Picked up a pint of sweet tri-color tiny tomatoes so I made them into salsa. This salsa taste better than any jarred tomato salsa that you can buy at the store.

This recipe will make about 4 servings

1 pint tri-color small sweet tomatoes – quartered

1/4 sweet onion – chopped fine

1 scallion – sliced thin

1 jalapeño  – chopped fine

3 garlic cloves – made into paste

splash apple cider vinegar

1 small lime – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. I note if your tomatoes aren’t surgery sweet like mine were you might need to add a teaspoon of sugar.

Enjoy.

 

Yummy!

 

 

This recipe is based on Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake Recipe. The Cook’s French Apple Recipe is described as…… “Neither a Cake” “Nor a Custard” “Nor a Clafoutis” “But is a Bit of Culinary Magic that’s all three!” I made the Cook’s Illustrated French Apple Cake (you can see it on TheForkingTruth) and I thought it was a most interesting recipe but for my taste it wasn’t sweet enough and could use some more flavor. What I least liked about the recipe is that it was terribly greasy. I do note I am not the only blogger that felt this way. After I tasted this cake I looked into the internet to see others felt and I found many others felt the same way I did. I do note that Cook’s Illustrated Recipes are well known and cherished and are usually iron clad perfect….but this one recipe needed another day in the test kitchen for me and most people. That’s not to say it’s a bad recipe……It’s still a very good recipe but I just have to tweak it. I also note I never would have came up with exactly with what I prepared if it wasn’t for Cook’s Illustrated.I thought that if I cut the one cup of oil and replaced it with 4 oz of butter I might hit two birds with one stone. I was hoping for less grease and more sweet. I added 1/4 cup of almond flour hoping the taste of almonds would lace the cake and I also added almonds for the topping. I thought instead of apples I would add soft ripe pears that don’t require the pre microwaving. The pears are also much sweeter with a stronger fruit flavor than the apples. The pears also don’t require the added lemon juice so I can leave lemon juice out and the batter will seem sweeter. I also used 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk  with one cup of water instead of whole milk due to that’s what I had around.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 1/2 lbs ripe pears

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour (2 T for latter)

1 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar ( 1 T for latter)

1/4 cup almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 XL egg – beaten

2 XL yolks – beaten

4 oz stick unsalted butter – melted

1/2 cup non-fat dry milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup almonds –  sliced and lightly toasted

neutral non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

set oven to 325 degrees F

In one bowl whisk together, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Set to the side.

In another bowl, whisk egg, butter, milk, water, vanilla.

Now add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir till incorporated.

REMOVE one cup of batter and stir in the 2 Tablespoons flour and almonds and set to the side.

ADD the 2 beaten yolks to the BIG BOWL OF BATTER.

Peel the pears and cut into small chunks a little smaller than bite size and toss into batter till done.

Spray your springform pan with non-stick spray

Fill with the main bowl of batter.

Top that with the cup of batter (with almonds).

Sprinkle the one T of sugar over the top.

Place in preheated oven at 325 degrees F

Turn oven light on after 20 minutes if it’s browning just place a loose sheet of aluminum foil over the top.

After 40 more minutes remove the foil.

leave in oven another 15 minutes and remove.

Let it rest a half hour or so on the counter.

Then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Use a soft knife and slide it around the edges to make sure the cake will release and then release the cake.

Cut and serve.

SUCCESS! By NOT adding any additional sugar, changing the fruit, swapping out a cup of oil for 4 oz. sweet butter the cake is much more flavorful, sweeter and not greasy.

Forking Yummy! ……….It’s light custardy, moist, taste studded with sweet pears, laced with a mild almond cream with caramelized ends. It’s just delicious. This cake will please just about anyone. Even people who usually don’t enjoy dessert will enjoy this cake it’s sweet but not too sweet, buttery but not greasy and the pear and almond flavor are delicious.

 

 

 

I saw the Julia Child’s Poached Egg Trick on the internet and I thought why haven’t I seen this before??????

Well any who I thought I’d give it a try!

First take a sterilized pin and poke a hole in the wider end of the egg.

Place the egg in boiling water for about 10 seconds. The directions say exactly ten seconds. I have XL eggs so a gave it one-two more seconds.

Remove the egg from the boiling water and turn the water down to a simmer.

Break the egg and carefully place in the water.

Remove from the water when the egg white is cooked. The directions say 3-4 minutes but on my stove with my pot I got it that way in less than 2 minutes and dried the egg off on a clean paper towel.

Then use as you please.

 

This was so forking easy and quick. What a great trick!

Julia Child’s Easy Poached Egg Trick

 

Chef Lidia Bastianich made this lovely Rice and Zucchini Crostata on her cooking show that I will make sometime in the near future. It looked FORKING Delicious! I don’t have fresh ricotta cheese today or even Zucchini to make it but I will use her crust recipe for the Crostata. I got 4 pounds of ripe sweet white nectarines today so I thought they’d be great in a Crostata Crust. This really came out FORKING Amazing. The filling is delicious with the right amount of moisture and sweetness. The crust is thin, tender and crisp. This is a great crust recipe too. You will be pleased with this recipe. This certainly is a #CrowdPleaser!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

2 cups flour – plus extra for rolling dough

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup cold water-  plus more if needed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 lbs ripe white nectarines – rustically cut into into about 6 pieces a fruit with stone removed

1/4 cup tapioca flour – you can always grind tapioca to make tapioca flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/4 cup apricot spread – thinned down with water

1 XL egg – beaten

1/4 cup course sugar

Non-stick spray

Directions

To make the dough get out a large mixing bowl. I used a fork and mixed the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, olive oil and cold water. I do note Lidia’s Recipe suggest using a food processor to mix the mix. It might be better I don’t know? I don’t have a large processor and have no plans to purchase one. When your done with the dough wraps it in plastic wrap and let it rest about 1/2 hour.

Set your oven to 375 degree F. Put a baking stone in your oven.  Spray your pan with non-stick spray.

Cover your rolling mat with some flour and slowly roll out your dough.

After your dough is rolled out dust it and your rolling pin with some flour. To transfer the dough to your pan….roll the dough around your rolling pin.

As best as you can unroll the dough over your pan.

Don’t worry if it’s not perfect because it’s not suppose to be perfect.

In a large bowl add your nectarines, tapioca flour, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and lightly mix.

Put the nectarine filling into your pan with dough.

Fold down the ends. (I trimmed off an end and added it to the right)

Place Crostata on the stone in your pre-heated 375 degree F oven.

After 45 minutes remove the crostata.

Add beaten egg with a pastry brush to the crust.

Add thinned down apricot to the top of nectarines.

Add course sugar to top the crust and put the crostata in the oven for about 15 more minutes.

15 minutes latter it will look like this.

You need to let it cool for at least a 1/2 hour before you serve it.

Absolutely Forking Delicious and Perfect. No need to add whipped cream or ice-cream. The taste is absolutely forking perfection.

 

 

 

These Mexican Inspired Meatballs come out delicious and very flavorful and Forking Awesome. You can use them in tacos or burritos. The Mexican Meatballs would also be great with a bean and corn salad or with  corn pasta and a green or red chile sauce and salsa. If you are a fan of tacos you will forking love these Mexican Inspired Meatballs.

Ingredients for 8 servings

2 lb ground beef – Fresh ground at home preferably (brisket- Chuck – Rib)

4 XL eggs – beaten

1 cup water

2 Tablespoons kosher salt or sea salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/4 sweet onion chopped fine

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 cup whole wheat panko

1/4 cup masa flour

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup cooked corn kernels

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – chopped fine – with some of the sauce

3/4 cup scallions – chopped

1 carrot shredded

4 garlic cloves – grated

1 teaspoon annoto

1/2 cup fresh cilantro – chopped well

non-stick spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray your baking sheets with non-stick spray.

Get a large bowl. Add the meat, all vegetables, all liquids and spices and mix well. Lastly add panko and masa flour. Mix till incorporated. Get a small scooper and scoop out and make the meatballs until you are done with the mixture. Place the meatballs in the oven till they are cooked threw. (about 12 minutes)

Forking Delicious! These Mexican Inspired Meatballs are so good you are going to have to throw a party! #CrowdPleaser

 

 

 

 

 

Celery is an over looked and under used vegetable and can be a delicious vegetable course in a meal. Think about everything you add celery to in recipes and the flavors and then it’s easy to turn celery into a delicious side dish. One of the tricks to delicious celery is that you have to peel the ribs just like you peel a carrot. The oil that the celery gets cooked in will get infused with flavors that will penetrate the celery to make it tasty.

Ingredients for 2 servings

2 cups celery – cleaned – peeled and cut into bite size pieces – save the leaves and put them to the side

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig sage – just the leaves

2 sprigs thyme

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Calabrian Chili Pepper – chopped fine

1 garlic clove – mashed fine

sea salt – fresh cracked to taste

black pepper – fresh cracked to taste

Parmesan Cheese – shredded to taste

Directions

Use a small fry pan and place it on medium high heat with the butter and oil.

When the butter is almost melted add the rosemary, sage and thyme to the pan and cook till herbs are crisp. (this is only a few minutes) Remove the herbs and let drain on a paper towel.

Turn down the heat to medium.

Add the chili and garlic and mix around well and then add the celery. Cover with foil until the celery is tender crisp. ( a few minutes)

Stir in the celery leaves and they only need up to a minute to wilt.

Add the fresh cracked salt and pepper and stir.

Plate up and add one of the fried herbs and fresh shredded parmesan cheese to the top .

Enjoy

Forking Good!

I saw a beautiful bunch of beets today at the store. The beets had nice leaves so I figured the beets might have been picked not too long back. Beets with live leaves usually taste much better and usually have a better texture so I brought them home.

Usually I only eat the beet greens in salads because they are bitter but today I cooked them up with the stems while I cooked the beets.

I cooked the beets with vintagers, sugar and a couple clementines to infuse another flavor into the beets.

The beets were very large and took 90 minutes covered in a 350 degree F oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle the skins just slip off.

While the beets were cooking I sautéed up celery, beet stems, onion, garlic and threw in the beet greens last.

Then the plate gets dressed up with toppings.

Ingredients for about 6 Servings

3 medium/large beets – with stems and fresh leaves for the rest of the recipe – washed well

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 clementines – each cut in half

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 celery stalks – peeled and sliced

beet stems – from your beets – chopped

1/2 sweet onion – chopped

2 garlic cloves – ground up or mashed

1 Tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

beet leaves – pulled off the stems in bit size pieces

2 small clementines

3 scallions greens sliced thin

3oz blue cheese – crumbled

6 dates – seeded – sliced thin

6 Tablespoons honey

3 oz almonds – toasted

6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

fresh ground sea salt

Aleppo pepper

Directions

Set your oven to 350 degrees F

Get a large pan. Cut your beets in halves and place in pan.

2 clementines cut in half and add to pan along with-

red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, sugar

Cover the pan and cook until for tender. (one hour – 90 minutes depending on size of beets and oven.

In your fry pan on medium high heat add 2 Tablespoons olive oil, celery, beet stems, sweet onion, garlic, 1 Tablespoon salt, black pepper and cover loosely and cook till sweated (till all is soft). Now add beet leaves and cover. (this will cook fast) and lastly stir in the two clementines segments.

For serving slice the beets and serve about one half a beet per person.

Top the beets with a scoop of contents fro the fry pan.

Top each serving with scallions, blue cheese,  dates, honey, extra virgin olive oil, toasted almonds, fresh ground sea salt and Aleppo pepper.

Enjoy!

Forking Yummy!

 

 

 

 

Water Ice, Italian Ice and Granita are basically the same thing. They all are sugar, water and fruit or juice. In the US Water Ice and Italian Ice are a popular regional food that is common in Philadelphia and in the Delaware Valley. This food has been brought over by Italian Immigrants  so it is known as Italian Ice. When your making a non-traditional flavor the icy confection should be called Water Ice.

Granita usually but not always has more of a scrapped ice texture that differs around different areas of Italy. Granita in Italy is served usually like a slush like drink and in certain parts of Italy (according to Wikipedia) is a slushy beverage that’s a part of breakfast sometimes with a Brioche.

In Philadelphia and other parts of the Delaware Valley the Italian Ice or Water Ice is often a street food sold as a cooling refreshing snack or dessert.

This recipe for Lime Water Ice is ONE PUNCH ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It’s easy to prepare and delicious. It so light and fluffy. I DO WARN YOU YOU that this is tangy, tart, sweet and flavorful and might not be for kids. If you are used to your Icy treats very sweet this will not be sweet enough for you and you might prefer to add more sugar to this recipe. Try it this way first because the point is that the ice is suppose to be refreshing and not too sweet. Add more sugar if you need too. You will forking love this and will make this over and over again.

Ingredients for 6 servings

1 cup lime juice – fresh squeezed from Persian Limes and all the zest from all your limes. be careful and only get the green zest and not the white part because the white part is bitter. If you put the white part in I do warn you that will taste bitter.

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup water

Directions

In a small sauce pan on medium heat bring the sugar and water to a boil and let boil till sugar is dissolved. About 1-2 minutes.

Pour into a container that can go into the freezer.

Add the fresh squeezed lime juice and zest.

Leave on the counter till it cools down a bit.

Put in freezer and check it in around 6-7 hours and fluff it up a little. Put back in freezer and fluff it up in another 2 hours.

After about 9 hours fluff it up again.

At this point I left it in the freezer over night and the next day scooped it out.

Your Welcome!…This one is A Crowd Pleaser!

 

These Fresh Basil Turkey Meatballs are Forking Delicious and Very Juicy! No-one will even think they are reduced in fat. Instead of breadcrumbs I used a combination of rice and oats. I also don’t use cheese or milk or oil. I have a couple of tricks to make the meatballs moist. One trick is to use finely chopped raw onion. In most recipes they sauté the onions in oil and that gives you tasty onions. I use raw onions to flavor the meat and the onions also put moisture and flavor into the meat. My other trick is adding a small amount of stock to the mixture that is also flavorful. Lastly the fresh basil adds a lot of fresh flavor and also adds moisture. These meatballs are’t mushy either. When my husband tasted them get smiled and said UUUMMMMMMMMM! How did you make them! Then he gobbled up the sample I photoed.

Ingredients for 6 servings

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup cooked rice

2 XL eggs – beaten

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup whole grain oats (not instant)

1 garlic clove – grated

1/4 cup sweet onion – chopped fine

1/4 cup basil leaves ( Cram the leaves in the cup ) – chopped well

1 Tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

pinch ground fennel

non-stick spray

Directions

Turn your oven to 350 degrees F.

Get a large bowl and mix everything together.

Get a baking sheet(s) and spray it with non-stick spray.

The mixture is soft so you need a small scoop to scoop out the meatballs.

Scoop out meatballs till you are done.

I got 31 meatballs.

Put in oven till they are done. In my oven they took 12 minutes.

These meatballs are flavorful and juicy. Forking Delicious with the fresh basil! You only need to serve them with grated cheese or a very thin light sauce.

Crowd Pleaser!

This is how you get shattering crisp chicken skin. You spread out your chicken skin on a double layer paper towels underneath the chicken skin and above the chicken skin press out all the dampness with your hands. Then the chicken skins go on parchment paper and get covered with parchment paper. You can season lightly if your careful because the skins will shrink in half so you only need half the seasoning as you think. Get a piece of parchment paper to cover the skins and press with your hands so the skin is almost sealed in with the parchment paper. They go into a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. The skin with be very hot with lots of loose oil that was released. You need to get the chicken skins out of the oil and drain on a paper towel lined pan.

It’s trendy to add a piece of chicken skin to sandwiches or you can dress the skin with tasty sauces.

Forking Good!