St. Louis Food Blog, recipes, & cooking advice from Helen FletcherHelen S. Fletcher

To Chiffonade (Basil Chiffonade)

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 29th, 2011%

To cut basil into a chiffonade, stack the basil leaves on top of each other. Roll up like a cigarette. Slice thinly. Fluff up. There will be long and short strands . . . → Read More: To Chiffonade (Basil Chiffonade)

Pesto

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 29th, 2011%

2 1/2 ounces basil leaves
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 medium cloves garlic
Scant 1/2 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Pull the leaves off the basil stems. You should have about 1 1/2 cups.

Place all but the oil in the bowl of a food processor.Process to chop finely.

Add . . . → Read More: Pesto

Side Salads for Grilling (or anytime)

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 28th, 2011%

As long as last week’s post was, is as short as this week’s is. I am always on the look out for good side salads. I love coleslaw and green salad, but there is so much more to enjoy. These are just two of my favorites.

The Greek Tomato Salad was given to me by a friend years and years ago. To say it has stood the test of time is a vast understatement. To attest to its staying power, I took this to a summer potluck where a lot of young people were in attendance and I had many requests for the recipe from them. It is very important the primary ingredient, tomatoes, be very ripe for this salad to have maximum taste. I have found that letting the tomatoes sit at room temperature for days at a time, they will ripen to perfection. I recently did one of my TV segments and the host was awed at the perfect ripeness of the tomatoes. So taken, that before we went on camera he grabbed a slice from the set up and ate it, much to my dismay!! I never put tomatoes in the refrigerator as it stops their ability to ripen. I simply put them on a plate near a window and check them everyday. Some ripen in days, some in a week, but ripen they will.

The other item in the Greek Tomato Salad worth mentioning is the feta cheese. There is an in depth discussion of feta cheese in the Individual Greek Shrimp Casserole blog.

The Black Bean Salad was one I developed even before I opened my retail take out shop. But it remained a staple that was in the case every day. High in protein and low in fat, it will last a week in the refrigerator. In fact is should be made 1 day ahead for the flavors to meld. Truth to tell, I can eat it all by itself and feel very satisfied. You will see why when you look at the recipe. While it is true, I generally start from scratch, this is a great recipe to show that there are some very valuable canned items that speed things up enormously. Beans are a great example. Most of us don’t have the time or desire to soak, then cook beans for hours. As to the corn, frozen corn is a good alternative to cooking the corn and removing it from the cob. If you have any doubts, make this once and I would bet you will make it again. Continue reading Side Salads for Grilling (or anytime)

Chilled Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder with Pepperjack Cheese Bread

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 21st, 2011%

I don’t know where you live, but it is getting unbearably hot here in the midwest. Temperatures in the high 90′s with heat indexes of over 100 for days on end, keep most of us inside. Pools are still and grills are cold as we take refuge inside our air conditioned houses.

The chilled chowder is built on a gazpacho base. There are actually two bases to the soup – the first a tomato base and the second a vegetable base. The time spent in prep is minimal resulting in a soup with more flavor than the law allows. As an added bonus it is low in fat and calories.

I was going to run the Pepperjack Cheese Bread as a separate blog at a later date but couldn’t stop thinking of them together. The bread is based on a recipe one of my sons brought home in the third grade – more years ago that I care to think about. I have been using that Buttermilk bread ever since. I love it because it is easy, fail proof and it has a shelf life of several days. This is a good old American bread, not an artisan bread (although I love all bread) and as such is easier to put together.

American style breads got a really bad rap for a while as artisan breads took the limelight. I don’t understand why one has to be deemed better than the other – they are just different versions of the same ingredients. To me, that is like saying chocolate cake is superior to yellow cake. While one’s preference might be chocolate cake, that doesn’t make yellow cake bad. (OK! OK! that might be a bad example!) In some ways, American style bread has superior lasting quality and while I love, ciabatta, you won’t see a pepperjack cheese version. American breads are infinitely variable. The rap against artisan breads is they stale very quickly if not eaten the day made which, if there are only two in the household can be a challenge. I usually cut them in half and freeze half for another day. A second potential problem with artisan breads is the dense, really crisp crust. People with severe overbites, as I have, end up gnawing and pulling at the bread like a dog with a bone – not a pretty sight! I would not eat them in public for years no matter how much I loved them – and I do. One artisan bakery in my city, eventually made a softer crusted version while retaining the original crispy crust. Don’t even ask me to eat them toasted! Every time I see a cooking show grilling them to their endlessly crispy, dry perfection, I cringe. I envy those that can eat these. Continue reading Chilled Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder with Pepperjack Cheese Bread

S’Mores Tart

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 14th, 2011%

Growing up in a European family that never heard of the Girl Scouts, it took me a while to find S’mores when I was in my 30′s. However, having found them, I have certainly made up for lost time. How could graham crackers (or crumbs in this case), milk chocolate and marshmallows possibly go wrong. It was pointed out to me that peanuts aren’t in a s’mores. My only retort was – they are in mine. It’s a little added flourish that really sets this one off.

There are several steps in this recipe that can be found in the Food Techniques section. I have linked them for your convenience. This is one of the easiest of all desserts and I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading S’Mores Tart

Releasing a Tart

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 13th, 2011%

Release from the pan by loosening the crust with a pointed offset spatula

every 3 inches or so.

Place the tart on a can

pull the rim down.

Place a flat spatula between the tart shell and the metal base.

Go around the tart to make sure it is free. Place two pancake turners, one on each side under the tart,

and . . . → Read More: Releasing a Tart

Chocolate Crumb Crust

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 10th, 2011%

For one 9”x1” quiche pan

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (buy them in crumbs or run the crackers through food processor) (170 grams or 6 ounces)
¼ cup cocoa (25 grams or 1 scant ounce)
½ cup unsifted powdered sugar (55 grams or 2 ounces)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (114 grams or 4 ounces)

Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar . . . → Read More: Chocolate Crumb Crust

Goat Cheese Pesto Tart with Roasted Peppers

By Helen S. Fletcher, on July 7th, 2011%

At the retail shop, the clientele loved savory tarts and we did many of them. This one came from my love of peppers and basil, in this case, pesto. While I appreciate goat cheese, I find it very astringent and usually cut it with cream cheese to mellow it out as I have done here. I used this filling for small crostadas which we used as appetizers. We crossed slivers of red and yellow pepper on the top and they made a dazzling display on a tray when passed. They can be made, as can the tart, ahead and frozen. For the crostadas, I would freeze without the peppers on top, adding them after they had been reheated. I particularly like to use this filling for the crostadas as it didn’t lose it shape when heated. We would pipe it on with a large star tip.

This tart demonstrates the use of savory tarts in your repertoire. These can also be made in individual servings if you desire. The number of servings depends upon the size of your pans.

Because I believe strongly in adding flavor to every element you are using, I vary the crusts I use depending upon what I am putting in them. This asiago crust is a great example. It is so good on it’s own, it can be rolled out, cut, pricked and served as snack crackers. I sometimes make extra dough just for that purpose. We had rolled out crust and pressed in crusts at the bakery. This was a press in, so called because you literally press it into the pan. These are often easier than roll outs. Although I divide the dough for the sides and the bottom, one of my employees found it easier to pat the dough into a circle, place it in the middle of the pan and press it out to the edges and up the sides. There are potential problems with both methods. With the side and bottom separated, as I do it and show you here, it is most important to seal the seams well. Despite that, areas sometimes separate from each other and require patching. This is why it is important to save a small walnut sized piece of the dough. With the second method, it is important to make sure the edges are at a 90 degree angle so the edges don’t fill with dough as it bakes.

This was a particular joy for me to make as I was able to use my own basil for the pesto from the four pots I planted at the beginning of May.

Let me know if you have a favorite savory tart you would like to share. Continue reading Goat Cheese Pesto Tart with Roasted Peppers

See Helen on the set of KMOV-TV’s Great Day St. Louis!

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