Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens by Jennifer Schaertl Read Free Book Online Page B

tongs, carefully add them to the hot pan and arrange them to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. Let them cook in the pan without moving them for 8 minutes, to brown them on one side.
    3 Add the garlic and spinach, and fold the mixture to wilt the spinach. You may need to add the spinach a small amount at a time. (Once wilted, everything will fit in the sauté pan perfectly.)
    4 Add the heavy cream and turn down the heat slightly to allow the cream to reduce and thicken for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    5 While it is thickening, use your bread knife to carve out the center of the Hawaiian bread, making it into a bowl, and saving the bread cap. Place it on one side of a baking sheet. Cut the bread cap into ½-inch cubes and arrange them on the other side of the baking sheet. When the dip is thick, pour it into the bread bowl, and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread is crisp and the dip is brown over the top.
    6 Serve immediately. Carefully place the bowl in the center of a platter, surrounded by the toasted bread cubes. Remember that the gourmet chef gets to eat the bowl. You can, but why not share with your friends, and let them tear up the yummy bowl?
    Did You Know This Crap?
    Having a sweet taste and light texture, King’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread is available at most grocery stores in a round, uncut loaf. If you can’t find this bread in your area, try baking your own. You don’t need any special equipment, and homemade bread screams gourmet.
    Yield:3 round loaves
    To make homemade Hawaiian bread follow this easy recipe:
    3 eggs
    1 cup pineapple juice
    1 cup water
    Â¾ cup sugar
    Â½ teaspoon ground ginger
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 teaspoon sea salt
    4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
    6½ cups all-purpose flour
    3 tablespoons instant active yeast
    1 Beat the eggs, pineapple juice, water, sugar, ginger, vanilla, salt, and melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 3 cups of flour to the egg mixture and stir until well mixed. Sprinkle in yeast, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well. Gradually add the other 3 cups of flour. The batter will be hard to mix with a spoon.
    2 Make You may have to use your hand. sure it’s mixed well. Leave the batter in a bowl and cover with the cloth and put it in a warm place. Let it rise 1 hour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead in ½ cup more flour. Knead about 10 times. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and place it in well-greased round cake pans. Cover and put it in a warm place and let rise about 1 hour. Bake at 350˚ for 20 to 30 minutes.

Crabtastic Avocado Cakes
    Serves 25
    No gourmet chef’s repertoire is complete without a knock-your-socks-off crab cake recipe. And this is the one. Because these crab cakes are “fried” in the oven, we only need to use our sauté pan once. Form the cakes and freeze them up to three days before your party, and they’ll be ready to pop in the oven right before your guests arrive.
    3 ripe avocados, large
    2 limes, juiced
    6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    1 cup small diced yellow onion
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
    Â¼ cup small diced red bell pepper
    1 jalapeno, small dice with most seeds removed
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter
    Â½ cup bread crumbs
    Â½ cup heavy cream
    2 eggs
    1 pound lump crabmeat
    1 pound select crabmeat
    Sea salt, to taste
    Pepper, to taste
    1 cup Chipotle Aioli (p. 198)
    2 limes, thinly sliced
    1 Prepare the avocado as described on page 40 and place it in a large bowl with the lime juice. Set aside.
    2 Put your 12-inch sauté on medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and allow it to heat up. Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper, and jalapeno together until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the bread crumbs and allow them to toast in the butter while absorbing the