How To Make Cake Flour

Sorry it's been a long time since I last blogged but I do hope that it gave you time to go through all my previous recipes and tips.

I recently started researching the Swiss Roll cake after I saw a recipe that intrigued me.  Upon further research, I noticed that practically all of them called for "cake flour" which is a flour with lower gluten protein.

The ingredients to make your own cake flour in a pinch is everything you can find in your well stocked pantry, simply AP (All Purpose flour) and cornstarch!

For 1 cup of cake flour:

• 1 cup AP (All Purpose) flour minus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine the two ingredients and sift together well.

Recipe: Mashed Potato Gnocchi

Thanksgiving has come and gone and you're stuck with leftover mashed potatoes.
What to do?
You can make gnocchi with them! Gnocchi are Italian soft dumplings that are gently poached until they rise to the water's surface, then drained and served with a sauce.
Depending on how "wet" your mashed potatoes are, you may have to add a few more tablespoons of flour until the dough is dry enough to handle without sticking to your fingers. Recipe makes 8 servings or 4 hearty dinner portions.


Ingredients

• 4 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 whole egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes and egg until well combined.
2. Add the flour and mix well until the dough is workable. If the dough is still a bit wet and sticky, add tablespoons of flour until the dough is dry enough for you to handle.
3. Turn the dough out on to a clean work surface and using a knife, cut the dough into 4 even pieces.
4. Roll a piece of dough into a long 1/2" thick rope and with a knife, cut into 1" pieces.
5. Set a side on a plate.
6. Do the same with each remaining piece of dough.
7. Once all the gnocchi are made, drop them gently into a pot of simmering salted water. When they rise to the surface, they are done (about 3 minutes).
8. In the meantime, prepare in a saute pan, the sauce that you will serve the gnocchi with (tomato, pesto, or sage butter)
9. Gently lift the cooked gnocchi out of the water with a slotted spoon and toss with your favorite sauce.
10. Serve.

You can also freeze the uncooked gnocchi separated on a cookie sheet and then transfer them into a storage bag and keep in the freezer.

Recipe: Chicken Tostada

Cinco de Mayo has passed but you still have limes, salsa, refried beans, flour tortillas and sour cream in the refrigerator. What to do?

Here's a simple recipe for Chicken Tostadas that I learned when I first moved into the big city.
A grill pan would be handy to grill the chicken (or you can use a George Forman Grill) but a skillet will do just nicely.


Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
2 flour tortillas
1 can refried beans

For Marinade:
Juice of two limes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
pinch of chili powder

For Dressing:
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Whisk together marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.
   
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.
   
3. Between 2 pieces of wax paper, pound the chicken breasts thin and marinate for 15 minutes in the marinade.
   
4. Lightly fry the flour tortillas in a little oil and drain on paper towels.
   
5. Heat up the beans as per direction on can.
   
6. Remoce chicken from marinade. Grill chicken breasts until done and slice in to strips.
   
7. Serve the chicken on a bed of refried beans on the tortilla. Top with a little of the dressing. Serves 2.

Recipe: Basic Crepes & Manicotti

If you have a well stock pantry you can easily make these thin delicate crepes which can be filled with anything to become a satisfying entree or a delectable dessert!

• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a blender or food processor blend the flour, water, milk, eggs, butter and salt for 5 seconds (Remember to put the cover on otherwise the batter will fly all over the place!). Turn off motor and take off the cover. With a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the container, replace cover and blend the batter for 20 seconds more. Transfer the batter to a bowl and let it stand, covered with plastic wrap, for about an hour. The batter may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled in the refridgerator.

If necessary, add more milk by tablespoonfuls to the batter to thin it to the consistency of heavy whipping cream. Heat an 8 inch diameter nonstick skillet over medium high heat for a minute or two. Brush with melted butter. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into the skillet and swirl to coat bottom evenly. Put skillet back on heat and cook until top appears dry, loosening sides of crepe with spatula, about 45 seconds. Turn and cook until brown spots appear on second side, about 30 seconds. Turn crepe out onto plate. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crepes on plate. If you don't want to use butter, you can use spray oil such as PAM.

You can freeze these crepes if you are not going to use them all at once. Layer each crepe with a sheet of wax papaer in between the crepes, put in to a plastic storage bag, press out the air, and store in freezer until needed.

Ricotta and Mozzarella cheese go on sale usually at the same time so here is a Manicotti recipe to make with the crepes.

Ricotta Filling:

• 2 pounds ricotta
  

• 8 ounces fat-free cream cheese

• 2 eggs

• Handful chopped fresh parsley

• Black pepper (a pinch or more to your taste)

• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella

2 cups tomato sauce

Mix all of the ricotta filling ingredients together well. Place a large tablespoonful of filling in the center of each crepe, then roll up, and tuck in the ends as you would a blintz, burrito, or springroll.

Spread a little sauce on the bottom of a baking pan to evenly coat the pan. Then, arrange manicotti in pan side by side and cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Serve.

Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a recipe that I make when it is really cold outside and you want something that is satisfying, comforting, and warms you up. It serves two.

You can use whole chicken legs for this recipe since it is going to be more of a soup/stew and breast meat tends to get overcooked but use any type of chicken you can get at a great price (usually 89 cents a pound or less)
I always have a bag of white all purpose flour and a bag of corn meal handy and keep them stored in a zip-lock bag (they store practically dry for months/years that way).

*Tip: if you don't want to buy whole bags of carrots, celery, and onions (they may not be always on sale at your supermarket/grocer) you can find all three aromatics already chopped for you in a package found in the produce aisle marked as "meal starter" or something to that effect.

Chicken Stew
1 pound chicken pieces
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 medium rib celery sliced crosswise
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and rough chopped
2 springs of fresh thyme
1 cup packed coarse-chopped kale leaves
salt & fresh ground black pepper

Cornmeal Dumplings
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1tablespoon cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/3 cup milk

1. Prepare the stew: In a large saucepan combine chicken pieces, stock, bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate, turn the chicken pieces over, and simmer for 10 minutes more. Take out the cooked chicken and place on a plate or cutting board to allow to cool so that you can safely remove the skin without burning yourself. With a fork, pull the meat off the bones and put shredded chicken back into the pot. Discard skin and bones.
   



2. Skim the broth of any fat and stir in the celery, carrots, onion, and thyme springs. Continue to simmer partially covered until the carrots and onions are just tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the kale and season to taste with salt & pepper.



3. Prepare the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. With your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly. Using a fork, stir in the milk until blended.



4. Drop tablespoons of the dumpling batter in 8 clumps over the top of the stew. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
   Discard the bay leaf and thyme springs and serve in bowls.