Granula

Granola is a popular healthy breakfast cereal + snack with a nuttier history than the pile of pecans and almonds in its recipe. 

Here's a bit of granola history: Briefly, granola's roots trace back to the mid-1800s beginning with an American physician and minister named Dr. Sylvester Graham (preaching temperance & nutrition), who created the Graham Cracker. Then, in 1863, Dr. Jackson took Dr. Graham’s cracker one step further by grinding up this whole wheat biscuit into smaller pieces and then baking it, which became known as “Granula.” Sound familiar? 

That was when Dr. Kellogg’s whole-wheat breakfast food was renamed “Granola” because of a pending lawsuit initiated by Dr. Graham regarding his trademark rights to the Granula name. BTW, Dr. Kellogg’s Granola cereal never really caught on commercially. But, in 1898, granola inspired Charles Post’s Grape Nuts Cereal.  

Not all healthier cereal was Kellogg's inspired, though. A similar cereal by the Swiss Dr. Bircher-Benner created the popular Swiss cereal Muesli in the 1900s after hiking in the Swiss Alps. Birchermüsli Complet is still a popular food served, especially on hot summer evenings. It's a combo of whole grains, fruits, and nuts, topped with good Swiss cream and yogurt. 

Like Dr. Bircher-Benner’s Muesli, granola is delicious beyond the breakfast table. It is a great midday snack and is good topped on ice cream. Granola makes a taste baking topper on fresh summer fruits like peaches. Just bake as you would a cobbler. Prepare a fresh berry parfait or Creamy Rice Pudding from George Hirsch Lifestyle TV Series as an elegant dessert!

Today, granola recipes are as varied as our imagination and are so easy to make your own. Start with rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats).

Spices may include cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, orange zest, and crystallized ginger.

Nuts or seeds; may include almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pecans.

Other additions may include coconut, cranberries, raisins, dates, peanut butter, pure maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar. I almost hate to say it  - even chocolate chips. Just use very good quality chocolate.

George's Granola

About 12 servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | from George Hirsch Living it UP! cookbook

2 cups of rice cereal

2 cups bran cereal

2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)

1 cup raisins or any combination of dried fruit

1/2 cup pecans chopped

1/2 cup honey

Optional for flavor: 2 Tablespoons butter, melted 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Vegetable spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Spray vegetable spray on a nonstick roasting pan or use parchment paper.

Combine the rice cereal, bran, rolled oats, pecans, cinnamon, melted butter, and honey. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the oven. Granola should brown evenly; the browner it becomes, the crunchier and nuttier the granola will taste. Use caution not to burn. Mix in the raisins. Cool completely and store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week. 

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Lemon Squares

I have shared many desserts in my cookbooks and TV series, and I am delighted to share one of my most requested desserts. 

This is the quintessential dessert, although it is also a popular dessert during the summer season. I have been told my recipe is the perfect balance of sweetness, lemony tartness, and buttery shortbread. Make a batch and share this refreshing treat at your next gathering.

Lemon Squares, aka Lemon Bars

Makes 1 dozen eight-inch square pan

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

Short Bread Crust:

1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature 

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

pinch cinnamon

A square tip: (lining the pan with parchment paper is helpful for removing squares after baking)

Grease an 8-inch square pan with butter, line it with parchment

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Crust: With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon by hand, forming a light dough. Press dough into greased pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes; it should be light brown. Remove from oven and cool in pan.

Lemon Filling:

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

2 eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest 

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

For the Lemon Filling: Mix with a wire and whisk the sugar, flour, salt, and eggs until dissolved. Add fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla just until combined. Do not overmix, or too much air will affect filling. Pour the filling over the cooled shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until the filling is set. 

Remove from oven and cool. After cooling at room temperature, refrigerate. To serve, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. Chill lemon squares until ready to serve.

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Short Ribs Far East Style

New season of GHL releasing Oct 1st. Celebrating Chef George's 25th anniversary on PBS and Public TV Stations. Check local listings. Click to watch TV Series Preview

Summer may bring visions of slabs of pork ribs sizzling on the grill, but what do you do when the first chill arrives ? Simply take to the art of braising. Its long, slow cooking that infuses flavor by caramelizing the meat and vegetables; creating the makings of a full flavorful sauce. One of my good friends makes a classical version, which is excellent and tempting to prepare; but I'm offering a different flavor here today, which has been a viewer favorite- with a savory and sweet spin. Enjoy!

Short Ribs of Beef with Orange Ginger Sauce

Makes four servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

4 pounds beef short ribs, bone in 

1/4 cup flour, for coating beef short ribs 

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin 

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 

1 leek, whites only cut into one inch pieces 

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

2 teaspoons sherry 

2 teaspoons soy sauce 

juice of one orange 

1 1/2 cups beef broth 

Coat beef ribs with flour, shaking off any excess. 

Preheat a braising or sauce pot to medium high temperature. Add olive oil and sear beef short ribs until well browned, turning only once on each side. 

Drain any excess oil. Lower temperature of pot, add garlic, ginger, leeks, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, orange juice and beef broth. Bring sauce up to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2- 2 hours or until meat is beginning to fall away from the bone. 

When short ribs are fully cooked, remove meat from pot. Raise the temperature of the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the sauce to naturally thicken. 

Serve with steamed dumplings and stir-fry vegetables.

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Old Fashioned Coffee Break

When actually was the first coffee break? Possibly in 12th or 13th century in Africa. But, the officially dedicated daily event in the US, the 1900s.

In 1952, a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign urged consumers, "Give yourself a Coffee-Break - and Get What Coffee Gives to You." (source, NPR)

The coffee break was and still is such an important part of everyday lifestyle and now our culture. For more than three and one half million people in the US, the very ritual of having a cup of coffee gives good reason to get together, talk and even gather your thoughts, even if for just 10 to 15 minutes. I look forward to a later afternoon coffee break everyday.

Whether you take your break mid-morning or mid-afternoon, pair that freshly brewed coffee with my old fashioned style sour cream coffee cake. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Makes a 9" Bundt Pan, about 10-12 slices

 chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

For the Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

6 Tablespoons sweet butter, softened

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Place the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl and crumble together with your fingers until it forms a crumb mixture. Add in the nuts. Reserve and mix cake batter.

For the Cake:

1/2 cup sweet butter, one stick softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup 2% milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated orange rind

Grease and flour a tube, Bundt-style, or a regular-sized 9 1/2-inch baking pan.

Cream together the butter, sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix in eggs, vanilla and orange zest, one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl again.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, yogurt and milk together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately in three stages with the sour cream, yogurt, and milk mixture; stirring and scraping the bowl with spatula after each addition. Mix until just blended. Do not over mix.

Place half the batter in the pan, and sprinkle with half the topping mixture. With the back of butter knife swirl the batter slightly to mix the crumb mixture slightly into the bottom of cake batter. Add remaining batter, then the crumb topping.

Bake coffee cake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool for 15-20 minutes, and then remove from pan by placing a large plate over top of cake and invert pan. Tap the sides of cake pan to free cake from pan. Plate serving platter over the bottom and invert again. The crumb topping should be on the side up to serve. Allow to cool at least 2 hours (if you can) before slicing!

Cover cake once fully cooled.

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Summer Berry Cheesecake

Local berries of all types are in everywhere, and are at their peak - the perfect inspiration for topping my classic New York Style Cheesecake. So I suggest you run out to your local farm stand and get them while they are there! 

TIP: 

• Bake it blonde, with no color. Put a small piece of foil loosely on the top of the cheesecake an hour into baking to keep the cheesecake from coloring on top.

New York Style CheeseCake

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes 12-16 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle Magazine

To prepare the crumb bottom:

1-1/2 cups *vanilla wafers, grind into crumbs, or good cake crumbs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Line bottom and sides of a 10 inch tart pan, or 9 inch spring form baking pan with parchment paper. Parchment paper can overlap sides to make removal of cheesecake easier after baking. Place cookies in food processor; process until fine crumbs form. In a bowl mix cookie crumbs, melted butter and press onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate ten minutes.

2 pounds, 4-8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup Turbino (natural sugar in the raw) sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 whole eggs, beaten and at room temperature

3 yolks, add to whole eggs

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

To prepare cheesecake:

Preheat oven to oven to 400°F.

At medium speed with an electric mixer cream the cream cheese until smooth. Mix cornstarch with sugar and add to cream cheese. Reduce the mixer speed to low until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, mix just until blended. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream in two stages, stopping mixer and scrape bowl after each addition. Pour cheesecake filling over crumb bottom.

Bake 10 minutes at  400°F.; lower temperature to 225°F and continue baking 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until center is set. 

Cool 1 hour, un-mold cheesecake carefully from baking pan, refrigerate 2 hours. 

Add a Topping:

2 cups fresh mixed berries

1/4 cup raspberry jam, warm

Just before serving, arrange berries on top of cake. Warm jam in a microwave safe container for a few seconds, to slightly melted. Drizzle jam on top of berries and serve. 

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