Chef Mik's Berry Bar

Today I am baking some super simple, super yummy fruit bars, these are made with everything from blue berries and cream cheese, lemon, lemon curd, lemon poppy seed, peaches, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, black berries, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and bananas, chocolate and bananas, chocolate and marshmallow, you name it, as for me I have been saving some nice mixed berry preserves from Sweden called “Queens Blend” that I love and am quite sure will turn out great in this recipe! As for the dough used for this, it’s basically sugar cookie dough (though I have rolled the dough out first then let it sit a couple hours). If you like nuts like I do you might try adding some to your dough as I have here today. To create the top set some dough aside then simply add a little more flour to suck up some of the moisture drying it out a bit, creating that crumbly texture you will need. Keep in mind the more flour you add the more crumble like it will become, add enough and you can even turn it into something of a streusel. Alternatively you may omit any extra flour and simply roll out the dough onto some plastic wrap and fold that onto the preserves and continue on to the oven.

On a side note, I will say I prefer baking these in sheet pans and normally do however today I didn’t…  

Shopping List

Butter

Granulated or baker’s sugar

Confectioners or powdered sugar

Vanilla

Eggs

Lemons

Shaved almonds

Fruit preserves

Flour

My Mad Method

Start of by creaming together 240g butter or margarine, and 3 dl sugar plus 1 TBSP brown or dark brown sugar

Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time mixing each one in well before adding the next

  Add 1 TBSP lemon peal

Add 7.5 dl flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and ¼ - ½ tsp salt, mix to combine but do not over work, I have also added 2.5 dl lightly toasted slivered almonds

When the dough is ready it should be slightly crumbly and not to smooth or fine

Using your hands or rubber spatula cover the bottom of a baking pan with about 2/3rds of the dough roughly 1-2 cm thick

Spread 300-400 g fruit preserves over the dough leaving about 1 cm edge on all sides

Depending on how crumbly you like it adjust the amount of flour add, I am only adding an extra dl

Crumble the remaining dough over the preserves, bake for about 30-40 minutes in a 160c preheated oven, or until lightly browned, when done cool on a wire wrack

For the glaze combine 2.5dl confectioners or powdered sugar sifted, with 2.5 TBSP whole milk, mix to combine. I have added about ¼ tsp vanilla been, optional

Ready to serve!!

 Plated and ready to eat!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chef Mikael's Lemon Bars

Today I am baking lemon bars which basically consist of short bread with a lemon curd/custard on top, (though there is neither butter in the curd nor additional thickening over a water bath). This batch will be served for a lunch we are catering tomorrow. These types of bars are quite popular here in the States and can be presented in a number of ways from traditional topped simply with powdered sugar to the more intricate using a cutter and confit of lemon. FoodPerfected Catering, my company typically serves these types of desserts which are great if you have to bake for a lot of people on a budget and time is a factor as you can prepare them simply on sheet pans all at once (providing your cookie base is already prepared). As such we typically offer lemon bars among others for many of our corporate and location clientele.  One of our chefs “Chef Michael Buechi” founder of “Mike’s Organic Curry Love” http://mycurrylove.com/ use to handle the bounty of the desserts for those clients his desserts were always a highlight of the day. At any rate, while discussing the recipe with him he mentioned one trick he use to do was substitute the short bread which is originally of Scottish origins for a sugar cookie base which was created here in the states by German immigrants a couple hundred years ago. His reasoning had to do not just with taste but texture and contrast. That said unlike short bread sugar cookie dough most first have time to set, as time is indeed a factor I am forgoing Mikes version and sticking with a simple short bread base. As for the lemon topping it is a pretty standard version not unlike countless others out there it all has to do with a taste balance between sweet and tart along with the consistency for the record it works and taste’s great!   

Shopping List

Butter

Powdered sugar

Sugar

Eggs

Lemons

Flour

My Mad Method

 Begin by beating together 4 eggs

Combine 225g sweet unsalted butter, 1.1/4 dl confectioners or powdered sugar and .5L unbleached flour in a food processor 

Process for about 45 seconds to a minute or until a smooth dough has formed

  Using your hands spread the dough out evenly in a 23cmby 30cm non greased sheet pan

Brush surface with egg wash reserving the rest for the custard, bake in a 150c preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes 

Meanwhile grade about 1 TBSP lemon, (about 2)

Squeeze .75dl lemon juice, (about 2)

Measure 4 TBSP unbleached all-purpose flour 

Measure .5L granulated or baker’s sugar

Combine the lemon juice, the lemon zest, the sugar, the flour and the eggs

Mix to combine let sit 

 When the short bread cookie base is ready cool for 10 to 20 minutes before continuing

Pour the lemon custard over the cookie base evenly and bake in a 150c preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the custard has settled

When ready cool for about 20 minutes 

Dust well with confectioner’s sugar and portion to desired size before cooling thoroughly, ready to serve!!

  Ready to eat!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chef Mik's New England Clam Chowder

There are several types of clam chowders found here in the continental U.S. the two most common among them New England otherwise known as Boston clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder. The methods and recipes can very dramatically even within these two categories although the main differences being the former a dairy based quite often a derivative of a basic béchamel or velouté while the later is tomato based soup more in keeping with the Italian style cioppino or Portuguese fisherman’s stew. Clam chowder is typically served on Fridays which can be traced back to the catholic tradition of abstaining from meats on that day. It may be served with crackers such as saltines, oyster crackers or sea biscuits  

New England clam chowder which is the verity I will be preparing today dates back at least 200 years making it one of this countries oldest surviving dishes. While it was once more common place to prepare the soup with a batch of fresh steamed clams, reserving the broth for the soup and the shells for the garnish, now a days we tend to live at a much more hectic pace were in time is a huge factor as such many restaurants as well as cooks at home will purchase there clams already chucked, steamed and preserved in their own juices. In most cases I would be fervently against such a thing however in this particular case I have been won over and think its fine for this soup. I will therefore be using clams I purchased at my local seafood store prepped and ready to go. But by all means if you have the time and the inclination steam your own and prepare your soup from scratch and if you like reserve the shells or a few clams for garnish. As for potatoes most any will do however I prefer a less starchy variety myself such as golden fleshed Yukon gold or baby Dutch potatoes. Bacon or salt pork may also be included their drippings used as the fat to sauté the onions and celery if using any. I will not be using any bacon or salt pork today as such I will be using clarified butter instead. As for seasoning salt and pepper are fine however if desired add a touch of thyme and/or celery seed  

Some shall we say more modern non clam chowders include a host of corn chowders. Among them; corn and mushroom, corn and chicken as well as corn and crab. The one thing tying them together is the addition of potato which is in a way what rice once was to the bisque when the Scotts first began preparing it and rice was the main thickening agent. 

Shopping List

Chopped clams

Clam juice

Whole milk, (I am using old fashioned non-homogenized)

Heavy cream

Onion

Celery

Potatoes

Flour

Clarified butter

My Mad Method

1 good sized sweet onion diced

2 celery stocks diced

3 medium sized yellow fleshed potatoes cubed of cut into strips

200g precooked chopped clams

Sauté onions and celery in 1.5 TBSP clarified butter

Add potatoes and sauté 2 or 3 minutes longer

Add 1.5 TBSP unbleached flour, mix to combine and coat throughout

Off the heat slowly add 6dl reserved clam juice mixing to prevent lumps. 
(You may need to purchase additional clam juice)

Add 3dl milk and 3dl cream, bring to temp, simmer until potatoes are cooked through

Add clams adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, simmer 2 minutes longer, ready to serve!!

Ready to eat!!

 

Chef Mik's A Whole Lot of "Glögg"

Glögg is basically a Nordic version of mulled wine, referring to it being simmered over heat with addition of sugar and spices, most often times the addition of harder spirits such as vodka or brandy are also included. It’s not difficult to prepare although it does require time and some degree of monitoring. Be sure if you do not want to serve your glögg alcohol free to not let it come to a boil or else the alcohol will burn off. Mulled wines in Europe can be traced back at least to the 1400’s and are quite common throughout Europe during the long cold winter months. In fact the closer it gets to Christmas in Stockholm at least the more it smells of this permeating-ly robust beverage. In fact last Christmas season here in L.A. we prepared 120 L’s for two events we had Christmas eve for the Scandinavian community, a couple of days later when we returned to the kitchen after the holiday the aroma had clung to the air as if it was still simmering away. As for what glögg is accompanied by, just before service many people add almonds and raisins to their glögg or set it out with a bowl of each beside it. Other then that from place to place traditions may differ a bit be it rice pudding, fried apple pancakes or in Sweden were my relationship with glögg was forged, gingerbread cookies and/or saffron buns the almonds and raisins notwithstanding. There are even special cups made of glass used to serve glögg in while I wish I had some here at home alas I don’t so I am serving mine simply in a 2.5dl coffee cup

Shopping List

Red wine

Vodka

Brandy

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Cloves

Ginger, optional

Oranges

Raisins

Almonds

Sugar

My Mad Method

If your almonds have the skin start by measuring 2.5dl raw almonds 

Blanch them for 1 minute in boiling water

Drain them and rinse in cold water

The skin should now come off easily; remove it divide the almonds in two set half aside

Measure 2.5dl raisins divide in two, set half aside 

Measure about 1 TBSP cardamom pods

Measure about ½ TBSP cloves

Choose 2 nice brightly colored cinnamon

Clean as much of the white bitter portion of a couple pieces of orange peal

 

In a large pot combine 2L red wine (I am using burgundy) 7.5dl brandy and 2.5dl vodka

Add 250 - 300g sugar and spices, heat but do not boil simmer for at least one hour

  

My glögg has simmered for about 2 and a half hours and is ready

Line a strainer with dampened cheese cloth and strain the glögg

 

Here is a photo of the strained glögg, it’s now ready to serve

Ready to drink!!