the sides of the pan when melted. Heat over medium heat to a temperature of 350 degrees F. Fry the donuts, a few at a time so as to not overcrowd, turning once midway through the cooking, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
6. While donuts are still warm, place them in a paper bag with some sugar and shake to coat. Transfer the cooked doughnuts to a cookie rack set over a sheet pan to cool.
7. When donuts are cool, place the jelly in a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and, using the tip, poke a small hole in the side of the doughnuts and fill the centers with 2 tablespoons of the jam.
8. Enjoy!

Tres Leches Cake (Puerto Rican)

FROM: Chowhound

INGREDIENTS:

• Butter, for coating the baking dish
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk (not nonfat)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish with butter; set aside.
2. Separate egg whites and egg yolks.
3. In kitchenaid, blend egg whites on high until medium peaks form.
4. In bowl, whisk egg yolks, vanilla extract and almond extract.
5. Add egg yolk mixture spoonful by spoonful to egg white mixture. Fold in slowly, by hand, taking care to keep the volume of the egg whites.
6. Add flour mixture slowly, half cup by half cup. Fold in slowly, by hand, taking care to keep the volume of the egg whites.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake until the cake is puffed and golden and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, place the three milks and the rum in a large bowl and whisk until combined; set aside.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Using a toothpick or wooden skewer, poke holes all over the cake and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake and continue cooling, about 45 minutes more. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
10. When the cake is ready to serve, spread the coconut in an even layer in a large frying pan. Toast over medium heat, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. (If the coconut begins to burn, reduce the heat.) Immediately remove from the pan to a small bowl.
11. Place the heavy cream and powdered sugar in large bowl and whisk until medium peaks form. (If you like, flavor it with a teaspoon of dark rum.) Slice the cake and serve topped with a mound of whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

Buttermilk Substitution

1 cup milk + 1 Tbsp lemon juice – Allow mixture to stand for five minutes prior to use.

1 cup milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar (white, apple cider or rice vinegar) – Allow mixture to stand for five minutes prior to use.

1 cup milk + 1/2 Tbsp cream of tartar – Mix well to dissolve the cream of tartar.

1/4 cup milk + 3/4 cup plain yogurt – Whisk together until no lumps remain.

1/4 cup milk + 3/4 cup sour cream – Whisk together until no lumps remain.

Sour Cream Substitution

From King Arthur Flour

1 c sour cream =

1 c milk + 1 TBSP vinegar, mix and let sit for 5 min.

Jujube Rolls

This is a rehash of the tongzhen recipe posted earlier in the blog.

STARTER

3 tbsp flour (King Arthur bread flour or all purpose flour)
1/2 c liquid (1/4 c water + 1/4 c milk)

Mix in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it becomes of pudding-like consistency. Let cool.

DOUGH

2.5c flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
2 tsp (or one packet) yeast
1/2 tsp salt
All the STARTER
1 c candied fruit

DIRECTIONS

Using stand mixer, mix all dough for 15 min. Dough will be sticky and stringy, silky and smooth.

Cover. Let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

TO MAKE DINNER ROLLS

Traditional rolls: Roll dough into 6 equal-sized balls. Cover loosely. Let rise 30 min. Rolls will smush together.

Glaze with milk or egg wash (1/4 c milk or water and 1 egg, mixed well). The egg wash gives a shiny finish to the rolls, the milk wash makes the rolls brown but not shiny. I use an egg wash.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover loosely. Let rise 15 min to 30 min.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 min.

Enjoy!

LACTOSE FREE YOGURT

Please publicize this recipe, I think it can help a lot of people.

A lot of people who can’t have dairy can’t do so because their body does not produce sufficient quantities of the lactase enzyme, which digests the lactose in milk and other dairy products.  This means that they get very ill if they consume dairy products.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (eg: Xeloda) also have this problem. A lot of the time, the chemotherapy drug, in trying to eradicate the cancer, kills good cells and enzymes (lactase) that people need.  For some, it causes illness (bloating, gas, diarrhea, etc) when they consume dairy, similar to the side effects shown by lactose intolerant people.

One solution to this is LACTAID milk.  It is basically regular milk with the lactase enzyme added. It works really well because then your body has lactase and you can digest the milk without all those nasty side effects.

Another solution is making homemade yogurt out of LACTAID milk. This creates yogurt rich in lactase enzymes, which can be easily digested without side effects by lactose intolerant people.  I think LACTAID could make this, but there probably isn’t enough demand for it.

Without further ado, here is my recipe for a lactase enriched yogurt. Enjoy!

RECIPE FOR YOGURT FOR LACTOSE INTOLERANT PEOPLE AND CANCER PATIENTS

Ingredients:

1. 2 c Lactaid milk

2. 1/4 c full fat regular plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures (including S. THERMOPHILUS, L. BULGARICUS, L. ACIDOPHILUS, BIFIDUS, L. CASEI, AND L. RHAMNOSUS) (Brands include Dannon, Stoneyfield, and I’m sure others).

Directions (begin at night, after dinner):

1. Put Lactaid milk in Pyrex. Microwave on lowest power setting for 8 minutes. Milk will boil but not overflow if you do it that way.

2. Turn on oven. Heat to 170 degrees.

3. Let milk cool to 170 degrees. No need to measure. Let cool until it is warm to the touch.

4. Stir in yogurt.

5. TURN OFF OVEN (this is super important!!).

6. Place Pyrex in oven overnight. When you wake up in the morning, the yogurt will be ready. Enjoy!!! 🙂

 

NOTE: Lactaid does NOT taste at ALL like regular milk. BUT, the yogurt made out of it tastes just like regular yogurt. I made this with a batch of yogurt made with regular milk, and did a taste off. You cannot identify which is made with regular milk and which is made with Lactaid. (Yay!)