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Fondue as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle

George Hirsch March 20, 2021

Love fondue, but not a fan of double dippers? The solution, my individual mini-fondue servings, will satisfy the creaminess of the cheese and wine sauce.

Serving a variety of crisp, colorful veggies makes for a healthier spin on the traditional fondue. The vegetables and bread can be prepared ahead, while the fondue sauce is a quick sauce prepared and served immediately. Topped with a zesty pesto cuts the heaviness of just serving an all cheese sauce.

Fondue with Sweet English Spring Peas & Garlic Scape Pesto

Sauce serves 6-8

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4 Tablespoons Garlic Scape Pesto, or my Perfect Pesto or Winter Pesto when scapes are out of season

1 cup dry white wine

½ pound Swiss Emmenthaler or Emmental cheese, shredded

½ pound Gruyere, cheese, shredded

2 Tablespoons flour

Pinch fresh grated nutmeg and sea salt

Fresh grated black pepper

Serve with assorted crisp vegetables such as string beans, spring peas, tomatoes & slices of crusty bread.

Prepare ahead an assortment of vegetables and sliced bread and arrange in small ramekins.

Mix flour with shredded cheese.

Immediately before serving, gently simmer wine in a small saucepan. Add Swiss cheese, Gruyere cheese a little bit at a time until blended into the wine. Keep gently stirring after each addition of cheese until completely melted. When all the cheese has melted, add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Ladle a small amount into each ramekin. Top with a small spoon of pesto. Serve immediately.

Tips:

- Use well-aged or moist grating cheeses for optimum flavor and texture of the sauce

- Caution: Cook at low heat with a gentle simmer, do not boil the cheese sauce

- To avoid over stringiness of cheese, do not over stir

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

Savory Waffles as seen on George Hirsch Lifestyle

George Hirsch March 6, 2021

At the 1964 World's Fair, Americans were introduced to the Belgian waffle, made fluffy with the help of yeast and egg whites. Once electric waffle irons replaced those inconvenient metal plates, waffles officially became an American favorite.

In North America, Belgian waffles are a variety of waffles with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. Belgian waffles were originally leavened with yeast but baking powder is now often used.

Tired of toast & sausage for breakfast and brunch? Then opt-in for a southern treat. These waffles are the perfect accompaniment to my Oven Fried Garlic Chicken, always a family favorite, and I’m delighted to share with you.

Savory Waffles

Makes 8 waffles

chefgeorgehirsch.com | from George Hirsch Lifestyle TV Series

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons pure cane sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 cups of milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

½ cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded

¼ teaspoon each:

curry powder, paprika, dried thyme, ground black pepper, hot sauce

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or dill

Preheat waffle maker.

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Put all ingredients, except egg whites, in a large mixing bowl. Beat on low until moistened. Increase to medium speed; mix for 2 minutes or until just smooth. Do not over mix.

By hand, gently fold in beaten egg whites. Pour 1/2 cup batter over grids for a regular waffle baker—more for a Belgium waffle. Close waffle maker, bake until steam no longer escapes, about 3 minutes. Repeat.

Serve while hot with Fried Chicken.

Note: Serve topped with butter and hot syrup, or better yet with warm fresh fruit compote.

***a classic Waffles + Oven Fried Chicken***

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

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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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

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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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

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

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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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