The Chef and The Photographer

Vanilla Malt Cookies

2010-06-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

I love cookies, but my preference is usually that they have some chocolate of some sort in them. These cookies are completely chocolate free, and are some of my favorite. They are extremely addicting and go perfectly with coffee! Malted milk powder if you have never had it, adds a great milky carmel flavor. My favorite brand is Carnation, if you can find it (usually in the isle at the grocery store with the coffee and tea). The vanilla bean is optional but I've tried these cookies without them and it does add some very distinct flavor, but I would imagine vanilla paste would also work. I've also tried these cookies with whole wheat pastry flour but that also does change the flavor of the cookies and they taste more like graham crackers (not bad just a different flavor)...

Vanilla Malt Cookies (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe) - makes approximately 36 2" cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups malted milk powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
3 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2 TBS corn syrup
1 egg (room temperature)
seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the corn syrup, once mixed add the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, malted milk powder, salt, and baking powder. Add to the butter mixture and mix together. Scoop the dough onto greased sheet pans (or lined with parchment paper) and press down slightly. At this point you can either freeze to bake later (always my preference so you always have fresh cookies or bake right away. Bake 375 for 12-15 minutes. If you decide to freeze the dough, scoop the dough on a sheet pan and let it freeze solid and then put the dough into a zip lock bag. When ready to bake just simply put them on a sheet pan and into the oven- no defrosting necessary, the cookies bake better though if you press the freshly scooped dough down before freezing (you only need to slightly press the dough down otherwise the cookies will end up too flat).

Tomato and Lentil Stew

2010-05-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

It's almost June and our heat is still on!!! This makes for a satisfying and healthy lunch or dinner. It can easily be made by pantry staples and it gets better as it sits overnight. I slightly modified a recipe from Ina Garten- although it didn't need much modification! I haven't given up on my blog, but being a working mommy keeps me very very busy! Summer is such a great season for food and I will be sure to honor it with more frequent blog posts. Enjoy, and may your weather be too warm for this recipe!

Stewed Tomatoes and Lentils from Barefoot Contessa At Home

2 tsp olive oil
2 onions diced
2 carrots diced
1 TBS minced garlic
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (briefly pulse in the food processor)
1 cup french lentils (very small lentils, regular brown lentils can be substituted but the french lentils are worth seeking out.)
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp summer savory
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 TBS red wine vinegar

Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil over medium heat and cook the vegetables until they begin to caramelize. Add the garlic about a minute before the vegetables are done. Add in the tomatoes, lentils, stock, curry powder, thyme, and summer savory. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add some more chicken stock or water if the mixture seems too thick. Season with salt, pepper and vinegar. The combination of the tomatoes and lentils paired really well with polenta.

Hoisin ginger dipping sauce, dressing, and marinade

2010-04-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

I struggled with what to call this. I modified a recipe I found in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison and the recipe was labeled "Marinated Tofu". I didn't use it with tofu,so that wasn't going to work for a recipe title but used it for almost everything else! It worked great for dipping sauce for salad rolls and pot stickers. I also used it with buckwheat noodles for a cold veggie and noodle salad. I also used it as kind of a marinade with some steamed chicken (tossed the cooked chicken in the sauce which it soaked up...). If I had any left it could have easily also been used for a stir fry sauce. It's versatile, fast and keeps for a while! What more could you ask from a recipe?

Hoisin Ginger Sauce (approximately 2 cups)

1/3 cup hoisin
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1/3 cup mirin
3 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBS brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS tomato paste
3 cloves garlic minced
1 TBS minced ginger

All you have to do is put it all in a bowl and mix! I've kept it for two weeks with no problems (in the refrigerator)

Pumpkin Apple Soup

2010-03-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

It seems I'm always off season with my pumpkin posts :). The problem is I go crazy when they are in season and I roast and puree lot's of pumpkin to use through out the year, thus the off season posts (be on the look out for some pumpkin scones). I was also very pregnant when pumpkins were in season this year and was not up to posting...
If you don't happen to have fresh pumpkin puree in your freezer I would substitute with some other squash puree like butternut or kabocha squash. With such a simple soup, canned pumpkin won't do this soup justice (but can be used, especially in a hurry). To roast the squash, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Put the squash cut side down in a pan with a little water in the bottom of the pan, cover with foil and bake at 350 until tender. Let it cool and scrape out the squash. Measure out three cups and if you have any left over you can always freeze it for later.

Pumpkin Apple Soup

3 cups pumpkin or squash puree
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium sized carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium apple peeled and chopped (any flavorful cooking apple)
1/2 tsp red thai curry paste*
28 oz chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup 1/2 and 1/2
3 TBS sherry
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper

*optional, provides a nice hint of spice

In a large pot, saute the onion, carrots, and apple in olive oil and add salt and pepper. When the carrots are soft and the onions are translucent add the thai curry paste, cook for one minute (if using) then add the stock, squash, and bay leaves and bring up to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, (make sure carrots and apple are very soft, simmer longer if needed) turn off the heat and add the 1/2 and 1/2 and sherry. Puree in a blender until smooth. Check for seasoning adding more salt and pepper if necessary. A nice garnish is toasted pumpkin seeds and sauteed apple (or just pumpkin seeds).

This soup freezes well.

Cheesecake

2010-03-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was never a huge cheesecake fan... if given the choice of cheesecake or something else I would usually pick the something else. That was until I had met my husband, who is a huge cheesecake fan and would always pick cheesecake over anything else. I discovered this recipe, which is called Three Cities of Spain cheesecake (from Three Cities of Spain coffeehouse in New Mexico that closed in the 70's) and it converted me into a cheesecake fan! What sets this cheesecake apart is after it's baked it gets a thin layer of lightly sweetened sour cream on top, and briefly baked in the oven to set it. The addition of the sour cream helps to balance the sweetness of the cheesecake. I also prefer to use cinnamon sugar graham crackers, or add some cinnamon to a regular graham crackers crust, for an extra dimension of flavor.

Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake

Crust:
5 oz (1 1/2 cups) graham crackers finely crushed- you can also use gingersnaps, chocolate cookies, vanilla wafers
1/3 cup of sugar (you can adjust the amount or leave it out completely if using cookies that are fairly sweet)
5 TBS melted butter
1/8 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cinnamon (optional, but if using regular graham crackers I highly recommend it!)

Mix everything together in a small bowl and press into the bottom of a 8" or 9" greased springform pan (if you use a 8" pan the cake will be a little higher).

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the crust in the oven for 5 minutes, long enough to dry out the crust. Once the pan is cool, wrap the outside in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil, using the top of the pan to help hold up the plastic and foil, make sure all the plastic is tucked inside the foil. Set aside and turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

Filling:
24 oz of SOFTENED cream cheese
4 lg room temperature eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
16 oz sour cream
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

It is very important that the cream cheese is softened so you don't end up with lumps. I like to use a mixer to mix the filling, but this could easily be done by hand as well. It is important that the sugar and cream cheese is creamed together really well so there aren't little lumps of cream cheese left. Once you start adding eggs it is important to not over mix or incorporate too much air (so the filling remains dense and creamy).

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed, scrape down continually to make sure everything is evenly mixed. Turn the mixer down to low and add the eggs one at a time, making sure to stop and scrape after each addition. Add the next egg only after the previous one is completely mixed in. Add in the vanilla and any other desired flavors at the end. Pour into the par baked crust and put pan into a larger pan and fill it with hot water that goes 1/2 way up the sides of the pan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Mix the topping while the cheesecake bakes and set aside until the cheesecake is done. To test the cheesecake for doneness, gently tap the pan (the actual cheesecake, if you tap the outside pan it will make the water slosh and possibly go up into the cheesecake) and if you see it wiggle all together then it's done (as opposed to sending a ripple through the batter). After the cheesecake is done, let it sit for 10 minutes and then carefully spread the sour cream topping evenly over the top. Put it back into the oven for 10 minutes. Pull it out, let the cheesecake cool and then once it's room temperature, put it into the refrigerator and let it cool completely. Unmold and cut with a hot clean knife...
Fresh strawberries or strawberry puree make a wonderful accompaniment!

Baking options- I recently tried two other ways to bake cheesecake:

Cupcakes: Use paper liners, and press some of the crust into the bottom and par bake the same way. You don't need a hot water bath and the cooking time will be dramatically reduced (check after 20 minutes). Once the cheesecake is done, take it out of the oven and put the sour cream topping on and return it to the oven for 5 minutes. You can either leave the papers on (if letting people serve them selves, it might be easier) or you can peel the paper off before serving. It helps if the cheesecake is completely cool and thoroughly chilled.

In the pressure cooker!
Follow the directions as stated in the recipe above, but you don't need to wrap the outside with plastic and foil, instead raise it off the bottom of the pressure cooker and put 2 cups of water in the bottom, and then cover the top of the pan instead with foil. Once the pressure has been reached in the pan, cook for 25 minutes (cooking time will vary from brand to brand), take it out, and spread the sour cream on top and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 (make sure to leave the oven on after par baking the crust) and you're done! I like that I don't have to mess around with the water bath and the cheesecake turned out wonderfully creamy and perfectly cooked!

Granola

2010-03-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

Granola can be made from so many different things, you can use different kinds of flakes (not just oats) including barley flakes, triticale flakes (both of which are in the picture). It can be made with or without coconut, it can have a number of different nuts or seeds, or none at all. There are many different dried fruits that can be added, or left out completely. The point is you can make granola how you like it, don't feel too confined by the recipe given here. The oats, nuts, coconut, fruit are all considered "garnish" and can be substituted for whatever you want... only like oats and nothing else? Substitute everything else for oats. Only like nuts and oats but nothing else? Leave the rest out and increase the amount of nuts and oats... all you have to do is add up the amount of total garnish (except the dried fruit which is added after cooking) and divide up however you desire. The total amount of garnish is 10 cups.

Granola (makes approximately 13 cups)

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup nonfat dried milk
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 cups unsweetened large flake coconut
1 cup chopped or slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup chopped pecans
6 TBS honey
6 TBS maple syrup
1 TBS cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used a coconut palm sugar instead)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup raisins
1 cup cranberries

Pre Heat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl mix together the honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, brown sugar and butter. Once it is well mixed, stir in everything else but the dried fruit (if the dried fruit is baked it will become too hard). Once everything is well mixed and coated, spread the granola out on 2 large baking sheets and put into the oven. Stir every 10 minutes making sure to that everything cooks evenly. It will take approximately 30-40 minutes. The granola is done when it is a golden brown. Take the mix out and let cool on the sheet pan. Once everything is cool, mix in the dried fruit and store in an air tight container to prevent the granola from getting stale.

Crunchy Coconut Cookies

2010-02-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

Be careful, these are addicting! This is another great cookie to use whole wheat flour in it, the flavor and texture nicely compliments the coconut. This dough can also be used for a variety of cookies. In the picture they are just plain drop cookies, but the dough is also perfect for little sandwiches with a chocolate ganache filling or maybe passion fruit curd? They could also be rolled and cut out into various shapes and decorated- they would make a great Easter cookie.

Coconut Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or All Purpose Flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream the butter and sugar together until all the powdered sugar is mixed in (be careful, too much creaming and the cookies will spread too much- a bad thing if you are rolling the dough out). Add the egg and vanilla and cream until creamy and smooth. Mix all the dry ingredients together and mix into the butter. This dough can be scooped, it can be formed into logs and sliced or it can be rolled out and cut (will keep it's shape). If you decide to roll the cookies refrigerate the dough in a 1" thick disk before trying to roll out. You can also freeze the dough after formed to bake later

Bake at 375 for approximately 8-15 minutes (depending on how thick/big they are).

Baked Apple Pancake

2010-02-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

This baked apple pancake is a great alternative to the standard breakfast options- pancakes, waffles, french toast. It's quick and easy and can easily serve quite a few with little effort and maybe more importantly all at once! This could also be served as a dessert paired with some ice cream or maybe whipped cream. While the leftovers are good to snack on you want to make sure to serve this right away. The batter portion could be made ahead of time though. This is a variation on what's called a Dutch Baby which is basically the same thing only baked without the fruit. I have used a raw cane sugar for some added interest but you can easily substitute in brown sugar or even white sugar. I also used whole wheat pastry flour with great results but you can also easily use all purpose white flour if you prefer.

Baked Apple Pancake serves 6 (adapted from Sunset Magazine)

3 Tbs butter
1/4 cup raw cane sugar (turbinado)- you can substitute light brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 large baking apple peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour- you can substitute all purpose white flour
1/2 cup milk (non-fat works fine, but a higher fat milk would make a richer pancake)

Pre heat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a blender mix the eggs, salt, flour and milk on high until uniform. Set that aside while you cook the apples. You will need an 10-12" oven proof skillet, preferably cast iron. Heat the pan over medium heat and add the butter and sugar. Let them melt and add in the apples and cinnamon and cook them over a medium heat until they are tender but not mushy. After the apples are ready smooth them out so they are one even layer on the bottom of the pan. While the pan is still hot, pour the batter right from the blender,over the apples and immediately into the oven. This bakes for about 15 minutes or until the middle is set and firm. It will be puffed up and fall as it cools. Serve immediately. The classic garnishes for this is a spritz of lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar.

You could easily substitute other fruit for apples, like pears or bananas. Another variation is to leave the fruit out of the pancake making it a traditional dutch baby and saute the fruit and serve it on top after the pancake is baked. If you do that, I would still melt the butter in the pan as normal, and add the sugar into the batter mixture.

Biscotti

2010-01-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

I always get asked what my favorite sweet is, and I never have a good answer because it depends on so many things. I'm never very predictable when it comes to what I like or what I want to eat, but I'm usually not one to turn down a cookie- especially a biscotti. I have posted a variation on Mark Bittmans biscotti recipe from How to Cook Everything. As with all of his recipes this is a basic biscotti recipe with ideas for variations. If you've never looked through this book, it's a great cookbook to add to your collection- it is very comprehensive and reliable with variations for almost all recipe's that allow for a lot of flexibility and creativity. I have written the basic recipe below and then I'll add a variation section with the variation I used in the picture and will come back to add to it.

Biscotti (adapted from How to Cook Everything)

4 TBS butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Variations:
Whole wheat orange chocolate: Substitute flour for whole wheat pastry flour. When creaming sugar and butter together add the zest of one orange. At the end when combining the dry ingredients with the wet add in 1 cup chopped dark chocolate.

Pre Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix completely before adding the next. Then add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix dough until you no longer see any flour. The dough will be very stiff by now. On a greased cookie sheet (or line with parchment paper) form the dough into one long log that is about 2 inches wide. You can either make one long log or two shorter ones. Bake for about 30 minutes- until the log begins to turn a golden brown and it feels firm on top in the center of the log. Turn the oven down to 250 degrees and let the logs cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, slice on a bias(using a serrated knife), into about 1/2 inch thick slices and lay them back on the sheet pan. Bake another 15 minutes, turn them over and bake about another 15 minutes until they are dried out. They may feel slightly soft when you take them out of the oven, but as they cool they will harden.

Apple Cake

2009-11-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

This is a simple versatile cake that could be baked in a square pan with a crumb topping or some powdered sugar on top for a morning coffee cake or dressed up for an afternoon cake with a glaze or served with some freshly whipped cream. Either way, it's easy, lower in fat and comes together quickly. This was adapted from the Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Baking Book You could easily substitute pears for apples or add in some walnuts or pecans.

Apple Bundt Cake (serves 12)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour
1 cup all purpose flour (or you can use 2 cups all purpose in place of the whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBS olive oil (or you can use melted butter or vegetable oil)
2 TBS milk
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups apples peeled (1 cup grated and 1 1/2 cups cut into a small dice)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Stir together all the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In a separate bowl mix together the oil, milk, banana, eggs, and vanilla. Stir together the wet and dry ingredients, adding in the apples before it is fully mixed. Mix just until everything comes together and pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake until the springs back when touched, or if a skewer is inserted it comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. Start checking for doneness after 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-11-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

If you've looked thorough my previous posts you've probably have already come across this recipe. I was inspired to take a second look at this recipe after my mother in law had commented when she made them they didn't turn out like she had remembered having them when they were visiting. After thinking about it and making them again to check for measurements I decided it was probably the pumpkin. I have a small stock pile of freshly roasted sugar pumpkin in my freezer which means I never need to use canned pumpkin, but the sugar pumpkin puree has a lot more moisture which would certainly affect the texture of the cookies... So while I was making these cookies again to make sure all the measurements were correct I've made a few changes to the recipe which you can see here. These cookies are very cakey and not too high in fat so they are better eaten the day they are made or even the day after (they go really well with your morning cup of coffee). The batter can easily keep in the refrigerator for a few days and then beyond that you can scoop the dough onto a lined sheet pan and freeze the dough for later. Nothing is more handy than when you are craving some freshly baked cookies and all you have to do is go to the freezer and pull a few cookies out and 20 minutes later you have freshly cookies!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

2009-10-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

This is a great chocolate cake that could be used for more cakes than just a bundt cake, but it's good enough to stand on it's own, served with freshly whipped cream and fruit or lightly iced. It's dense like a pound cake but not too sweet with a great chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Bundt Cake (will serve 12-16)

8 oz (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
5 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups cake flour
3 TBS instant espresso powder dissolved in 1/4 cup of hot water or 5 TBS of extra strong coffee or espresso
3/4 cup buttermilk slightly warm

Pre heat the oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream together the butter and vanilla until light and fluffy (at least 5 minutes of mixing by hand or on second speed in a mixer with a paddle attachment). Make sure to stop and scrape the bowl and paddle often. Slowly add in the eggs (and vanilla), one at a time making sure it is completely mixed in before adding the next egg. Sift together the dry ingredients and in a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and coffee. Add 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture to the butter, once mixed in, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Continue alternating until everything is mixed in (you will have added the dry ingredients and buttermilk in 3 additions each). Pour batter into a greased bundt (or tube)pan. Bake at 335 degrees F until done. To test for doneness press on the center of the cake (gently), it should be firm enough to bounce back or if you were to insert a skewer (or toothpick) a few moist crumbs should stick to the skewer. Once the pan is cool enough to hold, turn the cake out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. This will be good at room temperature for a few days as long as it remains well wrapped or this cake also freezes really well.

Cereal Bars

2009-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

These are really just rice crispy treats with some more stuff added in. I got this idea from Martha Stewart. I made a few changes to them, but they turned out great and will definitely be made again!

Cereal Bars (makes 12-16 bars)

4 cups Cornflakes
1 cup Unsweetened co0conut (can substitute sweetened)
1 1/2 Chopped toasted almonds
16 oz Marshmallows
2 TBS butter
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Salt

Melt butter, add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add in the vanilla, and salt and stir. Take off the heat and stir in coconut, almonds and cornflakes. Press into a greased 13x9" pan (to get thick bars I didn't use the whole pan but about 3/4 of it- you could spread it out over the whole pan, but the bars would be thicker than pictured). Let them cool (the marshmallow will set up) and cut.

Blackberry Pie

2009-08-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

This pie can be adapted to a lot of different fruits. This uses a filling called a cooked juice filling. It works well for any fruit that is fragile and doesn't need to be cooked before being put into a pie but may give off a lot of juice as the pie bakes, namely berries. If you've ever tried to make a filling with fresh berries only to find that they released a lot of juice and made for a rather soggy pie, then this filling is perfect. It also works well for all kinds of canned or frozen fruit. It makes a gel out of liquid, sugar and cornstarch which you fold the fruit into before putting it into the pie. A different version of this method can be used for fruits that maybe be fresh and a little firmer but could benefit from some cooking before going into the pie. The fruit is lightly sauteed before creating the gel to make sure that the fruit comes out fork tender but also all the juices are appropriately thickened. The pie crust recipe is a great all purpose pie dough and the key to all great pie crusts is simple, keep everything very cold and don't overwork the dough. The following are step by step instructions that will enable anyone to make a flavorful and tender pie crust and a perfect filling for all those juicy summer fruits that are coming into season.

Blackberry Pie (makes 1 double crusted 9" pie)

Pie Dough (enough for a double crusted pie)
2 1/4 cups + 2 TBS (12 oz) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp (8g) of salt
5 tsp (20g) sugar (optional if using for savory dish)
1 cup or 2 sticks (8 oz) butter
1/2 cup (4 oz) of very cold water (measure from a container of ice water)

Blackberry Pie Filling
1 3/4 cup (14 oz) of juice*
7 TBS (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
large pinch of fresh grated nutmeg (optional)
6 TBS (39 g) cornstarch
2 1/2 lbs of Blackberries*
1 TBS lemon juice
*this works well for any berries, or stone fruit, feel free to substitute or mix fruits. You can use fresh fruit or frozen fruit. The juice can be a number of things, if you are using frozen fruit, completely thaw out fruit and use all juice and liquid that comes from the fruit. If using fresh berries you could use water, or a fruit juice or crush some berries and mix with some water to create the liquid.

To make the pie dough:
As mentioned at the top of the post, the key to a tender crust is to keep everything very cold and work the dough very little. You can make it by hand or in a food processor. Ideally, if you have time and space, measure everything out and leave it in the refrigerator for a while to make sure even the flour and butter are very cold. If not, just make sure that the butter isn't sitting out for any length of time. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and cut the butter up into smaller cubes.
If using a food processor, pulse the mixture until it resembles cornmeal- careful not to go to far so that it looks like the dough is coming together (the butter has gotten too worked in at this point)
If making by hand, slowly work the butter into the flour until you have very small little pebbles of butter. Don't keep any of it in your hands for too long, I like to grab a large chunk of butter with some of the dry and pinch the butter into a flat sheet trying to work in as much flour as possible, then drop that piece and find the next chunk of butter. Continue doing that until all the large pieces are broken down. You can also use a pastry blender or fork to help make it so you're not making contact with the butter (to keep it from getting too warm).
After the butter is cut into the flour, add the water and if using the food processor, pulse a few more times to gently bring the dough together.
If doing by hand, pour the water in and then bring both hands down to the bottom of the bowl, and then bring them up through the mix, as if to fluff the mixture. Continue doing this until it looks like things are equally distributed. What this does is helps to distribute the water without much hand contact with the mixture. Look for pockets of water or sticky dough and break that up with pockets of dry ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together then you can wrap it in plastic wrap or use a bag, and form it into 2 1/2" thick circles and wrap and chill the dough (you can leave this in the refrigerator for a few days, or if making ahead of time freeze for later).

To make the Blackberry Filling:
Make sure all the fruit (if frozen) is completely thawed or drained of any excess liquid. You can use all the liquid as part or all of the liquid called for in the recipe. Place the cornstarch into a small bowl, and add enough of the liquid so the cornstarch dissolves (about 1/4 cup) Pour the rest of the liquid into a large pan (either pot or saute pan) and add the juice, sugar, salt and nutmeg, if using. Bring to a boil and slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring back up to a boil. Make sure this comes to a complete rolling boil (so you see bubbles in the middle as well as the sides of the pan) and then take off the heat. Add the lemon juice and gently fold in the fruit. Spread this out on to a cookie sheet or large baking pan so that it can quickly and completely cool before putting it into the pie shell. This can be made a day a head of time. The cooler the mixture the better, not only will it make sure the pie dough isn't going into the oven warm, but it will also take longer for the filling to heat up in the oven, which means it will end up cooking less (a good thing since the filling is already totally cooked).

To Roll out the pie dough:

Make sure your pie dough has had at least an hour to rest and chill in the refrigerator. Using a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough (making sure to add more flour as necessary) until it's about 1/8" thick. Roll both portions of dough out, and place one back into the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the pie. Using one of the rounds, line the bottom of the pie pan with the dough, making sure to center the dough, so you have enough to come up all sides of the pan and hang over the edge. Make sure the dough is pushed (from top/ excess dough that is hanging over) into the corners at the bottom of the pan. At this point you only need that dough to go out to the edge of the pie pan, not any further, so using the edge of the pie pan as a guide, trim the rest of the dough away. Place this in the refrigerator and let it sit at least 30 minutes so the dough has time to relax and chill. Take it out of the refrigerator and pour all the filling into the pie, making sure it's tightly packed and level on top. If using the top crust (you can take a shortcut and sprinkle strussel on top) Place the top crust on top of the pie and trim around the edge, leaving enough to tuck under the bottom crust (about 1/2" or so). Go back around an pressing the bottom and top crust together, gently tuck it under so you no longer see the bottom crust and then if you want decoratively crimp the edges. Make sure to put a few vents in the middle for steam to escape. Place the pie on a parchment or foil lined sheet pan and bake in a 425 degree preheated oven until the pie is a golden brown. This pie will take about 5 hours at least to fully cool before it will cut cleanly, so make sure to make it ahead of time to leave plenty of time for cooling. If you cut while the filling is warm at all it won't hold it's shape very nicely.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream/ Frozen Yogurt

2009-08-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Fresh. Simple. Full of flavor. Perfect. This ice cream has only 4 ingredients, but it produces a vibrantly flavored ice cream that is bursting with strawberry flavor. I had some heavy cream left over that I needed to use up and a freezer full of peak of the season strawberries and thought I would give this recipe I had found in Gourmet a try. As it turns out, I didn't have as much cream as I thought which turned out to my advantage because what was a simple and creamy strawberry ice cream turned into a wonderfully creamy but slightly tangy strawberry frozen yogurt. While it is still half cream the reduction of fat allowed for more strawberry flavor to come through. This had a great texture and involved no cooking! Give it a try. I will certainly be trying this with other fruits! I realize it's been over four weeks since my last post, but I have a few more posts in store so be sure to check back in the up coming week for some more summery foods!

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (adapted from Gourmet)
(to make this an ice cream, use all cream instead of 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 cream)

1 lb of coarsely chopped strawberries (can be frozen and thawed out)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp of salt
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of 2% or whole milk greek style* yogurt

Put the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Let them stand for 30 minutes or so and then in a blender, blend half until smooth. If they are frozen and thawed out, they will be a lot softer and you might find that you can just mash them with a fork and that should break down enough of the strawberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt and cream, add to strawberries and refrigerate until very cold**. Freeze using an ice cream maker. Enjoy!

*Greek style yogurt is thicker and creamier. If you have never tried it, buy some and check it out. It is a little more expensive than some other yogurts but it's thick creamy texture and mild flavor make it worth the price.

**I found another advantage of the frozen strawberries was, if they were just defrosted so the berries were soft but everything was still very cold, it made it so there is no need to chill the final mix.

Mango Salsa

2009-07-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is a very simple quick salsa, and I really don't use a recipe but have created one to share with you, especially for those who aren't comfortable cooking without one. Although this uses mango, you could easily substitute a number of different fruits like pineapple, peaches, plums, nectarines... feel free to also add some cucumber, radish or other veggies to give even more of a variation. This is great served alone with corn chips, but also can be used as a condiment for tacos, or grilled fish or meats, black bean soup...

Mango Salsa (makes about 2 cups)

2 small mangos finely chopped
1/2- 1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped (if you want more heat, leave the seeds in)
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (about 1/3 of a bunch- measure after chopping)
2-3 TBS freshly squeezed lime juice (1 to 2 limes)
salt to taste (start with 1/4 of a tsp, and if it tastes a little flat add more or if it's not acidic enough, add some more lime juice)

After chopping the onions, let them sit in very cold water for at least 10 minutes and this will remove some of the pungency. Make sure to strain all the water from them before adding them to the salsa. Combine everything in a bowl, and mix. This is best made the day it's served, but it benefits from sitting for an hour or so before serving.

Macaroni and Cheese

2009-06-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe for a healthier macaroni and cheese. In the picture I used whole wheat elbows and mixed in some spinach and mushrooms, but you could easily just use regular elbows and no veggies if you so desire. I left the bread crumbs off the top due to some time constraints but I will include the topping in the recipe. This is a recipe that I got from one of the cooking light cookbooks and have modified it a bit. The addition of the cottage cheese and sour cream add lots of flavor and creaminess without making it too unhealthy.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese (serves 6)

1 egg
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
3/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 cup non fat or low fat milk
2 TBS grated onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 cups (8 oz) grated cheese- you can use all cheddar or your favorite cheese or a combination whatever you have on hand
4 cups elbow noodles cooked (8oz uncooked)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbs melted butter or olive oil
pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika

Pre heat the oven to 350. In a bowl mix the egg through the ground pepper until mixed. Add in the cheese and mix, then fold in the cooked noodles. Spread into a greased 2 quart casserole pan and pat down to evenly fill the pan. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, butter and salt, pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle over the pasta and cover the pan with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and uncover and bake another five minutes or until the bread crumbs brown.

*Feel free to add in anything you want along with the pasta. You could fold in some ham or broccoli, or maybe some roasted poblanos and use pepper jack cheese along with the cheddar cheese.

Strawberry Shortcake

2009-06-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's June and local strawberries are in season. I'm very lucky to live where I do, and have access to great produce and food. This past weekend we went to pick hood strawberries. Hood (as in Mt Hood) strawberries can be arguably some of the best strawberries to be found. We picked a whole flat, some of which I'll turn into jam and the rest will make for a great week of snacks! Later the same night I decided to make some strawberry shortcakes to highlight the beautiful strawberries we picked that morning. I didn't necessarily have a great go to shortcake recipe so I found one on King Arthur Flour. I think I was still inspired from my previous post experience! I made a few adaptions but it turned out to be a great biscuit for shortcake. I had perfect strawberries so there was very little need for sugar, but I did need some juice so I crushed a few strawberries and quartered the rest. I also included a few squirts of agave syrup and then topped it with some freshly whipped, lightly sweetened, organic heavy whipping cream

Shortcakes (from King Arthur Flour)
3 1/2 cups (14 7/8 oz) all purpose flour or pastry flour if you have it (I used half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp salt
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 TBS sugar
4 oz (1 stick) cold butter cut into small pieces or thin slices
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. You want the butter, buttermilk and egg as cold as possible. This will help to keep the biscuit a tender. Measure all the dry ingredients into a bowl and add the cut up butter. Break up the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles cornmeal (you can also pulse this in a food processor). In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk, egg and vanilla and pour into the dry ingredients and mix with your hands or a spatula just until the ingredients are barely mixed, make sure not to over mix! The batter will be fairly soft so make sure you turn it out on a floured surface to roll and cut out the biscuits. I took a bit of a shortcut and used a large scoop and just scooped it onto a sheet pan. Place the biscuits on a greased or parchment lined sheet pan. I pressed them down with my hand slightly (dampened my hand with water so it wouldn't stick)- because I had scooped them, this wouldn't be necessary if they were rolled out. I finished them off with a dusting of raw coarse sugar before putting the biscuits into the oven. They baked for about 15-20 minutes. I pulled them out when I saw them lightly brown and the felt firm in the middle. These also made great biscuits for breakfast the next day, gently rewarmed!

Ricotta Pancakes

2009-06-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had another post that I was going to put up today, until I made breakfast and found something more inspiring. My recipe and food choices for the day are usually guided by what's in the refrigerator and more importantly what needs to be used up. I had half a container of ricotta that wouldn't be good for much longer so I decided to try (again) some ricotta pancakes. I had made one recipe a while back but they were really thin and flat and didn't have a good texture at all. I had almost resigned to the fact that I didn't like ricotta in my pancakes until I tried this recipe. These may be my favorite pancakes! I got the recipe from The King Arthur Flour Bakers Companion Cookbook. I was short on a few ingredients, so I made a few modifications to the recipe, but they turned out so great that I think I will keep making them the same way, which is the recipe I posted below. I had some poached rhubarb which was a wonderful accompaniment to these very light and flavorful pancakes.

Ricotta Pancakes (made about 15 medium large pancakes)

3 eggs (2 of the whites separated and set aside in a clean bowl)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 TBS sugar
2/3 cup of ricotta
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

In a small mixing bowl, sift the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda and set aside. In another larger mixing bowl, mix the eggs (minus the two separated egg whites), and ricotta until smooth. Add in the vanilla and buttermilk and whisk until smooth. Begin whipping the egg whites and when they are white a frothy add one tablespoon of sugar. Continue whipping and slowly add the rest of the sugar and whip until medium peaks form. When you hold up the whisk, the egg white should stand up and flop over a little bit at the top. Mix the dry ingredients into the buttermilk mixture, whisk just until the flour is mixed in, be careful to not over mix or the pancakes can be tough. Don't worry if there are a few lumps left. Gently fold in the egg whites. Cook on a griddle over a medium heat. The batter will be very light but thick, so make sure that as you ladle out the batter the pancakes aren't too thick by taking the back of the spoon and spreading the batter out a little. They will take a little longer than regular pancakes to cook, so make sure to keep the heat low enough so they don't get to dark before they're done. Enjoy!

Swedish Cream

2009-05-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is much like a panna cotta with the addition of sour cream, making it a little richer, creamier, and thicker than a normal panna cotta. With the addition of sour cream it pairs wonderfully with berries and all the stone fruits of summer. It couldn't be simpler and works well to make ahead of time. If you wanted to turn these out, as opposed to serving in a dish, you might want to increase the amount of gelatin to 1 tsp.

Swedish Cream -makes 6 small 1/3 cup servings
1 cup cream or half and half or milk*
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp powdered gelatin (dissolved in 5 tsp water)
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

*use milk if you want something lighter or cream if you are looking for something very rich

Combine the gelatin and water in a small bowl, make sure all the gelatin gets hydrated. Let sit for 5 minutes. In a separate pot scald (heat just before boiling) the cream with sugar and vanilla bean (if using). Take off the heat, add in the gelatin and stir to dissolve (remove the vanilla bean). Put the sour cream in a separate bowl and slowly pour the hot cream into the sour cream , stirring with each addition to make sure the sour cream gets completely mixed in, and then add in the vanilla extract and almond extract. Pour into serving dishes and and refrigerate until cool and set (at least 4 hours). I like to serve the Swedish cream with fresh fruit tossed with a little sugar.

Miso Mustard Butter

2009-05-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, like quite a few in my collection, I rip them out and save them, but it doesn't have the source on it. I'm not claiming this as my own, but I'm not sure who to credit! It was a great find, however. This butter is considered a compound butter, which is basically a flavored or seasoned butter. It can be as simple as garlic butter you spread on french bread for garlic bread. When summer is in full swing you can chop up all your fresh herbs and use that to make a lovely herb butter, maybe adding some garlic or citrus zest. The possibilities are endless! I used it a few days ago when we grilled a beautifully thick rib eye steak. The possibilities for compound butter uses extend way beyond meat. I also roasted some asparagus which could have easily been finished with some of this butter coming out of the oven. I'm sure it would be great over fish or maybe some roasted or steamed potatoes (or veggies), or perhaps toss it with pasta. Make the whole recipe and then whatever you don't use you can shape into a log shape using parchment or plastic wrap and then freeze it (make sure it's well wrapped). Slice a round off whenever you need it, and as long as your ingredients are hot you won't have to worry about defrosting it.

Miso Mustard Butter (makes close to 1 cup of butter)

1 stick (8 TBS) softened unsalted butter
2 TBS white miso
2 TBS dijon style mustard
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS minced fresh ginger
1 TBS lemon juice
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Make sure your butter is very soft, but not melted, and mix everything together. I find it's easier to mix everything but the butter together first then add the softened butter. It makes it a lot easier to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

Coconut Macaroons

2009-05-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

These cookies are always a huge hit and they couldn't be easier to make. I also like to finish these cookies off by dipping the bottoms in tempered chocolate (click here and scroll down to the bottom of the post for tempering instruction). You can make the macaroon batter ahead of time and keep it in the cooler for up to a week without any problems. These cookies also keep pretty well for 5 days or so before they begin to dry out (make sure to keep them covered).

Coconut Macaroons (makes about 36 cookies)

2.75 oz egg whites
6 oz granulated sugar
.4oz pastry flour
.75 oz corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
large pinch salt
6 ozunsweetened finely shredded coconut (if you can't find it in the bulk section, look for Bob's Red Mill brand)

Pre Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the egg whites, sugar corn, syrup, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix to combine everything and then add in the coconut. Mix until everything is combined, the mixture will be fairly stiff. If you have a small cookie scoop, it is the easiest way to shape the cookies. Make sure to really pack the scoop so the cookies won't easily fall apart. If you don't have a cookie scoop you can just hand shape 1-2TBS full of dough. Make sure to pack it together before placing them on the cookie tray. I like to roll round balls and then slightly flatten them on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until you see the very tops of the cookies start to brown. When you touch them, they will feel really soft, like they're not done, but as they cool they will firm up. Cook them too long and they start to dry out. Let them cool completely before taking them off the sheet pan.

Feel free to play around with variations. You could add spices or zest to the batter. You can also fold in small chunks of nuts or chocolate, or melted chocolate for chocolate macaroons.

Smoothie

2009-05-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

Before I start in on today's post I want to apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have good reason though! I found out a few weeks ago that I'm pregnant. My husband and I are very excited. I'm now through my first trimester and feeling better, but for a while cooking or writing about food sounded less than appealing. I'm very happy to see though that it was short lived! I thought I would start back with a recipe that I find very comforting and a great and quick way to start off the day. I'm sure you've come across many smoothie recipes. I'm fairly sure you haven't seen too many with oatmeal in it though! I got the idea from a few years back when my husband and I were following the ABS Diet it was a very sensible way of eating that basically focuses on a core group of healthy and fresh foods. The oatmeal in the shake gives it a great creaminess and also helps to add fiber and it sticks with you all morning long. In smaller quantities it also makes a great mid day snack. Feel free to play around with all the ingredients in this recipe. I hesitated in labeling this recipe as a specific smoothie (I would have labeled it a banana peanut butter smoothie) because I didn't want to turn anyone off, as you could add whatever you had on hand or were in the mood for. What I'll do is when I'm making oatmeal for breakfast, I'll make extra- then there is oatmeal cold and ready to go whenever I need a quick breakfast. Give it a try and see what you think!

Smoothie (makes 1 large meal sized smoothie)

1/3 cup cooked, cold oatmeal
1 small banana or 1/2- 2/3's of a large
1 TBS peanut butter (preferably natural without any added sugar or salt)
1 TBS of vanilla flavored protein powder*
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (whatever kind you want or you could replace it with soy milk ect.)
3 ice cubes

*for the protein powder I used a whey protein powder- vanilla flavor. This adds some sweetness to the shake along with extra protein. You could also use a soy protein powder if you wanted, if it's not flavored or you want to skip the protein powder all together you might want to add a tsp of honey, maple syrup or sugar. We've made it without any added sugar or protein powder but be forewarned that it's definitely not very sweet. The protein powder or added sugar doesn't make it overly sweet just adds a little more flavor.

Put everything but the ice in a blender, blend until smooth and then add the ice cubes and blend until all the ice is blended in.

Ricotta Dumplings

2009-03-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

For my post I have used these ricotta dumplings in a soup, but they could easily be sauteed in some butter and topped with tomato sauce or also used as a ravioli or tortellini filling. Feel free to play around with the vegetable additions, as I would imagine a pumpkin or other squash would go really well.

Ricotta Dumplings (makes about 24 large sized dumplings)

1 lb ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (feel free to use another hard cheese)
3/4 cup finely chopped spinach, well drained (feel free to use frozen)
10 cloves of roasted garlic (about 2 tbs mashed up)*
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

* to roast garlic, you can use a whole head or just as many cloves as you need, and wrap it in foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes to an hour until very soft when touched. Either squeeze out the garlic from the skin or you can also peel the cloves to ensure maximum yield.

For the dumplings, mix everything together in a bowl. This can be made in advance before cooking, or once the dumplings are cooked you can hold them overnight in a covered container. To cook the dumplings, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop desired sized dumplings into the water and turn the water down to a simmer for 5 minutes. Make sure when forming dumplings (usually by using two spoons or a small scoop) that they are fairly tightly compact, because with the addition of the spinach the dumplings can fall apart if too loosely formed. Only cook about 6-10 dumplings at a time, so you don't crowd the pot. When done, using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a bowl or plate. Bring the water back to a simmer, add the next batch of dumplings. I have put these into a chicken soup but you could also just saute them over high heat with a little butter or use as a filling for ravioli. If using in soup, I would keep them separate until serving, as storing the dumplings in the soup will probably make them begin to break down.

Lemon Curd

2009-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Traditionally lemon curd is served with scones. It has so many more uses than just an accompaniment to scones. Even just by the spoonful, it can be justified! It is so mouth wateringly addicting. It's just the right amount of acid mixed with sweet, and a wonderfully creamy and smooth texture. Even my husband who isn't a big fan of anything lemon kept coming back for more! If you've never made lemon curd before, it's very simple and so rewarding. As for other uses, you can put it into a tart shell (great for mini tartlets and bake it at 350 just for about 10 minutes to set the top) and serve it with some berries and freshly whipped cream for a great summer dessert. As strawberries are in season it makes a wonderful addition to a shortcake. Fold some lemon curd into some freshly whipped cream before topping the shortcakes. You don't have to stick with just lemon either. You can use different juices in place of the lemon. Passion fruit is a personal favorite of mine. You can do a combination of lemon and lime, or if you have some key limes, they would make a wonderfully fragrant curd. Even though grapefruits are on their way out of season, they are also a wonderful choice. Curd can be a great filling for cakes, or an equally welcome accompaniment to something like an anglefood cake along with some fresh berries. Hopefully I've inspired you enough to give it a try.

Lemon Curd (makes about 3 cups)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 5 lemons)
Zest of 2 lemons
3 large eggs
5 large egg yolks
1 3/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter

There are two ways to make lemon curd, by putting a heatproof bowl over simmering water (indirect heat) or just in a pan on direct heat. The second option, I would recommend to anyone who has had experience cooking custard based sauces (like creme anglaise)*. Using a mixing bowl over the pan of simmering water is the safer method(to prevent your eggs from scrambling). Either way you choose, mix the eggs with the sugar, add the lemon juice and zest whisking to combine everything in a heatproof bowl. You want to stir with a rubber spatula continuously until it thickly coats the spatula or until you can see that it has thickly coated the side of the bowl. It should have the consistency of a thin pudding. Strain the curd into a clean bowl (to catch any small bits of cooked egg) and whisk in the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and cool. This mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

*If cooking the mixture over direct heat, mix the ingredients into a thick bottomed pan and cook over very low heat, using a plastic spatula to stir, making sure to get all parts of the pan.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-03-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

These might have been the first thing I ever learned how to make (it was either these or pancakes... I'm not sure). I remember asking my grandmother to send me the recipe for her chocolate chip cookies. I might have been around 9 when I had requested the recipe and have never stopped making them since. I can remember going away to summer camp for the summer (my mom was the camp nurse which is why we went all summer) and I would bake a few batches of these cookies for my dad whom would be all on his own for the summer. He would put the cookies into the freezer and carefully ration them until I returned to make more. These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies, they are loaded with oats which I love, and they are crispy after they come out of the oven, but they soften over time and become a little more chewy but they are equally as good. Even if you don't normally bake with whole wheat pastry flour, I encourage you to go to the grocery store and pick some up. I usually find it in the bulk bins in the health food section. The whole wheat is great in these cookies, it doesn't feel like a compromise but rather a preference. I think the whole wheat flavor matches the oats and chocolate so well, not to mention it offers some added health benefits, although all the butter and sugar would kind of cancel that out.

Chocolate Chip Cookies makes about 48 cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips or your favorite chocolate chopped into small pieces

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugars, if mixing by hand cream until light and fluffy, at least 8 minutes. If using an electric mixer, use paddle attachment on medium speed and cream for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure the first is completely incorporated before adding the second. You can add the vanilla along with the eggs. Take two cups of the oats and put them into a blender or food processor to grind them to a flour. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, including the 1/2 cup of whole oats and mix everything together. Stir into the butter mixture, adding the chocolate chips/ pieces before the flour gets completely mixed in. Scoop into rounded tablespoon fulls and put onto a greased or parchment lined sheet pan. Gently flatten the cookies slightly so they spread properly. Bake for 12-15 minutes rotating the pan half way through baking. Bake until the cookies are a golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack and then store in an air tight container.

Avocado Tomatillo Dip

2009-03-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick and very addicting dip. It's a lot like a guacamole, but has the addition of tangy tomatillo's that creates a creamy, slightly tart dip that has uses well beyond serving with chips. I can't seem to stop eating it. The flavors are perfectly balanced which makes it very addicting. It makes a great spread for a sandwich, and I would imagine a perfect sauce for grilled fish or a condiment for tacos. I discovered this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine- for two full cups of dip it only uses one avocado and some sour cream which helps to cut down on the fat, but to taste it, you would have no clue! With the addition of the tomatillos, this prevents the dip from turning brown for a few days!

Avocado Tomatillo Dip (adapted from Cooking Light)
Makes about 2 cups

1/2 pound tomatillos (about 5 large)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper (or more if you want it spicier)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 a lime
3 TBS sour cream (low fat, fat free, regular- up to you)
1 ripe peeled avocado, seeded and coarsely chopped

Peel the husks off of the tomatillos, place them in a sauce pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about five minutes, until the tomatillos are tender. Drain and cool. Place into a food processor, or blender and add the onion, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and lime. Turn on and process until smooth. Add in the sour cream and avocado and process until smooth. Taste and add more salt and lime juice as needed. Since this doesn't turn brown very quickly it this can easily be made ahead of time and will last for approximately 5 days - if you can keep it around that long!

My Favorite Brownies

2009-03-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

One of the sweets I remember from my childhood is the homemade brownies my parents used to make. For a long time, none of the brownies I had ever really compared to what I remembered as the perfect brownie that my parents made. When I made the recipe my mom had given me a few years back for the first time in a long time, I found it too sweet and the only chocolate source was also Ghiradelli Hot Cocoa mix- not enough chocolate flavor for me. I used to think what made these so special was the malted milk powder that was added. Over the last few months, in developing my hot chocolate mix, it struck me- it wasn't the malt, it was the milk powder! Hot chocolate mix is pretty much two parts milk powder to one part cocoa powder and one part sugar. The sugar and cocoa powder were already in the recipe I was working on, with the addition of some milk powder I got the flavor and texture I remember. The milk powder adds some of that malted flavor, and gives a nice chewy fudgy texture to the brownies. I also have added some bittersweet chocolate along with the cocoa powder, which isn't normal- usually it's just one or the other. This gives the brownies a great well rounded chocolate flavor, make sure you use high quality chocolate and cocoa powder or they won't be your favorite brownies! After I get the variations nailed down, I'll post some other options beyond plain brownies... peanut butter swirl, cheesecake, raspberry hazelnut, coconut macaroon... oh the opportunities are endless! Try these out and let me know what you think!

Brownies ( makes about 16 medium sized squares)

4 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 TBS vanilla
1/2 cup non fat dried milk powder
3/4 cup cake flour (I have also used whole wheat pastry flour with great results)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Over a pan of boiling water (or in the microwave) melt the butter and chocolate together. After it is completely melted add the sugar, mix, and add the eggs at once. Stir until they are mixed in, add the vanilla extract, and then the milk powder. Sift all the dry ingredients together and add to the chocolate butter mix and stir just until combined. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan and bake until when a skewer is inserted into the middle it comes with crumbs attached. Be careful not to over cook them!

Upside Down Cobbler Update

2009-02-26T07:44:00.001-08:00

Since it's almost spring and I have begun to see rhubarb in the grocery stores, I thought I should probably use up the rest of my frozen supply from last year! I was making dinner for my husband and I, and wanted a quick dessert that could use up some of that rhubarb. I remembered back to the upside down cobbler I had posted a while ago and thought raspberry and rhubarb would make a great variation to the original I had posted. I have made a few changes to that first recipe I posted-

The most noticeable would be the shape, I have a long rectangular tart pan that I baked it in, I had cut the recipe in half and ended up using more fruit this time which I liked better.
Depending on how sweet or ripe your fruit is you could skip tossing the fruit in the sugar especially if you follow the next modification.
I put the fruit on top of the batter but next time I think I would try pouring the batter over the fruit so the fruit is baked into the cake a little more.
This a great place to use whole wheat pastry flour since it blends in nicely with the almond meal, it doesn't stand out or seem like a substitution at all.
Since using raspberry and rhubarb, I changed the liquor to an orange brandy.
In cutting the recipe in half I ended up using just the egg white with great results, next time I make a full recipe I would substitute the 1 egg for 2 whites.
Make sure you toast the almond meal, it really helps to bring out the flavor.
I finished this tart off with a thin glaze of apricot jam (heated up and thinned out with a little water) which gave it a nice sheen and a little more sweetness to the rhubarb.

With all these modifications, I could have almost written out a whole new recipe. I hope these modifications give you some inspiration to play around!

French Onion Soup

2009-02-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have a dear friend I met 5 years ago, and when we met we hit it off instantly. I think one of the common denominators that has made us such good friends is our love for food (and creativity- but she's got me beat there!). A while ago, I don't remember when we started, we began getting together as often as we could (not as often as we'd like) and cooking. We would pick a theme each time and use that as an opportunity to make something we've been wanting to try, or a kind of food we love, but don't often cook. It has ranged from Chinese to doughnuts, originally it started out as a day long event, culminating in a huge meal that we shared with our husbands. As life has gone on and they have added two little ones to their family, our long days spent together in the kitchen has turned into deciding on a meal, each making parts and then getting together, giving us more time to relax and catch up. Our last get together was French Country. She had been wanting to do crepes and I thought I would give my hand at French Onion soup, today's post. I also brought along some champagne and the gougères to round out the meal. I looked at a few different methods and came up with my own version. It's basically just onions, broth, some bread and cheese, but it really drives home how layering flavor and technique can take something from not exciting at all, to sublime. Don't skimp on the technique/ cooking time, it will pay off in the end result.

French Onion Soup (Serves 6 as a main course)

6 medium size onions
3 TBS butter
parsley stems (approximately 15)**
fresh thyme (few sprigs), or 1 tsp dried **
whole peppercorns (about 1 tsp)**
2 bay leaves**
3 TBS flour
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups beef broth
9 TBS dry vermouth
3 TBS brandy or sherry
1 TBS Worcestershire
1-2 cups grated cheese (I used a mix of mostly gruyere and a little Parmesan)*
1 clove of garlic
Bread for croutons- traditionally Baguette is used, but I had a nice (lonely) loaf of challah in the freezer that I used. It turned out wonderfully- which makes me think that brioche would also make an indulgent version. Any quality bread will do. For the version in this recipe, a slice of bread is on the bottom and top of the soup, so you will need enough bread to cover both the bottom and top of the pot you are using. The best way to cook this soup is in little oven safe dishes that can allow for individual servings. You can also use one large (oven safe) pot that you can serve family style, but it's important everyone gets an equal share of the toasted bread and cheese!

*I almost contemplated going a little nontraditional with some gouda- especially a great aged gouda- feel free to play around with different cheeses, your favorite cheeses.

** These ingredients are all for what's called bouquet garni. This is basically like a savory tea bag for the soup. The best way to do this is to bundle it all in a square of cheesecloth, making sure to fold in the ends so the items inside won't get free and float around in the soup (this is removed before serving). Tie the whole bundle with butchers twine. If you don't have any cheesecloth you can also use a coffee filter, or go with the very traditional green portion of a leek.

Pre heat the oven to 400. You will need an oven safe pan with a lid. If you don't have one you can cook the onions entirely on the stove. I found that by slow cooking them in the oven, not only does it dramatically cut down on the time you have to pay attention to it, but the onions become so buttery and smooth, and full of flavor. Slice the onions, and put them in the pan with the butter and 2 tsp of salt, cover with the lid and bake in the oven for about 1 hour. Stir the onions and once they are very soft and translucent (may take a little longer than 1 hour), move the lid to the side a bit so the steam can escape from the pot, but it still remains fairly covered (I would imagine foil could work as a stand in if you didn't have a proper lid). Let it cook for another 1 1/2 hours so until they are very soft, cooked down and golden brown.

Return the pot to the stove and add the flour, stirring to mix in. Cook over medium heat and add the vermouth, then add the broths and bouquet garni**. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the brandy and Worcestershire. Season with salt and lemon juice (about 1 tsp- just enough to perk up the flavor). The amount of salt needed will depend on how much salt is in the broth. This can be made a few days ahead. To serve, rewarm the soup and toast the bread (slice into 1/2 inch slices) in the 400 degree oven until crispy and golden. Cut the clove of garlic in half and rub all the toast with the garlic. Spread half of the toasts on the bottom of the pot or serving dishes the soup will go into. Sprinkle some cheese on the toasts. Ladle the soup into the pot/ serving dishes, top with another toast, sprinkle with cheese. Turn the oven to broil, put the soup into the oven until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
I was hesitant to put the piece of bread and cheese on the bottom, and only did so when reheating some leftover soup, and was pleasantly surprised. The bread soaked up the juices of the soup, but also gave it some more body (not that it needed more) and then the addition of the cheese on the bottom, heightens the cheese presence in the soup. Good quality cheese will make quite a difference in this soup and should be used.

Gougère

2009-02-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

Gougère may be more commonly known, or easily recognized as cheese puffs. It uses a standard pate a choux as a base with cheese folded in at the end. These make the perfect little pre dinner snack, something to go with your glass of wine while you're cooking, and something to keep your guests happy until dinner is ready. Perhaps you are celebrating with a bottle of champagne and want something to go with it? Maybe you want an inventive garnish for tomato soup? They can be filled with a savory mousse for a simple but elegant canapé . If you leave them empty and full of cheese these even work well as a finger food when hosting a kids birthday party perhaps... the point is they are VERY versatile and pretty darn addicting!

Gougère (makes about 48 small puffs)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk (any fat % will work)
8 TBS (4oz) butter (I substituted 1/2 of the butter for bacon fat)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour (preferably bread flour)
4-5 eggs
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) grated cheese*
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

*traditionally the cheese is gruyere (a kind of swiss cheese), I used 1 cup gruyere, and 1/4 cup parmesean. You can use any cheese you want and also fold in other items like herbs, nuts, bacon bits or substitute the nutmeg for another spice.

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt. Bring this to a full rolling boil (if it's not a full boil the fat isn't evenly dispersed and you can end up in a very greasy looking dough). After it comes to a rolling boil, take it off the heat, add the flour all at once. Once all the flour is mixed in, return it to the heat and turn the flame to a medium high. Stir and cook until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. This should take only a minute or two. Take it off the heat and transfer the mixture to a mixer bowl. Let it cool until you can keep your hand on the bottom of the bowl. You can turn the mixer on (using a paddle attachment) and let it mix briefly to cool it down.** After cool, add the eggs one at a time making sure each egg is completely mixed before adding the next. You want to hold back the last egg and evaluate the batter, it may not need it. What you're looking for is if you were to drop a little bit onto a sheet pan (or the counter) it would hold it's shape relatively well. It should be loose enough that it easily drops off the spoon but stiff enough that once dropped onto the pan it keeps it's shape instead of slowly spreading out into a flat round. If it still seems stiff add the last egg, making sure to break it up and only add about 1/2 at a time. You can save the rest of that egg for egg wash. Fold in the cheese, nutmeg, and pepper (or any other add ins you wish). You can now pipe these onto a sheet pan (about the size of a quarter) that's been lined with parchment or lightly greased. Alternatively you and just use a teaspoon and portion out about a tablespoon per puff. The flatter they are when they are portioned out, the less round and risen they will be when baked. In the picture below I didn't have any piping bags so I had to use spoons, they work fine...

Brush some egg wash (1/2- 1 egg mixed with a splash of water) over each puff and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes and then turn the oven down to 375 and bake until a golden brown, rotating the pan half way through. You can freeze the dough after it's portioned out on the sheet pan and then bake right from the freezer or you can also freeze them after they are baked, and before serving just refresh in a 375 degree oven for a few minutes to re crisp them.

*the whole process can also be done by hand, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Lemon Bars

2009-02-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

From December through early spring, Meyer lemons are in season. You may have seen them in the store and wondered what was so special about them or why the cost so much more than a normal lemon. One sniff of the outside would have maybe clued you in. They have an intriguing and sweet aroma and they aren't nearly as sour as a normal lemon. Sometimes it can be described as a cross between a lemon and a tangerine. If you have a chance, pick some up and try them out. Below is a great recipe to try out Meyer lemons. These lemon bars are all lemon and it would be a great way to experience the wonderful and unique flavor Meyer lemons have. The peel is also wonderful candied. I have given a range for the sugar below, if using Meyer lemons, they tend to be sweeter so use less sugar, or if you like really tart lemon desserts.

Lemon Bars (makes 24 small bars)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute AP flour)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tsp salt
10 TBS cold butter (5 oz) chopped into small pieces

Pre heat the oven 350 degrees F. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process until it's crumbly and starting to form larger crumbles (past the fine crumbly stage, so that the mixture is starting to stick together). Pat into a greased 9x13" baking pan. Pat the crust so that it extends at least 1/2 way up the sides of the pan and then freeze until very cold and bake for 20-30 minutes until no longer doughy.

Filling:
5 eggs
1 - 2 cups sugar*
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup whole milk (can also use half & half or even heavy cream)
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS of zest (if you have time pulse this in a food processor with the sugar for better flavor)

While the crust is baking, put eggs and sugar (along with the zest if it wasn't already mixed into the sugar) into a bowl. Whisk to combine and add the flour, whisk to mix in, then add the milk, whisk a little more and finally add the lemon juice in stages, whisking to combine between each addition. You want to try not to incorporate too much air, but whisk just to mix everything together. Once the crust comes out of the oven you can pour the filling over and put back into the oven and bake it until the batter no longer ripples when the pan is tapped. It should shake as one, like jello. This should take approximately 15-20 minutes. Make sure to not overcook it, as the bars will loose it's creamy texture. Let it cool completely, even briefly refrigerate or freeze, before cutting. The colder the bars are, the easier it will be to handle. These freeze well as long as they are well wrapped.

*For Meyer lemons I would use 1 cup of sugar, for a tart lemon bar use 1 1/2 cups or for something on the sweeter side, use the full 2 cups.

Chocolate Truffles

2009-02-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

What better way to end my week of chocolate than with one of the most straightforward and great ways to showcase chocolate? With a truffle. These are hand rolled, not perfectly round or smooth, which gives them more character if you ask me. I have an example for each chocolate- dark, milk and white. I have finished these by rolling them in tempered chocolate and a complementary garnish, but if you are in a hurry, or not ready to experiment with tempered chocolate you can always roll the base right into some cocoa powder or what ever garnish you choose and be done with it. That wouldn't take you much more than an hour and a half total of working time (and that is probably the most it would take you...) There are two types of truffle bases, the french truffle base (the kind I have made here) and a Swiss truffle base. The Swiss truffle base is a lot softer and meant to be piped into molds that are lined with chocolate (not quite as quick an endeavor). Truffles can be flavored with so many items, it's a matter of playing around and seeing what works. The only thing you really need to know (at the most basic) is the ratio of cream (or liquid) to chocolate. For milk and white it will be a lot less than for dark chocolate. One of my future plans for this blog is to create some links with complete notes and how to's for all the pastry basics. There I will go more in depth and allow for the curious to learn more, and the not so curious -can't be bothered with too many details- to not be bogged down with a lot of extra unsolicited information in the posts. For that reason I will try to keep this post fairly straight forward and as simple as possible. There is so much to say and learn about chocolate and all it's amazing properties and characteristics, but my goal for this post is for even the most blissfully unaware to be able to make their own truffles! The mixing and rolling procedure is the same for all three truffles, so below I have given all the recipes and then I will go on to give the general directions.

Dark Chocolate
Normally you would use 54% of the weight of chocolate in cream which means that if you had 4 oz of chocolate you would use 2.2 oz of cream (multiply 4 oz by 54%). But since I wanted to use a higher percentage chocolate 75% I needed more cream and got this formula from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. Because the chocolate is extra bittersweet the lack of sugar affects how the chocolate acts, requiring more cream and a slightly different formula. I will also post a formula that would work well with a lower bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.

Bittersweet Truffles (from Bittersweet) this will make about 40-50 truffles
1 cup plus 2 TBS heavy cream (if using a chocolate that has 66% chocolate solids increase the amount to 1 1/4 cups)
10 oz of bittersweet chocolate labeled 66-72%
* next time I would include 1 TBS (.5 oz) of butter
OR
10 oz of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (below 66%)
1/2 cup plus 2Tbs and 1 tsp of heavy cream
1 TBS (.5 oz) very soft butter

1 cup cocoa powder for coating the outside of the truffle
8 oz dark chocolate for dipping the truffles

Milk and White Chocolate
For milk and white chocolate you use 33% of the weight of chocolate in cream, because the chocolate itself has a lot more milk solids and sugar, if you use the same amount of cream as you would dark chocolate your base would never be firm enough to be able to roll out.

Caramel Milk Chocolate Truffles (will make about 25 truffles)
6.5 oz milk chocolate
1/3 cup plus 4 tsp (3.25) oz sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp (4.3 oz) of cream, warm to the touch

1 cup toasted unsweetened coconut for coating the outside of the truffle
8 oz milk chocolate for dipping the truffles

For this formula caramelize the sugar by combining the sugar with 3 tbs of water and cook over high heat until the sugar is a dark golden brown. Pour in the cream in a slow stream whisking the whole time. Let this cool and proceed with the basic directions.

White Chocolate and Grapefruit Truffles (will make about 25 truffles)
6.5 oz of white chocolate
2 TBS (.5 oz) of heavy cream
2 Tbs (.5 oz) of fresh grapefruit juice
3/4 tsp of freshly grated grapefruit zest

1 cup toasted pistachios finely chopped, for coating the outside of the truffle
8 oz of white chocolate for dipping the truffles
Add the zest and the juice just before the cream is completely mixed into the chocolate.

Heat the cream until it's the temperature of warm bath water about 105 degrees F. In a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water (or in the microwave) melt the chocolate so it is the same temperature as the cream. It's important that neither get too warm or the ganache can easily separate. It's important, though, that the chocolate is completely melted or there will be little bit of hard chocolate throughout the truffle base. Once the chocolate is melted add it to the cream and stir using a rubber spatula by making small circles in the middle of the bowl. Keep stirring that way until you see a glossy ring of chocolate appear- this is the beginning of the emulsification. After the chocolate is completely dark and glossy, add in the VERY soft butter (if using) and as soon as that is mixed in, pour into a small container lined with plastic wrap (makes it easy to remove the next day to scoop. Don' t stir after the chocolate is in the container, leave it alone to set up. Alternative to stirring you can see in the picture I am using my immersion (hand blender) to mix the chocolate and cream together. This creates a beautiful ganache and is worth going out to purchase one for that reason alone (but there are also MANY other reasons to have one as well!). Once the chocolate is poured into the cream, place the blender so the bottom is flat on the bottom of the bowl and leave it in place and blend. If you move it around a lot you can incorporate too much air into your ganche.

Ideally the base is allowed to sit overnight or until it is completely firm. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. The ganache won't set up as well or as evenly.

After the base has set up, lift it out of it's container and using a truffle scoop (or melon baller, or even a teaspoon) scoop round balls out of the base, and to get them to release from the scoop, rub the back on your hand to warm it up, this will melt the very outside of the ball causing it to slide right out of the scoop. Go through and scoop all the base and then roll to make the scoops as round as possible. At this point you want to give the balls of ganache time to firm up and settle, so ideally you could just leave these out on the counter, covered overnight before you dip them in chocolate. If you need them sooner, or don't want to continue, right after rolling the ganache, roll the balls in cocoa powder, finely chopped toasted coconut, or nuts or whatever else you desire. And your done! ( At this point, I would store leftover truffles in the refrigerator- without the protective coating of the tempered chocolate the truffle will spoil faster)

If you want to dip them into tempered chocolate which creates a little chocolate shell, lets the truffle last longer, and helps the outside garnish to stick better read on for further instruction!

Chocolate Tempering
There are many ways to temper chocolate, the easiest and simplest (for small amounts of chocolate) is in the microwave. Like mentioned in the beginning of the post, I'll leave explanation aside for now and just go through the how to... but if you want to know more about tempering be on the lookout for a link to the left in the upcoming months, and that will give you more information than you could wish for!
Take about 8 oz of chocolate (dark, milk or white) and place into a glass heat proof bowl and into the microwave. Heat it up for about 15 seconds (this will vary from microwave to microwave) if you don't have a microwave you could use a pan of boiling water and just keep putting it on and taking it off the water. You basically want to take briefly heat up the chocolate, stir as much as possible to slowly melt/ mash the chocolate into one mass, put it back into the microwave for a brief period of time, stir and so on until it's melted. It's important to stir as much as possible in between heating it up so that as it gets warmer and melts more you won't end up with unmelted chunks or chocolate that has gotten too hot.

Your goal is to get this chocolate in a liquid/ fluid state before it gets past 91 degrees F. So a lot of stirring and brief heating in the microwave (and stir even if it doesn't look melted- chocolate holds it's shape even when warm and soft) will enable you to do this. Once it's melted and fluid and as long as it hasn't gotten too warm, it's tempered! If the chocolate cools off before you are done using it, heat it up again in the microwave using the same technique.

Once the chocolate is melted, take one hand, that will be designated the "chocolate hand" and drop a truffle in the chocolate, and using a spoon place that truffle into your hand and roll it a round to get rid of the excess chocolate then let it roll off your hand and on to a piece of parchment paper. Go through and dip all the truffles, scraping chocolate off you hand as needed and then dip them a second time (at this point the first coat of chocolate will have set up). Make sure before you go through the second round of dipping that you prepare the coconut, or nuts or cocoa powder (whatever you are rolling the truffles in) and put it into a medium sized bowl or container. After dipping the truffles for the second time, instead of putting them back on the parchment, put them into the container of whatever you are rolling them in. Let them sit briefly (about 30 sec) usually long enough to dip the next truffle, and then before putting the second truffle in the container of "garnish" roll the first one around in the container to coat it completely, leave it in there, place the truffle that was in your hand in the container and repeat the process all over again, and before the third truffle is placed in the container, take out the first (because the chocolate will have hardened by then). If you roll the freshly dipped truffle too soon the chocolate starts to drip off the truffle and looks messy, so by letting it sit still briefly, the chocolate will set up enough so when coated it will stay in place. By shaking the container instead of rolling it with your hand, that will also help to not disturb the chocolate while it's hardening. Because the chocolate is tempered it shouldn't take too long to set up.
Then you're done! Because the ganache has been sealed by the outside coating of tempered chocolate you can keep these out on the counter for about 1 week. As long as they are well wrapped you can also freeze them. Just make sure to let them thaw slowly in the refrigerator before returning them to room temperature.

Chocolate French Toast with Sauteed Bananas

2009-02-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

Need something sweet to start your day? Or perhaps end your day? This can be made in several ways to accommodate either. In my picture I have plated this as more of a dessert, but it's also very easy to simplify this a bit and turn it into a suitable breakfast or brunch item. I love french toast, or pain perdu as it would be called if you were in french bistro. French toast can take on many variations. Perhaps one of my favorite is sandwiched with some turkey or ham and then topped with fried eggs and maple syrup! I'll have to post that one of these days. For today I have added some cocoa powder to my standard french toast custard. I'm not sure that I can pick up a strong cocoa flavor, but it definitely adds more depth to the french toast. For breakfast I would soak the bread and cook as normal serving it with maybe some lightly sauteed bananas or fresh bananas and some honey or maple syrup. For dessert as pictured here I have sandwiched slices with chocolate chips and served it with more chocolate sauce and caramelized brown butter bananas. If you have never experienced it, chocolate and bread are a fantastic combination!

Chocolate French Toast (custard enough for 3-4 servings)

The best bread for french toast is challah, or brioche but any sturdy bread would work well.
This custard can easily be doubled or tripled for more servings.

1/3 cup whole milk or 2%
1 egg
2 TBS cocoa powder
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp bourbon (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips or chopped pieces of your favorite chocolate

Whisk together the egg, cocoa powder, sugar until completely combined. Add the milk and bourbon and vanilla. Slice the bread into 1/2- 3/4" slices. Heat up a griddle or saute pan, lightly grease with butter or pan spray. Dip slices of bread into the custard, letting it sit for 30 seconds to soak up some of the custard and shake off the excess before placing it into the pan. The bread will burn if the heat is too high, so keep it on a medium low heat and let it cook until the first side is cooked but not too dark (it will be hard to tell because it's chocolate but you should see some crust form). After you flip the bread over sandwich two pieces together with the chocoalte. Arrange some chocolate on one piece and top with another piece of the toast, making sure the cooked side is facing in, touching the chocolate. As the chocolate melts it will help to hold the two pieces together. Cook until the bottom is not to dark but has form a crust, then gently flip the sandwich over and cook the other side. After cooking you can transfer them to a 250 degree F oven to keep warm until serving.
Alternatively:
You can dip and sandwich the pieces of bread together (with chocolate in the middle), brown both sides (of the sandwich) and then finish cooking in the oven at 375 until the sandwiches are cooked through and the chocolate is melted, about 15 minutes depending on how cold the sandwiches are going in. This lets you prepare this ahead of time and you can put them in the oven right before serving.

Sauteed Bananas
For the bananas, breifly saute them in some brown butter* Use about 1/2 TBS per banana and then sprinkle in some confectioners sugar to taste and a pinch of salt. Add thick slices of banana to the pan and cook them over medium high heat until you begin to get a little color on them, but they still are firm in the middle. Make sure not to cook them too long or they become mushy and fall apart.

*For brown butter, let the butter melt over low heat until the milk solids begin to brown (not burn) and the butter takes on a nutty aroma

After the sandwiches come out of the oven slice them in half on the diagonal, sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve with the sauteed bananas. You could also serve this with some chocolate sauce and or whipped cream or ice cream.

For Breakfast:
For something not quite as sweet, you can cook the french toast as normal and skip sandwiching with the chocolate. I would still serve it with bananas (because I love them!) but they could either be fresh or still lightly sauteed and drizzle some honey or maple syrup on top.

Chocolate Mousse and Cocoa Nib Panna Cotta

2009-02-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Today's post is something a little more involved- if you want it to be. Both of these recipes are wonderful enough to serve on their own, as shown in the pictures, but together the create a visually stunning and texturally contrasting dessert. It looks impressive but really isn't all that difficult to pull off. It can also be made ahead of time which makes it a great end to a dinner party!

Chocolate mousse and panna cotta layered in flex mold and turned out, sprinkled with coconut macaroon. The same dessert layered in a martini glass topped with a thin dusting of cocoa powder

This recipe for chocolate mousse came from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. I'm sure that is familiar to you by now if you've read the past few posts. Yes, this is my go to book for anything chocolate related, not my only chocolate book, but so far my favorite and most reliable. There are a lot of different ways to make chocolate mousse, using different ingredients to give you different textures and characteristics, which is why you will see so many different recipes. The classic will use eggs that are separated, and the yolk is added to melted chocolate and butter, the whites are whipped to a soft peak and folded in along with some whipped cream. It produces a great mousse. I chose this recipe though because it leaves the cream out (with the intention of garnishing with it instead) which concentrates the chocolate flavor and makes for a more intensely flavored mousse. That in turn pairs well with the creamy panna cotta I have layered with it. Without the addition of cream this also makes it dairy free.

Chocolate mousse served simply with some slightly sweetened whipped cream

Chocolate Mousse ("Albert's Chocolate Mousse" from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)
Serves about 6-8
You can cut this recipe in half if you choose to use this in conjunction with the panna cotta for a layered dessert for 6 (depending on the size of each portion)

6 oz bittersweet chocolate*
1/4 cup water, coffee, milk or 1/2 cup cream- I used coffee
1 1/2 TBS brandy or other liquor of choice (optional)
3 large eggs at room temperature
3 TBS of water
3 TBS of sugar

Melt the chocolate and water (or other liquid) in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering hot water. Stir frequently so it melts evenly and quickly, taking the bowl off after the chocolate has completely melted making sure the mixture doesn't get too hot. (Keep the water hot in the pan- you will be using it again for the eggs) After it is off the heat stir in the brandy, if using.
In another medium heat proof bowl whisk together the eggs, the 3 TBS water and sugar. Place this over the pan of hot water and keep the water at a low simmer while you whisk the eggs.

whipping the eggs over a pan of hot water after the eggs are cooked, whip to cool

It's important to make sure you are whisking all of the mixture the whole time- if the eggs are sitting still in the bowl they will scramble. Keep whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Once they are hot enough, take the bowl off the heat and continue to whisk for a few more minutes until the mixture cools slightly (the mixture will also thicken slightly).
Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate (which should still be fairly warm and fluid). Pour into serving container.
You can portion this out into individual glasses or if you want pour into one bowl and let it set up and then scoop into individual glasses. At this point you could also layer into a glass, leaving room for the panna cotta and let it set up in the refrigerator. If you have any silicone molds (they seem to be selling these everywhere these days) you can pour the mousse into the molds and fill it up all the way, or as one of my pictures shows, leave room for the panna cotta. To get the mousse out you want to freeze it solid, then it is easy to pop them out and just make sure you let them completely thaw before serving.
If serving the mousse on it's own I highly suggest garnishing with some lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Panna cotta served in a dish with some cream and chocolate shavings and panna cotta unmolded topped with coconut macaroon pieces.

This recipe for panna cotta was a bit of a revelation for me. Most panna cotta recipes are usually a combination of milk and cream the some sugar, flavoring and gelatin to hold it together. It is good, but doesn't have much body to it. I saw a slightly unusual recipe for panna cotta in The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman that thickened the milk and cream by cooking it with egg white before adding the gelatin. It uses the same method used to make creme anglaise, and then is set with gelatin. The result gave the custard more body and made it addictively good. With that said, this could easily be served on it's own, but is also great layered with the mousse. Panna Cotta can be made using all sorts of dairy, like buttermilk, yogurt, or all milk or other non dairy liquids. The addition of some cream or full fat dairy does give it a certain needed richness. Panna cotta can be infused with all sorts of flavors. Feel free to play around with the flavors. I love to use cocoa nibs (I know this is becoming a very repetitive ingredient lately, but it is "chocolate week"!) infused into the cream/milk because it gives it a great subtle chocolate flavor. Make sure to remeasure the liquid before using it in the recipe as some items can absorb a lot of liquid while infusing.

Panna Cotta (from The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman)

This can be cut in half if layering it with the chocolate mousse
1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 tsp vanilla (or 1 vanilla bean)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg whites
I used 1/4 cup of crushed cocoa nibs and added them to the warm milk and cream and let them sit for two hours to infuse before using. You would do the same if you were using the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and put both the seeds and outside of the bean into the custard and let infuse for at least 1/2 an hour before using.
In a small bowl sprinkle the gelatin over 5 tsp of water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, if the gelatin doesn't dissolve in the water give it a quick stir. The gelatin will absorb all the water as it sits. Heat the cream and milk,with half of the sugar and add the vanilla bean if using, or if you are using cocoa nibs add them now. Let the milk and cream sit covered off the heat for 30 minutes to 2 hours (some ingredients will take longer to infuse into the custard).
To make the custard: put the egg whites, other half of the sugar and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Uncover the pan, heat the cream and milk back up and slowly stream it into the egg white mixture, whisking the whole time. Return this mixture back to the heat and make sure the heat is on a medium low. Using a rubber spatula stir the whole time and cook until the mixture reaches 180 F or coats the back of the spoon. If using a thermometer make sure to temporarily take the pan off the stove while getting the reading (so your custard doesn't overcook).

adding hot milk to egg and sugar mix, then pouring back into the pan, returning to the heat to cook until thick

You want to make sure while stirring the custard you are scraping the entire bottom of the pan. If any of the custard sits too long, it will scramble the whites. Also if the the custard gets too hot it can scramble the whites, at which point you want to start over! After the custard is done, add 1/4 of the custard to the gelatin, stir making sure it is completely dissolved, add it back to the pan, then strain the whole mixture, with a fine mesh strainer,into a clean bowl. Chill the custard until it feels neutral to the touch (touch the center of the bottom of the bowl). If you were to take a temperature it should be about 75-80 degrees F. At this point you can pour it into serving dishes, or layer it with the mousse, or put it into a flex mold or a metal mold. If using a flex mold, to unmold you want to freeze it solid, pop it out and let it thaw out before serving. If using a metal mold (like a muffin pan)you can briefly dip the bottom in warm water briefly and invert on to a plate, and the custard will slide out. Alternatively you can use a small glass or cup and turn it out using the same method. You can keep the custard in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days before serving.
This is wonderful garnished with fresh fruit, and or any small crunchy cookie which provides a wonderful textural contrast.

Hot Chocolate with Pecan and Cocoa Nib Cookies

2009-02-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe is for hot chocolate and cookies. Because this is "chocolate week" the cookies do have cocoa nibs in them because I like the way they play off of the pecans but they could easily be left out or substituted with finely chopped bittersweet or milk chocolate. Both recipes today come from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. I will also add one more recipe for a easy hot chocolate mix that provides what many would consider a more familiar hot chocolate and perfect for a quick anytime dessert or for those cold nights while camping!

This recipe, as with all recipes this week, really showcases the chocolate itself. This is called a rich hot chocolate because of the flavor of the chocolate coming through, not necessarily rich in fat or sugar. My husband didn't particularly care for this recipe, but I liked it. It uses half water and half milk with bittersweet chocolate so there is nothing standing in the way of the chocolate flavor. The water also keeps it very light and the milk could easily be substituted with any non dairy option like soy milk or almond milk. If you are looking for something richer you could also use all milk in place of the water. As recommended in the recipe, I made this ahead of time and kept it in the refridgerator and then before serving I reheated it using the steaming wand on my espresso machine. It would be equally as good consumed right away or you could easily reheat it on the stove or in the microwave.

Rich Hot Chocolate (from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)
serves 6-8

6 oz of your favorite chocolate (the flavor and sweetness will be determine the flavor and sweetness of the final hot chocolate)
1 1/2 cups boiling water (you could replace 1/2 the water with espresso or use strong coffee)
1 1/2 cups milk

Place the chocolate in a small pan, and pour half of the boiling water over the chocolate. Whisk until it is smooth and the chocolate is completely melted -if you have an immersion blender (hand blender) this would be a great place to use it. Pour in the rest of the water and mix completely, add the milk and over medium heat warm the mixture. You don't want to go much above 180 degrees which means it should never come to a boil, so make sure you keep an eye on it. At this point you could serve it immediately or let it cool and store in the refridgerator for up to a few days.

Hot Chocolate Mix
This is a culmination of a few different recipes I found and it makes for a great cup of hot chocolate. By making your own mix you are able to control how chocolaty or sweet you like it. This could also make a great gift packaged in an attractive jar and maybe accompanied by some homemade marshmallows? (I'll post those at another time). This recipe makes enough to fill a quart jar so if you don't want that much, feel free to cut it in half.

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar (or you could easily use regular sugar and just grind it further in the food processor before adding the rest of the ingredients)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups powdered milk
Optional- You can use all together or just one or two of them....
1 cup malted milk powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS instant espresso

The key to making this is using a foodprocessor or blender to grind everything together, it helps to make sure everything is properly mixed and ground so it easily dissolves in the water. If you are using granulated sugar, pulse that in the food processor until it resembles powdered sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse or blend until completely mixed. To make a cup of hot chocolate, put 1/4 cup of the mix in a cup with 1 cup of boiling water. That will make a pretty strong hot chocolate so feel free to adjust to taste.
For Peppermint Hot Chocolate: Add a few drops of peppermint oil or extract to the hot chocolate
For Spiced Hot Chocolate: There are all sorts of spices you could add to the mix. The following is a little spice mix that I keep on hand and add a pinch to my cup before mixing in the hot water.
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of finely ground pepper

Nibby Pecan Cookies (from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

1 cup (3 1/2 oz) pecans (or any other nut you prefer)
2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 rounded tsp salt (use a good quality sea salt)
1 tbs + 1 tsp bourbon*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla**
1/3 cup cocoa nibs
2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour with great results)

*While you can easily leave out the bourbon if you prefer not to use alcohol, it brings a great flavor to the cookies and is worth going out to get a small bottle.
**As recommended, I tried grinding an old dry vanilla bean I had and used rounded 1/4 tsp of vanilla powder the 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. But to be honest I'm not sure the flavor made much of a difference.

Pre heat the oven to 325 F. Toast the pecans until they darken but more importantly you can smell them. Let them cool and chop finely. Turn the oven up to 350 F.
Cream the butter with the sugar and salt until smooth and creamy but not too light in color. The more you cream the batter the more it will spread in the oven. Add the vanilla and bourbon and continue to mix until it's creamy and emulsified. Add the flour, mix briefly and then add in the cocoa nibs and pecans. At this point you have two different ways to shape the cookies. You can form it into logs and slice and bake (works particularly well if you want to freeze the dough because you can slice it while still frozen and put back whatever dough you didn't use in the freezer for the next time), or as in the picture you can roll out the dough and cut it into desired shapes. If you choose to slice and bake, form it into a log and if you are rolling out the dough, divide it in half and flatten the dough to 1/2 an inch thick and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours). Then slice the cookies or roll them out to about 1/4" thick, making sure to add flour as needed on the table to prevent them from sticking. If the dough gets to warm let it firm up in the refridgerator especially after gathering the scraps before re-rolling. Place the cookies on a sheet pan at least 1 1/2 inches apart and bake at 350 F until the edges are golden. Let them sit on the sheet pan for a few minutes to firm up and then transfer to a cooling rack. These will last quite a while in an air tight container.

My spice mix I like to add to hot chocoalte

Chocolate Caramel Tart

2009-02-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

This tart is full of personality and complex chocolate flavor. Don't be mislead by the caramel, it doesn't provide a lot of sweet flavors but helps to create a more deep and complex chocolate flavor with some background notes of caramel. The hazelnut crust perfectly complements the chocolate. If you don't want to use nuts feel free to substitute with a sweet tart crust. Use your favorite chocolate because the flavor really shines. My "week of chocolate" has given me the oppportunity to revisit all of my dessert cookbooks and find all the recipes I have wanted to try and or share. Today's tart comes from The Sweet Life: Desserts From Chanterelle by Kate Zuckerman. Her book is wonderful, full of great information and interesting flavors and solid techniques, not to mention beautiful photos.

For the hazelnut crust, the following recipe will make twice as much as you need, so feel free to cut it in half or you can easily freeze the left over dough for another tart later on or you can roll out the dough and bake for wonderful cookies.

Chocolate Caramel Tart with Hazelnut Crust from The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman
Hazelnut Crust (Enough for two 8-9" tart shells)
1 cup (5 oz) hazelnuts
1 1/2 cup + 2Tbs all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
12 TBS (6 oz)butter at room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 TBS sugar
2 yolks at room temperature

Equipment: you will need an 8 or 9 inch tart shell that is about 1-2" high

Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor with 1/4 cup of flour until you have a fine meal. Add to the rest of the flour, baking powder and salt. (Alternatively if you already have hazelnut meal, you can substitute that for the whole hazelnuts and skip the grinding all together.) In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture lightens in color. Add the egg yolks, one at a time mixing until they are completely emulsified into the butter. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough into two portions (if using whole recipe) and then wrap the dough with plastic and press down so that it's about 1/2" thick. Let it chill until firm (or you can make it a day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator over night). You can freeze any leftover dough or use it to make rolled out cookies. To roll out the tart shell roll one portion of dough out so that its about 1/8" thick and in a rough circle shape. Place your tart pan over the dough and make sure the circle is big enough so when you place it in the tart pan there will be enough to go all the way up the sides as well as the bottom. Line the tart pan with the dough paying particular attention to the bottom edge, making sure the dough is pressed all the into the edge. Freeze it until solid (about 1/2 hour). Pre heat the oven to 350 F and take the tart pan out of the freezer. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill it with either pie weights or dried beans or rice. Bake for 30 minutes until the dough is almost baked through, take the shell out of the oven, remove the beans and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the bottom of the dough is a light golden brown. The baked shell can be saved for up to two days well wrapped at room temperature.

Chocolate Caramel Filling

1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz bittersweet chocolate
8 TBS (4 oz ) butter
5 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt

Turn the oven down to 325 F. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar with 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil and continue to let it boil until you see the sugar start to caramelize. For tips on cooking sugar refer to my post for caramel sauce. You want to make sure you get a nice dark amber color before taking the sugar off the heat. While the sugar is cooking heat the cream in a small saucepan or in the microwave until warm to the touch. When the sugar is at the right color take it off the heat and slowly add a little cream. You'll see the sugar bubble up quickly, so don't add too much at first. When it subsides, stream in some more cream, wait for it to finish bubbling making sure to whisk the whole time and then when those bubbles subside you can slowly pour in the rest of the cream. By this time the mixture will have cooled down slightly and won't bubble up as much. If you find that there is still hard bits of sugar in the pan you can return the pan to the heat and let the mixture come back up to a boil to melt any hardened sugar. Pour into a bowl and let it cool sightly. In another bowl, melt the chocolate and butter together over a pan of hot water (or you can melt it in the microwave). Make sure you only keep it on the heat long enough to melt chocolate and butter so the mixture doesn't get too hot. While the chocolate is melting combine the yolks and whole egg in a bowl and whisk until the mixture is light and foamy.

Starting at the top: the whipped eggs, to the right is the caramel, the bottom left is the melted chocolate and butter all right before being mixed together.

Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture to the eggs, and once that's mixed, whisk in the caramel sauce. Pour this into the prebaked tart shell and return it to the oven to bake until it is set (about 30 minutes). To check for doneness shake the pan gently and if you see a large ripple, the custard is not set, but if it shakes together like jello take it out. Additionally you can gently touch the center of the custard and as long as nothing sticks to your finger it is ready to come out of the oven. Let the tart cool in the pan on a cooling rack before unmolding the tart. This can be served slightly warm or at room temperature with some lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream or ice cream. The tart is best served the same day, but can be kept in the refridgerator for up to 4 days. Because of the onslaught of dessert I have frozen this after photographing the tart, and when I pull this out of the freezer I'll let you know how it holds up!

Chocolate Pudding with Cinnamon Hazelnut Meringues

2009-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

If you have never made your own chocolate pudding you are missing out! It is so simple but the results are incomparable with anything you could buy in the grocery store or make from a mix. I have paired the pudding with some meringue cookies. These are also very easy to make and the opportunity for flavor is endless. Here I've added some cinnamon, toasted hazelnut and cocoa nibs. It brings an element of chocolate that is subtle but will pair well with the creamy pudding.

The pudding recipe came from a great book called In The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley. It has a lot of great recipes with wonderful flavor combination's. It has great step by step instructions for beginning bakers but a lot of very useful ingredient information for people looking to learn more. Check it out!

Deep Chocolate Pudding (from In The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley)
Serves 6-8

1 cup sugar
4 TBS cornstarch
1/3 cup 1TBS cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups low fat or whole milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

In a medium size bowl, combine half the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, egg yolks and 1/2 cup of milk, whisk until completely combined. In a medium saucepan combine the rest of the sugar, milk and cream. Bring to a scald, the point before it starts to boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the sugar and cocoa mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium high heat until you see it begin to boil. Bring it to a full boil and take it off the heat. Add the vanilla and chocolate and stir until completely melted. Pour into a clean bowl and place a piece of plastic over the top on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool completely before serving. This can easily be made a day before serving. Serve with some slightly sweetened freshly whipped cream.

Meringue Cookies
These cookies have an endless possibility for flavor combination's. You can fold all sorts of things into them like nuts or chocolate, flavor them with zest, extracts, spices, use different sugars, fold in cocoa powder... They are simple to make and bake at a very low temperature for a long time so you can make these before you go to bed, let them cook all night (on the ovens lowest setting) and they'll be ready by morning.

Cinnamon, Hazelnut, Cocoa Nib Meringues
4 lg ( 4 oz) egg whites at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup and 1 tsp(4 oz)granulated sugar
1 cup (4 oz)sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts finely chopped
1/4 cup cocoa nibs finely chopped

Pre heat the oven to it's lowest setting- for me it was 170 degrees F. Anything 200 degrees or below will work. The directions are fairly simple, whip the egg whites, add sugar, fold in powdered sugar and then fold in nuts and nibs. The key to sucess in this procedure lies in not adding your sugar too fast to your whites, if you do the whites get weighed down and runny and won't ever whip up properly. Make sure that your whites are at room temperature so you get the maxium volume from them. Put them in a clean, grease free large bowl, add the cream of tartar and begin to whip. This is possible by hand, but if you can do it with an electric beater it will be a lot easier. When your whites are foamy and beginning to form soft peaks, sprinkle in a tablespoon of sugar. Let the beater continue to whip and slowly sprinkle in more sugar. By the time your whites reach a firm peak you want to have about 1/2 of the granulated sugar added in. Keep the beater whipping and slowly sprinkle in the rest of the sugar. Whip until the peaks are very stiff and shiny. Sift the powdered sugar and mix in the cinnamon. Fold- don't whisk the powdered sugar into the whites. Towards the end add the nuts and nibs. You should still have a fairly stiff meringue at this point. Line 2 sheet pans with parcment (you don't need to grease them). At this point there are several different looks you can create with your meringue. As shown in the picture you can create rustic little mounds by just dropping spoonfulls on to the sheet pan, or if you want something more uniform and clean, you can also pipe them using either a plain or star tip. Make sure that if you are going to pipe them, your nuts and nibs are very finely chopped and that you use a fairly large piping tip. Cook them until they are dry throughout. You can just leave them in the oven overnight. If you have a pilot light on your stove you can even turn the oven off and let it sit overnight. The pilot light provides enough heat to dry them out. Expect them to take atleast 4-6 hours in the oven but it won't hurt them to be in there longer. You want to make sure the oven doesn't get much past 200 degrees F so they don't get much color (the sugar starts to caramelize). To test for doneness break one open and make sure the middle is firm (let it sit out on the counter to cool before testing). You can leave them plain or dip them in chocolate. Store in an airtight container for a week.

A Week of Chocolate

2009-02-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

I may be a little crazy, a little too motivated, but I am planning a post a day for the next week. Each post is a chocolate dessert to inspire all of those looking for something sweet to make to celebrate a certain upcoming holiday. I don't usually do much, but I do celebrate Valentines day, but I also believe that you should show those you love how much you care for them more than once a year. I do think that chocolate is such a wonderful thing that it does deserve to be officially honored at least once a year and isn't that half of what valentines day is about? Chocolate and sweets? So the items I have chosen to share with you definitely highlight the flavors of chocolate. Some of the recipes are simple and straight forward while others require a bit more work. I may be a little crazy because I have made them and with the help of my photographer, have photographed them all this weekend in preparation for a post a day throughout the week. We both agreed not to do that again, but are very happy with what we ended up with. Below is a picture of what you have to look forward to, followed by my first post. Check back each day for a new recipe and idea if you need something for next weekend. Just a reminder, sign up for email updates to be notified every time a new entry is added. Thanks for reading and leave me some comments and let me know what you think!

My first recipe I want to post is a cake that I have made quite a few times. It is a chocolate souffle cake, but the good news is it's supposed to fall, which means you can make it ahead of time and is a little more foolproof than a traditional souffle. It is also low in fat and high in flavor. It isn't too sweet but has a wonderful chocolate flavor that is clean and straight forward. This could be served with some fresh or poached fruit, a fruit sauce, some whipped cream or ice cream. It's the little black dress of desserts (and a dessert that will keep you fitting into your little black dress!) I cannot take any credit for this recipe however, it comes from the wonderful Alice Medrich and her book Bittersweet.

Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake (taken from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich)

serves 10

1/4 cup (1 oz) blanched almonds (or almond meal if you have it)
3 TBS all purpose flour
3 oz bittersweet chocolate (or semisweet)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 large eggs separated, room temperature
1 TBS brandy
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Pre heat the oven to 375 with your rack in the lower third of your oven. A spring form pan or a pan with a removable bottom works best for this recipe. To prepare the pan, grease the bottom and sides and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
If you are using whole almonds, using a food processor grind them with the flour to a fine powder. Set aside. In another bowl mix the chocolate, cocoa powder, 3/4 cup of sugar. Pour the boiling water over the mix and whisk until smooth. Add in the egg yolks and brandy. In another bowl put all 4 egg whites and the cream of tartar. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form and gradually sprinkle in the last of the 1/4 cup of sugar. Whip until peaks become stiff but still shiny. Fold the flour mix into the chocolate and then fold in 1/4 of the egg whites. Once the chocolate mix has lightened fold in the rest of the egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes. You will know it's done when you insert a toothpick in and it comes out with a few crumbs stuck to the toothpick. If there is still a lot of batter bake a little longer. Make sure not to bake too long, watch it closely, you don't want to over bake it! Let it cool slightly in the pan and run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake if necessary. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve plain or with the embellishment of your choice. This is great a few hours out of the oven but you can make this a day ahead and keep it covered at room temperature overnight.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

2009-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

These are also referred to as Amazon Cupcakes. They are a chocolate cupcake that has pockets of a cheesecake like filling baked into the cupcake. They are very simple to make, require no frosting and are very very good! The better quality your cocoa powder and chocolate you use will make a big difference in the final flavor of the cupcakes.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)

Chocolate Batter:
3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups cold water
1/2 cup + 2 tbs vegetable oil
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 TBS lemon juice or white vinegar

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the dry ingredients together, in another bowl mix the water, oil, vanilla and lemon juice or vinegar. Add half of the wet to the dry, mix until evenly distributed and slowly add the rest of the wet (add this slowly will prevent lumps in the batter). Set aside while you make the cream cheese filling.

Cream cheese filling

12 oz room temperature cream cheese (neufchatel also works)
1/2 cup sugar
2 room temperature eggs
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate cut into small pieces)

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until there are no lumps left, make sure to scrape the bowl and your spatula well to get any cream cheese that can be hiding. Slowly add a little bit of the egg at a time, mixing completely before your next addition, aiming for about four additions of egg. Stir in the chocolate chips last.
Prepare a muffin pan with paper liners (or grease the muffin pan well if you don't have paper liners) this can also work with mini muffin pans as well. To scoop the batter into the pans, you are going to alternate the chocolate batter with the cream cheese batter ending up with about 3 layers of chocolate cake batter and two layers of cream cheese batter. The scoops for the chocolate cake batter should be slightly larger than the cream cheese batter. Start off with about 2 tbs worth of chocolate cake batter in the bottom of each cup. Then scoop a heaping 1 tbs of the cream cheese batter and repeat once more and then finish off with another layer of chocolate cake batter on top (you want to evenly distribute this over all the cupcakes, so depending on how much is left in your bowl, the last layer of chocolate cake batter may be less than the other two.) Your cupcakes should be about 3/4 full, it isn't going to rise too much. Bake at 350 degrees F until the cupcakes bounce back when gently pressed in the middle. You can also insert a toothpick into the middle and as long as you see crumbs and not batter then they are done.

White Turkey Chili

2009-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe in an issue of the Williams Sonoma catalogue. What a great idea to have great recipes scattered throughout a catalogue, to keep people looking through the products and give great examples of how to use them. Of course most of their products are usually too expensive for me to buy I do look forward to picking up some great ideas for recipes! This is a great way to use up leftover turkey or a good reason to go out and get some turkey just for this chili. One large thigh or a breast would certainly give you enough meat. The dark meat brings a richness to the chili but if you are looking for a leaner alternative, breast meat would work, just be sure not to overcook it! Pork would also be a nice substitute either pork butt or maybe pork shoulder. If you would rather stay away from any meat at all as long as you had a good vegetable broth you could just leave the meat out all together and possible add some butternut squash. This was used to showcase their slow cooker, but each time I have made it I have simmered it on the stove for 1 1/2 hours or so, until everything is thoroughly cooked and the flavors have had a chance to meld. Just like most stews and chilies, this does improve overnight so it can easily be made in advance. Since I had made very few changes to this recipe I have taken it directly from their website. If you have a chance or are in need of some inspiration check out their collection of recipes. I am always inspired by something I find on there!

White Turkey Chili (from Williams Sonoma catalogue recipes)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tsp. toasted ground cumin
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 lb. Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled and diced, or 3 cans (each 7 oz.) whole fire-roasted Anaheim chilies, diced
4 to 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1 lb. diced cooked turkey
3 cans (each 15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, or 4 1/2 cups cooked white beans, drained
2 Tbs. minced fresh oregano*
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup cornmeal **
Shredded jack cheese, sour cream and lime wedges for serving

Directions:
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cumin, garlic and jalapeño and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the chilies and 3 1/2 cups of the broth, then transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in the turkey, beans, oregano and cilantro. Put the cornmeal in a small bowl and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the broth. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the turkey mixture. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours according to the manufacturer's instructions. Thin the chili with more broth if needed. Ladle the chili into warmed bowls. Serve with cheese, sour cream and lime wedges. Serves 6 to 8.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

*I found 1 TBS dried oregano substitutes nicely for the fresh
**if you happen to have masa I substituted 1/3 cup of masa for cornmeal and it gave it a wonderful corn flavor
*** This can be made quickly using many of the canned items mentioned above and it's a great quick dinner, or if you have the time, roast the fresh chilies, cook some beans and use a rich homemade broth and it transforms it into a dish fit for a dinner party! You will be rewarded with great results. Be careful when using fresh chilies, since you aren't guaranteed of the spiciness, the last batch I made the Anaheim chilies which can be VERY mild were quite spicy!

Recieve email updates with each new post!

2009-01-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have added a feature to my blog. In the upper right hand corner there's a place that allows you to sign up to receive email updates every time I post something new! This is powered by FeedBlitz and is very simple. All you have to do is enter in your email address then you will be directed to your email where you have to confirm your enrollment, and that's it! It doesn't ask for any additional information and requires no account set up. I'll be back in a few days with some more posts. Take Care.

Tamale Corn Bake

2009-01-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

I wasn't quite sure what to call this, incidently this has a lot of the same ingredients as my corn casserole, so fans of that, be sure to try this! I hate to have to use mixes, but I gave up (at least for now) trying to replace using a cornbread mix in the corn casserole, because I couldn't get come up with anything close enough to the casserole made with the mix. Unfortunately for now, this dish also uses the mix (although maybe for most, that's a good thing, as it certainly speeds things along). My husband couldn't believe his eyes when he saw me buying cornbread mix!

It's a simple casserole that I originally saw in Cooking Light and I have made a few changes to it. The original uses just chicken on top of the casserole but when I first made this I had a whole bunch of root veggies to use up so I roasted them and scattered them on the bottom. I'm always looking for creative ways to sneak in some more veggies! This can easily be made with out any chicken either- the picture above is a version with just veggies inside and no chicken on top. I have made it both ways. You could also experiment with including other veggies or using some pork or turkey perhaps.

Tamale Corn Bake (serves 6-8 as a main dish)

1 cup (4 oz) grated cheese (cheddar, monteray jack, pepper jack, or a blend- whatever
you like)
1/3 cup fat free milk (or what ever you have on hand)
2 egg whites (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1 tsp ground cumin
14 3/4 oz can cream style corn
8.5 oz of corn muffin mix (look for one lower in fat and no hydrogenated oil!)*
1 4 oz can chopped green chiles (or you can roast some fresh anaheims or poblanos)
1 10 oz can (1 1/4 cup) enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
2 cups roasted vegetables- Optional (I used parsnips, carrot, sweet potato and squash you could use only one of them or a few)

For garnish: sour cream, cilantro, salsa

Pre heat the oven 400.
In a medium bowl combine the cornbread mix, 1/4 cup of cheese and cumin, mix until evenly distributed. In a separate bowl mix the egg, milk, creamed corn and chiles. Add to the cornbread mix and stir to combine. Grease a 13x9" baking dish and if using veggies, I like scatter them on the bottom, then pour on the cornbread mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes until it is fairly baked through (should feel firm and bounce back when pressed, but the middle should still be a little soft). Then take the dish out of the oven, poke it all over with a fork and pour on 1/2 the enchilada sauce, scatter the chicken, then pour on the rest of the sauce and then sprinkle on the cheese. Bake for 15 more minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with some sour cream and chopped cilantro and salsa if you wish.

*one of these days I'll come up with a recipe for a suitable corn bread mix to use in this and the corn casserole.

Chicken with Okra and Sweet Potatoes

2009-01-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a simple hearty stew that can easily be adapted to your tastes and is a perfect dish to warm you up on cold winter nights.

Chicken with Okra and Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4

4 chicken thighs*
salt and pepper
1 TBS oil(vegetable)
1 medium sized onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine (or you can use chicken stock, or water)
3/4 tsp cayenne (optional- if you like things spicy)
1/2 cup peanut butter (whatever kind you have around, preferably natural)
1 14.5oz can chopped tomatoes pureed to smooth (or you can just use tomato puree- not sauce)
4 TBS water
4 TBS tomato paste
1 TBS soy sauce
14.5 oz or 1 3/4 cup chicken stock*
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
8 oz frozen okra chopped (or fresh okra chopped into 1/4 in slices)

*You can substitute the chicken thighs for boneless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces, or chicken legs, or chicken breasts, or go completely vegetarian and substitute tofu or just use vegetables, adding cauliflower and green beans or whatever vegetable you prefer. You can also substitute any chicken stock for vegetable stock.

Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large saute pan (that has a lid) or soup pot. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down (or you can take the skin off before browning the chicken), brown until golden, flip over and brown the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes or so to begin to soften. Add the wine (or water or stock) to loosen all the browned bits on the pan. Cook onion until softened and then add the cayenne (if using) and the water, tomato paste, tomato puree, peanut butter, soy sauce and chicken stock. Stir to combine, don't worry if the sauce looks broken or chunky, it will come together more as it continues to cook. After well mixed, add the sweet potatoes and chicken thighs (if using small pieces put in after sweet potatoes are almost cooked) After everything is cooked through, add the okra** and simmer for 5 minutes.

This can be made ahead of time and reheated. Serve over rice.

**You don't want add the okra too soon or it will get overcooked, unless fresh okra is used. If using fresh okra then you would add it when sweet potatoes are still a little crunchy so the okra has time to cook until tender.)

The Chef and The Photographer turns 1!

2009-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to get this posted on the actual anniversary of my blogs beginning but I'm a little late... what's new? It actually works out pretty well though, because my wedding anniversary is very close to the blog anniversary, so for this post I have chosen to post the recipe for my wedding cake. I made one today (a smaller version of course) in celebration of my husband and my 2nd wedding anniversary (this last Tuesday). Two years ago we were on the beach of Maui exchanging vows. Just as they always say not to do, I was one of the crazy ones who made their own wedding cake. My advice to future brides? Don't do it! I was up for a few hours the night before my wedding frosting and finishing my own cake (of course there were a few issues). For this post and for my anniversary I decided to remake the coconut cake that I served at my wedding. It is a great cake, not too sweet, full of coconut flavor and filled with pastry cream. For my wedding cake I used a buttercream frosting because it held up better for the time it was sitting out, but in this cake posted below, I just used some lightly sweetened whipped cream. This cake posted is a small 4" cake (perfect for two of us without too many leftovers) but I had a lot of batter left over that I cooked in a few more pans, filled with leftover pastry cream and froze for later. I always like to have a few desserts on hand in the freezer for when the craving strikes! An assembled and unfrosted cake freezes well, and I think it even makes for a better cake as the layers have a chance to meld together and I think the texture of the cake becomes even a little more tender. It's important to make sure the cake is well wrapped if frozen. The easiest way to do this is freeze it unwrapped, and once it's solid, wrap in plastic wrap and foil, or if you have a food saver, it works great, as long as the cake is frozen solid.

Coconut Cake (cake adapted from The Haili'imaile General Store Cookbook)
The full recipe makes one large 10" cake. If you don't have a cake pan that large, divide it into either 2 8" cake pans or 2 9"cake pans. Any leftover batter could be used to make a few cupcakes.

3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 TBS and 2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted room temperature butter (1 1/2 sticks)
seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 1 tbs vanilla extract
1 TBS light rum (dark can be substituted)
2 1/3 cups sugar divided
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups shredded dried unsweetened coconut toasted (toasting optional)
8 egg whites (reserve 4 of the yolks for the pastry cream)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare whatever pans you are using (8-10" cake pans) One 10" will be pretty full with a little batter left over or you can split it between two pans or you can use smaller cake pans, you'll just have more batter left over which you can use for cupcakes. You want to grease the pan and then either flour it lightly or my preferred method, cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom, it makes cake removal a lot easier.

On a mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and 2 cups of sugar (the last 1/3 cup is for the egg whites) and seeds from the vanilla bean (if using). Cream until light and fluffy about 7-8 minutes on medium high speed. Add the rum and vanilla extract (if using). Let it mix for a few minutes until the mixture looks homogeneous and smooth. Mix together and sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the butter in three additions alternating with the coconut milk, mixing just until incorporated. In a clean bowl, make sure the whites are at room temperature and your bowl and whip are free of fat. Whip the whites, adding a little sugar once the whites get foamy then let them whip to soft peak, and slowly sprinkle in the rest of the 1/3 cup of sugar. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites to the rest of the batter, to lighten it, make sure that you're folding and not stirring so the egg whites won't quickly deflate. After the first third of the whites are folded in, fold in the rest of the whites, fold until you no longer see streaks of egg whites. Fold in the coconut last. If you have time, toast the coconut(in a 350 degree F oven) because it will bring out more coconut flavor, but make sure it's cooled before adding it into the batter. Divide the batter evenly among pans, the pans should be 1/2- 3/4 full and bake until the you start to get some color on the top of the cake. To test for doneness, you can insert a wooden skewer (or toothpick) into the center of the cake, and if it comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached, the cake is done. You can also just press gently on the cake and if the fingerprints bounce back and disappear, then the cake is done. Let the cake cool briefly in the pan and then turn it out and let the cake finish cooling on a cooling rack. The cakes can be made a day before assembly- they are easier to cut when they aren't fresh out of the oven.

This pastry cream is a great all purpose pastry cream that can be used as a tart filling to top with fresh fruit, to fill cream puffs, as a filling for a cream pie or as layers in cakes!
Pastry Cream from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard
enough to fill one full size 10" cake above
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
5 TBS cornstarch
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 TBS butter
Seeds from half vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional:some citrus zest- lemon, lime or orange... about 1/2 tsp.

Heat the milk in a medium sized pan over medium high heat, add 1/4 cup of the sugar to the milk (and the seeds from a vanilla bean if using). In another bowl mix the the yolks, cornstarch, sugar and salt together. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and light in color, you shouldn't see lumps of sugar or cornstarch. Don't let the yolks and sugar sit together unattended for too long. The sugar begins to draw the moisture out of the yolks and you will end up with little bits of hard yolk. After the milk is at a scald (right before a boil) take the pan off the heat, pour half of the milk into the egg mixture and very quickly whisk until all combined and quickly (so the milk doesn't cool off) return the whole mix back to the pan. Scrape the bowl to make sure you have everything in the pan and put the pan on the heat again (still at medium high) and keep whisking! Continue to whisk, until it comes to a boil, and let it boil for 30 seconds. It's important that the mixture comes to a FULL boil or the pastry cream won't thicken properly. It's important that as you are whisking you are getting all of the bottom incorporated, if anything is allowed to sit still for too long you will have lumps in your pastry cream. Take it off the heat after it has boiled for 30 seconds and stir in your zest, vanilla extract (if using) and butter. Make sure it is thoroughly combined and put it into a CLEAN bowl to cool. You can also lay a sheet of plastic wrap down on a sheet pan and pour the custard out to cool then cover with another sheet of plastic wrap (to avoid it forming a skin), and let cool completely (put it into the refrigerator). Before spreading on the cake, put the pastry cream back into a bowl and whisk the cream until all the lumps disappear and it looks smooth and shiny. It's important to not over whisk it, you'll see the pastry cream get thin and runny and it won't thicken back up properly because you've broken down too many starch bonds. It is important to whisk thoroughly because after it is cool, it will seem very rubbery and easily crumble, so by whisking you will make it easily spreadable and smooth once again.

FOR CAKE ASSEMBLY:
You can make this cake two layers, three layers, four layers or even 5! It's up to you. In my picture, I have four layers of cake and three layers of cream. I had two smaller cakes that I cut in half horizontally (make sure to trim some off the top so you have all flat and even layers). Spread about a 1/4 " of pastry cream between the layers and then once the layering is complete make sure to let the cake chill (or freeze for later- wrap it well) for a few hours before frosting. This will make the cake sturdier and also allow for everything to meld together. Once the cake is ready, whip some heavy cream (for a 10" cake I would start with two cups of unwhipped cream and 1/2 a cup less for a 9" or 3/4 cup less for an 8"). Add some powdered sugar and vanilla to taste. You want to whip the cream until it can keep a point when lifting the whisk out of the bowl, but not too much because the cream will become grainy and the texture won't be as smooth. If you are frosting the cake and the cream is too soft and runs off the cake, whip it some more. Keep in mind as you are frosting the cake and going back and forth with your spatula it will continue to whip the cream. After the cake is frosted you can leave it as is or for another dose of coconut, cover the out side in sweetened shredded or flaked coconut. I just recently saw flaked coconut in the store (what I used on this cake below) and discovered while it is sweetened, it's not quite as sweet as the shredded sweetened coconut that I'm used to seeing. Make sure to keep the cake in the refrigerator and not on the counter- with all the pastry cream and whip cream it can spoil. The cake will last for a few days, but the whip cream begins to soften or break down so it's best to frost the same day you plan to serve it. An alternative frosting would be buttercream (the caramelized butter frosting would be really nice as well...)

Dinner Rolls

2008-12-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

When I think of dinner rolls, I think of a dough enriched with some butter to make the bread tender and some sugar to sweeten it a bit. These rolls made with part white flour and part whole wheat flour, a very mild and light bread- a great dinner roll. This dough also works well for making stuffed buns. You can stuff them with all sorts of things, ham and cheese, or caramelized onions and maybe some roasted butternut squash... anything you could possibly think of! In an upcoming blog I'll come up with an example or two for you. For now, here is the recipe for the rolls, sorry it may be a little late for Christmas dinner, but once all of the excitement has died down give them a try! I am making them tonight for Christmas dinner tomorrow and have made the dough but am letting it rise overnight. Tomorrow I'll shape, proof and bake the rolls fresh for dinner tomorrow. These can easily be done in one day- in about 3 hours or it can be broken up over two days. Or you can make the rolls ahead of time and then freeze them.

Dinner Rolls (makes about 18 rolls)

1 1/2 cups (360 g) water, about 75 degrees
1/3 cup and 4 tsp (30 g) non fat dried milk powder
1 3/4 cup (225 g) whole wheat flour
3 cups (400 g) bread flour
2 1/2 tsp (12 g) salt
2 3/4 tsp (8 g) instant yeast
1/4 cup (60 g) sugar
1/4 cup (60 g) butter, room temperature

Mix the water and milk powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients together, stirring to make sure everything is equally distributed. Add the water and butter to the dry ingredients.
To Mix by hand:
Grab the dough and start squeezing the dough through your hand and keep incorporating everything until you no longer see any dry ingredients. As you are grabbing the dough, focus on the spots where there are dry ingredients still visible. After it is all mixed in, let it sit either in a bowl covered or on the counter with the bowl over the dough (to prevent it from getting dried out). Let the dough rest and hydrate for 5 minutes then knead the dough until it's smooth and developed.
To Mix on a mixer: put all the ingredients into a mixer and mix on low speed for 10 minutes.
After the dough is developed put it into a clean greased bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes (or if letting it rise overnight, let it sit out for 30 minutes, then re round the dough and put it into a covered bowl and into the refrigerator. The next day take the dough out, portion, round and let the dough proof.). After 45 minutes, turn the dough onto the counter and gently pat down and fold the four sides in and turn the dough over and let rise once more until the dough has doubled in size (about 30-45 minutes depending on the temperature in the kitchen). Turn the dough out on the counter and either using a scale portion out the dough to 2 oz pieces, or you can just eyeball it and cut them into 18 equal pieces. Pat the dough into a flat disk, and then gather all the edges up, and pinch to make a tight seam. Putting the seam on the counter, cup your hand over the dough and roll in a small circle to tighten the top of the dough and seal the seam. Place them on a greased sheet pan (or on a parchment lined sheet pan)and then cover them with a cloth or some plastic wrap (loosely so the dough has room to rise) and then let them rise until they are double in size. If you want them to be shiny, brush them with egg wash (a mixture of egg and a splash of water well mixed) before baking. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the rolls are a dark golden brown. After they come out of the oven put them on a cooling rack to cool. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Thumbprint Cookies

2008-12-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

This is a simple recipe with lots of room for variations. One of the reasons I love thumbprint cookies is because I love jam on anything and everything! In this particular batch I made them using a cranberry jam I recently made. I have also made these cookies by hiding a chunk of chocolate inside the cookie and leaving the thumbprint out all together! You could also put that piece of chocolate on top in the middle of the thumbprint maybe with some raspberry jam? Yum! The possibilities are endless. You could leave out the coconut and substitute cornmeal with a apricot jam perhaps? There is some cinnamon which could be left out or joined by some other spices and maybe some plum or fig jam in the center? Another option is to leave the jam out when baking and then after they come out of the oven fill them with lemon curd. Or what about substituting 1/4 cup of flour for cocoa powder and then fill the centers after they come out of the oven with caramel? I just may have to try that out next time! Feel free to leave the almond meal (finely ground almonds) out or substitute for another nut. If you don't have any whole wheat pastry flour feel free to use a regular all purpose flour.

Thumbprints (makes approximately 2 dozen)

6 TBS butter
1/3 cup brown sugar (or white sugar if you want)
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup almond meal (finely ground almond- if you are unable to find it you can grind your own in the food processor. Feel free to substitute another nut)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until completely emulsified. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together and then mix into the butter mix. Add the coconut and almond meal and mix until combined. Using a tablespoon or small scoop portion out the dough. Roll to a round ball using the palms of your hands and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment or lightly greased. Using your thumb, make a large deep indent in the middle of the cookie (as it cooks this will rise up slightly so make it fairly deep and wide. Bake for 10-12 minutes until almost cooked through. If the center has risen too high you can push the center down a little, and then spoon in enough jam to fill the center. Put them back into the oven for 5-7 minutes, until they are golden brown. Alternatively you can bake them all the way through and then fill them with jam afterward. By baking the with jam for the last half of the baking, it helps the jam to gel and stick inside of the cookie. Keep covered and they will last for a week, if you can keep them that long!
You can also freeze the dough in the balls (with indents already made) on a sheet pan until hard and then place them in a zip lock bag to bake as needed. They can go frozen right into the oven. The baking time will increase slightly. Before adding the jam, the cookies should be pretty much cooked through, but won't have much color and then the second baking will be done after they turn a light golden brown.

Applesauce & A Quick Lesson in Canning

2008-12-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

What's a girl to do with 2 20 gallon pails of apples? I did pick them, so I had a few things in mind, but the work never hits you while you are picking apples only when you get home and start unloading the car and filling up your kitchen with apples! Ever since I was a child I have been eating fresh homemade applesauce- nothing compares. Every Friday night I would peel apples that would go into a crockpot for the night. Saturday morning we would wake up to fresh applesauce and make pancakes to go with them. To this day pancakes simply aren't as good if they don't have warm applesauce to go with them. Nobody ever warns you as a kid that the things you eat will follow you into adult hood whether you like it or not!
As I discovered how easy and rewarding canning is, one of the first things on my list was applesauce (right above apple butter). I try to can enough applesauce to last me through out the year, but it never lasts that long. Applesauce is simple, and it's easy to find good apples so who says you can't make another batch? The apples should be sweet and full of flavor, if they are not as sweet or flavorful, you might have to resort to some sugar for flavor. Golden delicious work really well, but even better is a mix of a few different kinds. I have made applesauce many different ways and only recently have discovered absolutely hands down, the easiest way.

Homemade Applesauce
All you have to do is wash your apples and cut out the cores- don't worry about the peels. Chop them up into 4-8 pieces depending on the size of the apple. Put them into a dutch oven (a large oven safe pot with a lid) or even a roasting pan covered with some foil. Add a little water just to cover the bottom. Careful, too much water will dilute the flavor of your applesauce. After the pan is full of apples (and you can fill it to the top) put it into the oven at 300 degrees until the apples are so tender they fall apart with the poke of a spoon. Depending on how large and how full your pot was this will be anywhere from 45minutes to 2 hours. I usually like to check on them once or twice and give them a stir. Once they are tender, take the pot out of the oven and turn it off. Let the apples cool briefly and then using a food mill (this piece of equipment is necessary unless the batch is small then you can push the apples through a fine mesh sifter) process all the apples through and what you should be left with is little more than all the skins! At this point you have two options- freeze the applesauce or can it. Freezing works well but I prefer to can my applesauce (there are too many things already that I freeze to put up for the year).

A Quick Lesson In Canning

So the second part of my post is dedicated to how to can. I had eluded to it in my earlier recipe for the cranberry sauce, that I would be following up with some how -to's to show you how easy canning really is.
Canning is one of those mysterious things in the culinary world that puts everyone in two groups. There are the people who think that canning is very complicated and involves lot's of special equipment and expertise, and then there is the other half that may have thought that at one time but have come to realize that canning runs the gamut of complication. It only needs to be as complicated as you make it... if you want to keep things simple, can items that don't require much work or specific pH's . What things are easy to can? Anything high in acid or sugar. Like jam and pickles- these are the things that are very widely canned. Both of these ingredients make for a unfriendly environment for bacteria to live... There are other things like vegetables or legumes or meats that have low pH and high protein contents that are very inviting for various bacteria and require a little more education and equipment, namely a pressure canner. For items with a lot of sugar or a high pH a water bath canner (ie a large pot with water a inch above the jar) works beautifully.
Investing in a few tools makes the job so much easier. That would be a canning pot with a rack (you don't want the jars directly on the bottom of the pot), and some tools to help maneuver the jars in and out of hot liquid. and then of course the canning jars, tops and rings (to hold the tops on). The jars you can keep and reuse, same with the rings. It's just the lids you need to use a fresh one each time you can (because of the rubber seal that needs to seal to the jar). If you are at all familiar with estate sales, these can be great places to find all the canning supplies you'll ever need, or second hand stores...
Be organized! Clean your kitchen, have everything ready to go before the filling is done and needs to be filled in the jars immediately. This includes giving yourself enough room to work comfortably. This may mean temporarily cleaning your counters off, but this is one of the keys to smooth and easy canning that will keep you coming back for more.
Realize that your first few times canning may be slow and a little awkward, but if you stick with it soon you can do it with your eyes closed (well almost). It's like any new recipe, the first time or two you spend a lot of time going back and rereading the steps to make sure you are doing it correctly and you have everything right. But after it's become a favorite and you've made it several times you find yourself not even looking at the recipe at all.... the same will be for canning. With that said, start out small. I made the mistake of doing marathon canning my first time and I had several different things to can and a lot of each item and I spent ALL day in the kitchen and was overwhelmed and exhausted by the end. It will be a lot more enjoyable as you are getting the hang of things if you stick to one item and only make several quarts (5-7).

Before you can a large batch of something (like tomato sauce) try the recipe and method out first and make sure you like it before you are stuck with 10 quarts of it. Yes, I am speaking from experience! Not every recipe is created the same!

So, to begin, get your applesauce started. Once you fill your jars, you want everything to be hot, so when you put it in the water bath canner (which needs to be back up to a boil before the processing time can start) the hotter the jars, the quicker the water will come back to a boil. There are many different ways to sterilize jars, if you have a dishwasher with a short/small cycle on it, by all means put the jars in there and time it so they are ready and hot when the applesauce is. Or if you're like me and maybe your dishwasher is loud and takes a while, you can sterilize the jars in boiling water. I'll usually wash them with hot soapy water first since most of my jars reside in the garage for a better part of the year, then I'll fill up my canning pot about 2/3's of the way up and bring that water to a boil (we are talking about a HUGE pot of water that usually takes up two burners so don't underestimate the amount of time this will take to boil). After it's boiling, I'll put my jars in the water and let them gently boil for 10 minutes. The rings, need to be washed in hot soapy water and dried, and you can set those aside until you need them. The lids need to stay warm until they are used, so what I'll do about 10 minutes before I can I'll bring a small pot of water to boil and take the pan off the heat and place the lids in there until they are ready to be put on the jar. Then when the applesauce is done and has been through the food mill I'm ready to put it in the jars. If it will be a little while until you actually put the applesauce in the jars, put it in a pot and keep it warm on the stove or in the oven. When everything is ready and you have everything in place you can take the applesauce off the heat. Using a ladle and a funnel (wide mouth for canning) take the jars out of the water, emptying all the water from inside the jar back into the pot, fill the jars up leaving 1/4" of head space at the top*. Make sure the rim is ABSOLUTELY clean- any little particles of food will prevent a proper seal of the jar. Every thing is set and ready to go.

Timing is something that takes practice but when you do have it down, canning is a very easy and smooth process.

Everything is in a line, the the pot at one end, then the unfilled jars, then the rings and lids... all in the order in which they are needed. It keeps everything clean, neat and accessible.

After all the jars are full, wipe around the rims of the jars with a clean cloth and place the lids on the jars. Top each with a ring and tighten lightly. After all the jars are done, pull the rack out of the canning pot, fill with the jars and put back into the water. Let the water come to a boil then time it for 20 minutes (for canning quarts, pints will have a slightly less processing time). Make sure it is a gentle rolling boil. After the required time, take the jars out carefully making sure to keep them right side up, and place them on the counter. Let the jars cool undisturbed until you hear a pop (this will be the jar cooling off and creating the suction which will keep all the oxgyen out of the can and seal the jar). If you don't hear a pop, and when you try to pry the lid off (gently) if it, it comes off, you can either keep that jar in the refrigerator or reprocess the jar again. I would empty out the contents and heat it back up while sterilizing the jar and start the process all over again. I would only go to this trouble if a number of my jars were unsuccessful in the seal. Otherwise, keep it in your refrigerator or freeze it in a plastic bag. Make sure to label and date your product, so 6 months down the road you know what it is and which jar to use first (the oldest!).
Hopefully this has taken some of the mystery out of canning and I have inspired you to try it for your own. There is nothing like going to garage for a jar of summer peaches or applesauce and to open it up, and for it to taste as good as the day it was made or the day the peach was picked! It's a great way to eat locally all year round but be spoiled by summers bounty in the cold dark days of winter!

www.pickyourown.org is the website that I get most of my canning information and guidance from. Here is the link for applesauce in case some of this information is very unfamiliar or you need to see some visuals for the tools that are helpful for canning- this page can be a great resource

Couldn't resist adding this picture of our loving lab- Puma who for the record we encouraged to jump up and help himself to an apple- normally he is very polite and will not touch human food!

* head space will vary for different products. It's important to follow the recommendations. Too little room and your product could come out of the can before it seals and too much air or headspace left inside can leave an inadequate seal. I've been off (too much room) before by a 1/4 " an inch or so without a problem, but I have put too much in before and it bubbles out of the jar as it is processing... not good.

Daring Bakers Challenge- Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting

2008-11-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

After a few months break from the Daring Bakers Challenges, I am back with the November challenge of the Caramel Cake. I was intrigued by this recipe for several reasons, the caramel sauce that went into the cake itself and also the caramel browned butter frosting. Overall the cake was great, nicely balanced- not too sweet and the cake had a wonderful texture. With only my husband and I around, I was hesitant to make an entire 9" cake so I used some small cake pans to not only make the cake for the challenge but play around with some other ideas that came to mind. With the rest of the batter I came up with a wonderfully simple caramel poached apple cake finished with a little strussel on top requiring very little else. I'll share the details at the end of the post. As you can see I was inspired by the apple theme and also used apple chips to decorate the top of the cake.

Dolores of Culinary Curiosity co-hosted this months challenge with Alex of Brownie and Blondie and Jenny of Foray into Food. The recipe was given to us by a fellow blogger Shuna Fish Lydon at Eggbeater

CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
as published on Bay Area Bites

FOR THE CAKE:
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F

Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

FOR THE CARAMEL SYRUP:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.} ***

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

FOR THE CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month. To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

This is the variation I had mentioned up at the top. I took some of the leftover caramel syrup and mixed it with equal parts apple juice and added 1 tsp of mulling spices to the pan and gently poached some apple quarters until they were tender but still firm. Ideally these should sit in the poaching liquid overnight or at the very least allowed to sit in the poaching liquid until both the pears and liquid are completely cool. After that I put some cake batter into the pan (filled about 1/3 of the way up the pan) and then placed the apples on top and then sprinkled some strussel on top (optional). I made one cake without the strussel and worked out as well. With the fruit it no longer needed the frosting making it a little more casual and not quite as sweet. This cake was definitely a keeper and the frosting as well!

***I found that I may not have cooked the syrup down quite as far as I should have, I found that the bottom of my cake was a little dense and I have a feeling it may have been from a little too much liquid in the batter. When I was boiling my syrup I temped the syrup at 220 F and next time I would go up to 224 F and I think that would eliminate the problem. For those without a thermometer just follow the original directions using your fingers as your guide!

Wild Mushrooms and Leeks with Pumpkin Polenta

2008-11-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a lighter meal that shows off the beautiful flavors of fall, I know I'm a little late but should you come across some wild mushrooms here is a great way to use them. Even if you don't have any wild mushrooms or want to bulk it up with some less expensive alternatives, cremini and or portabello mushrooms would make a good stand in. The pumpkin polenta is subtle but slightly sweet and a great way to sneak even some more vegetables into your dish. This makes a satisfying hearty supper that can be served on it's own or paired with... maybe some leftover turkey?

Wild Mushroom and Leeks (adapted from Cooking Light November 2008)
(6 main dish servings)

2 Tbs butter
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced leek
12 oz wild mushrooms sliced
2 tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp fresh sage finely chopped
3 tbs dry sherry
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the leeks in the butter over medium high heat. After the leeks begin to soften add the mushrooms and cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Add the sherry and the herbs. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Polenta

1 cup polenta
4 cups of water or stock (vegetable or chicken) or a combination of both
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cups Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the polenta and water and or stock in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let simmer for 15 minutes or so until the grain is soft and fully cooked. Keep and eye on it and stir every few minutes. After the polenta is done cooking keep the heat on low and add the pumpkin puree, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Let it briefly come back up to temperature after adding the puree. Turn off and serve immediately, or it can be made ahead of time and gently reheated.

Tea Spiced Cranberry Sauce

2008-11-24T11:52:00.000-08:00

I thought that I should be posting something season appropriate, maybe something to inspire an upcoming holiday meal menu. Many different items came to mind, which I will post as time goes on but for now I setteled on one of my favorite things at a thanksgiving meal (aside from stuffing), cranberry sauce. This is a great recipe for cranberry sauce that I found in Sunset Magazine a while back. While it does use some spices and earl grey tea, it provides a subtle background of flavor that makes this cranberry sauce really well balanced, not too sweet, not too tart and with a lingering flavor of a hint of spice and tea. Give it a try!

I made a large batch a while back and canned it so I'm ready to go for the year! It's very easy to can, and you would do it the way you can any normal jam. There is enough sugar that things don't get to technical or require a pressure canner. In one of my upcoming posts I am going to blog about how I make my applesauce and will go more in depth about the steps I go through when I can a product. Until then, make a batch of this and enjoy all the great food this time of year brings!

Tea Spiced Cranberry Sauce (taken directly from Sunset Magazine)

In a 4-quart pot over high heat, combine:
1 3/4 cups water
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 whole cardamom pods
3 whole star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
Add:
5 Earl Grey tea bags
and simmer exactly 2 minutes. Remove tea bags and spices with a slotted spoon.
Add:
8 cups whole cranberries (about 2 1/2 bags, fresh or frozen).
Increase heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring often, until cranberries soften and split their skins and sauce thickens, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before serving (the sauce will thicken further as it cools). Or cover and refrigerate up to 4 days.

Sunset, NOVEMBER 2006

*Notes* I have found this lasts quite a bit longer than 4 days in the refridgerator. Before straining out all the tea bags and spices, make sure to taste the soultion, in the past I have found that 2 minutes isn't long enough and will let it sit (with the heat off) for 10-15 minutes or longer, until it's fairly strong tasting and then I'll proceed with the rest of the recipe. I have also tried this with other black teas (can be loose leaf) and have had great results.

Strata- variation

2008-11-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of the vegetable strata I posted a few weeks ago and recently tried another version of this. I wanted to share this because it's completely different than the previous version. This recipe is more of an idea and you can really use whatever you have lying around. In this version I had some beautiful rainbow swiss chard that I needed to use up and I had also brought home some rye bread that had been sitting on the counter for a few days, and these turned out to be great components for the latest strata. In the previous recipe it made a full 9X13 pan which can serve at least 8, but this time, not only did I not have enough ingredients for a full recipe, but I also didn't want as many leftovers.

Rye Strata with Swiss Chard and Golden Raisins

There aren't any measurements this time, I started with an 8x8" pan and layered the bottom with thin slices of rye bread. Then I spread a layer of swiss chard that had been sauteed with some diced onion and seasoned with salt and pepper. On top of that I sprinkled some golden raisins and then repeated the layering process ending with another layer of bread. I cut the custard recipe in half- 1 cup of milk to 2 eggs and seasoned that with some more salt, pepper and nutmeg then I mixed in about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan. I baked this at 375 until it felt firm in the middle. Use this as an inspiration for creating your own versions. I will continue to post more successful variations!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-11-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

As our summer winds down, I find myself with a tomato plant that was in the process of getting a second wind, but not enough sun and warmth to ripen the green tomatoes... what better time to try out fried green tomatoes? I had never had them before, but had heard many swoon over how good they were. There is rarely something fried that doesn't taste good, so I thought I would give it a shot. I had also had some bacon cheddar bread that I brought home so I was beginning to envision, Fried Green Tomato BLT's. After all is said and done I don't think a fried green tomato should be held back in a sandwich, but rather left to be on their own, because they are THAT good! They are firm and slightly tart, but the frying brings out an addictive sweetness and the breading with some panko and cornmeal gives a delicate crunch. Yum! The rest of the post will be just about frying the tomatoes and not the sandwich itself. I really liked how the pictures came out though and wanted to post them all.

The following directions are what you could call standard breading procedures you could use to fry all sorts of vegetables, chicken, ect. The first step is to dredge the item in flour, then into an egg wash, and finally into its outer coating, may that be cornmeal, panko or other bread crumb or perhaps a batter... The first coat of flour sticks easily to the product but also guarantees that when dipped in the egg wash, that too will stick which you need so what ever it's finally rolled in will also evenly adhere to the product. While this may seem tedious, it will result in an even crunchy coating over the product being fried, well worth the extra steps.

Fried Green Tomatoes:
You want to start with a high quality flavorful tomato that is green because it hasn't fully ripened yet. Do not start with a tomato that is green even when ripe- those aren't the kind of "green tomatoes we are talking about. Evenly slice the tomato into 1/2" slices. You want to make sure they are thick enough to stand up to the breading and frying without breaking, but not so thick that they don't have a chance to fully cook through. After they are sliced, sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the tomato. The key in flavorful fried products is to season every step, not just at the end by sprinkling on salt. After the tomatoes are sliced and seasoned, begin to assemble your breading station. Start with three containers, or bowls that will easily accommodate your largest tomato slice being able to lie flat in the bottom. In the first bowl you will have your flour. Start with about 1 1/2 cups of flour* add about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the flour (and maybe a little cayenne or paprika if you want things spicy). The next dish will have your egg wash. Start with 3 eggs and about 1/4 cup of milk. Beat together until all the egg is broken up and the milk is mixed in. The last container will have 2 cups of panko (a japanese bread crumb)** and about 1/4 cup cornmeal with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. After the breading station is set, start heating up some oil. I used my cast iron skillet but any heavy duty pot will do. Pour enough oil so that it comes about 2" up the side of the skillet. Heat the oil to about 365 degrees. Keep an eye on the oil to make sure it doesn't get really hot by using a fry thermometer or a candy thermometer. As your oil is heating, set up the station. As you can see in the picture above, I have the containers lined up- flour first, then egg, then panko. Start breading your tomatoes, dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip into the egg wash, shaking off any excess and place in the panko conainer. Gently turn it over and shake the dish slightly to make sure everything gets coated. Be careful to not disturb the breading as you place it from dish to dish and as you finish set them on a cooling rack. I would advise getting them all breaded before frying. Then place that rack close to the stove and fry about 4 slices at a time (depending on how big your skillet is- if you can hold more, add a few more). When you are adding cold product to the oil the temperature drops dramatically, so make sure you don' t crowd the pan, and you may want to temporairly turn up the heat to let the oil recover.

After they become golden brown on the first side, flip them over and continue frying until golden brown on the second. After they come out of the oil have a paper lined sheet pan ready for them to sit on (as pictured down below). Don't put more tomatoes in the oven until the oil has gotten back up to the right temperature. Serve right away, plain or with maybe an herbed aioli? Enjoy!

Now that you have the basic breading procedure feel free to play around, the final breading doesn't always have to be panko, it could be all cornmeal or coconut or a mixture of things, the sky is the limit!

* this was written with the amounts to fry enough slices from about 4 medium large tomatoes. If you are frying more, increase the breading amounts.
** Panko is fairly easy to find these days, it is superior for frying because it doesn't easily get soggy. You could easily substitute dried bread crumbs for panko.

Caramel Sauce

2008-10-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

There are some things you can buy in the grocery store that are so easy to make yet so expensive to buy... like caramel sauce. A high quality caramel sauce might run you 6$ or 7$ for an 8 oz jar and really all it consists of is sugar, cream, butter and salt and a little know how...
The recipe I have below uses a little bit more salt, but it uses a high quality salt that makes this sauce incredibly flavorful and addicting. It is important to not use a cheap low quality iodized salt because it will only make your caramel sauce taste salty. I used a fleur de sel but any good salt will do, even a more every day sea salt. When you have a recipe that has only 4 ingredients you should make sure they are all of high quality because the flavor definitely shows through. The know how comes in the form of sugar cooking. This may seem complicated with all the different temperatures and precautions but for caramel, you don't even need a thermometer. You can gauge by color.

Caramel Sauce (makes about 1 1/4 cups)

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 TBS corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 TBS butter (1/2 stick)
1/2- 1 tsp salt (depends on the salt and how coarse the grain)

Start with a medium size sauce pan. Put the sugar, water and corn syrup into the pan and stir to dissolve. Turn the heat on high, and place a lid on the pot and keep it on until the mix has come to a boil long enough that it has created steam. Wait until the steam has hit the top of the lid and is dropping back down the sides- this is cleaning the sides of the pot, making sure all the sugar is dissolved and pushed back to the bottom of the pot. At this point take the lid off and DO NOT STIR! Cook until the sugar is a deep dark amber- if it is too light then you don't get a strong caramel flavor, your sauce will just taste sweet, too dark and it will taste like burned marshmallows. It can be hard to tell the true color in the pan so take some out of the pan and drop it on a white plate.

Meanwhile, heat the cream up in the microwave, until it is lukewarm (it mixes into the hot sugar better this way). Once the sugar is a the right color, turn the heat off and SLOWLY steam the cream into the sugar using a whisk to mix it in. Pour about a quarter of the cream into the sugar, whisk, and then slowly pour in more. Since the sugar is so hot it will rapidly bubble and give off very hot steam, so you want to not only go slow, but also keep your hands out of the way (I've gotten a few steam burns this way). After all the cream is added in, if there is still sugar that hasn't melted in to the cream, you can turn the heat back on low to finish dissolving the sugar. Then let the mix cool slightly about 10 minutes or so, then add in the butter and salt. There is a range for the salt because if you are using a really fine grained sea salt, you will want to start with 1/2 a tsp (or even a little less) and if it's coarser you may find that after 1/2 a tsp you need more. Taste and add more according to your taste. You want to add enough salt so you get that hint of salt with the caramel flavor... it's amazingly addicting!
The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks with no problem. Make sure to gently rewarm before serving (getting it too hot will make it very thin).

Gazpacho

2008-10-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little late to post a mid summer meal like gazpacho, (when you have more tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers than you know what to do with). For me that came a little later this summer and then it took a while to put the post up. So it you are moving onto fall produce and meals, tuck this one away for next summer because it's surely a keeper! Or give it a try on the next nice fall afternoon we have! In my mind gazpacho should have some body to it, lots of flavor and some weight on your tongue, not just V-8 with some vegetables floating in it! I found a great recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook. What I like about this recipe is it has some bread in it (gives a great deal of body and mouth feel)and it roasts the peppers and tomatoes which brings a deeper depth of flavor. While it is a little more work than your normal gazpacho it is worth the work!

Gazpacho (adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook pg 88-89)
Serves 6 as a main coarse

2 pounds of tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 cucumber or 2 small kirby cucumbers (pickling cucumbers), peeled, seeded, chopped
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 TBS of sherry vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
4 slices (1/2" thick) good quality bread, crusts removed
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced fresh tarragon (optional, if you have it)

Heat the oven to 350. Roast the tomatoes and peppers for 30 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and place them in a bowl to cool. Continue to roast the peppers until lightly charred, then remove them from the pan and place them in a covered bowl or paper bag until cool (helps to remove the skin). Remove skin and cores from tomatoes and tear the flesh into smaller pieces over a bowl to catch all the juice. Remove the skin and seeds from the bell peppers and add to the tomatoes. Add in chopped garlic, cucumbers, vinegar and oil.
Rip the pieces of bread into 1" pieces and add 1/2 cup water to the bread. Let it soak for 10 minutes. Drain any excess water, but don't squeeze the bread. Transfer the bread to the bowl with the tomato mixture along with the salt, pepper and tarragon (if using). Mix everything well and cover and let sit 8 hours to overnight)in the refrigerator. Up to a few hours before serving, thoroughly blend everything in the blender and check again for seasoning adding more salt, pepper or vinegar if necessary. Feel free to garnish with a little fresh herbs (basil or chives or parsley) on top. Serve chilled.

Buttermilk Ranch

2008-10-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am slowly working on a collection of salad dressings beyond the impromptu vinaigrette. This version of Ranch still has all the recognizable flavors but it's a little fresher, cleaner and healthier than your bottled variety. It's quick and easy and makes a great dressing for potato salad.

Buttermilk Ranch (makes about 1 cup)

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream (can use low fat) or mayonnaise (also can use low fat)
1 TBS chives, chopped fine
1 TBS dill, chopped fine
1 TBS oregano, chopped fine
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Put all ingredients into a blender or blend with a hand held immersion blender*, or for a little rougher texture, you can just whisk everything together. Will keep well for a week.

*I have found my immersion blender one of the most helpful tools in the kitchen. There all sorts of models you can buy with a varying price range to go with it, but you'll find even a basic $25 model very helpful for blending dressings, sauces, soups or basically anything you could put into a blender. If you are thinking of investing in one, I think the blenders with a stainless steel bottom (as opposed to plastic) are worth the extra money. The plastic bottoms can melt if you are often pureeing hot soups or liquids as the bottom has a tendency to soften and become a little misshapen. They usually will come with several other attachments like a whisk that works for small jobs (like whipping a few egg whites or a small amount of cream), and a small container with a blade that acts much like a food processor. There are many times I have pureed dips or pesto in there with great success. Out of all the kitchen gadgets out there this is definitely one I recommend!

Vegetable Strata

2008-10-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

A strata is a savory bread pudding and the name strata refers to all the different layers. It can be made with many different combination's of ingredients. I love any food that uses bread as one of it's main ingredients. This one almost had the flavors of lasagna but using bread instead of noodles.

I layered this with slow roasted tomatoes (the recipe for them is great, I found it on Orangette , and was also featured in her column in Bon Appetite. Check it out, if you have any left over tomatoes). I layered the tomatoes with sauteed spinach, grilled portabellos, and some fontina and then on topped it with more tomatoes and Gorgonzola which formed a nice crispy crust that could be likened to a Gorgonzola tomato toast. Maybe a good recipe in the making, a little tomato spread on toast, topped with Gorgonzola and baked until crunchy. Hmmm....
This recipe I originally got from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison I followed the recipe with a few modifications but this could certainly be deviated from, with endless possibilities! I'm thinking the next version might include something like roasted winter squash, caramelize onions... or maybe roasted apples, bacon, caramelized onions and Gouda... the possibilities are endless. This can easily be made in advance and is a perfect way to use up bread, especially bread a few days old.

Strata (8 servings)

1 lb portabello mushrooms tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled and sliced thin
2 bunches of spinach wilted, squeezed dry and chopped
approximately 1 1/2 lbs slow roasted tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic chopped finely
4 eggs
2 cups milk
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
10 thin slices of good bread ( I used a mix of a baguette and a semolina bread)
2 TBS chopped rosemary
1/2 cup grated fontina
3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola

Pre- heat the oven to 375. Butter a 9x12" baking dish
Lay out a layer of roasted tomatoes along the bottom of the dish. Next lay down bread to cover the surface in a single layer. Scatter the spinach over the bread and follow with half of each, the herbs, garlic and fontina. Lay another layer of bread, and repeat the same process using the mushrooms this time in place of the spinach. Top with a layer of bread and then scatter the rest of the tomatoes and all the Gorgonzola. Mix the eggs milk and nutmeg together and pour the custard over the entire pan. At this point it can be baked immediately or it can wait several hours, covered and refrigerated. Bake in the oven until brown and puffed, about 1 hour. Cool for a few minutes before serving

Braised Red Cabbage

2008-10-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have obviously not mastered working full time in a job that keeps me busy, and a life that always has me doing something, AND blogging! I'm trying though, I think about it all the time and have not given up yet, and you shouldn't either! I have a few posts I will do over this weekend, to hopefully make up for an absentee summer. (Although I have only been averaging one post a month so it won't be hard to exceed!)
This first picture I have up is a sample from our CSA.

This stands for Community Supported Agriculture and this was our first year subscribing to it (but not our last). This is a program that lets people invest in a farms crop for the year, before the season starts and then each week you receive a mystery box of produce all during the season (usually running May through the fall). This was our first year doing it and we have loved it. I found the farm that we subscribe to through a website called Local Harvest. That is what I linked "CSA" to above. I wanted to link directly to the farms web site but it didn't seem to be working. It has been a great experience, and we have signed up for the fall season as well so we will have beautiful organic produce coming to us every week until December! It was my original intention to take a picture of every week's box and feature a recipe for each week to go with the picture... you can see how far I got with that! Every farm works their CSA differently, depending on what they grow/offer. The farm we went with, Groundworks Organics, is out of Eugene Oregon and they have been wonderful! During the week we would get an email of a list of proposed items, and then a newsletter on Saturdays when we picked up our box. I thought they did a great job of varying the produce, so we never felt like we were constantly eating the same thing! That reminds me of last summer when I pulled a rookie move of planting 5 zucchini plants (not knowing how easy or fast they grow) and towards the middle and end of the season we definitely had our fill! Never will I do that again, I quickly learned! With our CSA we have been able to experience a little of everything. So that brings me to our first recipe, for braised red cabbage. I had gotten a head of cabbage, and didn't have anything coming up (like a dinner party or get together) to use it on. I needed to find something I could make that would use up the whole head without us having to eat coleslaw for an entire week straight! I've always loved braised cabbage, and found a great recipe out of The Gourmet Cookbook. I have found many good recipes from there in fact (of course since they all come from the magazine!).

Braised Red Cabbage (from The Gourmet Cookbook pg 528)
serves 8-10 portions

1 medium size head of red cabbage quartered, cored and thinly sliced crossways
4 slices of bacon (medium dice)
1 TBS of butter
2 large onions sliced
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 TBS of packed brown sugar
1 TBS of salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Rinse cabbage under cold water, then drain; do not dry. Cook bacon in 6-8 qt heavy pot over medium heat until most of the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon bits, and leave the fat in the pan, and add the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until golden brown and then add the cabbage, and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer, stir occasionally until cabbage is tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Sprinkle on bacon after done cooking.

*with only two of us in the house, we weren't able to finish all of it so I decided to see how it will hold up in the freezer. When I defrost it I'll let you know!

Roasted Banana Smores

2008-08-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we spent a wonderful week camping in eastern Oregon. We had a lot of great food, but one of the best things we had while we were out there were these Roasted Banana Smores. It has become my favorite version of Smores, and it probably stems from my love of banana and chocolate together! They are very easy and we actually did them on the grill and not over a campfire, so this is something that doesn't even need to be saved for a camping trip! (although there are some things that just taste better when you've been in the woods all day)
Just as with any other recipe, your end result will only be as good as your beginning ingredients, so get some good chocolate and graham crackers (these were cinnamon graham crackers and we used a 70% dark chocolate bar) and while homemade marshmallows are best, store bought ones work well too...

Make sure your grill is nice and hot (works well if it was already going for some BBQ dinner.) Start with a square of foil. Take a banana and just trimming off the very tips of the banana, leaving the peel on, slice all the way down the middle and slightly open up the banana and also push down so you have a fairly wide, flat, exposed surface of the banana and put this on the foil and then bring the edges of the foil up, so it creates a little barrier all the way around the banana. Put the banana on the grill for maybe 5 minutes or so, (it will depend on how hot it is)just to start roasting the banana. You'll know it's done when the banana is warmed all the way through and you may even see a few juices bubbling underneath. At that point put a row of chocolate pieces (around 1" x 1/2" rectangles) down the center of the banana, cover with a row of marshmallows (about 2 1/2 larger marshmallows- cut them in half so they lay flat) and then cover the grill and let it cook for another 5 minutes or so until the chocolate and marshmallows are melted. At this point you should see more juices bubbling underneath and the banana will be pretty soft. Transfer the banana from the foil to a plate, leaving the skin on* and then top with crumbled up graham crackers!

*this picture doesn't show the skin of the banana, but on the second round I did end up cooking the banana longer and it was easier to just serve in the skin and eat around it.

Crispy Oat Bites

2008-08-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

These cookies began with a recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini with a few extra additions... These are great little cookies to snack on, they aren't too sweet and are full of flavor and crunch. They are quick and easy to make at the last minute and can be as simple as just the plain cookie or dressed up by sandwiching with melted chocolate. You could also change out any of the "add in's" for whatever you have around or feel inspired by.

Crispy Oat Bites (Makes about 40 quarter sized cookies)

1/4 cup (50 g) melted butter
1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar (could also use unrefined sugar like rapadura)

2 tsp honey (or agave syrup)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup (45 g) rolled oats (or any other rolled grain)

1/2 cup (60 g) whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 tbs milk

1/4 cup (20 g) toasted sliced/chopped almonds

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup finely chopped cocoa nibs

Preheat the oven to 350

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, and then mix in the sugars and vanilla. Mix the flour with the baking powder, salt and oats and mix into the butter mix. Add the milk, after everything is mixed, add the rest of the add ins and mix until everything is evenly distributed. Use a teaspoon to scoop out little balls of the dough and put onto a greased sheet pan (or lined with parchment) and flatten out into round disks. Bake until golden approximately 12 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Upside Down Cobbler

2008-08-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long absence! Summer and outdoor activities have seem to taken up all my time... I am back though, please don't give up!

This was adapted from a recipe I found on Martha Stewart's website. It was originally for a apricot almond cobbler, but it's more of a upside down cobbler because the batter goes in the pan first. It's also very flexible and could be more than just apricot and almond depending on what's around and in season. I loved it because it is a rustic dessert that was very quick, satisfying but not too indulgent. This worked beautifully in my cast iron pan but could easily work in a pie plate or other baking dish as well. I used peaches and berries and did put in the amaretto but that could easily be substituted for another liquor (brandy?) or even citrus juice. I'm sure this would be good in the winter with pears or cranberries... definitely a keeper though!

Peach and Mixed Berry Upsided Down Cobbler (serves 6-8)

Fruit:
1 1/2 lbs fruit (could be one kind or a combination)
6 tbs sugar
1 tbs of lemon juice
Toss fruit and let sit while the batter is mixed.

Batter:
1/2 almond meal toasted (or finely ground almonds or any other nut you wanted to substitute)
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour but all purpose flour could easily be substituted)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
6 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbs of amaretto (or any other liquor you wanted to substitute)

Pre heat your oven to 375. To mix the batter, start by greasing a 10" cast iron skillet with 2 tbs of butter. Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and then in another whisk the egg, milk, liquor together then slowly stream in the remaining 4 tbs of butter while whisking vigourously. Combine the dry and wet ingredients together until just mixed and spread it into the the pan. Spread the fruit over the top. Bake in the oven until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with moist crumbs. Will take around 40-50 minutes. Let cool in the pan before serving. This easily is cut into wedges and is somewhere between a cobbler and a cake and would be great on a picnic.

Plum Danish Braid

2008-06-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

Fresh danish and iced coffee make a wonderful afternoon treat. This is the June Daring Baker Challenge, and in typical fashion, it's due today and I finished it this morning. The recipe came from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking. I have this book and like it a lot, so it was a lot of fun to have a push to try this recipe. I make a lot of danish and croissant at work, and don't usually make it at home, but it was so nice this afternoon, after a day of being lazy and hiding out at home, to sit down to danish that was still warm from the oven.
The trick about any sort of laminated doughs is incorporating the butter in evenly. It's important that the butter and dough are the same temperature, it is evenly spread over the dough and also rolled out consistently. As I was going through my laminations I had some spots where the butter was colder than the rest and didn't get rolled in evenly. To be honest, until the danish went into the oven I didn't have very high hopes for it. I had made a fresh plum filling using diced plums which I tossed in some cornstarch and a little brown sugar. I cooked the filling in a saucepan adding some plum butter I made last summer to give some more body and flavor to the filling. After it had cooled, it was thick and had a bright tart flavor but was still sweet- the essence of a good plum. It stayed in the pastry nicely, and I was pleasantly surprised when I checked on my danish to see that all of the filling had stayed inside and the braid had held together nicely. It was a very warm day, the house was at the perfect temperature for proofing dough- but too hot for having the oven on! The sacrifices of a baker!
Below I have posted the directions as given for the challenge. Included is a recipe for an apple filling for the braid ( I wasn't measuring when I made my plum filling this morning). The filling is very flexible and you could do all sorts of things- but you do want to make sure the filling is fairly thick, too much moisture will interfere with the dough baking and also run out of the braid. While we did a braid for the challenge, you can use this dough for all sorts of danish shapes. I have the other half of my dough frozen for a later use. This may seem intimidating but freshly made pastry is unparalleled and worth all the work! If you have ever thought about making your own puff pastry this is a good place to begin. The laminations (rolling the butter into the dough) are less for danish and it isn't solely dependent on the layers of butter for it's leavening (like puff pastry) because of the yeast it will still rise- it's pretty forgiving and a good place to start!

DANISH DOUGH (from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking)

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Peak of Their Season

2008-06-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

When you start out with perfect ingredients, sometimes you don't have to do much to them- or should I say often times you shouldn't do much to them. Case in point, strawberries in peak season. Every week we recieve a mystery box from the farmers market and every week on most occasions, they contain a large 16oz box of strawberries. In the beginning they were ok, and have slowly worked their way towards getting better and better. This past week they were PERFECT. I wouldn't want to do anything to mask their sweet essense. SO dessert was simply the strawberries with some thick organic sour cream and a little brown sugar to dip it all in. Summer doesn't get any better than desserts like this!

Corn Casserole

2008-06-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

When I was little I remembered a corn casserole that my grandmother made- and I loved! I could never get enough. Later as I was older and wanted to make it, I took one look at the recipe with 1 1/2 cups oil, cheddar cheese and all the other ingredients, and knew there was no way in good conscience I could make that. I had run across a recipe in Cooking Light Magazine that looked like it could be something close to what I remembered, so I decided to give it a try. It quickly became one of those "keepers"- it was everything I remembered it was. My husband didn't even want our guests to have seconds- he wanted to make sure he had some leftovers for himself! Coming from Cooking Light meant it had a healthier flavor profile- but still the perfect addition to any summer meal. Using peak of the summer corn is one of the keys to making this great. It does call for canned creamed corn, which I had made some last summer and froze, so I have used that, but the canned products work well, especially when pressed for time. One of these days I would like to not have to depend on a corn bread mix for my recipe (not my style) but my first attempt to deviate produced some different results so for now, here it is:

Corn Casserole (from Cooking Light Magazine)
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg OR 2 egg whites)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added cream-style corn
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix
1 (8-ounce) carton plain fat-free yogurt
Cooking spray

Mix all the ingredients together and pour it into a greased 8" square pan or 9" pie pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so, until the middle is completely set.

Oatmeal Cookies

2008-06-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a great "lower in fat" healthier oatmeal cookie. Although it's been modified quite a bit, I got the original recipe from Perfect Light Desserts written by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim. This is a great book filled with solid recipes (at least the ones I've tried so far) that rely on real ingredients used smartly to make them healthier. It's not filled with sugar free products or whipped toppings. You wouldn't be able to tell these cookies are lower in fat, and I've packed them with all sorts of goodies.

Oatmeal cookies (makes about 24 cookies)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg (room temperature)
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup golden raisins (or dark if you want)
1/4 cup pepitas
1/4 cup cocoa nibs (these you could substitute chocolate chips, but the cocoa nibs give the richness of chocolate with more health benifits, and helps to temper the sweetness of the cookie)

Pre heat the oven to 375
Mix all the dry ingredients (flour through salt) together and set aside. In another bowl cream the butter with the white sugar, and then add the egg and then the brown sugar. With such little amount of butter, it's hard to mix if you put both sugars in at once. After everything is completely emulisified, mix in the applesauce and vanilla. At this point add all the dry ingredients and finally the oats, raisins, pepitas, and cocoa nibs.

Using parchment lined or greased sheet pans, scoop tablespoon fulls of batter onto the sheetpan, with a few inches between each cookie. At this point you could easily freeze half the cookie batter for later.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, just until you see the top is a light golden brown. If you bake them too long they will get very hard and crunchy. It's important to time the bake so they stay soft and moist after they cool.

What's for Lunch?

2008-06-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I realize I have been pretty slow on posting lately. Now that everything is put back into the kitchen and my inspiration is returning, I find myself very short on time! I'm not sure how some of these bloggers do it, who have to work other full time jobs. Most of what I've been cooking has been food to take to work for my husband and I. So I figured I could at least start posting some of the things I've been making for our lunches (and dinners since we both work nights)...

I was inspired by a beautiful bunch of parsley I had gotten in my weekly box from the CSA I subscribe to (will post more about that later). I couldn't think of a better use for it than a tabbouleh salad. This is a recipe I found in "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman. I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet, but I found a great recipe in there for tabbouleh. One of the things I liked about it, is it had not only parsley, but a lot of mint as well as some scallions. I've modified it some and threw some crumbled tofu on top.

Tabbouleh Salad-4 generous servings

1/2 cup medium grind or fine grind bulgur
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
2 cups chopped parsley
1 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 medium tomatoes (or 2 cups of cherry tomatoes cut in half)
1/2 of a cucumber (about 1 cup) chopped

Bring a medium sized sauce pan filled with water to a boil. Add the bulgur and let it come back up to a boil and then immediately turn off the heat. Let it sit until softened, and then drain well. Season the bulgur with the lemon juice, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. In a separate bowl mix the herbs with the lemon zest. Shortly before serving, combine the bulgur with the herbs and tomatoes and cucumber, check again for seasoning (may need a little more salt and pepper).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-05-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still a little slow to post, even though we have full use of our kitchen we are still busy with finishing up the details. I did want to put up a quick post, and I know that these are totally out of season, but I love these cookies and wanted to put them up on the blog! This fall when all the pumpkins were fresh from the ground I went kind of crazy buying 10 of them and spent the better part of a day roasting, pureeing, portioning and freezing the puree. The work paid off though because I have wonderfully flavorful pumpkin puree to make these cookies with! As fall is beginning to get closer (not that close) and I still have lot's of puree left I might have a few more out of season pumpkin posts (to clear my freezer for the next batch)! These cookies are very light and tender but full of flavor.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs plain yogurt
1 cup pureed pumpkin (if you are using canned pumpkin add up to 2 TBS of milk if the puree seems very thick, it should be the consistency of the yogurt)
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute all purpose flour)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp mace
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate cut in to small pieces)
1/2- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (also optional)
1 cup rolled oats (optional- I think they are only good in the cookies if batter sits a few days in the refrigerator, giving the oats time to soften)

Pre heat the oven to 375. It is important that all the ingredients are at room temperature. Cream together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg and vanilla and yogurt. Mix until it is completely emulsified. Sift togeher the dry ingredients and add alternating with the pumpkin then add the oats and choclate chips. Scoop into heaping tablespoon mounds on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, when you touch the center of the cookie it should spring back. It's important not to overbake these cookies or they get dry. I like to make this batter, scoop it out onto a cookie sheet and then freeze the dough. Once frozen put all the cookies into a zip lock bag and bake just as many as you need. They will be good in the freezer for quite a while. This works well with any basic cookie dough and it's an easy way to bake something when you have a sweet tooth and it also lets you only have a few around to tempt you at a time! Nothing is better than fresh cookies warm from the oven.

Cheesecake Pops

2008-04-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

I first have to apologize for the lack of posts lately, but our kitchen remodel has been keeping us very busy (not to mention challenged to cook post worthy items). I think if it weren't for the Daring Bakers I probably would have even fewer postings in the last month!
This month's theme was Cheesecake pops. The recipe can be found here. This recipe is an adaptation of from a book by Jill O’Connors called ”Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey.” These are a little time consuming to scoop and roll into balls, but a fun way to eat cheesecake. These are great for parties because the portioning is taken care of and I think the sticks lend themselves to creative serving ideas. In my picture I had a cup filled with rock salt, and stuck them in the salt. I always love small portions of food because I usually find myself satisfied after a few bites, and this was definitely the case with the cheesecake. It was also a nice ratio of chocolate to cheesecake. On the outside I rolled them into two different toppings. The lighter more fine coating was some leftover candied peanuts that were finely crushed and the other was Feullitinne - a somewhat speciality item, but essentially the same as a ground up sugar ice cream cone. These were a lot of fun, and the cheesecake recipe came out very creamy and subtle which makes it the perfect base for all sorts of fun toppings!

Please be checking back to my blog, as our kitchen is almost finished and I will be cooking a lot more now (and posting more items).

Carrot Cake

2008-04-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I have been developing overtime, a mix of a few recipes with a few of my own additions. This is becoming a cake served at a lot of our family functions. I think I still need to make a few tweaks before I am happy with it but it’s still good as it is! I have two different pictures posted here, one of a birthday cake that I did for my Grandma Ruth in early March, and then one recent picture taken so the inside could be seen as well.

Carrot Cake Makes 1 9-10” square or round about 1 ½ inches high

2 eggs (room temperature)

4 oz browned butter*

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 oz AP flour

2.25 oz whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup almond meal (finely ground up almonds sometimes called almond flour)

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ground ginger

4 oz grated carrot

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup unsweetened coconut

4 oz crushed pineapple (or finely diced fresh)

* browned butter is made by melting butter slowly in a pan until you see all the milk solids turn to a dark brown color. The butter will look fairly dark and the browned bits will stick to the bottom of the pan. Be careful to not let it burn at this point. This is what is referred to as browned butter (beurre noisette). It has a great nutty flavor and aroma that works really in this cake. This can also be replaced by regular butter (using the creaming method) or oil.

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square or round pan and line it with parchment and set aside. Whisk the eggs through brown sugar together until frothy. Sift the dry ingredients (and put back all the pieces of almond meal that didn't make it through the sifter). Mix into the wet then fold in the carrots, raisins, coconut and pineapple. Bake until a skewer comes out clean and when pressed in the middle, the cake bounces back.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I like this frosting because it is not too sweet, but with the addition of all the white chocolate it is so easy to work with.

9 oz white chocolate (must be good- the flavor does come through)

12 oz cream cheese – room temp

6 oz butter

1 ½ TBS lemon juice

Melt the white chocolate and mix into the cream cheese. You can do this by hand or on a mixer using the paddle attachment. Once all mixed in slowly add the butter and once mixed add the lemon juice. If you want it sweeter you can add powdered sugar to taste or also some zest (up to 1 tbs) or even vanilla.

Perfect Party Cake

2008-03-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

This was a Daring Baker Challenge that came from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. This is a great book that I had briefly from the library but is definitely going on my cookbook wish list. It's got lots of great recipes and this cake definitely showcases that! As an instructor teaching pastry this mixing method sort of goes against what we teach, but being the obedient daring baker that I am, I followed the directions to a T and of course it came out great! One of the great things about this club is you are forced to try things that you may have otherwise amended or not done at all, and you end up discovering new and great recipes! With all that said, I debated long and hard about whether I was going to participate in this challenge or sit it out. Why? We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and don't really have one at the moment! Luckily for me I have plenty of kitchens at work that I'm able to use, so I baked the cake and made the frosting there, then took it home with me! The space was tight and a little difficult to decorate, it's not my best but I still managed! Of course after given permission to change the flavors and frosting I did... maybe just habit, always having to make it my own, although those flavors would have been really good. I couldn't bring myself to make more buttercream- I'm around it all day at work. I was inspired by a dessert I had made at one of the restaurants I worked at. It was a Earl Grey Ice Cream Roulade. It was a chocolate sponge rolled up with earl grey ice cream and I garnished it with candied orange. The flavors worked so well together that I wanted to recreate them in the cake. I have since learned (unfortunately too late) that I didn't use enough tea, apparently to flavor a cake with tea it takes a lot! You can't detect tea in any part of the cake- I had it in the cake, and also in the frosting/ filling which was a whipped ganache. I covered the top with candied orange, which still worked well with the chocolate, regardless of the tea.

Here is the recipe for the cake used in the challenge, it made a great white cake. I didn't include the tea I put into the cake (the little dark specks you see) because that still needs some work. I used a earl grey whipped ganache as the frosting and filling, which I also am not going to post at this time, I would like to get the right proportion of earl grey before posting that recipe. Directions for the candied orange on top can be found here, from my earlier post. The only difference is I cut the strips very thin and drained the syrup from the zest, but didn't let it dry out at all, instead put it on the cake still moist and very soft (if it was really hard or chewy the texture wouldn't match well). As you can see I also used a different pan, a loaf pan that I trimmed down and sliced into three layers. You can do either without adjustment to the recipe. You could still use two loaf pans. This is a great white cake recipe and would encourage you to try it!
Perfect Party Cake (taken from Baking From My Home To Yours)
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

Comfort food made healthier

2008-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

It seems to be a constant struggle, how do you make the foods you loved as a kid and the foods you indulge in, healthier? My philosophy is to cut back on the fat where you can, but to also try to fit more vegetables into the dish to bulk it up and cut back on the fat per serving. The other way I look at it is, always trying to make foods that somehow contribute to your daily servings of fiber, vegetables, protein, whatever it may be, make it count- no empty calories. Granted there will be some here and there, but I believe if you take this approach daily, you can still eat foods you enjoy but create a healthier diet for yourself. This dish would be a classic example. The sloppy joes are loaded with veggies and the bun has whole wheat flour and lot's of flaxseed. I used ground flax and found that it created a really nice and chewy texture in the bread.

Sloppy Joes (serves about 6)

1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey, chicken or even crumbled tofu)
1 medium onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2 medium cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 cups grated butternut squash (either using a cheese grater or food processor)
1 1/4 cups tomato juice (this is flexible- tomato puree or v-8 or reg tomato juice)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 TBS Worcestershire
1 TBS brown sugar

Brown the meat in a large saute pan. Cook through and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Drain all of the fat except about 1 TBS(if your meat is very lean you may have to add some oil. Saute all of your vegetables and garlic just beginning to get tender. Add the tomato juice and cook down until it has reduced by about half then add the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire) and cook until for about 15 minutes and then add the beef back in. You want to make sure you cook it until the sauce is fairly thick adding the ground beef towards the end. This freezes well.

Flax Seed Rolls or Hamburger Buns (Makes 12 medium size rolls)

8 oz all purpose flour
10 oz whole wheat flour
2.5 oz rye flour
2 oz flax seed (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 TBS honey
14.6 oz water
2 tsp salt

Mix all the dough except the salt. Mix until all the flour has been mixed in but don't start kneeding the dough yet. Cover and let this sit for twenty minutes. After the 20 minutes are up mix in the salt. This gives the yeast a head start and gets it working it also gives the flour a chance to absorb all the liquid, making it a lot easier to handle. Sprinkle the salt on top and either by hand or machine, mix for 5 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until double (in a warm place) this will take about 1 hour assuming the room is 70 degrees or so (if it's colder it will just take longer. Gently deflate the dough and let it double again (this should only take about 20 minutes or so). **Alternatively you can mix the dough and then just put covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight and let it proof slowly. The next day take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a few hours to give the dough a chance to warm up and then continue as normal** After the dough has doubled for the second time turn it out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 3 oz portions (you can eyeball this or weigh it) and you should have about 12 buns. Roll them into a rough round and let them sit for 20 minutes covered. Meanwhile turn the oven on to 375 and prepare a pan with either parchment or grease. Crack 1 egg into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and 1 tbs water and stir until the egg is completely broken up. After the twenty minutes re-round the balls making sure you they are smooth all over. Place them on the sheet pan and take your hand and flatten each ball as much as possible (this will create a wider surface and more of a bun shape) let them rise in a warm place covered until they have doubled in size. This should take anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour. After they are fully proofed brush some egg wash on each bun and press down gently again to help to flatten them (they bounce back quite a bit). Bake at 375 until a dark golden crust forms. Probably about 1/2 an hour. Let them cool completely before cutting in half. These freeze well.

Soda Bread

2008-03-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a great recipe for Irish Soda Bread I came up with. I love using browned butter, I think it gives an indescribable depth of flavor. I have been very busy lately as we are getting ready to remodel our kitchen so I have actually been trying to post this for the last week, just never getting around to it. I realized that as I am posting it today, St Patrick's Day, it couldn't be more perfect timing!

Irish Soda Bread
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 TBS brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
5 tbs brown butter
1 egg
1 cup golden raisins

Pre heat oven to 425. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Heat the butter in a small pan and continue to cook it over very low heat until it starts to turn brown. When you put a small amount of butter on a white plate or light surface the butter should look a golden brown color. This is what is called Beurre Noisette or browned butter. Scrape it into a medium bowl (along with all the little dark bits stuck to the bottom of the pan). Once it's no longer hot to the touch whisk in the buttermilk, whisking fast the whole time until everything is mixed in, then whisk in the egg and combine with dry ingredients and golden raisins. Mix just until everything comes together. Divide the dough into two equal sized balls, place them on a greased sheet pan (or one lined with parchment paper) and gently pat into a fairly smooth looking balls and make an x 1/2 " deep in each ball. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes then reduce to 375 and bake to 30-35min. This is best eaten right after it's baked but will be good as toast the following day.

My New Favorite Cocktail

2008-03-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered this drink one night at 820/ Mint and then later I was in Barnes and Noble and saw that Lucy Brennen, the owner and renowned mixologist had published a book, Hip Sips, and my cocktail was in there! This makes for a very strong cocktail (ie. very dangerous) but so nicely balanced. I slightly modified the recipe to cut down the vodka slightly.

In the book this was called 816, named after the restaurants address. The sucess in making this is seeking out some quality passion fruit puree.

2 oz citron vodka (get the good stuff)
1/4 oz Harlequin (or Grand Marnier or Cointreau)
1 oz Lemon-Lime juice (equal parts fresh squeezed lemon and lime juices)
1 oz simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water brought to a boil and cooled down)
2 Tbs Passion Fruit Puree

Put all ingredients in a pint glass with ice cubes, cover with a cocktail shaker and vigorously shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and serve.

To make your own Passion Fruit Puree: press 2 passion fruits worth of pulp through a sieve. Combine with 2 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of water and 2 tsp of lemon juice in a blender. May need a little more sugar or lemon juice. Use immediately or freeze.

This book has inspired me to try more cocktails... certainly more to come!

Classic and Simple- French Bread

2008-02-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

This was my first challenge since joining the Daring Bakers, a wonderful online baking club. This challenge was hosted by The Sour Dough's Mary and I Like to Cook's Sara. Every month the Daring Bakers has a pre assigned host (the waiting list is VERY long) and they choose one recipe that every daring baker bakes from- no substitutions or amendments at all (unless allergies or dietary restrictions prohibit). We have a private blog that we can communicate on all month long and then we all reveal our entries on our own blogs on a specified day at the end of the month. As you surf food blogs today you are bound to come upon many many beautiful pictures of this bread. This has been a great opportunity for me- there are so many great members and the support of the community is so great. There's really not many areas of baking that I haven't encountered but it's fun to be given a recipe to have to reproduce to the letter, I anticipate finding new ways to do things and happening upon some great keepers... like this one! This bread made the house smell so good! This french bread came from the fantastic Julia Child, from her legendary series "Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 2" It can guide even the most novice of bakers towards a wonderful loaf of fresh bread, that is leaps and bounds beyond anything you would find "just baked" in a grocery store. If you are at all tempted, don't be put off by the directions and give it a try! It's great fresh and great toasted- it makes the ultimate peanut butter and jelly. The recipe was just four ingredients but the directions which are terrifically detailed was 18 pages! So Mary from The Sour Dough's graciously offered up the link to her website to share the recipe, to save all of our tired little fingers!

I have been tagged three times!

2008-02-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged for a meme (still trying to figure out what that means... anyone know?) I was tagged by three different people and I'll do my best to follow the rules... I was tagged by Canela & Comino and Barbara Bakes and Proof of the Pudding
Here are the "5 Things" Meme Rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.
5 Facts:

1. I got married a little over a year ago in Maui, it was the perfect wedding. Here is a picture of the beach just an hour before the ceremony started... and then one after... someone was really looking out for us ;)

2. We have a wonderful black lab, Puma, who we are crazy for

3. I teach baking and pastry at a culinary school.

4. In a little over a month we are going to be completly remodeling our kitchen. I can't wait!

5. As much as I love meat, I grew up mostly as a vegetarian and tofu remains a comfort food for me, I love it and never get tired of it!

Here are the five people I've tagged:
Confections of a Foodie Bride
Cook and Eat
Blake Makes
My Kitchen Cafe
:pastry studio

The Perfect Peanut Sauce

2008-02-22T08:54:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to find the perfect peanut sauce for quite a while, and recently with the help of a few different recipes I happily have discovered the magic combination! Along with the peanut sauce I wanted to share one of my favorite appetizers, salad rolls. They are fresh, healthy and make a great start to a meal or a light meal itself.

Peanut Sauce (makes about 1 cup of sauce)

2 TBS finely chopped shallots
2 TBS finely chopped lemongrass
2 TBS finely chopped garlic
2 TBS finely chopped ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS lime juice
salt and pepper as needed

Over low heat, saute the shallots, lemongrass, garlic, and ginger in the sesame oil until very soft. Add the rest of the ingredients(except the lime juice)and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and strain and add up lime juice. Check for seasoning and chill.

Salad Rolls are basically a variety of ingredients rolled up in rice paper. There are a few ingredients commonly found in them (rice noodles, cilantro, mint, raw vegetables) but beyond that you can use your imagination to suite your tastes. The following is just a suggestion of what to include (as you can see below in my preparatory picture I kept these vegetarian. I have included in my recipe what I used in these particular rolls, but you can substitute whatever you like. The most important part is to make sure that everything is uniform and thin. These don't keep very well, the rice paper starts to harden. You can have everything ready and well wrapped up to a day in advance and plan on rolling them up to 2 hours ahead of time

Salad Rolls (for 8 salad rolls)
Rice paper (at least 9 sheets- so if one is broken you have an extra)
rice noodles (vermicelli) or bean threads softened in boiling water (about 2 cups re hydrated)
chopped mint (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
chopped cilantro (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
julienned carrots (about 1 medium size)
julienned jicima (about 1/2 of 1 small one)
julienned cucumber (about 1/2 of 1 small one)

ideas of optional ingredients
pork, chicken, or turkey thinly sliced
shrimp, cut in half
lettuce, shredded
mango or pineapple, julienned
sauteed shitake mushrooms
bean sprouts

You want to make sure before you start rolling the rolls, you have everything ready to go and within reach of your work station. You want to get a large bowl (one that you can easily dip the rice paper into and cover with water) with very warm water. On a clean flat surface you'll need something to help dry the rice paper as it comes out of the water. I like to use a cotton cloth and lay it on my work station and then gently lay the rice paper on it and build my roll directly on the cloth. You could also use a sturdy paper towel. Place the rice paper in the water until soft and pliable. Gently lift out (and put another rice paper in to soak) and lay flat on your work surface. Make sure excess water is removed from the rice paper. At one end make a small pile of your ingredients. It is important you don't have so much filling that it will be hard to roll up the paper. It also needs to be evenly spread over the length of the roll. The width of the final amount of ingredients should be no larger than about a quarter, and the length, no longer than about 3 inches. Then begin to, as tightly as possible, roll up the ingredients. Before you roll the last 1/3 of the roll you want to fold both sides in and finish rolling up. This part will take some practice, the hardest part is getting the roll tight and smooth. It's the same as rolling up a burrito. You have to be careful not to tear the rice paper, but as long as it's not too wet, there shouldn't be a problem with it sticking to itself to seal the roll. After you are done rolling all the rolls cut the rolls in half to serve. If made in advance (no longer than 2 hours) cover with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Serve with peanut sauce.

*The left over filling can either be made into more rolls the next day or they also make a great base for a salad using leftover sauce as dressing

Brine

2008-02-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

Around Thanksgiving, the subject of brining becomes popular because of all those large intimidating turkeys that are to be cooked, and it can help to retain moisture and add flavor to the meat. Brining isn't just for turkeys though! This brine below became the secret between some pretty good grilled pork chops to amazing pork chops! I found an article from Fine Cooking that goes into more detail (if your interested) about what's actually happening when you brine meat, and it also gives some good guidelines for brining all sorts of proteins. Just remember to not be intimidated by this, it is only a form of marinating. It creates a foolproof cooking experience, because there is so much salt in the brine it seasons the meat inside out and helps to prevent it from drying out from cooking (or over cooking). I used this brine for some pork chops that I then grilled. One bite after these came off the grill and I was speechless! They were soooo good!. Keep in mind that the seasonings (anything beyond the salt and usually liquid) are interchangeable, and you can use a variety of spices and sweeteners to customize the flavors to match the meal.

Maple Pork Brine (adapted from Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen)

3 cups water
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 TBS molasses
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

I heated the water gently (before a boil) to help to dissolve the salt, and then added all the rest of the ingredients. It's important that you don't use the brine (place the meat in it)until it's cooled down to room temperature. Keep in mind that the size of the meat will depend on how long you keep it in the brine. Even if you are doing this a day in advance, just pay attention to how long it has been in, pull it out and store it in a dry container until ready to cook. Too long in the brine will make it too salty. I had some nice thick bone in pork chops that I left in for 4-6 hours. Below I have included a recipe for a sauce/ sauteed apples that I served on top.

2 pieces of bacon chopped in small pieces
1 medium shallot chopped or thinly sliced
2 medium apples sliced fairly thinly
3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup apple cider

Slowly render the bacon in a saute pan. Once crispy and most of the fat rendered off, take out bacon and reserve. Drain off all but about 1 tsp of the bacon fat. Add shallots to the pan and begin to saute, after a minute or so add the apples. Season with a little (pinch) of salt and pepper, and a little sugar if needed. Cook apples until barely tender. Add liquid and continue to cook until sauce is reduced by about 1/2 (or thick enough to coat the spoon). Add the bacon back into the pan and check for seasoning. Serve warm with pork chops.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

2008-02-15T11:46:00.001-08:00

I am eagerly awaiting those beautiful summer days filled with all sorts of wonderful tomatoes to make fresh tomato pico de gallo. Until then I love this salsa for tomatoes that aren't quite up to par or for when you're looking for something a little thicker and more assertive in flavor. It is very simple and turns even the worst tomatoes into something decent.

Roasted Tomato Salsa (from Rick Bayless Mexico One Plate At a Time)
1 lb tomatoes
3 cloves garlic (skin left on)
1 jalapeno (or more,if you want a spicier salsa)
1/4 cup onion (soak in cold water for 20 minutes)
1/3 cup cilantro
salt
vinegar
lime

Under a broiler, roast the tomatoes on a sheet pan until the skin gets dark and blisters, and starts peeling away from the tomato. In a hot dry skillet (preferably cast iron) on the stove, put the garlic and jalapeno in the pan and turn them every so often until the skin is dark and blistered. Let everything cool. At this point you can go two routes to finish your salsa, either by hand (or using a mortar and pestle) or you can use a food processor (or an immersion blender). What I did was put the jalapeño (to keep it very mild I took out all the seeds and veins)peeled (as best I could) and stemmed into a bowl with the garlic (now peeled) and half of the tomatoes (also peeled and all the flesh and seeds removed) and then I blended it with an immersion blender. I then cut the rest of the tomatoes into a fine dice and added them into the puree (to give it more texture). Drain the onions (soaking takes away some of pungency of the onions) and add that along with the cilantro and seasonings. I added about 1 limes worth of juice, that will all depend on how big the lime is. I also use a little vinegar to perk up the salsa, it usually takes a combination of both the lime and vinegar to season it correctly. If making this far in advance, you can get everything ready, but stop after adding the tomatoes, and wait to add the cilantro and onion until an hour before serving.

Sopaipillas

2008-02-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone has their measure for judging restaurants. For my husband, one of those measures at Mexican restaurants, is whether the sopaipillas are authentic or not (that would be if they just fry tortillas or actually make sopaipillas). We had some friends over for dinner the other night and I made some sopaipillas for dessert. Of course I had to put my own spin on them, but overall they came out great and passed my husbands very discerning palette. They are often served as savory bread accompaniment to meals or served with honey for a sweet treat. There are so many great honeys out there, this is a time that is worthy of seeking some of them out. You'll see two different versions, fried and baked. I was originally going to fry them and then was looking at one recipe that had been adapted to bake them instead of frying. As long as they are baked right before you eat them they are a great lower in fat alternative. Although nothing really takes the place of something fried! So I made them both ways. I have also used this as my entry for the Time To Make The Doughnuts Event

Sopaipillas (makes about 30 1 1/2 x 3" portions)

1 cup milk (scalded)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 TBS sugar
2 TBS butter (softened)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp orange zest, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
2 cups AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
oil for frying

After the milk is scalded and it's cooled off enough, mix in the egg, vanilla, butter and sugar to help further cool down the milk. Once at room temperature, add the rest of the ingredients and mix the dough until smooth and elastic. (After initial combining of ingredients I like the let the dough sit 5 minutes before continuing to knead the dough. This lets the liquid be absorbed and the dough isn't as sticky and hard to work with). Once dough is well kneaded and smooth, place the dough in a clean greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until doubled. At this point you can either go ahead and use the dough or put it in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. When ready to cook, roll the dough, on a lightly floured surface, 1/8th-1/4" thick. At this point you can cut the dough into squares, rectangles, or triangles. I kept the size at roughly 1 1/2" x 3" and cut some in triangles and some in rectangles.*
For frying: use a large thick bottomed pot and fill it a few inches high with oil. Heat the oil to about 360 degrees (use a thermometer). Fry 4-8 pieces (depending on how large they are) at a time to ensure even and quick cooking- you don't want to crowd the pan. Flip after a few minutes (dough should turn a dark golden brown)and cook on other side. Make sure the oil has returned to 360 degrees before putting the second batch in the oil to cook. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Serve with honey for dipping.
To Bake: heat the oven to 500 degrees (and if you have a pizza stone, put that in now to heat up). When the oven is hot, either put the dough onto a lined or greased sheet pan, or directly on the hot pizza stone and bake until a golden brown (10-15 minutes). If desired, once they come out of the oven brush with melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar. Serve with honey for dipping.
*To have these ready ahead of time, you can roll out the dough, put it on a sheet pan, cover it and refrigerator until ready to cook (take out to heat up, about 20 minutes before cooking).

English Muffins

2008-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Once you have a fresh english muffin you'll never go back to store bought again! But isn't that to be said for pretty much everything homemade? It had been a long time since I had made english muffins, and I had gotten The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger from the library and it had a promising looking recipe that worked out wonderfully. These are easier and less time consuming than many yeast risen breads. You can see I cut my muffins out in the shape of squares, to minimize the waste of the dough (less to roll out afterwards) you could make them even more rustic by rolling the dough into a square and then cutting it with a knife that would yield no scrap and you would be done in one shot. Or if you prefer rounds you could also cut them into rounds.

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins- makes 18 2 inch square muffins
(adapted from The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger)

1 1/2 cups milk (scalded and cooled to room temperature)
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 large egg (room temp)
2 tbs softened butter
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups AP flour
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raisins soaked in water for 20 minutes

When ever I use milk in a bread recipe I scald the milk first because there is an enzyme in there that prohibits yeast from operating at it's full potential. So often recipes skip this step. I have yet to do a side by side comparison but it's one of those rules I choose to live by... so I scald my milk (which is right before it begins to boil). But make sure you cool it back down because if you use it too hot your yeast will die- then it's all for nothing! To cool the milk, I started by putting it in a big clean bowl and adding my butter in (if it melts, it's ok) and then once it was slightly cooler, I used that as an opportunity to mix my egg in, making sure it was pretty well mixed in before adding the rest of the ingredients. Make sure the raisins are well drained so you don't add a lot of extra water to the formula. You can use a mixer or mix the dough by hand. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. Turn that dough into a clean greased bowl, cover with plastic, and put it somewhere warm, where it can double in size. After it's doubled, gently fold the dough on itself a few times and turn it over so the bottom is on top. What this does is, redistributes the yeast through out the dough, and also evens out the temperature, it's kind of like a second wind for the dough- to give it more rising power. From here let it sit about 20 more minutes (it should be about 1 1/2 times it's size). Turn it out onto a floured surface and gently pat it into a square. Let it rest about 20 minutes (covered with the same plastic wrap) and then continue to roll out until about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick. From here you can either cut them (using a cutter of some sort)into rounds or squares (I happened to have a fun set of square cutters)or you can just use a knife and cut them into squares. You can make them as small or large as you want. Transfer the muffins to a sheet pan that has been sprinkled with cornmeal (to prevent them from sticking) and then once you have cut all you can cut, round the scraps into a ball and let it sit about 10 minutes giving the chance for the dough to relax before re rolling. For the muffins that are ready to be cooked, sprinkle the tops with some more cornmeal and cover them with plastic to let them rise until about double in size. Re roll the scraps one time and then make sure you give those enough time to rise before cooking. To cook, heat up a skillet or whatever you would use to cook pancakes (something fairly large with a lot of flat surface area). You want them to have about the same amount of heat (about medium)as you would cook pancakes. You want to be able to cook them about 5-8 minutes a side. By the time both sides are a nice dark golden brown, the muffins should be cooked through you can always double check by sticking a thermometer in the side (to reach the middle) and you want it to at least read 185 degrees. You can cook them in batches, keeping an eye on the uncooked ones to make sure they aren't rising too much. After you take them off the heat cool them on a rack and you can presplit them with a fork it you want.

Banana Pancakes

2008-02-05T08:33:00.001-08:00

I have to admit my standby pancake recipe that I often resort to is Bobs Red Mill 10 grain pancake mix. It's healthy and easy and I'm not sure I could do much better with my own formula. That doesn't stop me from collecting pancake recipes though and I suppose one of these days I'll come up with a mix of my own, but until then I have stumbled onto another recipe that will become a regular in our house. The addition of the cream of wheat gives the pancakes a very creamy texture. Even though there is only 1 tbs of sugar the banana (make sure it's VERY ripe) makes these very sweet and flavorful.

Banana Pancakes
1 cup oat flour
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 oz cream of wheat
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 tbs hazelnut oil (or any other oil or melted butter)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large mashed banana

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients and gently fold into the dry ingredients. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the dry ingredients absorb the liquid. Heat a griddle and grease if needed and cook on one side until golden brown and flip.

*You'll see hazelnut oil make regular appearances in my recipes where a nutty flavor is desired. It doesn't have a strong flavor, just a sweet background nutty flavor. It is also a healthy fat, it has omega 9 fatty acids. You can also find other nut oils, along with hazelnut oil in many grocery stores and gourmet food stores. These are great for baking and also wonderful in vinaigrettes.

The Perfect Crust

2008-02-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

Our winter inspired white pizza fresh from the oven

Pizza has become a weekly occurrence in our house and slowly over time I have revised my recipe, to what I finally consider the perfect crust. It gets nice and crispy but still is a little chewy and full of flavor. It's hard to make a whole wheat crust that's not dense and flat. I guess it's not just the recipe that has been revised, but also the cooking technique to achieve the perfect pizza. I realize this recipe may not be user friendly to some given the weight measurements instead of cups and teaspoons. Next time I make my crust I will try to remember to measure it out for you. But I would also recommend that if you don't have a kitchen scale already, to invest in one, if you cook a lot. Its very handy and makes measuring out this crust so easy.... everything goes right into one bowl so you can put the bowl on the scale and keep taring it to zero with each new ingredient (or do the math). Using a scale is not only more accurate, but also takes a lot less brain power and usually prevents measuring errors. I am also pretty sure that not everyone has durum (semolina flour), or vital wheat gluten hanging out in their cabinets but you can work around that if you don't want to buy it. The vital wheat gluten is added to help with the addition of the whole wheat flour (to develop more gluten). The durum helps make the crust a little chewier. You can par this down to a more basic recipe using 300 grams of flour (all white bread flour if you wish) and leave out the durum and vital wheat gluten.

Ready to put into the oven

Pizza Crust

150 g whole wheat flour
100 g bread flour
50 g durum
2 g instant yeast
6 g salt
190 g water
6 g oil
9 g honey
1 tbs vital wheat gluten

You can scale everything into one bowl, starting with your dry ingredients. If using active dry yeast you will need to bloom it in the water ( warm it up first) and then mix everything else in. Mix the dough either using a mixer or by hand until all the ingredients have been completely incorporated. I find my hand to be the most efficient tool. After you get everything mixed let the dough sit about 5 minutes to let the liquid hydrate the flour. Then you want to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. If it looks like the dough is getting too tight, let it rest for five minutes (giving the gluten a chance to relax) and then go back to it. The dough will be more supple and easier to knead. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it and let it double. For maximum flavor it's best to let is sit overnight in the refrigerator, and it can sit for up to three days*. Pull it out of the refrigerator about 2 hours (depending on how warm the room is) before using it, to give the dough a chance to warm up. While it is warming up you can prepare your toppings- usually when I make my pizza's I will put a thin layer of sauce and then I like to put dollops of ricotta cheese before putting my toppings down and then finishing with a sprinkle of cheese. I don't like a pizza that's over loaded with cheese (we try to keep it on the healthy side) so that's why we put the ricotta on the bottom to give that creamy effect and then a sprinkling of cheese on top maximizes it's flavor. This pizza I have posted is a winter inspired pizza with no sauce ( a thin layer of garlic infused hazelnut oil takes it's place), ricotta, roasted cauliflower, caramelized onions, pears and smoked blue cheese which was awesome!
The key to a successful pizza, is baking in a hot oven directly on a hot pizza stone. I turn my oven up to 500 degrees (but this may be too hot for different ovens I think ours runs a little cool it will be slight trial and error) with the pizza stone already in the oven.
Now with the oven and stone heating, and the dough at room temp, toppings ready, it's time to build the pizza. Depending on how thick you like your crust will depend on this next step. You can use a small amount of flour if you find your dough sticking.
For a thicker crust the best way is to gently start stretching the dough out. This takes some practice to not stretch the dough too thin in places you can cheat by starting with a rolling pin and then from there you want hold the dough on one end and let it hang in the air (so gravity can help) and slowly rotate the dough so you work your way around the entire edge. This dough will make about a 15 inch pizza. So by the time you're done, what you want is for the edges to be a little thicker than the center. If the dough is too thick underneath the toppings, it won't get crispy enough.
For a thinner crust you can just keep using the rolling pin and keep everything the same thickness, rolling the dough out to about 1/4 inch.
Now that the dough is rolled out your going to need a piece of parchment paper (NOT wax paper, this is going in the oven) a little bigger than the size of the dough, and you will need another flat sheet pan and a little bit of semolina or cornmeal. If the sheet pan has sides turn it over so you are using the back. Sprinkle some of the cornmeal on the sheet pan (this is going to make sure the parchment slides right off the pan) and then place the parchment on top and sprinkle some more cornmeal (so the dough doesn't stick to the parchment). Place the dough onto the parchment and smooth it out so it's fully stretched out. (This is where it gets tricky- you need to make sure the dough is the size of the sheet pan so it doesn't hang over the edge. After the dough is on the parchment, build your pizza and then pick up the pan and give it a slight shake to make sure the parchment will slide off the pan. Open the door and put the pan in the oven and angle the back down close to the stone. This should cause the pizza to slide as well. In one sweeping motion you want to gently push the pizza to the edge so it's almost touching the stone and as you lower it down, pull the sheet pan quickly away. What you should end up with is the pizza nice and flat on the pizza stone! (this move can take a little practice) From there the pizza usually takes about 10 minutes to bake (depending on the temperature). You want to make sure you see that the crust is a dark golden brown (don't be afraid of some color) and that the cheese is bubbling and is taking on a little color, this will assure that the bottom is also cooked. If you pull it out too soon , the top may look nice and done but the bottom will be soft and not hold up well. To remove from the oven the easiest way is to pull on the parchment and slide the pizza back onto the sheet pan you used to put it in the oven. That way you don't have to deal with taking the hot stone out of the oven. Good luck, let me know how it goes! (or if you have any questions)

*You also have the option of freezing the dough at this point. To do that, you want to gently deflate the dough and then, to freeze it, wrap the dough well and immediately place in the freezer. To use after frozen, let it thaw completely (either in the refrigerator overnight or at room temp for a few hours) and continue as normal.

Waffles

2008-01-28T07:58:00.000-08:00

Making waffles has become a weekend tradition for us. I will make a whole batch and then freeze the leftovers for breakfasts during the week. We usually heat them up in our toaster oven but you can also thaw them out in the microwave and then briefly put them back on the waffle iron to re crisp and they taste like they were just made. I recently made a few small changes to the recipe that I usually use and it made them even lighter and crispier than before. This recipe is very versatile for the flours you use. As long as the total is 2 cups you can mix and match with whatever you have on hand (white flour, whole wheat, buckwheat, flax, cornmeal, oat bran... you get the picture). I think the combination below that I have come up with is a winner!

Whole Grain Waffles (makes about 4 waffles in our Belgian waffle maker)

1 cup spelt flour (or whole wheat pastry)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tbs oil or melted butter (I used hazelnut oil)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients together whisking to combine. In a separate bowl mix all the wet ingredients. Heat the waffle maker while combining the wet and dry ingredients together. Let the batter sit while the waffle maker heats up, to give the dry ingredients a chance to absorb the liquid. Grease your waffle maker as needed and put about 1/2 of a cup of batter onto the waffle maker (depending on how big it is you may need less or more). For those waffles you plan on freezing I leave them a little bit on the light side (since they will be reheated/ cooked again) and I also immediately cool them off on a rack (as opposed to keeping them warm, causing them to slightly dry out).

No Knead Bread

2008-01-24T11:50:00.001-08:00

I originally had seen an article in the NY Times by Marc Bittman about bread that pretty much does all the work itself, called no knead bread. This is quite appealing for home bakers because it produces a very well hydrated bread that is chewy and a lot like the artisan loaves you can buy. The closest you can come at home using a standard oven. The trick is using a cast iron pot or a dutch oven with a lid, and heating the pot in the oven and then putting the bread into it, and putting the lid back on. This helps to get the a nice golden crunchy crust to form that you normally get from a professional deck oven.
I was reintroduced to the idea when I was over at a friends house and she made it for dinner, and it was GREAT.
So last weekend I thought I would give it a try, using all whole wheat flour to see what would happen. I included some vital wheat gluten which will help to keep the bread from getting so dense and hopefully produce results comparable to what I had experienced with all white flour. It was very easy, required very little attention and as you can see from the picture, was quite successful. It actually, almost didn't make it into the oven, I was keeping it in the oven during most of the 18 hour fermentation period since our house has been so cold lately. I knew putting this into the oven could possibly result into a disaster later on (like forgetting to take it out of the oven before pre heating it... :). So low and behold, I was preheating the oven for some pizza I was making (will post that soon) and I had it as high as it could go and about 10 minutes later I started to smell plastic! I quickly pulled it from the oven, and took off all the plastic (which luckily hadn't gotten near the dough yet) and then took the temperature of the dough to make sure it wasn't too hot yet (yeast is dead after 140 degrees, but you don't really want to get anywhere near that until you are baking it). Luckily it was only at 70 with a pretty crusty top. So I peeled the top off, and proceeded with the recipe which still turned out great, just a little bit smaller than it would have been. I won't bother writing all the directions down, the article (link below) provides great step by step directions but I did want to post my ingredient modifications... by all means if you prefer white bread or want just a little wheat you could use the printed recipe directly or probably substitute 1/3 of the flour with whole wheat flour and no other modifications. The only thing I would do differently next time is add some more salt, my bread came out a little bland. I will be trying this again soon and will post how much salt I end up putting in (probably 1 3/4 tsp instead of 1 1/4 tsp).

No Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread
adapted from New York Times article by Mark Bittman (which was adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery)

3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups water+ 1 TBS
3 TBS vital wheat gluten

Try it and let me know what you think! This is by far the easiest and most low maintenance bread I have made at home with such great results!