Carnation Evaporated Milk…Stuffed Shells Florentine and Carnation Famous Fudge Recipes

Most of us have grown up seeing evaporated milk in the pantry. But did we really use it? Evaporated milk seems like a throw back to out parents and grandparents generations. I admit I buy a can here and there when I see it on sale. I recall my Nigerian father used evaporated milk everyday in his tea. It was product he had no choice to use growing up in a tropical climate. He continued with it even moving over to the United Sates. I have come to find out Carnation , otherwise known as the cooking milk,is a a great substitute for cream, half and half, because its lower in fat. Mostly when I have used canned evaporated milk , its been for sweet recipes. But Carnation works just as well in savoury. Researching the Carnation site , I saw great recipes for salad dressings,and even a spicy peanut sauce using evaporated milk.Anywhere you use milk, think of Carnation as a replacement for more flavour.When the people of Carnation contacted me to try their products and create an original recipe and make one out of their Holiday recipe book, I said of course. I love a challenge to create recipes. I will disclose that Carnation and One 2 One Network gave me a gift card to purchase the groceries and coupons for free Carnation product. My opinions, however are my own.

With Certain Someone finally home, I envisioned a pasta dish of stuffed shells filled with spinach, chopped ham, and ricotta. The Carnation Evaporated Milk would be used to make a creamy cheesy Becahmel style sauce with added Mozzarella. The Stuffed Shells Florentine is a crowd pleaser that can go a long way in feeding the family. After a long day, Certain Someone gave his approval on the dish. I find its tasted better even the next day. Next time I may use shrimp or crab, rather than ham.

Stuffed Shells Florentine
1 box Jumbo Shells
1 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs
Pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded ( I for Ricotta Mixture and 1 for sauce)
1 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup thawed frozen spinach( drained)
2 12 oz cans Carnation Evaporated Milk
1/4 cup flour
6 tbsp butter

Boil the Jumbo Pasta shells until al dente ( 12-13 minutes). Rinse and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl combine Ricotta, eggs, spinach, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 cup mozzarella, and chopped ham. Mix well and set aside.
In a saucepan melt butter and add flour at medium heat. Do not burn butter. Mix until flour is dissolved in the butter. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Gradually add the Carnation Evaporated Milk to the flour and butter and with a whisk stir until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk while mixture starts to simmer and thicken. Remove form heat and add the remaining cup of Mozzarella Cheese.
Preheat Oven to 350F.
In a baking dish , pour a layer of sauce. Fill pasta shells with Ricotta mixture and place in layers in baking dish. Cover a completed layer with sauce and continue process. Cover top with remaining sauce . Cover baking dish with aluminum foil or lid and bake for 30-40 until bubbly .


With Halloween and the Holidays approaching , who doesn’t like fudge? I got this recipe from the Carnation Holiday book which I have provided a link for below. I stuck to the recipe , but took the liberty of adding some chopped pecans on top of fudge as well as in the mixture. I imagine coconut, dried cherries, walnuts, almonds would work equally well. Next time I will also play around with various extracts and flavours. For Halloween I can imagine piping the squares with white royal icing in the shape of spider webs.

Carnation Famous Fudge
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl oz can Carnation Evaporated Milk)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet Morsels
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil.
Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in medium heavy duty saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes, Remove from heat.
Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

Holiday Recipe Booklet full of sweet and savory recipes:

http://bit.ly/CEMholiday

Cooking Benefits of evaporated milk:

http://bit.ly/cookingbenefits

Nutrition Info:

http://bit.ly/o2onutrition

The different types of evaporated milk:

http://bit.ly/rightmilkforyou

Carnation Virtual Kitchen:

http://bit.ly/carnationvirtualkitchen

Additional Recipe Ideas:

http://bit.ly/additionalrecipes

Recipe Personality Quiz:

http://bit.ly/recipepersonalityquiz

Happy Cinnamon Roll Day or Kanelbullens Dag

Did you know October 4th 2009 is Kanelbullens Dag in Sweden? Imagine a whole day in where the country celebrates the simple , delectable cinnamon roll. As they should! The Swedes are attributed to inventing one of the worlds famous pastry. In 1999 the Home baking Council /Hembakningsråde came up with the concept on the occasion of their 40th anniversary.The rolls would be perfect for a long leisurely Fika( coffee break). Many of you know I have a deep affinity for Sweden as my Certain Someone has a residence there and I have family on my fathers side. I never imagined Sweden would become part of my life, but it has. I didn’t make it there this year, but hopefully next year I can enjoy this view by the house.

I found a lot of recipes were very similar. I didn’t have the full amount of sugar or ground cinnamon on hand. As a result I had to grind my own and sift. I could have used a touch more, but the cinnamon and cardamon flavors shined through. I found it interesting the little rising time that these rolls needed. They can be whipped up rather easily without making it a days project. I used Trina Hahnemann’s recipe from The Scandinavian Cookbook.Trina is Danish, but compiled a lovely cook book of recipes in Scandinavia by the months. Naturally this falls under October.I reviewed her book here.

Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from The Scandinavian Cookbook
2 oz fresh yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
3/4 cup softened butter
1 egg beaten
6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling
3/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Glaze
1 egg beaten
Swedish Pearl Sugar for topping

In a large bow/ stand mixer, mix yeast and warm milk until dissolved. Add butter, and then beaten egg. Sift dry ingredients of flour,cardamon,and salt. Add to milk and yeast. Add sugar to dough. Knead until a smooth ball forms . If you knead by hand, knead for five minutes.
Cover dough with a towel and let rest/rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Mix butter, cinnamon and sugar for filling.

After 30 minutes divide dough in half. Roll out into 16 x 12 in rectangles. Spread cinnamon sugar butter mixture over dough. Roll starting on the long side into a wide cylinder. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place on a parchment lined baking sheep or muffin baking cups. Press down slightly if you want to spread on baking sheet( without muffin cup).Cover and let rise 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Brush the cinnamon rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with the Swedish pearl sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.


Apple Puffs

This past week I was on a baking roll. Two days in a row I brought in treats for the office using what I had on hand. The previous weeks puff pastry from the Daring Bakers challenge was in my freezer waiting to be baked. Apples arrived Monday in my organic delivery box . Naturally I knew what to do for a colleague who complained she didn’t get any of my cookie treats the previous day, and I promised that I would whip up something special for her. These apple puffs are very easy and go a long way. They were a hit in the office. I made full size in cupcake liners and smaller bites in a Flexi pan mold I had. The puff doesn’t have to be perfect and feel free to use scrapes to shape a base. I love the portability of these puffs. The bite size ones would go over well on any dessert tray for the upcoming holidays, open houses, or brunches.You could use smaller candy,muffin liners as well,if you don’t have that size. While I had homemade puff pastry , you could use store purchased as well.


Apple Puffs
1 sheet puff pastry
4 apples peeled and chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp pie filling enhancer or cornstarch ( I use King Arthur’s)
2 tbsp water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup Apple Cider
1 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan add apples , sugar, apple cider, Cinnamon stick. Cook on med heat until apples are soft, but still firm. In a glass mix your pie filling enhancer or cornstarch with the water. Add to the hot apple mixture in pan and cook until thickened. Set aside. Remove Cinnamon stick before filling shells.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Roll out pastry dough on lightly floured surface. Cut into squares to fit your muffin pans. If not enough you can piece scraps as well. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Drape and fit into muffin cups. Fill each with apple filling.
Bake for 15-20 min until golden and filling is bubbly. Remove and let cool on rack. Serve at room temperature.


Printed recipe here.

Daring Bakers …Vol au Vents ( Duck Livers,Mushroom,Spinach in Cognac Cream and Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse)

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I vowed to do this months challenge after missing a few.Also I believe this month I start my third year with the Daring Bakers! While some people cringe and cower in fright at puff pastry, I love to make it. Maybe I was emboldened by all my pastry classes this summer at French Pastry School. The idea of filling Vol au Vents with sweet or savory was also pleasing to me, as this wouldn’t be a challenge that would go to waste. Vol Au Vents could be a meal or dessert. And I just may have some extra dough to freeze for later.
The more and more I make puff pastry , the easier it gets. However I wont say the shaping of these Vol au Vents were easy. I did have some misshapen ones, but they were all good. Currently I am working on some holiday stories for my writing for Ebony Jet.com. As a result, the weekend I tackled the Daring Bakers, I had also roasted a duck. I decided to use those delectable duck livers for one savory filling with spinach, mushrooms,cream and cognac. The other decadent filling was a hazelnut chocolate mousse topped with candied hazelnuts. I love that you can vary the shape size from appetizer portion to entree. I fell in love with hazelnut mousse in my pastry class. Perhaps there is just to much Julia Child influence in me these past few months. Certain Someone was home for a hot second and fed him a quick brunch of the savory Vol au Vents. He did his quiet grumble of approval before he flew off. Not his type of food per se, as he would have put some sausage in there, but good. So with that I take it that they were good.

Duck Liver , Spinach, Mushroom and Cognac Cream Vol A Vents

Take a few cooked duck livers and giblets and chopped them. In a skillet brown them in a little butter or duck fat with chopped mushrooms. De glaze pan with some cognac. Add some duck or chicken stock. Then add washed fresh spinach leaves and cook until wilted. At this point our in some heavy cream or half and half. In a small dish mix some 1 tablespoon cornstarch and water . Add to cream mixture in and and cook until slightly thickened. Fill mediu, size Vol au Vents. You can omit the duck liver and just use mushrooms. You can also use chicken livers as a replacement.

Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Vol au Vents

This is a recipe I’m saving for a later article. But the basics mousse composition is making a Pate a Bomb ( cooked egg yolks, and hot sugar whipped into a froth). I then made a hazelnut praline . Candied hazelnuts are ground into a paste with a little addition of oil to help along. I heated the half of my heavy cream with bloomed gelatin and poured on top of dark chocolate to soften. I whipped the other half of heavy cream into soft peaks and folded with my Pate a Bomb. The Pate a Bomb mixture is then folded into chocolate ganache mixture. Chill to set, and then pipe. Top with additional candied hazelnuts.

Be sure to check out the other Daring Bakers to see their take on Vol au Vents.

Equipment:-food processor (will make mixing dough easy, but I imagine this can be done by hand as well)-rolling pin-pastry brush-metal bench scraper (optional, but recommended)-plastic wrap-baking sheet-parchment paper-silicone baking mat (optional, but recommended)-set of round cutters (optional, but recommended)-sharp chef’s knife-fork-oven-cooling rack
Prep Times:-about 4-5 hours to prepare the puff pastry dough (much of this time is inactive, while you wait for the dough to chill between turns…it can be stretched out over an even longer period of time if that better suits your schedule)-about 1.5 hours to shape, chill and bake the vols-au-vent after your puff pastry dough is complete
Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent
In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)-your filling of choice
Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.
(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d’oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)
Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)
Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)
Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.
*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to “glue”). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.
*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.
*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie GreenspanYield: 2-1/2 pounds doughSteph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.
There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry
Ingredients:2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface
Mixing the Dough:
Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that’s about 1″ thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.
Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10″ square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with “ears,” or flaps.
Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don’t just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8″ square.
To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.
Making the Turns:
Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24″ (don’t worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24″, everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).
With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.
Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24″ and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.
Chilling the Dough:
If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you’ve completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.
Steph’s extra tips:
-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.
-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.
-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don’t want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough…you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.
-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don’t roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.
-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.
-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.
-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.
-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.
-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.
-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.
-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

u Vents

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This is What I Have Been Up To

It is hard to believe summer is over and the fall season will begin. I will not apologise for not truly blogging, but August was a dozy.Starting with the Boston trip, work, the Foodbuzz Smirnoff Lunch, Foodbuzz Visa Signature dinner at Tru with local bloggers , which I haven’t written about, but here is a quick visual tour or a memorable evening.

I also had another night course at the French Pastry School this past week focusing on classic French Cakes, Wedding and Event Cakes with Chefs Laura Ragano and Bob Hartwig. Laura is a protege of the famous Nicholas Lodge.I am just plain fatigued. I haven’t even posted the rest of the recipes from the Smirnoff lunch! Certain Someone has been away for most of the summer, and year for that matter. So not much regular cooking going on here. But I haven’t been a slacker.

I have chosen a winner for the Best Summer Drinks. Lets hear it for Jen of Aeatwrite! It was so fun to read all of your summer memories.