Category

Recipe of the Month

Jul 10
0

What is in season now? Our 10 favorite flavors of summer!

By | A Kitchen Like No Other, Culinary Crafts Marketing Foodies, Event Tips and Planning, Farmers Market, Food, Food Theory Thursday, How To, News, Recipe of the Month, Recipes, Tips

Summer is the best season for eating fresh local produce. It is also the time you can buy local produce almost everywhere! With all the neighborhood farmer’s markets and produce stands you can cook with the freshest ingredients and add a whole new level to your summer cooking! Here’s our list of 10 favorite summer flavors you can find fresh right now.

Apricots
Peaches
Berries of all kinds- Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries
Beets
Carrots
Cherries
Cucumbers
Melons of all kinds- Watermelon, Honeydew, cantaloupes
Summer Squash
Tomatoes

Next week we’ll be sharing one of our favorite summer recipes for you to try featuring some of these great flavors.

MEET ONE OF OUR FAVORITE GROWERS

Strong Vertical Farms

We would love to introduce you to Strong Vertical Farms! Debbie and Grant Strong started SVG out of their home in Park City, Utah in November 2012. It was their vision to provide locally grown fresh produce to chefs and grocery stores 365 days a year by growing indoors.

Five years later, they are in their new 11,000 square foot growing facility located in Charleston UT.  They utilize state of the art systems to accomplish the climate controlled environment needed to grow indoors. The facility has the most updated water treatment, LED lighting & nutrient injection systems available in the market today. Since they grow their greens hydroponically (no soil) the water and nutrients are key to delivering safe quality produce. The water is recaptured and reused then sent through an ozonating system that kills pathogens and bacteria insuring a safe product. The byproduct of this system is oxygen that enriches the plants flavor, longevity and appearance. The produce is grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides and is NON-GMO.  The produce is sustainable, consistent and protected from weather and pests.

You can find their fabulous microgreens and lettuces at select Smiths, Harmons in Holiday and Taylorsville, and Wholefoods. And, happily, they also sell edible flowers!

Hoping you can find time to enjoy all the vibrant flavors of this beautiful season.

Jun 14
0

June Recipe of the Month: Homemade Ricotta

By | Recipe of the Month, Recipes

We love ricotta, and making your own from scratch is worth the effort! It tastes richer and creamier than most ready made brands. Making your own gives you control over how salty and thick it will be. You can custom make your ricotta to suit however you’ll be using it.

Homemade ricotta can be served in so many ways. All summer long it can replace the usual vegetable dips, add a great addition to your cheese platters and salads , spread it on toast, add it to pizza, or serve on grilled peaches drizzled with honey for a special treat!

Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp kosher salt

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

cheese cloth

Directions

Combine milk, cream and salt in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add vinegar, and allow to stand for a minute until it curdles.

Set a sieve into a deep bowl, line the sieve with cheese cloth. Pour your milk mixture into the cheese cloth. Allow to drain into your bowl. Should take about 20 minutes or longer if you would like thicker ricotta. Once it is the consistency you want transfer the ricotta into a small bowl and discard the liquid in the deep bowl and the cheese cloth.

Voila! Ricotta! Cover with plastic wrap and it can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.

May 07
0

May: Recipe of the Month Pineapple Salsa and Black Bean Dip

By | Recipe of the Month, Recipes

CC Salsa-41 sharing these summery recipes this week because Kaleb’s birthday is on Cinco de Mayo, and he loves salsa! This Pineapple Salsa is one of his all time favorite’s and is wonderful served as a garnish with grilled fish or chicken. Another Craft family favorite is our Black Bean dip. Its creamy richness makes for a delicious dip and also is a great topping for nachos.

If you’ve got a favorite salsa recipe, we’d love to see it! Email your recipe to Meagan@CulinaryCrafts.com. Our chefs will prepare the recipes we receive and we’ll have Kaleb do a taste test and pick his favorites on a Live Facebook video in the coming weeks! Results will also be shared on our Instagram.

Wishing you all good times and great food this summer!CC Salsa-1

Pineapple Salsa

3 cups pineapple- diced into 1/4-1/2″ pieces

1 cup red pepper-diced into 1/4″ pieces

1 cup red onion diced into 1/4″ pieces

3-4 TBSP jalapeno- finely chopped

2 TBSP cilantro

2 TBSP Lime Juice

Salt to tasteCC Salsa-13

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, Adjust seasonings as desired, store in airtight container. Good for up to 3 weeks.

** Variation: Grill pineapple before dicing.CC Salsa-20

 

Black Bean Dip

2/3 cups raw black beans

2 cloves minced garlic

3 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp Chili Powder

Salt to Taste

Garnish

2/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 bunches of diced green onions

1 diced tomatoes

1/3 cup black olivesCC Salsa-4

Rinse black beans in a colander. Place beans in a large pot with lid and cover with water about 2 inches above the beans. Let beans soak for and hour. Place pot over medium heat on stove, cover with lid and cook beans until soft about 1 hour. Drain beans and transfer to a food processor.

Add garlic, cream cream cheese, lemon juice, cilantro, and seasonings. Puree until combined. dish into your favorite serving bowl and then add your garnishes to the top. May be refrigerated for 3 days!

Mar 29
0

April: Recipe of the Month Easter Orange Roll Nest

By | Recipe of the Month, Recipes

Orange Roll Dough

2 C water- lukewarm

1 TBSP active dry yeast

1/2 c Orange Juice

2 oranges zested

1/2 c sugar

1/4 lbs butter- melted

1/4 lbs sour cream

2 large eggs

2.5 lbs flour

1/2 TBSP salt

Decoration

1 c coconut

food coloring

1/4 c milk

2 c powder sugar

Equipment:

Mixer with Dough Hook

10″ round pan- preferably a spring form pan

cooling rack

Dough: In your mixer bowl, attach your dough hook, then add lukewarm water- 99-102 degrees- add yeast, sugar and orange zest. Let rest until bubbles appear. Meanwhile melt butter, add sour cream and Orange Juice. stir till mixed completely. Add eggs to butter mixture, then slowly pour butter mixture to your yeast mixture. Add flour and salt to mixing bowl and beat until mixture comes together and begins to pull away from the walls of your bowl.

Shaping and Baking: Remove from bowl and divide into 5 equal pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for an hour or till doubled in size.

Lightly flour your surface, Using a rolling pin and keeping the dough as round as possible, roll the first piece of dough to be about 12″ in diameter. Spray your 10″ round cake pan and place the the 12″ piece of dough in the bottom of your pan. Should come ups the sides a bit.

Take the next piece of dough and using your hands roll into a snake like strand that is about 36″ long. This will be very skinny. Repeat with 2 more pieces of dough.

Once you have your 3 pieces of dough all to 36″ in length you are going to braid them together. Just like braiding hair. Pinch the ends together, then lay the braid into your 10″ round pan around the edge of the pan. This will be your nest. Cover your 10″ pan with plastic wrap and let rest for an hour or until doubled in size. Place in oven at 325 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on the top. 

Meanwhile, What about that last piece of dough?? take the last piece of dough and cut it into 8-10 pieces. These will be your eggs for the center of the nest. Each piece should be about 2oz. Roll them on the counter to smooth out the top and place them on a sheet pan and back at 325 for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Assembly and decoration: take your 1 cups of coconut and add green food coloring to it- 3-10 drops depending on how dark you want it. Mix until evenly coated. 

In 3 small bowls mix 1/2c of powdered sugar and 1TBSP of milk. This should be very runny, like a glaze. Add more milk or powdered sugar to achieve this. Dye each bowl a different color- your favorite easter colors! I usually do pink, yellow and blue, using 3-5 drops of dye for each bowl.

Once your eggs have cooled, place on cooling rack and drip the colored glaze over the top and let it evenly coat the eggs. Let dry while you finish your nest.

Once your nest is out of the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes and the pop it out of its pan. Place on cake stand or serving platter. then use about 1/2c of green coconut in the bottom of the ring, then take your eggs and nestle them in to your ring. You will be able to fit about 3 in the nest at a time. Take your remaining coconut and sprinkle over the top of the whole nest to make it look really festive! 

Mar 15
0

March Recipe of the Month: Guinness Braised Short Ribs

By | A Kitchen Like No Other, Food, Recipe of the Month, Recipes
Guinness Braised Short Ribs

Serves 4 to 6 people depending on the number of ribs you make.

Ingredients
4 to 6 bone-in short ribs (about an 8 ounce piece, trimming fat if necessary)
Salt (kosher) and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 thyme sprigs
1 rosemary sprig
1 bottle Guinness Extra Stout (or your own favorite dark & malty Irish Beer)
1 1/2 cup beef stock (or 1 cup beef stock and ½ cup brewed coffee)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Season all sides of the short rib with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a heavy, oven safe pan over high heat. Add olive oil to pan and let it heat for a moment. Sear all sides of the short rib about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add onion and carrot, saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1-2  minutes more.
5. Deglaze with beer, scraping up bits from bottom of pan. Bring to boil.
6. Return short ribs to pan. Add beef stock, thyme and rosemary.
7. Cover pan and bake for 2.5 to 3 hours, until meat is tender.
8. Separate the fat from the drippings, and use the remaining drippings (thickening with a roux or by reduction if desired) as a sauce at service.
Mar 16
0

🍪 Double the Fun! 🍪

By | Ask Mary, Recipe of the Month, Recipes

Cookies served with a milk “shooter” —
what could be better?!

Two is better than one!

What’s better than one chocolate chip cookie recipe? Two chocolate chip cookie recipes! Our original recipe (the first recipe below) makes a devastatingly delicious chocolate chip cookie that is at it’s best if you eat it warm right out of the oven or within about 4 hours of baking. It has been our go to recipe for decades because we make our desserts fresh the day of our events.

But we’ve had requests and occasionally need to make a cookie that will keep longer. That’s when we came up with the second recipe. You can freeze the dough and put the frozen cookies right on the cookie sheet and bake them. AND these cookies even freeze well once they’ve been baked! Simply seal them in an airtight container. Note – this freezer friendly recipe is really loaded with chocolate chips – the chocolate lovers in your family will love them!!

Enjoy! Mary
Mary Crafts-Homer

and our next episode
will be launching in
APRIL

MARCH RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Original Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 60 average size cookies

Ingredients
2 cups (4 sticks) Butter
2 cups + 4 T Granulated sugar
2 cups Brown sugar
3 large eggs
1T Vanilla
1/3 cup Corn syrup
3 1/3 cup All purpose flour
4 1/2 cup Cake flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp Salt
2 bags (11oz each) Milk chocolate chips

Method

Cream butter and sugars
Add eggs 1 at a time
Add vanilla and corn syrup
Add chocolate chips
Scoop about 2 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie
Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown

 

New Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 12 ginormous cookies

Ingredients
8 oz butter, cold (we use unsalted, but if you use salted, cut back on the salt amount)
1 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
2 large eggs
1 T Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Cake flour
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp Corn starch
3/4 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp Sea salt (less if you use salted butter)
2 cups Milk chocolate chips
2 cups Walnuts (optional) we usually don’t use them

Method

Cream the butter and sugar
Add eggs one at a time, add the vanilla
Add dry ingredients until 80% mixed, stir in choc chips and walnuts if using.
Portion out cookies and freeze the dough. We find it if you freeze the dough a bit before you bake them it helps them keep their shape. A half a cup of dough equals one cookie. So measure out the dough and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Yes, these are jumbo cookies!

Bake at 400 F for 12 to 15 minutes. Be sure and watch closely as every oven will vary. They should be slightly brown around the edges and still appear soft and the center.

Feb 28
0

🌽 A Recipe for Comfort Food Bliss 🌽

By | Recipe of the Month, Recipes

Comforting Corn Custard

This is one of our most requested recipes. It’s a corn custard, kind of like corn pudding, but even better! You won’t believe how silky smooth it is and how much corn flavor is packed into this modest serving of delicious custard. It’s updated, old-fashioned goodness! And, while your custard is in the oven, check the next episode on our YouTube channel, The Craft(s). It’s all about comfort food!

Enjoy! Mary
Mary Crafts-Homer

We often serve this sweet corn custard with a mushroom sauce, or garnish it with sliced green onion.

and the next episode
“Comfort Food”
will be launching
March 10th

FEBRUARY RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Sweet Corn Custard
Makes 10 – 4 oz. appetizer or small side dish portions

Ingredients
Pan Spray (like “Pam”)
6 Ears of fresh sweet corn (or 3 cups frozen corn, thawed)
4 Cups of heavy cream
8 Large eggs
2 Cups of grated Jack cheese
2 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper

Method
1)  Preheat oven to 325-degrees.
2)  Using pan spray, generously coat the inside of 10 3-inch/4-ounce ramekins.  Set aside.
3)  Using a serrated knife, cut the corn kernels off the cobb – you want to get as much of the tender kernel as possible without getting the woody part of the cobb, or thaw 3 cups of the frozen corn.
4)  Put corn in a saucepan, add 4 cups of heavy cream and bring to a low simmer and let it simmer for 5 minutes – you are infusing that cream with sweet corn flavor. After 5 minutes of simmering, cool down the mixture and put in a blender. Run the blender until the mixture is smooth.
5)  Strain the pureed corn and cream through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, discard any solids that are in the strainer.
6)  Grate 2 cups of Jack cheese.
7)  Crack 8 eggs and add to the bowl, along with your grated Jack cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper, stir well to break up the eggs, but don’t whisk in any air into the eggs – they shouldn’t be foamy.
8)  Now add your heavy cream that has been infused with the corn and stir it through.
9)  Fill the ramekins ¾ full of the mixture.  Set the filled ramekins in a 9 X 13 pan.  Put hot water from the tap in a pitcher, and gently pour the hot water around the ramekins, without letting it splash into the custard cups (this is a water bath).  You should end up with the water coming up ¾ of the way up the sides of the ramekins.
10)  Cover the pan and the ramekins with foil and take a knife and punch a few holes in the foil to allow the steam to escape.
11)  Carefully move the water bath to your preheated oven (325 degrees) and bake the custards for 35 to 40 minutes, until they are set firm, but are still creamy inside (if they are too runny, you won’t be able to unmold them).
12)  Take the custards out of the oven, and hold them in the 9 X 13 pan, still covered with the foil, staying warm in the hot water until you are ready to serve.

For Serving
You can leave the custard in the ramekins and serve that way, or, to unmold them run a small paring knife between the custard and the ramekin to help release the edges of the custard. Turn out and unmold them onto your plate or bowl.  Serve forth!