Spring has sprung for recipes
Here we are working our way to the end of March and to warmer temperatures. We are officially in spring now. This week has so many good National Days it was hard to chose just a few. It is National Bavarian Crepes Day on March 22, Chip and Dip Day on March 23, Cheesesteak Day on March 24, Lobster Newburg Day on March 25, and Black Forest Cake Day on March 28. National Puppy Day is March 23 which is what I featured this week in For The Animals.
Did you know: Bavarian crepes are a delicious, very thin pancakelike dessert, typically made from wheat or buckwheat flour, filled, rolled and often topped with a glaze, fruit, chocolate or whipped cream. In Bavaria, crepes are called palatschinke. They are similar to a French crepe; however, the Bavarian crepe batter doesn’t need to rest before using.
Lobster Newburg includes lobster, butter, cream, cognac, sherry, eggs, and cayenne pepper. It debuted at Delmonico’s of New York in 1876. Ben Wenburg, a sea captain, developed the elegant and rich dish. After he demonstrated the recipe to restaurant manager Charles Delmonico, Chef Charles Ranhofer made refinements and they added the creation to the restaurant’s menu as Lobster a la Wenburg. It wasn’t long before the dish grew in popularity.
However, it was removed from the menu because of an argument between Wenburg and manager Charles Delmonico. After many requests from patrons, Delmonico’s returned the dish with a new name. The entree came to be known as Lobster Newburg. Prior to this time, lobster was an undesirable food and considered to be fish bait or food for prisoners. This dish helped transform lobster from a poor man’s food to a delicacy.
BAVARIAN PANCAKES
READY IN: 20 mins
YIELD: 8 pancakes INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 1⁄2 cups flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients; don’t over beat. Mix may have some lumps. Heat skillet and melt butter.
Pour about 1/2 cup mix in circle into skillet and fry until bubbly.
Turn over and fry until light brown.
Top with syrup, powdered sugar, apple sauce, nuts, chocolate chips, whipped cream or any such ingredient and roll up.
Eat in a roll.
LOBSTER NEWBURG READY IN: 20 mins SERVES: 4 INGREDIENTS: 2 teaspoons butter 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 cups milk
2 beaten egg yolks
8 ounces cubed, cooked lobsters 1 tablespoon dry sherry
1⁄8 teaspoon white pepper or 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 dash ground red pepper 2 English muffins, split and toasted snipped fresh chives (optional) DIRECTIONS:
In a medium saucepan, melt butter.
Stir in flour and salt.
Add the milk all at once.
Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Cook and stir 1 more minute.
Stir about half the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks.
Return all to saucepan.
Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
Stir in lobster, dry sherry, white or black pepper, and ground red pepper.
Heat through.
Serve over English muffin halves. If desired, garnish with snipped chives.
BLT Dip
Serve with crackers or chips. Prep:5minscook: 10 mins Additional: 10 mins Total: 25 mins
Servings: 16 (3 cups dip) Ingredients
1 pound bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 tomato - peeled, seeded and diced
Directions
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels.
In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Crumble bacon into the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Mix in tomatoes just before serving.
Cheesesteak
Prep: 10 minutes C o o k 10 minutes Total: 20 minutes Servings: 2 large sandwiches Ingredients
2 eight-inch hoagie rolls sliced 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
1/2 green bell pepper sliced
1/2 onion sliced
4 button mushrooms sliced 16 ounces boneless ribeye steaks thinly sliced against the grain salt and pepper to taste 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 4 slices white American cheese Instructions
Optionally, butter insides of hoagie rolls with 1 tablespoon of butter and toast. Set aside.
In a sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Once melted and bubbling, add bell pepper, onions, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until
: veggies are lightly browned and onions turn translucent. Remove from pan and set aside.
Season sliced ribeye with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Once melted and bubbling, add ribeye to skillet and cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Worcestershire sauce to skillet and stir to combine.
Reduce heat to low. Return veggies to pan and stir to combine. Split your steak mixture in half on either side of the pan. Lay two pieces of cheese onto each half and allow to melt, about 1 minute.
Spoon cheesesteak mixture into your hoagie rolls. Serve immediately.
Notes
• White American cheese can be substituted with cheese whiz or smoked provolone cheese.
• Onions are the only traditional cheesesteak topping bell pepper and mushrooms are optional, but recommended for flavor.
• Amoroso rolls are traditional for making cheesesteaks, but any bakery style hoagie rolls will work.
Black Forest Cake
Prep: 1 hr. 30 mins C o o k 30 mins Cooling: 30 mins Total: 2 hrs. 30 mins
Servings: 16
Ingredients
For the Cake:
5 large eggs separated
1 cup granulated sugar divided 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ cup unsweetened powder
For the Cherry Filling:
1 ½ cups cherry juice divided 2 cups cherries pitted
5 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup kirsch divided
For the Whipped Cream:
4 cups heavy cream
½ cup powdered sugar
For Garnish:
16 fresh cherries
4 oz bittersweet chocolate coarsely grated Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of the stand mixer (no need to clean the bowl) fitted with the paddle attachment, combine egg yolks, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat at medium speed until thick and creamy. The mixture will change color from yellow to a paler color. Add egg yolk mixture to the egg
:
cocoa
Baking white mixture and carefully fold it in with a spatula, DON’T stir the mixture.
Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and cocoa powder. Sieve over the egg mixture and fold in carefully until combined.
Transfer to the springform pan and smooth top with a silicone spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer interested in the center comes out clean with only a few crumbs attached.
Remove the ring of the springform pan and carefully turn cake onto a parchment paper-lined cooling rack, peel of parchment paper from the bottom and let cool completely.
When the cake is cooled completely use a serrated bread knife to cut the cake into three even layers.
To make the cherry filling, remove 4 Tbsp of cherry juice from 1 cup of cherry juice and combine it in a small bowl with the cornstarch and sugar. Bring the remaining cherry juice in a small saucepan to a simmer, remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Bring back to a simmer while whisking constantly until it starts to thicken. Whisk in the cherries and remove from heat. Add about half of the kirsch to the cherries or leave it out. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
To make the whipped cream, beat 4 cups of heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at high speed until soft peaks form. Then add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 2-3 minutes longer. The whipped cream should be very stiff and spreadable but be careful not to over-whip it. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to assemble.
To assemble the cake, put the cake layer that was the top before on a platter. Put the springform ring (or use a cake ring) around it to make it easier to assemble the cake. Drizzle some kirsch or cherry juice over the cake, then top with half of the cherry mixture leaving a 1-inch border. Top with about 1/4 of the whipped cream, smoothing it out with a spatula.
Top with the middle cake layer and repeat drizzling with liquid, topping with cherries and cream. Put third cake layer on top (smooth side up). Set aside about ¾ cup of cream for decoration. Spread 1/3 of the remaining whipped cream on top, then remove springform ring and spread remaining cream with a spatula around the sides of the cake until completely covered in whipped cream.
Decorate sides of the cake with grated chocolate. Pipe 16 swirls of whipped cream on top and garnish middle of the cake with remaining coarse chocolate. Put a cherry on each cream swirl and refrigerate cake until serving.