Black Barley Salad

Black Barley Salad - ButterYum

I recently discovered black barley in the freezer section of my grocery store so I bought it and used it to make this refreshing chopped salad.  My girls and I were fighting over the last serving.  If you've never had Jicama - it's a slightly sweet, mild flavored, very moist, and very crunchy root vegetable from Mexico.  Very high in Fiber and Vitamin C. 

Black Barley Salad

serves 8

Printable Recipes

2 10-ounce bags cooked black barley, thawed** (about 2 1/2 cups, but more would be fine)
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
3 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup of diced jimaca
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
1/2 cup of your favorite vinaigrette (I love, love, love, love, love Girard's Light Champagne Vinaigrette)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Toss ingredients together and enjoy!

**To cook dry black barley:
Rinse 1 cup of dry black barley with cold water and place it in a heavy bottom saucepan with 5 cups of water or broth and salt if desired.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 45-60 minutes, or until tender.  Drain if necessary.  Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Jicama - photo by Cooking Light 

National Chocolate Chip Day!

Today is National Chocolate Chip Day!  The Hubs helps himself to a handful of chocolate chips every day so he apparently thinks one day a year isn't enough ;).  Anyway, here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy chocolate chips.  To get the recipes, click on the titles.

4-Chip Faux Fudge - ButterYum

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks - ButterYum

Bailey's Irish Cream and Pistachio Fudge - ButterYum

Biscoff Bundt Cake with Espresso Ganache - ButterYum

CI's Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies - ButterYum

Coffee Toffee Mocha Crunch Ice Cream - ButterYum

Almond Joy Cookies - ButterYum

Arizona Chocolate Chip Cookies - ButterYum

Shredded Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies - ButterYum

Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies - ButterYum

Nocciola Baci (Hazelnut Kisses)

Nicciola Baci (Hazelnut Kisses) - ButterYum

Get a load of these itty-bitty cookies - aren't they the cutest cookies ever?  These little "hazelnut kisses" aren't just cute, they delectable too - they taste like crispy little bites of Nutella.  I've been looking forward to making them ever since I first saw them on David Lebovitz's blog.  The recipe was shared by Teressa Murphy from the blog LaCucinaDiTeressa who says it was created at the Zanotti Bakery in Tortona, Italy more than 100 years ago.  Oh, and did I mention these cookies are gluten-free?  That's because they're made with rice flour instead of regular flour.  Rice flour is available in health food stores, or you can grind your own like I did (although Teressa says you can substitute regular flour, no problem).

As far as the recipe goes, I veered from the instructions a little.  First, instead of mixing the ingredients by hand, I used my stand mixer fitted with a BeaterBlade attachment; and second, instead of peeling the hazelnuts in a towel after roasting them in the oven (a method which is very messy and doesn't eliminate all the skins), I used Alice Medrich's method of boiling them in a water and baking soda solution before roasting them (no mess and every bit of skin was easily removed).

 It was easy to make my own rice flour - all I did was blitz uncooked white rice using the grinding blade in my nutri-bullet.  A spice grinder of coffee grinder would work as well.

Rice flour ready to go.  Okay, time to prepare the hazelnuts.

First, have a bowl of ice water ready next to your stove top.

You'll also need a kitchen timer and baking soda.

 Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add 3 tablespoons of baking soda.  It will bubble a little.

 In go the hazelnuts.  Be sure you have a large enough saucepan because the water is going to bubble up a lot now.

See.

 Okay - set your timer for 3 minutes.

Keep a wooden spoon handy to give the bubbles a stir every so often.  Doing this will keep them from spilling over the side of your pan.

 Don't be alarmed when you notice the color of the water drastically changing.  You might see a few loose skins float to the surface too.

 Okay - after 3 minutes plunge a few hazelnuts into the ice water.

 They're done if the skins slide off easily.

 Mine are done so everybody out of the pool.

Into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

 Check out what's left behind - ick!

Thankfully that mess cleans up pretty easily.

 Strain and rinse the hazelnuts.

A lot of the skins will come off all by themselves if you just shake the strainer under running water.

Place the skinned hazelnuts on a paper towel to dry.

 Toast them in the oven or in a dry skillet to develop their flavor; allow them to cool completely before grinding.

 To grind the nuts - pulse in a food processor until they look like this.

Then make the cookie dough by blending the rice flour, ground nuts, sugar, salt, and butter.  It's a sandy messy dough so I prefer to do this in my stand mixer.  David and Teressa do it by hand.

 Use a scale to weigh out 5-gram nuggets of dough and roll them into marble-size balls (3/4-inch wide).  THIS IS MUCH EASIER TO DO WHEN THE DOUGH IS VERY WELL CHILLED.

 You can fit up to 40 dough balls on a sheet tray because they're so small.

 Let the baked cookies cool on the sheet tray - then pair them up according to their size so you're not scrambling to find the right size top after you pipe the molten chocolate on the bottom halves.

Chop some very good quality chocolate and melt it.  I melted mine slowly in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds until the chocolate was silky smooth; then I poured it into a zip-top bag and snipped a very, very small hole in one corner.

These cookies are round which means they tilt rather than sit flat - especially after you sandwich them together.  Not a problem once the chocolate has had a chance to set, but before that happens the chocolate flows in the direction of the tilt.  I wanted my finished cookies to be a bit neater looking so I nestled the bottom halves, nice and level, in a bed of sugar; then piped the chocolate and added the top halves.  The chocolate will set in about 15 minutes or so.  Brush any excess sugar off the bottom of the cookies and serve.

 I hope I've inspired you to give these adorable cookies a try.

Nocciola Baci (Hazelnut Kisses aka Baci di Dama)
recipe adapted from David Lebovits via Teressa Murphy
makes 35 tiny sandwich cookies
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups (140g) hazelnuts, skinned, toasted, and ground** 
1 cup (140g) rice flour** (or all purpose flour)
3 1/2 ounces (100g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 ounces (55g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

To make the dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a BeateBlade attachment, combine the ground nuts, rice flour, butter, salt, and sugar until it forms into a dough; chill for about an hour.  Roll marble-size balls of dough about 3/4-inch wide (5 grams for those of us who have "Baking OCD") and place on a parchment or silicone lined sheet pan; return to refrigerator and keep chilled until you're ready to bake.

To bake the cookies:
Preheat oven to 325F.  Bake for 8-12 minutes; allow cookies to cool completely on sheet pan.

To assemble the cookies:
Gently melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a double boiler.  Place a chocolate chip size dollop of chocolate between two cookie halves; set aside until chocolate sets.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

**To make rice flour:
Pulse uncooked white rice in a spice mill or coffee grinder until very finely ground.

**To blanch and peel hazelnuts:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a 4-quart sauce pan (you need a large pan because the water and baking soda will bubble up a lot).  Add baking soda to boiling water; add hazelnuts and boil for 3 full minutes (don't be alarmed when the water turns black; this is to be expected).  In the meantime, have ready a bowl of iced water.  After 3 minutes, remove hazelnuts from boiling water and plunge them into the iced water to stop the cooking process.  Slip hazelnuts out of their skins and allow to dry.  Toast hazelnuts in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes.  Cool completely and pulse in a food processor until finely ground (should resemble dry cornmeal or polenta).

This post is being shared with Beverly at How Sweet The Sound

Creme Brulee Ice Cream

Creme Brulee Ice Cream - ButterYum

I had a big bowl of unused egg yolks leftover after a recent baking project so I searched online for an interesting recipe to use them.  The last time this happened I made this Lemon Poppy Seed Overload Cake.  But this time I made what is quite possibly one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten in my entire life.  Imagine if you will - plunging your spoon through a crispy layer of caramelized sugar to expose a silky layer of frozen creme brulee ice cream beneath.  Oh yea baby - this recipe is worth every single calorie-laden bite.  Your family and friends are going to flip over this one.

Oh my - this stuff is so good it's dangerous!

Creme Brulee Ice Cream
recipe adapted from Cafe Johnsonia
serves 6
Printable Recipe

10 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw)


EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
You'll need a 1 1/2-quart or larger ice cream maker to churn this recipe.  If your ice cream maker is smaller, you can churn half the mixture and refrigerate the rest to churn a day or two later.  You'll also need a kitchen thermometer, and a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar.

TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM BASE:
In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt together; set side.

In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed non-stick pan over medium heat- combine the milk and whole vanilla bean that has been split open and the seeds scraped out (both the bean pod and the seeds go into the pan with the milk - if you're using vanilla extract instead, don't add it at this point).  Over medium heat, cook the milk until it starts to bubble around the edges of the pan.  Remove from heat and whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture; repeat with another 1/4 cup of hot milk.  Pour the now warm egg yolk mixture into the pan containing the remaining hot milk; stir to combine.  Return pan to the stove top (med heat) and cook- stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a temperature of 170-180F.

Remove pan from heat and strain mixture through a sieve into a large bowl to remove the vanilla bean pod and any bits of egg that might have coagulated.  Stir in cold heavy cream (and vanilla extract, if using).  Chill the ice cream base in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 4 hours before churning (or up to 48 hours - the colder, the better).

TO CHURN THE ICE CREAM:
Process the ice cream base according to the manufacturer's instructions that were included with your ice cream maker.

Divvy the ice cream into heat-safe ramekins- leaving about 1/4-inch of space at the top.  Put the ramekins into the freezer for several hours until the ice cream is hard.  This can be done several days in advance - just cover ramekins with plastic wrap.

TO SERVE:
Just before serving, use kitchen torch to heat the surface of the ice cream just slightly so the turbinado sugar will stick to it.  Add a layer of turbinado sugar over the top of each ramekin; then caramelize the sugar using a kitchen torch.  I like an extra thick layer of caramelized sugar so I repeat this step by sprinkling a second layer of turbinado; then caramelize with the torch again.  Serve immediately.

this post is being shared over at Savvy Southern Style

Mexican Rice (aka Spanish Rice)

Mexican Rice (aka Spanish Rice) - ButterYum

Happy Cinco de Mayo - Here's an easy recipe for Mexican Rice (aka Spanish Rice).  It's cooked right in a rice cooker, which happens to be my new favorite kitchen toy.  It's a rice cooker, a grain cooker, a steamer, and a slow cooker - can't believe I waited so long to get one.  But hey, don't worry if you don't have a slow cooker - I'll share my easy stove top directions too.

Mexican Rice (aka Spanish Rice)

adapted from 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes

serves 4

Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped scallion whites (reserve green tops for garnish)

1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of oregano

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons tomato paste

reserved green scallion tops

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Turn your rice cooker on the quick cook or regular cycle.  Saute the garlic and scallions in the oil when the bottom of the bowl gets hot; cook for about 3 minutes or until very fragrant.  Stir in all of the remaining ingredients except the reserved green scallion tops and chopped parsley.  Close the rice cooker lid and reset the regular cycle.  Let stand for 10 minutes after the cycle finishes.  Stir in reserved scallion tops and chopped parsley; serve right away or keep warm until needed.

Alternate stove top directions:

In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed sauce pan, saute garlic and scallions in oil until fragrant.  Add all of the remaining ingredients except the reserved green scallion tops and chopped parsley.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 18-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.  Stir in reserved scallion tops and chopped parsley.  Serve.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding - ButerYum

I absolutely adore the flavors of chocolate and cinnamon together so I tweaked a chocolate pudding recipe to mimic the flavor profile of Mexican hot chocolate.  Want some?  You know you do.

Measure out the ingredients and grab a heavy-bottomed saucepan, a whisk, and some dessert bowls - we'll make it together.  You won't believe how fast and easy the process is.

To start, just throw all the ingredients into a medium size heavy-bottom saucepan (chocolate and dairy are very sensitive to heat so using a heavy-bottomed pan will prevent these precious ingredient from scorching or burning).

Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.

Strain the pudding through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Quickly pour the pudding into dessert dishes and press plastic wrap directly on the pudding surface to prevent a skin from forming... unless that's your thing ;).

 Chill for a couple hours before serving.  I like to garnish with freshly whipped cream and ginger snaps.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding
adapted from The Essence of Chocolate (Scharffenberger)
serves 6
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
3 cups whole milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, combine the cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; add the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens; about 15-20 minutes (I like to get in there with a flat silicone spatula every now and then to be sure nothing is sticking in the corners or on the bottom of the pan).  Remove pan from heat and stir in chopped chocolate and vanilla; stir until chocolate is melted and fully incorporated.  Strain through a sieve before spooning into individual ramekins to ensure a perfectly smooth texture.  Cover pudding with plastic wrap that is touching the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.  Chill for a couple hours.  Optional garnish - freshly whipped cream and ginger snaps.