RAC Appetite Demo
June 27th, 2008Visited 268 times, 3 so far today
The April Issue of Appetite Magazine had a California Raisin Advertisement inviting readers to answer a question and with it comes a free demo class at the USDA Culinary Theater with no less than yours truly as guest demonstrator. We had the class yesterday and I decided to feature all healthy dishes with Natural and Golden California Raisin as a flavoring and replacer for some of the sugar. On the menu, Marinated Vegetable Salad with Natural California Raisins, Moroccan Chicken with California Golden Raisins, California Raisins and Apple Bake and Healthy Raisin Cookies. I thought of cooking and baking new recipes that’s not so common but has some familiarity to some Filipinos, I didn’t want it to be too foreign since most of my participants will be homemakers and mostly readers of Appetite Magazine. The Marinate Vegetable Salad is your gourmet atchara since it has broccoli and cauliflower and a myriad of bell pepper that gives color to this salad, the dressing is very simple just add everything into a blender and in less than five minutes, its done, toss in the vegetables and keep overnight for good flavor due to proper ageing. The chicken dish is braised in Moroccan spices and tomatoes until cooked and a different taste profile is achieved. Best with rice and the marinated salad. My desserts is a simple apple pie without the crust, meaning it has a simple crumble on top made with flour, butter and brown sugar and a lot of walnuts, baked just right for texture should still have some firmness. It has a slight taste of orange to make it tangy but still sweet. I had no sauce yesterday but will have some in the recipes I am sharing with you today. Lastly, I am so proud with my healthy raisin cookie recipe since it has the chewiness everyone looks for in a cookie but it good for you since I made it with pure whole wheat flour so it doesn’t get as tough as the other cookies as it cools.
I would like to thank everyone who comes to my demonstrations, who never tires and even with the high cost of gasoline still has all the effort to see and be with me for three hours. Also, I apologize for the minimal amount of tasting portions since the number of participants is not really controllable and I could only make so much due to the budget given for the demonstrations. I know all of you understand….here are the recipes…..
Marinated Vegetable Salad with California Raisins
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, use florets
2 heads broccoli, use florets
200 gms fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 ½ tbsps butter
1 pc green bell pepper, sliced
1 pc red bell pepper, sliced
4 – 5 stalks celery, diced
½ pc onions, chopped
½ cup distilled white vinegar
2 tbsps poppy seeds
½ cup sugar
2 tsps mustard powder
1 cup California natural raisins
¾ - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil /canola oil
Procedure:
Blanch cauliflowers and broccoli florets in boiling salted water.
Remove florets when water begins to boil again.
Plunge vegetables in ice cold water to stop it from cooking.
Set aside.
Melt butter, saute sliced mushrooms, cook. Set aside.
In a blender, add in chopped onions, white vinegar, poppy seeds,
sugar, mustard powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well for 3 minutes.
Pour in extra virgin olive oil and California natural raisins.
Put broccoli, cauliflower, cooked mushrooms, bell peppers and
celery in a bowl. Toss a little. Pour in sauce.
Refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours before serving.
Moroccan Chicken with California Golden Raisins
Ingredients:
2 pcs whole chicken, cut up into 12 – 14 pcs
salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup canola oil
3 tbsps minced garlic
2 cups sliced onions
1 ¼ tbsps sweet paprika
1 ½ tsps rock salt
1 ¼ tsps turmeric
1 ½ tsps ground coriander
1 ½ tsps ground fennel
1 ¼ tsps ground black pepper
¾ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground ginger
3 cups drained canned tomatoes
1 ½ cups water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup California Golden Raisins
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Procedure: Wash and dry chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Sear the chicken pieces in the canola oil Repeat with all the other
chicken. Set aside.
On the same pan, saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add all
the spices and cook until aromatic.
Pour in tomatoes and water. Let boil and return chicken pieces.
Let boil again and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes.
Pour in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Add in California golden raisins. Taste and adjust seasonings.
When almost done, add in chopped fresh cilantro. Serve warm.
California Raisins and Apple Bake
Ingredients:
4 pcs red delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 pcs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps all purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup California natural raisins
2 tbsps fresh orange juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tbsp grated orange peel
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsps butter, cubed and chilled
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 – 375 F. Butter a deep casserole.
In a bowl, mix apples, raisins, brown sugar (⅓), 2 tbsps flour and
cinnamon. Arrange on a prepared casserole.
Combine juices and orange peel, pour this over the apples.
In another bowl, mix together flour ( ¾ ), salt and ½ cup brown
sugar. Add in the 6 tbsps butter and cut in until mixture resembles
coarse meal. Add in nuts. Spread over apples. Bake until apples
are just tender and top is brown for about 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Custard Sauce: Bonus: ( was not part of the demo )
In a sauce pan, heat 2 cups of fresh milk until it bubbles on the side
Mix ½ cup confectioner’s sugar and 2 ½ tbsps all purpose flour.
Add in 3 pcs egg yolks. Slowly, add milk. Return to heat,
continue to stir until it boils and thickens. Add 2 tsps vanilla and
cool on top of an ice bath. Serve with baked apples.
Healthy California Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
1 ⅓ cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 ½ tsps baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 pc egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup California natural raisins
Procedure:
Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder
and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter with white and brown sugar until combined.
Add in egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredient mixture.
Fold in California raisins.
Bake in a 350 F for 15 – 18 minutes.
Cool in a wire rack, remove and continue cooling.
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