The view from Great Island

Edna Lewis' Grits: #36 on Gourmet's List of Women Game Changers

2012-02-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Pin It
This week we're up to #36 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Edna Lewis---granddaughter of a freed slave who dedicated her life to reviving and recording the heritage of old fashioned Southern cooking. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time. Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group

Ms. Lewis was the antithesis of a trendy chef. She believed that great cooking took place in the family kitchen, not in fine restaurants, and her one mission in life was to keep the down-home Southern cooking she grew up with from slipping into obscurity. She was born in Freetown, Virginia, a small farming community settled by freed slaves, among them her own grandfather. She learned to cook over a wood fire, without special tools or equipment. Biscuit dough would be assembled using various sized coins to mete out small amounts of salt and baking powder, and 'fistfuls' to measure the flour. Ingredients were limited to what they could grow, raise, or hunt, and she carried this passion for the simple tastes and techniques she grew up with into her early career as a chef in New York. She and her husband opened the successful Cafe Nicholson in Manhattan in 1948 at a time when women and blacks rarely rose out of the dish washing ranks. She went on to write four seminal cookbooks on Southern cuisine, the second of which is the classic The Taste of Country Cooking, which is part cookbook, part memoir. Her writings evoke an intense nostalgia for the way food was---

"So many great souls have passed off the scene. The world has changed. We are now faced with picking up the pieces and trying to put them into shape, document them so the present-day young generation can see what southern food was like. The foundation on which it rested was pure ingredients, open-pollinated seed—planted and replanted for generations—natural fertilizers. We grew the seeds of what we ate, we worked with love and care."

''As a child in Virginia, I thought all food tasted delicious. After growing up, I didn't think food tasted the same, so it has been my lifelong effort to try and recapture those good flavors of the past.'' ~~~ 1989 NYT interview

I chose Edna's Grits because they are a good example of her purist traditional style. When asked about the iconic Southern dish, she would only say "People should leave grits alone", meaning cook them in a little milk and water, mix in some cream and fresh butter, that's it. I topped them with fresh caught Maine native shrimp sauteed in butter and a splash of sherry. I hope she'd approve.

Grits ~~~Edna Lewis

2 cups water, or more
2 cups milk, or more
1 cup stone-ground or regular grits
kosher salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Heat the 2 cups water and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until just simmering.
While the milk is heating, put the stone-ground grits into a large mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Stir the grits assertively so that the chaff floats to the top. Skim the surface carefully and remove the chaff. Drain the grits in a fine strainer. (If you are using regular grits, skip this step.) Stir grits into the simmering water and milk. Cook, stirring often, until the grits are tender to the bite and have thickened to the consistency of thick oatmeal. As the grits thicken, stir them more often to keep them from sticking and scorching. Regular grits are done in about 20 minutes, but stone-ground require an hour or a little more to cook, and you will have to add additional milk and water as needed.
Season the grits generously with salt and stir in the cream and butter. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, until serving. Serve hot.

For Shrimp and Grits, saute fresh peeled shrimp in good butter, add a spash of sherry and reduce the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and serve over grits.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Lasagna Arrabbiata

2012-02-23T08:23:00.001-05:00

Pin It
Arrabiata , meaning angry, is a classic spicy hot Roman pasta sauce, and my version here is full of fiery chili pepper flakes, scorched roasted tomatoes, and garlic. But this particular lasagna has a kinder, gentler side to it, made with delicate fresh sheets of pasta, ricotta scooped and drained just moments before baking, milky white shards of mozzerella so fresh it's impossible to slice, and basil leaves pinched and placed as needed right from the bouquet.

I made this entire dish, including the fresh ricotta, while talking long distance to my sister in California, with the phone balanced in the crook of my neck. Like most lasagnas, it's not difficult, just time consuming, so the conversation was a good distraction.

As lasagnas go, this one is very simple. No meat, no veggies. I wanted the focus to be on the contrast between the spicy sauce and the delicate freshness of the pasta noodles and cheeses. I found the fresh frozen pasta sheets at Terra Cotta, a small New England chain that specializes in artisan pasta. If you can't find fresh, use no-boil noodles instead.

It was too late in the day to get much in the way of photos, but I wanted to post this anyway because, since we're inching towards spring, it could be a while before I make another lasagna.

Lasagna Arrabbiata
oven to 400
4 full sheets of fresh pasta, cut, if necessary, to fit your baking pan (You can also use no-boil noodles)
1 batch fresh ricotta (see recipe below)
1 egg, beaten
10-12 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
4-5 cloves garlic
olive oil
Italian seasoning
salt and fresh pepper
1 large jar of plain tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1/3 cup red wine
2 balls of fresh mozzerella, thinly sliced or shredded
1 large bunch fresh basil
Freshly grated Parmesan

If you are using frozen pasta sheets, open them and let them thaw on the counter, they thaw quickly.
Put the cloves of garlic (skin on) and the tomatoes cut side up on an oiled baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Roast them in the hot oven for about 1/2 hour or until they are shrunken and well roasted. When done, turn the oven down to 350.
Put the tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Squeeze the pulp out of the garlic cloves and add them to the tomatoes. Pulse the mixture until roughly pureed.
Pour the bottled tomato sauce into a bowl and add the roasted tomato mixture and wine to it. Stir to blend and salt to taste. Set aside.
Take the ricotta and blend it with the beaten egg and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.
Ladle a little of the sauce on the bottom of your lasagna baker and spread it out. Lay 1 pasta sheet on top. Spread or dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta and lay out basil leaves to cover the layer. Ladle sauce on top, covering the entire layer. Add 1/4 of the mozzerella, and spread out evenly.
Top with the second sheet of pasta and, using a spatula, press it down evenly so it is as flat as possible. Layer it the same way, starting with the ricotta and basil, then sauce, then mozzerella. Remember to flatten out each pasta sheet as you go.
Layer the third sheet and finally top the lasagna with the fourth sheet of pasta. Ladle a layer of sauce over the entire top, add the last 1/4 of mozzerella, and top liberally with grated Parmesan. You want this to be fairly 'saucy', but not drowning in it. I had a bit leftover. Cover loosely with non-stick foil and put in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Take off the foil and bake another 10 minutes until bubbling throughout.

Leftovers? Even better.

* Fresh Ricotta
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 tsp salt
the juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup)

Put the milk and salt in a heavy bottomed pot and heat until almost boiling over medium heat. You will see bubbles starting to roil under the surface. If your milk actually boils, that's ok, just take it off the heat and continue.
Stir in the lemon juice and set the pan off the heat. Let it sit for a minute; the curds will start to form immediately.
Gently scoop out the curds into a cheesecloth lined strainer set over a bowl to catch the excess liquid. As you scoop, more curds will be forming. Be sure to get all the curds...the remaining liquid will be thin and watery.
Turn the drained ricotta out from the cheesecloth into a bowl, and it's ready to use or store.

Mini Lady Grey Tea Cakes with Honey Frosting: Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook off!

2012-02-22T06:29:00.000-05:00

Pin It
It's time for round 2 of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook Off. Heather at Girlichef is hosting the event and asked a group of bloggers to join her in getting out the word--- Joy Wilson of the Joy the Baker blog has a cookbook debuting this month! We got advance copies of the book in exchange for sharing with our readers a few of Joy's recipes. Last week I made the unbelievable Frosted Brownies. This week it's a more elegant sweet, tailor made for the ladies who lunch: little cupcakes infused with Lady Grey Tea.

In Joy's original recipe these are Chamomile Tea Cakes. But since I've never like chamomile tea, (I think it reminds me of being sick, which is the only time I ever drink it) I didn't think she would mind if I substituted Lady Grey. Lady Grey is a more delicate variation of Earl Grey tea, it has a light floral/citrusy aroma, made with oil of bergamot, (from the rind of a sour citrus from Italy) lemon, and Seville orange.

Since I'm being honest, let me also tell you that I didn't think I was going to like these...I just wasn't sure how I felt about dumping the contents of a tea bag into cupcake batter. But guess what? I was utterly wrong! I really like the aromatic, lingering flavor the tea gives to these cupcakes. It blends with the vanilla really well. And it seems to me that you could substitute whatever tea you like here with no problem, whether it's an herbal tea, like Joy's original, or a black or even green tea. This represents a brave new world of flavors for me, and I'm already planning some tea infused shortbread...thank you Joy!

I like the batter for these cakes, too. It's very simple and non fussy, and the perfect amount for 12 flat cupcakes, which is sometimes just what you want when you are aiming for the little tea-cake look and don't want a domed top.

I highly recommend these grown-up cupcakes. They're perfect for a shower or tea, or if you're called upon to bring something to a book group, or an office party. They're easy to make and they are conversation pieces. Not to mention that they taste delicious. I garnished mine with a little lemon zest to echo the citrus in the Lady Grey, along with a dusting of the tea itself. I think these would be fabulous with edible flowers on top, too.

Mini Lady Grey Tea Cakes with Honey Frosting ~~~slightly altered from Joy Wilson's
Joy the Baker Cookbook
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
The contents of 2 bags of Lady Grey Tea (the original calls for 3 Tbsp dried chamomile, from tea bags)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
for the frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp honey
6 Tbsp heavy cream
pinch of salt

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven, and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper or foil liners and set aside. You can also grease and flour the cupcake pans and not use any liners.
To make the cakes: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chamomile leaves. The mixture will be slightly coarse and sandy when mixed for several minutes.
Whisk together milk, egg and vanilla.
Pour half of the milk mixture into the flour mixture with the mixer on medium-low speed. Beat until just incorporated.
Pour in the remaining milk mixture, and turn mixer up to medium. Beat for 1 minute, until well blended.
Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake cups. There isn’t a lot of batter, so you’ll only fill the liners up about halfway. You’ll also need a spatula to scrape the bowl for remaining batter.This recipe doesn’t waste a drop of cake batter.
Bake cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
To make the frosting: whisk together sifted powdered sugar, honey, cream, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Use a butter knife to generously spread the frosting a top the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with a bit of chamomile leaves and arrange on a pretty plate. Cakes will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book, but all opinions are my own.
*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef*

Apple Almond Crisp: love the one you're with

2012-02-21T06:46:00.000-05:00

Pin It I know that strawberry from Guatemala is tempting. He and his friends are big and bright red and they're right there when you walk into the supermarket...it's really hard to avoid eye contact...but in your heart you know it's wrong. And anyway, chances are, underneath that flashy exterior he'd be a big dud.

Let's be real. It's February. I'm guessing you're still watching the news on the couch huddled in a warm blanket, am I right? Keep a Kleenex box in every room? Uh huh. Sleeping with your socks on? I thought so.

So before you get all, flip-flops and Ray-Bans, and take a step back, breathe, and take a moment to appreciate the here and now. You've probably forgotten all about apples. They've been stalwart company throughout the winter, and they're still delicious. Don't you remember how you craved them last August?

Why don't you spend some quality time together. Do something frivolous for a change, just the two of you.

You can whip this up in the time it takes to preheat the oven. Change it out any way you want. Just keep the apples. You know it's the right thing to do.

Apple Almond Crisp (Gluten free!)
serves 4
oven to 375
5 or 6 apples, peeled and sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp heavy cream
Topping
1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 tube almond paste, crumbled
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1 tsp almond extract
creme fraiche mixed with a few vanilla bean seeds for serving

Pile the apple slices into a 8 or 9" baking dish, toss with the lemon juice and drizzle with the cream.
Put the rest of the ingredients, except the creme fraiche, into a bowl. Mix the topping together using your fingertips to break up the butter and the almond paste and incorporate everything evenly into a crumbly texture.
Sprinkle the topping over the apples and bake for about 40 minutes. Cover the top with foil for the last 10 minutes if it's getting too brown.
Serve hot with the creme fraiche, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Minimal Monday: Chicken Roasted with Black Olives

2012-02-20T12:35:00.002-05:00

Pin It

for two---

Set your oven to 400.

Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter into a dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pan and set it to heat up on medium to medium high heat.

Take 2 split chicken breast halves, bone in and skin on and sprinkle them liberally on both sides with salt and fresh pepper.

Lay them skin aside down in the hot oil and listen to them sizzle away for about 4 or 5 minutes while they get a nice brown crispy crust.

Flip them over and toss in a wine glass full of dry white wine. After the sputtering and steam dies down, take the pan off the heat.

Crush 2 or 3 cloves of garlic and throw them in.

Cut a half lemon into 2 wedges, squeeze the juice in, and throw the lemons in after it.

Pop open a jar of pitted black olives (I used Kalamata) and throw in a couple of handfuls.

Take a few sprigs of fresh oregano (or rosemary or thyme, or whatever you like) remove the leaves and throw them in.

Put the pan into the oven for about 20 minutes until cooked through.

Add salad, bread (there'll be juices) and more wine.

Sicilian Orange Tart

2012-02-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

Pin It
I usually try to wait a respectable amount of time before pouncing on a recipe that I discover while browsing other people's blogs.

But when I saw this tart from Giuliano Hazen (Marcella's son) over at Journey of an Italian Cook the other day, I was smitten. I knew I wouldn't be able to wait to try it myself. The thought of that crust loaded with orange zest and the citrus scent emanating from my oven was almost too much to bear.

I was definitely intrigued by the simple filling...just eggs, sugar, and orange juice, but I admit I was a bit skeptical as I poured the thin liquid into the crust. Then, about 20 minutes into the baking, the scent started filling the kitchen as promised and I could see it puffing up through the oven window.

There are richer, more complex orange tarts out there, but this one has a beguiling simplicity to it.

Sicilian Orange Tart ~~~from“Every Night Italian” by Giuliano Hazan via Journey of an Italian Cook

For the crust:

Grated zest of 2 oranges

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into a dozen pieces

3 extra large egg yolks

Pinch of salt

1-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

2 extra large eggs

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350.
Make the crust. Place the flour, sugar, butter, yolks salt and zest in a food processor. Pulse until well mixed. Add water until dough just forms.
Place the dough on top of the removable bottom of an 11-inch tart pan. Roll out to ¼” thickness. The edges of the dough should extend beyond the edge of the pan’s bottom. Place the dough and bottom into the tart pan frame. Press the dough up the sides and trim.
Bake the crust. Cover dough with aluminum foil and pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 10 minutes uncovered.
Make the filling. Mix the eggs and sugar in a mixer until pale yellow ribbons form (2-3 minutes). This took me several more minutes.
When the crust is baked, reduce the mixer speed and add the orange juice. Add the filling to the crust.
Bake the tart. Bake about 40 minutes. The filling should be golden and should remain firm when the pan is shaken. Cool completely. Mine cooked in about 35 minutes, and still jiggled a bit even when done.

Notes: The flavor of this tart is very subtle and understated, so it's not for you if you're looking for the zing of a lemon curd type of thing. Next time I would put some zest in the filling as well, and maybe add a teaspoon of orange extract to bring out the flavor a little more. It certainly is a looker, though!

Lebanese Meatballs

2012-02-18T08:27:00.001-05:00

Pin It

I know. These look really good, don't they? Little spiced meatballs are one of the things I make over and over again. But I do try and experiment with something a little different each time. This time I made them a little spicier and a little greener. I don't know why, but flavors tend to get sucked up by ground meat dishes like meatballs and meatloaves. It helps to have a pretty heavy hand with the seasonings if you want the flavors to come through in the end.

We had these meatballs with the Hummus and Laffa Bread the other night. I like meatballs because you can have just a little meat as part of a mostly vegetarian dinner.

And once you have the meatball 'formula' down, you can tweak it any way you like. My formula is an egg and half a cup of some kind of bread crumb for every pound of ground meat. The rest is up for grabs.

For these meatballs I added a little extra in the way of spices---cardamom, cumin, allspice and lots of salt and pepper. Cinnamon can be substitued for the cardamom if you don't have any. I love the exotic combinations of spices in Middle Eastern meats. You can experiment with other spices, too, like paprika, coriander, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg and chilies.

I also used a heavy hand with the greens...scallion, parsley and mint.

Just for a little more flavor and texture I added some crumbled goat cheese. You could also use feta.

Lebanese Meatballs
serves 4
oven to 350
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground lamb
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (grind some fresh in your mini processor if you have any bread lying around, or use prepared crumbs)
1/2 cup finely crumbled goat cheese (you can use feta)
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
1 tsp ground allspice
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil for browning
pine nuts for garnish
Yogurt Sauce
2 cups yogurt
1/4 cup tahini (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro, parsley, mint, or a combination, finely minced
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
salt to taste

For the meatballs: Put everything except the olive oil into a large bowl. Make sure you egg is pre-beaten. With as little manipulation as possible, combine all the ingredients thoroughly together. The less you work the mixture the more tender your meatballs will be.
Form into small balls and set on a plate. Using a scooper makes the process clean and easy. Mine was 1 3/4 inch.
If you want to do this part ahead, you can, just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till you're ready to cook.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs, in batches, for several minutes, turning them once or twice in the pan.
Transfer the meatballs to a baking sheet and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, until done. The time will depend on the size of your meatballs, I like to use my cooking thermometer to check one; it should read about 160 degrees. They will continue to cook a bit after they're out.
For the sauce mix up all the ingredients and thin with a little milk if it seems too thick. This can be made ahead.
Serve the meatballs with the sauce and a few pine nuts for garnish.

Soupe Flamande with Creme Fraiche and Frizzled Brussels Sprouts: #35 on Gourmet's List of the 50 Women Game Changers

2012-02-17T07:17:00.000-05:00

Pin It
This week we're up to #35 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Delia Smith---Britain's top selling cookbook author and television show host Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time. Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

In Britain, the phrase The Delia Effect refers to the surge in profits of a product once given the seal of approval by Ms. Smith, kind of like our Colbert Bump. One good word from her can send sales soaring. Some say this wildly popular cooking icon is the British equivalent of Martha Stewart, and given her level of celebrity I'm a little surprised I hadn't heard of her until now.

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Restaurants that are run by real cooks serving real food, and not what Elizabeth David called "theatre on a plate". ~~~from the Guardian, 11/2011

Delia Smith has been teaching the British to cook on television since the 1970s, and publishing cookbooks almost as long. While she doesn't have the charisma of a Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson, Smith does have staying power and a deep rooted following in Britain. Her niche is the world of everyday cooking and she taps into the huge market of everyday cooks. Critics claim she's bland and simplistic; one of her shows taught the viewers how to boil an egg. But it's hard to argue with such broad based popularity. You can explore her recipes and decide for yourself at her site Delia Online.

I chose this Flemish soup for a couple of reasons. While it's definitely a winter soup, made with winter vegetables like potatoes, leeks and Brussels sprouts, it's delicate green color is like a breath of spring. These days I'm looking for these kinds of foods that suggest the seasonal transition.

The other reason I had to try this soup was the frizzled Brussels sprouts. I've been hearing rumblings about them here and there on the Internet, and let me tell you these little unassuming bits of shredded and fried sprouts are epic. Whatever you do, don't skip them, they make this soup.

Soupe Flamande with Creme Fraiche and Frizzled Brussels Sprouts ~~~from Delia Online

12 oz (350 g) potatoes
2 large leeks
12 oz (350 g) Brussels sprouts
2 oz (50 g) butter
15 fl oz (425 ml) hot stock made with Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder (I used chicken stock)
1 pint (570 ml) milk
2 rounded tablespoons crème fraîche
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly milled black pepper
To garnish:
4 level tablespoons crème fraîche
8 large sprouts, trimmed and shredded
2 Tbsp olive oil

Start by peeling and thickly slicing the potatoes. When the leeks are trimmed and washed, cut them all the way through, vertically; then chop them into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces. Then trim the base of the sprouts, discard any damaged outer leaves and quarter the larger sprouts and halve any smaller ones.
Next, melt the butter in a good large saucepan, add the potatoes, leeks and sprouts, and stir well to coat them nicely in the butter. Add some salt and freshly milled black pepper, turn the heat to low, put a lid on and allow the vegetables to sweat gently for 5 minutes.
Then add the stock and milk bring everything up to simmering point and cook very gently for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Because of the milk, it is best to put the lid only three quarters on, to prevent everything boiling over, and to keep the heat really low.
After that, liquidise the soup and then return it to the pan; add the 2 rounded tablespoons of creme fraiche, then reheat the soup gently, taste and add a good squeeze of lemon juice, and more seasoning if it needs it.
Make the garnish while the soup is reheating. To do this, heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over a high heat, and when the oil is really hot and shimmering, add the shredded sprouts and fry them, stirring occasionally so they don't catch on the base of the pan. When they are crisp and golden brown, which should take 2-3 minutes, lift them, using a draining spoon, on to crumpled kitchen paper to drain. If you want to make the garnish in advance, you can re-frizzle the sprouts in a hot frying pan just before serving.
Serve the soup in hot bowls with a little crème fraîche spooned on top of each one and garnished with the frizzled sprouts.

As we were eating our soup last night my husband turned to me and said, make sure you advise your readers to maximize the frizzles. I couldn't have said it better myself. Consider yourselves advised.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Vanilla Hazelnut Latte Scones

2012-02-16T09:44:00.001-05:00

Pin It

A tall double shot vanilla hazelnut non-fat latte.

Do you have Starbucks performance anxiety? I do. I can't tell you how many times I've stood on one of those lines, inching towards the front, rehearsing my order with each shuffle of my feet...imagining it flowing effortlessly from my lips, only to finally reach the counter and become a blithering stuttering idiot.

I've discovered the only way to combat this for sure is to picture the Baristas in their underwear. Works every time.

Sometimes I give myself a break from all that stress and whip up some of these lovely little latte scones. The espresso powder is my latest obsession, It worked so well in my Espresso Hazelnut Cookies and my Coffee Walnut and Hazelnut Cake that it was only a matter of time before I got around to scones. One tablespoon of the powder, dissolved in one tablespoon of hot water and you've made yourself an extract that infuses the dough with a delicious espresso flavor. I also love how it tints the scones a warm coffee color.

Vanilla Hazelnut Latte Scones

Oven to 400
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup hazelnut flour (or finely ground hazelnuts)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut in chunks
1 egg
1/2 -2/3 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp espresso powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean
milk to thin

In the bowl of a food processor put the dry ingredients and pulse to combine.
Add in the chunks of cold butter and pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly.
Beat the egg lightly in a measuring cup, add the extracts and then the buttermilk until it just reaches the 8oz mark. Blend it together.
While the machine is running pour the liquid in in a steady stream until the dough comes together. It will be wet, but if it seems really wet, you can add a little more flour.
Turn the wet dough out onto a floured surface and lightly pat into a 9 inch round. You can turn it around once in the flour if it's really wet.
Cut the disk into 6 triangles or cut the scones with a biscuit or cookie cutter and transfer them to a parchment or silpat lined baking pan.
Bake for about 15 minutes until risen and lightly browned.
Cool on a rack.
For the glaze, add the vanilla seeds, vanilla and just a tablespoon of milk to the sugar and stir well. Add more milk a teaspoon at a time until you have a thick glaze.
When the scones are completely cool, dip them in the glaze, hold them upside down for a few seconds, and then turn over and set to dry.

How's that? A nice vanilla hazelnut latte without the sweaty palms.

Fettuccine with Mushroom Marsala

2012-02-15T07:51:00.000-05:00

Pin It
Just because Valentine's Day has come and gone doesn't mean you should stop thinking about sensual foods. Like this Fettuccine with creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce. This is not only elegant, but like the Pistachio Crusted Flounder, it's another really quick meal. I'm on a quick meal roll this week.

I made this pasta for our dinner last night; we were expecting to have a quiet evening at home when, around 5 pm, we got the call from our favorite restaurant---we got off the waiting list! (Just as I was starting to get some good mileage out of teasing my husband about it.)

And we got the best table, too! It was comfy and secluded. I'm a huge table snob. To me there's nothing worse than spending a lot of money to go out to dinner and being seated at a postage sized table wedged in between a loud-talker (Seinfeld was right on about that one) and one of those types who likes to stare at what you're eating while they wait, endlessly, for their appetizers. Not romantic at all.

This dish is almost as good as going out. I go back to this basic sauce again and again because it's easy yet so sophisticated. Put your nose up to the Marsala bottle and take a whiff: it's instant white tablecloth and candlelight. All you need to pick up is some fresh thyme, and a bunch of nice looking mushrooms, whatever kind you like.

My favorite way to use mushrooms is all by themselves. Their flavor and texture is so distinctive it's a shame to mix them in as an afterthought. Could you add chicken, or shrimp, or asparagus to this dish? Sure. But I wouldn't.

You're going to need about 8 ounces of mushrooms for two, or a pound for four people. You should have all the rest in the house: shallot, garlic, Marsala (one bottle lasts forever) chicken stock, cream, lemon and a box of fettuccine.

Fettuccine with Mushroom Marsala Sauce
serves 2
1/3-1/2 lb fettuccine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large shallot, minced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
8 oz assorted mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1/3 cup chicken stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp of Wondra flour*
1/3 cup heavy cream
several sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stalks
salt and fresh cracked pepper
Chopped parsley
Freshly grated Parmesan for garnish

In a heavy pot melt and butter and olive oil and saute the shallot and garlic for a few minutes.
Add in the mushrooms and saute, stirring often, for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms just tender. If the pot seems too dry, add a little more olive oil.
Add the Marsala into the hot pot and let it evaporate for a minute, then add the chicken stock, thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Let the sauce simmer and reduce for a few minutes. Sprinkle in a dash of Wondra flour and blend in.
Add in the cream, and bring back to a simmer. Check for seasoning and set aside while you cook the fettuccine.
When the fettuccine is just al dente, either add it to the sauce and toss well, or put it in a serving bowl and top with the sauce. Garnish with cheese and parsley.

* Wondra flour is formulated to dissolve instantly in hot or cold liquids, no clumping. It's the best thing for those times when you just want to slightly thicken a sauce, especially at the last minute. All you do is sprinkle it in and stir.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream: Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off!

2012-02-14T06:52:00.000-05:00

Pin It

Today I'm gilding the lily, going overboard, taking things a step too far...

But that's ok because, A: it's Valentine's Day, and B: I'm participating in the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook Off! Heather at Girlichef asked a group of bloggers to join her in getting out the word--- Joy the Baker has a cookbook debuting this month!

I got an advance copy of the book, how cool is that?

And all I have to do is cook up a few of Joy's amazing goodies. So today you and I get to sample these brownies before everyone else. I'd say that's a pretty nice Valentine's treat.

Which brings me back to my point---these fudgey brownies, rich and chocolaty to begin with, are also loaded with chocolate chips, and then topped with the most addictive frosting I have ever had. And do you want to know what else?

You will have frosting leftover, which means you will be practically forced to eat it with a spoon. (ok, I might have missed the direction to halve the frosting recipe).

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
~~~from the Joy the Baker Cookbook
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a medium, heatproof bowl, add butter and unsweetened chocolate. Place the bowl over, but not touching, the simmering water and allow to melt. Stir to incorporate. Once melted, remove the bowl from the simmering pot.
Whisk in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture all at once to the chocolate mixture. Fold together with a spatula until well incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the brownie comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting. Frost with a half recipe of The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (see below) when cooled. Brownies last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to five days.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

3/4 cup ( 11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2-3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
scant 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Ovaltine (any variety)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, cocoa powder, and salt. Mixture will be very thick, but cream for about 3 minutes at medium speed.
Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on low to incorporate 21/2 cups powdered sugar while adding the milk and vanilla. As the sugar incorporates, gradually increase the mixer speed to medium-high. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat until smooth.
In a 1-cup measure, stir together cream and Ovaltine. Turn the mixer to medium, and pour the cream in a slow and steady stream until the frosting reaches your desires consistency: smooth, creamy, and spreadable. Add more powdered sugar to adjust consistency.
Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cakes, cupcakes or brownies.

These brownies are as good as you are probably imagining there are, but super rich. I'd say they're best saved for a special occasion, like, well, today! I will say that the real discovery for me here is the frosting; it's unusual and really really good. It has a beautiful medium mocha color that contrasts with the deep dark brownies. That's good, because if you're going to do something as decadent as frosting a brownie, you should be able to see that extra layer. I was skeptical about the Ovaltine, but it actually adds a nice tang, almost like sour cream. Did I mention that this frosting has a texture like whipped mousse?

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're going to gild the lily, this is the stuff to do it with.

I had to keep snapping shots of these irresistible brownies to keep from devouring the whole pan. Since it's Valentine's Day I really should share a couple of them ;)

Yes---next week I'll be cooking up another sneak peek recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook, I can't wait!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book, but all opinions are my own.
*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef*

Minimal Monday: Pistachio Crusted Flounder

2012-02-13T06:36:00.000-05:00

Pin It
Keep it simple. That's the lesson I learned today. I originally had more elaborate plans for this flounder. It involved pistachios, pink grapefruit, fresh ginger, wine, shallots, herbs, the whole nine yards. But somewhere along the way it occurred to me. All I really needed was the pistachios. Maybe a little butter and lemon.

After all,the wild caught flounder that I found at the fish market is a delicacy in itself. I love the pistachio crust because it's so fresh and green, you don't even need a garnish. If you just wilt the baby spinach with a touch of olive oil and a little salt you'll bring out the flavor without reducing it to a sodden mass. From start to finish this dinner comes together in 20 minutes.

Pistachio Crusted Flounder
dinner for two
oven to 400
2 fillets of flounder
1/2 cup of finely chopped/crushed pistachios
1 Meyer lemon
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces
olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
1 bag of baby spinach

Drizzle a little olive oil in a pot and heat it up on a medium heat. When the pan is hot, put in the spinach and, pulling the pan off the heat, just toss it and let it wilt. Add some salt and pepper. Set aside.
Drizzle the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and lay the two pieces of flounder on top. Sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper and then drizzle them with olive oil.
Press in a good coating of the crushed pistachios over each fish. Don't skimp.
Dot with the butter, squeeze half the lemon over the fish, and bake for 10 minutes.
Put under the broiler briefly, just until the nuts get a little golden and everything is sizzling. Watch carefully because the nuts will burn very quickly.
Serve the fish over the spinach with wedges of Meyer lemon.

Note: You can substitute just about any fish, but I think a mild white fish like sole, tilapia, haddock or snapper would work best. The best way to chop the nuts is in a mini food processor, it will only take 15 seconds or so.
Enjoy!

Hummus and Laffa Bread

2012-02-12T06:59:00.000-05:00

Pin It

I'm a pretty humble person

I don't like to toot my own horn

or pat myself on the back,

which is all by way of assuring you that I don't say this very often, but... don't lose track of this post! Pin it, bookmark it, memorize it, do whatever you need to do to make sure you don't lose it before you make this laffa bread and this hummus. Make it for (or even better, with!) your Valentine---you'll both forget all about chocolate.

Everybody knows that homemade hummus is the way to go. It's so easy and it's so much better than even the best stuff you can buy. But the real star of this post is the laffa bread. Laffa bread is a middle eastern bread that is thicker and chewier than pita. It's used to wrap meats like kebabs and shawarma in food stands. It's super popular in Israel and Palestine, and it's perfect for scooping up hummus. Once you taste laffa bread you'll never go back to pita again.

The bread dough rises for about an hour, then gets formed into individual pieces, rests for 10 minutes and then gets rolled out and cooked quickly on a griddle.

I find it amazing that so many different breads have such unique characteristics even though they start out with the same simple ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water and oil. This bread cooks in just a couple of minutes, and is chewy and very elastic. The scorch marks give it a nice grilled flavor. It's not a fussy bread---it rolls out easily and the shape isn't important, you're going to be ripping it apart anyway.
I found my recipe here, it makes 10-12 individual loaves so I froze half the dough in a heavy weight zip lock baggie after the initial rise.

Laffa Bread
7 cups unbleached bread flour plus another ½ cup in case the dough is little to sticky
1 package dry rapid rise yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups of warm water

Combine the dry ingredients. Add the oil and water and if you are using a food processor process for about 60 seconds until a very smooth, soft, and slightly sticky ball forms. If using a mixer, mix with the dough hook until the dough is very smooth, soft and elastic. If making by hand; after you add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix by hand in the bowl for a few moments until well combined and coming together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about ten minutes until smooth and elastic.
In all cases after the kneading, place the dough in an oiled bowl and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Then cover the bowl with a tea towel and place it in a draft free warm corner so the dough may rise. In about an hour, when the dough has doubled or more, punch the dough down. Divide the dough into 10-12 equal balls, and then roll the balls until smooth. Place the balls on an oiled cookie sheet. Cover them with a damp tea towel and let the dough balls rest for about ten minutes. Resting makes the dough easier to roll out.
Pre-heat a grill pan to medium. I found that the large non stick grill pan was the easiest to work with. Take a ball of dough in your hands and flatten it out on an oiled wood surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin or use your hands. Make a circle about 12 inches in diameter and place the Laffa on the hot grill surface. When you see the edges looking dry and the bread is poofing up turn it over. Laffa only takes a few minutes to grill. Place the finished Laffas in between some kitchen towels to keep warm.

I am so happy with this recipe, it turns out the perfect laffa bread. I used my kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook and it was great. Even here in February in New England, the warmth from a sunny window rose the dough beautifully. My bread cooked for about 2 minutes on the first side and just a scant minute on the other. I recommend really pre-heating your griddle well.

Now for the Hummus. Because I spent time on the bread, I used canned beans here. But you can go all the way and use dried beans. I think that's actually better. But canned are almost as good! This is a basic recipe, halve it if you like.

Hummus
2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, liquid reserved
at least 1/2 cup tahini
the juice of 1 1/2 lemons
2 smashed cloves of garlic
a couple of tablespoons of olive oil plus more for garnish
toasted pine nuts for garnish
salt

Put the beans, tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor or blender.
Start pulsing and add a little of the liquid from the beans to get a good consistency.
Drizzle in a little olive oil and salt to taste.
Pour into your serving dish and drizzle with more olive oil and toasted pine nuts. If you aren't using it right away, store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

Note: Some people like to remove the chickpea skins before making hummus because the skins add a very slight gritty texture. Go here to find instructions on how to do this. It's not at all necessary, but it does result in a very creamy texture, which I like. With canned beans you can heat them to boiling and then the skins will separate more easily.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Homemade Tahini

2012-02-11T06:45:00.000-05:00

Pin It
It's been dawning on me recently that so many of the products I regularly buy are easy to make at home. Sometimes it's economical to do it, sometimes not. Sometimes it's better than the commercial version, sometimes not (remember fresh pumpkin puree?) Most of the time, though, it's educational and a lot of fun to make a favorite food from scratch and see how simple it can be.

Tahini, which I use all the time in hummus, is a very finely ground sesame butter thinned with olive oil. It's used in Middle Eastern, North African, Greek, Turkish and Asian cooking. It's usually an ingredient rather than a stand alone food and it's used in tons of things from soups and sauces to desserts. If you like to cook Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food you'll want to have this around. And yes, this is one of those do-it-yourself projects that is more economical and tastier than the commercial product.

Sesame seeds don't look like much but they pack a big punch, especially when they're toasted. If you've ever used sesame oil you'll know the aroma. I don't usually have lots of sesame seeds hanging around, in fact most of you probably buy them in a tiny spice jar size. But sometimes I like to add them to homemade granola, so I bought a large bag of them. The same companies that sell specialty flours, Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills, sell sesame seeds in bulk as well.

2 cups of sesame seeds will yield a pint of tahini. The texture will be slightly more coarse than commercial brands, which are made from hulled seeds in commercial machines. The hulls on regular sesame seeds will give the tahini a slight texture, but the homemade has a more distinct flavor, which makes up for any difference in texture, imo.

Homemade Tahini
oven to 350
2 cups sesame seeds
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil

Spread the seeds out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Shake the pan to redistribute the seeds several times, and watch out for burning. Cool on the pan.
When the seeds are cool, put them in the bowl of a small food processor. Drizzle the oil in while processing the seeds. It will take about 3 to 5 minutes to get it completely smooth. Add enough oil to get a runny consistency and scrape down the sides as necessary. When in doubt, keep processing.
That's it! Store the tahini in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Note: You are looking for a fairly thin consistency in the final tahini. As opposed to nut butters, tahini can be poured right out of a jar. It will take a fair amount of oil and lots of whizzing.
I use tahini all the time in hummus, and mixed with lemon juice and water it's the perfect sauce for falafel, shish-kebab, or even veggie burgers.

I'll be posting the delicious Hummus I made with my tahini, and a killer Laffa Bread tomorrow...

Shrimp Creole, # 34 on Gourmet's List of Women Game Changers: Ella Brennan

2012-02-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

Pin It

This week we're up to #34 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Ella Brennan---the dynamo restaurateur and 'Queen of Creole Cuisine' from the Big Easy. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time. Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

Ella Brennan is synonymous with fine southern cooking, but as opposed to some of our other Game Changers, she wasn't born into privilege; she started from the ground up working odd jobs at her brother's restaurant as a teenager during the Depression. She didn't stop until she and her family owned 12 award winning eating establishments across the south, among them the famous Commander's Palace in New Orleans. She is credited with bringing 'haute' or 'nouvelle' Creole cuisine into the spotlight and elevating it to a national prominence. The Commander's Palace became a training ground for many of the city's best chefs, and over the course of 65 years Ella Brennan and her restaurants have come to epitomize old style southern hospitality and down home comfort.

The family packaged the Creole mystique and pushed it into the American mainstream. 'Bananas Foster' was invented during Miss Ella's reign at Brennan's; so was 'Breakfast at Brennan's', the prototypical American brunch. Paul Prudhomme got his start at Commander's Palace. The Brennans preserved a bastion of civility, where good eating is de rigueur, as much as telling long, vivid stories.*

I chose Creole Sauce from Brennan's restaurant because it's a classic Creole/Cajun recipe that can be adapted to use in so many different kinds of dishes. I'm not all that familiar with southern cooking, so I thought this would be a good one to have under my belt. You can make it vegetarian with rice and beans, or use it with chicken, sausage, or seafood. It's native shrimp season here so I added the tiny wild caught native shrimp and served it over rice.

The dish starts like most Creole dishes with sauteing the holy trinity: onions, bell peppers and celery in plenty of butter.

Lots of tomatoes, paprika, Worcestershire, and 3 kinds of pepper give it a deep red color and a snappy taste.

Creole Sauce ~~~ from Brennan's Restaurant
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2. cups green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
pinch of black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of white pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoon water
1/4 cup fresh parsley

Melt butter in a large saucepan and cook the bell pepper, onion, celery, and garlic until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, and Italian seasoning and cook an additional 3 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water, tomato juice, tomatoes, Worcestershire, salt, black, cayenne and white pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, blend the cornstarch with 4 tablespoons water until smooth. Gradually add the cornstarch to the mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

To make Shrimp Creole, just cook a pound of cleaned raw shrimp right in the finished sauce for a few minutes until cooked through. Serve over rice.

Note: I didn't thicken mine with the cornstarch because I prefer a thinner texture. I also added several dashes of Louisiana hot sauce for a little kick. You can make the sauce ahead, but don't add the shrimp until just before you are ready to eat.

*You can read more about Ella in this NYT article.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

I can't resist...

2012-02-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

Pin It

Aren't they cute? My daughter's friends posted this on her facebook wall, they found it on the Internet, and I'm not sure of the original source. I may just have to try to make these...

Amaretto Poppy Seed Cake

2012-02-08T11:12:00.002-05:00

Pin It
Every once in a while I can't decide what I want to make. I've got too many sticky notes plastering my desk, I've bookmarked too many tempting blog posts, there are too many cookbooks lying around with too many little tabs sticking out of their pages, and it overwhelms me. At times like this the id takes over. I just make an arbitrary decision. I want almond poppy seed cake.

But of course no decision is ever arbitrary. Almonds are up there with lemons and chocolate in my top flavors playbook. And ever since that tangerine cake I've been wanting to revisit its moist dense texture loaded with crunchy poppy seeds. Between the almond flour, the paste, the extract and the Amaretto there's 4 layers of almond flavors here, and I could have made it 5 if I'd thought to sprinkle some nuts on top.

No need to buy a big bottle of Amaretto just for this...those mini bottles are perfect. And you can pop the other half of the tube of almond paste into the freezer for another use.

Amaretto Poppy Seed Cake
oven to 350
1 cup (two sticks) room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tube almond paste, crumbled
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1cup buttermilk
1 tsp almond extract
3 Tbsp Amaretto
1 3/4 cups poppy seeds
for the glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp almond extract
milk or cream to thin

Cream the butter, sugar and almond paste together.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while beating.
Mix the buttermilk with the almond extract and Amaretto in a measuring cup.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl with the poppyseeds.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet to the butter, beating just to combine.
Spoon the batter into a greased tube pan and smooth out the top.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before glazing.
For the glaze mix the confectioner's sugar with enough milk or cream to thin to a glaze consistency, and add in the extract. You can also use Amaretto to thin the sugar if you prefer. Sprinkle a few poppy seeds or sliced almonds on top if you want to.

Note: This moist cake keeps well but the glaze will not stay smooth and pretty after a day under a cake dome. If you are serving any kind of glazed cake for company, it's best to glaze it the same day you'll be serving it. I won't lie, I eat this for breakfast, but if you aren't up for that, at the very least have a sliver before lunch.

Thai Coconut Soup

2012-02-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

Pin It
Mmmmmmmm.

This soup is completely different from all the other soups that I make and that's why I love it. There's not a clove of garlic, pepper grinder, or hunk of Parmesan cheese in sight. It's so much more intensely flavored than most western soups, it'll wake you up, tingle your taste buds and make your nose run (in a good way).

The ingredients are beautiful in themselves, falling into a palette of zesty flavorful greens that make up the backbone of flavors, along with the less assertive but luminescent whites of the onion, mushrooms, baby bok-choy, chunks of chicken and coconut milk

The soup gets its beautiful salmony color from the chili and red curry pastes. I was happy to discover them in new smaller 4 oz sizes, which is perfect for someone who cooks Asian food only occasionally.

The only trouble you might have is finding a stalk of lemongrass. I found mine hanging out all by itself in a bin shoved against the corner of one of the produce shelves, looking a little worse for wear. It has a unique flavor so it's worth it if you can locate it, but don't worry if you can't find it.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
serves 4
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 1/2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, upper and outer leaves trimmed off, peeled and halved the long way
2 small hot peppers, sliced
1 can coconut milk (DON'T use coconut creme...that's for cocktails)
1 Tbsp chili paste
1 Tbsp red curry paste
2-3 Tbsp fish sauce
2 cups cooked chicken
1 head baby bok choy, sliced
a couple of handfuls of sliced mushrooms
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
minced red bell pepper for garnish (optional)

Put the chicken stock and water in a soup pot, along with the onion, ginger, stalk of lemongrass and sliced hot peppers. Simmer over medium low heat for about 15 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, pastes, fish sauce, chicken, mushrooms and bok choy. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes until the vegetables are just tender.
Add the lime juice, cilantro and salt to taste. Remove the lemongrass and serve.

Minimal Monday: Golden Beet, Watercress and Gorgonzola Salad

2012-02-06T06:42:00.000-05:00

Pin It
Can you tell I like doing things in multiples? This week's colorful salad is a variation of last week's, only today we're playing with different ingredients and a different part of the color wheel.

Once February rolls around you're allowed to officially start daydreaming about spring. Any earlier than that and it's just pathetic. I think our bodies need an infusion of salad veggies after so many months of winter. The golden beets keep this salad hearty and firmly rooted in seasonal reality, but the baby radishes and the sprigs of watercress give it a whisper of spring.

Beets are great veggies to have around. Not only do they keep forever before you cook them, they keep really well in the fridge after you've roasted, peeled and chopped them. That makes them a great base for quick easy salads. Another thing about beets: they sure take a heck of a long time to roast...I roasted 4 medium golden beets in foil in a 400 degree oven for at least and hour and a half and they were still very firm. Be sure to do it the day before or you'll starve waiting for them to cook.

I equate watercress with vitality and energy, and it's packed with health benefits. It has a peppery flavor kind of like arugula, and between the stems and the leaves it adds interesting texture to salads.

Golden beets, baby radishes, thinly sliced red onion, watercress, and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. The dressing is up to you.

Recipes from Home: Pasta Broccoli

2012-02-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

Pin It

This recipe is a winner. Literally.

When my oldest daughter was a freshman her college had a wonderful program called Recipes from Home. They invited parents to send in their family recipes and the best ones would be chosen to be made by the dining hall and served at the college.
You guessed it. This dish won.
I'll never forget my daughter calling to let me know...she was mortified! I guess having her name on the little plaque in front of the Pasta Broccoli was a touch embarrassing. But as it turned out all her friends loved it, so I was forgiven.

This pasta doesn't look like much, I admit. It's homey. But it has a surprising array of flavors and textures for a humble little pasta. I've been making this for over 20 years and I've never met anyone who didn't love it. I made the ricotta and the pesto from scratch today, but usually I use regular ricotta from the store, and whatever good refrigerated pesto I can find.

The flavor comes from the lemony pesto, really good aged Italian cheese and fresh garlic. The crunch comes from the par-cooked broccoli and the toasted pine nuts. Ricotta cheese gives it a creaminess, and if you slightly under cook the pasta it remains firm and chewy. It's heaven.

Pasta Broccoli
serves 4
3/4 lb pasta ( a curly or corkscrew shape works well for holding the sauce)
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets (at least 2 heaping cups)
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 -- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1/3 cup pesto (make it fresh or buy the freshest you can)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup freshly grated aged Italian cheese
a squeeze of lemon
salt and freshly cracked pepper

Cook the pasta until barely al dente. Drain and set aside.
Microwave the broccoli with a couple of tablespoons of water for 3 minutes, or steam briefly so it is just no longer crunchy, and is bright green.
Drizzle the oil in the same pot you cooked the pasta in. Saute the garlic for a minute and then add the broccoli. Stir and cook just a minute to infuse the garlic flavor.
Put the pasta back in the pan, and add in the ricotta. If you are using store-bought ricotta it will melt down a bit in the hot pan. For a creamier sauce you can add in a little milk, cream, or pasta water to thin the cheese. If you are using fresh ricotta it won't melt, but that's ok.
Take the pan off the heat and add the pesto, salt, pepper, grated cheese and lemon. Mix well and check the seasoning, it takes a fair amount of salt. Top with the toasted pine nuts.

Note: Like so many dishes, the success of this recipe depends on your ingredients. The only times I have ever been unhappy with this pasta is when I used a ready made (non-refrigerated) pesto from a jar. Avoid that and you should be ok.
Remember that pesto in an uncooked sauce, so take the pan off the heat when you add it, otherwise the color and flavor will dissipate quickly.

I just noticed the other day that my younger daughter's college has the same Recipes from Home program. I think I'll definitely send something in. I mean, it's only fair, they should each have equal opportunity to be embarrassed from afar.

Lemon and Sea Salt Focaccia: #33 on Gourmet's List of the 50 Women Game Changers, Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer

2012-02-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

Pin It
This week we're up to #33 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer (yes, Christopher is a woman)---the food writing and photography team that produces the Canal House series of cookbooks. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time. Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

The Canal House books are self published three times a year, so that the recipes reflect the seasons and reflect the real and simple way that cooks cook for themselves at home. The subscription based publications are part magazine, part book, and, just like last week's Game Changers, these two are bucking the digital trend in the world of food, choosing to disseminate their recipes the old fashioned way. Christopher was one of the founders of Saveur Magazine, and Melissa was a restaurateur and chef who has worked at Martha Stewart Living and Saveur. Canal House is named for the renovated old newspaper office on the Delaware Canal that the two of them have transformed into a shared cooking space.

Follow your bliss. We had an idea and we made it happen for ourselves. We didn’t have the deepest pockets, we didn’t have investors and we didn’t want them. When your children are grown and you don’t have such family responsibilities--your life just opens up. It’s a great time of opportunity.

Like so many of the Game Changers, these two have a passion for rustic European dishes and fresh seasonal food. They come at the world of cooking from the point of view of the everyday. Minimal lunches, simple dinners, and a nice cocktail in between!

I'm so glad I decided to make this focaccia, it was easy and so good. It's a perfect company recipe because the lemons on top have that wow factor. It's also a good choice if, like me, you've been wanting to get into homemade bread baking but aren't completely confident about the process. I'd make this again if only for that unique smell of baking bread mixed with lemon that wafts out of the oven about 5 or 10 minutes after the focaccia goes in I am so happy that I was too busy to eat lunch today, I won't have a smidgen of guilt breaking off a big piece hot from the oven...

Lemon and Sea Salt Focaccia ~~~from Canal House Cooking vol 3, Winter/Spring

For the dough
1 envelope (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
6 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
4 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
2 teaspoons salt
To assemble
Really good extra virgin olive oil
Leaves of 2-4 branches fresh rosemary, chopped
2 lemons, washed and very thinly sliced into rounds
Coarse sea salt

For the dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in 1-1/4 cups water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Pulse the flour and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Add the yeast mixture and process until a rough ball of dough forms, 1 minute. Briefly knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Shape dough into a ball. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil into a large bowl. Roll dough around in bowl until coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Pour a thin film of oil into each of four 8-inch round cake pans. Quarter the dough and put one piece into each pan. Using your fingertips, spread dough out in each pan. The dough is elastic and will resist stretching. Let it relax for 5 minutes or so after you've stretched it as far as it will go. Eventually, it will cooperate and fill the pan.

Preheat the oven to 450°. Cover the pans with damp dishcloths and let the dough rest until it has swollen in the pans a bit, 30-60 minutes.

Uncover the pans. Sprinkle the dough with the rosemary. Using your fingertips, poke dimples into the dough in each pan, then liberally drizzle with oil so it pools in the hollows. Arrange just the thinnest rounds of lemon on top, drizzle with more oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. We like ours salty. Bake the focaccia until golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Drizzle with more oil when you pull the focaccia from the oven. Serve cut into wedges.

Note: This recipe convinced me that I really need a mandoline slicer. I couldn't get the lemons sliced thinly or evenly enough so I only put them on one of my loaves. As it turned out they were a little too thick and the bitterness of the rind bothered me. If you can't get the lemons really thinly sliced, I would leave them off. Also baking these loaves in round cake pans yields a thin-ish bread with a crunchy crust; I like my focaccia a little puffier and softer, so I would bake larger loaves on baking sheets. Just my preference.
I froze half my dough for later use in a zip lock freezer baggie---you can do this after the initial rise.

Grilled Halibut with Citrus Salsa

2012-02-02T13:28:00.001-05:00

Pin It

Thanks for putting up with my wild mood swings lately...I know going from Nutella to Citrus Salsa is a pretty head-spinning shift of gears. Maybe it's the balmy weather we've been having. We've already had 5 feet less snow than at this same time last year. It's got me thinking sunshine and Spring Break.

I promise this dish will erase any lingering traces of guilt you might be feeling over that Nutella...

I used a regular navel orange, a blood orange, a pink Cava Cava orange and a tangerine for my salsa. It's just as easy to pick up an assortment of varieties instead of automatically filling a bag with the same old Sunkist navels, and when you cut them open you get the surprise of new colors and flavors. You can also use grapefruit if you want to.

Citrus Salsa
4 assorted oranges, peeled and segmented
1/4 red onion, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
olive oil
sherry vinegar (or whatever you like)
dash of chili powder
salt and fresh pepper

In a serving bowl put your orange segments, onion, jalapeno and cilantro.
Toss with the lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle in a little chili powder or paprika if you want, and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Note: You can make the salsa ahead, as long as you use it the same day, but don't dress it until you are ready to use it.

For the Halibut: Preheat the oven to 400 and drizzle a little olive oil into a baking dish. Arrange the fillets in the dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and bake for 20 minutes until the fish flakes. Top with the salsa and enjoy!

This salsa would be wonderful with any kind of broiled fish, shrimp, fish tacos or crab cakes. There's no reason it couldn't go over chicken either.

Homemade Dark Chocolate Nutella!

2012-02-01T12:02:00.001-05:00

Pin It
It's the darndest thing, I don't even particularly like Nutella. I've never been able to figure out what all the fuss is about. At least not until today.

My kids love it, so we've always had a jar hanging around. But to me it has a slightly 'processed' flavor, and since I'm a dark chocolate fan, the milk chocolate just doesn't do it for me. For some reason, though, maybe it's all the chocolate hype on the Internet in anticipation of Valentine's Day, I got the urge to try and make it myself.

The interesting thing is, once you start looking at recipes for Nutella, no two are alike. Some recipes use milk powder, others use condensed milk, some use fresh, and some use no milk at all. They can call for butter, or hazelnut, palm, or coconut oil. Some use only cocoa powder, some incorporate melted chocolate as well. Some use sugar, others honey. With such a huge discrepancy in the ingredients I decided the best way to do this was through a taste-as-I-go method.

Nutella was invented in Italy in the 1940s when cocoa was in short supply due to the war. An enterprising pastry maker used ground hazelnuts as a way of stretching the cocoa and it quickly became a staple in Italian kitchens, and eventually throughout Europe. It came over to the US in limited markets during the 1980s. In Europe it's traditional to eat it on bread for breakfast, but Nutella lovers have found many many ways to enjoy this chocolate hazelnut spread.

This whole experiment didn't take long at all. I read as many recipes as I could find while my hazelnuts were roasting in the oven. Then I assembled the likely ingredients, added a little here and a little there as I went, following my tastebuds towards the perfect flavor and consistency. I used my new favorite extra dark cocoa powder, and not too much sugar, so mine is deeper and richer than the original, but you can use regular cocoa powder and a little more sugar if you love classic Nutella.

After reading all the online recipes I was prepared to have to settle for a grainy texture in my Nutella...I read over and over again that unless you had a commercial grade processor the nuts wouldn't grind finely enough to get that creamy texture that Nutella is famous for. I was surprised when my trusty old Cuisinart processor that I've had forever transformed my 2 cups of hazelnuts into a smooth liquid in under 5 minutes. When in doubt, keep processing. You can actually hear the grittiness fade away as you process.
I love roasted hazelnuts so much I was really tempted to stop right there, add some salt, and enjoy my very own hazelnut butter. But I pressed on in the name of chocoholics everywhere.

Homemade Dark Chocolate Nutella
oven to 400
2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup extra dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used almond)
a pinch of salt

Spread the nuts in one layer on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
Put the nuts on a clean kitchen towel. Fold the towel over the nuts and rub off the skins with a back and forth motion. Put the skinned nuts in a food processor.
Process the nuts for about 5 minutes, until you have a smooth liquidy paste. Stop the machine to scrape down the sides several times.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. If it seems too thin you an add more cocoa or sugar, and if it seems to thick you can add a touch more oil.
Store in a clean jar in the fridge.

I try to reserve my high praise for recipes that truly deserve it. It's true that I usually only post about successful dishes, I don't really see the point in sharing something that doesn't work. But every once in a while something turns out better than expected. This is one of those times. This is wonderful, if you like Nutella you will love this.

Minimal Monday: Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

2012-01-30T08:20:00.002-05:00

Pin It
Sometimes it's fun just to see how many colors you can get onto a plate. Especially in mid-winter. And the pigments in richly colored foods also function as anti-oxidants in humans, so it's not only visually pleasing, it's healthy. It's not bad advice to buy the most vividly colored fruits and vegetables you can find; they almost always have a nutritional edge over paler choices.

My palette: roasted beets, two kinds of oranges, micro-greens, some thinly sliced red onion and creamy goat cheese. Salt, pepper, olive oil and any kind of vinegar you like, I finished off a bottle of sherry vinegar, my favorite.
I used leftover beets that I roasted for about an hour in a 400 degree oven the day before. After they've cooled down the skins should slip off easily. I picked up some Cara Cara oranges out of curiosity, you can see they have a rosy pink flesh next to the regular navels.

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Blondies

2012-01-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

We'll be briefly seeing our daughter at college this weekend and I want to bring her a homemade treat. Her town is small enough that there is no Starbucks, so an amazing local bakery/coffee shop has been able to thrive there. They make a to-die-for macaroon the size of a golf ball that is dipped in dark chocolate. It costs a small fortune, and after you eat one you don't need to eat for the rest of the day. She and I are both hooked on them, so I know she'll love these blondies.

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Blondies
oven to 350

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark brown, you can use any kind)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cups coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
generous 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used dark, use any kind you want, including white!)
generous 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Line your 8x8 or 9x9 pan with foil to make it easy to remove and cut your blondies.
Measure out the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Mix to combine.
Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy, then add the eggs and extracts and mix well.
Add the flour mixture, coconut and chocolate. Mix until just well combined.
Spread evenly in your pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes (check at 30) until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out moist with a few crumbs and the blondies are looking light golden.
Cool before cutting.

Notes: You can find coconut flour in specialty stores, online, and often in the large supermarket chains.

Slow-Cooked Maple Cider Brisket, Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian

2012-01-27T07:20:00.000-05:00

This week we're up to #32 on Gourmet's list of the 50 Women Game Changers in the world of food: Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, co-creators of the popular Edible magazine network. Thanks to Mary from One Perfect Bite for organizing a group of us cooking and blogging our way through this list, one dish at a time. Check back every Friday for another story and recipe from the list, and e-mail Mary if you'd like to join the group.

It's common wisdom that print publications are dinosaurs in the virtual world of media today, but Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian are proving to be the exception with their successful quarterly magazines devoted to the principles of local eating. What started with the 2002 publication of the 16 page Edible Ojai has blossomed into a chain of 70 magazines dotting the country and inspiring communities to eat fresh and eat local. Their first cookbook, Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods was published in 2010.

All the talk about the local food movement being elitist is damaging because it's not true. While we still need to do a much better job at getting fresh foods into inner cities, food that is at its peak of ripeness is most abundant, and therefore at its lowest price.
Foods like tomatoes, strawberries and corn — when they are at the height of their season, they cost a lot less than they would if they had been shipped across the country in the middle of winter.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/edible-communities-interview

I chose this recipe because I was intrigued by the unusual flavors in the sauce. And since I don't often cook large cuts of meat, this gave me the excuse to try a brisket. It turned out to be very easy to assemble and the oven did most of the work. I halved the recipe and used a 3 lb brisket. I omitted the bacon and used fresh oregano.

Thin slivers of garlic get pressed into small slits in the meat, infusing it with flavor. The long slow cooking mellows and blends the flavors of the sauce, which at first glace can seem a little strange~~maple syrup, cider vinegar, strong coffee, cayenne, mustard and tomato paste don't seem like obvious partners, but somehow it all seems to work in the end. The sauce is rich and complex, and is a nice change from the tomato-heavy sauces you often get with brisket.

Maple Cider Brisket ~~~from Edible Green Mountains
Makes 6 servings
1 4 to 5 pound beef brisket
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
1/2 pound maple-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
3 tbsp bacon drippings or grapeseed oil
2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup strong brewed coffee
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Using a paring knife, cut small slits all over the brisket, inserting a sliver of garlic into each slit as you cut it. Place the brisket into a large Dutch oven or roasting pan fitted with a lid.
In a large sauté pan or saucepan, heat the bacon drippings over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, oregano, pepper, and cayenne and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Stir in the coffee, vinegar, maple syrup, broth and mustard. Bring the ingredients to a boil.
Pour the contents of the sauté pan over the brisket in the Dutch oven. Cover the pan with the lid and place it into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Decrease the heat to 300° F and bake, basting the meat with the pan sauce once or twice, until the brisket is fork tender, about 3 hours. Allow the meat to rest for about 15 minutes. Slice the meat across the grain using an electric knife or sharp carving knife. Place the sliced meat into a large ovenproof serving container with lid. Remove the fat from the surface of the sauce. Pour the sauce over and around the meat. Cover the container with the lid.
Place the container with the brisket back into the oven for 30 minutes. Garnish with the crumbled bacon (if using). Serve immediately.

Note: You can refrigerate the brisket overnight after slicing it, if desired. Reheat the brisket in a preheated 350° F oven until the sauce is bubbling, about 30 to 45 minutes.

We had this as the authors advised, with mashed rutabaga and Brussels sprouts. It was really delicious and the quintessential mid-winter meal. I think I'll serve the leftovers over noodles tomorrow night. To find out if there is an Edible magazine for your area, go to the Edible Communities website and check the list at the bottom of the home page.

Check out these other bloggers who are exploring Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers along with me---
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
Kathy- Bake Away With Me
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Homemade Greek Style Yogurt with blood oranges and Almond Granola

2012-01-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

I'm continuing my theme of restocking the kitchen after a trip; it's so much easier to contemplate making large batches of basics when the fridge is relatively empty. What could be better than opening the door and finding a big bowl of homemade yogurt and some fresh nutty granola. Both are so easy to make and so rewarding.

The Yogurt is as simple as setting a half gallon of whole milk on the stove in a heavy bottomed pan and bringing it slowly up to temperature: 170-180 degrees. This takes about 1/2 an hour, and it's best if you use a clip on thermometer to get an accurate reading. Take the pot off the heat and let it cool to 110 degrees; this takes about another half hour. Then add in a cup of store bought yogurt which will act as your starter to introduce the good bacteria that will turn the milk into yogurt. The pot needs to be kept warm at 110 degrees for about 6 to 8 hours while the yogurt cultures develop. My unorthodox method involves wrapping it in an electric blanket set on medium. A heating pad and towel can do the trick as well. If you have a gas oven your pilot light may give off enough heat (check it with a thermometer) or, as a last resort, you can invest in an inexpensive yogurt maker.

To get thick Greek style yogurt you can let it drain through cheesecloth set in a strainer over a bowl. (Put it in the refrigerator.) The whey will drain out in about an hour and you'll be left with thick creamy yogurt that doesn't have the unpleasantly sharp tang of commercial kinds.

My favorite fruit to have with yogurt is oranges...and since it's high citrus season right now there are all kinds of varieties in the stores. I sectioned a blood orange and added a dusting of wheat germ and a drizzle of orange blossom honey on top. It really doesn't get any better than this.

But if you really want to set yourself up for a week of great eating, make a batch of fresh granola to go along with your yogurt.

I call this Almond Granola but it has hazelnuts in it as well. You can add any kind of nut or seed you like. I usually use vanilla flavoring in granola but here I substituted almond extract. I omitted dried fruit in this version so that the oranges and nuts could take center stage.

Almond Granola
oven to 350
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Toss all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix the oil, honey and almond extract in a measuring cup and pour over the oat mixture, tossing as you drizzle to get the granola evenly coated and thoroughly mixed.
Spread the granola evenly onto a baking sheet with sides.
Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring and redistributing every 5 minutes until everything is golden brown.
Cool completely on the pan before storing in an airtight jar.

Cherry Almond Bran Muffins

2012-01-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

Re-stocking the kitchen after being away can be a chore or a joy, depending on your attitude. It also depends on whether you had the foresight to clear out those already-past-their-prime scallions and their other dubious bin mates before you left. Liquefied veggies are not conducive to fresh starts.

A fresh batch of muffins is the first order of business when it comes to getting my kitchen back to normalcy. I'll leave a few out and freeze the rest in packs of 2. I can pull them out as we need them and give them 20 seconds in the microwave. If you haven't made these yet this season you really should. They'll change your mind about bran muffins, unless you already thought they were sweet, fluffy and satisfying. This cherry almond muffin is just one of the endless variations you can make with the basic recipe.

Basic Bran Muffins
oven to 365
1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
add ins:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cherries

Spray a muffin tin with non stick spray or use muffins liners.
Mix the brans together with the buttermilk and set aside for 10 minutes.
Whisk the egg, oil, sugar and vanilla together and add it to the buttermilk mixture.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, powder and salt.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
Fold in the almonds and cherries and spoon into 10 muffin cups.
Bake for about 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

These freeze very well, just wrap the cooled muffins in foil and then plastic, or a double layer of plastic. Take them out as needed; they'll defrost quickly.

Going Home

2012-01-24T11:48:00.000-05:00

Technically I guess I came home yesterday on Jet Blue. But this past weekin Los Angeles has been a homecoming of its own. Revisiting a city that you no longer live inkind of feels like an out of body experience, like being a spirit wafting through aworld you’re no longer a part of. Thefirst thing I did after picking up my rental car was drive by our old house. Thenew owners have painted, and generally spruced it up. They took out the two massive elms that defined and shaded the frontyard, but they left my roses and my picket fence alone.

Ironically it wasn’t sitting in front of my old house that stirred myemotions, it was the time I spent on the familiar roads and freeways of Los Angeles and'the valley', shuttling between family and friends. I found myself associating memories with each and everyblock I passed, and I spent the week re-tracing the skeleton of 25 years of familylife played out on the grid of city streets, the curves of hilly canyon roads,the blocks, parks, buildings and mini-malls of what had beenhome.

What started as a little game turned into an obsession. There was aperson, place, event or emotion embedded in every street corner, every exit onthe freeway, from momentous occasions all the way down to the minutia ofeveryday life. The memories came fast and furious and in jumbledorder---a pre-school graduation, a daughter's early boyfriend, the place we gotour first dog groomed. The orthodontist, the good friends that moved away, one of the manybar mitzvah drop offs where I watched a thirteen-year-old through the rear view mirror wobbling in her first high heels. The drive to the high school bus stop, an ill-fated taekwando class, ananniversary dinner, a flat tire.

After a few days of this the sheer number of memories became overwhelming, especially when traffic slowed me down and I had time to dwell on them. It was somewhere along the 101 West that it all caught up with me and my littlegame dissolved into tears.

The next time I take a trip down memory lane, I'm going to have to stick to the passenger seat.

Bread!

2012-01-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

My sister and I spent a fascinating afternoon at our friend's house learning all about sourdough artisan bread making.

I learned about wild yeasts and how to grow them. Each one, grown in different parts of the country, had a distinctly different odor and flavor depending on the kind of yeast naturally occurring in the air of that region.

We didn't knead the dough, we gently folded it at regular intervals to slowly develop the gluten.

We shaped it into rice flour lined baskets.

We slashed the loaves with surgical precision, and then partially baked them under a dome to keep the steam in to allow the bread to rise before the crust hardened.

Our bread came out of the oven with gorgeous deep brown crusts etched with the lines from the baskets.

I came away with a huge respect for breadmaking, there is quite a science to it, especially with sourdoughs. Our afternoon session involved chemistry, history, geography and aesthetics along with the baking. All this from a simple mixture of flour, salt, and water.

Apparently there are very specific goals as far as the shaping of the slash marks on the crust, the distribution and size of air pockets, etc, but those nuances were a little lost on me, I thought it all looked and tasted amazing.

I'm going to be taking home my very own TSA friendly 3 oz jar of wild yeast starter, and I'm excited to see what kind of yeasts are floating around the Great Island.

Visit my friend's blog to see more of her bread recipes...

Artichoke Lemon Pesto

2012-01-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited. On Monday I'm leaving for a week in Los Angeles. I will get to see family and friends who (I know it's supposed to be whom, but who says that?) I've missed so much. I'm going to bring my camera and my laptop, but I'm not sure I'll be posting. A good friend will be treating me to a bread making lesson so hopefully I will share that.

This pesto just happens to use up some of the luscious Meyer lemons and nubs of hard Italian cheese that I have lying around. A good thing when you're going away for a week.

Making this pesto yourself with high quality cheese and olive oil really elevates a simple thing to something special. Trader Joe's sells a version of this but I've always found it too bland. Commercial pestos just aren't worth the money, you can always do a better job at home.

Roasting the garlic mellows out its bite and allows you to use more than you would otherwise. Taste it as you go and you'll get the flavor just the way you like it.

If you've heeded my advice and bought yourself a small food processor, you'll find this pesto is quick and easy. The small machines are really necessary whenever you are doing salsas or pestos where the amounts are too small for a regular sized processor to chop evenly...most of it ends up against the side of the big bowls.

Artichoke Lemon Pesto ~~~adapted from Donna Hay

oven to 400
3 or 4 cloves garlic, skin on
a handful of baby arugula
a 12 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
juice of 1or 2 lemons
1 cup finely grated hard Italian cheese
1/2 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts, toasted
salt and pepper
at least 1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil

Wrap the garlic cloves loosely in foil and roast for about 20 minutes in the oven.
Carefully squeeze out the pulp and put into a small food processor.
Add in the arugula and pulse a few times to reduce the bulk of the arugula.
Add in the artichoke hearts, the juice of one lemon, cheese, and nuts, pulsing in between if necessary to reduce the bulk and fit everything in to the bowl.
Drizzle in the olive oil while the machine is running. It will take quite a lot to get a nice loose pesto consistency. At least 1/2 cup, probably more.
Taste and add salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if necessary.
Store in a clean jar and refrigerate until needed. You can also freeze it, just put it in an airtight plastic container.

To serve with pasta:

Cook your pasta, drain and return to the pan. Reserve a cup of the cooking liquid.
Toss it with a couple of big handfulls of the baby arugula. The arugula will wilt from the heat of the pasta.
Add in some more grated cheese while tossing.
Spoon dollops of pesto onto the pasta and toss again. Add in some of the cooking liquid to help distribute the pesto and make a light sauce.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with extra cheese.

Any leftover pesto is great spread on bruschetta or served with cheese and crackers.

Meyer Lemon and Dark Chocolate Shortbread

2012-01-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a lot about flavor combinations lately. I found the Flavor Map the other day and I'm still trying to figure it out. Then I read the McCormick Flavor Forecast for 2012 over at One Perfect Bite. They're forecasting Grapefruit with Red Pepper, and Blueberry with Cardamom as some of the trends going into 2012. The theme of intense flavors in unusual pairings is such a defining theme in the food of our era. Have you seen the ads for 'water enhancers'? Those little pouches of artificial dye and flavor that you carry in your pocket to pump up your water wherever you go?

It seems to me that while all of us have our favorite flavors, it's when different tastes combine that they really become the stuff of obsession. Like silky dark chocolate and tangy lemon. That combo's been haunting me for years.

The traditional pleasure of plain shortbread is in its unusually subtle flavor---you can actually taste the flour! But that means it's also the perfect canvas for showcasing other flavors. It can be amped up in countless ways.

Today, I'm going for the puckeringly sweet/tang of Meyer lemon with the silky richness of deep dark chocolate. I could have rolled this dough into a log and sliced it into cookies, but I'm craving the squares. Maybe it's because you get a little more with a square.

Are you feeling it yet?

My only dilemma was whether to glaze or not to glaze. I really wanted to taste the lemon, so I took a whiff of the cooling shortbread after it came out of the oven and decided to go for the glaze. To get the full effect of the dark chocolate and lemon combo you need to get that pucker at the back of your mouth.

Meyer Lemon and Dark Chocolate Shortbread
oven to 325
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut in pieces
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
juice (3 Tbsp) and zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 cup dark chocolate chips
for the glaze
1 cup confectioner's sugar
lemon juice to thin (I used 1 1/2 lemons)

Line an 8x8 square baking pan with foil for easy removal and slicing.
Put the flour and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and drop in the butter.
Mix just until the butter has incorportated into the flour and sugar and the mixture has a coarse crumb texture.
While mixing, add the lemon juice and zest and mix until the dough just comes together.
Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon or your hands.
Press the dough into your pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until slightly puffed and slightly golden (not brown!) The edges will look a little more cooked than the center and the top will be just firm when lightly touched.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing the foil lining.
Mix together the confectioner's sugar with enough lemon juice to thin it to a glaze consistency. Drizzle or spread over the cooled shortbread.
When the glaze has firmed up, slice into squares.

DIY Tarragon Vinegar

2012-01-11T18:16:00.000-05:00

Living in California for so many years I got used to stepping out my back door and snipping whatever fresh herbs I needed from one of the long planter boxes that lined our screened porch. Those planters got lots of morning sun and then dappled shade as the day wore on, and by the time the heat was blistering the bricks on the rest of the patio they were protected in shade. There was no such thing as a growing season, they flourished all year long.

It was quite a luxury that I took for granted. Here in New England our local nursery closes the day after Christmas. It will open again next spring, but in the meantime I'll be getting my herbs out of the little clear plastic boxes that hang in the produce section of my market. That's ok, they're pretty cheap and they usually have a good selection. The only problem is I'm often left with handfuls of leftover herbs.

If you have leftover tarragon like I did after yesterday's Roast Chicken, why not use some of it to make homemade Tarragon Vinegar. You can use almost any empty glass jar or bottle you have.

DIY Tarragon Vinegar

Sterilize a glass bottle or jar with a tight fitting lid. I filled mine with water and heated it in the microwave until it boiled.
Rinse the tarragon and put several sprigs into the jar. You can break up or bruise the herbs if you want to in order to bring out more of the flavor, but I just left mine as is.
Fill the jar with any plain vinegar you like. I used cider vinegar because I love the flavor. Make sure you completely submerse the herbs.
Cap or cork your bottle and set in a cool dry place for a couple of weeks. The flavor will get stronger the longer it sits. When the flavor is as you like it, pull out the tarragon.

Roast Chicken Breasts with Tarragon and Mustard Sauce

2012-01-10T21:35:00.001-05:00

Every time I cook with tarragon I wonder why I don't use it more often. For some reason for me it's an every once in a while herb, and when I do use it, I usually pair it with chicken. Tarragon has a pleasantly stringent, slightly bitter anise flavor. It mellows out with cream, brightens with lemon, and sings with mustard.

When I eat a meal like this I can imagine I'm surrounded by the massive stone walls of a country kitchen somewhere in Provence.

Roast Chicken Breasts with Tarragon and Mustard Sauce
serves 2
oven to 400
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (I asked my butcher to de-bone a couple of skin-on breasts)
olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
2 baby vidalia onions, sliced (or 1 leek, or 2 large shallots)
splash of marsala, or white wine
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful of fresh chopped tarragon leaves
1/2 cup cream
1 Tbsp stone ground or Dijon mustard

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and season well with salt and fresh pepper. Rub the oil and spices in to the meat.
Drizzle a little olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, put the chicken breasts in, skin side down. Sear for a couple of minutes until the skin has good color.
Remove the chicken to a baking pan that has also been drizzled with olive oil, skin side up. Cook at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes or until done. The time will depend on how large your chicken breasts are (your thermometer should read between 170 and 180.) Finish under the broiler if you want more color or crispness to the skin. Set aside to rest under foil.
In the same pan you seared the chicken in, add the onions and saute over medium low heat for a minute or two. Do not brown them.
Give the pan a splash of wine and squeeze in the lemon juice. Let reduce on medium high for a minute.
Add the tarragon, the cream, and the mustard and heat to a simmer. Cook for a minute or two. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Pour onto a serving platter.
Slice the chicken and nestle into the sauce. Sprinkle with a little more fresh tarragon.

I served the chicken with roasted parsnips and carrots. I highly recommend this; it's super easy and really delicious. The sauce would also be great with haddock, cod, or tilapia.

Minimal Monday, Easy Microwave Fudge

2012-01-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Considering I'm going into my second year as a part-time empty nester, there's a surprising amount of communication between my two daughters and me. My Skype is constantly on, and like a reassuring umbilical cord it keeps me connected to my girls.

The various sounds and signals are so expressive. There's the chirpy little tone that tells me they're just checking in to text 'hi', a string of chirpy little tones when they have so much to say that their fingers can barely keep pace, and the slightly annoying intermittent chirps which mean they're multi-tasking and don't have time for my questions. The insistent bloop - bleeps of a video call usually means they're missing home. And when a barrage of sounds peals forth from my laptop, followed by my cell phone echoing from the bowels of my purse, I know I'm needed, STAT.

Yesterday my youngest chirpped in from college with a request. She was in the mood to cook something, but her dorm only has a microwave, no stove or oven. My first suggestion was microwave fudge. You can do that, she asked? Yup, I responded, and copied and pasted a couple of quick links her way. After a few back and forths...she wanted real chocolate, not cocoa powder, no marshmallow, etc..., we came up with the perfect recipe.

About 20 minutes later, another chirp. Same daughter. Turns out the basement 'kitchen' in the dorm didn't have foil. Or the right kind of pan. And being Sunday night, all the local stores were closed.

My daughter's college has amazing dining halls. One of them is directly under her bedroom window. She has all the food she could ever want. She can even go and get a pizza, or a cheeseburger and an ice cream shake in the wee hours of the morning. But all the food in the world can't take the place of being able to fix something for yourself when you're hungry. There's something elemental about that.

Easy Microwave Fudge

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz bag) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla

Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil, going in both directions and letting some hang over the edge for easy removal later. Spray with cooking spray.
In a large microwave safe bowl put the chocolate, the butter and the condensed milk.
Microwave on high 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and stir.
If the chocolate is not completely melted, put in back in the microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again, letting the residual heat in the bowl finish melting the chocolate.
When it's completely smooth, add in the vanilla and nuts and stir to combine.
Spread into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Remove the foil sling from the pan and carefully peel it off the fudge. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

I'm going to send her a box of supplies and a batch of this fudge. Any other good microwave-only ideas? Let me know and I'll copy and paste them right over to her.

PS After I finished this post I came across this article.

Downton Abbey and Irish Stew

2012-01-08T11:49:00.002-05:00

I'm not really a Downton Abbey fan, the scripts are maudlin and the acting is over the top. But tonight it's either that or another Republican debate, and if I'm going to sit and watch an endless miniseries I might as well get to ogle some gorgeous period costumes while I'm at it.

For me what makes Irish stew Irish is first of all the lamb. And while many stews use root vegetables, for an Irish stew you'll want some parsnip or turnip in there. Add the Worcestershire sauce and some ale and you've got it. Don't forget lots of potatoes.

My secret to a great stew is keeping the vegetables out for the first half of the cooking. That way you get the long, slow cooked flavor and tenderness in the meat and broth, without mushy vegetables. You can do this on the stove if you prefer, just keep the stew at a low simmer.

Irish Stew
Oven to 325
1 lb lamb, cut in bite sized pieces
1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled, halved and thickly sliced
3 cups beef stock
1/2 bottle of beer or ale
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
salt and fresh pepper
2 or 3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
3 or 4 small or 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 red skinned potatoes, peeled, halved and thickly sliced
fresh thyme
fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed stew pot over medium high heat and brown the lamb on all sides. Do this in 2 batches. Remove the lamb and set aside.
Brown the onions in the same pot with the lamb drippings.
Add the meat back into the pan along with the stock, beer, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring up to a simmer.
Cover the pot and put in the oven for an hour.
Add the vegetables to the pot along with sprigs of fresh thyme tied in a bundle (or pick off the leaves). There should be enough broth to almost cover the vegetables. If not, add more stock or water. Cook for another hour.
Check seasoning and serve with lots of fresh chopped parsley.

My version of Irish stew does not have a thick sauce, but there is a lot of it. Do as the Irish do and smash some of the potatoes as you eat to sop up the rich broth. I don't love soda bread, which is often paired with a stew like this, so I'm going to serve ours with savory scones...recipe to come.

Baby Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Cream Pasta

2012-01-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

Brussels sprouts and pasta are an unexpected amazing combination. I've been sitting here this morning trying to figure out why.

I recently came across a fascinating scientific report that attempts to analyze world cuisines to see if there are any common patterns or rules that determine which foods are paired together in recipes. They came up with a really cool 'flavor network' that shows the relationships between foods in terms of their flavor compounds...have a look---

They claim that Western cuisines tend to match foods that share the most compounds while Eastern Asian cuisines do just the opposite. Interesting. It's fun to look closely at the map and see that some foods, like mushrooms, are completely isolated. Flavor-wise, they share no compounds with any other food on earth. Same with hazelnuts and liver.
I'll have to spend more time with the map to see if Brussels sprouts and pasta have anything in common. Right now the map is making me dizzy. Maybe you can figure it out.

What inspired this dish was finding baby Brussels sprouts at the market yesterday. I've seen them a couple of times in restaurants lately, but never at the market, so I was excited. The babies are from the tippy top of the stalk, and I've seen them as small as peas or macadamia nuts. Mind were a tad bigger, but still adorable. If you can't find the babies, use the smallest sprouts you can find. If your store has loose sprouts in a bin, just pick out the little ones when no one is looking.

Paired with lemon, cheese and cream, this pasta rivals my other favorite Linguine with Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter Sage Sauce. So far I haven't met a Brussels Sprout pasta I haven't loved. You can see above I've already found another use for my chunk of Italian Piave cheese from the other day.

Baby Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Cream Pasta
1 pound baby Brussels Sprouts
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
12 oz of your favorite pasta
1 cup heavy cream
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup freshly grated hard Italian cheese
parsley for garnish

Trim just the very bottoms off the Brussels sprouts and leave them whole. You can halve them if yours are a little bigger. Saute them in the butter and olive oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Don't let them get too brown. They should be al dente.
Cook your pasta to an al dente stage.
Add the cream to the sprouts and heat to simmering. Simmer for a few minutes to let the cream reduce a bit and finish cooking the sprouts. You want to sprouts to retain some of their bite.
Add the lemon and zest to the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Slowly sprinkle in the cheese while stirring to melt and incorporate the cheese.
Add in the cooked pasta and stir to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add some pasta water. If it is still very thin, add some more cheese.
Serve with a garnish of parsley and lemon zest.

Date Nut Bran Muffins

2012-01-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it. When I opened up my tax files out popped my long lost bran muffin recipe. These bran muffins are the best. They're actually moist and fluffy. You can tweak them with all kinds of additions, like a mashed banana, chopped apple, or any kind of dried fruit or nuts.

Today I decided to add some walnuts and chopped dates.

If you think you don't like bran muffins, try these. Just plain old wheat bran is available at Whole Foods, and health food stores. Every fall I buy a bag of it (only 75 cents!) and it lasts me through til spring. Oat Bran can be found near the oatmeal in any supermarket.

These freeze perfectly, just wrap them in foil and then plastic. Take them out in the morning while you make your coffee and zap them briefly in the microwave.

Date Nut Bran Muffins
oven to 365
3/4 cup wheat bran
3/4 cup oat bran
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (I like to use dark)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped waluts
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

Grease muffin tins or line them with muffin papers
Mix together the brans and buttermilk and let sit for 10 minutes.
Beat the egg with the oil, sugar and vanilla and add to the bran mixture.
Stir together the flour, baking soda, powder and salt. Add in the dates, making sure the pieces do not clump together.
Stir the flour mixture into the buttermilk mixture until just blended. Fold in the walnuts.
Mound batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean. I use my 1 1/2 inch scoop and make 10 muffins.

Even if you don't open up your tax files, bake these muffins and I guarantee you'll feel virtuous.

Insalata D'arancio e Limone, Orange and Lemon Salad

2012-01-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

Vintage cookbooks are like a window into another world from the perspective of the kitchen table. I picked up The Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Lo Pinto at the thrift store the other day. It was published in 1948, before most Americans knew anything or cared to know anything about Italian food outside of spaghetti and meatballs. In fact the book has a huge glossary right up front to define terms like pasta, mozzerella, Parmesan, and ricotta! It's hard to believe that just 50 years ago these foods were considered exotic.

The first generation author shares recipes from her mother's and grandmother's kitchens back in Italy, so it's a direct a link to an old cuisine relatively untouched by outside influences. Nowadays when food is completely international it's exciting to find 'old world' recipes that haven't been brought up to date to changed from the way they were done for many generations.

My volume is stuffed with bookmarks. Some of the recipes are classic like gnocchi, lady fingers and veal Parmesan. Others, like Minnow Pancakes, are juuuuuust outside my comfort zone. Most of the recipes are very simple, with short ingredient lists and easy preparation. To our modern eye they might seem almost too simple. This Orange and Lemon Salad caught my eye right away.

Here's the original recipe, my changes are in red.

Orange and Lemon Salad (from The Art of Italian Cooking, 1948)
3 large lemons (I chickened out and used milder and sweeter Meyer lemons)
3 large oranges
1 head lettuce (I used a spring mix)
1/2 tsp chopped mint (I used a lot more mint, a big handful at least)
4 Tbsp olive oil (I used more)
salt and pepper to taste
I threw in a cup of Kalamata olives
and a touch of sherry vinegar

Peel and section the lemons and oranges. (A sharp serrated grapefruit knife is helpful here)
Toss the fruit with the olive oil, mint, salt and pepper
Serve over the lettuce

I love lemons, but the idea of biting straight into one is a little daunting. I was surprised by how the olive oil tamed the tartness of the lemon, and my addition of the olives balanced the citrus. This would be a nice unexpected salad to serve with traditional heavier Italian food like spaghetti and meatballs or lasagna.

Minimal Monday: Cheese and Pepper Pasta

2012-01-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

I don't really consider it the new year until the banks are open and the mail is flowing again. Today is a day of transition. The sun is shining through fast moving clouds, the New Year's Eve fog has cleared and the frost has melted from our front steps. Today we say goodbye to our last remaining daughter.

Today I'm also kicking off a new Minimal Monday feature here on the blog where I'll be making a super simple pared down dish every Monday It will be dedicated to exploring uncomplicated food made with just a few ingredients. I'll focus on using the freshest and best quality I can find.

This pasta is a perfect example of what I'm taking about. It's a classic Italian dish made with pasta, black pepper, and cheese. Wherever you find your best cheese, pick up a couple of hard Italian varieties like Pecorino or Parmigiana Reggiano. If you can find them, Grana Padano or Piave are other aged Italian grating cheeses. Aged Asiago would work as well. You can use a mixture for this dish, depending on what you find. Just keep in mind that you want to use a good quality Italian cheese. The nice thing is that once you invest in a chunk of one of these cheeses it lasts forever in your fridge. Just rewrap it tightly in waxed paper to store.

A good peppermill and a microplane grater are essential tools for this dish. The microplane will give you finely grated cheese that is perfect for melting. The microplane also yields a very fluffy airy pile of cheese, which explains the 3-plus cups of cheese in the recipe.

Cacio e Pepe, Cheese and Pepper Pasta
serves 4
12 oz of whole grain thin spaghetti (I like Barilla Plus)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 tsp freshly cracked pepper
3 heaping cups finely grated Grana Padano, Pecorino, Piave, or Parmesan cheese (you might even want more depending on how fluffy your grated cheese is)
juice of 1/2 lemon
lots of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water until just barely al dente. I usually shave off 3 minutes from the package directions.
Heat the oil in a large pan and toast the black pepper for a couple of minutes over medium low heat.
When the pasta is done, pull it out with tongs and into the pepper pan. A little of the cooking water will go along with the pasta.
Add in the butter and lemon juice and toss thoroughly with the cheese, a handful at a time and tossing to coat the pasta evenly between each addition. Add in ladles of pasta water as needed to create a creamy smooth sauce. I think I must have added at least a cup. Toss in the parsley at the end.

My daughter had a bowl of this pasta before she left for college and she gave it high marks. The pepper is surprisingly flavorful without being overpowering, and the cheese mixed with the pasta water makes a gorgeous creamy sauce.

Beer Battered Zucchini with Lime Cilantro Aioli

2012-01-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

Easy beer batter, zucchini sticks, and a to-die-for lime aioli sauce. What's not to love?

I've recently discovered that I can 'deep fry' foods in just a 1/2 inch of oil. And all it takes to whip up delicious beer batter is seasoned flour and a bottle of beer. These two simple realizations have opened up a whole new realm of deliciousness here in my kitchen.

Whenever our family spots fried vegetables on any menu we always order them. Yucca fries, sweet potato fries, fried zucchini, eggplant, onions or mushrooms...we love it all, and a good dipping sauce can really put them over the top. Making these restaurant-only treats at home on a whim is really fun.

The aioli was easy to whip up in the mini processor, and a large frying pan works for the zucchini. You can make the sauce spicy by adding half a jalapeno or a little cayenne pepper.

Beer Battered Zucchini Sticks with Lime Cilantro Aioli
serves 4 as a snack
2 medium zucchini
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 tsp salt
fresh pepper
1 bottle of beer
vegetable oil for frying

Lime Cilantro Aioli:
1 clove garlic
1 egg yolk
a handful of fresh cilantro leaves
zest and juice of 1 lime
olive oil
salt and pepper

Make the sauce by putting the garlic into a mini processor and process till finely minced.
Add in the egg yolk, cilantro, lime juice and zest and process till blended and the cilantro is finely minced.
While the machine is running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until the sauce thickens and turns a pale green. Stop once or twice to scrape down the sides. Add enough oil so that the sauce is a dipping consistency.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lime juice if necessary. Set aside.
Cut the zucchini into even sticks.
Put 1/2 cup flour on a plate and set aside for dredging.
Put 1 cup flour in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
While whisking, gradually pour in the beer until the batter has the consistency of a thick pancake batter, whisking until mostly smooth.
In a wok or frying pan heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to 350 degrees.
Dredge the zucchini sticks in the flour, and then into the batter. Making sure they are completely covered in batter, shake off excess and drop them into the hot oil. Do them in small batches so the oil stays hot, I fried about 4 or 5 at a time.
Fry them for about 2 minutes total, turning them halfway through. They should be golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

Note: It helps to have a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. If you don't have one, heat the oil on medium and check the temperature with a blob of batter. It should sizzle upon contact, and turn golden within 2 minutes. If it stays white, or burns, adjust your heat.
When coating the zucchini, use one hand for the four and one for the batter. That way you always have one dry hand free. Shake off the excess flour and batter before proceeding with the next steps.

Buckwheat Biscuits

2011-12-31T09:44:00.000-05:00

I know, you were expecting a cute cocktail or something stuck on a toothpick for New Year's Eve. I don't blame you, but trust me, you'll get a lot more use out of these buckwheat biscuits. I made them to go with my Black Lentil and Ham Soup, but after one bite I knew I couldn't just cram them into the soup post like an afterthought, they had to have a post of their own.

I'm like a kid in a sandbox playing with the colors, textures, and flavors of all the new flours I've discovered this year. I love the subtle changes they're making in some of my favorite foods, but they have serious health benefits too, not only for you and me, but for the planet. Have you been reading about that scary wheat rust fungus that's making a comeback? That kind of thing can cause real damage to our food supply when we're so dependent on a single crop like wheat.
If you're unsure about it, start small. In these biscuits I used a ratio of 1 part buckwheat to 2 parts white flour. The flour has a gray color with black specs (the ground up hulls of the buckwheat seed) running through it. It darkens as it cooks and the distinctive specs are beautiful. I went a step further and loaded the biscuits with parsley which gave them a green tinge as well. They were tender and amazing.

Buckwheat is an ancient grain that isn't even related to wheat. It was one of the earliest crops grown in North America, and buckwheat cakes were a staple right up until the mid 20th century when corn and wheat took over our farmlands and our diet. Today buckwheat is more popular in Europe (light pancakes in France and Belgium, kasha cereal in Russia and Poland) and in Asia (noodles) than it is in North America where it's pretty much relegated to specialty food stores.

Buckwheat Biscuits
oven to 450
a generous 1/2 cup fresh parsley, packed (optional)
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut in pieces
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup cold buttermilk, shaken

If you are using the parsley, put it in the bowl of a processor and pulse till evenly chopped.
Put the dry ingredients in the bowl of the processor, pulse to mix.
Drop in the butter pieces and pulse about 10 times to incorporate the butter.
Mix together the honey and buttermilk and while the processor is going, pour the liquids in and run just until the dough forms.
Dump it out onto a floured surface and pat it into a fat disk, about 9", the dough will be sticky.
Cut out 6 biscuits with a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter. Reform the dough gently and cut 2 more biscuits if you want, although I always find the biscuits made with the reformed dough are not nearly as good or as pretty.
Bake on parchment or silpat in the 450 oven for about 5 to 6 minutes until the biscuits start to rise, and then turn down the heat to 400 and bake another 8 to 10 minutes just until fully risen and lightly browned. Don't over bake!

Note: I made my biscuits extra large because I pair them with soup and call it dinner. If you use a smaller cutter you'll get more, just be extra sure to adjust your baking times. Don't be worried by the sticky dough, all you are doing is patting it into shape and plopping the biscuits on the baking sheet, so you don't need to add too much extra flour.

I don't know about where you are, but it's cold and rainy here today. These biscuits and a bowl of lentil soup sounds a whole lot better to me right now than a Pomegranate Fizz.

Happy New Year!

Black Lentil and Ham Soup

2011-12-29T08:53:00.001-05:00

I had every intention of making good old bean soup with my leftover ham, but when I saw these gorgeous black Beluga Lentils I switched my plans on the spot. I knew they would cook faster, look prettier, and make a lighter soup.

Even when I know how to make something in my sleep, like bean soups, I usually check the Internet to see what others are doing, and maybe get inspired by an ingredient or method that I haven't tried. I happened upon a recipe from a California restaurant that perfectly fit my vision and my ingredients. I made a few small changes, but it's a great way to use up some of your leftover ham.

Beluga Black Lentil and Ham Soup (based on a recipe by the Bittersweet Bistro)
olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, diced
1 large shallot, diced
2 to 3 carrots, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 russet potato, peeled and finely diced (it will break down and thicken the soup)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
leftover ham, diced or shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
3/4 cup black lentils
32 oz chicken stock
1 bay leaf
fresh thyme
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
salt and fresh pepper
fresh parsley

Coat the bottom of a heavy soup pot with oil. Saute the onion, carrot, potato and peppers for 5 minutes.
Add in the ham and garlic, stir for a minute. Add in the wine and cook for another minute.
Add in the tomatoes, lentils, stock, bay leaf and thyme and bring to a simmer.
Cook for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
Add in the sherry vinegar, season with salt and pepper and keep warm till you eat, or cool and regrigerate. Once again, this soup benefits from hanging out a bit so the flavors can develop.
Add the parsley just before serving. Top with sour cream, creme fraiche or yogurt if you want.

I love beans and legumes, but I don't like heavy bean soups that have lost all their color and texture. With lentils the soup cooks quickly and the other ingredients don't melt into oblivion. These black lentils are some of my favorites because they retain their texture and the color is so dramatic.

The only problem is, I STILL have lots of leftover ham!

Pear Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

2011-12-28T08:35:00.002-05:00

Three red Anjou pears have been sitting on the counter for what seems like forever. They were there while we baked all the cookies and desserts before Christmas. They sat there all week while people shuffled in and out of the kitchen grabbing snacks. They managed to survive even after I dumped an entire crate of clementines on top of them in the big fruit bowl. The clementines have gone, one by one, but the three pears remained.

Yesterday while the rest of the family was standing in line for Sherlock Holmes I finally gave the pears their day. This is my ideal kind of cake, a moist little square with a generous frosting to cake ratio. Using a whole vanilla bean in the frosting is an extravagance, but it's still technically the holidays. And besides, I've got to clear some space in this kitchen, it's starting to stress me out.

Pear Snack Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting (inspired by ButterYum)
oven to 375 (350 for a glass pan)
2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

3 Tbsp butter, room temperature

1 cup ripe pear, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Vanilla Bean Frosting
3 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
2 cups confectioner's sugar
milk or cream to thin

Cream together the sugar, sour cream, egg and butter.
Add in the pear and vanilla.
Fold in the dry ingredients just until blended.
Spread into an 8x8, 9x9 square or equivalent small cake baking pan (I used a 7 1/2 x 11 1/2 pan)
Bake for about 20 minutes just until the edges are starting to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
For the frosting, cream the soft butter with the vanilla beans with the back of a spoon. Add in the sugar and blend together, then add in the cream or milk until you have a spreading consistency. Beat it until smooth and glossy.
Ice the cake when it's completely cooled.

Now if I can just tackle that ham...

Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Herb Pie

2011-12-27T08:47:00.001-05:00

In the days between Christmas and the new year I'll try to keep the food flowing with as little effort as possible. This herbed pie can serve as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It can also sit out on a counter for grazing throughout the day. We chose the grazing method.

This kind of French inspired tart filled with veggies and a light custard of egg, milk and cream has become a new favorite of mine. I chopped up a big heap of mixed herbs from the random packages that piled up around the kitchen during Christmas week. I could have added some of the leftover ham that's sitting in the fridge, but I decided to keep the focus on the tangy cheese and fresh herbs.

The tart format allows the individual flavors to shine, rather than be smothered in too much crust and custard like the kind of quiche I used to make in a pie plate.

I used Martha Stewart's No Fail Crust. I'm happy to say this recipe has completely cured me of my crust-making phobia. It's easy to roll out and it always turns out flaky and perfect whether I'm using it baked or unbaked. Isn't that just like Martha.

Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut in pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup ice water, more if necessary

Put the flour salt and sugar in a processor and pulse to combine.
Add the pieces of butter and process until grainy.
While pulsing, add in the ice water, starting with 1/4 cup, just until the dough holds together when pressed between your fingers.
Empty the bowl of the processor onto a sheet of plastic wrap and bring it together into a dough.
Cut the amount in half, shape into disks, and wrap each disk in plastic.
Refrigerate for 2 hours before rolling out one of the disks for this tart.

Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Herb Pie
oven to 350

1 unbaked crust in a 10 inch tart pan
olive oil
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
heaping 1/2 cup mixed freshly chopped herbs (I used parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage)
6 to 7 oz goat cheese
salt and fresh cracked pepper

Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with olive oil and cook the onions on medium low until they are soft and caramelized. Rearrange them in the pan occasionally so they cook evenly and try not to let them brown. This can take 1/2 hour or more. Set aside to cool.
Mix the beaten eggs, milk and cream in a bowl. Add in the herbs, and season with salt and pepper.
Crumble the goat cheese and spread out evenly on the unbaked crust.
Top the cheese with the onions and season with a little more salt and pepper.
Pour the milk mixture into the crust and even out the herbs across the top.
Bake for about 45 minutes until browned and set.
Serve warm, or at room temperature.

The Morning After Gingerbread Pancakes

2011-12-26T07:14:00.000-05:00

The morning after Christmas is fraught with so many emotions...for the head cook and shopper, aka Mrs. Claus, it's probably a huge relief. For the rest of the family it can be a bit depressing. Let them down easy with these lightly spiced fragrant pancakes.

Gingerbread Pancakes
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Whisk the dry ingredients together.
whisk the wet ingredients together.
Combine just until blended. Add more buttermilk if the batter is too thick.
Cook on a hot griddle

Note: Make it even easier on yourself and measure and mix the dry ingredients the night before. If you don't have buttermilk, use regular, or add a tablespoon of lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.

With little tricks like this you can extend the holiday spirit right through till the new year, at which point you have permission to ~~kick~~ ~~drag~~ relocate that rapidly crisping tree out to the curb, along with every razor sharp pine needle, shred of curling ribbon, balled up blob of scotch tape, crumpled piece of tissue paper and over-priced gift bag you can possibly cram into a lawn and leaf trash sack
...funny how the mood can change on a dime once January 1st rolls around....

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T13:07:00.000-05:00

Hope you got everything you wanted!

Melting Moments

2011-12-21T16:37:00.000-05:00

There are no curtains on our bedroom window that faces due east out over a woodland marsh. Most mornings I'll wake to the pre-dawn glow. So do the dogs, which may have something to do with it, but that's besides the point. I've always been an early riser, and I treasure those fleeting moments in the darkened kitchen as I grab my first cup of coffee by laptop light. The world makes no demands on you before dawn, and the day ahead is all possibility.

This morning I wake up to a house as full as it's ever been. I'll have a brief moment to enjoy it; the girls will be gone by the new year. But sitting here in the early morning somehow gives me the sense that I can slow it all down. Of course I can't, the sun is already at the horizon. Luckily this dough comes together in a couple of minutes and can chill while everyone sleeps.

I grew up with these cookies at Christmas. The cornstarch is responsible for the unique melting texture and the frosting makes them sweet like little cakes. Everyone who tries them loves them.

These delicate cookies aren't the best choice for shipping, but they are perfect for setting out on the counter or holiday table, and they survive the journey from plate to mouth just fine. In place of the vanilla or rum you could try almond, citrus, or peppermint flavors, with the appropriate garnishes. I have a feeling I'll eventually try a dark chocolate version but today I'm sticking with the classic as it was typed out on my mom's recipe card.

The holidays can be a source of tension, regret, frustration and even sadness for so many people. They wash over us like a tidal wave and can leave even the most prepared among us feeling inadequate. We feel like we didn't do enough, didn't find that perfect present, didn't get around to decorating the house, don't have enough money... maybe we're missing people who aren't with us, or remembering idyllic holidays past.

This season I'm trying to appreciate each unique moment without thinking too too much about what was, what will be, or what could have been. My dough is chilling. We'll scoop it out and bake it later this morning. It'll be fun.

Enjoy your week! I'll be back after Christmas.

Notes: I used an 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough. Bake on an ungreased, cool cookie sheet to prevent spreading. Let them cool first on the baking sheet. They are very delicate so move them and frost them carefully---you will be rewarded for your efforts. This recipe makes one and a half dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake and a blog award

2011-12-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

I tasted this cake many years ago and have held onto the memory and the recipe. It's from Bon Apetit 1995. The cake is safely under glass and waiting for the first daughter to arrive home today.

This cake has the texture of a dense pound cake.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
oven to 350

2 large egg whites (1/4 cup)

1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1 1/4 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

Topping
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
(I microwaved some dark chocolate chips in a baggie till melted, sniped off the tip and drizzled it over the cake.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter tube pan, then spray with nonstick spray. Mix egg whites, brown sugar, and salt in bowl. Mix in walnuts and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Stir in flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with sour cream in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
Transfer batter to pan; smooth top. Spoon walnut mixture evenly over. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack; invert onto second rack (walnuts should be on top). Cool.
Mix powdered sugar and sour cream in bowl; drizzle over cake, or melt chocolate chips in a baggie, snip the tip and drizzle.

---I'm so excited, I got a lovely blogging award from 2 people the other day. Thanks to Rose from
1 More Shopping Blog and Louise from Cosmetic Bee for passing on the award.

This award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.

The award has these stipulations:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

2. Reveal your 5 blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Hope that the people you have sent the award to will forward it to their favourite bloggers.

Here are the bloggers I'd like to hand this award on to---

Simone from Junglefrog
A Dutch food photographer from The Netherlands, her recipes and photographs are always inspiring.

Sarah from Snippets of Thyme

Sarah's blog is so polished and her photos set the standard for me. I especially like how she blends her cooking and photography with life stories.

Victoria from 21st Century Urban Housewife

Victoria blogs from Edinburgh, and it's been fun following along with her as she gets acclimated to the city and shares Scottish traditions.

Yasmeen from Wandering Spice

Yasmeen is an expat who blogs from Melbourne, she celebrates her Middle Eastern heritage through her family's recipes.

Mary from Barefeet in the Kitchen

Mary's turned me on to making my own tortillas, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and baked oatmeal, she even grinds her own flour.

The hostess from hostess of the humble bungalow

Hostess blogs from British Columbia about mid-life in the bungalow and in her beautiful seaside community.

I know, that's six. So sue me.
Congratulations ladies...thanks for your wonderful blogs!

Roasted Winter Vegetable Lasagna

2011-12-18T08:36:00.000-05:00

When it gets this close to Christmas, every day comes with its own list of things that needs to get done, but 'to do' lists are useless if you cram too much on them. I'm guilty. I'll sheepishly scrawl down things that I want to do, but know darn well won't get done. Somehow it makes me feel better. Today one of my jobs is to get a big family dinner into the freezer for this week. I only have 8 days with my girls, I don't want to waste any of it wondering what's for dinner or doing last minute grocery shopping.

I love lasagna, but I have to admit if they hadn't invented no cook noodles I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. All the pots and pans and mess turns me off. But lasagna has some redeeming qualities: everybody loves it, and a good sized pan can feed the family for days. It's really perfect for the week before Christmas.
Open a box of no cook lasagna noodles, pull out your largest casserole dish, a couple of baking sheets for the veggies, and a cutting board. The hardest thing here is thinly slicing the fresh mozzerella. I don't use fresh ricotta because I think the store bought is actually a little creamier; fresh ricotta doesn't always melt well. Lots of fresh sage mixed in with the eggy ricotta scents and flavors the whole dish. This lasagna is made like the classic, just substitute roasted vegetables for the meat layer.

The key is to roast the vegetables just long enough to get some color (and thus flavor) without cooking them too much. They'll cook further in the baking process and you don't want them mushy. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, just slice them thin enough so they can be layered between the noodles.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Lasagna
oven to 400 (for the roasted veggies)
makes 9-12 servings

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced

a couple of handfuls of Brussels sprouts, quartered

about a cup and a half of thickly sliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves,whole with skin on
olive oil
1 package of no cook lasagna noodles
1 large jar of your favorite tomato sauce, or tomato puree
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomato puree (optional)
1 1/2 lb of whole milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs
large handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped
salt and fresh cracked pepper
2 -3 8 oz balls of fresh mozzerella, thinly sliced

Spread the vegetables out on baking pans in one layer. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Roast them in the hot oven just until they brown a bit and are almost tender. This will only take 10 or 15 minutes. Stir or shake the pan once or twice during roasting. After you take the vegetables out of the oven, turn down the heat to 375.
Squeeze out the roasted garlic from its peel and chop it up.
Mix the ricotta with the eggs and sage. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Ladle some of the tomato sauce to cover the bottom of your 9x12 lasagna pan and lay a first layer of noodles down. Try to cover most of the space, breaking noodles to fit, if necessary.
Put down 1/2 of the veggies, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, and 1/3 of the mozzerella.
Make 1 more layer the same way. Press down on the noodles lightly as you layer and season with salt and pepper.
For the last layer put down the noodles, top with sauce, and mozzerella. Make sure all exposed noodles are covered in sauce. No-cook noodles need extra sauce to cook in and absorb.
Cover loosely with non-stick foil and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.
Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes, and run under the broiler to brown if necessary.
Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. Cool completely before freezing.

There's no way around it, lasagna is a bit of an effort, but when I heft that weighty pan from the oven I get a real sense of accomplishment. Speaking of which I guess I need to move on down my list. I reeeealllly hope I didn't write down clean the refrigerator...

Espresso Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

2011-12-16T15:37:00.000-05:00

Holiday Shortbread variation #2 for 2011 is inspired by the wonderful coffee nut cake I made a few weeks ago. I used my basic shortbread recipe and added strong espresso and ground hazelnuts for a refined flavor. The coffee really comes through both in the scent and taste of these cookies. I had planned to drizzle them with milk chocolate, but the chocolate was a little too thick to drizzle elegantly, so I inelegantly dunked them right in.

Espresso Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
makes about 14 small cookies
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts (Bob's Red Mill makes a Hazelnut Meal/Flour, and Trader Joe's carries ground nuts at the holidays)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp instant espresso dissolved in 1 Tbsp boiling water and cooled
1/2 cup, 1 stick, unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (for drizzling or dunking)

In the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor (you can also use a hand mixer, or your hands) mix together the flour, sugar and hazelnuts.
Add the softened butter, vanilla and cooled espresso and mix until the dough comes together.
Turn out onto waxed or parchment paper and form into an 8" log.
Wrap the log in the paper and twist the ends, smoothing the shape as you go.
Chill for at least an hour, or overnight.
Pre-heat the oven to 325, and line and baking sheet with parchment.
Slice the dough into 1/3 to 1/2 inch slices.
Bake in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes.
Cool on the pan briefly before finishing on a rack.
When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate for about a minute in the microwave stirring until completely smooth, then drizzle or dunk the shortbread. You can just dust them with powdered sugar if you don't want to use the chocolate.

I love this shortbread variation. They would be a great hostess gift because even people who don't drink coffee love the taste, and these are perfect for after dinner. Like all shortbread doughs, you can keep it in the freezer to pull out when you need it. If you freeze the sliced dough you can bake right from frozen, but if you freeze the whole log you will have to let it defrost before you can slice it.

Double Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

2011-12-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

Up until now I've been concentrating on getting baked gifts out to friends and family, now it's time to focus on what's staying here with us.

Shortbread of all kinds is a recurring theme in our house. It's one of those holiday staples that we all look forward to. I make different varieties every year depending on my mood. These extra dark cookies are amazing, if I do say so myself. They melt in your mouth with an explosion of deep rich chocolate that'll make your eyelids flutter. I love the unique texture of shortbread, it's super soft inside with a hint of crunch on the outside. I used extra dark cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, and it's about the richest chocolate you can bite into short of a truffle.

Double Dark Chocolate Shortbread
(makes about 12-14 cookies, double the recipe if you want to)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Put the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine well.
Drop in the butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture just comes together.
Stir in the chocolate chips and turn the dough out onto a board and form into an 8" log.
Wrap it in waxed or parchment paper and twist both ends to secure. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. You can also freeze the dough for later use.
Slice the log into 1/2" slices with a sharp knife.
Put on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven at 325 for 12 to 15 minutes. They will feel slightly soft, don't over bake them.
Cool for a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a rack.
If you're going to give them away make sure they are completely cool before you package them.

I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder for these cookies---it's a blend of Dutched cocoa processed to give a deeper, richer chocolate color and flavor. I liked it quite a bit. You can see the color above is unusually deep, and the flavor is as well. It makes my dark chocolate chips look pale in comparison! I highly recommend this cookie to all of you who love chocolate.

Pasta Puttanesca

2011-12-14T07:55:00.000-05:00

Pasta Puttanesca is more of a combination of flavors than a recipe. It's very much a winter dish for me, one that I almost always have all the ingredients for, which is good because its strong salty/briny tomato-ey flavor is one that can induce sudden cravings.

I like my puttanesca on the lighter side. I don't use canned tomatoes, or paste, I use fresh, no matter what the season, and I only cook the sauce briefly. The tomatoes I had in sitting in my big wooden bowl on the counter were nothing to write home about. When I chopped them up the color was more pinkish than rich red. But it doesn't really matter, they get cooked down a bit in this dish and will release their sweetness and give the pasta a nice fruitiness that canned tomatoes just can't. The pitted Kalamata olives I used were from a jar, if I had thought ahead I would have bought fresh from the olive bar or a specialty store, but again, it doesn't really matter. Just make sure you use flavorful black olives, don't buy the kind that make good finger puppets.

One last thing, don't leave out the anchovies. They actually will break down and melt into the oil as soon as they heat up, so you won't even know they're there, and the flavor and aroma is unmistakable. Fresh parsley is also important. I like my Puttanesca with whole grain or whole wheat thin spaghetti, and an unorthodox sprinkling of pine nuts on top.

Pasta Puttanesca
12 oz whole grain or whole wheat thin spaghetti, cooked al dente
olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
oil packed anchovies, chopped (I used just 3, use as many or as little as you like)
4 medium to large fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 cup rough chopped pitted black olives
1/3 cup dry white wine (or pasta water)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
salt and fresh pepper
aged cheese for garnish (Parmesan, Romano, I used aged provolone)

Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and saute the onion, garlic and anchovies on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Don't brown them. The anchovies will immediately melt into the oil and give you a great aroma.
Add in the tomatoes, olives and red pepper flakes. Heat to a simmer and add in 1/3 cup dry white wine. (If you don't want to use wine, use some of the cooking water from the pasta at the end to thin the sauce) Simmer for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes break down and the sauce melds together. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the pasta to al dente, and add it to the sauce pot along with the parsley, tossing really well.
Serve the pasta with pines nuts and grated cheese.

It's back to wrapping presents for me.

Jewels from the winter farmer's market

2011-12-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

The winter farmer's markets aren't as convenient, we have to drive at least 1/2 hour to get to one, and I wondered if it was going to be worth the trouble as we jumped into a cold car and wended our way through a grey landscape last Sunday.
What we found was a high school gym transformed into a warm, festive, circling of the wagons kind of atmosphere. Besides all the regular farmer's market kind of stuff there were handmade sausages roasting on a grill, micro-brewed beer, local wines, and fruitcakes mixed in We picked up a few colorful winter vegetables to brighten our kitchen---

Romanesco Broccoli

Watermelon Radishes

Baby Golden Turnips

The turnips got roasted with a chicken the first night, and then made into a soup the next day.

The other two are awaiting their fate. Maybe an exotic winter vegetable crudite platter.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Glaze

2011-12-11T07:33:00.000-05:00

When does a cupcake become a muffin? As long as you're reading my blog, let's play by my rules. Are you eating it for breakfast? Then it's a muffin. Glazed not frosted? Definitely a muffin. Are there spices in it like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves? Muffin, muffin, muffin, and muffin.
There, that was easy.

Gingerbread Muffins

oven to 350

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1 tsp (5 grams) baking soda

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (120 ml) molasses

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

For the Lemon Glaze

Mix 2 cups confectioner's sugar with enough fresh lemon juice to make a thick but pourable glaze.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at a time, beating in between.
Beat in the molasses.
Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Don't over beat.
Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups, lightly greased or lined with muffin papers.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a straw comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a rack.
Cool completely and then glaze with the lemon glaze.

Gingerbread recipe adapted from Joy of Baking

My goal for today is to wrap gifts and take inventory of what I've got and what I still need, so I can finish shopping for out of towners Monday and get boxes out Tuesday. I've already noticed the beleaguered PO is moving slower this year.
Both girls will be coming home between the 18th and 20th. I also need to clean the house, groom the dogs, find a living tree and decorate. Glad I've got these ~~cupcakes~~ muffins.
Happy Sunday!