Recipes: Chocolate Beet Cake

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Serves 6-8   Prep Time 30 min   Bake Time 20 min

Ingredients
3 medium beets
½ cup olive oil
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup honey

Icing
3 tablespoons butter, softened
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

Topping
Hazelnuts

Tools

Weston Stainless Steel Food Mill

Steam the beets whole with about an inch of stem and root intact for 15-20 minutes. Steaming the beets allows them to be soft enough to puree while keeping in the nutrients and more of the magenta coloring. Allow to cool, then remove the stem and roots and cut into quarters. Insert the coarse milling disc into the food mill and set over a medium sized bowl. Drop the beets into the bowl of the food mill with the olive oil and puree by moving the arm in a clockwise motion.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse and dry the food mill and insert the fine milling disc. Pour in the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and sift through the mill. Change the disc back to the coarse milling disc. Set the mill over a large mixing bowl. Pour the mixture back through the mill with the maple syrup and honey and mix until all of the batter is in the large bowl.

Pour the batter into a 9” round coated baking pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the icing by pouring all of the ingredients into the food mill with the fine milling disc inserted. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Drop the cake onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once cool, glaze the cake with the icing and sprinkle with hazelnuts. For best results, refrigerate the cake for one hour to allow the icing to set.

 Chocolate Beet Cake Pops

You can also make Chocolate Beet Cake Pops with this recipe. They’re definitely sweeter and less healthy, but hey, they’re delicious! Find out how!

How To Make Cake Pops [Using a Weston Baking Mat]

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Using the Chocolate Beet Cake Recipe, you can make Chocolate Beet Cake Pops. They’re definitely sweeter and less healthy, but hey - they’re delicious!

You’ll need fair trade, organically-certified chocolate chips or chunks and lollipop sticks. We took half of our cake (we ate the other half!), crumbled it, made another batch of the icing with a Weston Food Mill, and added the icing to the crumbled cake.

Next, roll the cake into 1” balls. Melt one cup of chocolate in a double boiler with a little butter. Dip a cake ball a quarter of the way into the chocolate, insert a lollipop stick in the middle of the chocolate, and let dry. Repeat for all of the cake balls. Once dry, insert the entire cake ball into the chocolate and coat with hazelnuts. Turn upside down on a Weston Silicone Baking Mat (much more eco-friendly than parchment paper – it’s reusable!) set over a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour to set. Indulge.

Tools:

Weston Stainless Steel Food Mill              Weston Silicone Baking Mat

Recipes: Butter Chicken Masala

Marinade Time 1 hr   Prep Time 30 min   Cook Time 15 min
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast
2 tsp kosher salt
½ tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp tandoori masala
2 medium tomatoes
1 sprig spring onion, sliced
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 tbsp cashews, ground
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp lime juice
1 sprig cilantro


Garam Masala Recipe
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4  teaspoon saffron
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/2 stick cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon whole nutmeg


Toast all of the spices in a sautee pan. Once toasted, grind the mixture through the Weston Multi-Seed Grinder.


Ginger Garlic Paste Recipe
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon  ginger root, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil


Puree all of the ingredients together in a Weston Stainless Steel Food Mill.


Tandoori Masala Recipe
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ginger root, chopped
1 teaspoon mint, chopped
2 teaspoons dried chilis
1 ½ teaspoons tumeric
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon mango juice


Toast coriander, cumin, mint and ginger in a saute pan. Grind the mixture and remaining dry ingredients through the Weston Multi-Seed Grinder. Add mango juice.

How to Make Butter Chicken Marsala


Place chicken, tandoori masala , turmeric, yogurt, and a teaspoon of salt in a vacuum sealer bag and seal with a Weston Pro-2100 or Pro-2300 Vacuum Sealer to marinade more effectively. Leave to marinate for at least an hour.


In the meantime, smash cashews into smaller pieces, then grind with a Weston Multi-Seed Grinder.


Process the tomatoes into a paste with a Roma by Weston Tomato Press or Food Strainer & Sauce Maker.


In a medium saucepan, bring  tomato paste, ginger garlic puree, spring onions, and chicken to a soft boil then reduce heat to simmer. Add cashew powder, chili powder, cumin, garam masala, and a teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly. Add butter, cream, and then cook till the chicken is done.


Top the butter chicken with cilantro and lime juice.

Recipes: Corned Beef

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Prep Time 5 min      Cook Time 6 hrs      Serves 6-8

Ingredients
3 lb. beef brisket
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
4 crushed bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced onions

Tools

Weston 9" Food Slicer

Crock Pot

Place the brisket, seasoning, and 3 quarts of water into the crock pot and cook on medium for 6 hours. Remove from heat and let cool for about 30 minutes. Using the Weston 9" Food Slicer, slice the beef against the grain at your prefered thickness. We like ours over fresh rye bread with horseradish sauce and red skin potato salad on the side.

Recipes: Andouille Sausage

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Makes 4 - 8" sausages     Prep Time 45 min     Smoking Time 4 hr

Ingredients
4 lb. pork butts (the fattier the better)
1 tablespoon garlic power
1 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 crushed bay leaf

Weston Collagen Casings
Hickory Smoking Chips

Tools
Weston Meat Grinder
Weston Sausage Stuffer
Weston Vertical Propane Smoker

Preparation

First, soak wood chips for at least an hour.

Preheat your smoker to 130 degrees F. Your smoker will take 15-30 minutes to preheat so plan accordingly. Click here for help with using Weston smokers.

Before you start grinding, a few quick meat grinding tips to get you started:

• Keep your meat and equipment as cold as possible. Not only does this help prevent bacterial growth, it allows the meat to be ground more easily. I like to cool my tray, auger, and plates in the fridge for an hour or two before I grind the meat.
• I recommend using a kitchen grinder like a #5 or #8 if you regularly grind only small quantities of meat (like for this recipe). I used a #8 - it has a nice, powerful motor and cleanup is quick and easy.
• Spray your grinder with Weston Food Grade Silicone Spray before use to ensure smooth processing.

Making Andouille Sausage
Cube the pork into 1/2" pieces, then grind first with a coarse plate and then with a medium grinding plate. Mix the pork with all of the seasonings by hand in a Weston Meat Lug or with a Weston Meat Mixer (not necessary for a small quantity of meat as this recipe calls for).

Rinse the casings out by running water through them. Tie a knot in one end of a casing and push onto the funnel of the sausage stuffer (leave an inch or two of casing loose). I used a Weston 7 lb. Vertical Stuffer with a 20 mm stuffing funnel and 32 mm casings. Load the Stuffer by simply tilting out the canister and filling it with the seasoned ground pork. Hold the casing in one hand and turn the handle with the other handle. As the casing fills up, gently move it away from the funnel. Once the casing is filled to the size you'd like your sausage, twist the casing and either tie it in a knot and cut it to make one sausage or continue filling the same casing to make a link of sausages (which is nice for smoking because Weston Smokers have hooks for hanging sausage links).

Once your smoker is preheated, take the wood chips out of their water bowl and place them in the wood chip box. String your sausages onto the hooks or place individual sausages on the racks. Smoke them for an hour and a half at 130 and then increase the temperature to 165 degrees F. After two hours, check the internal temperature of the andouille. If it hasn't reached 155, continue to cook  for 30 min. increments until it reaches 155 degrees F.

Serve sliced over your favorite cajun-style dish.