dessert with the chowder: pudding chômeur

When I made the chowder last week, I tried a new dessert.  Most of the food blogs that I read come up with cookbook recommendations, especially towards the end of the year.  One of them was Food 52 Cookbook.  I found it impressive because it is a compilation from so many cooks.  Then I found the Food 52 site.  I think this could be a very bad place for me, if nothing else for ideas.

That is how I felt about pudding chomeur.  I have to admit that I read the description, skimmed over the ingredients, and then tried my own version.  I used my sourdough biscuits and and brown sugar and cream mixture.  I made six ramekins the first night.  There was one left the next morning.  I do believe it was a hit.

Pudding Chomeur

1/4  recipe sourdough biscuits

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix up the sourdough biscuits following the directions in my recipe.  Put no more then two tablespoons of dough in a oven proof ramekin.  1/4 recipe should fill eight.  If you wish, you can put all the dough in a thin layer over the bottom of a casserole with at least two inch sides.  Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.  You can do this 24 hours ahead.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the biscuits from the refrigerator and uncover.

In a large saucepan, put the cream and sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Pour the mixture over the biscuit dough, leaving at least a 1/4 inch clearance from the top of the ramekin.  Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven. 

Bake until bubbly and lightly brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

I actually overfilled the ramekins with dough, so I had a bit of a mess to clean up and not as much sauce with the puddings.  But these were lovely!

I will make them again.  I think they would be good with a bit of orange added to them.

according to my Beloved, smoked salmon chowder is happiness!

One of my aunts gives a party on Christmas Eve every year which is clam chowder and desserts.  I have gotten into the habit of making chowder on Chrismtas Eve because it is easy and it can feed multitudes.  But this year, we were camping and I made enchiladas.  

I have been missing the chowder.  I decided to make a smoked salmon chowder.  As the title of this post says, my Beloved was singing that smoked salmon chowder is happiness.  Yes, singing.  It is random Beloved radio.  He gets the leftovers for lunch or when he "cooks."  He reheats well.

This is very tasty.  I used a very Pacific Northwest smoked salmon.  Smoked salmon from that region is called squaw candy because it is oily and sweet.  It works with a Scottish smoked salmon but I like the stronger flavor here.  It is all to your taste though.

Smoked Salmon Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic minced

8 yellow potatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 to 8 cups water (less water, more like a stew instead of a soup)

1/4 pound smoked salmon

2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a soup pot, over medium high heat, add the oil and heat.  Add the onions and cook until starting to turn golden.  Add the garlic.  I am usually cutting potatoes here and add them as I go while the garlic is browning.  

Add the water until everything is covered.  Mix in the salt and pepper.

Break up the salmon into bite size pieces and put in the pot.  Bring the contents to a boil, turn down to a simmer.  Cook until the potatoes are done.

Turn off the heat.  Let the bubbling stop and mix in the cream.

Put in bowls and get away from the rushing hoards.  

That has a tendency to happen in my house.  Even when it is only two that are rushing the soup pot.  I do get to hold the Smallest Short Person during this process though so it is not all bad.

few words

My Beloved and myself are fighting snotty noses and hurting heads.  I feel like words do not go together very easily right now.  Most of my energy was spent at work today.  But in the time of quiet and between bits of sleep, this is what I am working on.  To tell you how random my head is, I was thinking about embroidering lace today.  I may have to try it.

sour cream and green chile sauce enchilada casserole.

On our camping trip, we stopped for pie at the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, TX.  They have some of the best pie.  There are really no qualifiers for that statement.  I was looking at their menu and saw the special was sour cream chicken enchiladas.  That sounded very sounded lovely but we were there for pie.  I thought I would try to make them for us.  My Beloved does not eat chicken that he has not raised so I needed something to substitute for that.  I decided that bison would work.  When we got home, I tried it with beans to be a vegetarian option.  The flavor was definitely different but it still was tasty.

These enchiladas were definitely a sucess.  The Tall Short Person said they were better then what you can mostly find in a resturant.  I thought they were easy enough that on nights that I really do not wish to cook, these enchiladas would be a good choice.  I am depending on canned sauce.  Someday I will probably try making my own.  Also, I never roll enchiladas.  I always make a casserole or flat enchiladas.

Sour Cream and Green Chile Sauce Enchilada Casserole.

1 can Green Chile enchilada sauce

8 ounces sour cream

1 pound ground meat or 4 cups cooked beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground chipolte pepper

1/8 teaspooon ground smoky sweet paprikaes

10 ounces aged asdero or mozzerello cheese, grated.

12 to 20 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the green chile enchilada sauce and sour cream together in a bowl.

In a large skillet, heat oil.  Add onion.  Brown.  Add garlic.  Let it start browning.  Add the ground meat or beans.  Brown the meat or heat the beans.  Add the salt, pepper, ancho chile, chipolte, and paprika.  Mix well.

In a large oven proof casserole, put a few large tablespoons of the sauce and then place a layer of corn tortillas.  My pan held about five to a layer.  Smear a couple tablespoons of the meat or beans over this.  Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of cheese.  Smear a layer of sauce.  You will repeat this until the meat or beans are gone.  The last layer, make sure there is enough sauce and cheese to go on top of the casserole to make it pretty.

Put in the oven and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly and browned on top.  I could have pulled this out a few minutes before I did and it would be more golden.

Definitely, much better then going out.

stocking stuffer for me!

We went camping over Christmas.  We had very little cell phone reception and no internet.  Having the time outdoors and with family was quite lovely.  We actually did the unwrapping of presents before we went so we would not have to figure out how to bring it with us.

I have a formula for Christmas stockings:  socks, books, pajamas/nightgown, hat, mitts, something about tea or coffee, an ornament, and maybe something with paper.  I find that I have to do my own stockings.  Mainly because no one else in the family sews or crochets.  I make the nightgown, hat, and mitts.  My loved ones try to figure out the rest.  They could not figure out how to get the patio and firepit into my stocking.  I have not used it yet because it is really not finished but it is lovely.

As I was making nightgowns for other people (still embrodering one), I took some cotton and linen and fabric with white lace and pieced a nightgown together for myself.  I worked with what I have but I know my loved ones would not have been able to find anything similar unless it was very expensive.  Everything I like lately is 200 Euros and it is mostly online from France or Britian.  

This nightgown is just lovely.