Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup oil

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

black pepper

cayenne

Put in a bottle, put on lid, shake well. ... or whisk to combine

Farmer's Cheese

Farmer's Cheese Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

2/3 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Set a fine-mesh sieve over a deep bowl.

Dampen 2 pieces of cheesecloth** with water and line the sieve.

1. In stainless-steel or enameled pot (Le Creuset)*, combine milk and salt. 

2. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. 

3. Take off the heat and add the vinegar. 

4. Let stand one minute until it curdles.

5. Pour into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and drain at room temp 20-25* minutes.

Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Lasts 4-5 days.

*Shorter time results in softer cheese.

**Instructions for cleaning reusable cheesecloth: (1) Rinse in hot water thoroughly, removing all food clumps (2) Make a soaking mixture of 2 cups hot tap water, 2 Tablespoons baking soda, 1 Tablespoon white vinegar.  (3) When cool, rinse again then put in boiling water for five minutes. Hang dry. Note: You can try just washing it in the washer with other towels (after step (1)). But there are concerns about perfumes, etc.

For Homemade Ricotta:

4 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons good white wine vinegar

Based on this Barefoot Contessa recipe

Chicken Stock

SIMPLEST CHICKEN STOCK:

1 Costco Rotisserie Chicken (with the meat removed) skin, bones, and all connective tissue go into the pot

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

8 cups water

Cook on high pressure in the instant pot for two hours. 

More elaborate chicken stock:

1 Costco Rotisserie Chicken with the meat removed, skin, bones, and all connective tissue reserved

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 rib of celery, including leaves*

1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 smashed garlic clove*

1 bay leaf*

6 cups water (filtered if possible)

Put everything in a slow cooker and let cook for 15 hours.

Recipe adapted from here.

*That Dude Can Cook says no to celery. He adds thyme and peppercorns.

Blood Orange Sorbet

 Ingredients

Zest from one blood orange

2 cups-blood orange juice (about 6-8 oranges)

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar (or use 1/3 cup honey)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Zest one orange and place the zest aside. Juice all the blood oranges (or any other citrus), enough to make 2 cups.

Place the water, zest, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan, warming over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. You don’t want this hot, just warm enough to dissolve sugar. Add this to the blood orange juice.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend everything for about 3 minutes (incorporates more air so that the sorbet is creamier).

Chill thoroughly, then place in your ice cream maker or sorbet maker, churning until desired consistency.

Best eaten immediately!

Notes

Sugar: I’ve already cut back the sugar by more than half, any less will result in overly hard sorbet.

No ice cream maker? If you don’t have an ice cream maker, just place it straight in the freezer in a shallow pan (stainless steel, already chilled in the freezer), stirring every few hours. Once frozen through, about 8 hours, let it sit out 10-15 minutes before trying to scoop it. The texture will not as creamy as using an ice cream maker, but it will still taste amazing.

Original recipe found here.

Chocolate Gelato

Ingredients

50 g of bitter cocoa powder (1/2 cup) 

75 g of granulated sugar

250 ml of whole milk, cold (1 cup)

100 g of 70% dark chocolate, chopped (3.5 oz. or 2/3 cup) 

3 medium egg yolks

75 g of granulated sugar
250 ml of heavy cream, cold (1 cup) 

Step 1) -- In a bowl, mix the cocoa and half the sugar (75 grams). Transfer to a saucepan. Whisk in cold milk. Mix with the help of a whisk and place on low heat.

Step 2) – Stir and continue to cook for about 5 minutes THE MILK MUST NOT BOIL! Bring the mixture to 185 F. Add chocolate and let it melt completely, continuing to mix and always making sure that the mixture DOES NOT boil.

Step 3) – Meanwhile, whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar (75 grams) until fluffy and frothy.

Step 4) – Temper the egg cream by adding a little of the hot milk-chocolate mixture to the egg cream. Transfer egg cream to the saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes over low heat, keeping the mixture 185 F. When it becomes thicker, it’s ready.

Step 5)  – Remove from heat and add cold heavy cream. Stir to mix all the ingredients. Cool in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 6) – Pour the chocolate mixture into the ice cream maker. Start up the machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. Usually you have to let the ice cream maker work for about 30/40 minutes. Chocolate gelato is ready! Best eaten immediately, or keep frozen and eat within two days. If gelato is too hard and frozen, let it thaw in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before serving.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, follow steps 1-5, then pour the chocolate mixture into a container and place it in the refrigerator. Let it cool for about 1/2 an hour.

Then transfer in the freezer and leave it for about 5 hours. Every 30 minutes you have to break the frozen surface. So remove from the freezer and mix for about 30 seconds using a hand whisk or an electric whisk on low speed to prevent ice crystals.

Variations:
More delicate flavor - choose chocolate 50% or less.
Extra dark flavor - choose chocolate greater than 70%; also addition of dark chocolate chips at the end of preparation.
Cinnamon Chocolate Gelato - add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Coconut Chocolate Gelato - add 1 Tablespoon of shredded coconut
Mint Chocolate Gelato - add 1 teaspoon crushed mint leaves
Sweet/Salty Chocolate Gelato - add 1/2 teaspoon Fine Grain Himalayan Pink Salt
Spicy Chocolate Gelato - 1/3 teaspoon hot chili powder

Topping suggestions: Chopped hazelnuts or pistachios; Sicilian Candied Orange Peel; whipped cream

Original recipe here.

Imitation Crab Hot Dip

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

16 oz imitation crab*, broken up

Use the paddle attachment of the Kitchenaid mixer to break up the crab. Pour into 11x7 baking dish to reserve.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Mix well in Kitchenaid mixer with paddle attachment, scraping down as needed.

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (or mozzarella) + 1/2 cup more reserved

1/2 cup sliced green onion (or 2 Tablespoons grated onion)

2 cloves minced garlic (or pressed, or grated)

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons hot sauce (Siracha)

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (or 1/4 t celery salt and 1/4 t paprika)

Add to cream cheese mixture and mix well, scraping down as needed.

Add the crab and mix on low until combined.

Butter the baking dish, pour in the crab mixture. Sprinkle on the reserved cheese. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with favorite crackers.

Imitation Crab Hot Dip based on this recipe. 

*You can use real lump crab meat, preferable fresh from cooked king crab legs, patted dry with paper towels.

Chicken Salad (Chick-fil-A)

14 oz. (394 g) cooked chicken breast (shred using the Kitchenaide)

add:

2.5 oz. sliced celery (71 g)

2.5 oz. sweet relish (71 g)

4 oz. mayo (114 g)

2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered and sliced

Mix well.

Based on the original Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad recipe.

Per 1/2 cup serving

Protein 19 g

Total Fat 23 g

Carbs 5g