© Margaret's Morsels
Showing posts with label souffle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label souffle. Show all posts
November 18, 2015
Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup
November 26, 2013
Crazy about Carrots
Carrot souffle isn't a souffle in the true sense of the word. Traditionally, a souffle is comprised of two parts: a thick egg based sauce or puree which gives the souffle flavor and beaten egg whites which gives the souffle lift. Carrot souffle doesn't use beaten egg whites which makes it more of a puree: a thick, soft dish made by processing cooked food through a sieve or mixing it with a mixer, blender or food processor. Carrot souffle definitely sounds more appealing than carrot puree!
I have three versions of this recipe, but the one I'm sharing is my favorite because it uses less sugar than the others. Carrots are naturally sweet and, in my opinion, don't need as much sugar as the amounts called for in the other recipes. I use baby cut carrots for two reasons. One, I always have them on hand. Two, I don't have to peel and cut the carrots, a real time saver when you're cooking a holiday meal. Another way to save time is to assemble the remaining ingredients while the carrots are cooking in boiling water.
The cooked carrots
When the carrots are tender, drain them thoroughly and combine them with the remaining ingredients. One ingredient, baking powder, acts as a leavening agent. However, don't expect the souffle to rise to the top of the baking dish like a souffle made with beaten egg whites. It actually rises very little, if any.
Ready to be baked
A nice touch is to bake the souffle in a souffle dish -- a round bowl with straight edges -- but it can be baked in any 2-quart baking dish. Grease the dish and coat it with granulated sugar. Sprinkle the sugar in the bottom of the dish and rotate it like you would if you were coating a cake pan with flour, making sure to coat the bottom and sides. The sugar adds a slight crust around the edges and additional sweetness to the cooked shuffle. Add the carrot mixture and bake until the souffle is set in the center when pressed lightly with your fingertip.
The souffle can be served hot, but I think it tastes better lukewarm. This is helpful at the holidays since the souffle can be cooling while the rest of the food cooks in the oven. I let the souffle cool 30 minutes on a wire rack before garnishing the top with powdered sugar. The easiest way to add the powdered sugar is to put it in a small mesh strainer and sprinkle it on the souffle.
If you want to cut out the additional sugar, serve it plain.
Carrot souffle is a nice change of pace from traditional sweet potatoes. Like sweet potatoes, it's orange and sweet, but unlike sweet potatoes, most kids eat carrots!
Carrot Souffle
8 to 10 Servings
2 lb. peeled carrots
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup butter, softened
powdered sugar (for garnish; optional)
Put carrots in a large saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook carrots 30 to 45 minutes, until very tender. Drain. Heat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 2-quart souffle dish. Coat the bottom and sides with 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside. Put carrots in a mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder, vanilla and 3/4 cup sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add butter and mix well. Put carrot mixture in prepared souffle dish. Bake 45 minutes, until souffle is set in center when lightly pressed with fingertip. Let cool 30 minutes on a wire rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top, if desired, and serve.
© Margaret's Morsels
May 8, 2013
Celebrate Mom
Mother's Day is big business in the restaurant world. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is the most popular day to eat out. This is precisely why I don't want my family to take me out to eat on Mother's Day! While I appreciate the sentiment, I'd rather go out to eat when it's not as crowded, prices aren't inflated and restaurants aren't in a hurry to turn the table and seat the next patron. If, for one reason or another, your mom feels the same way, fix her a home cooked meal instead. If that thought scares you because you're not a cook, check out the recipes below. This baker's dozen includes recipes for the novice as well as the experienced cook and those in between. Click on the words in bold to see the recipe. If none of these are mom's cup of tea, check my blog for lots more recipes.
Bright and Early:
Baked Omelet Roll: Six ingredients, a blender, 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan and spatula are all you need to make this impressive looking dish. You can add meat, vegetables or cheese as a filling, but make sure whatever you use is fully cooked.
French Toast Souffle: Although the word "souffle" may sound intimidating, this recipe is really easy to prepare. You don't even need a souffle dish! It's baked in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. When baked, it makes a delicious sauce that can be spooned on top instead of using syrup. It has to be assembled and refrigerated the night before it's baked.
Salads:
Chicken Tender Salad: A bed of salad greens topped with chicken tenders, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, shredded cheese, croutons or potato sticks and some dressing would cost upwards of $8.00 in a restaurant. This homemade version -- which can be made with a package of salad mix and a box of frozen chicken tenders -- tastes just as good and is a fraction of the cost.
Chicken Salad: This is the best chicken salad I've ever eaten! It takes time to make, but it's worth the effort. It's best when made a day ahead of time so the flavors have time to blend. Add some celery sticks, croissants and a congealed salad to round out the meal. To impress mom, place scoops of chicken salad on a lettuce lined platter and top each scoop with a sprig of parsley.
Cherry Gelatin Fruit Salad: This recipe only uses four ingredients and all of them are sugar-free! It can be made using a decorative mold, individual molds or a 2-quart serving bowl. It's a nice accompaniment to chicken salad.
The Main Event:
Easy Pork Chops and Apples: There's no need to peel apples or brown pork chops with this recipe. Spread canned apple pie filling in a baking dish, add the pork chops and top everything with packaged stuffing mix. Serve a vegetable or two on the side and you've got a meal that was easy to prepare.
Broccoli Quiche: You don't have to make the pie crust, cook the broccoli or, if you don't mind spending a little extra, grate the cheese to make this quiche. Add a green salad and some fresh fruit and you've got a meal mom will love.
Baked Ziti: If you can boil water, you can make this pasta dish. It's so tasty, mom will never guess it only costs .67 cents a serving! Add a green salad and some garlic bread and you've got a filling meal.
On the Side:
Potatoes O'Brien: This recipe uses frozen steak fries instead of fresh potatoes. This makes the dish quick to prepare because you don't have to peel potatoes. It also makes cooking time minimal. This is delicious served with a baked omelet roll.
Macaroni and Cheese: This side dish is tastier than anything you get from a box! The hardest part of the recipe is boiling water. You don't even have to cook the sauce on the stove; the ingredients are mixed up in a bowl.
Bread Basket:
Cinnamon Muffins: This was the first Mother's Day recipe I ever posted on my blog. These muffins start with a package of yellow or white cake mix and require more mixing than measuring! The muffins can be made in a regular size muffin tin or miniature ones.
Sweet Endings:
Lemonade Pie: You won't need any measuring cups or spoons to make this no bake pie. You will, however, need a can opener and an electric mixer. Unlike a lot of no bake pies, this pie gets it creaminess not from Cool Whip, but from cream cheese. You need to allow four hours for it to firm up in the freezer before it's served.
Sour Cream Cherry Cheesecake: Mom will never guess this cheesecake isn't made from scratch. A package of no bake cheesecake mix is doctored up and the result is a cheesecake that tastes homemade. If you don't like cherries, substitute your favorite flavor of pie filling instead.
© Margaret's Morsels
November 7, 2012
Thanksgiving Traditions
and Baked Ziti with salad and garlic bread.
This habit comes in handy at Thanksgiving, especially when the fourth Thursday in November falls early like it does this year. My Thanksgiving menu will be reminiscent of years past which, in reality, is almost identical to what my mother served every year at Thanksgiving.
There will be slices of roast turkey on a colorful turkey serving platter and a big bowl of Cornbread Dressing. To save time, I bake the frozen biscuits and packaged cornbread mix the day before. The recipe makes a lot -- 8 to 12 servings -- so if there's any left, you can freeze it and use it later.
A lot of people serve mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, but my mother always served Potato Salad and so do I. In fact, it's the only Thanksgiving recipe I use that came from my mother. This tasty side dish can be made one or two days ahead of time. You can substitute a 24 ounce package of Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash cut Russet potatoes and avoid peeling, dicing and cooking the potatoes.
If you prefer sweet potatoes, I've got two recipes to share. Sweet Potato Souffle, a fancy name for sweet potato casserole, can be made with three pounds of sweet potatoes or a package of Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash cut sweet potatoes. It can be made a day or two ahead of time and reheated in the oven or microwave. If you leave it in the dish you baked it in, no one will even know it was made ahead of time.
Quick and Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes are a nice alternative to the traditional casserole. You don't have to peel potatoes because this recipe uses canned sweet potatoes. Unlike the sweet potato souffle that can be made ahead of time, this is best made right before serving. It only takes a few minutes and is cooked on the stove top, which is helpful when the oven is already being used.
If you're a cranberry lover like me, I've got three tasty recipes that share some of the same ingredients, but with completely different textures. The first one, Cranberry Orange Relish, is a sweet-tart combination made with fresh cranberries, apple, orange, pineapple and sugar. It can be made up to two weeks ahead of time and stored in the freezer.
Southern Cranberry Salad is a congealed salad that combines whole berry cranberry sauce, mandarin oranges and pineapple with cherry gelatin. It can be made a couple of days ahead of time.
Cranberry Orange Casserole also uses whole berry cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges, but not pineapple. The sauce and oranges are combined with lemon juice and sugar and baked in the oven. Unlike the other two cranberry recipes that can be made ahead of time and served cold, this one is best served hot from the oven. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
My mother made homemade rolls from scratch, but I use a bread machine to make One Hour Buttermilk Rolls, which means they take longer than an hour to make. If you don't have a bread machine, the recipe includes directions for making the rolls by hand. The rolls can be made a month ahead of time, stored in the freezer and reheated in the oven or microwave.
To quench everyone's thirst, I serve Fruit Tea. This sweet tea is combined with pineapple juice, lemon juice and, the secret ingredient, ginger ale. It's best made the day it's served.
I'll be posting some new Thanksgiving recipes next week, including a dessert that combines two traditional Thanksgiving flavors.
© Margaret's Morsels
November 18, 2011
Countdown to Thanksgiving
Last year, I posted a recipe for Quick and Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes. Today, I want to share a recipe for Sweet Potato Souffle, which is a fancy name for sweet potato casserole. The name isn't the only thing that's different. Unlike many sweet potato casseroles, this one doesn't use nuts or marshmallows on top. In fact, it doesn't have a topping at all.
Sweet potatoes are available year round, but they're most plentiful September through December. Choose potatoes with smooth skin and no bruises or blemishes. Small to medium size sweet potatoes are best because they're tender and sweeter and not as stringy as large sweet potatoes.
Drain off the water and mash the potatoes with an electric mixer. If the potatoes are stringy, the strings should stick to the beaters. Don't scrape the leftover mixture on the beaters into the bowl. If you notice any strings in the mashed mixture, remove them before adding the remaining ingredients.
Notice the strings on the beaters.
If you're short on time, you can skip the previous steps and substitute a 24 ounce package of Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash cut sweet potatoes, following the cooking directions on the package. I've prepared the casserole with the Ore-Ida potatoes and no one could tell the difference.
Mix the potatoes and remaining ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart casserole dish. I use a round Corning Ware dish which is sometimes referred to as a souffle dish. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes until heated through and bubbly.
To save time, prepare the dish a day or two ahead of time. Cool the casserole completely, leaving it in the dish it was baked in, and cover with foil before refrigerating. By leaving the casserole in the dish you baked it in, when you reheat it no one will know it wasn't prepared that day.
To reheat the casserole, remove the foil and heat in the microwave until heated through, about 20 minutes. If there's room in the oven, you can reheat the dish in there. Leave the dish covered with foil and reheat it from 350° to 450° with whatever else you already have cooking in the oven. Adjust the heating time according to the temperature of the oven. The higher the temperature, the less time it takes to reheat.
You're probably wondering if you can put nuts or marshmallows on top like other sweet potato casseroles. I don't see why you couldn't, but I don't recommend it. The casserole is light and airy and best eaten and enjoyed in its unadulterated form.
Sweet Potato Souffle
6 to 8 Servings
6 small sweet potatoes (about 3 lb.)*
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla
Peel sweet potatoes and cut into cubes. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain water and mash the potatoes with an electric mixer. Combine sweet potatoes and remaining ingredients, mixing with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
*One 24 ounce package Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash cut sweet potatoes can be substituted. Prepare potatoes following package directions. Proceed as directed.
© Margaret's Morsels
November 10, 2011
Assemble Today, Bake Tomorrow
It's nice to have a wide variety of recipes to choose from: family favorites handed down through the generations; crock-pot recipes that cook all day; recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less; recipes for comfort food that nourish the body and soothe the soul; recipes that can be assembled the night before and baked the next day. The last category is a real timesaver, especially when you want to serve a nice breakfast.
Although not a souffle in the traditional sense, French Toast Souffle is a light airy dish that elevates French toast from ordinary to extraordinary. Although the word "souffle" may sound intimidating, this recipe is really easy to prepare. You don't even need a souffle dish. It's baked in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
Start by cooking a combination of brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. If you've never worked with cooked sugar before, take it from me, it's hot. I have the scar to prove it! Don't touch the mixture with your hands and try to avoid splatters. Pour the mixture in the baking dish, spreading it to cover the bottom completely. It hardens fast so work quickly.
The original recipe used a loaf of cinnamon bread cut into 1-inch thick slices. I've never been able to find unsliced cinnamon bread so I substitute a loaf of sliced cinnamon bread. Since the slices are thin, I use two slices for each serving. Stack the bread on top of the brown sugar mixture, inserting a toothpick in each serving to hold the two slices together.
The remaining ingredients -- eggs, half and half, vanilla and salt -- are combined and poured over the bread. For additional flavor, a dash of cinnamon can be added to the mixture, if desired. Cover the pan and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature while the oven preheats.
This is what it looks like after being
refrigerated overnight.
It takes 40 to 45 minutes for the souffle to cook, but it's worth the wait! When cooked, the brown sugar mixture melts and becomes a delicious sauce that can be spooned over the French toast in place of syrup.
Add some bacon and fresh fruit and you've got a meal that everyone will think you spent hours preparing!
French Toast Souffle
6 Servings
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
12 pieces sliced cinnamon bread
8 eggs, beaten
3 cups half and half or light cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of cinnamon (optional)
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; cook and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil uncovered 1 minute. Pour into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish, spreading to cover the bottom evenly. Arrange bread, two slices per serving, on top of the brown sugar mixture, inserting a toothpick to hold the slices together. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Let the baking dish stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove toothpicks before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
© Margaret's Morsels
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