Orson H. Gygi Blog — Everything Kitchen

Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

September 14, 2017 by connie Leave a Comment

Every year, when that first tomato is ripe on the vine, and you pop it straight in your mouth, it’s hard not to wonder why we ever buy a tomato from the store. That fresh, sun-ripened flavor is undeniably superior. If you can’t get enough, and are looking for a great way to preserve that flavor with a little flair, then you’ll love pickling your cherry tomatoes. It’s a great way to keep that fresh taste for a little while longer. Eat them just like you would your fresh tomatoes, in a salad, on a skewer or straight in your mouth. Yum.

Yum

Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 pint

Ingredients

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

Wash and dry your tomatoes. Use a skewer or toothpick to pierce a hole through the middle of each tomato.
Using a Pint Jar, add the garlic and peppercorns in the bottom.
Pack all the tomatoes into the jar.
In a small saucepan, pour in the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the brine to the jar, filling until 1/2 inch of the jar remains empty, there may be some brine left over.
Carefully shake, and tap the jar on the counter to help settle the tomatoes and to remove air bubbles. Add more brine if there are any tomatoes uncovered.
Put the lid on the top and seal until tight.
Leave the jar out to cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator. They'll taste better the longer they sit, let them sit for at least 48 hours.
They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Pickled Zucchini

September 13, 2017 by connie Leave a Comment

An abundance of zucchini will be a heaven sent when you try this delicious variation on pickling. Their crisp, bright flavor goes great in a salad, or as a side dish.

Yum

Pickled Zucchini

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1/2 gallon jar

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini or yellow squash
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 bay leaves
6-8 whole peppercorns
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Marinade
3 cups of boiling water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt

Directions

In a 1/2 gallon jar, or two quart jars, add garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns.
Slice zucchini into 1/3 inch rings and layer the slices in the jar, add a sprinkle of parsley and dill in between each layer.
In a small saucepan, combine the marinade ingredients and heat until the sugar is dissolved. carefully pour the brine over the layered zucchini.
Cover the jar with the lid and let the jar cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Enjoy within the next week!

Pickled Carrots

September 13, 2017 by connie Leave a Comment

These Asian pickled carrot have the perfect flair and crisp to accompany any salad, sandwich or even steak. So flavorful and fresh, you’ll enjoy these with many meals.

Yum

Pickled Carrots

Prep Time: 1 hour

Yield: 3 Half-pints

Ingredients

1 pound carrots, bias cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
3 whole allspice
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorn

Directions

Cook carrots in a covered large saucepan with salt in small amount of water. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until slightly tender, but still crisp. Drain the water off.
In three half-pint sized jars, layer the carrots, ginger, and one allspice in each jar.
Make the brine in a small saucepan by adding water, rice vinegar, brown sugar, cloves and peppercorns. Cook until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour brine over carrots, cover with lids and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in brine for 48 hours. Keeps in the fridge for 2 months.

Pickled Peaches

September 13, 2017 by connie Leave a Comment

Trust us on this one, if you just can’t enough of peaches this year, then you need to try pickled peaches. They’re great on salads, as a dessert topping, on a sandwich or burger, or with a slice of brie. These sour, tangy, and just right spicy peaches will give you just one more way to enjoy your summer peaches for a little while longer. And the best part? They pickle in the fridge! No canning required.

Yum

Pickled Peaches

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serving Size: 8 servings

Ingredients

2- Quart Mason Jars
1 1/4 cups rice vinegar
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
4-5 ripe peaches, cut into sixths

Directions

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the rice vinegar, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Cook until sugar is dissolved (check for grains on the back of a spoon). Warm the mixture slowly, and avoid boiling, you want to keep the pickling liquid warm, but not hot to keep the peaches from cooking.
Once the sugar is dissolved, remove it from the heat. If it is hot to the touch, allow it to cool.
Divide the ginger and peaches into two jars, layering the ginger first, with the peaches on the top.
Pour the pickling liquid over the peaches, making sure all the peaches are totally covered.
Cover with lids and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks, testing after the first week to check the flavor.
Eat the peaches within the month.

Beat The Heat Sale

May 2, 2017 by Heather Smith Leave a Comment

It’s Time For A Sale!
Let’s take advantage of Mother Nature’s “generous” cold temperatures and stock up on your summer chocolate needs before the weather heats up! As the temperatures rise, we suggest shipping chocolate overnight and include cold packs so your chocolate arrives just how we shipped it out. (If your chocolate does happen to melt on the way to you- keep in mind that melted chocolate, while is a little harder to measure out, is still fine. Couverture chocolates will need to be tempered and compound just needs to be melted again.) So we like to offer a discount, and get you to stock up now for your summer chocolate needs.

Get 10% off your next order when you use HEAT10 at checkout!

And just because we love a little extra celebration- 10% is good site wide! So throw on those extra sprinkles or bowls you’ve been eyeing, and don’t forget Mom– Get 10% off your next order when you use HEAT10 at checkout!

Online orders only. Expires 5/13/17.(May not be applied to previous orders. Exclusions may apply. Cannot be combined with any other offers.)

Churro Time

April 26, 2017 by Heather Smith Leave a Comment

We’re coming up on a favorite food holiday, Cinco de Mayo! Combining friends, family, music, fun and tacos, nachos, chips and guac and of course DELICIOUS CHURROS! Churros are a family favorite of ours, we try to make them several times a year and you really can’t beat a hot churro on a Sunday afternoon! If you are looking for our usual go to, head back several years-and try your hand at our deep-fried version, here. They are a favorite, you can’t go wrong! Just don’t forget the salted caramel or chocolate sauce it’s a perfect addition!

But, we are always up for trying new things. So we decided to try the baked churro option-with a few more twists, but why stop there. There has been hype around Loop Churros (check their site here) and we understand why– thick, deep fried , covered in cinnamon sugar, topped with flavored glaze and THEN adding your favorite toppings. Count me in! But it gets better-served in a cup with soft-serve ice cream! Somehow we seem to find a way to make the best foods even better! (Now before you get too worried about all the sugar- cause yes there is a lot— everything in moderation! Feel up with healthy foods all day and then get yourself this treat- share it to split the calories!).

So with a request from our friends at Studio5, we decided to attempt to combine the baked churro with Loop Churros ideas and see what we could come up with!

Yum

Baked Churros-Loop Style

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8-20, depending on size

Ingredients

CHURRO DOUGH:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
GLAZE:
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups Powdered Sugar
Toppings
assorted cereals
m&ms
reese's pieces
crushed oreos
crushed heath bar
whatever treats you love!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add butter, salt, sugar and water. Stir butter while it melts and let water to come to a boil.
Add flour all at once and quickly begin stirring to combine. Once dough comes together, continue stirring, over the heat, for 30 seconds.
Remove from heat and begin stirring in the eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next. Make sure you stir quickly, and your heat is off. If not you could cook your eggs.
When all the eggs are incorporated, stir in vanilla extract, then place the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe dough onto prepared baking sheet. You can make these any length you wish, just be sure to leave at least 1" between them to allow for rising.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until they become dark golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.
For Topping:
Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon and add to a resealable plastic bag.
Brush top and sides of cooled churros with melted butter then drop one or two at a time into bag with cinnamon sugar. If you are making the loop shape, just sprinkle and carefully dip into sugar mixture- they can be fragile so be careful. Shake to coat and repeat with remaining churros.
Glaze:
Heat milk and vanilla in small sauce pan, or microwave. Add powdered sugar and stir until well combined. This glaze will harden while in bowl, so use quickly and keep hot so it coats evenly.
Once churros have set up with butter and cinnamon sugar, using a pastry brush-brush glaze on loop end of churro and sprinkle favorite toppings on top. Allow to harden before moving.
Enjoy

Baking the churros made it much easier to make a lot. They do bake for about 25 minutes but if you can throw them in the oven and do other things. When frying them its a busy job keeping them in the oil and shaking them in a bag to coat. Not that either technique is hard, baking them just gave me a chance to clean up while they were baking.

The texture of the baked churro is not exactly the same as a deep-fried one. I still enjoyed it, and the addition of the melted butter for the cinnamon sugar mixture to stick to it satisfies that flavor you get from frying. No one will turn down any kind of churro, at least not anyone that I have met. One essential tool– do not forget an open star tip! These are a must for those ridges in your dough!

Once they are covered in cinnamon and sugar-you can have a lot of fun with the glaze and toppings. Just make sure to leave a little time for the butter too set on the churro before you try to spread the glaze.

Most of all– have fun! There’s a reason why churros are party food- everyone loves it and a little sweet makes everyone happy! We would love to see your churros- so if you happen to try out this recipe or your own— share with us! Use hashtag #gygieats on Instagram and tag us at @orsongygi—- we can’t wait to see what you create!

No Knead Artisan Bread

March 1, 2017 by Heather Smith Leave a Comment

I have had an interesting relationship with yeast. For the most part, we are pretty good friends. I understand it, it understands me. But there a few times where I have gotten a little over-confident and it quickly puts me right back in my place. This recipe is not one of those times. We discovered this recipe over 10 years ago, and its one of my favorite things to share with people (especially when they are buying their first Le Creuset pot for the first time!). Its contains the most simple of ingredients, it doesn’t require a lot of effort, and its truly amazing to watch how ingredients, if given the right time, will naturally do some beautiful and amazing things. This recipe requires time, time, and a little more time. But the flavors that are created are worth all the time in the world.

Plan ahead, watch the yeast, salt and flour do their wonders (look for those beautiful air pockets in your dough and strands of gluten when you release the dough from your bowl– its amazing!). And most of all– don’t be afraid to try! This recipe is easy and fun to change flavors by adding fresh herbs- but try it this way first– you won’t be sad you did!

Yum

No Knead Artisan Bread

Ingredients

3 cups (400 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons (8 grams) table salt
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant or other active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups (300 grams) cool water (55 to 65 degrees F)
cornmeal, or additional flour, for dusting
4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, usually takes about 30 seconds. Make sure it's really sticky to the touch; if it's not, mix in another tablespoon or two of water. I usually have to add just a bit more water.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel, or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature (about 72 degrees F), out of direct sunlight, until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size. This will take a minimum of 12 hours and up to 18 hours. This slow rise?fermentation?is the key to flavor. So the longer the better.
After the 12-18 hours is complete, dust counter with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto the board in one piece. When you begin to pull the dough away from the bowl, it will cling in long, thin strands (this is the developed gluten), and it will be quite loose and sticky?do not add more flour. Use lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula to lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.
Place a sheet or parchment or a heavily floured flour sack towel (not terry cloth, which tends to stick and may leave lint in the dough), on your work surface and generously dust the cloth with cornmeal, or flour. Use your hands or a bowl scraper to gently lift the dough onto the towel, so it is seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, making an indentation about 1/4 inch deep, it should hold the impression. If it doesn't, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third position, and place a covered 4 1/2?5 1/2 quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.
Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel, lightly dust the dough with flour, lift up the dough, either on the towel or in your hand, and quickly but gently invert it into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution?the pot will be very hot.) If you used parchment paper you can carefully lift the corners of the parchment and set directly into pot. Carefully so you do not touch the pan. If parchment is pressed into dough too much it will bake that way leaving the indentation, so carefully try to pull away from sides. Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and if baked on parchment, take pan out and carefully remove parchment. Your bread will slide right off, but this will allow it all to brown nicely. Place back in oven and bake until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly. Don't slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes at least an hour. Good luck, that's the hardest part-- waiting for the bread to be ready.

This bread bakes inside a Le Creuset pot that makes its own oven inside the pot. You will notice that the dough while rising becomes very wet and sticky. The moisture in the dough will bake inside the pot creating the perfect steam to give you an amazing crust and soft delicious bread inside. This is by far the best way to bake this bread. If you do not have an enamel coated dutch oven, come see us- or you can use a baking stone with a pan of water underneath. It does work well, but its best when baked in a dutch oven. Just remember, the pans are hot- be careful lifting and placing your bread in!

And don’t forget to watch our latest segment on Studio 5 here all about making this favorite bread! Heather Smith shares why we love it, and how you can make it your favorite too!

And PLEASE share with us your bread making adventures! We would love to hear your favorite ways to bake- and if you do this recipe please let us know! On instagram use the hashtag #gygieats, and @orsongygi and will stay caught up with you!

Gingerbread Chocolate Cookies

December 22, 2016 by Heather Smith Leave a Comment

One of our favorite things to do, especially during the Holidays, is bake some delicious treats up and pass them out to our customers visiting that day. The store smells good, people love to have a little something to snack on, and we get to try out new recipes and share our favorites with you. This past weekend a snow storm hit Utah, we knew that it would still be a busy day for everyone to come in, so we wanted to give them something to warm them up, and thank them for coming to see us. So we whipped up some of these Chocolate Gingerbread cookies a few days before, made some delicious hot chocolate and had ourselves a little party. Plus we had this cute little helper, so how could we not have some extra fun.

Many of you asked for the recipe for the cookies, so we thought we would share. These cookies have a great balance of all the spices you expect to find in gingerbread, but nothing too overpowering-most kids enjoyed them! The combination of chocolate and gingerbread makes you wonder why we haven’t combined them more often. Feel free to ice these with your favorite frosting, or leave them plain- they are delicious either way.

We hope you enjoy these, they are as easy as they are delicious.

Yum

Gingerbread Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, also some for dusting
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (we use this one-it makes all the difference!)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions

Combine your all your dry ingredients (except for the brown sugar) in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Place your softened butter and shortening in your mixer with the paddle attachment on. Mix on medium speed until it is smooth, about 30 seconds. Add in the brown sugar and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg to the batter and beat until just incorporated. Mix in the molasses and then the cooled bittersweet chocolate. Add the flour mixture in 1/2 cup at a time, beating between each addition. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Form into a disk, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough until chilled, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Lightly flour your countertop and roll out one disk of dough until 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4-5 inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes and place on cookies sheet. Continue until all the dough has been used.
Bake the cookies for about 7-9 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking until the tops are dry. Let the cookies cool on the cookies sheet for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack to cool.
These will produce a softish cookie, which I normally love. But we wanted something that would be more like a gingersnap- and so people could dip it in their hot chocolate. So we let them sit out overnight uncovered. If you like them softer, keep them covered- if you are looking for a little crispier cookie, bake for sure to the 9 minutes and allow them to sit out uncovered overnight.
enjoy!
recipe adapted from here

Merry Christmas

Holiday Bark

December 13, 2016 by Heather Smith Leave a Comment

Making edible neighbor gifts has been a favorite of ours for many years. Getting friends together to whip up some delicious treats, packaging them up in beautiful boxes or bags, and then taking them door to door to let those around you know that you have been thinking about them—- it’s a perfect way to celebrate Christmas.

Chocolate Bark has been one of my favorites to give because they are easy, delicious and everyone loves them! We have gathered a few of our favorites from the past just for you. For each recipe listed you really just need basic ingredients: chocolate and toppings. From there you can have some fun and experiment with flavors and types of chocolates.

#1-Peppermint Bark

This is a Christmas classic. The mix of two chocolates with the peppermint screams Christmas time, and truthfully I wouldn’t mind getting multiples of this gift. 🙂 Sometimes I will even add it to hot chocolate milk to make it extra creamy and pepperminty (try it!!). This is also a great way to use any leftover chocolate- pour it in your cookie sheet and add some toppings and you have a treat!

We have this great tutorial from the darling girls at Boxwood Clippings This makes the classic peppermint bark and no one will turn this down.

Just remember as you are making your bark– DON’T LET YOUR BOTTOM LAYER OF CHOCOLATE GET TOO HARD! I have made this mistake so many times, mostly because I get busy doing other things but if your bottom layer hardens all the way soften it up with blow dryer or just a sec in the oven. You want it to be nearly dry but not to dry that your top layer won’t adhere. If that happens, when you go to break your chocolate into pieces the white will separate from the dark and probably leave you upset and left with a pan to eat.

This year we made a new version “Bark Bark”. If you have seen the popular birch tree bark cakes made by The Cake Blog, and this one from Cake by Courtney:

We just had to try it! But we didn’t have need for a cake or really didn’t want to eat the whole cake by ourselves, so we took her technique and made it into Bark Bark, (hehe, get it)

We followed Courtney’s tutorial for making her bark. If I were to go back I would probably use these dark apeels instead of the milk- just to add some extra contrast, but either will work. Once you paint on the brown, pour over the white chocolate or if you are wanting extra peppermint flavor use these mint flavored ones, do it a bit thicker layer than Courtney does, cause you want some extra white on your bark, since we aren’t using it to line a cake it will be okay to do thicker.

Make sure that your white chocolate isn’t too hot as you pour it over the dark-let it sit for several minutes so that it doesn’t start to melt the ones you painted on. Once your white layer is almost set up, pour over the dark chocolate and then sprinkle on your crushed peppermint. I tend to sprinkle more peppermint because I love the texture of a lot but do as little or as lot as you like, then press it in before it cools. Once it cools you will not be able to get it to adhere, so move quickly.

Once your bark has completely hardened you can break it up. I cut it into strips, then break up the strips into pieces. Do it however you like, cutting it first will give you a little bit more of a uniformed shape. Take your pieces, place in a box or bag and hand out to your friends. They will love your play on words with some bark bark, or I am sure there are some clever sayings out there too! Keep them stored in a cool, but not fridge temperature, place.

#2 Spicy Chipotle Bark

This version of bark from Foodie Crush, is a great mix up of flavors and colors. For Christmas this red chocolate would be a fun change and also will let your recipient know that they are not just a normal bark.

#3-Fruit/Nut/Crisp Rice Bark

This is a great one, especially when you have lots of nuts and dried fruit hanging out in your pantry. There’s not rhyme or reason, just make sure the flavors mesh well together, add a little sea salt for some flavor contrast and you have yourself a delicious chocolate treat.