Photo | Adventures in Thyme

Berry Filled White Cake

July 9, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Berry filled white cake

Doesn’t that picture look awesome! A triumvirate of cakey goodness – three delicious layers of divinely concocted cake with fruit. It’s healthy – seriously! Look at the fruit, and of course there’s eggs, and milk and… Just eat it – you’ll love it and not care about the calories. Let’s get baking!

Berry Filled Cake

Cake

2 cups white Sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, at room temperature
4 Eggs
4 teaspoons Vanilla
3 cups all purpose Flour
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups Milk (we used goat)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line and flour 3 9 inch round cake pans.

Sift together your flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beat each one in before adding the next. Add vanilla. Beat until blended in.

With your mixer at a lower setting (if you use a high setting you’ll have flour everywhere) add your dry ingredients, 1/4 at a time. Mix well. Add milk and mix until smooth. If it doesn’t look silky, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until batter is smooth. This batter is thick – be warned.

Put 1/3 of your batter into each pan. Spread so it is level and evenly distributed in the pans.

Bake at 350 degree F for 30 minutes. If a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean, remove from the oven. If not, cook another 5 minutes and check again. Repeat as needed. (Note: cooking times will vary depending on your oven.)

Cool the cakes for a few minutes, then turn out of the pans and cool on a rack until room temperature.

Strawberry Glaze

2 cups sliced Strawberries (fresh are definitely best – and they’re in season!)
1 cup Water
1 cup white Sugar
4 tablespoons Corn Starch

Combine sugar and water in 2 quart sauce pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves completely. Turn heat down to low and add the strawberries. Cook, stirring gently, occasionally, until the juice from the strawberries is well incorporated into the syrup. (30 to 45 minutes.) Strain out the sliced strawberries and let the syrup cool to room temperature or so. Carefully mix in your corn starch so you have no lumps. Return the syrup to your pan and heat at medium high until it thickens and begins to bubble. Stir constantly. Once done, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Buttercream Frosting

4 sticks (2 cups) Butter
6 cups powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Milk

Cream your butter in your mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, carefully so you don’t get it all over the kitchen, and mix until blended and smooth. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a spreadable consistency.

Berry Filling

2 cups sliced Strawberries
2 cups fresh blueberries (or raspberries / blueberries / insert favorite fruit here)
Strawberry Glaze (see above)

Combine your fruit with some of your strawberry glaze so that it coats the fruit.

Assemble your cake

First, make a paper template for the area you will be cutting out of your cake. (You will be removing the grey area in the picture.) Make the template to the ring has a 3 inch inside diameter and a 6 inch outside diameter. Place the template, centered, on one layer of your cake and carefully cut around the inside and outside of the template. The area you are removing is where the berry filling will go.

Place a whole layer on your cake plate and cover the top with a layer of frosting. Add the center and outside rings from the layer you cut into rings above. Carefully add filling so that the fruit and glaze fills the ring. Now cover this layer, including the filling, with a layer of frosting. Place the remaining whole layer on top. Frost the cake with your remaining frosting. Serve in slices, topped with some of your remaining filling and extra glaze as desired.

Store in the refrigerator. Eat within a few days.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

July 2, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

We’re firing up the bbq again for this delicious Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops dish. The glaze is a lovely balance between the acidity of vinegar and the sweetness of honey. We’ve placed it over rice noodles but you could easily substitute fried rice or a baked potato. Let’s get cookin’!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup good Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Honey
fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
4 Pork Chops
Noodles / fried rice / vegetables as desired

Light your bbq, you’ll want a direct fire. We prefer charcoal.

Finely chop a sprig of fresh rosemary.

In a small sauce pan, combine 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (for best results, use a good balsamic, I like the one from Wine Country Kitchens.) and the honey. Add half of the chopped rosemary. Heat over low heat until the honey combines with the vinegar and the mixture begins to thicken. Keep just warm so it doesn’t over thicken. You will need to be able to pour or spoon the glaze.

Season your pork chops by lightly sprinkling with salt, pepper, a little cinnamon and the remaining rosemary. Be sure to season both sides of the meat. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes per side (depending on how thick your chops are and how hot the fire is. In cold weather it may take longer to cook them. An open grill may also take longer.) Five minutes before the chops are done, spoon some of your glaze over the pork chops, cover and let the chops finish cooking.

We served these chops over noodles and drizzled the remaining glaze over the noodles and chops. In the background above you can see bbq’d apples with a little bit of spiced brown sugar. Your grill is still hot – add a little bit of dessert before you shut the bbq down and take another bite out of summer’s bounty.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

June 25, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Grilled chicken tacos

With summer upon us and ye olde bbq dusted off, this week’s recipe is a delightful grilled chicken taco with lots of fresh fixin’s nestled in corn tortillas. This recipe takes a little extra effort, but it’s worth the wait – Let’s get cookin’!

Taco Seasoning:

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon dry Oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon granulated Garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated Onion
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

Combine the spices and set aside. (Can be stored in a spice bottle for a long period of time to use with beef, ground beef, chicken, etc.)

Salsa:

6 Roma Tomatoes (3 of these will be roasted)
1 Green Bell Pepper (to be roasted)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (to be roasted)
3 Jalapeno Peppers (2 of these will be roasted)
1 medium to large Onion (will be roasted)
4 cloves Garlic
1 Lime
Salt
Olive Oil

Salsa and BBQ’ing the veggies:

While your BBQ is heating. Halve and seed three roma tomatoes and both bell peppers. If you don’t want a really spicy salsa, also halve and seed your jalapeno peppers (otherwise, you just leave those seeds in there!). Peal the onion and cut into 8 to 12 wedges. When the bbq fire is hot, make a small pan out of heavy aluminum foil and place the three seeded tomatoes, both bell peppers, 2 jalapenos and your onion into the pan. Add a bit of olive oil to coat and prevent sticking, sprinkle with salt and place on a rack over your fire. Cook for about 10 minutes then turn everything over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the peppers are charred and the onion is mostly cooked (do not cook the onion or peppers to mush, just until a bit tender.)

While the peppers and onion are grilling cut up your remaining 3 tomatoes and place in a bowl. Finely dice your remaining jalapeno and add it to the tomatoes.

When the peppers and onions are cooked, set these aside in a bowl covered with food wrap for about 10 minutes, then remove any skin that has been loosened by the bbq process. Place the tomatoes and half the onion in a blender or food processor. Add one of the roasted jalapenos and the garlic. Blend until mostly smooth.

Take the remaining onion and the bell peppers and cut into about 1/4 inch pieces, place these in a bowl. Finely mince the remaining roasted jalapeno and add to the bowl. Then add the puree from above and stir gently, followed by the juice of one lime and stir. Add salt to taste. Let sit at least half an hour before assembling your tacos.

Note: this will get spicier as it sits.

Grilling the chicken:

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless Chicken Breast (boneless thighs would also work well)
Taco Seasoning (from recipe above)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Place one breast at a time into a ziplock bag and fold the end over (do not seal). Pound the chicken flatter with a meat mallet. This will help ensure more even cooking.

Sprinkle the chicken with your taco seasoning and place into a zip lock bag. Add the olive oil. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Squeeze around so the oil covers all of the meat. Place in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Grill over direct heat for 10 to 15 minutes per side (depending on how hot your fire is) until the chicken is done. Place on a plate and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken across the grain.

Almost there… Taco time!

Salsa
Grilled Chicken
Sour Cream
Tortillas
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or Cotija would be good too!)
Lettuce
Fresh Cilantro

To assemble your tacos, heat your tortillas in a skillet, lightly brown but do not make crispy. Place a few pieces of chicken into the tortilla, add lettuce, salsa, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle a little chopped, fresh cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Luscious Lamb Burgers

June 18, 2014 by Ginger 2 Comments

Lamb Burger

Let’s just pause here a moment and look at that picture once more – salivating yet? We love lamb, and this yummy burger really hits the spot after a long day at work. Let’s get grilling with Burgers Part Deux!

For the burger, mix gently together:
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tablespoon dried basil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 cup crumbled sheep’s feta (or goat feta); reserve additional feta to garnish the burger
Note: Overmixing the burger will destroy the yummy chunks of cheese crumbles so mix thoroughly, but gently.

For the Tzatziki dressing, mix together:
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 shallot minced fine
6 oz plain goat yogurt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Additional ingredients as desired: burger buns, sliced tomatos, butter lettuce, fries.

Grill burgers on your bbq, or fry in a pan in your kitchen. While they are cooking, warm your burger buns if you like them a little toasty, we used ciabatta rolls. When the burgers are done, “Accoutrements assemble!” We stacked our burger with lettuce, burger, tzatziki, tomato, and feta. But some crispy bacon is also a good addition or some French fried onions (they’re good on lots of things other than green beans!).

Enjoy!

Stuffed Burgers

June 11, 2014 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Stuffed Burger

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, we needed dinner, and this burger was the result. I had many of the ingredients on hand and a quick scan of Food Network recipes laid the groundwork for this dish. Let’s get grillin’!

This burger is best done in sections, so I’ve divided them up by the order to best use your time:

1.) Ingredients you’ll need in later burger assembly are baby spinach, prosciutto (or bacon), sliced tomato, crunchy onion rings, hamburger bun or roll.

2.) For the spread, mix together: 1 cup mayo, ½ cup pecorino, ~a dozen fresh basil leaves (finely chopped). Set aside.

3.) For the filling, mix together: 1 cup feta (we used sheep’s feta from Costco), ¾ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (you can find these oil packed in jars in the Italian aisle at your grocery store. I wrap whatever amount I intend on using in paper towels and squeeze gently to remove the excess oil). Set aside.

4.) For the burgers, mix together: 2lbs hamburger (we used 93/7), 3 eggs slightly beaten, ½ cup Kellogg’s Corn Flake Crumbs (these are gluten free), 2 tsps each of Rosemary/Thyme/Basil, 1 tsp salt, pinch of ground pepper, 3 gloves minced garlic. Because these burgers will contain the filling you made earlier, you need to make two thin halves per burger, then gently encase filling in each (if you like feta, form about ~2 Tablespoons into a disk, if you don’t, use about 1 Tablespoon), and cook to desired doneness.

When the meat is done, add some of the Spread you made to each side of the bun, and begin to layer: spinach, meat, prosciutto, tomato and onion rings. This is a big burger, bite carefully.

Enjoy!