03 March

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March 22, 2012

Beef Broccoli

Posted by HI Cookery under 03 March | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Beef Broccoli

Beef Broccoli

March 22: We Love Broccoli Day

When Islander and her brother, Kahuna, were little, Daddy would stir-fry some seafood or meat with flavorful brown sauces. He would also throw in a variety of vegetables for his finicky children to try. One dish the family loved was Chinese-style beef broccoli. Daddy still prepares it for us sometimes whenever we visit him and Mommy in Hawaii, although we do know how to make this on the mainland, too! For a blog post on We Love Broccoli Day, we share a family-favorite recipe for Beef Broccoli.

Recipe

(Inspired by Daddy)

For the beef marinade

  • 1 pound of beef
  • ½ teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sherry
  • 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or canola)
  • 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or corn starch

 Directions

Slice the beef into thin strips. In a medium bowl, mix the meat with the baking soda. In another bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry, oil and oyster sauce. Mix this marinade into the beef.  Sprinkle in the tapioca flour or corn starch to thicken the marinade slightly. Set aside and make the cooking sauce.

Beef Broccoli

For the cooking sauce

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2-3 tablespoons of chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sherry
  •  1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)

Directions

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the soy sauce, chicken broth, oyster sauce, sherry and oil. In another dish or measuring cup, make a paste with the corn starch and water. Set aside. Heat the two tablespoons of oil in a skillet or wok. Brown the beef in batches, adding a little more oil if needed. Transfer the beef to a bowl and keep warm.

Beef Broccoli

For the vegetables

  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated
  • 2-3 cups of broccoli florets (we used pre-cut packaged broccoli)

Directions

In the same skillet or work, saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds before pouring in the cooking sauce. Stir in the corn starch paste to thicken. Return the beef strips to the skillet or wok and mix well until coated in the sauce. Lower the heat and toss in the broccoli. Cover for about five minutes to partially steam the broccoli until it is still fresh and crisp. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Beef Broccoli

Notes

  • Substitutions may include rice wine or sake for the sherry and Chinese broccoli for the regular broccoli.
 

March 20, 2012

Lemon Macarons

Posted by HI Cookery under 03 March | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Lemon Macarons

 Lemon Macarons

March 20: World Macaron Day and First Day of Spring

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When Mum gives you homemade lemon curd, make macarons! That is exactly what we did to observe World Macaron Day. So we added lemon flavoring and a sunny shade of yellow to basic macaron shells and filled them with Mum’s homemade lemon curd. Take the opportunity to make lemon macarons as they are a wonderful way to welcome the spring season.

Recipe

(Adapted from TeaTime magazine – January/February 2010)

For the lemon macarons (Italian meringue method)

  • 1 cup almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
  • 1 cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • yellow food coloring (we used AmeriFoods brand lemon yellow food paste gel color)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form.

Lemon Macarons

Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage). Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy. Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar mixture until the consistency “flows like magma.” Stir in the lemon extract.

Lemon Macarons

Tint the macaronage with yellow to make a sunny shade of lemon. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs. Make the lemon curd filling.

Lemon Macarons

For the lemon curd

Lemon Curd

Directions

To complete the macarons, spread lemon curd between two shells. Sandwich them together and repeat the process for the rest of the shells. Refrigerate the macarons to set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Lemon Macarons

Notes

  • Search our site for more macaron recipes. Or click on our MacAttack page to see our macaron gallery. Happy World Macaron Day!
  • Dale Carnegie coined the famous quote: “When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make a lemonade” (see variations of the phrase at the Innocent English website). With this statement, he meant to encourage others to turn a negative into a positive position and to take the opportunity to change a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one.
  • Thanks to Highlander’s Mum for the lemon curd and recipe.  Store-bought instead of homemade lemon curd may be substituted for the lemon macaron filling.
  • Thanks to Lisa L. for the ground almonds from Germany.
  • See our Food Flops page for our lemon macaron mess.
  • This post is our entry into the MacTweets monthly challenge #27 for World Macaron Day. Take a look at all the lovely macs on the site!
  • HI Cookery is proud to partner with M5 Cake to make macarons this month. See our lemon macarons paired with the strawberry macarons that we made together below and on their site.

macarons

 

March 17, 2012

Guinness Brownies

Posted by HI Cookery under 03 March | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Guinness Brownies

Guinness Brownies

March 17: Feast Day of St. Patrick

Slainte! St. Patrick’s Day is a time to celebrate Highlander’s heritage. He has traced his ancestry to the Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish). Today is also a time to eat brownies boozed up with beer from Dublin, Ireland—Guinness. The dry Irish stout, mixed with a “trinity” of chocolate (unsweetened, semi-sweet and white),  makes this dessert dense and delicious! Shake some shamrock sprinkles on top for an edible emerald color contrast. Get into the “spirit” of St. Patrick’s Day and indulge in Guinness brownies.

Recipe

(Adapted from Detroit News)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • ¾ cup unsweetened/baking cocoa powder (we used Nestle Toll House brand)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces (8 squares) of unsweetened chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips (we used Nestle Toll House brand premiere white morsels)
  • 6 tablespoons butter (we used Kerrygold brand Irish unsalted butter)
  • 1 cup sugar (we lessened the amount to ¾ cup)
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cup Guinness beer, room temperature
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli brand)
  • candy shamrock sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil. Mist with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. Melt together the unsweetened chocolate squares, white chocolate chips and butter. 

Guinness Brownies

Stir until smooth. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar. Mix in the melted chocolate. 

Guinness Brownies

Gradually add the flour-cocoa mixture. Stir in the Guinness beer and blend well. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula.

Guinness Beer

Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool completely. Slice with a plastic knife. While the brownies are still warm, sprinkle candy shamrocks (optional). Yield: 24 square brownies.

Guinness Brownies

Notes 

  • The background in the final food photo above features Highlander’s family tartan, a plaid with green, blue and white colors.
  • Instead of the shamrock sprinkles, dust the Guinness brownies with powdered sugar before serving.
  • Search our blog for more brownie and Irish-inspired recipes.

 

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