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Saturday, November 13, 2010

Recipes from BJ's Gourmet Foods





















Ingredients:
  • 1 gallon of whole milk
  • 1 quart heavy whipping cream, preferably organic, pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized)
  • 1 tsp kosher sea salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Preparation:
In a large pot combine the milk, cream, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching, until an instant-read thermometer registers 185F.

Add the lemon juice, stir. Reduce the heat to low and continue heating the mixture until the curds form.
DO NOT boil. Remove from the burner and let stand for a little 30 minutes to cool slightly. Meanwhile, line a sieve with several layers of cheese cloth. Set the sieve over a large bowl. Transfer the cheese into the lined sieve and drain approximately 1 hour.  Transfer the cheese into a container, seal and store in the refrigerator.

BJ's Adaptation of Pizza Margarita

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
4 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
3tbsp Salt
4 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
Pinch of Pure Cane Sugar
5 tbsp Warm Water

Topping
Fresh Basil Leaves

Preparation

Sprinkle the yeast and half the sugar on the warm water in a small bowl.  Stir until the yeast dissolves.  Let stand until mixture is doubled.

Put most of the flour and the salt in to a medium bowl.  Stir in the yeast mixture and Paradisio Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Continue to stir until a smooth dough forms.

Knead on a floured surface, using as much of the remaining flour as necessary to form a stiff elastic dough.  Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let rest in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes) and not sticky. 

Punch down the dough, and knead on a lightly floured surface to distribute air bubbles; let dough rest for approximately 5 minutes longer.

Flatten dough into a circle on lightly floured surface.  Roll out from the center towards the edges to form a flat round disc.  Place on a pizza stone, and brush with Paradisio Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Pour BJ's Marinara over the pizza dough, and place sliced rounds of the Fior Di Latte (Mozzarella).  Bake in a preheated 450F oven until golden brown for about 20 to 25 minutes.  Garnish with the Fresh Basil leaves.



Eggless Ricotta Cheese Creme Brulee with Raspberries and Carambola

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup pure cane sugar + 1 tbsp Caramelized Sugar Topping
1 tsp white vanilla
Fresh Raspberries
Carambola (Star Fruit) for garnish

Cream BJ's Gourmet Foods Ricotta Cheese with 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth and creamy...like frosting.  Gradually add the heavy whipping cream, and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until smooth in consistency.  Gently fold in Raspberries, and top with sugar.  Use a flame torch to caramelize sugar topping.  If you are not privy to a torch you can place under a broiler until the sugar caramelizes.  Place in refrigerator for up to two hours allowing for brulee's to set.  Serve with a garnish of Carambola, the mix of the ingredients with the crisp Carambola marries quite well.



Broccoli with Baby Bella Mushrooms Sauteed in Burgundy Wine

2 Large Broccoli Florets
8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms
1/2 cup of diced Red Onions
3 large Garlic Cloves (coarsely chopped)
1 tbsp of Butter
1/2 cup of Burgundy Wine
Coarse Ground Pepper to taste

Place two tablespoons of LA Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large skillet, and add onions and garlic and saute over medium high heat until onions become translucent.  DO NOT brown the garlic as it has a bitter taste when it is browned, and could ruin a truly amazing dish.  Add mushrooms to onion, and garlic saute and brown until the mushrooms appear a bit crisp.  Add the butter, and mix with the vegetables until the butter has melted.  Add the broccoli florets and the Burgundy Wine, de-glazing the skillet.  Turn down the heat to medium, cover and cook broccoli for an additional 7 minutes until the florets are green, and crisp.

Fettuccine with Crispy Fried Eggplant & BJ's Creamy Eggplant Parmesan Sauce

1 lb Fettuccine
Crispy Fried Eggplant (see recipe below)
Parmesan Cheese for garnish
Fresh Basil for garnish
4 cups of Water

Bring the 4 cups of water boil, and add pinch of salt.  While water is boiling, add fettuccine pasta and turn heat down to medium.  Allow pasta to cook for 8 minutes for al'dente style pasta.  Meanwhile, simmer BJ's Creamy Eggplant Parmesan Sauce over medium heat and let simmer for approximately 20 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent scorching of sauce.

After 8 minutes remove pasta from heat, and drain in a colander.  Make sure you drain pasta thoroughly, otherwise you will have water pasta sauce with your pasta. 

Remove sauce from the stove, and add pasta to the sauce using tongs to mix the pasta and sauce together.  Toss in the Crispy Fried Eggplant, and gently mix together with sauce and fettuccine.  Pour Pasta onto a plate,and garnish with Parmesan Cheese, and fresh basil.

Crispy Fried Eggplant

1 medium eggplant
Safflower Oil

Cut Eggplant in half lengthwise, and then cut the halves into thin potato chip like slices. Put sliced eggplant into a colander and salt the slices.  Cover, and let sit for 5 hours until the salt drains the bitter liquid from the eggplant.  Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a lint less paper towel.

Pour Safflower oil into skillet, or my preference deep fryer, and heat to 375(F) degrees.  Add batches of thinly sliced eggplant to hot oil, and fry until crisp and light green.  Drain on a paper towel, and lightly salt.



Brazilian Vegetarian Feijoada (Black Bean Meatless Stew)

Ingredients

3 cups of Black Beans
1 large Sweet Potato cut and diced
2 cups of chopped Collard Greens
1 cup of diced Red Onions
3 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
4 Bay Leaves
1/2 Maggi Vegetable Broth cube
1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 diced medium red bell pepper
1 small jalapeno pepper deviened and coarsely diced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pack of Goya Sazon

Directions

Soak Black Beans overnight.  Cook soaked black beans with 1tbsp of Sosalt Sea Salt in a large pot with water generously covering beans.  Beans should cook for 2 to 3 hours covered on medium heat.  The starch in the beans will cause the liquid to thicken.  Remove 1 cup of the beans and mash to a pulp.  Re-add mashed bean pulp to the cooked beans.  This too will add as a thickening agent.

Heat Paradisio Extra Virgin Oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add onions, chopped garlic and cook to onions become translucent.  Add diced sweet potato, and chopped greens and continue cooking over medium high heat stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.  Greens should shrink in size, and have a dark green color.  Add jalapeno, red bell peppers and cilantro and remaining ingredients including cooked Black Beans to the collard green and sweet potato mixture.  Cook for 30 minutes on medium low heat. 

Serve with cooked white rice, and Caipirinhas



Carmelized Baby Bellas with Fettuccine and Fresh Basil
in a Lemony Cream Sauce

Ingredients

4 Large Baby Bella Mushrooms - Sliced thin
1/2 cup diced red onions
3 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 cup of White Wine
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1tbsp of heavy whipping cream
4 large leaves of Fresh Basil chopped
1 pinch of SoSalt Sea Salt
Pinch of Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Chopped Grape Tomatoes for garnish
Ricotta Cheese for garnish

Cooked Fettuccine Pasta

Preparation

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat, and saute onions and garlic...making sure garlic does not brown but is light in color.  Add sliced mushrooms, salt & pepper and continue to cook for about 2 minutes until they become carmel in color...caramelized get it? 

Add butter, and continue to cook reducing the heat to medium.  Add wine and fresh squeezed lemon deglazing the pan.  Cook for about another minute or so and add cream.  This will give the sauce a creamy consistency enhancing the lemony flavor.

Remove sauce from heat and add cooked pasta, tossing the pasta with the sauce. 

Plate the pasta, and sauce mixture and garnish with fresh chopped basil, tomatoes and ricotta cheese.


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