Greek Chicken & Vegetable Kabobs

I can't tell you how happy I am that the weather is getting warmer and grilling season is upon us.  There are two things I love the most about grilling.

1)  CA does the grilling which means less work for me 
2)  Grilling means less dishes (this should be #1)

This meal is perfect for warm weather, easy to make and healthy to boot!  One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is that you use the same marinade for both the chicken and the vegetables.  Plus it's made with dried spices and other stuff I usually have on hand... olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dried oregano, dried dill and onion powder.

Once you whisk the marinade together, half of it gets tossed with the chicken.  The other half is destined for the veggies.

I eat a lot of vegetables!  I have portion control issues and eating a ton of veggies is how I manage not to overeat on the less healthy parts of dinner.  It's not unusual for me to eat at least two normal people's share of veggies.

CA looked at the amount of veggies I was cooking and swore we had enough for six people.  I say it's enough for four normal people, but we managed to eat more than our fair share.

I love a good sauce.  90% of the reason I love french fries is because I can dip them in ketchup.  Salsa, BBQ sauce, sriracha, hummus... it's all about the dip.

This one is made with Greek yogurt, tiny bits of cucumber, dill and lemon juice.  It's similar to Greek Tzatziki sauce, but that sauce traditionally doesn't contain dill.  I'm a huge dill fan and it really freshens up this dip. I actually planted a few dill plants this year and am hoping they survive so I can make more dilly things - I'm not the best when it comes to keeping plants alive.

Have I told you how I make just about everything with Greek yogurt?  I have a serious mayonnaise aversion so if something calls for mayonnaise, I usually replace it with Greek yogurt or a combination of Greek yogurt and sour cream.  It is much healthier for you than mayo and it doesn't taste like weird, creamy eggs or activate my gag reflex.  Full disclosure that I grew up on miracle whip and will put a generous slather of that stuff on a turkey sandwich with some big, thick slices of sweet pickle and be in heaven.  I don't know why mayonnaise grosses me out but miracle whip does not- it's a food mystery.  CA is the complete opposite and is grossed out by miracle whip which means more jars in our fridge.

The kabobs get grilled to perfection (not by me - the best part!).  You can serve this with rice or pita bread if you want to, but quite often, we skip the starch.  I enjoy it as much as the next guy but for a weeknight meal, I can do without it... especially if it means I can replace those calories with a glass of wine and a sweet treat.  It's all about priorities!

CA and I enjoyed our kabobs on the porch this evening with a glass of white wine.  Perfect!

Julie


Greek Chicken & Vegetable Kabobs

Ingredients:

Marinade
Juice of 2 Lemons (approx.1/3 cup)
2 T Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Dill
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
3 cloves of Garlic, minced


Kabobs
1 1/2 lb Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 1/2 " cubes

6 oz. Baby Bella or Button Mushrooms
1/2 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 large Onion, cut into 1" chunks
1 large Zucchini, cut into 1" rounds
3 Bell Peppers, cut into 1 1/2" - 2" chunks

Yogurt Sauce
1 cup Greek Yogurt
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 T chopped Fresh Dill
3/4 cup finely diced English Cucumber
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

Optional: Rice or Pita Bread

Instructions:
Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, add half of the marinade (about 1/4 cup) and toss to coat.  Place the cut vegetables in a gallon size plastic baggie and add the remaining marinade.  Seal the bag and toss to coat.  Refrigerate the chicken and vegetables in the marinade for at least two hours.

Combine the yogurt ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat the grill on high heat.  Meanwhile, put all the chicken and vegetables on skewers.  Place the skewers on the grill and reduce the heat to medium.  Grill the kabobs for 20 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through.  If you like your vegetables softer and more well done, skewer them separately from the chicken and put them on the grill 10 minutes before adding the chicken.

Serve the skewers with the yogurt sauce on the side.


My post is linked up on Fine Craft Guild - click here to see it there!

Julie

Macaron Madness - Part 3: Chocolate Macarons

No spoilers here.  You must read the entire post to see how the chocolate macarons came out.  Don't worry, it's not that long.

Please allow me to apologize for the photos in this post.  First, there are only three photos because I got tired, lazy and distracted.  Second, the photos were taken very late at night so they're very poorly lit.  Did I mention I made macarons for 12 straight hours?

The ingredients for the chocolate macarons were nearly identical to the vanilla and raspberry versions... almond flour, powdered sugar, egg whites and granulated sugar.  Of course, cocoa powder is added to the mix to make them chocolatey and this recipe also has cream of tartar which helps the egg whites whip more easily.

Did you know that cocoa powder is full of moisture?  This makes adding it to macarons very tricky because too much moisture will cause them to crack but the recipe I used, in theory, adjusted for the additional moisture.

The preparation process for the chocolate macarons was very similar to the process used for the raspberry macarons.  The big difference here is that after piping the batter onto the sheet trays you have to let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes until the tops of the macarons dry out.  This is supposed to ensure that the macarons don't crack when you bake them.  What a joke!!!

THEY ALL CRACKED!!!  Every single one of them.  There was not a single macaron that didn't crack, so much for that method.  I was actually really optimistic about making the chocolate macarons because I made them in a class that I took at Sur La Table and they turned out just fine.  Sigh...

I intended to fill these with salted caramel buttercream which you should totally go make right now because it is freakin' delicious.  I would know because in my anger about the cracked chocolate macarons, I consumed quite a bit of it between the hours of midnight and 1:00 am.  I also used it to make cake balls which is another whole post.  Needless to say, frosting doesn't go to waste in my house.

So, after 12 hours and 3 recipes, what did I learn about macarons?
1.  Watch the temperature.  A hot oven, or an oven that cycles up and down can ruin your macarons.
2.  Drying the macarons before baking doesn't make any difference.
3.  Cooking the sugar or not cooking the sugar doesn't seem to make any difference either.
4.  Make a ton more batter than you think you'll need because you will ruin some macarons.
5.  Macarons taste good.
6.  Cracked macarons taste just as good as uncracked macarons.
7.  Macarons taste even better after a couple of days in the fridge.  The flavor matures and the shells get softer and chewier.
8.  Making macarons for 12 straight hours is just a recipe for being grumpy, tired and eating spoonfuls of frosting.

Don't worry, I'm not done with macarons.  I have to make two more varieties in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook and I am determined to figure these little nuggets out.  Stay tuned for Macaron Massacre Madness Part 4, but you're going to have to wait until my macaron exhaustion wears off.

Julie

Macaron Madness - Part 2: Raspberry Macarons

Continuing the trend of bad news first... more cracking.  Maybe I should rename this post Macaron Massacre instead of Macaron Madness.  My kitchen is full of crumbly, cracked and otherwise hideous looking macarons.

The recipe for these raspberry macarons came from the blog Brave Tart (I used her strawberry variation and substituted raspberry powder for the strawberry powder).  She actually goes into a great deal of detail in her post on macaron tips, myths and recipe variations.  If you are interested in making your own macarons, I highly recommend reading her very informative post.

The ingredients are very similar to those in the vanilla macarons from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook... almond flour, powdered sugar, egg whites, granulated sugar and vanilla beans.  However, this recipe adds a touch of salt and dehydrated raspberry powder which I made by grinding up freeze dried raspberries.

Like the vanilla macaron recipe, the almond flour is finely ground and sifted with the granulated sugar and raspberry powder.  Unlike the vanilla macaron recipe, none of the granulated sugar gets cooked but it is whipped with all of the egg whites and then folded into the dry ingredients which made this recipe a whole lot easier and faster to make.

The baking method for these macarons is also a bit different than the vanilla version we discussed yesterday.  For the vanilla version, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and then reduced the temperature to 325 degrees immediately upon putting the cookies in the oven.  The raspberry version is baked at 300 degrees.  Also, before baking this recipe tells you to bang the sheet pan on the counter to dislodge any large air bubbles that might cause the macarons to crack.

I can't say that any of the differences in baking methods had an impact on the final product.  Just like with the vanilla version, I got two good batches of macarons with beautifully smooth tops and puffy little feet and, just like with the vanilla version, all subsequent batches cracked.  Grrr.  I was extra careful with the oven temperature this time and made sure it didn't get over 300 degrees so I'm not sure what happened.

I filled the macarons that survived with a white chocolate buttercream which turned out to be a great combination.  My original intention was to fill them with the white chocolate ganache recipe in the blog post, but the ganache never quite set up and I was worried it would run right out from in between the cookies so I whipped together some butter and powdered sugar and added the ganache to it.  It worked out pretty darn well for something I made on the fly!

One more set of macarons to go and they're chocolate... yummy!  How do you think they turned out?

Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 31: Vanilla Macaron (Macaron Madness - Part 1)

This is the first post in a three part series on macarons.  I made three different kinds of macarons for the bridal shower of a dear friend of mine.  (Spoiler alert - not all three flavors made it to the shower). 

Vanilla Macarons - recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook (which we are discussing today)

RaspberryMacarons - recipe from the blog Brave Tart

Chocolate Macarons -  recipe from the Macaron class I took at Sur La Table

I was amazed how different each of the recipes were and am excited to share my experiences with you.   

Making macarons is no joke.  I'm pretty sure I made macarons for at least 12 hours straight.  I can't possibly express to you how exhausted I am.  Let's start with the bad news first.  These little jokers will bust and crack faster than you can say boo.

But let's start at the beginning....

Macarons are a french pastry cookie made with meringue (egg whites & sugar) and nut flour (in this case, almond flour).  Macarons are characterized by the smooth top and the "foot" that develops  from moisture escaping from underneath the cookie while it bakes. 

The first step in this recipe is to grind the almond flour to make sure it is very fine and no large chunks remain.  The flour then gets sifted with the powdered sugar and mixed with half of the eggs and the vanilla bean. 

The other half of the eggs get whipped with cooked sugar to form a meringue which gets folded into the flour mixture.

Neither the raspberry or the chocolate macaron recipes I used separated the eggs into two additions or used cooked sugar.  They both whip granulated sugar in with the entire egg mixture and fold that into the flour.

I have no idea why this recipe does it this way and I don't believe it affected the success of the macarons.  I had limited success with all the recipes, so I can't blame it on this particular technique.

The consistency of macaron batter is supposed to be like lava.  I think it's so funny that every recipe I read described it exactly the same way because I'm not sure how many people know what lava looks like.  I've never seen lava in person.  That stuff is dangerous and I prefer to stay away from it.

Once you get the batter lavalike, it gets piped into perfect little circles on parchment paper.  All of the recipes recommended that you use a template to ensure that the circles uniform in size.  I took that advice and printed templates on the computer and put those under the parchment paper on the sheet pans.

Baking the macarons is entirely nerve wracking!  They are temperamental little buggers and the slightest thing can cause them to crack wide open on top (do you remember the first picture in this post?).  If you bake them at too high a temperature... crack!  If it's too humid... crack!

The first two trays of macarons were beautiful!!!  I can't tell you how excited I was, they looked just perfect.

All subsequent trays... CRACK!  I'm not sure what happened.  My only theory is that the oven temperature got hotter as it was left on.  Luckily, I made a lot more batter than I actually needed so there were plenty of vanilla macarons for the bridal shower.

I decided to fill the vanilla macarons with lemon curd, but I didn't use the recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook.  I used this recipe from Food and Wine which was easy and turned out perfectly thick and tart.

The combination of tart lemon and light, sweet macaron was wonderful!  I was really happy with how they turned out.

Tomorrow it's all about raspberries... a pretty, pink and tasty treat!  Will the cracking continue?  We shall see...

Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 30: Apple Band Tart

This tart may be the prettiest thing I ever made before it was baked.  I wanted it to be just as pretty after I baked it, but it was less pretty... not ugly, but not a 10.  Maybe an 8.  Either way, it tasted yummy so I dealt with it.

We would absolutely be having a different conversation about this tart if I had to make every component of it from scratch today.  I would probably be a Grumpy Gus and tell you how it's not worth it and you should just go to McDonald's, get an apple pie and save yourself the effort.  You don't even have to get out of the car.  However, I had Pâte Sucreé in the freezer from when I made the Chocolate, Praline and Cocoa Nib Tart and Puff Pastry leftover from the Apple Turnovers so all I really had to make was Pastry Cream.  The freezer is my BFF today.

It's been a while since I made the first round of Pastry Cream and I'm still not convinced that I made it right. 

I tried my best to cook it for less time so that it would be more creamy and less chunky but I still ended up with some chunkstery cream.  All the photos of pastry cream in the cookbook look more like buttercream and mine looks more like brain matter. 

I made a big batch because I needed it for this recipe and for some upcoming eclairs...





I really think it has to do with the amount of time I'm cooking it, but I have not managed to take it off the heat in time for it not to be so thick.  This, of course, has not stopped me from eating it, or making the tart delicious.

I think I need to make it a few more times until I get it just right.  But only for the purposes of this blog, not because I want to eat it... absolutely not.  I am willing to make that sacrifice for you.  Aren't I a generous person?

The key to this tart is assembly.  The base of the tart is the Pâte Sucreé, which is basically a sugar cookie dough.  Then, you lay out two strips of puff pastry dough down the sides of the tart.  The center gets covered in pastry cream, which acts as the "glue" for the apple slices.  I did not eat glue in elementary school, but if it had tasted like pastry cream, I definitely would have.

Lining up the apple slices in the center of the tart was so much fun!  The pastry cream worked perfectly to hold the apple slices upright.  Isn't she pretty?  She is definitely a she.  Definitely.

Before baking, Thomas instructed me to cut little slits along the side of the dough.  This was supposed to keep the Pâte Sucreé and the Puff Pastry from separating while they bake and, miraculously, it actually worked!!

As the tart bakes the puff pastry strips along the sides puff up and create a bit of a wall that encases the apple slices.

I really wanted it to puff up more than it did.  I wanted the puff pastry to be just as tall as the apple slices, like a fortress of puff pastry.  However, I got more of a puff pastry speed bump.  Maybe my expectations were too high. ;)

Regardless, the base and the walls browned nicely and retained their shape for the most part.

CA and I both really enjoyed this tart.  Unfortunately, the Northern Virginia allergies have attached poor CA and he can barely taste anything, but he's pretty sure this is good.  I have no such allergy issues and can assure you that it's beautiful inside and out.  The crust is firm, but flaky.  The pastry cream is creamy and sweet.  The apples are tart and not too mushy.  All together... yummy!

Pretty and tasty... it's the best combo.

Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 29 - Campagne Boule

More fancy pants names for not so fancy stuff.  This is a country loaf, made with a mixture of flours which gives the bread a more interesting flavor than the standard baguette dough I've made from this cookbook (posted here and here).

This bread contains all purpose flour, a little rye flour and a touch of whole wheat flour.  I really love the flavor of different types of flour in my baked goods, so I was happy to mix it up a little. 



























The craziest part of this recipe is that is uses a levain.  Levain is a kind of pre-ferment that is similar to a sourdough starter.

The previous breads I've made from this book contain a poolish instead of a levain which only takes a few days to grow, the levain takes about a week.

You start a levain by combining equal parts flour and water and letting it sit out on the counter.  As it sits, it grows lactic acid bacteria that when baked.... Ahhhhhhhhh, there's too much science in baking!!!!  Anyway, I mixed together the flour and water, let it sit out and fed it with more flour and water until it was bubbly and smelled like sour milk... it was actually pretty gross.  See the picture above of the schedule of feeding times?  I didn't do that.  I kept forgetting and only fed the thing once a day.  How can I be expected to feed something other than my dog twice a day?  He reminds me with his whining and pacing.  This thing just sat in the corner and didn't say a word.  To make up for starving the levain, I let it sit out a couple of extra days.  And you know what?   I think it still worked.  Take that science! 

Once the levain was made, the bread dough came together easily.... flour, other flour, other other flour, yeast, levain, water and salt.  My mixer did all the work kneading the dough or 20 straight minutes.

This particular dough was shaped into a Boule.  Also known as round.

When it was time to let the dough rise,  I was instructed to do so in a bowl lined with floured linen so that the boule would keep its boule round shape.

It also got to cut some crosshatches into the top of the dough.  However, by the time it rose and I transferred it to the baking stone, all signs of those cuts were lost.  But I wasn't really worried about it because pretty only matters so much... especially when it comes to bread.

This loaf turned out really well.  The crust was nice and crusty and the inside was soft and chewy.  I really like the added flavor you get from the addition of the whole wheat and rye flours.

This is how I enjoyed mine tonight.  A big, warm hunk of bread with butter along with my salad and a glass of Vinho Verde.  Perfect!

Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 28 - Financiers

These sound so fancy!  There are two theories on how these cakes got their name.  The first says that because they are shaped like little rectangles they resemble bars of gold.  (You'll be really confused in a minute when you see that mine are not shaped like bars of gold.  They're shaped like squares of gold because I didn't want to buy yet another baking pan.  Do they make squares of gold?)  The second theory says  that the cake became popular in the financial district of Paris surrounding the Paris Stock Exchange.

I'd like to think of these little guys as the great granddaddy of the cupcake.  I have no idea if that's actually true but it sounds like it should be.

I made two flavors of financiers, traditional and chocolate.  The recipes were pretty similar so I decided to tackle both at the same time.

There are two distinctive ingredients in a financier, both of which give it a complex, nutty flavor.  The first is almond flour.  Check.

The second is browned butter.  Browning butter is kind of a cool thing.  You melt butter and let it cook for a few minutes which evaporates some of the moisture in the butter and turns it a beautiful, light shade of brown.  It completely alters the taste of the butter giving it a nutty flavor.

The batter comes together pretty easily.

For the traditional financiers, you combine regular flour, almond flour and sugar, then mix in a few egg whites.

The hot brown butter is added next.  The butter should still be hot when added to the batter so that it emulsifies properly.  Apparently, if it is not hot, it will get all chunky and separated.  Ewwwww, gross.  Luckily, I did not experience this phenomenon.





The chocolate batter is pretty similar.

The only difference is that cocoa powder replaces some of the all purpose flour in the dry ingredients.  Plus, there are two types of melted chocolate that are added to the hot brown butter before it is added to the batter.

The chocolate batter ended up being significantly thicker than the traditional batter.  It also bakes for a shorter period of time.  I have no idea why because the weight of dry ingredients in both batters are exactly the same.  I bet it has to do with.... science.

I tasted these little guys right out of the oven, because I usually love warm cake.  These guys?  Meh.  Not so much.

These cakes actually tasted better when they cooled because the outsides got just a little bit crispy which gave them a little more textural interest.

CA and I disagree about these little cakes.  He really likes them.  He says the brown butter flavor and crispy exterior is just excellent.  I'm still not sold that they're all that amazing.  The traditional one tastes like a mildly interesting butter cake.  The chocolate one tastes like a brownie and there's only one thing I want to do with a brownie... warm it up and put ice cream on it.  But I don't have any ice cream.

Instead I stacked a traditional on top of a chocolate and made a little diversity tower  Then I ate it.

Julie