Gâteau de Crêpes with Green Tea Cream

The day I opened my copy of Chocolate Epiphany , by Francois Payard, I knew I had to make this cake. While there are so many amazing recipes inside, this one just spoke to me. I love layers- and this one had 20 mouth watering layers of chocolate crepes, infused with orange zest, filled with a luscious green tea (Matcha) pastry cream. Not something this dieting gal could just make and leave lying around though ~*sigh*~ . A perfect opportunity presented itself though, with the celebration of both my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-laws birthday yesterday.

I enjoyed this so much better than a traditional birthday cake. Despite its use of chocolate and pastry cream, this cake was light in texture, the green tea and orange zest a perfect pairing.

I was a very good girl, you'd all be proud- I only had a sliver. Even with all of the baking I've been doing this past week, I've still managed to lose 16 lbs so far since this get fit challenge began. But I have to admit, I battle thoughts daily of immersing myself in pastry cream, painting myself with chocolate and sprinkling myself with bacon bits... an odd combination, I know, but when you go without for so long, the combination just sounds so irresistibly sexy.

Gâteau de Crêpes with Green Tea Cream
by Francois Payard

Chocolate Crêpes
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (220g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (30g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
Pinch of salt
8 large eggs
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (500g) whole milk
Grated zest of 2 oranges
10 tablespoons (5 oz. or 150g) unsalted butter, browned
1 cup (250g) heavy cream
Vegetable oil, for the pan

Green Tea Pastry Cream
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (500 g) whole milk
2 teaspoons (10g) powdered green tea
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (120g) sugar
5 tablespoons (40g) cornstarch
6 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons (2oz.; 60g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (250g) heavy cream

Make the crêpes: Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and orange zest. Incorporate them gradually into the dry ingredients, whisking constantly with one hand as you pour them with the other. Doing this slowly will prevent lumps from forming. Whisk in the butter, then the cream. Strain the batter over a bowl to make sure that it is smooth, then whisk it again so that it is thoroughly combined. Cover the batter, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Whisk the batter well. Place a small crêpe pan or nonstick skillet (about 8 inches in diameter) over medium heat. Pour about 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in the pan to grease it. Once it is hot, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup or a small ladle to pour a little less than 1/4 cup of batter in the pan. There should be just enough batter in the pan to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter is evenly spread in the pan.

After about 2 minutes, the edges of the crêpe should start firming up. Use a spatula to lift a side of the crêpe and flip it over. Cook on the other side for about 1 minute, then remove the crêpe to a plate. Repeat the process until all of the batter is used, piling the crêpes one on top of the other as they are cooked. If the crêpes start to stick to the pan, add a little more oil. Cover the stack of crêpes with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool, up to 1 day.

Make the Pastry Cream: Line a shallow pan, such as a 9-inch square cake pan or a small rimmed baking sheet, with plastic wrap. Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the green tea powder.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl, and whisk in the yolks. Continue whisking until the yolks turn a very pale yellow. Slowly pour a fourth of the milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from curdling. Once the milk is well incorporated, return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pot with the whisk to prevent lumps from forming, until it becomes very thick and bubbles start popping from the center of the pan for at least 20 seconds. You need to bring it to a boil so that the cornstarch gets activated.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour the pastry cream in the prepared pan and cover it with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it until it is completely cool, up to 1 day ahead.

Whip the heavy cream at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until it holds soft peaks. Whisk the pastry cream to a creamy texture, then gently fold in the whipped cream with spatula.

Assemble the Cake: Place one of the cooled crepes on a serving platter. With a small offset spatula, spread a very thin layer (about 1/16 inch) of the green tea pastry cream over the crepe, going all the way to the edges. Place another crepe on top and repeat the process until the cake is 2 to 3 inches tall. Refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving, up to 6 hours ahead, so that the cake has time to set.

Makes one 8-inch cake; serves 8

Gorgonzola and Butternut Squash Pizza

I have a nice collection of cookbooks- over 120 at last count. In the past, I used to read them like novel's. It seems though, that since so many recipes have become available over the internet, my cookbooks have gathered a little bit of dust. Sad, since there are so many amazing recipes available in them.

So, I sat down the other day and looked through some of my "least popular" books, and was happy to find this recipe for Gorgonzola and Pumpkin Pizza in a cookbook called Greatest Ever Baking by Parragon Publishing . I know, pumpkin is obviously different than my post title. Well, I don't know about you, but after the holiday season, I get a little burned out on pumpkin... So I substituted some butternut squash that I already had in my freezer, and was very happy with the results. While my photo doesn't quite show it, this pizza did brown well, and was quite pretty when finished.

This was a healthier alternative to traditional pizza. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it had rich flavor, and a nice chewy texture- perfect when your sick of "rabbit food" while dieting!

Gorgonzola and Pumpkin Pizza

Pizza dough:

1/4 ounce active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat AP flour
1 1/2 cups white AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Topping:

14 ounces pumpkin, peeled and cubed (I used Butternut Squash)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pear, cored, peeled and sliced
3 1/2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
1 sprigs fresh rosemary,for garnish

Place the yeast and sugar in a measuring cup and mix with 4 tablespoons of the water. leave the yeast mixture in a warm place for 15 minutes. Mix both of the flours with the salt and make a well in the center. Add the oil, the yeast mixture and the remaining water. using a wooden spatula, mix to form a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with an oiled sheet of plastic wrap and leave to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Remove the dough from the bowl. Knead the dough for 2 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to form a long oval shape, then place it on an oiled cookie sheet (I used my pizza stone sprayed with Olive Oil cooking spray), pushing out the edges until even. The dough should be no more than 1/4 inch thick, as it will rise during cooking.

To make the topping, place the pumpkin (or Butternut Squash) in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and cook under a preheated broiler for 20 minutes. Top the dough with the pear and the pumpkin, brushing with the oil from the pan. Sprinkle over the Gorgonzola. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 for 15 minutes or until the base is golden. Garnish with rosemary.

Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats- Bookmarked Recipes

I was visiting over at Patsy's blog- Family, Friends, and Food, and saw the invite to participate in Bookmarked Recipes. She is hosting this coming Mondays event (where all recipes will be shown), and I thought it a great opportunity to try this recipe I've been thinking about for some time now.

I was looking through a small, free newspaper I had gotten on my way out of our local farmer's market, and was just about ready to throw it in the recycle bin, when I came across this recipe for Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats. It sounded light, unique, and fit perfectly into my healthy eating of late- 14.7 lbs lost so far on a totally satisfying healthy eating plan, and daily exercise.

Another thing I liked about this recipe was that I already had most of the ingredients- I only needed some Kumquats, which were easily found at my local Trader Joe's. I called ahead, asking if they had any in stock (so that it wouldn't be a wasted trip), and mentioned that I had my 2 year old in tow, and they kindly put aside the amount I needed by the registers for an easy check out. I love that store!

This was such a refreshing alternative to traditional dessert items. The tartness of the kumquats, paired with the mellow vanilla- lime syrup, and the crisp bite of the Asian pears, left me feeling like I wasn't missing a thing at all in my quest for health. Now, I'm not saying this wouldn't be good over some rich vanilla ice cream, I'm just saying I didn't go there...

Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats
1/2 vanilla bean pod, halved lengthwise
1/2 c water
3 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 lb kumquats, about 20, ends trimmed, seeded, and sliced crosswise, 1/3 inch thick
4 large Asian Pears, peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick

Combine water and lime juice in a small, heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod and add beans and pod to the water, along with sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes.

Add Kumquats, cover pot and simmer until they just begin to soften, three to four minutes. Arrange pears in a heatproof bowl. Pour kumquats and syrup over pears and toss gently, then cool. Chill fruit, covered, at least two to six hours. Serves 6.

Orange, Radish, and Mint Salad

I have been so good about planning my meals ahead, and making sure I have ingredients on hand to make healthy dishes. I have found that if you do a little cookbook reading, and plan your meals ahead of time, you are less likely to eat poorly and/ or cheat, especially when trying to eat to live, rather than live to eat. Yesterday though, was one of those failure to plan days. A family illness has redefined our priorities and brought relatives from far away places. Thankfully, our family member will recover, and hopefully be able to sit at the table with the rest of us before all make the trip back home.

With circumstances like these, the "old me" would have reached for the nearest Costco Chicken Bake, blissfully ignorant to it's nutritional information.

The "new me" however, reads this stuff, and can't believe I considered that to be one out of three of my daily meals. With calorie and fat counts like those, that is not far now from what I allow myself for an entire day!

Thank goodness I have been keeping healthy ingredients and fresh produce on hand. On my table I had placed a huge bowl of clementines, and in my fridge was an enormous bag of radishes. So I googled the two and found this recipe from Ellie Krieger. While the recipe calls for oranges, I substituted the clementines, and found this to be a delicious, satisfying, and refreshing dish. I was also able to use a gift, from my cousin, Steve, in the recipe- a touch of Pasolivo Olive oil. A perfect touch in this recipe. Thanks, Steve!


I'm at a 9.5 lb loss my friends, and feeling really, really, good.


Orange, Radish, and Mint Salad

4 navel oranges
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
8 radishes, cut in half, then thinly sliced into half-moons
1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut the top and bottom off each orange. Stand the orange on one end on a cutting board and, following the curve of the fruit, cut away the skin and woolly white pith of the orange. Cut each orange section away from the membrane.

In a medium bowl, toss together the orange sections, onion, radishes, and mint. Drizzle with the oil and season with salt and pepper. This salad will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about a day.

Makes 4 servings
Serving size: 1 cup


Per Serving:
Calories 145; Total fat 7g (Sat fat 1g, Mono fat 5g, Poly fat 0.5g); Protein 2g; Carb 20g; Fiber 3g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium155 mg

Presto Pasta Nights: San Marzano Chicken with Fusilli

One of my favorite blogger's, Theresa over at Food Hunters Guide to Cuisine, is hosting Presto Pasta Nights this month. I thought since I'm trying to eat much healthier these days, that I'd enter a relatively healthy pasta dish.

Since beginning this diet and exercise journey I have thought about food constantly! I've always enjoyed cooking, and feel I have a pretty good repertoire of go-to recipes stored in my head. But when you embark on a journey to health, it seems like everything you know ceases to exist, and you are forced to learn healthier methods to prepare your favorite dishes. Finding flavorful ingredient substitutions is not an easy task! But when you do find them, it makes the dieting world a much nicer place to be. One of my favorite ingredients in this dish is the vegetable broth. I used Organic Better Than Bouillon. It has so many concentrated flavors that I didn't have to decide how much of "this" or "that", it was just "right". This recipe was created out of a need for rich flavor, and with only what was available in my kitchen at the time.

San Marzano Chicken with Fusilli

1/2 lb Fusilli or Radiatori pasta, pre-cooked and set aside
1/2 c fat-free Italian dressing
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Zero calorie Olive oil non-stick spray
2 medium zucchini, sliced
4 cups whole Cremini (baby portabella) mushrooms
1/2 of an onion (red or yellow), sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large can San Marzano whole tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp crushed Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a Ziploc bag add chicken and fat free Italian dressing. Let marinate for at least an hour (2 is better) in refrigerator.

Spray large pan with olive oil spray and saute zucchini and mushrooms until lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 Tbs olive oil to same pan, and saute onions and garlic over medium heat until onions are partially translucent and garlic is slightly golden (Even when dieting, some things just work better with the real thing). Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides, about 8-10 minutes.

Add canned tomatoes, and vegetable broth to pan, and break up tomatoes slightly with a spoon. Add oregano, and salt and pepper. Return zucchini and mushrooms to pan. Continue to cook on medium to low for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Add pre-cooked pasta to pan, toss, and serve. Adjust seasonings according to your taste. Serves 4.


Remember, play with your food! Switch out ingredients to your liking, you're the boss!

Wow, 100th post today! Giveaway, too!

Wow, I can't believe it- my 100th post. I look back to my first one and just laugh. I had no direction and just a stock blogger template. Now, a custom blog design, and everything I see has the potential to be a post, so I snap pictures of everything these days.

I am also amazed, no, stunned, that I actually lost 4 lbs this past week! There is truth to diet AND exercise, and it seems when you find the right plan of action, it doesn't feel like diet and exercise. It just feels good. I have energy. I'm not hungry. I eat at least 1000 less calories a day than what I was prior to beginning my journey, but now, eating the right foods, feel like I am cheating every day. This feels good.

I've relied a great deal on the recipes from the Hungry Girl cookbook. It is not gourmet by any means. It is, however, simple everyday fare that leaves you content, and not feeling like you have been gypped- you know- when you buy a box where the dessert looks like this
and what you really end up with is this


That is just wrong. Purely sale-intended evil in a box.

Hungry Girl, however, delivers. When you see a photo in the book that looks like this:

You can feel confident that yours will look like this:

and this:

and this:



At only 108 calories and 2g of fat per cupcake, that's pretty sweet (pun intended).

Caramel Pumpkin Pudding Cupcakes

• 2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (1/2 of an 18.25-ounce box)
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 2 tablespoons sugar-free maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for topping

• 3 cubes (about 1 ounce) chewy caramel
• 2 teaspoons light vanilla soymilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl with 1/3 cup of water. Whip with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes until well blended.

Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter into muffin cups.

Place pan in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes (until cupcakes have puffed up but still appear a little gooey on top- I actually cooked mine for 20 minutes).

Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle, arrange them closely on a plate so that the edges are touching. Place caramel and soymilk in a tall microwave-safe glass or dish (mixture will bubble and rise when heated).

Microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir mixture vigorously until smooth and thoroughly blended. (Return to microwave for 30 seconds at medium heat if caramel has not fully melted.) Immediately drizzle caramel sauce over cupcakes.

** Be VERY careful with caramel topping in microwave- I burned my first batch! I'd do 30 second increments until thin and pourable!

ENJOY!

Oh yeah, I forgot, there is a giveaway! One lucky winner will receive their very own HungryGirl cookbook!

Just leave a comment with your favorite diet tip or trick. Remember to LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS! You have until Wednesday, the 18th of February, 8 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, to win! Good Luck!

Winners will be chosen using Random Integer Generator

King Arthur Flour

I had such an enjoyable day today with my mom and dear family friends! King Arthur Flour Company had Glendale, Arizona as one of their stops on a National Baking Tour, and we were lucky to have front row seats! The class was interesting, informative, and I definitely learned a few tricks, as well as finally understanding why I had some failures in the past. Our Instructor, Carolyn Hack, had a wealth of information to share. I just wish I had had the extra time to stay afterwords and bombard her with questions... another time I suppose.
For those of you not familiar with King Arthur Flour, it has been around for over 200 years, and I have to say is THE best flour I have ever used, especially when it comes to my breads and rolls. They never add bleach, bromate, or chemicals of any kind, which results in a pure, natural, and consistent product. I have used their Classic 100% whole wheat bread recipe for years (the recipe is on the back of the bag), and it is the only 100% whole wheat recipe I've ever used that has amazing flavor, rises perfectly, and has a wonderful texture. For those that have children that don't care for whole wheat, they have an amazing White Whole Wheat Flour that can be used instead.

They have thousands of fabulous recipes listed right on their site. Everything from baked goods to appetizers, family dinners to Super Bowl Treats. They are easy to follow recipes, and if you find yourself a bit challenged or simply have a question, you can email your questions to the baker and you'll be certain to get a response.

Every time I bake breads or cinnamon rolls as a gift I like to bake them in these Bake-and-Give pans. They always seem to add more of a special touch to something you've already put your heart into making. They aren't terribly expensive, and I usually buy a ton after Christmas when they have their wonderful clearance sales.

Sadly, we were not able to try any of the breads made today... something about the board of health not allowing them to do so. All of the ingredients smelled heavenly though, and I did manage to get a picture of the dough they used.

This is the Almond Filled Braid:

This is the Monkey Bread:
And these were the heavenly smelling Cinnamon Rolls:

They did have a tremendous amount of raffle prizes that sadly, I didn't win.

But they made up for it by giving everyone a small, pamphlet sized cookbook, a package of Red Star Yeast (with whom King Arthur has partnered with and who makes the baking classes free!) a dough scraper, and a $10 King Arthur gift card! It was definitely worth going to see. Check out their site to see if they are going to be in your area.

Diet Margarita's!!

Well, you don't have to tell me twice! Diet Margarita's that are so good, you won't mind the switch!

One of my favorite cookbooks these days is by Lisa Lillien, aka Hungry Girl. I've subscribed to her site for a couple years now, receiving daily emails with tips and tricks , as well as fabulous recipe "makeovers". When her cookbook came out a few months ago, it was a must have. The recipes are simple, the ingredients easy to find, and really delicious. It was fantastic to be able to have a low-cal, low-fat version of my restaurant and fast food fav's show up in my inbox every day!

I made these this afternoon, tripled the recipe over ice in a large pitcher, and shared them with my Sister-in-law and Mother-in-law... it was a happy afternoon!



So get the book, and drink one of these fabulous Margarita's while you're perusing the recipes!

HG's Magical Low-Calorie Margarita

(Entire recipe: 105 calories, 0g fat, 58mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber, 0.5g sugars, 0g protein = 2 Points)

Ingredients:

6 oz. Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sprite Zero, or your other fave no-cal lemon-lime soda)

1.5 oz. tequila

1/2 tsp. Crystal Light powdered drink mix, Lemonade

1 oz. lime juice
Optional: lime slice for garnish and salt or no-calorie sweetener for rim of glass

Directions:

If desired, run some lime juice along the rim of the glass and dip into a dish of salt or sweetener. Mix all ingredients together. Pour over 1 cup of crushed ice. Optional: Garnish with lime slice. Enjoy. Serves 1!

Beef Broccoli

I've been hanging out a lot over at Steamy Kitchen Modern Asian these days. It is the incredibly fantastic food blog of Jaden Hair, a food writer, food photographer and cooking teacher in both Tampa and Los Angeles.

I had been searching for unique, flavorful recipes when I happened upon her site. Tired of the same old meat and potatoes, I was not disappointed when I landed there! I got the biggest kick out of her No Knead Bread Recipe, where she demonstrates that even her 4 year old can master the art! I love her writing style- how she blends her love of food with easy to make recipes, and her amazing "food porn" that just sucks you in, recipe after delicious recipe.

Tonight I tried her recipe for Broccoli Beef. This was absolutely delicious, ending my search for that recipe forever. I doubled the recipe, and served it over white rice... which made enough for 4 good size servings. Because I love sesame seeds, I did toast some I had on hand and sprinkled over the top just before serving.




Broccoli Beef
Ingredients

* 3/4 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
* 3/4 pound broccoli florets
* 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil
* 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade

* 1 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
* 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1/4 cup chicken broth

Method

1 Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes

2 Prepare the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

3 Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

4 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink, Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

These are some of the ingredients listed, should you not have them in your pantry. You should find them easily in your local market.



As if that weren't satisfying enough, Jaden has gotten me completely addicted to these Rolo Pretzel Turtles! Where have they been all of my life!?! The easiest recipe in the world for holiday giving, your gift recipients will be lucky to find a crumb still left in the bag.



Rolo Pretzel Turtle Recipe

Rolo chocolate candies

Mini pretzels

Nuts - pecan halves (if you don’t like pecans, you can use almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Unwrap your Rolos. Place pretzels on the baking sheet in one layer. Top each pretzel with a Rolo.

Bake in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chocolate just begins to melt. The Rolo candy should be soft but not completely melted. Remove from oven, use a spatula to lift the pretzels on cooling rack and immediately squish the Rolo candy with a nut.

Now how can that NOT be a gift from above!!