Espresso Panna Cotta

I love coffee-flavored desserts and espresso panna cotta is one of my favorites. I like that it’s such an elegant dessert, but so simple to make. The prep took about 10 minutes. The hardest part is waiting for it to set!

Recipe: Espresso Panna Cotta
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis’ Espresso Panna Cotta recipe

Ingredients

• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 ½ tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 3 tsp. instant espresso powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 small dark chocolate bar for garnish

Instructions

Place milk in a small saucepan. Add the gelatin and allow it to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir the milk over medium heat until the gelatin dissolves. Add the cream, espresso powder, sugar, and salt. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove milk mixture from heat and allow it to cool. Divide mixture into serving dishes. You can use martini glasses or any pretty bowl you like. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow to set. You can chill them for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, use a knife to shave a small piece of chocolate to create curls. Garnish each panna cotta and serve.

Miso-Ginger Glazed Salmon

This recipe for miso and ginger glazed salmon is perfect for a weeknight dinner. I love that the salmon is healthy, but the dish tastes so flavorful and decadent. And because I had fresh salmon on hand, I was able to whip it up in about 30 minutes.

Recipe: Miso Glazed Salmon with Ginger
Adapted from Chow’s Miso-Ginger Glazed Salmon Recipe

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. white miso
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 cup mirin
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1 medium scallion, thinly sliced
2 tsp. sesame seeds

Instructions

Heat the broiler and lightly grease a baking sheet.
Mix together miso, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and mirin in a medium bowl. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of soy sauce, but I found the miso adds enough salt to the mixture that I was able to omit it completely. Instead, I added some sesame oil to achieve that rich, umami flavor.
Reserve ¼ cup of the miso mixture and set aside.
Wash the salmon and pat it dry. Use a sharp knife and score the salmon fillets with quarter-inch diagonal cuts.
Liberally brush the salmon with the miso mixture. If you’re not ready to cook the fish right away, you can cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 hours.
Broil the salmon on the baking sheet placed on a middle rack for about 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate once halfway through the cooking process.
When done, the salmon will be opaque and flake easily and the miso sauce will have caramelized and become golden brown.
Place salmon on a serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with scallions. Serve immediately with reserved miso mixture.

Cheddar and Herb Buttermilk Biscuits

As much as I love to try new recipes and experiment in the kitchen, I don’t really bake much. To be honest, I find it a little intimidating. With all those precise measurements and specific instructions, I’m wary of my ability to turn a bowl full of wet flour and eggs into a flaky pastry.

But yesterday a serious biscuit craving hit. Since I was feeling lazy about driving to the store to buy some I had all the ingredients on hand, I decided to face my baking fears and make them at home.

I followed a basic biscuit recipe from Homesick Texan’s blog. But, of course, I added some flavor boosters of my own.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make biscuits from scratch. And I was downright amazed at how good they taste. And on my first try!

Recipe: Cheddar and Herb Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from Homesick Texan’s Biscuits Recipe

Ingredients

• Two cups of flour
• 1 Tbsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 stick of butter, cold
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp each dried basil, oregano, and parsley
• 3/4 cup of buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450^ᵒF. Start by mixing all the dry ingredients together. Then cut the butter into the flour mixture until it becomes crumbly. I used my hands, but if you’re fancy, you can use a pastry blender.

Before adding buttermilk to the flour mixture, I added some grated medium cheddar cheese, cumin seeds, and a mixture of dried herbs—basil, oregano, and parsley.

Mix everything just until it comes together. Place dough on a floured surface and knead a few times. Use more flour if needed. When dough is smooth, roll it out until it’s about an inch thick. Use a round cutter to form biscuits. I used a water glass and it worked just as well.

Place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet right next to each other. I learned this helps them rise up instead of expanding out.

Bake at 450^ᵒF for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Wednesday Wish List

1. French Bread Tray, West Elm, $29
2. Cuisipro Deluxe Stainless Steel Food Mill, Sur La Table, $110
3. A Real Hoot Canister, Anthropologie, $68
4. OXO Salad Dressing Shaker, Williams-Sonoma, $15

Salmon with Mango Salsa

I know it’s nearly sacrilege, but I am guilty of buying fruit out of season. I just couldn’t help myself. I love mangoes and grew up eating them. When I saw the display at the store, my mouth actually watered a little bit.

In my defense, I only bought one and I figured using it in a recipe would be best.

I found a simple recipe for salmon with mango salsa by Martha Stewart that I was able to make in less than half an hour.

Begin by making the salsa. Chop all the ingredients and toss them together in a bowl.

Brush each salmon fillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spoon some salsa over salmon (Martha bakes her salmon without the salsa) and bake.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. You can test for doneness with a fork. When salmon is ready, it will flake easily and the thickest part of the fish will be uniformly opaque.

Add more salsa to the fish and serve immediately.

Salmon with Mango Salsa
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Salmon with Mango Salsa

Ingredients
4 salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup Mango Salsa

• 1 mango, chopped
• ½ medium red onion
• 1 Jalapeño chili
• 1 small cucumber
• ½ red bell pepper
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

For salsa, chop the mango into quarter-inch cubes and place in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Next, finely chop the red onion, Jalapeño chili, cucumber, bell pepper, and the cilantro leaves. Combine with the chopped mango, add the cumin and lime juice, mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For salmon, preheat oven to 350°. Brush each salmon fillet with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place each salmon on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.

Spoon mango salsa on top of fillets and serve.

Wednesday Wish List

1. Edie Rose by Rachel Bilson Dinnerware, Hydrangea Mix and Match Collection, 4 piece
place setting, Macy’s, $58
2. Spice Drawer Insert – Birch Plywood, Kitchensource.com, $60
3. Prodyne Fruit Infusion Natural Fruit Flavor Pitcher, Amazon.com, $20
4. Swissmar Olive Stuffer, Williams-Sonoma, $12

Cozy Sunday Dinner: Cornish Hens with Tamarind Glaze

Sunday is usually my day to lounge around in pajamas, watch Netflix, and order in rest. But yesterday, I used my time wisely and made a lovely dinner: Cornish Hens with Tamarind Glaze.

My favorite part of this dish is the glaze. It uses traditional South Asian ingredients such as garam masala and tamarind paste. I absolutely LOVE the flavor of tamarind. Once, I even ate the paste on a spoon like peanut butter.*

Ripe tamarind has a sweet and sour, tangy flavor and is used in cuisines all over the world. It is commonly featured as the base for the sweet brown chutney accompanying samosas.

When I achieve culinary superhero status, making my own tamarind paste from scratch will be a priority. Until then, this is a brand I like.

Begin by seasoning hens with salt, pepper, and garam masala.

Bake hens for 20 minutes in a 425° oven. While they are baking, make the tamarind glaze. Saute some shallots and garlic for 5 minutes. Stir in all other ingredients except maple syrup and tamarind paste. Reduce by half. Add in remaining ingredients. Cook until the liquid thickens.

Remove hens from oven and reduce heat. Apply half the glaze and return to oven.

Bake until cooked through. Cover hens with remaining glaze. Let them rest before serving.

*It happened more than once.

Recipe: Cornish Hens with Tamarind Glaze
Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Garam Masala Rubbed Cornish Hen with Maple-Tamarind Glaze

Ingredients

• 2 Cornish Hens
• 2 Tbsp. garam masala
• Salt
• Pepper
• Tamarind Glaze
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 2 small shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
  • 4 Tbsp. garam masala
  • 1 Tbsp. crushed red chili flakes
  • ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1 tsp. black peppercorns
  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp. tamarind paste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°. Wash and pat dry the hens. Liberally season both with salt, pepper, and garam masala. Place in baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.

While the hens are baking, make the tamarind glaze.

For glaze: Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, garam masala, crushed red chili flakes, and peppercorns. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Stir in maple syrup and tamarind paste and cook for 10 minutes longer, until the glaze has thickened. Allow it to cool before using.

Remove the hens from the oven and reduce the heat to 375°. Brush the hens with half of the Tamarind Glaze and return to oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°. Remove from the oven and brush with the rest of the glaze. Let hens rest for 10 minutes to redistribute the juices before serving.