Strata : 1. Mushroom and Pancetta 2. Ham and Cheese

It's my dad's 70th birthday!
This morning, mom, dad, Kim & Patrick came over for brunch to celebrate! We had such a nice time together - I really want to make the effort and get together more often.

I made strata and opted to use lower fat milk and egg substitute instead of whole milk/cream and whole eggs. I think they turned out pretty good! We also had homemade chocolate chip orange scones, bacon, turkey bacon, sausage, hash browns and fresh fruit. The turkey bacon was a little odd - the texture was a little like fruit leather. Dad said it was pretty good, but we all realized, he was eating a piece of real bacon. HEH.

Mushroom & Pancetta Strata and
Ham & Gruyere cheese Strata.
3/4 loaf Challah bread
5 Hawaiian bread rolls

Cut up bread and rolls into 3/4in cubes, crusts and all. Mix together.

Caremelized Onion
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar

Heat 1 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Saute onions with salt and sugar until caramelized (15min.)
Set aside.

3 C chopped mushrooms

(1 Portobello cap + Cremini, chopped)
I large Shallot bulb, diced (about 1/2C)

Heat 1 T olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook for about 7 minutes, until moisture is released. Set aside and cool.

1 small ham steak (about 5in wide), chopped
1 whole package of pancetta, chopped

Over medium-high heat saute ham and pancetta separately.

Set aside to cool.

Egg Mixture
1 3/4C egg substitute
1 3/4C 2% milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
nutmeg
salt and pepper
(Mix 2 batches for both stratas)

3/4 C Gruyere cheese, grated
3/4 C White Cheddar cheese, grated
Mix cheeses together

Spray 2 pans with nonstick spray. I used an 8x8in and a 9x9in.

Layer the bottom of both pans with 3/4 of the bread cubes.

In one pan layer ham, half of the onions and cheese on top of bread cubes. Top with a handful of bread cubes.

In the other, layer pancetta, mushrooms, half of the onions and cheese on top of bread cubes. Top with reamining bread cubes.

Whisk together egg, milk and spices. Season with salt and pepper. I added some fresh chopped thyme leaves for the mushroom strata. Pour over entire pan.

If the pan looks dry, mix together another cup or so of milk/egg mixture and pour on top.

Hahahhaa. I asked Dev to cover the pans and put them in the fridge. He doesn't like mushrooms, so he immediately labeled the ham and cheese strata the "GOOD ONE" with a power fist. Haaaa! And the mushroom version was labeled... "Hippy", or Hippie.

Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Bake uncovered for 35+ minutes until edges are bubbly and top starts to brown.
I also put it under the broiler for a couple minutes just before serving.

Enjoy!

Mandarin Chicken : Second attempt

The last time I made this dish (in Sept.), I wasn't quite satisfied with the batter - it wasn't crispy enough. I decided to alter the recipe a bit, and it turned out exactly as I hoped! YAY!

Marinade
2 T soy sauce
1.5 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp sesame oil
1.5 tsp cornstarch
dash of white pepper


Combine ingredients and marinate the chicken for about 30min.

Batter
6 T flour
6 T cornstarch
3 T rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg white
dash of salt
water


Batter should be the consistency of thick pancake batter



Dip the chicken in batter and deep fry until golden brown.

Sauce
Juice from 1 can Mandarin oranges
2 spoonfuls sugar
2 spoonfuls vinegar
2 spoonfuls ketchup

salt to taste
(a few spoonfuls of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken)

Mix together ingredients and simmer until thickened.


Fry up chicken a second time to crisp up coating.
Lightly drizzle sauce over chicken.

Serve!
*UPDATE: 2010.  I've made a few adjustments to this recipe over time. I ditched the rice flour - mostly because I don't always have it on hand. I now us 3/4C flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp  baking soda, salt and 3T cornstarch. Also, and updated sauce:  The juice of one small can of mandarin oranges (squeezing all from the segments as well), 2T sugar, 1T vinegar, a couple of big squirts of ketchup, dash of rice wine, dash of white pepper, dash of soy sauce, 1 chopped garlic clove. I heat to a boil and reduce until thick! I hope you like this as well!

Chocolate Guinness Stout Cupcakes

YAY! This month is Loose Cannon Studio's 3rd anniversary!
Can you believe it? Congratulations to Dev and Matt for the inception Nov. 2005 in our living room. "2 Guys and a Fax machine!"

I decided to make these cupcakes for the celebration!
(veering away from my stealth health streak, but hey, it's a special occasion and Dev and I didn't eat them all ourselves.

I have to say, I came across way too many variations of this recipe...
Cream the butter and sugar together OR
Melt the butter, take off the heat and add the Stout OR
Heat the butter and Stout together?
Granulated sugar only OR
Brown sugar only
Add oil, milk or molasses
Add 1 cup of stout OR 2 cups OR 1 bottle... and so on.
Oh well, This is what I ended up doing:

Preheat oven to 350F

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
12 oz CAN Guinness stout
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 T vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 C plain yogurt
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2C granulated sugar
1/2C golden brown sugar
2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt


Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, adding Guinness Stout and bring to a simmer.


Reduce heat and add cocoa powder - whisk until smooth.
Remove from heat to cool.

In another bowl, mix together flour, sugars, baking soda and salt.


Beat eggs until thick until light in color – about 4 minutes on medium to high speed. Add yogurt and beat until combined.

While mixer is running, slowly add the chocolate-stout mixture to the egg mixture until combined.
Add the flour mixture and stir until well mixed.


Bake 12 minutes for minis
18 for full size

For the frosting:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 C heavy cream
confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add cream and continue to beat until well combined. Add confectioner's sugar to taste - about one pound (half a bag)


End result:
Texture: moist!
Taste: Guinness was fairly subtle, but good. Honestly, it tasted a lot like Duncan Hines box cake mix to me. Does that mean Duncan hines tastes homemade, OR does this recipe taste like a box cake mix? Considering all the work, I wonder if I could've just added Stout to a box mix instead. BAH.