![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
More appetizer experiments
Here are the 2nd versions of the cauliflower puffs and stuffed mushrooms (w/shrimp this time), plus a new experiment.
Cauliflower Puffs (take 2)
Steam a medium cauliflower until tender (ca. 400 g) then puree in a food processor. Add the following, processing after every addition: 40 g strong cheese (I used gorgonzola), 1/2 tsp curry powder, pinch salt, 2 Tbsp flour, pinch baking powder. In a clean bowl, whip 2 egg whites (ca. 1/4 c) until stiff and fold into the other mixture. Spoon onto a non-stick baking pan in small mounds and back at ca. 425F for 30 minutes or until slightly brown.
Analysis: The taste balance is just right this time, and I think the baking powder helped puff it up a little, but the presentation is still lousy. Rather than puffing up, the mounds sort of melted into little cookie shapes and were hard to scrape off even a non-stick pan. I did have an idea of spooning the mixture onto thinly-sliced pieces of vegetable (e.g., thin shavings of potato or the like), sort of like the wafer some German cookies are baked on top of. It's also likely that the shape-holding problems would be helped by adding more flour, but that starts cutting into the low-cal feature. Further experiments are needed.
Shrimp-stuffed Mushrooms
The previous crab-stuffed mushrooms was always intended as a general approach with seafood, so this time I used shrimp as well as trying the modifications I came up with last time.
Wash and remove the stems from about a pound of medium-sized mushrooms. In a food processor, puree half a medium onion and one stalk celery, then cook this in a skillet over very low heat (just enough to make it tender and take the edge off the onion). Return it to the food processor and add the following, processing between each addition to form a smooth paste: 4 oz. cooked shrimp (any size), 30 g. sharp cheese (e.g., cheddar), 2 Tbsp mustard, 1 egg white (ca. 2 Tbsp). Spoon the resulting paste into the mushroom caps and bake at ca. 425F for ca. 30 min or until browned.
Analysis: Perfect! These came out exactly as envisioned. The shrimp, mustard, and cheese flavores are evenly balanced and roasting the mushrooms for a longer time (rather than steaming) gives them more flavor. Definitely a keeper.
Carrot Clumps
This was a new experiment, based on some interesting things I'd done with slow-simmered vegetables in the past.
Grate ca. 300 g carrots (ca. 10 oz -- this isn't a prescription, it just happens to be the amount I had). Put in a saucepan with 1/2 c. fat-free chicken broth (or you could do this all vegan with veggie broth) and 30 g raisins. Add 1/2 tsp mixed pumpkin pie spice. Cover and bring to just barely boiling, then turn your heat as far down as possible and let simmer. Check frequently to test the tenderness and avoid boiling dry. If necessary, add more broth, but this shouldn't be necessary if the heat is low enough. When the carrots tend to mush up when you stir them and the liquid is pretty much gone, gradually sprinkle in 1/4 c. rice flour, stirring vigorously. (Note: In retrospect, this step should involve returning to the heat and continuing to cook the mixture while stiring constantly. See analysis.) The mixture should thicken up to something like the texture of playdough. I tried two options: forming the mixture into small balls and rolling in toasted sesame seeds, and simply forming small balls. Total calories for the batch (not counting sesame seeds): 335, made about 30 3/4" diameter balls.
Analysis: The taste is on the right track, but the physics need work. I think it needed more cooking after adding the rice flour. I was counting on the residual heat of the mixture to cook it, but there's still a bit of a raw taste and it didn't develop the full glutinous potential of the rice flour. The version rolled in sesame seeds cut the stickiness and made the balls hold their shape, but on the other hand, sesame seeds add calories. (It doubles the basic 10 cal/ball estimate.) The non-seeded balls are still rather sticky when cool. I'm going to try some other tricks on them in the morning before I take samples in to work for taste-testing.
Cauliflower Puffs (take 2)
Steam a medium cauliflower until tender (ca. 400 g) then puree in a food processor. Add the following, processing after every addition: 40 g strong cheese (I used gorgonzola), 1/2 tsp curry powder, pinch salt, 2 Tbsp flour, pinch baking powder. In a clean bowl, whip 2 egg whites (ca. 1/4 c) until stiff and fold into the other mixture. Spoon onto a non-stick baking pan in small mounds and back at ca. 425F for 30 minutes or until slightly brown.
Analysis: The taste balance is just right this time, and I think the baking powder helped puff it up a little, but the presentation is still lousy. Rather than puffing up, the mounds sort of melted into little cookie shapes and were hard to scrape off even a non-stick pan. I did have an idea of spooning the mixture onto thinly-sliced pieces of vegetable (e.g., thin shavings of potato or the like), sort of like the wafer some German cookies are baked on top of. It's also likely that the shape-holding problems would be helped by adding more flour, but that starts cutting into the low-cal feature. Further experiments are needed.
Shrimp-stuffed Mushrooms
The previous crab-stuffed mushrooms was always intended as a general approach with seafood, so this time I used shrimp as well as trying the modifications I came up with last time.
Wash and remove the stems from about a pound of medium-sized mushrooms. In a food processor, puree half a medium onion and one stalk celery, then cook this in a skillet over very low heat (just enough to make it tender and take the edge off the onion). Return it to the food processor and add the following, processing between each addition to form a smooth paste: 4 oz. cooked shrimp (any size), 30 g. sharp cheese (e.g., cheddar), 2 Tbsp mustard, 1 egg white (ca. 2 Tbsp). Spoon the resulting paste into the mushroom caps and bake at ca. 425F for ca. 30 min or until browned.
Analysis: Perfect! These came out exactly as envisioned. The shrimp, mustard, and cheese flavores are evenly balanced and roasting the mushrooms for a longer time (rather than steaming) gives them more flavor. Definitely a keeper.
Carrot Clumps
This was a new experiment, based on some interesting things I'd done with slow-simmered vegetables in the past.
Grate ca. 300 g carrots (ca. 10 oz -- this isn't a prescription, it just happens to be the amount I had). Put in a saucepan with 1/2 c. fat-free chicken broth (or you could do this all vegan with veggie broth) and 30 g raisins. Add 1/2 tsp mixed pumpkin pie spice. Cover and bring to just barely boiling, then turn your heat as far down as possible and let simmer. Check frequently to test the tenderness and avoid boiling dry. If necessary, add more broth, but this shouldn't be necessary if the heat is low enough. When the carrots tend to mush up when you stir them and the liquid is pretty much gone, gradually sprinkle in 1/4 c. rice flour, stirring vigorously. (Note: In retrospect, this step should involve returning to the heat and continuing to cook the mixture while stiring constantly. See analysis.) The mixture should thicken up to something like the texture of playdough. I tried two options: forming the mixture into small balls and rolling in toasted sesame seeds, and simply forming small balls. Total calories for the batch (not counting sesame seeds): 335, made about 30 3/4" diameter balls.
Analysis: The taste is on the right track, but the physics need work. I think it needed more cooking after adding the rice flour. I was counting on the residual heat of the mixture to cook it, but there's still a bit of a raw taste and it didn't develop the full glutinous potential of the rice flour. The version rolled in sesame seeds cut the stickiness and made the balls hold their shape, but on the other hand, sesame seeds add calories. (It doubles the basic 10 cal/ball estimate.) The non-seeded balls are still rather sticky when cool. I'm going to try some other tricks on them in the morning before I take samples in to work for taste-testing.