Cooking from Scratch
Why let all those people with the ice cream machines have all the fun? Full disclosure: we have one and use it quite often. But, it’s entirely possible to make a great ice cream-like treat without an ice cream churn. Simply make semifreddo. In some respects, it might even be better than ice cream, as it’s lighter and more like frozen mousse. Sound good? Let’s scratch out a batch together!
Continue reading “Meyer Lemon Semifreddo”
We’ve been getting onions and more onions from the CSA each week. So much so that our official Scratchin’ It onion bowl spilled over onto the counter. We had to use those onions and quick. At the same time, we wanted to bring down some small savory treats for the volunteers who support our Monday night walks — we try to bring something when we volunteer; that way, we can have a snack and share it, too. It all came together when we remembered that we’ve wanted to make an Onion Tart for quite a while, perhaps years.
Continue reading “Alsace Onion Tartlets”
Okay, we’ve written about semifreddo in this post and this post, both really easy ways to make a homemade ice cream-like treat. So, why are we doing another post, especially since this will also be vanilla semifreddo? Well, the previous two posts used raw eggs, and we know that some people are wary about using raw eggs in their food. From what we’ve heard about industrial eggs, we really can’t blame them. So, we thought we’d show you how to make this treat, but in a way that the eggs are pasteurized. It’s more difficult than the other posts, but it uses important cooking techniques that are widely used, so let’s start scratchin’.
Continue reading “Pasteurized Semifreddo”
It’s been a while since we had a soufflé; we guess that we just don’t think of making a soufflé when we decide what to have as a main for lunch or dinner. It’s not because they’re difficult, although they do have the reputation of being so; we just forget how good they are. So, we decided on a soufflé for lunch, but what kind?
Continue reading “Chard and Cheese Soufflé”
Every once in a while, we need to try something that will test (and improve) our culinary skills. You know, make something that will take concentration, stamina (bet you didn’t think about stamina being required for cooking, but it is), dexterity, and finesse. We went with Thomas Keller’s Over-the-Top Mushroom quiche. And, just to put the pressure on, we decided to make it for a dinner meeting.
Continue reading “Over-the-Top Mushroom Quiche”
Last week when were down at our weekly walk, we were chatting with some people about various restaurants around town. Apparently, one has a cheese soufflé that people rave about. Immediately we came up with the idea of making a soufflé using goat cheese. Sounds good, right? There was only one problem, we don’t own a soufflé dish. Well, maybe two problems, as we’ve never made a soufflé. Okay, three problems, one of us, the one who was going to make the soufflé, had never even eaten soufflé and had no idea what the finished version should be like.
Continue reading “Goat Cheese Soufflé”
Nothing is more frustrating than trying a recipe and finding out that it’s wrong. And that’s exactly what happened when we tried making Michael Ruhlman’s recipe for crème caramel from his book Egg: A Culinary Exploration of the World’s Most Versatile Ingredient. Once we started, it became obvious that, as written, it was never tested. But, fortunately for you, every single recipe you read on this site is tested in the Scratchin’ It Test Kitchen, making it possible for you just to whip up desserts like crème caramel as though you were a pro.
Continue reading “Crème Caramel”