Some lessons for throwing a holiday party during the "Blizzard of the Century," or is it just "Blizzard of the Decade"? Either way, I am still trapped in a knee-deep winter wonderland, with not much to do besides write in this damn blog.
1. Obviously, make tons of food and have ample booze reserves, even if the attendance list is reduced by more than half due to inclement weather. Traipsing through two miles' worth of blizzard builds a big appetite. There were surprisingly few leftovers, and we were clean out of beer a little too early.
2. Maybe we would've had more beer left if I didn't drink about 28 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales. Whoops. Also, try to stay awake until all your guests leave (or crash on your couch, still wearing their snowboots, as the case may be).
3. This is a no-brainer, but party guests will eat anything if it's wrapped in bacon: paper clips, lint, rubber bands, Christmas ornaments. But they will especially like devils on horseback, which is fancyspeak for bacon-wrapped, walnut-stuffed dates. (Actually, I think official devils on horseback contain pecans, not walnuts, but it really doesn't matter when there's bacon involved). Buy one package of bacon (not the thick kind), one container of pitted dates, and one bag of walnut halves. Chop the walnuts so they are thin enough to fit into the dates. The dates and walnuts will make sweet, sweet love, wrapped in a delicious bacon blanket. Gets me all hot and bothered just thinking about it. Oh, use kitchen scissors to cut the slices of bacon crosswise and roll them around the dates. Place them on a baking sheet in a 500 degree oven and bake till the bacon is crispy, about 10 minutes. Serve with toothpicks.
4. It's really easy to make a lot of varieties of crostini, and people will also go wild for these. If you don't have time/inclination to bake your own bread, buy a good quality pre-sliced crusty loaf. Cut each slice into halves or thirds. Set aside and make a couple different toppings, like caramelized onions (the fabulous Miriam aka Hungry Grad has a good recipe) or my sherry mushrooms (just slice up a bunch of mushrooms and half an onion and cook in a couple tablespoons of butter on medium-high heat; add a sprinkling of sugar to aid delicious brownedness; and splash in a good helping of sherry or red wine to make a reduction sauce). These go great spread on slices of bread with goat cheese or blue cheese, or just plain. Assemble and heat in the oven on a baking sheet a few minutes before serving, so everything is nice and warm and melty.
5. Ooh, I almost forgot! Another delicious crostini uses just two cans of white beans, drained; a few cloves of garlic, minced; a third cup or so of olive oil; the juice of half a lemon; salt and pepper; and some chopped, fresh sage and parsley. Mix it all together and dollop onto slices of bread.
6. I don't care what the food snobs say, baked brie is a timeless party classic. Don't bother buying or making puff pastry, though. Just use refrigerated crescent roll dough, a small wheel of Brie, and some kind of jam or chutney (see #7 for recipe for delicious pear chutney, below). Spread out the crescent roll dough as if making a pizza. Place the wheel of brie, rind on, on top of the dough and spread jam or chutney over the rind. Wrap up the brie in the dough as if it's a gift (it truly is!). Brush a bit of egg on top of the dough to get a golden crust. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or till golden brown. Serve with crackers or slices of French bread.
7. Another gem from Laurie Colwin, my favorite food writer of all time: pear chutney. This stuff has many great uses, among them as a spread for baked brie or a dip for devils on horseback. In a heavy pot on the stove, cook together 3 or 4 large, firm pears (cored but not peeled, and chopped into chunks), 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 t salt, 2 t hot paprika, 2 t ground coriander, 1/2 C vinegar, 1 C raisins (I used Craisins in a pinch), and 1 T ground ginger. When the pears are tender add 1/2 C brown sugar and cook it down till "sludgy but not liquidy." This is not in Colwin's directions, but I like to grind up everything in the food processor if using as a dip.
8. See the recipe for Krunk Jewce, Inquisition Punch, or whatever you want to call this delicious sangria-esque concoction made with very well-disguised Manischewitz - also courtesy of the fabulous and clever Miriam. Truly, a breakthrough in Kosher mixology.
9. Per request, here's my recipe for these delectable little treats that are sort of a cross between chewy molasses cookies and gingersnaps, based on Shirley Corriher's "Cracked Surface Crunchy Gingersnaps" (I make them so that they are not all that crunchy). Before baking, they are rolled in regular granulated sugar, which lends them a festive, shimmery cast once they come out of the oven! They are spicy and gingery and perfect for this kind of weather. Cream 1 and 2/3 C sugar and 1.5 sticks butter, add 1/4 C molasses and blend well. Blend in egg on low speed. Set aside and whisk together 2 and 1/4 C flour, 2 t baking soda, 1/2 t salt, 1 heaping T ground ginger, 1 heaping t ground cinnamon, 1/2 t ground cloves, and 1/2 t ground nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the wet and form a dough. Roll dough into 1.5 inch balls, then roll them in a plate full of sugar. Bake on baking sheets lined with parchment paper for 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove, and leave on the baking sheets for another minute or two before removing to a plate.
10. If setting out a vegetable platter, know that carrots are more popular than celery. Just FYI.
11. If people can't tell what something is, they are not very likely to eat it. Curse you, weird feta and red pepper dip with overly pungent briny cheese tang!
12. This is not food- or drink-related, but it is perhaps a lesson in resourcefulness. Say you want to build a fire, but you forgot to collect enough kindling wood and now all the sticks in your yard are buried under several feet of ice. If you are anything like me, about half the furniture in your house has been picked up off the side of the road. You are very likely to own a recycled, left-for-dead Ikea wicker chair that has a big hole in the seat and is pretty much unsafe for anyone but a cat to rest upon. Allow your burlier guests to destroy this chair - it will keep them occupied for at least half an hour. Then, throw the pieces to the flames! You will have the hottest, most raging pyre of all time, and your frostbitten friends will be very happy they traveled near and far to enjoy it.
Showing posts with label Baked Goods/Desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baked Goods/Desserts. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Making the Most of Mediocre Fruit
Much like crushed dreams and nose hair, mediocre fruit is an unfortunate fact of life. Even in the prime of summertime, even when we buy it fresh off the farm, there is no guarantee against bruises, puckering, or unpalatable tartness. Fruit, I'm inclined to believe, is vindictive - at least that's an easy way to explain why it can go from beautiful to blighted within the span of a short trip home from the market.
It's inhumane to cook a perfect peach or strawberry, but it's well known that heat gives life to lackluster fruit. Too often, though, recipes involving cooked fruit (pies, cobblers, jams) mandate massive quantities, and we economical epicureans feel left out. While we may occasionally reap the harvest of a benevolent neighbor's garden, we rarely find ourselves with, say, two quarts of blueberries or fifteen plums. But what can we do with those three bruised peaches or that pint of just-okay raspberries?
Happily, I offer two delicious solutions, and neither requires more than two cups of homely fruit.
Solution 1: Preserves
I fear canning, with all its sterilization and strange equipment. Plus, most recipes for jams and jellies assume you have an entire kitchen full of fruit ready to be heated and stored indefinitely. I am pretty convinced that, unless your backyard is an orchard, canning is not an economical option. This recipe is perfect for those who prefer not to take fruit preservation seriously.
It should work with any fruit that might be used in jam, though you may want to experiment with sugar and water quantities (if the preserves seem to be too watery as they cook, you can definitely dump out some of the water). You can also experiment by adding different liqueurs and herbs. I made blackberry preserves with Chambord, a raspberry liqueur that I probably hadn't opened since college. I added two tablespoons for extra flavor. A tablespoon or so of red wine might be good, too, especially with stone fruit (peaches, plums, cherries). Below is the basic recipe; double, triple, or half it depending on the quantities you have. It has great conventional uses (e.g., toast, English muffins, PB&J's), but I recommend using it for scones, salad dressing, and PB&C's.
Recipe: Lonesome Preserves
1 lb (2 C) berries or chopped stone fruit
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C water
optional: 1 T fruity liqueur or red wine, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 t ground nutmeg or cinnamon, 1/4 t hot red pepper flakes, or 2 T fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, mint, etc.)
Stir together all the ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium, keeping at a simmer, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour or till mixture is thickened and reduced by about half. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. If the mixture has a lot of solids (e.g., pits, skin, etc.), pour it into a mesh strainer and use a spoon to push all the liquid out, discarding the solids. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Solution 2: Upside-Down Cake
An upside-down cake is the perfect thing when you have only a few pieces of mediocre fruit -- and when you feel like putting in the time to make an upside-down cake. It's not something many people would make on a whim, but it is great when you're trying to impress company. That is, if you don't make the same mistakes I did the first time I attempted this recipe, which comes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Julia, the book that came out of Julia Child's last PBS series. (To be precise, the original recipe is Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, but you could also use peaches, apricots, plums, apples, pears. Maybe berries? Who knows, give it a whirl and find out!) I didn't bake the cake long enough and failed to butter the springform pan, so what came out the first time looked like this (after I dumped it into a baking dish and let it cook another 20 minutes):
It was bread pudding, not an upside-down cake. Still tasted great, but not my original intent, which was this:
Got it right on the second try -- typical behavioral pattern for this clumsy baker. This upside-down cake is better than any I've ever had, thanks to a winning combination of fluffy texture, almond streusel, and lots of lemon flavor. The baked fruit is, forgive me, just the icing on the cake, so if your fruit looks good enough to eat -- and thus too good to cook -- feel free to go fruitless.
Recipe: Nectarine (or whatever you want) Upside-Down Chiffon Cake
Adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Topping Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 chunks
1 C packed brown sugar
2-3 nectarines, peaches, pears, or apples; or 3-4 plums or apricots, and sliced into eighths
Streusel Ingredients:
1/4 C almonds (can also use pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.)
1/3 C flour
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon or nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter
1/2 C quick cooking (not instant) oats
Chiffon Cake Ingredients:
1.5 C sugar
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C fresh lemon juice (from 3 small or 2 large lemons)
2 large egg whites
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the topping, melt the butter in a greased 10" springform pan over medium heat (it's okay to put a springform pan on direct heat). Once the butter is thoroughly melted, remove from heat and sprinkle in the brown sugar slowly and evenly. Press the sugar onto the bottom of the pan so it provides a nice even coating. Then arrange the fruit on top of the butter/sugar layer in an artful circle (or not artful, whatever your style). Wrap the outside of the pan in aluminum foil to keep the butter from dripping. Set aside.
To make the streusel, scatter the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor (reserve the baking sheet for later). Once the almonds are cooled, add the remaining streusel ingredients and pulse till you get a consistency of coarse crumbs. Set aside.
To make the cake, sift together 1 cup of the sugar with the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, oil, and lemon juice. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg and oil mixture, whisking all the while. Set aside. Beat all 6 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment: start at a low speed and beat the whites until they are foamy and form soft peaks. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until whites are thick and shiny and form soft peaks. Fold about 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest till everything is just blended.
Scrape about half the batter into the springform pan, then pour the streusel mixture over it. Scrape the remaining half of the batter in, and set the pan on the baking sheet. Bake for an hour or until the cake is browned and a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before inverting onto a platter.
It's inhumane to cook a perfect peach or strawberry, but it's well known that heat gives life to lackluster fruit. Too often, though, recipes involving cooked fruit (pies, cobblers, jams) mandate massive quantities, and we economical epicureans feel left out. While we may occasionally reap the harvest of a benevolent neighbor's garden, we rarely find ourselves with, say, two quarts of blueberries or fifteen plums. But what can we do with those three bruised peaches or that pint of just-okay raspberries?
Happily, I offer two delicious solutions, and neither requires more than two cups of homely fruit.
Solution 1: Preserves
I fear canning, with all its sterilization and strange equipment. Plus, most recipes for jams and jellies assume you have an entire kitchen full of fruit ready to be heated and stored indefinitely. I am pretty convinced that, unless your backyard is an orchard, canning is not an economical option. This recipe is perfect for those who prefer not to take fruit preservation seriously.
It should work with any fruit that might be used in jam, though you may want to experiment with sugar and water quantities (if the preserves seem to be too watery as they cook, you can definitely dump out some of the water). You can also experiment by adding different liqueurs and herbs. I made blackberry preserves with Chambord, a raspberry liqueur that I probably hadn't opened since college. I added two tablespoons for extra flavor. A tablespoon or so of red wine might be good, too, especially with stone fruit (peaches, plums, cherries). Below is the basic recipe; double, triple, or half it depending on the quantities you have. It has great conventional uses (e.g., toast, English muffins, PB&J's), but I recommend using it for scones, salad dressing, and PB&C's.
Recipe: Lonesome Preserves
1 lb (2 C) berries or chopped stone fruit
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C water
optional: 1 T fruity liqueur or red wine, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 t ground nutmeg or cinnamon, 1/4 t hot red pepper flakes, or 2 T fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, mint, etc.)
Stir together all the ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium, keeping at a simmer, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour or till mixture is thickened and reduced by about half. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. If the mixture has a lot of solids (e.g., pits, skin, etc.), pour it into a mesh strainer and use a spoon to push all the liquid out, discarding the solids. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Solution 2: Upside-Down Cake
An upside-down cake is the perfect thing when you have only a few pieces of mediocre fruit -- and when you feel like putting in the time to make an upside-down cake. It's not something many people would make on a whim, but it is great when you're trying to impress company. That is, if you don't make the same mistakes I did the first time I attempted this recipe, which comes from Dorie Greenspan's Baking with Julia, the book that came out of Julia Child's last PBS series. (To be precise, the original recipe is Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, but you could also use peaches, apricots, plums, apples, pears. Maybe berries? Who knows, give it a whirl and find out!) I didn't bake the cake long enough and failed to butter the springform pan, so what came out the first time looked like this (after I dumped it into a baking dish and let it cook another 20 minutes):
It was bread pudding, not an upside-down cake. Still tasted great, but not my original intent, which was this:
Got it right on the second try -- typical behavioral pattern for this clumsy baker. This upside-down cake is better than any I've ever had, thanks to a winning combination of fluffy texture, almond streusel, and lots of lemon flavor. The baked fruit is, forgive me, just the icing on the cake, so if your fruit looks good enough to eat -- and thus too good to cook -- feel free to go fruitless.
Recipe: Nectarine (or whatever you want) Upside-Down Chiffon Cake
Adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Topping Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 chunks
1 C packed brown sugar
2-3 nectarines, peaches, pears, or apples; or 3-4 plums or apricots, and sliced into eighths
Streusel Ingredients:
1/4 C almonds (can also use pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.)
1/3 C flour
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon or nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter
1/2 C quick cooking (not instant) oats
Chiffon Cake Ingredients:
1.5 C sugar
1 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C fresh lemon juice (from 3 small or 2 large lemons)
2 large egg whites
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the topping, melt the butter in a greased 10" springform pan over medium heat (it's okay to put a springform pan on direct heat). Once the butter is thoroughly melted, remove from heat and sprinkle in the brown sugar slowly and evenly. Press the sugar onto the bottom of the pan so it provides a nice even coating. Then arrange the fruit on top of the butter/sugar layer in an artful circle (or not artful, whatever your style). Wrap the outside of the pan in aluminum foil to keep the butter from dripping. Set aside.
To make the streusel, scatter the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor (reserve the baking sheet for later). Once the almonds are cooled, add the remaining streusel ingredients and pulse till you get a consistency of coarse crumbs. Set aside.
To make the cake, sift together 1 cup of the sugar with the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, oil, and lemon juice. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg and oil mixture, whisking all the while. Set aside. Beat all 6 egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer with a whisk attachment: start at a low speed and beat the whites until they are foamy and form soft peaks. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until whites are thick and shiny and form soft peaks. Fold about 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest till everything is just blended.
Scrape about half the batter into the springform pan, then pour the streusel mixture over it. Scrape the remaining half of the batter in, and set the pan on the baking sheet. Bake for an hour or until the cake is browned and a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before inverting onto a platter.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
This is why we're fat
I don't know what's taken me so long to post the Googooberry Pie** recipe, but as soon as I saw this New Yorker review of several "weight-gain books" (as opposed to the more common "weight-loss books") -- all studies of or attempts to account for this country's obesity problem -- I knew I could no longer hold off.
You would think that reading this article would have the opposite effect; upon learning, for example, that 40 percent of young women are too heavy to join the U.S. Armed Forces, I should be more inclined to write about cabbage. But, as we all know, and as this book review elaborates, the human mind is a "calorically demanding organ," so it only makes sense that I immediately thought of the one recipe I know by heart that contains two sticks of butter, a block of cream cheese, three eggs, a whole box of powdered sugar, and a cake mix.
What else could it be but the creation of Paula Deen, Reigning Butter Queen? (Full disclosure: Gooey Butter Cakes are really a St. Louis specialty, but only Paula Deen had the guts, so to speak, to add a cake mix to the mix without apology.) Her Gooey Butter Cakes are so delicious and so popular at her Savannah restaurant, The Lady and Sons, that a Google search yields a countless number of variations: carrot cake, peanut butter, pumpkin, double chocolate, lemon, and on and on till the cows come home -- that is, if they don't tip over first.
At a glance, gooey butter cakes are easily mistaken for ordinary blondies or brownies, but their taste is otherwordly. The cake mix, egg, and one of the sticks of melted butter form a chewy crust, which is then filled with a cheesecake-like mixture of cream cheese, the other stick of melted butter, a pound of powdered sugar, and a big scoop of cocoa powder if you choose to go the chocolate route.
I've made thesed dozens of times, and I've found that Paula Deen's recommended baking time (37-40 minutes) is too long for my oven. You will want to check them first before removing -- the top should be a bit browned and crusty. The fork test will not work here. Gooey butter cakes are supposed to be gooey, after all.
There's not really any need to slice them and remove them from the pan. In fact, it's very un-American to not finish them all in one fell swoop, preferably by yourself, standing over the stove, in nothing but a size XXXL t-shirt. Don't hold back, fatty: eat the whole batch. You're in good company.
Recipe: Googooberry Pie, a.k.a. Gooey Butter Cakes
Adapted from Paula Deen.
**Googooberry Pie: Gooey Butter Cakes' unofficial and more melodic nickname, a result of a hilarious verbal misunderstanding on the part of a family member who will remain anonymous for the time being.
For the crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
For the filling:
1 block of plain cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
1 t vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 (16 0z.) box powdered sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, egg, and butter to form a fairly stiff dough. Press it into the bottom of a 13" x 9" metal baking dish to form a crust. Set aside. Rinse the same bowl, and in it beat the cream cheese till smooth. Mix in the butter, vanilla, and eggs. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned and crusty. Remove and let cool before slicing into squares.
Recipe: Chocolate Googooberry Pies
Follow the recipe above, but use a chocolate cake mix for the crust, and add a half cup of cocoa powder to the filling before adding the powdered sugar.
You would think that reading this article would have the opposite effect; upon learning, for example, that 40 percent of young women are too heavy to join the U.S. Armed Forces, I should be more inclined to write about cabbage. But, as we all know, and as this book review elaborates, the human mind is a "calorically demanding organ," so it only makes sense that I immediately thought of the one recipe I know by heart that contains two sticks of butter, a block of cream cheese, three eggs, a whole box of powdered sugar, and a cake mix.
What else could it be but the creation of Paula Deen, Reigning Butter Queen? (Full disclosure: Gooey Butter Cakes are really a St. Louis specialty, but only Paula Deen had the guts, so to speak, to add a cake mix to the mix without apology.) Her Gooey Butter Cakes are so delicious and so popular at her Savannah restaurant, The Lady and Sons, that a Google search yields a countless number of variations: carrot cake, peanut butter, pumpkin, double chocolate, lemon, and on and on till the cows come home -- that is, if they don't tip over first.
At a glance, gooey butter cakes are easily mistaken for ordinary blondies or brownies, but their taste is otherwordly. The cake mix, egg, and one of the sticks of melted butter form a chewy crust, which is then filled with a cheesecake-like mixture of cream cheese, the other stick of melted butter, a pound of powdered sugar, and a big scoop of cocoa powder if you choose to go the chocolate route.
I've made thesed dozens of times, and I've found that Paula Deen's recommended baking time (37-40 minutes) is too long for my oven. You will want to check them first before removing -- the top should be a bit browned and crusty. The fork test will not work here. Gooey butter cakes are supposed to be gooey, after all.
There's not really any need to slice them and remove them from the pan. In fact, it's very un-American to not finish them all in one fell swoop, preferably by yourself, standing over the stove, in nothing but a size XXXL t-shirt. Don't hold back, fatty: eat the whole batch. You're in good company.
Recipe: Googooberry Pie, a.k.a. Gooey Butter Cakes
Adapted from Paula Deen.
**Googooberry Pie: Gooey Butter Cakes' unofficial and more melodic nickname, a result of a hilarious verbal misunderstanding on the part of a family member who will remain anonymous for the time being.
For the crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
For the filling:
1 block of plain cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
1 t vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 (16 0z.) box powdered sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, egg, and butter to form a fairly stiff dough. Press it into the bottom of a 13" x 9" metal baking dish to form a crust. Set aside. Rinse the same bowl, and in it beat the cream cheese till smooth. Mix in the butter, vanilla, and eggs. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned and crusty. Remove and let cool before slicing into squares.
Recipe: Chocolate Googooberry Pies
Follow the recipe above, but use a chocolate cake mix for the crust, and add a half cup of cocoa powder to the filling before adding the powdered sugar.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tentative Easter Menu
My parents are out of town yet again this year, so it's up to us at the Kentbury Kompound to host an Easter egg hunt and accompanying brunch/dinner. It's at 3pm. What do you call that mealtime? I don't like the portmanteau "linner" -- it doesn't sound like what it's supposed to mean; it sounds to me like a vulgar combination of "inner" and "linger," or maybe I'm the vulgar one.
Anyway, Easter was always my favorite holiday as a kid, and now that I'm older (but not wiser) I still get really excited about being surrounded by pastel colors and wearing a church-appropriate dress and, of course, all the springtime-y food involved (not to mention, egg hunts are still just as fun as they were when I was a wee one, now that I'm allowed to drink). I took a kitchen inventory, and here's what I'm thinking for the menu this year, but we'll see if I can get everything done:
-Roast leg of lamb (only because I found one sitting in my parents' freezer; I can't afford no stinkin' sheep. Not that I'm stealing, per se, only helping: this animal would continue to freeze for all eternity if I didn't use it.)
-Various quiches or frittatas that use up whatever veggies and cheese I already have or can find on the cheap. Most likely, I'll make some frittatas -- that way I don't have to bother with the crust. To make one, you simply preheat the oven to 450, heat whatever veggies or meat you are using in a cast-iron pan over the stove, add 6 or 7 beaten eggs, let them continue cooking for two minutes or so over low-medium heat, until the mixture begins to set in the pan, sprinkle some cheese on it if you want, and then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 9 minutes or until the frittata is puffed up and brown.
-Some kind of white bean salad, since I have a whole bag of dried. I also could cook that lamb with the beans in the crockpot...the wheels are turning...
-Some kind of salad with quinoa (not a grain, as I mistakenly called it awhile back, but a seed), since I also have a whole bag of that. I'm thinking about riffing on my Sprightly Spring Couscous using quinoa; 'twould be good and good for you!
-An asparagus or green bean dish -- maybe with the veg mixed in with some roasted potatoes. Though I'm also interested to try the peas with poached eggs from today's Times article on Newark, New Jersey's Portuguese section -- where I can say I've happily eaten a few times!
-My Aunt Mary's awesome broccoli salad. I definitely need to post this recipe soon, but it deserves a whole post of its own.
-For hors d'oeuvres: I'm planning to make Almost-No-Knead bread again and toasting it for crostini. Or, if I run out of time, just serving it with some garlicky olive oil. I have a big hunk of goat cheese left over from Nana's birthday party; homemade bread with goat cheese and honey sounds very tempting right about now. If time lets me, I would like to make Dorie Greenspan's gougeres (cheese puffs), always a hit at my parties, and, conveniently, I happened to find a big bag of pre-shredded (horrors!) cheese that also needed to be rescued from my parents' black hole of a 'frigerator.
-For dessert: definitely flourless chocolate cake, an Easter tradition in the Owen family, for which I'll follow Alice Medrich's recipe again. I'd like to try a rhubarb crisp, too, since rhubarb is in season and I haven't cooked with it before. If I remember, I will also make Key Lime pie. I don't have an interesting recipe for this; we always follow the one on the back of the Key Lime juice container that you buy in the grocery store. I don't even remember the brand, but it's usually the only one of its kind. It's really good and really easy, and requires only three ingredients if I remember correctly: a frozen pie shell, a can of sweetened condensed milk, and the Key Lime juice.
-For libations: white wine sangria -- I mix together two big bottles of the cheapest white wine, a cup or so of club soda, another cup of triple sec, a bag of Trader Joe's frozen Fancy Berry Medley, some lemon or orange juice, and a quarter cup or so of sugar. It pleases a pretty big crowd. Once we run out, I guess we'll get creative with our bizarre assortment of liquors and liqueurs, or finally take care of those PBRs in the fridge.
-For the egg hunt: I'll be putting the family collection of plastic eggs to use by filling them with homemade truffles (all you do is mix together 2 cups of chocolate chips, a stick of butter cut into pieces, and a teaspoon of vanilla in a heat-proof bowl or double boiler, melt it over a pan of boiling water, stir it together, refrigerate it for an hour, form into balls, and roll in a mixture of 1/2 C cocoa powder and 1/2 C powdered sugar), which I'll wrap individually in tin foil. The eggs will probably also contain things I find around the house, such as pennies, cat toys, q-tips, used Post-It notes, barrettes, staples, and safety pins. What, you want me to go buy pastel M&M's? Times are tough, people!
So, all this seems like a lot, but nothing I'm making is very difficult and most of it just requires ingredients that I already have. The only things I will have to buy are broccoli, asparagus or green beans, some fresh rosemary, some potatoes (maybe), rhubarb, and the three Key Lime pie ingredients. Probably some more eggs for dying, too. I happen to have a pretty well-stocked kitchen, but I'm also not using any particularly expensive ingredients (with the exception of that free lamb -- score!). I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope to see you there!
And, lastly, if you'll pardon my horn-tooting, this blog was mentioned by the Chicago Sun-Times Food Section, in a feature on two of my favorite blogs, Cheap Healthy Good and Casual Kitchen, and is also listed on the Culinary School Guide's Top 100 Blogs for the Frugal Gourmet. I'm getting fatter -- and this time it's not just my waistline!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
New Uses for Old Herbs
The feast for Nana's birthday left behind some great leftovers, which sustained me for at least the first half of this past week, but it also left me with a lot of uncooked ingredients languishing in the refrigerator, their dank holding cell, where they lay wilted and guilty in anticipation of their inevitable landfill death sentences (yes, I know I should both compost and avoid metaphors that don't map very well, but now's not the time). The ingredients whose sentences I was most eager to appeal were the fresh mint, parsley, dill, and chives, all expensive and all quick to spoil.
I have heard you can freeze herbs, but, knowing my kitchen habits, the freezer would simply act as a maximum security prison to the fridge's holding cell, both leading to the same imminent death at the trash heap gallows (there I go again). I had to act quickly and, ideally, with delicious results.
While I understand that grocery stores are businesses and need to make money, the cost of fresh herbs nonetheless usually sends me into mild shock. Of course, they are also pre-packaged in such a way that one is forced to buy far more than one ever needs. I know, I should just grow my own, just as I should compost, and I intend to when the weather gets warmer. But this wouldn't necessarily solve the problem of too much herb, not enough time. In my rather limited herb-growing experience, the mint in particular spreads like the smallpox, but wipes itself out before you can say "More iced tea?"
I have heard you can freeze herbs, but, knowing my kitchen habits, the freezer would simply act as a maximum security prison to the fridge's holding cell, both leading to the same imminent death at the trash heap gallows (there I go again). I had to act quickly and, ideally, with delicious results.
While I understand that grocery stores are businesses and need to make money, the cost of fresh herbs nonetheless usually sends me into mild shock. Of course, they are also pre-packaged in such a way that one is forced to buy far more than one ever needs. I know, I should just grow my own, just as I should compost, and I intend to when the weather gets warmer. But this wouldn't necessarily solve the problem of too much herb, not enough time. In my rather limited herb-growing experience, the mint in particular spreads like the smallpox, but wipes itself out before you can say "More iced tea?"
The herbs whose fates I was now debating were too wilted at this point to pass off as a garnish for pasta, soup, or salad. However I was going to use them, I needed to fully incorporate them into the dish in attempt to mask their ages, which, mind you, were not that old, but certainly old enough. I succeeded with the following two recipes -- and have enough tasters (speak up, you guys!) to prove it.
These recipes would be handy for other aging herbs, too. Hummus, especially, is a great "canvas," to quote Sanders, for creative experimentation. In place of the mint and parsley, you could use basil, cilantro, dill, chives, scallions, lemongrass, rosemary, tarragon, and probably some others I haven't thought of. For the bread, I would avoid using the leafier herbs, which might not stand up to all that baking, and stick with the heartier ones like rosemary, thyme, and of course dill and chives. Sage also could be interesting.
The bread and hummus work wonderfully as a pair, but if you already have some antique pita bread, I suggest toasting that and making pita chips as well. The whole point here is to use up old ingredients and avoid buying new ones, so I've included lots of ideas for substitutions where appropriate.
Recipe: Orange-Mint Hummus
Most store-bought hummus is bland, but my homemade hummus is just like me: nuanced, mysterious, sophisticated, exciting, tan in color. Okay, not like me at all. Anyway, this hummus has depth. You might think, "Mint? How strange!" -- but don't worry, it does not make the hummus taste a thing like toothpaste. The mint is subtle, as is the orange juice and zest. You could definitely use lemon juice and zest, which is more traditional; I happened to have only half a lemon, but also a whole orange that had been sitting on my countertop for too long, and the orange makes this hummus even more unique.
1 can chickpeas, drained, or 1 and 1/2 C dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, simmered for about an hour and a half, and drained
1/3 C tahini
1 t salt
1/4 t soy sauce (optional -- feel free to use additional salt instead, or none if you prefer)
3 cloves garlic
1 t cumin
2 T chopped shallots (not essential - I just had half a shallot I wanted to use up)
juice and zest of one large orange (or juice of two lemons, plus zest of one lemon; leave out the next ingredient -- more lemon -- if you go this route)
juice and zest of half a lemon (I was also trying to use up half a lemon; consider this ingredient optional)
2 T water
2 T olive oil (feel free to add more to get a consistency you like)
1/4 C loosely packed mint (or use whatever amount you have, though probably no more than a quarter cup)
1/4 C loosely packed parsley
Pulse everything together in the food processor till well-blended. Makes about 3 cups.
Recipe: Dill and Chive Almost-No-Knead Bread
The basis for this recipe comes from the mad scientists of America's Test Kitchen; only they could've figured out how to improve on a Minimalist phenomenon. I first sampled it at the home of my friends Danny and Miriam (check out Miriam's fantastic blog about cooking on a grad student budget) awhile back, and Danny kindly sent me a scanned PDF of the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I am pretty sure they added rosemary to their rendition of this bread, which we dipped it in olive oil as a delicious appetizer. It's pretty easy to make -- I don't think I even followed all the steps correctly (typical) -- but it still turned out really well, with a nice, crispy crust and a light, chewy inside. With the time allotments involved, this is definitely a bread best made on a weekend. You need a Dutch oven that can withstand 450-degree heat, and if you don't have one, consider making Cuban bread and adding the herbs before you leave the dough to rise. The advantage of Almost-No-Knead Bread is, quite obviously, that it requires minimal kneading.
3 C all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
1/4 t rapid-rise or instant yeast
1 t salt (I like a bit more, and next time I will add another half teaspoon)
3/4 C water, room temperature
1/2 C mild-flavored beer, room temperature (this is not in Mark Bittman's No-Knead-Bread, but is added here for extra flavor. If you do not have beer, consider following the Bittman version)
1 T white vinegar
2 T minced chives
2 T minced dill
Vegetable oil spray (I do not have this, so I lightly brushed vegetable oil over the parchment and the bread)
Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together in a large bowl. Fold in the water, beer, vinegar, and herbs with a rubber spatula till the dough comes together and looks "shaggy" (not my word, but you will know it's ready when it begins to resemble Snuffy from Sesame Street, texturally). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours, or up to 18 hours.
Lay an 18" x 12" sheet of parchment paper inside a 10-inch skillet (or 10-inch shallow bowl) and spray with vegetable oil spray (or brush with vegetable oil). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, 10 to 15 times. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling the edges into the middle with floured hands. Transfer the dough, seam-side down, to the prepared skillet.
Mist (or lightly brush) the dough with vegetable oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when touched, about 2 hours. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a large Dutch oven and heat the oven to 450 degrees (although the original recipe says to heat the oven to 500 degrees, I was nervous about my pot, and kept it at 450. The bread still turned out well.).
Lightly flour the top of the dough and score it with a knife. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Pick up the parchment and the dough and lower them into the hot pot, letting any excess parchment hang over the edge. Cover the pot, and place it in the oven, reducing the heat to 425 degrees, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake until the center of the loaf registers 20 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and the crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the pot, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.
Friday, March 13, 2009
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Breakfast of ChampionsMy new job consists of a lot of things that make me uncomfortable: asking people for work, public speaking, "networking" (I hate that word, but it's not nearly so offensive as "interfacing"), and being addressed as "young lady" by certain colleagues of an older generation. But I 've recently discovered the secret to making at least the first three things a little easier for me: homemade biscotti.
I knew this recipe was a keeper the first time I followed it. Success on the first try is rare for me, a notably absent-minded baker. But the first batch's results -- a super crispy, almond-y, tart breakfast treat, ideally dipped in coffee -- were so good that I presented them as part of a housewarming gift to my friends Brigid and John. Placed in a colander with a pound of coffee, the whole package was very well-received.
Less than a week later, I was brainstorming what kind of "leave-behinds" (another stupid term, like "interface," that I picked up when I worked for the ad agency) my company should bring to client presentations. It seems everyone has more pens, mugs, and stress balls than their desks can handle. Plus, my new company is a start-up, still deep in the red. A homemade leave-behind seemed just the thing!
And sure enough, it was a hit, to quote the client himself. To say the presentation itself was a bit rocky is an understatement. But the silver lining came when the client sent me an email later that day, raving about the biscotti and including a forwarded email from his coworker who wanted the recipe. I have a few other big client presentations lined up over the next couple weeks, and I will be sure to try to win 'em over again in the same fashion. Because it's not what you say, it's how it tastes. Or something.
Recipe: Cran-Almond Biscotti
Adapted from Bon Appetit's Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Biscotti, via Epicurious. Makes about two and a half dozen cookies.
2.5 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1.5 C sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 t almond extract
1 C dried cranberries (the original recipe calls for 1.5 C, but I used less for cost-saving purposes, and found the results still cranberryish enough)
1 egg white (optional, in my opinion -- but it creates a pretty, glazed look on the crust)
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped (optional: I also omitted this, and didn't miss it)
Handful of sliced almonds (not in the original recipe, but I added these the second time I made them, and I think this batch was even better than the first!)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and almond extract till well blended. Mix in the flour mixture to form a fairly stiff dough, then fold in the cranberries (and the almonds if you are using them).
Pick up the dough and divide it into two halves. With floured hands, shape each dough ball into a log measuring 3" wide, 9.5" long, and 1" high. Transfer these to the baking sheet (you may also shape the log on the baking sheet, which I found easier and more efficient). Whisk the egg white and brush all over each log. Bake till golden brown, 35 minutes.
The "logs" before baking -- I forgot about the egg white this time, and it didn't seem to matter too much. Just a less shiny crust.Cool completely on a rack, keeping the oven on. Transfer the logs to a cutting board and discard the parchment. Use a serrated knife to cut them on a diagonal into slices about a half-inch wide. Arrange each biscotto cut side down on the baking sheet (you will probably need to get out another baking sheet, unless you want to bake them in shifts). Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven, and flip each biscotto. Bake until they are just beginning to color, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a rack.
Optional: melt the white chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between intervals, until completely melted. Drizzle over the biscotti and let stand about 30 minutes.
Addenda: This recipe is a great template for other biscotti. You could skip the almond extract if you want and add the zest of an orange for Cran-Orange biscotti. You could also use the zest of a lemon, which I think would be great with dried blueberries. You could also add a teaspoon of anise seeds or a half teaspoon of anise extract for a licorice flavor. You could use dried currants instead of dried cranberries. You could drizzle dark chocolate instead of white chocolate. You could replace the dried cranberries with chocolate chips. You could use vanilla extract instead of almond extract. You could add dried cherries, cocoa powder (maybe a half cup? Better look this one up), and hazelnuts. You could use pistachios. Ooh! I want to try lime zest, shredded coconut, and pieces of dried mangoes for a sort of tropical biscotti. The possibilities are endless!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Turkey Day Recipe Ambush
Not going to go off on my usual multi-paragraph introductory tangent. Just getting down to business for everyone's favorite gastronomical throwdown and typing up the recipes for three items I'll be contributing to this year's smorgasbord. But I would like to take a moment to reflect on how very economical Thanksgiving can be. First of all, a turkey is not exactly a highfalutin' bird. It feeds a ton of people and leaves behind a carcass big enough to make a whole vat of delicious stock. Secondly, the sides are almost as proletarian as the main course. In no other American holiday do homely tubers and root vegetables play such a starring role. Thirdly, these homely tubers and root vegetables often originate in cans, and are then sprinkled with marshmallows and served in casserole dishes. And fourthly, gelatinous sliced cranberry sauce. That sentence doesn't even need a verb.
Recipe: Sweet Potato Chips (not pictured above)
These are kind of labor intensive, but everyone loves them. And they are a lot less labor intensive now that I have a mandoline. Mine's kind of fancy (Cuisinart -- it was a gift) but, even so, it was around $30 according to the gift-giver. And now that there's, you know, a recession, you could probably find one a lot cheaper than that. Terra Chips, be damned!
Serves about six people sitting in front of a football game. No matter how many chips you make, there ain't never enough!
2-3 large yams or 5-6 sweet potatoes
1/3 C olive oil
2 T cumin
2 T nutmeg
peanut oil for frying - as much as you need to fill your pot 1.5 in.
sugar for dusting
salt for dusting
Peel the yams/sweet potatoes as thin as you can without slicing off your fingers. Roll them around with the olive oil, cumin, and nutmeg, so all are fairly evenly coated. "Marinate" them for a couple hours or up to 24 hours. Heat the peanut oil in a heavy pot at medium-high heat. You'll know it's ready to go when you drop in one of the smaller chips and it immediately sizzles. Fry the chips in several batches to avoid overcrowding in the pot. You definitely don't need to fry them in just a single layer, but be prepared to do some stirring around so they don't stick to each other. Each batch should be done and crispy in about 3 minutes. Remove the chips from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel on top of a plate. Add the next batch and, while it's frying, sprinkle the chips that are drying on the paper towel with salt and sugar. Once they seem fairly dry, transfer them to a large bowl. Change paper towels every couple of batches. Repeat these steps with the remaining batches. Very good with cilantro-garlic yogurt sauce as dip.
Addendum, or On The Joys of Peanut Oil:
I've used other oils to make these, but peanut oil definitely works the best. I find that canola and vegetable oil can be hard to control, and the chips end up either soggy or charred, plus they taste too much of the oil and not enough of sweet potatoes. Olive oil is absolutely out of the question for deep frying. However, peanut oil is not all that cheap (I usually find it on sale at Safeway for around $17), and I think people are hesitant to buy it since it only comes in monstrous jugs. What if you never need to use it again?!?! Well, my friend, once you start frying in peanut oil, you will never go back. Its good qualities are its mild flavor and high smoking point. Its bad qualities are none, except maybe the price. But let's think about these sweet potato chips as an example: all you really need to buy are 2 yams ($1?). To fry up a large batch, you will use roughly a quarter of the jug of peanut oil -- less if you use a pot with a smallish diameter. So, really, this awesomely impressive appetizer that serves a crowd of football-frenzied, hungry Owen men costs about $5. An impressive feat, to say the least.
UPDATE: Shopper's sells peanut oil for $12! So now you really have no excuse to avoid it.
Recipe: Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
I made this for the first time last year, and it was a hit. Unfortunately, I cannot locate my original source for this recipe. If you've ever heard me harp on some of my former students' sneaky ways, you know that nothing boils my blood like a plagiarizer, but I hope you will forgive me this one indiscretion.
My family also still serves the Joy of Cooking's traditional bread stuffing, since Owens can be somewhat hunkerous about their traditions. Hence, the cloying sweet potato casserole continues to feature prominently, despite my years of protest. But this stuffing was quite popular among the more progressive members of the family. Yes, I realize sausage and cornbread stuffing is not exactly newfangled, but we're a gelatinous sliced cranberry sauce kind of people.
Serves 12-14.
5-6 hot Italian sausages
4 T olive oil
2 C chopped carrot
2 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 C fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 13" x 9" pan of cornbread, double Mark Bittman's recipe or use two boxes of corn bread mix
6 eggs
1 C chicken stock, plus more if needed
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove sausage casings and heat 1 T olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat; add sausages and break up and brown them. Remove from pot, drain sausages on paper towel, and set aside. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same pot, and add the vegetables, salt, pepper, and sage. Cook about 10 minutes, until veggies are slightly soft. Crumble the corn bread in a very large bowl and add to it the sausage, veggies, egg, and chicken stock. Stir everything together. If it seems dry, add a bit more chicken stock. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or till browned and crispy.
Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake
I've already overdosed on the pumpkin desserts, so I will be bringing this cake. I have not made it before, but the recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking Book (on sale today at grocery stores nationwide!), and was created by Alice Medrich, aka the Queen of Chocolate, so I know it's going to be fabulous. I love that it requires only three ingredients: eggs, butter, and chocolate.
In all Cook's Illustrated recipes, the cook/author has an extremely specific goal in mind, and tests as many versions of a particular dish as necessary to meet that specific goal (after all, they do work at America's Test Kitchen). Alice describes her vision of the perfect flourless chocolate cake as follows:
"I wanted something dense, moist, and ultrachocolaty, but with some textural finesse. I wanted a texture somewhere between a substantial marquis au chocolat--that dense, buttery, and just slightly aerated chocolate mousse with a characteristic dry but creamy texture--and a heavy New York-style cheesecake. I wanted the flavor and character of good, eating-quality chocolate to reign supreme, with no unnecessary sweetness and not even a grain of sugar on the palate. In short, I wanted an intense bittersweet "adult" dessert -- no sticky kid's stuff."
Wow. While I'm happy if any dessert I make is merely intact, Alice's lofty goal yet inspires me to do better! Her description also puts to words exactly how I think a flourless chocolate cake should be. The family will no doubt be blown away by the ultrachocolaty finesse of this intense bittersweet "adult" dessert, so long as I take extra care not to miss some important step.
Serves 12-16. Best made a day in advance, and stored in the refrigerator overnight.
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
8 eggs, cold
1 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse
1/4 C strong coffee or coffee liqueur (optional)
powdered sugar or cocoa powder for dusting (optional)
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom of 8-in. springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of pan. Wrap outside of pan with 2 sheets of aluminum foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
Beat eggs in large bowl (preferably with whisk attachment, if your mixer has one) at high speed until the volume doubles, about 5 min.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter (with coffee or liqueur, if using) in large heatproof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice. Using spatula, fold one-third of egg foam into chocolate mixture until only a few streaks of the egg are visible; fold in half of remaining foam, then last of foam, until mixture is totally homogeneous.
Scrape batter into prepared springform pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until cake has risen slightly, edges are just beginning to set, thin-glazed brownielike crust has formed on surface, and instant-read thermometer inserted halfway into center reads 140 degrees. Remove cake pan from water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
About 30 minutes before serving, remove sides of pan, invert cake onto sheet of wax paper, peel off parchment paper, and reinvert cake onto serving platter. Sieve light sprinkling of powdered sugar or cocoa powder over cake, if desired.
Recipe: Sweet Potato Chips (not pictured above)
These are kind of labor intensive, but everyone loves them. And they are a lot less labor intensive now that I have a mandoline. Mine's kind of fancy (Cuisinart -- it was a gift) but, even so, it was around $30 according to the gift-giver. And now that there's, you know, a recession, you could probably find one a lot cheaper than that. Terra Chips, be damned!
Serves about six people sitting in front of a football game. No matter how many chips you make, there ain't never enough!
2-3 large yams or 5-6 sweet potatoes
1/3 C olive oil
2 T cumin
2 T nutmeg
peanut oil for frying - as much as you need to fill your pot 1.5 in.
sugar for dusting
salt for dusting
Peel the yams/sweet potatoes as thin as you can without slicing off your fingers. Roll them around with the olive oil, cumin, and nutmeg, so all are fairly evenly coated. "Marinate" them for a couple hours or up to 24 hours. Heat the peanut oil in a heavy pot at medium-high heat. You'll know it's ready to go when you drop in one of the smaller chips and it immediately sizzles. Fry the chips in several batches to avoid overcrowding in the pot. You definitely don't need to fry them in just a single layer, but be prepared to do some stirring around so they don't stick to each other. Each batch should be done and crispy in about 3 minutes. Remove the chips from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel on top of a plate. Add the next batch and, while it's frying, sprinkle the chips that are drying on the paper towel with salt and sugar. Once they seem fairly dry, transfer them to a large bowl. Change paper towels every couple of batches. Repeat these steps with the remaining batches. Very good with cilantro-garlic yogurt sauce as dip.
Addendum, or On The Joys of Peanut Oil:
I've used other oils to make these, but peanut oil definitely works the best. I find that canola and vegetable oil can be hard to control, and the chips end up either soggy or charred, plus they taste too much of the oil and not enough of sweet potatoes. Olive oil is absolutely out of the question for deep frying. However, peanut oil is not all that cheap (I usually find it on sale at Safeway for around $17), and I think people are hesitant to buy it since it only comes in monstrous jugs. What if you never need to use it again?!?! Well, my friend, once you start frying in peanut oil, you will never go back. Its good qualities are its mild flavor and high smoking point. Its bad qualities are none, except maybe the price. But let's think about these sweet potato chips as an example: all you really need to buy are 2 yams ($1?). To fry up a large batch, you will use roughly a quarter of the jug of peanut oil -- less if you use a pot with a smallish diameter. So, really, this awesomely impressive appetizer that serves a crowd of football-frenzied, hungry Owen men costs about $5. An impressive feat, to say the least.
UPDATE: Shopper's sells peanut oil for $12! So now you really have no excuse to avoid it.
Recipe: Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
I made this for the first time last year, and it was a hit. Unfortunately, I cannot locate my original source for this recipe. If you've ever heard me harp on some of my former students' sneaky ways, you know that nothing boils my blood like a plagiarizer, but I hope you will forgive me this one indiscretion.
My family also still serves the Joy of Cooking's traditional bread stuffing, since Owens can be somewhat hunkerous about their traditions. Hence, the cloying sweet potato casserole continues to feature prominently, despite my years of protest. But this stuffing was quite popular among the more progressive members of the family. Yes, I realize sausage and cornbread stuffing is not exactly newfangled, but we're a gelatinous sliced cranberry sauce kind of people.
Serves 12-14.
5-6 hot Italian sausages
4 T olive oil
2 C chopped carrot
2 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 C fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 13" x 9" pan of cornbread, double Mark Bittman's recipe or use two boxes of corn bread mix
6 eggs
1 C chicken stock, plus more if needed
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove sausage casings and heat 1 T olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat; add sausages and break up and brown them. Remove from pot, drain sausages on paper towel, and set aside. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same pot, and add the vegetables, salt, pepper, and sage. Cook about 10 minutes, until veggies are slightly soft. Crumble the corn bread in a very large bowl and add to it the sausage, veggies, egg, and chicken stock. Stir everything together. If it seems dry, add a bit more chicken stock. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or till browned and crispy.
Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Cake
I've already overdosed on the pumpkin desserts, so I will be bringing this cake. I have not made it before, but the recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking Book (on sale today at grocery stores nationwide!), and was created by Alice Medrich, aka the Queen of Chocolate, so I know it's going to be fabulous. I love that it requires only three ingredients: eggs, butter, and chocolate.
In all Cook's Illustrated recipes, the cook/author has an extremely specific goal in mind, and tests as many versions of a particular dish as necessary to meet that specific goal (after all, they do work at America's Test Kitchen). Alice describes her vision of the perfect flourless chocolate cake as follows:
"I wanted something dense, moist, and ultrachocolaty, but with some textural finesse. I wanted a texture somewhere between a substantial marquis au chocolat--that dense, buttery, and just slightly aerated chocolate mousse with a characteristic dry but creamy texture--and a heavy New York-style cheesecake. I wanted the flavor and character of good, eating-quality chocolate to reign supreme, with no unnecessary sweetness and not even a grain of sugar on the palate. In short, I wanted an intense bittersweet "adult" dessert -- no sticky kid's stuff."
Wow. While I'm happy if any dessert I make is merely intact, Alice's lofty goal yet inspires me to do better! Her description also puts to words exactly how I think a flourless chocolate cake should be. The family will no doubt be blown away by the ultrachocolaty finesse of this intense bittersweet "adult" dessert, so long as I take extra care not to miss some important step.
Serves 12-16. Best made a day in advance, and stored in the refrigerator overnight.
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
8 eggs, cold
1 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse
1/4 C strong coffee or coffee liqueur (optional)
powdered sugar or cocoa powder for dusting (optional)
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom of 8-in. springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of pan. Wrap outside of pan with 2 sheets of aluminum foil and set in large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
Beat eggs in large bowl (preferably with whisk attachment, if your mixer has one) at high speed until the volume doubles, about 5 min.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter (with coffee or liqueur, if using) in large heatproof bowl set over pan of almost simmering water until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice. Using spatula, fold one-third of egg foam into chocolate mixture until only a few streaks of the egg are visible; fold in half of remaining foam, then last of foam, until mixture is totally homogeneous.
Scrape batter into prepared springform pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Set roasting pan on oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until cake has risen slightly, edges are just beginning to set, thin-glazed brownielike crust has formed on surface, and instant-read thermometer inserted halfway into center reads 140 degrees. Remove cake pan from water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
About 30 minutes before serving, remove sides of pan, invert cake onto sheet of wax paper, peel off parchment paper, and reinvert cake onto serving platter. Sieve light sprinkling of powdered sugar or cocoa powder over cake, if desired.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Paean to the Incredibl[y cheap] Edibl[y amazing] Egg, Part I
[To the tune of Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do." I apologize in advance - it came to me this morning while assembling my fried egg sandwich in a bleary-eyed state.]
All I wanna do
Is eat some eggs
I got a feelin'
I can eat cheap for days
All I wanna do
Is eat some eggs
Until my carton runs out and I
Gotta make a run to the store
Even if the price of eggs has increased significantly over the past couple years, they are still a great value when you consider that one egg can be a pretty filling snack (or a whole meal for someone with better portion control than the average Owen). Plus, they do really cool things, like make your food puff up or help it stick together!
The Dutch Baby, or baked pancake, is a true testament to the egg's magical powers. Minutes after being placed in an oven, a seemingly mundane pancake batter morphs into an otherworldly balloon of fluffy deliciousness. Owing to the addition of a few more eggs than your typical pancake batter, the result is thrilling.
I got to know the Dutch Baby at The Original Pancake House. The first time I saw one, I was mesmerized, both by its dramatic aesthetic and by my amazement that a lone individual could consume something of such impressive size. But mine eyes deceived me: the Dutch Baby is, upon closer inspection, a hollow bowl with a texture far more delicate than that of a regular stovetop pancake. Even a non-Owen should be able to polish off the whole thing in a few minutes.
You could order one at the Original Pancake House for about $10, or you could make one at home for about $0.65. I've experimented with three different recipes, courtesy of Orangette, Alton Brown, and The Joy of Cooking. I hesitate to disparage anyone else's recipe, since I am famously inept at following directions of any kind. But Orangette's recommendation of an extravagant four eggs produced a Dutch Baby that was too puffy and misshapen to even fit on any plate I own. Alton Brown's recipe is too fussy and particular - not my style for a lazy Sunday breakfast (or any time, really) - and calls for only two eggs. That's just not enough puff. The Joy version calls for too much sugar. And Joy and Orangette both require more butter than seems prudent. The following recipe borrows from all three sources and, if I may say so myself, gives birth to the perfect Dutch Baby.
Tragically, my camera broke, so I recommend that you go to Google Images and search for "Dutch Baby." The search will yield pictures of dramatic pancakes and blond infants wearing funny hats.
Recipe: The Most Delicious Baby You Ever Did Eat (aka Dutch Baby aka Baked Pancake)
Serves 1. This recipe was MADE for the lonely people. You could make more than one, but you would need one cast iron pan for every person at the table.
3 T butter
3 eggs
1/2 c whole milk or half-and-half
1/2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 lemon slices (optional)
powdered sugar for sprinkling
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs, milk, flour, and sugar to make a batter. Pour the batter into the pan, without stirring anything, and cook for one minute. Transfer pan to heated oven and bake 12-15 minutes, until puffed up and starting to brown. It's okay if the center seems a bit undercooked. Remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and serve immediately with lemons and powdered sugar (I recommend sieving the powdered sugar for evenness and conservation).
All I wanna do
Is eat some eggs
I got a feelin'
I can eat cheap for days
All I wanna do
Is eat some eggs
Until my carton runs out and I
Gotta make a run to the store
Even if the price of eggs has increased significantly over the past couple years, they are still a great value when you consider that one egg can be a pretty filling snack (or a whole meal for someone with better portion control than the average Owen). Plus, they do really cool things, like make your food puff up or help it stick together!
The Dutch Baby, or baked pancake, is a true testament to the egg's magical powers. Minutes after being placed in an oven, a seemingly mundane pancake batter morphs into an otherworldly balloon of fluffy deliciousness. Owing to the addition of a few more eggs than your typical pancake batter, the result is thrilling.
I got to know the Dutch Baby at The Original Pancake House. The first time I saw one, I was mesmerized, both by its dramatic aesthetic and by my amazement that a lone individual could consume something of such impressive size. But mine eyes deceived me: the Dutch Baby is, upon closer inspection, a hollow bowl with a texture far more delicate than that of a regular stovetop pancake. Even a non-Owen should be able to polish off the whole thing in a few minutes.
You could order one at the Original Pancake House for about $10, or you could make one at home for about $0.65. I've experimented with three different recipes, courtesy of Orangette, Alton Brown, and The Joy of Cooking. I hesitate to disparage anyone else's recipe, since I am famously inept at following directions of any kind. But Orangette's recommendation of an extravagant four eggs produced a Dutch Baby that was too puffy and misshapen to even fit on any plate I own. Alton Brown's recipe is too fussy and particular - not my style for a lazy Sunday breakfast (or any time, really) - and calls for only two eggs. That's just not enough puff. The Joy version calls for too much sugar. And Joy and Orangette both require more butter than seems prudent. The following recipe borrows from all three sources and, if I may say so myself, gives birth to the perfect Dutch Baby.
Tragically, my camera broke, so I recommend that you go to Google Images and search for "Dutch Baby." The search will yield pictures of dramatic pancakes and blond infants wearing funny hats.
Recipe: The Most Delicious Baby You Ever Did Eat (aka Dutch Baby aka Baked Pancake)
Serves 1. This recipe was MADE for the lonely people. You could make more than one, but you would need one cast iron pan for every person at the table.
3 T butter
3 eggs
1/2 c whole milk or half-and-half
1/2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 lemon slices (optional)
powdered sugar for sprinkling
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs, milk, flour, and sugar to make a batter. Pour the batter into the pan, without stirring anything, and cook for one minute. Transfer pan to heated oven and bake 12-15 minutes, until puffed up and starting to brown. It's okay if the center seems a bit undercooked. Remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and serve immediately with lemons and powdered sugar (I recommend sieving the powdered sugar for evenness and conservation).
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
If it's good enough for the president-elect, it's good enough for me
In honor of Barack Obama's historic victory, this post features a treat that I know he likes, or at least pretended to like while on the campaign trail. When he was stumping for the primary early this year, he stopped at Mayorga Coffee in Silver Spring. I used to study and grade papers there sometimes, and happened to just miss him by a day. While placing my coffee order, I eyed the stack of plastic-wrapped coffee cake slices by the cash register and, probably, as is my way, asked, "The coffee cake: is it delicious?" The barista answered, "Well, Barack Obama had it yesterday." Sold.
The coffee cake at Mayorga wasn't actually that great, but the coffee cake in the recipe below is. I've adapted it from a Barefoot Contessa recipe, which may come as a surprise given Ina Garten's rather anti-proletarian approach to food. I've made many of her recipes, and liked them all, but I find the items in her ingredients lists are geared more toward the budget of, I don't know, a Food Network star. But you don't have to live in Easthampton or have unlimited access to fresh lobster tail to make this coffee cake (obviously, since coffee cake with lobster would be gross). I didn't even have to buy any new ingredients. And I overbaked it, as I tend to do, and it was still good. It's cake we can believe in.
Recipe: Barack Obama Coffee Cake
For the cake:
12 T (1.5 sticks) butter at room temperature
1.5 C sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1.5 t vanilla
1.25 C sour cream
2.5 C cake flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
For the streusel:
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1.5 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t salt
3 T cold butter cut into small pieces
For the glaze:
1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T maple syrup
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-in. Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer, add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the batter until just combined.
For the streusel, pinch together all the streusel ingredients in a separate bowl to form a crumble.
Spoon half the batter into the pan. Sprinkle it with about 3/4 C of the streusel mixture. Spoon the rest of the batter on top, spread it out, and sprinkle the remaining streusel over it. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let it cool before removing from pan.
For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup until it's gooey. Drizzle it over the cooled coffee cake so it looks purty.
Addendum:
No cake flour? No problem! Combine 2 and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour with one quarter-cup plus one tablespoon of cornstarch. Allegedly, if you don't have cornstarch, you can just measure out a 2 and a quarter cups of the all-purpose flour and subtract two tablespoons.
The coffee cake at Mayorga wasn't actually that great, but the coffee cake in the recipe below is. I've adapted it from a Barefoot Contessa recipe, which may come as a surprise given Ina Garten's rather anti-proletarian approach to food. I've made many of her recipes, and liked them all, but I find the items in her ingredients lists are geared more toward the budget of, I don't know, a Food Network star. But you don't have to live in Easthampton or have unlimited access to fresh lobster tail to make this coffee cake (obviously, since coffee cake with lobster would be gross). I didn't even have to buy any new ingredients. And I overbaked it, as I tend to do, and it was still good. It's cake we can believe in.
Recipe: Barack Obama Coffee Cake
For the cake:
12 T (1.5 sticks) butter at room temperature
1.5 C sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1.5 t vanilla
1.25 C sour cream
2.5 C cake flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
For the streusel:
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1.5 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t salt
3 T cold butter cut into small pieces
For the glaze:
1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T maple syrup
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-in. Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a mixer, add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the batter until just combined.
For the streusel, pinch together all the streusel ingredients in a separate bowl to form a crumble.
Spoon half the batter into the pan. Sprinkle it with about 3/4 C of the streusel mixture. Spoon the rest of the batter on top, spread it out, and sprinkle the remaining streusel over it. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let it cool before removing from pan.
For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup until it's gooey. Drizzle it over the cooled coffee cake so it looks purty.
Addendum:
No cake flour? No problem! Combine 2 and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour with one quarter-cup plus one tablespoon of cornstarch. Allegedly, if you don't have cornstarch, you can just measure out a 2 and a quarter cups of the all-purpose flour and subtract two tablespoons.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Menu!
Savor this feast like it's your last!(Disclaimer: I do know that the Last Supper occurred on Maundy Thursday, not Easter Sunday, but who throws a Maundy Thursday party?)
Sometimes the Economical Epicurean tires of always cooking for herself, eating the same leftovers all week, and subsisting mostly on coffee and porridge. So when the holidays arrive, she eagerly throws down. This Easter was no exception.
[Now switching to first person.]
I'm including here the worthwhile recipes from yesterday's feast of the Resurrection. It might seem untimely to be posting this menu after the holiday has passed, but I'm thinking these dishes could be replicated at upcoming Mother's Day and graduation parties or just served at home for brunch or a weeknight dinner. Nothing is difficult or even very expensive -- in lieu of splurging on the more traditionally Easter-y leg of lamb, I cooked up a $10 smoked ham from Shoppers. Likewise, fresh shrimp were sacrificed for frozen (though I guess the most economical thing would be to skip the surf altogether!), and the more desirable asparagus was substituted with green beans.
One thing I did not skimp on was butter -- it was a holiday, for crying out loud! But most of the butter-heavy dishes, with the exception of the scones, could be made with olive oil. Or, in the case of the tea sandwiches, one may omit all the butter and use only lite cream cheese.
If you notice there are no recipes for dessert here, it's because I didn't make any. Thanks to my guests who brought sweet treats!
Recipe: Tea Sandwiches
Makes about 30 sandwiches.
Spread can be made up to two days ahead.
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
2 T chopped fresh dill
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh chives
1/2 t minced garlic
2 t lemon juice
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 8-oz. package smoked salmon
1 large cucumber, sliced thinly
1 loaf wheat or seven-grain bread, sliced extra thinly if possible
Combine first 9 ingredients with mixer or food processor. Set aside in refrigerator to chill a few hours. Spread on either side of bread, with a couple pieces of salmon or cucumber in between. Cut all the sandwiches into 4 squares or triangles and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe: Mini Fried Egg Sandwiches
Makes 20 sandwiches.
2 T butter
1 dozen large eggs
1/2 C shredded cheddar
salt to your taste
pepper to your taste
10 slices sandwich bread (white or wheat), preferably toasted
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Heat butter in frying pan on medium/high heat. When pan is very hot, break eggs onto pan, about 4 or 5 at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Cook until over-hard, sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper, and assemble sandwiches. Garnish with parsley if you're feeling superior.
Recipe: Cran-Orange Scones (click here to see link from Jan. 14 post)
For Easter, I doubled the recipe and made the scones slightly smaller than usual.
Serve with butter or lemon curd.
Recipe: Baked Brie
Jean Bernard's finest!
Never serves quite enough.
1 mini-wheel Brie (rind does not need to be removed)
1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
apricot preserves
1 beaten egg
1 package water crackers
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and spread out about half the crescent roll dough (squeeze together the perforations). Place the Brie on top of the dough and spread the top of it generously with apricot preserves. Fold the dough edges over the top of the Brie, and cover with the remaining dough. Brush the dough with the egg wash. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve with crackers.
Recipe: Zippy Black-eyed Pea Salad
Serves about 30 and is great for leftovers. Can be made up to two days ahead. I believe I made it a little too zippy yesterday, as it was not the most popular thing on the table. In the recipe below, I cut back on the onion to reduce the bite factor.
1.5 bags of dried black-eyed peas
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
1 orange pepper, finely chopped
1 half of a large red onion, finely chopped
1/2 C chopped cilantro
juice of 1 whole lemon
2 T olive oil
1.5 t cumin (optional)
salt to your taste
pepper to your taste
Rinse peas, pick over for bad ones, cover under water, and soak overnight. Drain the next day. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe: Sprightly Spring Couscous
Serves about 15 as side dish. Can be a hearty meal on its own and can be made up to 4 days ahead. Once again, I'm proven wrong about couscous: it excites! I adapted this from a fantastic Mark Bittman recipe -- the first time I made it I didn't happen to have his ingredients on hand but had all the ones below. He uses bulgur, broccoli rabe, and walnuts in place of my couscous, broccolini, and almonds, all in the same proportions.
1 lb. broccolini
2 T olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
1/2 C chopped slivered almonds
2 C water
1.5 C dry couscous
1.5 C frozen peas, thawed (optional -- good if you want to save money and reduce the amount of broccolini)
1 T lemon juice
salt to your taste
pepper to your taste
1/2 C grated Parmesan (optional)
Bring water to a boil in medium stockpot, add salt. Add broccolini and boil until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Remove and add to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Wash out the original pot and return to stove. Crank heat to medium, add the oil, and add the shallots once oil is very hot. Saute about 3 minutes and add almonds. Reduce heat to low. Meanwhile, bring 2 C water to boil in small stockpot; add couscous. Fluff with a fork and remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop broccolini into one-inch pieces. Add couscous, broccolini, peas, and lemon juice to shallot-almond mixture. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese, if desired.
Recipe: Green Beans
Serves about 20. Can be made a day ahead.
2 bags of Trader Joe's frozen haricots verts, thawed
half stick butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
zest of half a lemon
salt to your taste
pepper to your taste
Bring water to a boil in large stockpot and add beans. Boil until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Blanch in bowl of ice water. Rinse the stockpot and return to stove. In it, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute about 5 minutes. Return beans to pan, stir into butter and garlic mixture, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and sprinkle with lemon zest and salt and pepper.
Recipe: Roasted Potatoes
Serves about 20. Can be made up to two days ahead.
1 C olive oil, divided
10 lbs. small potatoes (white or red, or both), scrubbed, freed of eyes, and quartered.
6 garlic cloves, minced
chopped rosemary leaves from about 5 short branches
1/4 C chopped fresh chives
salt to your taste
pepper to your taste
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a large baking dish (or two, if needed) with olive oil, add potatoes. Brush more olive oil over potatoes. Roast for about a half hour and remove from oven. Baste with the olive oil and sprinkle garlic, rosemary, and chives; return to oven and roast another 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper and parsley.
Recipe: Holiday Ham
Serves 20 sparingly (10-15 seems more accurate, normally). I happened to get a really good deal on a pre-cooked, pre-sliced ham. Usually it's cheaper to buy the partially cooked, unsliced hams, in which case doneness is determined when the ham's internal temperature reads 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.
1 7-8 lb. fully cooked, spiral-sliced smoked ham
1/2 C apricot preserves
1/3 C dijon mustard
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In roasting pan, bake ham about a half hour. Meanwhile stir together preserves and mustard to make glaze. When half hour is over, remove ham from oven and glaze the skin. Return to oven and bake another half hour or so, until skin is dark and crispy. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
"If I'd known THAT was going to happen, I wouldn't have gone to get BREAD!"
Maybe if the batty Acadian woman had had this bread recipe at her disposal, Sara wouldn't have totaled her car that fateful day in Nova Scotia. Who can say?
At any rate, this recipe is great for people who are lazy about kneading, like I am. I gave a pretty haphazard knead job and it still turned out as it should -- golden crust, chewy inside, etc. It's almost dense enough to be a meal on its own (thanks mostly to the bad kneading). Smear on some butter or blue cheese and you won't need to eat again for hours. That's a long time for me.
If you're the only one eating this bread, freeze half.
Recipe: Cuban Bread
Adapted from the 1961 New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne
1 package active dry yeast
2 C lukewarm water
1 and 1/4 T salt
1 T sugar
6 to 7 C sifted flour
Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the salt and sugar, stirring thoroughly. Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating it in with a wooden spoon or your hands. If you have an electric mixer with a dough hook or a food processor with a dough blade, that will work, too. You can stop adding flour once the dough is fairly stiff.
When the dough is thoroughly mixed, shape it into a ball, place in a grease bowl, and cover with a towel. Let stand in a warm place (80 - 85 degrees) until doubled in bulk. (Under the covers on my bed seemed to work well.)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a longish, French-style loaf. Sprinkle a baking sheet heavily with cornmeal; place dough on baking sheet and allow it to rise for another 5 minutes.
Bring an oven-proof pan of water to a boil. Slash the top of the loaf three times with a knife and brush with water. Place in a cold oven. Set oven to 400 degrees, and put the pan of boiling water on the bottom of the oven. Bake the loaf until crusty, about 45 minutes.
Variations:
-Remove bread from oven after about 25 minutes, brush with water again, and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until done.
-For more glaze and less crustiness, brush loaf with an egg white beaten with one tablespoon of water (in place of just water).
(Above photo stolen from Maddy Read)
At any rate, this recipe is great for people who are lazy about kneading, like I am. I gave a pretty haphazard knead job and it still turned out as it should -- golden crust, chewy inside, etc. It's almost dense enough to be a meal on its own (thanks mostly to the bad kneading). Smear on some butter or blue cheese and you won't need to eat again for hours. That's a long time for me.
If you're the only one eating this bread, freeze half.
Recipe: Cuban Bread
Adapted from the 1961 New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne
1 package active dry yeast
2 C lukewarm water
1 and 1/4 T salt
1 T sugar
6 to 7 C sifted flour
Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the salt and sugar, stirring thoroughly. Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating it in with a wooden spoon or your hands. If you have an electric mixer with a dough hook or a food processor with a dough blade, that will work, too. You can stop adding flour once the dough is fairly stiff.
When the dough is thoroughly mixed, shape it into a ball, place in a grease bowl, and cover with a towel. Let stand in a warm place (80 - 85 degrees) until doubled in bulk. (Under the covers on my bed seemed to work well.)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a longish, French-style loaf. Sprinkle a baking sheet heavily with cornmeal; place dough on baking sheet and allow it to rise for another 5 minutes.
Bring an oven-proof pan of water to a boil. Slash the top of the loaf three times with a knife and brush with water. Place in a cold oven. Set oven to 400 degrees, and put the pan of boiling water on the bottom of the oven. Bake the loaf until crusty, about 45 minutes.
Variations:
-Remove bread from oven after about 25 minutes, brush with water again, and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until done.
-For more glaze and less crustiness, brush loaf with an egg white beaten with one tablespoon of water (in place of just water).
(Above photo stolen from Maddy Read)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Love dies, but good recipes live on
This fantastic scone recipe comes from an ex-boyfriend's mother, who is a phenomenal cook and baker. The scones are fairly cheap to make and take less than half an hour -- baking time included -- though enthusiastic eaters will think you slaved away the whole morning. Or, be selfish: freeze them and you can eat a fresh scone for breakfast every day for a week!
Cranberry-Orange Scones (see below for variations)
Makes 6 large or 8-9 medium-sized scones
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 C sugar
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
Grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 C cream
Handful of dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients (1 through 4), then mix them with the butter in a food processor. Set aside. Mix "wet" ingredients (egg, orange zest, and cream), and add to food processor. Fold in dried berries. Mold dough into slightly flattened balls about 3 inches in diameter and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
Variations:
-In place of orange zest, use 1/2 t almond extract.
-In place of an orange, use a lemon, and substitute cranberries with blueberries.
-Especially when using almond extract, dried cherries are a delicious substitute for cranberries.
-Add chopped almonds or walnuts to batter before baking.
-Use chocolate chips in place of berries. If you like the chocolate/orange combination, keep the orange zest; if not, use vanilla extract instead.
Cranberry-Orange Scones (see below for variations)
Makes 6 large or 8-9 medium-sized scones
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 C sugar
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
Grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 C cream
Handful of dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients (1 through 4), then mix them with the butter in a food processor. Set aside. Mix "wet" ingredients (egg, orange zest, and cream), and add to food processor. Fold in dried berries. Mold dough into slightly flattened balls about 3 inches in diameter and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
Variations:
-In place of orange zest, use 1/2 t almond extract.
-In place of an orange, use a lemon, and substitute cranberries with blueberries.
-Especially when using almond extract, dried cherries are a delicious substitute for cranberries.
-Add chopped almonds or walnuts to batter before baking.
-Use chocolate chips in place of berries. If you like the chocolate/orange combination, keep the orange zest; if not, use vanilla extract instead.
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