Let's Get Baking!

George Hirsch February 22, 2021

Who doesn't like a good muffin? After all, once the recipe is mixed, it bakes in minutes and is ready-to-serve. Or, pack them up for an easy take-along snack or mid-day treat.

WARNING: You may need to pack extra if taking muffins to the office. After all, sharing is just a nice thing to do!

Tips: Using very ripe bananas (black) is the key to success with a banana muffin recipe. Save up ripe bananas and freeze in a plastic bag until you have enough to make a full recipe.

For a "lower fat" muffin, replace the butter in-part or all with applesauce.

George's Banana Nut Muffins

recipe adapted from George Hirsch Living it UP! cookbook

makes 10-12 muffins

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

For the Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons nuts, chopped

1 Tablespoon sweet butter

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb like.

For the Muffin Mix:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups, about 3-4 large very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup pure cane granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons honey

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 cup sweet butter, melted; or replace with part/ all applesauce

Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, honey, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, zest, nuts, and melted butter. Fold in banana mixture by hand with a spatula into the flour mixture until just moistened.

Using very ripe bananas (black) is the key to success with a banana muffin recipe. Save up ripe bananas and freeze in a plastic bag until you have enough to make a full recipe. For a "lower fat" muffin, replace the butter in-part or all with applesauce.

Place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three-quarters full. Divide the crumb topping evenly over the top of the muffin batter.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin; done when the toothpick comes out clean or touched lightly, the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.

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AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

This easy to live with lifestyle plan; with more than 165 of George's easy-to-prepare gourmet recipes, you can lose weight, maintain energy, look better, and enjoy a longer active life, by eating great food!
M.Evans and Company, Inc.

George Starts your year off right!

George Hirsch Living it UP
Recipes for a Healthy Active Life
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages; $24.95
Publisher: M. Evans and Company, Inc.; 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871319241
ISBN-13: 978-0871319241
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches

Creative Cooking tips
Fast Easy recipes that allow for an active lifestyle
A 30-Day Menu Plan you can adapt throughout the year
Support and motivation for staying on a healthy eating & exercise routine
Tips for easy food shopping & eating healthy on the run

Each book is personally autographed by George Hirsch.

Stacking Up

George Hirsch January 2, 2021

Enjoy New England style Johnny Cakes as another flapjack option — *Enjoy New England style* ***Johnny Cakes as another flapjack option***

Pancakes are one of the earliest forms of bread and are served up geographically in many different ways. You can be-all-traditional with baking powder or try prospecting with sourdough pancakes like the early pioneers. Flip’em with oatmeal or buckwheat when in Vermont, or for a Dutch-style treat, serve with lemon, powdered sugar, and jam. Substitute the flour for cornmeal, and you’ll be enjoying it as a Native American specialty.

Go Pollack by designing your own pancake creations with sliced apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, chopped nuts.

Traditional Pancake Recipe

Makes eight pancakes | recipe by George Hirsch

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon pure cane sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg, beaten

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix well with a whisk all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients, the milk, vanilla, egg, and melted butter. Yes, use two bowls, so the dry and wet ingredients blend better when combined. Add the wet to the dry and strip with a large spoon or spatula until the dry ingredients have absorbed the wet. There may still be a few lumps; thats OK. Do not over mix, or pancakes will become tough.

Preheat a non-stick pan or lightly grease a griddle over medium high heat at 375 degrees F. Test the temperature by dropping a drop of water on the pan's surface. Water will dance across the surface when at the correct temperature. You can test one cake before proceeding.

Pour one 1/4 cup scoop of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. If adding any fresh fruit or creations, add at this time. You will begin to see bubbles form on the top side when brown on the bottom, flip and brown on the second side. Serve hot with syrup or favorite topping; eat immediately right off the griddle.

Finish off your stack with honey, molasses, can syrup, preserves, Nutella, or maple syrup.

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Eat Cake, Travel Well

George Hirsch December 28, 2020

Join me + Tune-in/DVR CreateTV GHL Sat 4/13 8AM/8PM + Sun 4/14 2PM

Muffin or cupcake? Since its Monday let's spin this recipe for..

I can think of a hundred ways to prepare carrots - but how about a recipe that enhances their natural sweetness? Think carrots for a Carrot Cake baked in convenient cupcake portions. Happy Monday and whatever you plan to celebrate this week. Cupcakes..muffins travel well.

Did I mention the delicious Cream Cheese Frosting? Enjoy!

Carrot Cupcakes aka Muffins

Makes about 2 dozen

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3 cups carrots, finely shredded

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup applesauce

4 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, applesauce and vanilla. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly while mixing.

Mix at high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl every minute.

Pour batter into cupcake liners until they are 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pans, then move to wire rack to cool.

Tip: Taste carrots before using. Use the freshest carrots possible, the sweeter the carrot the better the cupcake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes approximately 4 cups

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle eMagazine

1 pound Cream cheese, room temperature and softened

1/2 cup Butter, room temperature and softened

2 cups Confectioners Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 teaspoons Grated orange zest

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, orange zest and gradually stir in the confectioners sugar. Scrape bowl, mix two additional minutes.

Refrigerator after use.

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Croquembouche

George Hirsch December 14, 2020

A croquembouche is made of cream-filled profiteroles piled into a cone shape and bound with spun sugar. It may also be decorated with other confectionery such as chocolate, edible flowers, and Scan is covered in macarons or ganache.

The croquembouche is often attributed to Antonin Carême who includes it in his 1815 cookbook Le Pâtissier royal parisien. But it is mentioned as early as 1806, in André Viard's culinary encyclopedia Le Cuisinier Impérial, and in Antoine Beauvilliers' 1815 L'Art du Cuisinier.

Traditional Croquembouche with Spun Sugar

Pâte à Choux, Cream Puff Pastry

Makes 2 to 3 dozen depending on size

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 cup of water

4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the water, vegetable oil, butter, milk and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook the mixture over low heat until it dries slightly and leaves the sides of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each one is fully absorbed before adding the next one.

Cover a baking sheet, preferably one without sides, with parchment paper.

Place the paste in a pastry bag with a round tip with a 1/2 inch opening. To make cream puffs, hold the pastry bag at a 45 degree angle touching a paper lined pan. Squeeze the bag. Continue forming the puffs 1 to 2 inches apart. To make eclairs, squeeze the bag as you pull it toward you, making 3 inch long fingers.

Place the choux in the oven, and after 5 minutes, lower the temperature to 375 degrees F. Depending on size, they will require 10 to 15 minutes total cooking time.

NOTE: If the oven door is opened before they’re almost finished baking, they will collapse, so don;t peek until 10 minutes have passed. To test for doneness, tap one on the bottom. It should sound hollow. Remove and cool on a rack.

George’s Pastry Cream

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | from KNOW YOUR FIRE Cookbook, 1997 by George Hirsch

Makes 2 pints

Pastry cream or crême patisserie is all flour-based custard used as a filling for cream puffs and eclairs. After it’s cooked, place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface or sprinkle with granulated sugar to prevent a “skin” from forming and refrigerate immediately.

1 1/2 pints milk

2 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

Combine milk, butter and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In a separate bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, flour and orange zest and whisk until smooth.

Whisk about a cup of hot milk mixture into the egg mixture to warm it and the pour it all back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Continue to cook mixture, whisking continuously, until the cream coats a spoon, which it will do at about 190F. (If you cook it to boiling, 212F, the pastry cream will be watery and lumpy.)

Pour the cream into a bowl and place it in a larger bowl of ice water to cool it as quickly as possible. Pastry cream can be refrigerated for 2 days.

How To Fill Cream Puffs:

Wait until the puffs are cool and cut off the top third with a sharp knife. Fill the hollow bottom with a savory such as chicken or crab meat salad or sweet such as pastry cream or ice cream Replace the top and serve. If the filling is a sweet one, dust the cream puffs with confectioners’ sugar or pour chocolate sauce over the top.

When choosing chocolate, look for a shiny finish, which is a sign that the chocolate was heated at the right temperature for the right amount of time. Also, look for a crispy snap when chocolate is broken into pieces. Choose a good chocolate source for sauce like Lindt, Callebaut, or Scharffen Berger. In a pinch, chocolate chips will do. This very decadent sauce is ideal served with fresh strawberries. Note: this chocolate sauce recipe is not ideal for coating dipped strawberries. That’s another post.

Croquuembouche drizzled with Chocolate Sauce

The Best Chocolate Sauce Recipe

by Chef George Hirsch

Makes about two cups

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 Tablespoons pure cane granulated sugar

3/4 cup cream

3 Tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Optional: 1 Tablespoon Brandy or Grand Marnier Place chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside.

Place cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a small pot. Heat to a boil stirring constantly. As soon as it reaches a boil pour directly over chocolate and stir until all chocolate has melted. Add vanilla and brandy.

Use immediately or cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks. To reheat, heat the amount you need over a double boiler and stir until just melted.

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Southern Italian Cookies

George Hirsch December 10, 2020

Guest post + recipe today by Marie Bianco, my dear friend, food writer, and author. This is one of her favorite holiday cookie recipes.

Edible holiday gifts always make a hit, and this one is about as easy as it can get. Even school-age children can get into the act.

Pignoli cookies can cost up to $16 to $20 a pound if you buy them at an Italian bakery, but these Southern Italian holiday favorites are so easy to make you’ll want to make plenty and give them as gifts.

Pignoli Cookies

8 ounces pignoli (pine nuts)

½ cup granulated sugar

½ confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Dash salt

1 (8 ounces) almond paste

2 egg whites, slightly beaten

½ teaspoon almond extract

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees—line 2 cookie sheets with Teflon or Silpat liners or lightly butter them. Place pignoli in a shallow dish.

2. Combine granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, flour, and salt in a medium bowl and lightly whisk.

3. Break up the almond paste with your fingers and place it in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Add the egg whites and beat on low speed until smooth. You can use a hand mixer, but you’ll need a strong arm if you do it by hand.

4. Add the almond extract and the flour mixture and beat until flour is blended in about 30 seconds. Do not overbeat.

5. Using a teaspoon, scoop up a rounded spoon of dough and cover it with pignoli. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Wash sticky dough off your hands and keep them clean.

6. Bake the cookies for 18 to 25 minutes, depending on if you like them soft or chewy. Cool 1 minute before removing them from the rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Makes about 30 cookies.

Hints for making pignoli.

Always use almond paste, not marzipan, which is a combination of almond paste and sugar.

Break up the almond paste into small pieces with your fingers. If the almond paste has hardened, grate it using the large hole on a four-sided grater.

A small amount of flour will keep the cookies from spreading too much.

The size of the dough ball determines the size of the cookie. Make them smaller if you want more cookies.

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