Cooking & Kitchen Stories

Apricot Cardamom Breakfast Bars

2009-08-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

Are you noticing a pattern here lately? Salad, bar, salad...and here you go another bar. It's summer, and I'm still cooking for one. What can I say. I'm all about cooking things that I can eat all week.

These little beauties combine a few of my favorite things: cardamom, dried fruit, nuts, o and food shaped into a bar. Perfect.

They're chewy and little sweet, with some crunchy and some crumb. I made these a few weeks ago to take with me to Chicago. That's how I learned that they don't really travel well. They kind of turn into breakfast bar dust. So if you want to make them and take them, individually wrap them. Don't throw them into a gallon ziplock and put them in the bottom of your lap top bag. Just sayin.

I first saw these as marathon cookies on 101 Cookbooks (of course I immediately starred them), and after looking at a few other versions online, I came up with this combination. Then I turned them into bars, because that just sounds more appropriate for breakfast than cookies.

Apricot Cardamom Breakfast Bars
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

You can change the combination of the dried fruit and nuts and/or the spices for a different flavored bar. Next time I think I'm going to go with ginger, pepitas, and dried cranberries.

Ingredients:
2 cups oatmeal, divided
1 cup whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. salt
zest of one large lemon
15 oz. can white kidney or navy beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup agave nectar (or real maple syrup)*
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 1 cup of oatmeal until it resembles a course flour. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt and pulse to combine. Pour dry mixture into a large bowl, then add the other cup of oatmeal and the lemon zest and stir.
-In the bowl of the food processor, pulse the beans until they are pureed. Add the butter, agave nectar, egg, and vanilla and pulse to combine.
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the pine nuts and the dried apricots.
-Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside a baking sheet. Dust the parchment paper and your hands lightly with flour. Scoop the dough onto the parchment paper and shape into a long rectangle using your hands. The dough is sticky, but move quickly and it will come together fairly easily. (Another option if to refrigerate the dough for an hour.) Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in half lengthwise, and then into six sections top to bottom (for 12 total bars). Don't separate the bars, just make the cut with the knife so they will be easier to separate once they are baked.
-Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. 5 minutes before they are done, separate the bars so the edges will brown. Use a knife if they are not coming apart easily.

*You can substitute 1 cup packed brown sugar.

Summer Bean Salad

2009-08-10T07:51:00.005-04:00

I have a serious thing for vinegar. I can't get enough of it. It took Nic years to get used to eating my salads because of the amount of vinegar I put on them. In middle school, our science teacher asked who wanted to volunteer to drink a tablespoon of straight vinegar, and obviously I volunteered. (I have no idea what that had to do with science, or what it was supposed to teach us.)

I think my love of vinegar was ingrained in me as a child. My great grandmother used to make green salads that had so much salt and vinegar on them, they made your jaw ache just to eat them. Her salad was always my favorite: romaine leaves, salt, red wine vinegar, olive oil. I don't even think she put black pepper on it. It was glorious.

I've been making this bean salad all summer, ever since string beans showed up at the farmer's market. I make it every week, and eat it for days until I finish off the batch. It gets better every day, as the beans soak up the vinegar. This weekend, I finally made myself measure what I put in the salad so I could share it with you. I toned down the vinegar to a respectable half of a cup, still quite strong, but I think most people can handle it... Then I secretly added more.

Summer Bean Salad
Sort of a riff on this recipe, I posted last year.
Serves 6.

You can use string beans or a combination of green beans and wax beans (yellow) for this salad. I like to have both for the color if I can find them. You can also sub out some of the chick peas and kidney beans for cannelloni beans, if you prefer.
Ingredients:
10 oz. string beans
15 oz. chick peas
15 oz. kidney beans
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 scallion, minced (or 1/4 cup minced onion)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 2-3 tbs. dry parsley)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3 tbs. olive oil

Directions:
-Steam or blanch the green beans, cooking for only a few minutes. They should still be crisp and brightly colored.
-Rinse the green beans with cold water, and chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
-In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients. Let sit for at least one hour in the fridge to let the flavors meld.
-Serve cold or at room temperature. Lasts for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Brown Rice Crispy Bars w/ Fruit and Nuts

2009-08-07T18:06:00.005-04:00

I'm ashamed to admit it, but a decent percentage of my meals/snacks come in bar form. I stock up on Luna Bars and other packaged carb bars like it's going out of style. I'm just happy that bar-food (not to be confused with the other type of bar food, as in the kind that goes with happy hour) has improved since those original protein bars that were approximately the consistency of cardboard and glue. At least they're better than a candy bar for a late afternoon snack before my run.

But over the last couple of months I've been trying to make my own bars, to varying degrees of success. Granola bars were not my friend. (They went from bar to crumble in about 2 seconds.) These brown rice crispy bars are very friendly on the other hand. They come together quickly, require no baking, and are done in less than an hour.

And even though they're healthy (well other than those marshmallows, but something has to hold all those nutrients together), they're still amazingly chewy, with a little sweet/tart kick from the dried berries, and a good crunch from the almonds. No one will even realize the rice is brown, the sugar is reduced, and the fat is the healthy kind. Trust me. I've eaten them for dessert, snacks, and breakfast. But mostly I pack them up and bring them to share with my running group.

Brown Rice Crispy Bars w/ Fruit and Nuts
Adapted from Alton Brown, Food Network

Brown puffed rice is not the same as brown crispy rice. I've made these with both, but if you do use brown crispy rice, the measurements will be off. I remedied this by adding the crispy rice to the marshmallow mixture slowly until it felt like the marshmallow goop couldn't absorb any more crispy rice. You also probably don't need to toast the crispy rice, although I'm dubious of the need to toast the puffed rice too.

Ingredients:
3 oz. (6 cups) puffed brown rice
3 oz. (3/4 cup) almonds, toasted and chopped
4 oz. (1 cup) dried fruit (I prefer half cherries, half cranberries)
7 oz. (4 cups) mini marshmallows
3 tbs. flax seed oil, plus more for pan
1 tbs. honey

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Line a 13X9X2 in. pan with foil, and lightly coat with oil.
-Spread the brown puffed rice on a sheet pan and toast for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Combine the rice, almonds, and dried fruit in a large bowl.
-In a metal mixing bowl over a pot of gently simmering water, combine the marshmallows, flax seed oil, and honey. Be patient. You don't want the flax seed oil to get too hot or it will taste terrible. So keep stirring, keep the heat low, and don't try to do this in a pan directly on the burner.
-When the marshmallow is thoroughly melted and the oil is well mixed in, add the rice mixture and store to coat evenly.
-Coat the back of a spatula or a wooden spoon with oil and use that to press the mixture into the foil-lined pan evenly.
-Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. (After that the flax seed oil can make the bars taste bad.)

Keen-WHAT?! Keen-Waaaaaaah (Quinoa)

2009-08-05T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have been waiting to use that headline for a blog post for almost an entire year, basically since right after I started this blog. Say it out loud. Isn't it great? (For a time I walked around the apartment saying it out loud whenever I was making quinoa. I favored a sort of rap-esque cadence.)

So why did I wait so long to write a post about quinoa, the tiny little grain from South America? Because every time I made it, it tasted like poo. But don't worry! I have finally found a few fool proof ways to make this healthy, crunchy, protein-packed little grain delicious. *

But first, two indispensable prerequisites to any cooking with quinoa.

1) Soak it! The box won't tell you you need to do this, but if you don't, it will have a decidely bitter taste. (If you like that kind of thing, I guess you don't need to soak it.) The longer the better. I like to drop it in a bowl, cover it with water, and let it sit for an hour and a half or longer if I'm out of the apartment. But if you're short on time, at least soak it for 30 minutes.

2) Red quinoa is better than "traditional" or white quinoa. Ok, so that isn't really an indispensable prerequisite; I suppose it is a matter of taste. But what I'm getting at is, they taste very different, so if you try one variety and don't like it, still try the other.

So here is quinoa two ways. One for breakfast, the other for lunch or as a side with dinner.

Breakfast isn't so much a recipe. I just cook about 1/4 cup of quinoa, mix in a very small amount of butter while it's hot, then let it cool and store it in the fridge. I add a scoop to the top of my oatmeal in the morning. The heat from the oatmeal is enough to heat up the quinoa. Add some nuts and berries and you have lots of vitamins, whole grains, and protein.

Quinoa and Herb Salad
Inspired by 101 Salads

This is the quantity that I make. It is enough for two people for lunch, or for four people as a side. It can easily be doubled, and it keeps really well in the fridge for a few days. I like it even better the day after it is made.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup red quinoa, soaked and rinsed (or traditional quinoa)
1 cup chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup chopped red onion (or to taste)
1 cup canned or cook chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about half a can)
1/2 tsp. salt
juice of one lemon
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
-Cook the quinoa according to the package directions with the chicken stock or water.
-Drain any excess liquid when the quinoa is finished cooking and stir in the olive oil to prevent it from clumping.
-Chop your vegetables while the quinoa cools.
-Add all the remaining ingredients to the quinoa and stir.
-Serve at room temperature or cold. Keeps for several days in the fridge.

*Some notes about quinoa: It contains more high-quality protein than any other grain, it is the only complete protein grain, it is gluten free, and it was so important to Inca culture that they called it the Mother Grain. This is all according to the box, but I've read similar descriptions of this "superfood" elsewhere.

Coffee Fail

2009-07-30T11:11:00.004-04:00

I knew my morning was going to be a crapfest when I failed at making coffee...twice.

First, Nic calls me at like 4 in the morning from Egypt to remind me to wire him money since he lost his ATM card. I briefly consider letting him starve as retribution for calling me at that hour. Instead I wake up at 7, put on the coffee pot, and try to use Western Union's website. The stupid thing is loading so slow you would think I had dial-up and AOL and it was 1998.

While I wait for a page to load, I go to get my coffee, throw in some stevia (my attempt at using less artificial sweetener, because stevia is supposedly an herb, and obviously all herbs are good for you), and some milk. And the milk curdles. I throw out the coffee and the carton of milk, and put the coffee pot back on for take two.

I go back to the computer to continue with the Western Union website. I get all the way to Step 5 Receipt, but there is no receipt. So then I have to call Western Union, at which point they tell me the system cancelled my money order because I entered something wrong, and I need to start over. Obviously this is going to be a morning with a lot of take twos.

I go back for my coffee. I have another carton of milk in the fridge, so I grab that and the stevia. The milk curdles AGAIN. Seriously. I throw the chunky coffee down the sink. Whatever. I'm having a Diet Coke, so much for cutting back on those artificial sweetners.

Anyway, long story short, it took three tries to wire the money and one more phone call. It took me three tries to leave my building because I forgot stuff/dropped my rent check in the hallway somewhere. And it took my 20 minutes to get my bagel with cream cheese at Dunkin Donuts (vehicle for delivering the remainder of my smoked salmon to my belly, I didn't want it to go bad while in Chicago).

Really too much to handle without my coffee.

P.S. I Just realized this is my second post about coffee on this blog.

Accidentally Pickled Onions

2009-07-30T08:35:00.005-04:00

I tried this recipe for the first time when I was attempting to make something entirely different. I was trying to make this red onion salad-type thing that is served with grilled meats at my favorite Lebanese restaurant. The onion taste is tempered, but I couldn't figure out how they got that effect. I thought maybe it was slightly pickled.

That's why I made pickled red onions. These are nothing like the red onion salad at the Lebanese restaurant, but they are delicious. And they are delicious with grilled meats. (I served them with yogurt marinated chicken thighs.) They are also awesome chopped up and added to coleslaw and potato salad.

I never pickled anything before, but I was amazed at how easy it is, at least when you're not canning it. I have plans for many more pickles in the near future.

Quick post today, because I'm trying to get everything together for a business trip to Chicago. Amazingly, this will be the first time I have ever been to the Midwest. I'm excited, mainly for the hot dogs. Less so for the business. Supposedly I will be converted to Chicago deep dish pizza, according to my Midwestern friends. I highly doubt it.

Quick Pickled Onions
From David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white vinegar
3 tbs. sugar
pinch of salt
1 bay leaf
5 allspice berries
5 whole cloves
a small, dried chile pepper
1 large red onion, peeled, and thinly sliced into rings

Directions:
-In a small saucepan heat the vinegar, sugar, salt, seasonings and chile until boiling.
-Add the onion slices and lower heat. Simmer gently for 30 seconds.
-Remove from heat and cool completely.
-Transfer the onions and the pickling liquid into a clean jar and refrigerate. The onions will keep in the fridge for well over a month, but I ate most of them the day after they were made.

Quiche

2009-07-27T18:38:00.000-04:00

Quiche isn't my favorite brunch food (that would be home fries). It's not even in my top three favorite egg dishes (poached eggs, egg salad, egg sandwich). But it is a really handy recipe to have in the repertoire. 1) It's French, so you look fancy. 2) You can serve it for any meal. 3) You can empty the contents of your veggie drawer.

You can make a quiche in an hour, and most of that time the little egg pie is just hanging out in the oven. The hardest part is making your own crust, but as my mom says "Why would you make your own crust?" (I did this time, but I've bought them premade in the past.)

This recipe is infinitely adaptable, so I wrote a few of my favorite combinations below. This pretty little piece here is tomato, basil, mozzarella, which couldn't be more perfect at this time of year.

And even though quiche isn't my favorite, me and two friends managed to take down almost the whole thing for lunch yesterday. We left a little in the pan, for good measure.

Quiche, Several Ways
Serves 6...or 3 hungry

I use 2% milk most of the time in this recipe, and I think it gives the quiche a lighter texture. You can use whole milk or even cream if you prefer, for a richer more decadent quiche. I would not recommend skim milk. For the crust, I usually parbake my homemade crusts for 15 minutes on 350. With a store bought crust I usually don't.

Ingredients
one pie crust
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
vegetables and/or meat
1/2 cup cheese*

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 450.
-Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
-Stir in the cheese.
-You can either stir the vegetables and/or meat into the egg mixture and pour the mixture into the pie crust, or you can layer them in the crust and pour the egg mixture over them. It all goes to the same place in the end.
-Bake on 450 for 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for about 30 minutes or until done. (The quiche will be set in the center and golden brown on the top.)
-Cool for 15 minutes and serve.
Variations:
-1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tbs. fresh basil, one medium tomato sliced or chopped.
-1/2 cup gruyere, 2 tsp. fresh thyme, 1 cup mushrooms lightly sauteed.
-1/2 cup sharp chedder, 4 pieces cooked bacon, 1/4 cup chopped green onion.
-1/2 cup feta, 1/2 to 1 cup lightly sauteed spinach, 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes (optional).

*This makes a lightly cheesey quiche. For more ooey gooey cheesiness, up the cheese to 3/4 cup or 1 cup, but be careful. I wouldn't recommend increasing the cheese for certain strong flavored types, like feta.

Chocolate-Cherry Crumb Cake Muffins

2009-07-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

Hey you guys! How have you been?

(Silence.)

O, there's no one left? That's too bad. I guess I'll just have to eat these muffins all by myself. I can't say I mind. They're pretty ridiculously scrumptious. Not too sweet, but just decadent enough to straddle the line between a tame desert and a generous breakfast.

I recently decided that muffins are my favorite thing to bake. They're super quick, and they're in individual portions, which is perfect for taking to work, or my running group, or just to prevent myself from eating an obscene amount in one sitting.

They're also extremely versatile. My "regular" muffins lately have been a blueberry bran muffin. I make half a batch every week and have them for breakfast. Those ones are a tad healthier, but I'll tell you about them later. You can't come back from such a long absence with a bran muffin. If I did that, the one soul out there still reading would head for the exit.

No you need a peace offering, which obviously means chocolate. Then some fresh fruit, since summer is in full force. And how about a little nutty, brown sugar topping, just for good measure.

Cherry season is almost over, so go and make these soon! Or it will be another 12 months....

Chocolate-Cherry Crumb Cake Muffins
Makes 12

You don't have to have a cherry pitter to make these. I don't. Just carefully use a paring knife. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to de-pit and quarter a cup. Also, I grind my almonds in food process, until they're somewhere between oatmeal and flour in consistency. Feel free to use a rougher chop, and bigger pieces, if you prefer.

Ingredients:
Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour (I used cake flour when I was out of AP)*
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3 tbs. melted butter or oil
1 cup milk (2% works well)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup quartered cherries
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Crumb Topping
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup ground almonds (rough chopped, if you prefer)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with liners or cooking spray.
-In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
-In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gentle fold together. The batter does not have to be smooth, so mix only until combined.
-Stir in the cherries and the chocolate chips.
-Combine the crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl.
-Divide the batter in the muffin cups, sprinkle the tops with the crumb topping.
-Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire wrack.

*Remember that engagement cake I made monttttths ago? I was a little overzealous buying cake flour for that, and since I bake like one cake a year, I still have several boxes left.

In case you want to know, although you might not, I calculated the total calories for the ingredients, and I came up with about 230 calories per muffin. This is not scientific by any means, but it's a rough estimate. Fat? Protein? Fiber? I don't have that much time on my hands. I'm sorry.

The Quest for the Perfect Scone

2009-04-17T08:11:00.001-04:00

I tweaked, and I tested, and I tweaked some more, and I found it! My go-to whole wheat, reduced fat, lightly sweetened scone recipe. Sounds about as appetizing as cardboard, huh?

Well, you would be wrong my friend. Trust me, if you don't believe that you can make scones without heavy cream, or a ton of butter, or mounds of white sugar, try it just once. These are amazingly light and the whole wheat flour gives them a great flavor. The agave nectar (or maple syrup if that's what you have) adds just a hint of sweetness, and if you want to guild the lily, the sprinkling of raw sugar adds a sweet outer crunch. They are infinitely adaptable to add-ins--like cranberries and orange zest in the fall, or more apropos for the coming months, blackberries with lime zest.

One of the most popular posts I ever wrote was about my all-time favorite scone recipe. (Although by popular, I mean my aunt made it and liked it a lot, but that is likely to be the height of my fame, so I'm going to go with it.) And that recipe is fantastic. Too good in fact, because it uses an entire cup of heavy cream and quite a bit of sugar. It's a recipe that I reserve for holidays. This recipe is for the other 10 months out of the year, when I'm doing penance for my holiday extravagances.

I started with this recipe on 101 Cookbooks, the hands-down ruling blog of natural cooking. I loved the whole wheat pastry flour and the oats but holy cow 11 tablespoons of butter! That put a kink in my "healthy" scone quest...

So I tweaked, and I tested, and I tweaked some more, and I found it. About half the butter, much more milk, and a little bit of egg later, and I had it.

Whole-Wheat, Everyday, Scones
Makes about 9 large scones or 18 little ones

Ingredients:
2 tbs. lemon zest (optional, but highly recommended)
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1 1/2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (6 tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg
1 cup 2% reduced fat milk*
1/4 cup agave nectar (or real maple syrup, preferably grade A)**
turbinado sugar (raw sugar) for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Zest the lemons or orange with a grater or use a vegetable peeler, then finely, finely chop the zest.
-Combine the zest, flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a course meal. The easiest way to do this is to dice the butter very small and make sure each piece is separated before you add them into the flour. The flour will keep them from sticking back together so shake the bowl before adding in more pieces. Then use two knifes to cut the butter pieces even finer. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
-If adding berries, nuts or other mix-ins, add to the dry mixture at this point.
-In another small bowl beat the egg, milk, and maple syrup together.
-Mix the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, just until combined. (There can be a few small dry spots, it will come together when you have it on the counter.)
-On a lightly flour surface, dump the dough out, knead it once or twice and press it into a 1 inch thick rectangle with your hands. (If it too sticky to do this just sprinkle it with a little more flour).
-Cut the dough into nine squares or cut each square into two triangles. (It helps if you put a little flour on the knife so it doesn’t stick.)
-Brush the top of each scone with a little milk if you want to sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
-Place the scones an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake in 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until they start browning on the edges.

NOTE: You can freeze the scones before you bake them, then bake them as you need them. If freezing, place baking sheet in the freezer after you shape the scones for at least one hour or until the scones are hard and frozen. Place the scones in a freezer bag until ready to bake. Defrost in the refrigerator on a parchment-lined baking sheet for a few hours then bake.

Variations:
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse (approx. in quarters) mixed with 2 tbs. sugar (or you can use dried cranberries, but don’t add sugar to them) and orange zest.

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or a combination. (I like lime zest with the blueberries and the blackberries.)

*If you don't normally buy 2% milk, I've also used 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1/2 cup skim milk.
**I've tried both, both were delicious, but I have a slight preference for the agave. But this bit of information (found on allaboutagave.com) might be useful if you are deciding which to buy: "While the sweetness of agave and maple [syrup] is comparable (and agave's caloric count is higher), agave still has the lower glycemic index (between 11 and 30). The most daunting property of maple syrup may be its price. Because it takes approximately 40 gallons of raw maple sap to produce a single gallon of finished syrup, the cost of pure maple syrup can be easily twice that of agave syrup, making it prohibitively priced for regular use." So if you're on a budget buy agave.

Polenta w/ Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

2009-04-15T21:08:00.009-04:00

I haven't cooked a lot of, what'd'ya call em...well-balanced meals, since Nic went to Egypt. I have mainly subsisted on bean burritos, tuna pasta salad (which I should really post about one of these days), and egg salad sandwiches. But when I was picking up some baking supplies at Whole Foods tonight (for an awesome scone recipe that is coming soon!), I impulsively purchased polenta. I think I was drawn in by the description:

I love that they use "also known as" on the label. Like the polenta is an 80s rock star trying to redefine its image. They wanted to draw in the southerners with the grits, but they didn't want to ostracize the northerners. What to do? Then a crafty marketer came up with the idea to throw on the fancy European term, "polenta." It's a twofer!

I came home, scrounged around in the fridge, pulled out a bunch of broccoli rabe my mom sent me home with after Easter and package of sausage that I needed to use, and I started to cook my first well-balanced meal in three weeks. Unless you count chasing bean burritos with ice cream sandwiches as well-balanced.

This is a fantastic combination of flavors--the sweet and spiciness of the sausage really balances out the slight bitterness of the broccoli rabe, and the polenta and grated Pecorino Romano cheese complete the picture. [UPDATE: This is the most awesomely delicious leftover lunch I have had in a looooooooong time. So make enough for leftovers, mmmk?] Okay, enough food talk mumbo-jumbo, it is easy to throw together, and it makes for a pretty presentation if you cut the polenta into little squares or circles after it sets...or you can just glob it on the plate if you want to skip a step and you aren't worried about such vanities.

The most difficult part of preparing this meal is prepping the broccoli rabe, but it's not that bad once you get the hang of it. My mom taught me to cut about 1/2 inch off the stem end then pull it towards the flowered end to pull off the tough outer skin on the stem. Then, using a good paring knife, you get under the edge of the skin and pull it off in pieces, moving around the stem. Some of the toughest outer leaves will come with it. The skin will come off fairly easily, and it doesn't have to be perfect, but you want to get most of it off because it makes the broccoli rabe tough.

Polenta w/ Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Serves 6

Ingredients:
two large bunches of broccoli rabe (it shrinks when it's cooked)
1/4 cup of olive oil (give or take)
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
6 Italian sausages, cubed (sweet or spicy, your choice)*
2 cups of polenta (i.e. corn grits)
2 tbs. butter
salt/black pepper
1 1/2 cups of grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan)

Directions:
-Put a large pot of salted water (about 2 tsp. salt) on to boil on high heat. Clean the broccoli rabe (see above for technique). When the water comes to a boil, throw in the broccoli rabe. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes in the boiling water, until the stems are softened. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking.
-Using the same pot, bring 6 cups of salted water (about 2 tsp. salt) to a boil on high heat. Slowly pour in the polenta and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the polenta stirring often until it is very thick, about 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the polenta or it will stick and burn.
-While the polenta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and the cubed sausage and cook until the sausage is browned and cooked through. Add the broccoli rabe and cook just until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low to keep warm until the polenta is done.
-When the polenta is finished cooking, stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper, then spread in a glass baking dish. Let set for 10 minutes, then cut in squares or use a biscuit cutter (or the top of a glass) to cut individual servings.
-Place a serving of polenta on each plate, top with broccoli rabe and sausage, and garnish with a generous helping of grated cheese.

*Here I actually used spicy chicken sausage.

Lemon Curd Pie

2009-04-13T08:42:00.006-04:00

This very, very lemony pie was a quick, spring-y dessert for Easter Sunday. It comes together so easily and with ingredients that I usually have in the pantry, so I'm sure I will be making it a few more times this spring and summer. The berries really sweeten up the tartness of the lemon, so next time I will probably cover the whole pie with berries.

Happy Spring!

Lemon Curd Pie
Adapted from Gourmet, May 2008

Ingredients:
Crust
7 (5"X2 1/2" graham crackers, broken into small pieces
3/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

Lemon Curd
3-6 large lemons (depends on how much juice they make)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 whole large eggs plus 2 large yolks
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tbs. fruity olive oil

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle. Butter a 9 inch pie plate.
-Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add graham crackers and sugar and pulse until they are a fine crumb.
-Transfer crumb mixture to a bowl and mix with melted butter.
-Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and side of pie plate.
-Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.
- Grate enough zest from lemons to measure 1 tablespoon, then squeeze 3/4 cup juice from lemons.
-Whisk together lemon zest and juice, sugar, cornstarch, whole eggs, and yolks in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking, 2 minutes.
-Remove from heat and whisk in butter and oil until smooth.
-Pour the lemon curd into the pie crust. Top with berries and serve with fresh whipped cream.

Easter Bread

2009-04-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

Long time, no see! Or as my Grandmom Julie would have said... "Where you been all your life?"

I was thinking about my great-grandmother a lot today while I was baking this Easter bread. She never made it. She was too busy making cheese bread and hard boil eggs died shades of pastel I could never replicate. But it was one of the few things I remember my mom baking, and she got the recipe from Grandmom Julie's neighbor, Frances.

Frances scared the bejeebies out of me when I was a kid. She lived in the little row house next door to Grandmom Julie, and the only time I really remember seeing her was when she stood on the back balcony and shouted over it to talk to my grandmother in Italian while she hung her laundry on the line. I never understood why she didn't just come over, but she always sounded angry so I didn't say anything. Grandmom Julie and Frances were both immigrants, they both lived alone (for most of my memory), and they were the only people I knew who still hung their laundry out to dry. When I called my mom for the recipe and she told me she got it from Frances, I pictured the little old Italian lady shouting the recipe across the balconies to my mom.

I called this sweet bread when I was growing up, but after baking it myself I now realize it isn't actually that sweet. At least not on it's own. But then my mom and I remembered that it was supposed to have a powdered sugar glaze. And sprinkles. The little round rainbow colored ones to be exact. Unforunately I remembered the sprinkles too late, and so they didn't make an appearance on this year's bread. Next year though, I will be prepared with the sprinkles.

O, and a long time ago I mentioned that my mom made Easter bread shaped like bunnies. That was this bread, but apparently I did not inherit the dough sculpting gifts. After a failed attempt that looked more like a fat hamster, I went with braids. Which makes this look like challah.

Frances's Easter Bread
Makes 2 braided loaves, or apparently four bunnies.

Ingredients:
2 cakes yeast (or two packets active dry yeast, 4 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs. beaten
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks, beaten to brush on before baking
powdered sugar
milk
rainbow sprinkles

Directions:
-Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of sugar and set aside. It should froth up in 5 to 10 minutes. If it doesn't, either the water was the wrong temperature or the yeast is dead (expired).
-Scald the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave for 2 minutes.
-Pour the hot milk into a bowl (you can use the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one) and add the butter, sugar, and salt and mix. Cool to lukewarm.
-Add the flour a little at a time, enough to make a thick batter. Save the rest of the flour for later use.
-Add the yeast and two beaten eggs. Beat well.
-Add the rest of the flour a little at a time until the dough comes together into a loose ball.
-Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead, adding flour as needed. (This can also be done with the dough hook attachment on a stand mixer, it takes about three minutes on medium speed.)
-Shape the dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, put the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rise on hour and a half or until doubled in size.
-Punch down the dough. Let it rest in the bowl 15 minutes, covered.
-Shape into a bunny or another animal or just a braid and place on an ungreased baking sheet. (You can also put a hard boiled egg--colored or not--into the dough and lattice the dough in an X over the egg to hold it on).
-Cover the loaves with clean kitchen towels and let rise about an hour and a half.
-Brush with egg yolk before baking.
-Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.
-Make a glaze by adding a few tablespoons of milk slowly to about a cup of powdered sugar. Add milk until you reach the desired consistency (about the thickness of yogurt). When the bread is cool, brush it with the glaze and sprinkle on the sprinkles while the glaze is still wet.

A Classic Cookie

2009-03-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

I fought these cookies for a long time. I just couldn't come to terms with the thought of baking from the back of a package. I refused to believe that a recipe that public, that un-secret, could really be the best.

But since Nic is about to leave for a few months for work, I felt like I should indulge him and make the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. I drew the line at making Bisquick pancakes though. That was asking too much.

I don't know if these are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, but they are definitely a classic taste. I resisted the urge to alter the recipe this time, but I think that next time I would like to try to make them with a bittersweet chocolate chip for a richer taste or a little extra salt to balance out the sweetness.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the back of the bag.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or try the bittersweet chips)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
-In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
-Cream together the butter, sugars, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand). Add the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated.
-With the mixer on low speed (or your arm moving slowly), slowly add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until completely combined.
-Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.
-Let the dough rest for an hour or up to overnight in the refrigerator. (The package does not say you have to do this, but I think most cookies benefit from this little trip to fridge.)
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Scoop tablespoons of dough onto and ungreased baking sheet.
-Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are set in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
-Store in an airtight container. (If the cookies start to get hard, you can throw in a piece of white bread, they will get softer again. Again, the back of the package does not include this helpful hint. I include it free of charge.)

Eating Down the Fridge

2009-03-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

If you've been following the food blogging trends as of late, you may have noticed this little challenge--to skip a week of grocery shopping and subsist on what you have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. From what I can tell, it started over at eGullet at the end of February, where it was called "national eat the stuff in our freezers and pantries week." I've seen it mentioned on quite a few other blogs, but when I saw that A Mighty Appetite (Kim O'Donnel's Washington Post food blog) was hosting an "Eating Down the Fridge" week starting March 9, I thought it would be fun to participate.

And by fun, I mean I thought that if I was participating in an external challenge, I might be able to control my urge to stop at the moderately expensive grocer on the way home every day. I have to say, having this food blog has certainly exacerbated my grocery shopping habit. I can't tell you how many times I go to the store just to buy one or two (or ok, maybe ten) things just to make a particular recipe I've been wanting to try.

So this week I've been saving some money, rotating out some long-stashed food, and putting together some creative, if not blog-worthy, meals. And I haven't been to the grocery store for anything.

Thus far I've made the two loaves of bread, a chocolate-stout cake (which I planned to post, until I destroyed it while frosting it--delicious but hideous), tuna pasta salad, and pulled pork. I defrosted half of a pork shoulder that I've had in the freezer since the fall, rubbed it down with a brown sugar and spice mixture, and dropped it in the crock pot to cook while I was at work. I used about half of the pulled pork on these bar-b-que sliders, served on left over dinner rolls from last week that were getting dangerously close to the crouton stage.

Next week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

When Two Become One, Part 2

2009-03-10T08:30:00.001-04:00

This is the follow up to yesterday's post. Using the basic off-white sandwich bread recipe I posted yesterday, you can add a few ingredients to get this awesome cinnamon-raisin loaf. And if you want a loaf of each, instead of two loafs of one or the other, you can do that too with a little alteration.

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread
Adapted from the Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Makes two loaves.

Ingredients:
one recipe of off-white sandwich bread
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs. sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon
one lightly beaten egg

Directions:
If you want to make both loaves cinnamon-raisin.
-Follow the directions for making the off-white sandwich bread. Mix in 1 cup of raisins when you mix in the milk-yeast mixture and the butter (after the starter is done fermenting).
-After the dough rises for the first time, fold it like a business letter once (see video here), then return it to its bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
-Combine the cinnamon and the sugar in a small bowl.
-After an hour, divide the dough in half. Return one half to the fridge, and roll the other half out until it is a 7 by 14 inch rectangle. Brush with beaten egg, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 3/4 inch margin on all sides.
-Starting with a short side of the dough, roll the dough up tightly. Brush the top of the dough with egg and squeeze the dough gently with each roll so it will adhere to the filling. When you get to the end, pinch the dough to seal in the filling. Fold under the sides and pinch to seal.
-Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 8.5X4.5 in. loaf pan.
-Repeat with the second loaf.
-Cover both loaves with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise 1 to 2 hours or until the center is 1 1/2 inches higher than the sides of the pan. If you press the dough with your finger, it won't bounce back quickly.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with one rack in the lowest possible position, and the other rack just above it. Place a baking sheet on each rack. (If you have a pizza stone, place that on the top rack.)
-Set the pans on the top baking sheet. Toss 1 cup of ice cubes into the baking sheet on the bottom rack and immediately shut the oven door. Bake for 50 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the internal temperature is 210 degrees. Halfway through, rotate the pans.
-Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest on a wire rack until cooled. Remove from the pan and cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing.

If you want to make one loaf of cinnamon-raisin and one loaf plain.
-Follow the off-white sandwich bread directions until after the first rise. When you scrape the dough out of the bowl to fold it, divide the dough in half. With half of the dough, proceed with the off-white sandwich bread directions (fold like a business letter twice, return to bowl, rise again, etc.) With the other half of the dough, gently incorporate 1/2 cup of raisins into the dough while folding the dough like a business letter once, then return to the bowl. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
-Combine 2 tsp. cinnamon and 3 tbs. sugar in a small bowl.
-After an hour, roll out the cinnamon-raisin dough until it is a 7 by 14 inch rectangle. Brush with beaten egg, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 3/4 inch margin on all sides.
-Starting with a short side of the dough, roll the dough up tightly. Brush the top of the dough with egg and squeeze the dough gently with each roll so it will adhere to the filling. When you get to the end, pinch the dough to seal in the filling. Fold under the sides and pinch to seal.
-Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 8.5X4.5 in. loaf pan.
-Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise 1 to 2 hours or until the center is 1 1/2 inches higher than the sides of the pan. If you press the dough with your finger, it won't bounce back quickly.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with one rack in the lowest possible position, and the other rack just above it. Place a baking sheet on each rack. (If you have a pizza stone, place that on the top rack.)
-Set the pans on the top baking sheet (you can bake the off-white sandwich bread and the cinnamon-raisin at the same time). Toss 1 cup of ice cubes into the baking sheet on the bottom rack and immediately shut the oven door. Bake for 50 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the internal temperature is 210 degrees. Halfway through, rotate the pans.
-Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest on a wire rack until cooled. Remove from the pan and cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing.

When Two Become One, Part 1

2009-03-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

I was never a fan of the Spice Girls, but I couldn't help but think that was a catchy title for this post. I was feeling crafty this weekend, so I decided to try to make two different kinds of bread from one dough: off-white sandwich bread and cinnamon-raisin bread. I mean if I'm going to work my way through four rises (including the starter), I might as well get as much out of it as possible.

I just started to get into baking bread, so I picked up some books at the library and decided to try a few loaves this weekend when I was relatively un-busy. I really liked the no-knead bread we made a few months ago, but I wanted to try something a little more practical. (And by practical, I mean something I wouldn't just tear chunks off of and eat while standing in the kitchen. Because now that I'm done marathon training for the time being, there is no excuse for that many carbs.) In the Bread Bible, I found a recipe for basic white sandwich bread, which made two loaves, that I figured I could adapt for the ingredients I had on hand (i.e. real not dry milk and active not instant yeast). After scanning through the rest of the book, I noticed that the cinnamon-raisin bread recipe was almost identical up until the point where you add the raisins (duh), so I decided to try to divide the dough and make both.

I was really impressed with the results, especially the sandwich bread--which became off-white because 1) I ran out of white flour, and 2) I always feel better about myself when I use a little wheat flour in my baking. The sandwich bread was amazingly soft, softer than any store-bread I have bought in a long time, but that might be because I only buy the whole-wheat stuff that is sort of like cardboard. It also has great flavor, due in part to that wheat flour I threw in.

The cinnamon-raisin loaf was also delicious, but my method for incorporating the raisins was a little flawed. Because I only wanted raisins in half the dough, I waited to add them until right before I formed that half of the dough into a loaf, instead of mixing them in between the starter and the first rise. I tried to just sprinkle them on with the cinnamon sugar and roll them up, but I think it would have looked better and the raisins would have been better distributed if I had kneaded them into the dough. So you go ahead and do that.

All-in-all, I think this is a pretty solid, basic bread recipe. The results were great, even if the process was a little fussy. I'll definitely use it again--next time I might try dried apricot and cardamom instead of the cinnamon raisin--but if I want to ever get to the point where I make all my own bread, I'm going to have to find a technique with fewer steps.

I'll post how to turn this sandwich bread into cinnamon-raisin bread tomorrow, along with instructions on how to make a loaf of each from the same dough.

Off-White Sandwich Bread
Adapted from the Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum
Makes two loaves.

Ingredients:
for the starter
1 3/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tbs. plus 1 tsp. honey
3/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups plus 2 1/2 tbs. all-purpose flour

for the dough
2 cups plus 3 tbs. bread flour (you could substitute all-purpose, it will change the texture slightly)
1/4 cup skim milk, scalded (brought to a simmer), then cooled to 105-115 degrees
3/4 tsp. active dry yeast
9 tbs. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 tsp. salt

Equipment:
twp 8.5X4.5 in. loaf pans, lightly greased with cooking spray
two baking sheets
stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook (this could probably also be done in a food processor, but I haven't tested it myself yet, you could also do it by hand but that's just insanity)

Directions:
-In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm water and the honey, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast froths. If the yeast doesn't get foamy, dump it out and start over with new yeast.
-Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 1/2 tbs. all-purpose flour to the yeast mixture in the bowl, and whisk until very smooth to incorporate air, about two minutes. The starter will be the consistency of pancake batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
-Sprinkle the 2 cups plus 3 tbs. bread flour (or all-purpose flour) on top of the starter. DO NOT MIX. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 to 4 hours. After the first hour, the starter can be put in the refrigerator to ferment overnight. The sponge will bubble up through the loose flour as time goes on, like in the picture above.

-After the starter is finished fermenting, take the scalded milk (105 to 115 degrees) and sprinkle the 3/4 tsp. yeast on top of it. Let it set for 5 minutes until foamy.
-Add the milk-yeast mixture and the butter to the dough and mix with the dough hook on low speed for 1 minute or until the dough is well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
-Add the salt to the dough and knead the dough on medium speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. The dough should be smooth, shiny, and slightly sticky. If it is not stiff, add a little flour. If it is not sticky, add a little water.
-Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. With an oiled spatula, scrape the dough into the bowl. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray (or lightly oil), cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at warm room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

-When the dough has doubled, scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Flour your hands. Gently form the dough into a rectangle. Try not to deflate it. Pull the dough out to make it into a longer rectangle, then fold it like a business letter. Pull the dough out the opposite way, and fold it like a business letter a second time. (This video demonstrates the folding process quickly.)
-Set the dough back into the container, oil the surface, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for another 1 to 2 hours, until doubled.

-When the dough is done the second rise, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half.
-Shape each half into a loaf by pressing it into a wide rectangle with the long side facing you. Press down on the dough with your fingertips to deflate any large bubbles. Fold over the right side of the dough to just past the center. Fold over the left side of the dough to just overlap it. Press the overlapped section to seal the dough.
-Starting at the top of the dough, roll it over three or four times until it reaches the bottom edge of the dough. With each roll, push the dough away from you slightly on the counter to tighten the outer skin of the dough.
-If the loaf is not as wide as the pan, roll it back and forth with your hands working gradually from the center to the edges to widen it. Tuck the sides under, and place in the loaf pan.
-Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover each loaf. Allow to rise until the center of the loaf is about 1 inch above the side of the pan, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When you press the dough with your finger, the dough will not spring back quickly.

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with one rack in the lowest possible position, and the other rack just above it. Place a baking sheet on each rack. (If you have a pizza stone, place that on the top rack.)
-Set the pans on the top baking sheet. Toss 1 cup of ice cubes into the baking sheet on the bottom rack and immediately shut the oven door. Bake for 50 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the internal temperature is 210 degrees. Halfway through, rotate the pans.
-Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest on a wire rack until cooled. Remove from the pan and cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing.

Stout Braised Short Ribs

2009-03-06T12:02:00.002-05:00

All winter I have been looking at recipes for braised short ribs. On blogs, in magazines, everywhere. I kept intending to make them, but I kept putting it off. And the longer I put it off, the more my mind formed an idea of what these braised short ribs would taste like.

Now I know it is ridiculous, but I feel like braised short ribs tricked me. Don't get me wrong they were delicious, they just weren't what I was expecting. And what was I expecting exactly? Well, something closer to bar-b-que. Yes, I do know that this makes no sense. Yes, I realize that if I had simply looked at the ingredient list of the braised short rib recipe I decided on, I would have known that there was no way those ingredients were going to come together to form something like bar-b-que.

What can I say, I guess I just spent too much time thinking about these ribs before I made them. Luckily the people I fed them to hadn't thought about them at all before, so they seemed to enjoy them a lot.

Luckily, even though they weren't what I expected, they were delicious. The flavors in the dry rub bring a sweet and slightly smoky flavor to the meat, and the long braise really makes the meat very tender. The recipe suggested making them a day ahead, then reheating before serving, which really helps the flavors soak into the meat. This is also makes it easier to skim off some of the fat from the surface. These are great served with some fluffy mashed potatoes. (And you know, something green on the side, so you feel better about all the beef and potatoes.)

Stout Braised Short Ribs
Adapted from Gourmet, January 2007

Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbs. paprika (not hot)
1 tbs. curry powder (preferably Madras)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp dry mustard or 3 tsp. dijon mustard
4 to 4 1/2 lb. beef short ribs, cut into 4-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped (2 cups)
3 tbs. olive oil
4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
3 celery ribs, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1/4 cup chopped garlic (5 to 6 large cloves)
1 3/4 cups beef broth (14 oz)
2 (12-oz) bottles stout such as Guinness
2 (14- to 15-oz) cans diced tomatoes

Equipment:
6-qt heavy nonreactive pot with a lid (mine was smaller, and it barely fit)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Combine brown sugar, paprika, curry powder, cumin, pepper, salt, and mustard in a small bowl.
-Pat ribs dry and arrange in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan or a shallow dish, then generously coat all sides of ribs with spice mixture. Marinate, uncovered and chilled, 1 hour.
-Heat oil in pot over high heat until hot and quickly brown ribs on all 3 meaty sides (but not bone side) without crowding, in batches if necessary, about 1 minute per side. Transfer meat to a large plate.
-Add onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaves to pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
-Add broth, beer, and tomatoes with their juice, then add ribs with any juices and remaining spices accumulated on plate and bring liquid to a boil, uncovered. Cover pot and transfer to oven, then braise until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
-Skim off excess fat from surface of sauce. Discard bay leaves.

NOTES: Short ribs improve in flavor if braised 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat, covered, in a 350°F oven until hot, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Soft Pretzels

2009-03-05T12:02:00.000-05:00

These are my new favorite thing to make. I know this because I made them twice in one week. And I have every intention of making them again this weekend. They are that good.

If you are from a city that has good soft pretzels, you probably don't need to know how to make them at home. But if you grew up in one of these soft-pretzel-topias, then moved away, then this recipe is for you. These will satisfy your soft pretzel needs.

The first batch I made, I ended up eating 3/4 of the pretzels myself (I let Nic have a little bit) in three days. If you're wondering, that is about 2 large pretzels a day, on average. What I'm saying is, if you really love soft pretzels, then these are not something you want to make when you're on a diet.

I've made these pretzels two ways now. The first time I made them the suggested way, by dividing the dough in 8 pieces, and making 8 large, doughy pretzels. They were amazing. The second time I was making the pretzels for a get-together, and I thought something a little smaller would be more appropriate, so I divided the dough in 16 pieces, and made smaller versions of the pretzels. These were also good, but I think I preferred the larger pretzels because they had a better ratio of doughy inside to crisp outside, for my taste.

Either way they're great. Next time I think I am going to try making them into pretzel bites (ala the movie theater, with molten cheese on the side, mmmm.) I also have some big plans for hot dogs wrapped in pretzel dough.

Soft Pretzels
Adapted from Alton Brown, 2007
Makes 8 large or 16 small pretzels

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
22 oz. all-purpose flour (4 1/2 cups)
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted (1/2 stick)
vegetable oil
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbs. water
pretzel salt (or sea salt or kosher salt)

Equipment:
stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment

Directions:
-Combine the water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. (If the mixture doesn't foam, throw it out and start over with new yeast.)
-Add the flour and butter to the mixer bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low until well combine. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes.
-Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl, then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and sit in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in side.
-Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper, set aside.
-Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an saucepan.
-In the meantime, turn the dough onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces (or 16 equal pieces for small pretzels). Roll out each piece of dough into a 24 inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U to form a pretzel shape. Place on parchment lined sheet pan.
-One by one, drop the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water with a spatula or a slotted spoon and return them to the sheet pan. Brush the top of each pretzel with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. If you don't have pretzel salt, use sea salt or kosher salt.
-Bake until dark golden brown in colors, approximately 12-14 minutes (10-12 minutes for smaller pretzels). Transfer to a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then serve warm.

NOTE: These can be flash frozen after the baking soda bath, then stored in ziploc bags in the freezer. Defrost before continuing with the recipe. They don't taste as amazing as they do fresh, but they're still great.

Key Lime Pie

2009-03-04T12:02:00.001-05:00

I know I've said this a million times (or maybe five), but I'm not much of a dessert person. So when I was having people over for dinner Saturday night, I let my friend Jeff who was visiting from out of town decide what to make for dessert. He immediately suggested key lime pie, and luckily I had just noticed a recipe in this month's Gourmet magazine. Unluckily, it required us squeezing 2 lbs. of itty bitty limes. And by "us" I mean Jeff and his girlfriend Kat. I delegated that task. I'm a good kitchen manager.

Other than the lime squeezing, the pie came together pretty easily. Since it has to chill for eight hours, it can be made well ahead of dinner, so it's not in the way while everything else is cooking. The flavor was great--really, really tart. I liked the almonds in the graham cracker crust. They added a nice crunchy texture. I served the pie with homemade slightly sweetened whipped cream, which I highly recommend to balance out the tartness of the pie. I wouldn't have been able to eat the pie by itself, and I like sour things. Next time I think I will add a blackberry puree drizzle to compliment the lime too.

Key Lime Pie
Adapted from Gourmet, March 2009, originally from Town Hall Restaurant, San Francisco

Ingredients:
7 (5"X2 1/2" graham crackers, broken into small pieces
3/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
zest of 2 key limes, grated on a microplane
1 cup fresh key lime juice (from about 2 lbs. fresh key limes)
4 large egg yolks
2 drops green food coloring for color (optional)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle. Butter a 9 inch pie plate.
-Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely chopped. Add graham crackers and sugar and pulse until they are a fine crumb.
-Transfer crumb mixture to a bowl and mix with melted butter.
-Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and side of pie plate.
-Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. (Leave the oven on.)
-Gently whisk together filling ingredients (sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice, egg yolks, and food coloring, if using) in a medium bowl until smooth and pour into cooled crust.
-Bake 15 to 20 minutes until just set in center. (It will still appear jiggly, the filling will set as it cools.)
-Cool completely on rack, then chill pie loosely covered in the refrigerator at least 8 hours.

Note: Pie can be chilled up to 2 days.

Tilapia Ceviche

2009-03-03T12:01:00.002-05:00

I don't usually test recipes before I serve them to company. There are just way too many recipes I want to try, and my friends don't like to venture across the Potomac that often. (Moving to Northern Virginia is D.C.'s equivalent of moving to Brooklyn from Manhattan.) But even though I don't test recipes, I try to stick to ones that I feel relatively confident making. So I was a little nervous when Nic said he wanted to make ceviche for the friends we were having over Saturday night.

We've both eaten a lot of ceviche, but I had never made anything like it at home before. Now that I have, I think I will be serving it a lot more. It is really easy to throw together, most of the time it is just sitting in the refrigerator. Ceviche is the perfect appetizer because it can be prepared well ahead of time and dished out right before serving, leaving you free to pull together the rest of your meal (which if you're like me, is essential, since I normally underestimate how long this takes by at least 45 minutes).

The most important part of the ceviche I think is getting a very fresh fish. I sent Nic to the Whole Foods fish counter to request their freshest fish, and that is how we ended up with the tilapia. The type of citrus that you use can also really alter the flavor of the ceviche. This time we used mostly lemon (because that was cheapest), but I think it would be interesting to try a lime and grapefruit combination. I'm looking forward to trying other combinations of fish, citrus, and other flavors soon.

Tilapia Ceviche
10 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh tilapia filets, cut into 1/4 inch slices
juice of 9 large lemons
juice of 3 limes
juice of 1 orange
1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
handful of fresh cilantro
1 tbs. olive oil
salt
1 to 2 avocados, chopped
3 green onions, green parts chopped (optional)

Directions:
-Place tilapia, citrus juice, onion, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro in a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for 6 to 7 hours. When the tilapia is "cooked" it will be opaque and will flake fairly easily. Most of the citrus will be absorbed.
-Take the tilapia out of the bowl and shred it into small pieces. In a clean bowl, mix together the tilapia, olive, oil and salt to taste.
-Take the onion, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro, out of the bowl and roughly chop together.
-Divide onion mixture between 10 small dishes. Top onion mixture with tilapia ceviche, divided evenly between dishes. Garnish with a generous amount of avocado and some green onion.
-Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

2009-03-02T14:45:00.000-05:00

I love gnocchis. When I was growing, gnocchi night was such a treat. There were never any leftovers. My dad would carefully dole out even portions to all of us, and my brothers and I ate really fast hoping we could get seconds.

Nic does not share my love of gnocchis. He's tried them a few times, and he thinks they are a slimey, doughy mess. When I said I wanted to make sweet potato gnocchis, he was not excited.

This was my second attempt at gnocchis. My first attempt (at regular potato gnocchis) really was a slimey, doughy mess. The sweet potato gnocchis turned out much better, which is good since I made them for dinner Saturday when I had a bunch of friends over.

I have to say, I think I prefer plain gnocchis still, but these are still pretty good, and the sweet potato flavor is really strong. Oddly enough, Nic really liked these. Of course the brown butter and sage "sauce" doesn't hurt. Make sure you cut the gnocchis on the small side. The texture will be better that way. Mine turned out a little too doughy in the center because they were too big. Also try to use as little flour as necessary to allow the sweet potato flavor to really stand out.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2005
Makes 10-12 servings

Ingredients:
2 1 lb. sweet potatoes, pierced all over with fork
12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup finely grated Romano cheese (about 3 oz.) (original recipe calls for Parmesan)
2 tbs. (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tsp. plus 2 tablespoons salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tbs. chopped fresh sage

Directions:
-Place sweet potatoes on a plate and microwave on high until tender, turning occasionally, 5-8 minutes.
-Let the potatoes rest until they are cool enough to handle. Cut in half, scoop out the flesh, and mash it in a medium bowl.
-Transfer 3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta cheese and stir until combined.
-Add Romano cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg and mash to blend.
-Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.
-Turn dough out onto floured surface and divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky.
-Cut ropes into one inch pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
-Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
-When ready to serve the gnocchi: Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add chopped sage and season with salt and pepper.
-Add half of gnocchi to the brown butter-sage sauce. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes.
-Remove gnocchi from sauce with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving dish. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.

Note: Gnocchi can be frozen after they are boiled and cooled, make sure they are dry. Thaw, then continue with recipe as indicated.

Romano Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls

2009-03-01T13:42:00.004-05:00

My great-grandmother (Grandmom Julie) used to make cheese bread every Easter. She would mix mounds of flour with piles of freshly grated Romano cheese right on the table top, adding the wet ingredients into a little well in the center. When she baked the big circular loaves, the entire house filled with a cheesy aroma. My favorite part of Easter was going to her house for a slice of cheese bread and a hard boiled egg (died the strangest colors, colors I don't think could come from the packet of food die.) My mom has tried to make it a few times since she passed away, but it is hard to replicate. Maybe her table top doesn't have the same seasoning effect.

I haven't tried to make Grandmom Julie's cheese bread yet, but when I bit into these rolls, they instantly reminded me of it. These rolls are light and airy (where Grandmom Julie's cheese bread was dense). The cheese flavor is also a little more subdued in these rolls, although I suppose you could amp it up by adding more cheese. I usually only make rolls or bread when we have company coming for dinner--because I'm afraid I'll eat the entire batch myself if I make it otherwise--but these are so wonderful, I might start making a half batch for myself every week.

Romano Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls
Adapted from Gourmet, February 2009

The original recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but I prefer Romano. Asiago or another strong, hard cheese would probably also work.

Ingredients:
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. honey (or sugar)
2/3 cup warm milk (105 to 115 degrees), divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbsp. for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups finely grated Romano cheese (1 1/3 oz.)
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
5 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into 1 tbs. pieces and softened
1 tbs. water

Directions:
-Stir together honey and 1/3 cup of warm milk in a the bowl of a stand mixer, and sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. If the yeast doesn't foam, dump it out and start over with new yeast.
-Whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, cheese, and salt. With mixer on low, add flour mixture to yeast mixture along with the remaining 1/3 cup milk.
-Increase mixer speed to medium and beat in 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
-Beat, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes.
-Beat in butter, one tbs. at a time. Beat until dough is elastic, about 2 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)
-Scrape dough into center of bowl, sprinkle with remaining 2 tbs. flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at warm room temperature intil doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
-Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as you roll in a circular motion.
-Arrange rolls 1 inch apart in a buttered 9 inch cake pan or spring form pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth), and let dough rise until doubled in size and dough fills pan, 1 to 1/2 hours.
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in middle.
-Whisk together remaining egg with water and brush on top of rolls. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
-Cool rolls on a rack at least 20 minutes.

Notes: Rolls are best fresh out of the oven. They can be frozen for up to one month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in 350 degree oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes. (I didn't try this myself, but Gourmet says it will work.)

Roasted Red Peppers...and a good excuse

2009-02-24T12:14:00.016-05:00

I am back from my longest expanse of non-blogging since I started this shindig. And I know that I am coming back with a not-very-exciting post. A how-to for making roasted red peppers. I can feel you deleting me from your RSS readers now. Please don't!

First of all roasted red peppers are possibly the easiest thing to make that most people buy pre-made. I'm not going to say that the jarred variety is tasteless or anything, but it is definitely more expensive. Plus when your peppers start to get a little bit past pretty, you can always roast them up to avoid wasting them. (Not that I do that of course. My produce is always perfectly fresh, local, organic, and seasonal... bell peppers are in season somewhere in February I'm sure.)

My favorite way to eat roasted red (or orange or yellow) peppers is on a good piece of bread. End of story. Sometimes I put them in my hummus. But this little pizza type thing I made last night was also delightful. And ridiculously easy. It would make a good appetizer for guests. Or if you're like me, you can just eat the whole thing yourself in front of the TV. (Interestingly, the episode of Good Eats I was watching was on making pizza dough. So if you need some dough to make a pizza like mine, check out Alton's technique. My pizza is literally just dough, baked half way until it puffs up, then topped with roasted red peppers, some of the oil they are stored in, salt and pepper, and grated Romano cheese, then baked the rest of the way. I make all my pizzas in a 550 degree preheated oven on a preheated cast iron skillet. I lack a pizza stone, but this works.)

Now that I have tried to make my roasted red pepper technique sound invaluable, on to my excuses. I do have an excuse for my long absence! Not that you're interested, but I have two: 1) I ran my second marathon. 2) I had to find and book a place to have my wedding next year.

The second was much more painful than the first, I assure you. The thought of giving up during the marathon never once crossed my mind, but Las Vegas sounded like a viable option some days as I e-mailed venue after venue and did endless calculations of rental+food+tax+....

I did learn a few food-related things from these distractions. First of all, sports jelly beans are much better than Gu. Trust me. Also, "crudite" is my least favorite word of all time. Caterers are always telling you about their crudite, like you're supposed to get excited about some carrot sticks and celery stalks. Puh-lease. Just because it's French doesn't mean it's impressive.

Roasted Red Peppers
Aunt Jenny taught me this, particularly the brown bag trick.

Ingredients:
red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, or a combination
olive oil
garlic cloves
salt
Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil.
-Place the bell peppers, whole, on the cookie sheet and roast for five to ten minutes. Check often, and when the peppers start to char slightly, turn them. Continue until all the sides are withered and slightly charred.
-Remove the peppers from the oven and place in brown paper bag. Close the bag. (This will make it easier to remove the skins.
-Once the peppers have cooled, remove the skins, stems and seeds. Place the roasted peppers in a jar and cover with olive oil. Crush two to three garlic cloves (depending on amount of peppers and taste) and put them in the jar with the peppers. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Shake gently to combine, and store in the refrigerator.

These keep for about two weeks. But they rarely last that long.

Battle Stuffed Pork Chop

2009-02-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

There is an ongoing battle in my kitchen. The battle is over who is the sous chef and who is running the show. Obviously, I'm running the show, but Nic still insists on calling me "sous chef Kate." We have very different approaches to cooking. I lean toward a few flavors, preferably ones that are already in the fridge, and minimal mess making. Nic leans toward putting as many different elements into a dish as humanly possible, with no regard to what we already have.

Usually we compromise and we make only one dinner. But when we got these awesome, thick pork chops from the store this weekend and decided they were perfect for stuffing, we thought it would be fun to have a mini Iron Chef battle. And battle stuffed pork chop was on.

Nic made an apricot and pine nut stuffed pork chop wrapped in bacon with an apricot glaze (pictured above and above that). In the spirit of his style of cooking this required a trip to Whole Foods. But it was delicious, and very pretty when it was sliced open. The saltyness of the bacon balanced the sweetness of the apricot. Of course, I still insist that using bacon is kind of like cheating. What doesn't taste good wrapped in bacon?

I made a sage "pesto" and feta stuffed pork chop with lemon. Even I have to admit my dish was not nearly as pretty on the plate since there was no contrast of colors, but the flavors really popped. The acidity from the lemon helped balance out the salty, savory flavors from the herb and cheese.

(Did you like my fun food descriptions there like "balance," "popped." Ok, so I probably don't have a future as a professional food writer.)

In the end, we couldn't decide which dish tasted better. And don't think that's because we were being nice to each other. If one of the dishes had lagged behind, the other person would have definitely said something. But since Nic definitely won on presentation points, we will give him the win for Battle Stuffed Pork Chop. Tune back in for the next Battle.

If you're deciding which to make, I'd say Nic's is more impressive for company (bacon wrapped+glaze looks impressive), but mine has slightly less ingredients if you're going out to grab some stuff for a weeknight dinner. They're both ridiculously easy to make though (despite the detailed instructions that make them sound harder than they are).

Nic's Bacon-Wrapped, Apricot-Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:
thick cut boneless pork chops, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick

for each pork chop
4 to 5 dried apricots (unsweetened)
2 tbs. apricot jam
2 tbs. pine nuts
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
4 strips of bacon

for the glaze
left over apricot mixture from stuffing the pork chops
apricot jam
white wine

Directions:
-Optional: Soak the pork chops for about 2 hours in a salt water brine (enough water to cover the chops and about 1 tbs. of kosher salt for each pork chop). The pork chops can sit in this brine for up to 24 hours in the fridge.
-Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator about 30 minute before cooking to bring to room temperature.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-To make the cavity in the pork chop for stuffing, first cut a one inch wide incision in the side of the pork chop half way between the top and the bottom. Using a small knife, widen the cavity inside the pork chop, without making the incision larger. Be careful not to poke another hole through on the sides.
-In a food processor, combine the apricots, jam, pine nuts, thyme and salt, and pulse several times until the mixture forms a thick, chunky paste.*
-Using a small spoon, spoon the apricot mixture into the pork chop and stuff it. Don't over-stuff or the apricot will leek out while cooking.
-Place four strips of bacon, overlapping slightly at the edges, on a cutting board. Place the stuffed pork chop on one end of the bacon. Grabbing the edges of the bacon, role the pork chop until it is completely wrapped in the bacon.
-Repeat with all the pork chops.
-Heat an oven-proof skillet large enough to hold all the pork chops over medium-high heat. Use a small amount of oil in the skillet just to prevent sticking.
-When the skillet is hot, place the pork chops into the skillet with the seam of the bacon down.
-Let the bacon brown on all four sides (about 3 to 5 minutes per side), then put the skillet into the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness), or until the internal temperature of the pork chops is 160 degrees (so says the USDA, but if you don't want it to get too dry, take it out at 155 and let it rest under foil for 5 minutes).
-While the pork chops are cooking, put any leftover apricot mixture from stuffing the pork chops into a small sauce pan. Add about twice as much apricot jam as you added stuffing. (If there is no leftover stuffing, about 1/2 cup jam should be enough). Add 2 tbs. of white wine, and place the saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, the goal is just to warm the glaze. After about five minutes, if the glaze is still too thick, add more white wine gradually until it reaches the desired consistency.
-When the pork chops are done, serve topped with the apricot glaze.

*If you don't have a food processor, finely chop the apricots, pine nuts, and thyme and mix with the jam.

Kate's Sage "Pesto" and Feta Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:
thick cut boneless pork chops, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick

for each pork chop
2 tbs. fresh sage leaves
2 tbs. pine nuts
1 tbs. + 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, plus extra for serving
1/4 tsp. salt, plus extra for serving
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbs. crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
-Optional: Soak the pork chops for about 2 hours in a salt water brine (enough water to cover the chops and about 1 tbs. of kosher salt for each pork chop). The pork chops can sit in this brine for up to 24 hours in the fridge.
-Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator about 30 minute before cooking to bring to room temperature.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-To make the cavity in the pork chop for stuffing, first cut a one inch wide incision in the side of the pork chop half way between the top and the bottom. Using a small knife, widen the cavity inside the pork chop, without making the incision larger. Be careful not to poke another hole through on the sides.
-In a food processor, combine the sage, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pulse until the mixture becomes mostly smooth. Add the sage mixture to the crumbled feta and stir to combine.
-Using a small spoon, spoon the mixture into the pork chop and stuff it. Don't over-stuff or the mixture will leek out while cooking.
-Season the outside of the pork chop with a little lemon juice and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.
-Repeat with all the pork chops.
-Heat an oven-proof skillet large enough to hold all the pork chops over medium-high heat. Use a small amount of oil in the skillet just to prevent sticking.
-Brown the pork chops on both sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.
-When the pork chops are browned on both sides, place the skillet in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness), or until the internal temperature of the pork chops is 160 degrees (so says the USDA, but if you don't want it to get too dry, take it out at 155 and let it rest under foil for 5 minutes).
-When the pork chops are done cooking, season with a little more lemon juice and a light sprinkle of salt and serve.

Tabbouleh

2009-02-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

I can't make tabbouleh without thinking of my roommate Marie laboring over many bunches of parsley, chopping with a knife that looked like it had a previous career as a letter opener. Marie was my French roommate in Cairo, and our knives (like everything else in our kitchen) were at least 50 years old and had never been sharpened. They probably weren't good enough to even bother sharpening to begin with.

But the dull little knife didn't deter Marie from making tabbouleh at least once a month to bring to expat potlucks all over Cairo. I remember watching her pull all the leaves off the bunches of parsley and mint with what seemed like infinite patience to me at the time. Then the slow process of chopping the herbs and the tomatoes and onions. Making tabbouleh seemed to be the ultimate labor of love.

I will never forget my awe when I came back to the states and got really sharp knives as a gift. Cooking became so much easier, it is unbelievable. And making tabbouleh became a much more manageable process.

Tabbouleh is one of my absolute favorite salads. Not only is it delicious, but you can keep the leftovers, and they even taste better the next day. (I dare you to try that with a regular lettuce salad that has the dressing on it. G-ross.)

This is more a how-to for making tabbouleh than it is a recipe, because the amounts are somewhat fluid. I recommend preparing all of the separate parts and adding them to the parsley gradually until you have the taste and proportions you like. I usually like a lower bulghur-to-parsley ratio than the pictures show, but I added my bulghur all at once by accident, then realized I had a little too much.

Idon't use a food processor to chop my parsley because I'm afraid of ending up with pesto. If you really can't bear the thought of chopping the parsley by hand (although a sharp chef knife makes this pretty easy) be sure to only pulse the food processor a few times.

Tabbouleh
Serves 6 to 8 as a side.

Ingredients:
2 large bunches of parsley
1 bunch of mint
1/2 cup fine bulghur wheat
1 1/2 plum tomatoes, or 1 large salad tomato
1/2 large white onion
juice from 1 1/2 lemons
2 to 3 tbs. olive oil
salt/pepper

Directions:
-Place the bulghur in a small sauce pan with 1 cup of water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. The bulghur is done when it is soft and has absorbed the water. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
-While the bulghur cooks, take the first bunch of parsley and start to separate the leaves from the stems*, discarding the stems (or saving them to throw in a stock). On a large cutting board, using a sharp chef's knife, roughly chop the parsley. Run the knife through it in one direction, then run the knife through it in the other direction. Push the parsley back into the center and repeat.
-Put the first bunch of chopped parsley into a serving bowl, then repeat the process with the second bunch.
-Remove the mint leaves from their stems, and chop them. Chop the tomatoes and onion.
-Add the bulghur, mint, tomatoes, and onion to the parsley in the serving bowl. (If you think you have too much of any part, add it gradually).
-Squeeze the juice from one lemon into the salad. Add 2 tbs. of olive oil. Toss the salad.
-Add more lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

*You don't have to get every little piece of stem off, but try to at least get the large center stems from each sprig. I've seen tabbouleh made with the stems also thrown in, but I prefer it to be mostly leaves.

Where Have All the Girl Scouts Gone?

2009-02-05T17:30:00.001-05:00

Maybe I'm getting antzy too soon, but isn't it Girl Scout cookie season? CNN is writing about Girl Scout cookie selling ethics, so it must be the season of the Thin Mint. Apparently there is a "a flock of 3.7 million Girl Scouts" and all their unethical parents are hawking their cookies for them at work so their daughters don't have to take time away from their "soccer, Hebrew school, karate" commitments.

First of all, you think with a flock that big I could score a box of Thin Mints, but I haven't seen one yet. What are my coworkers the most ethical parents around or something?

Second, why weren't my parents so unethical? I was a Girl Scout for (far too many) years, and my Dad never took that little sign-up sheet to work. Just like my parents never put that stupid sticker on their car that said "Proud parent of a Burnside Honor Roll Student." And you know what, I'm okay with that. Sure, I had to sit my little butt at a table outside the bank to sell my cookies in the freezing cold, but at least I know how to make correct change and talk to strangers now! Look, I've even made a career out of talking to strangers. Although, I have to say, I think strangers like Girl Scouts more than reporters. But the point is, what are parents going to do next, do their kids Hebrew school homework and play in the soccer games for them?

Back to the cookies. I'll take as many boxes of Thin Mints as I can fit in my freezer, please. And one box of those ridiculously sweet ones with the caramel and coconut for Nic. (I checked the cookie descriptions on my local chapter's site and apparently they're called Samoas now, but I'm pretty sure they were Caramel Delights back in my days in the old Green and White.)

And even though I object to the practice on principle, I will compromise my beliefs and buy from some Girl Scout's parent if need be. I'm a sucker for a Thin Mint.

What are you ordering? If you like the peanut butter ones, have no fear, the Girl Scouts are apparently immune to the recent peanut butter recall fiasco. Whew. Close call all you Do-Si-Doers.

Photo by Flickr user bandita (Creative Commons license)

Sweet Potato Hash

2009-02-05T08:18:00.005-05:00

My little cold from last week morphed into something much grosser, and I have not really felt like cooking at all this week. I've barely felt like eating. But last night I summoned the energy to try out an idea that had been swimming around in my head for awhile. I'm supposed to be eating more sweet potatoes (so says the nutritionist/trainer that visits our little apartment gym once a month) and even though I do love them just baked with a little butter and cinnamon, I wanted to try something different.

The apple might sounds strange, but trust me it adds a great flavor to the dish that works really well with the sweet potatoes and the sage. If you're not a fan of bacon, you could substitute olive oil, but I think the bacon really gives the dish a lot of flavor, so it would probably be better to reduce the amount used before eliminating it all together. We had these with dinner, but they would be a great dish for a brunch. And the recipe is easy to scale up or down based on how many people you are serving.

Sweet Potato Hash
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
4 strips of medium-cut bacon
1/2 medium apple (I used Gala), diced small
2 tsp. fresh sage, chopped

Directions:
-Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes. The potatoes should give a little when you poke them.
(Shortcut: Poke holes and microwave each potato for five minutes or until softened.)
-Let the potatoes rest until they are cool enough to handle.
-In the meantime, chop the bacon into cubes, about 1/2 inch across. Cook the bacon over moderate heat in a large frying pan, until the fat starts to reduce from the bacon and the bacon gets crispy.
-When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, pull the skin off. (It should come off fairly easy, you shouldn't need a peeler.) Dice the sweet potato into large squares.
-When the fat has reduced from the bacon, add the diced apples and sweet potatoes to the pan, then the chopped sage. Toss (or gently stir) to combine. Cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, or until the apples become slightly tender.
-Season with salt and pepper and serve.

New Header, Look Up!

2009-02-03T00:31:00.003-05:00

Well not if you're reading this in an RSS reader. But the awesome MK made me a nifty new blog header, so I totally redesigned my formatting. Yes, I said nifty. I'm bringing it back.

Engagement Cake!

2009-02-02T07:47:00.013-05:00

This is what I was working on for the better part of last week--a two-tier engagement cake for our friends Joe and MK. It was quite the experience trying to construct this cake. I had no idea what I was doing so I e-mailed back and forth with my friend Katie for instructions...28 times. I still turned a sizeable chunk of fondant a hideous brownish-red color (and died my hands a lovely shade of pink that lasted two days), but luckily Nic had convinced me to buy the jumbo size fondant at Michael's. I was so scared of coloring the fondant after that though that I tried to stick to simple colors...and I ended up making what would have been a beautiful baby shower cake. Too bad it was for an engagement.

Then we carried the cake to a great restaurant downtown for a little get together with some of Joe and MK's friends. And the waiters for some reason decided to put candles in the cake. Candles? So now it looked like a birthday cake. Actually it looked more like a cartoon explosive... Can you see how the candles are coming out at an angle? Sometimes you can't win.

The lovely Jaime took this picture (and the one at the bottom of the cake slices). I wish all my blog photos could be done by a professional. ::Sigh:: She also took a picture of my face when I saw that they put candles in the cake. It wasn't a pretty face.

Luckily despite the odd coloring and the candles the cake tasted great. So great in fact that after serving us our slices the rest of the cake seemed to have disappeared in the kitchen. Hmmm. The bottom tier of the cake was pumpkin with butterscotch-pecan filling and brown sugar icing (for MK, who loves all things pumpkin) and the top tier was chocolate with raspberry filling and icing (because Joe prefers chocolate).

The pumpkin cake was really dense but delicious, and the butterscotch filling and caramelly brown sugar icing were the perfect compliment. The recipe came Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, and for the sake of brevity, I'm not going to retype it. I didn't change anything, but I did double the cake portion of the recipe to make two eight inch cake layers (I had a little extra because the originally recipe is for a 9 inch cake), and I swapped pecans for the walnuts in the filling.

The chocolate cake was light and airy with a deep chocolate flavor. This cake was so good, I'm already looking for another excuse to make it. I like my cake on the light side of the dense-light cake texture scale, and I really love how simple this cake is to make. My Grandmom's original recipe tells you to just throw all the ingredients together and mix until combined. I complicated things a little, but I'm betting that it works just fine Grandmom's way. The only other changes I made to my Grandmom's recipe was to add a little salt and to use hot coffee instead of hot water.

The raspberry filling came from Katie, and the recipe is over here, but I only used it as an icing because I was covering the cake with fondant. Normally, I would ice the cake with a simple chocolate icing or glaze.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups hot coffee (or water)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease a bundt pan or two 8 inch cake pans.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium speed, until smooth.
-In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In a cup combine the hot coffee and the vanilla.
-Set the mixer to low, and add the dry and wet ingredients, alternating. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
-Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or divide evenly between the two prepared pans) and bake on the center rack in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
-Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan(s), then flip the cake onto a wire rack to cool the rest of the way before icing.

Noodle Pudding

2009-01-29T10:55:00.004-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger lately. I apologize. But of course, I'm always ready with an excuse. I'm working on a BIG, food-related project that resulted in my hands looking like this:

If you can't tell the palms are dyed red. Not a good look on me...or anyone really. I'll post the project this weekend. (Hopefully.) But if you're curious, it involves baking, layers, and obviously a lot of food coloring.

Another reason for my lack of blogging is that several of my recent dinners turned out to be better in theory than in reality. Such as the chicken stroganoff I made to use these egg noodles with in the first place. But it was pretty horrible, so I decided to repurpose the egg noodles. This is a great recipe for an cooked, leftover pasta that uses things you probably have on hand already. It's not a very fancy dessert, but it doesn't have too much sugar in it (and I used skim milk and low-fat sour cream) so it can be a pretty good treat for the middle of the week.

This recipe is really flexible. I reduced the amount of milk in the original recipe to add the sour cream, but you can use two cups of milk and no sour cream. You can use raisins instead of dried cranberries, or any other dry fruit, or no fruit at all. But that would probably taste pretty boring. You can change the spices. Next time I think I'll try adding some cardamom and white raisins.

Now I'm going to go make some chicken soup and watch reruns, because I've come down with a nasty little cold.

Noodle Pudding
Adapted from The Minimalist column in the NYT, written by Mark Bittman (I know I need to start reading other people's recipes)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbs. unsalted butter
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 of a 1 lb. box/bag of pasta or noodles, cooked (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 eggs

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the milk, butter, sugar and spices. When the butter is melted, remove from the heat, and whisk in the sour cream. Let cool.
-While the milk heats, butter a small baking dish. Put the noodles into the baking dish with the dried cranberries. Toss the noodles and the cranberries to combine.
-When the milk mixture is cool, whisk in the eggs.
-Pour the milk mixture over the noodles.
-Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Homemade Refried Black Beans

2009-01-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

I think my love for refried beans started when I was about 9. The only fast food restaurant my mom would let us eat from was Taco Bell, and even that was a rare treat. But we couldn't have anything with ground beef. This might have been around the time of one of the Mad Cow media frenzies, but I can't be sure. That basically left two choices from the Taco Bell menu: chicken soft taco or a bean burrito. I got one of each. I liked the chicken soft taco, especially with those little packets of hot sauce (this was before the introduction of the fourth level of heat: fire), but I loved the bean burrito. The ooey gooey beans all melted together with the cheese and the little cubes of onion. MMM.

When I was 19, I was introduced to my next level of refried love. At Rosa Mexicana. A sort-of upscale Mexican restaurant in D.C that served all of their meals with rice and refried BLACK beans. O. So. Good. Why hadn't I found these before?

Turns out they're also basically the easiest thing to make ever. So this isn't really a recipe, it's just more like a really good idea I felt the need to pass along. Try them in tacos, quesadillas, or my favorite--simple bean burritoes with cheese and little cubes of onion. They're so much better than the stuff from the can.

Refried Black Beans

Ingredients:
1 lb. cooked black beans (or 1 can), drained, with the cooking liquid reserved
glug of olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 ancho chili (or a few shakes of cayenne pepper)

Directions:
-In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Saute the garlic and onions until they are soft and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.
-Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, and chili and cooking stirring occasionally about 20 minutes or until the beans start to split and get very soft. If the beans start to get dry and stick add some of the cooking liquid, one tablespoon at a time.
-When the beans are soft, remove the whole chili, and mash with a potato masher or put in a food processor and process until smooth.

Spaghetti Carbonara w/ Brussels Sprouts

2009-01-23T08:40:00.004-05:00

When I lived in Cairo, my Belgian roommate, Sara, met an Italian guy named Georgio. He had a slight speech impediment and he couldn't roll his R's, so when he introduced himself it sounded like "Jojo." He made us pasta and sauce one night, and he was talking about how he didn't understand how Americans eat pasta.

"In Italy, spaghetti carbonara is just eggs and bacon and cheese, but in America I order spaghetti carbonara and there is all kinds of other stuff in there!"

He said it in a good-natured way, not suggesting that the pasta was bad in America, just that it wasn't really spaghetti carbonara, and we should call it something else. Something all our own.

Well, Georgio, I'm sorry. I couldn't think of something all my own to call this. But just for you, I acknowledged that there is in fact a foreign ingredient in this spaghetti carbonara...

...and it is delicious.

My thought process went something like this: Brussels sprouts taste good cooked with bacon...I like to put cabbage in my lo mein...Brussels sprouts are basically baby cabbage...I could shred Brussels sprouts and put them in pasta...with bacon...spaghetti carbonara is made with bacon...I'll make spaghetti carbonara with Brussels sprouts!

A quick weeknight meal is born. Plus the Brussels sprouts make me feel less bad about eating a huge bowl of pasta tossed with bacon and eggs. And Nic and I both thought that we didn't really like Brussels sprouts, but when you shred them up (and saute them in bacon fat) they are actually very tasty. So give them shot. If nothing else, it is an excuse to eat bacon.

Spaghetti carbonara w/Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti or other long pasta
2 tbs. olive oil
6 to 8 oz. (about 6 to 8 slices) of bacon (or pancetta)
20-25 Brussels sprouts
3 eggs
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
salt/fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
-Put a large pot of water on to boil to cook the pasta.
-While the water is coming to a boil, heat a large saute pan (I used my cast iron skillet) over moderate heat with the olive oil.
-Dice the bacon into 1/2 inch cubes, and add to the skillet when it is hot, stirring occasionally until crispy and the fat is rendered.
-In the meantime, remove the bottoms of the Brussels sprouts and any tough outer leaves, wash, and shred in a food processor (with a 2 mm blade) or with a sharp knife.
-Push the bacon to the side of the pan, and add the shredded Brussels sprouts, stirring occasionally. Let the Brussels sprouts sit in one spot long enough to brown slightly before stirring. The sproats should still be bright green but tender with just a few browned spots when done. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
-In a bowl, beat the three eggs then add the 1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese and stir until combined.
-When the spaghetti is done cooking, drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
-Immediately return the pasta to the pot and toss briskly with the egg and cheese mixture. Add the Brussel sproat and bacon mixture (with all the cooking fat that might be unabsorbed) and continue to toss until combined. If the pasta is dry, add a little bit of the cooking liquid and toss.
-Top with more grated cheese and black pepper to serve.

Goulash

2009-01-22T08:28:00.007-05:00

Nic made this great dinner last night while I was at the gym, struggling through an intense speed workout. My marathon is in just over three weeks so I'm trying to get in more quality time in my running shoes, which means a little less time in the kitchen.

Nic took the liberty of substituting the bacon from the original recipe with salami. I wouldn't have thought to do that, but it was tasty. This is a great, hearty winter meal, but I have to say it didn't taste quiet like what I remember eating in Hungary...probably because they don't use salami. I also told Nic to reduce the amount of caraway seeds from the original recipe because they're not my favorite.

I like my goulash over egg noodles, but you could serve it over mashed potatoes or with crusty bread or even on it's own like a soup. We halved the recipe, and it was plenty for a dinner and a lunch for the two of us. And it reheats very well, like pretty much any soupy-stewey food.

Goulash
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, which Adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 cup of salami, finely diced (or 5 slices bacon, chopped)
3 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tbs. vegetable oil
4 medium onions, diced finely
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbs. paprika
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups beef broth
1 to 5 cups water or beer (preferably beer, use the smaller amount for stew, the greater amount for soup)
1 tsp. salt
2 red bell peppers, finely diced

Directions:
-In an 8 quart heavy kettle, cook salami (or bacon) over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
-In the fat remaining in the kettle, brown chuck in small batches over high heat, transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl. (If there is not enough fat to brown the beef, add a small amount of neutral oil, like vegetable or canola.)
-Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tbs. vegetable oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until golden, stirring occasionally.
-Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook 2 minutes.
-Whisk in vinegar and tomato pasta and cook 1 minute.
-Stir in the broth, beer (or water), salt, bell peppers, bacon, and chuck and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer the goulash, covered for 60 to 75 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Season with salt and pepper.

Delightful Ginger Cookies, One Month Late

2009-01-20T20:52:00.008-05:00

Well the long, long weekend is winding down. Soon all the tourists in town for inauguration will go home, and D.C. will quiet down to the normal gray, late winter humdrum. Sad. I liked the excitement in the air for the last week. D.C. was even on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations last night! And for those of us who live inside the Beltway, but over the river, Bourdain spent about as much time in Northern Virginia as he did in the District itself. (And no time in the Maryland suburbs.)

These cookies cheered me up a little tonight as I braced myself for the grueling three day work week. I mean Christmas was only a month ago, but I finally found a ginger cookie I like! And they're non-fat, which makes them perfect for January. (Is there anyone out there still resolutioning? There is a guy at my gym still coming to walk on the treadmill at 1 mph. No joke. He's very resolute.)

These cookies, from the awesome David Lebovitz, pack a punch. They're not for people who don't like a little spice in their cookie. The minced candied ginger gives them a stronger ginger flavor than most ginger cookies, and the black pepper gives you a good kick in the tastebuds at the end. David calls them gingersnaps, but they don't really snap. They're more of a soft, pillowy cookie, which I prefer so that works out pretty great. I made a few changes to the recipe, based on what I had on hand and to compensate for the fact that I have the strongest molasses known to man, which I figured out during a failed gingerbread experiment last month. Next time I'm definitely going to add some grated orange zest to the batter to compliment the spiciness with a little zing.

My one tip for this recipe: chop that ginger like mad. I mean just destroy it with your heaviest chef knife. You want really tiny bits. Unless you love eating big chunks of candied ginger, which I don't.

Non-fat Ginger Cookies
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup molasses (1/3 cup if it is mild-flavored)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp.ground dried ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper (dial this back to 1/4 tsp. if you want it less spicy)
1/4 tsp. salt
zest from one orange (I haven't tried it yet in these cookies, but have in others)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup very finely-chopped candied ginger
granulated sugar, mixed with cinnamon for rolling cookies

Directions:
-In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, applesauce, and molasses for five minutes at medium speed.
-Meanwhile in a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and zest if you're using it.
-When the sugar mixture is done beating, scrape down the sides, and add the egg whites. Beat another minute.
-With the mixer at its lowest speed, add the dry ingredients until completely incorporated, and mix on medium for one minute more.
-Fold in the chopped ginger.
-Chill the batter very well, for a few hours or even better overnight.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Pour the cinnamon sugar on plate or into a wide bowl. Scoop the cookie dough in heaping tablespoons, quickly roll into a loose ball in your hands, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Move quickly so the dough doesn't get too warm. It will be a little sticky, but the sugar roll will make it easier to shape.
-Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the center is just set. They should be soft cookies, so don't overcook.

The BEST Bread You Can Make At Home

2009-01-15T22:58:00.007-05:00

I try not to use superlatives too often, because if I was getting on here everyday telling you I made the BEST X and the BEST Y, you'd never believe me and totally think I was full of it. And really not every recipe is the BEST. Most are just mediocre, some are special, and a rare handful are the BEST--the recipes that you know will become splattered with food and fingerprints because you will use them so much.

This No Knead Bread recipe is the BEST. That's right, NO kneading. A little stirring, two folds, and minimal shaping.

Okay, so I'm starting to sound like a bit of a Mark Bittman groupie this week, since this is the third recipe of his that I have posted about, but I promise after this I will put down my copy of How to Cook Everything and step away from the Bitten blog. (Bittman actually got the recipe from Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City, so he's really more of a messanger here.)

This bread has been raved about on pretty much every food blog, forum, and Web site out there since it was first published in The New York Times in 2006 because 1) it's ridiculously easy, and 2) it is more like fresh bakery bread than anything else you can make at home. And as soon as you make it, you will rave about it to whoever listens to you too. Trust me. I swore I wasn't going to do it. I thought I would just make it, eat it, and leave it be. But once I tried it, I knew I had to spread the word, even if there is only one person out there who hasn't heard about it yet.

I mean look at it:

Perfectly crispy and crunchy on the outside, with a fluffy, light crumb inside. Some of you might live near great bakeries, and buy your bread, but if you don't or you want to save a few bucks during this lovely recession we've got going on--try this. It takes absolutely no talent, less than a handful of ingredients, and just a little time. Okay, 24 hours start to finish. But most of that time you're off doing something else anyway. That being said, you need some sort of cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic pot that has a lid. That's the key to this bread. The pre-heated covered pot creates an oven inside your oven and the wet dough sort of "steams" itself. The other key is the long rising time, which gives it its delicious yeasty, almost buttery, flavor.

And COMING SOON: cake made from whole lemons, peel, pith and all.

Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread
From Mark Bittman
Make 1 large loaf

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose or bread flour (I use bread)
Scant 1/2 tsp. instant yeast (I use active dry yeast and rehydrate it in the water heated to 110 degrees before adding)
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water at about 70 degrees (110 if using to rehydrate active dry yeast)
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
cornmeal, semolina, or wheat bran as needed

Directions:
-In a large bowl combine the flour and salt. If using instant yeast, add to the flour at this point. If using active dry yeast, rehydrate in the 2 cups of water heated to 110 degrees. (Use a thermometer, yeast is very particular about its baths.)
-Add the water (either with or without yeast in it) to the flour and stir until combined.
-Cover with plastic wrap or put the olive oil in a second bowl and transfer the dough to that, turn to coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. (I don't like to dirty extra bowls, so I just covered mine up and called it a day.)
-Let the dough rest and rise for about 18 hours at 70 degrees. When the dough is ready, its surface will be dotted with bubbles. Dough rises faster in warmer temperatures and slower in cooler temperatures.
-Lightly flour a work surface, remove the dough, fold once or twice. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
-Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, form it into a ball. Coat a cotton (not terry cloth) towel with cornmeal or wheat bran. Use a lot. (You can also use a silicone baking mat instead of the towel.) Put the dough seam-side down on the towl, dust with more flour or cornmeal and cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours or until double in size. It won't spring back readily when poked with your finger when it is done.
-Half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and put a covered pot (with the cover on) in the oven as it heats. (Mine was enameled cast iron and 5.5 qts. The recipe says you can use a 3 to 4 quart pot, but I am skeptical because my loaf completely filled my pot.)
-When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and flip the dough over into the pot, seam-side up. Don't worry if the dough doesn't look perfect, it will even out while its baking. Cover the pot with the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until the loaf is browned. If the dough starts to smell scorched, lower the heat a little. (If you want a really crusty, brown loaf remove the lid at 20 minutes and bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.)
-Let the bread rest on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Fun with Stats

2009-01-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

I was flipping through my StatCounter information today, and I came across some pretty hilarious stuff in there with the stats. For example, recent keyword activity (in other words, my blog came up in a search when someone entered these search terms) includes: home made pepper spray, cooking with pepper spray, cooks in the kitchen story, and--my personal favorite--"peppermint extract to stop cat spraying?"

First of all, I don't recommend cooking with pepper spray or making it at home, from my personal experiences. Second, what is this story about cooks in a kitchen? And finally, what are you people doing to your cats?!

I was pleased to see however that there were quite a few people looking for a kibbeh nayeh recipe that might have found some guidance from blog. However, the person looking for the "balsamic reduction for desert" is probably not going to have much luck. I never met a Bedouin who stocked balsamic vinegar. (If you didn't get the last joke, desert as in Sahara, not dessert as in chocolate cake. Also, it was a bad joke.)

I also found out that one of my best friends, MK, has been lurking in the blogosphere with a cute little blog about her life. My picture was even on this blog, and I didn't know about it! But she slipped up in her covert actions when she linked to my blog on her blog, because someone (actually several someones) clicked that little link, and so her blog showed up in my "recently came from" statistics. Caught ya!

I am going to have to start looking through these statistics more often.

Stracciatella: Egg Drop Soup w/ Spinach

2009-01-14T09:15:00.005-05:00

You know why I love soup? You can't mess it up. Well maybe you can, but as of yet I haven't figured out how to. For example this soup was delicious, but I originally put some chicken bits in it that didn't really taste that great (actually I think it was the texture that bothered me). So I just fished them out. Don't worry I washed my hands first. So now I have chicken salad and "Italian egg drop soup." That's what Mark Bittman likened this soup to on the Bitten blog Recipe of the Day post yesterday. I'm not sure what is particularly Italian about it, except for the cheese and the name, but it is a great, comforting soup recipe that comes together in no time at all. Perfect for a cold winter night when you are feeling a little under the weather.

Also, I would like to point out that I one-upped Rachel Ray here, and this was a 15 minute meal, served with Greek salad and a wine someone brought as a hostess gift this weekend that was called "Woop Woop"--I kid you not.

That's all I have to say. I'm all talked out after my long narrative yesterday, which apparently amused a lot of people because it has the most views of any post I've ever written, unless you count the Homemade Pepper Spray post, but I don't because I discovered that people were getting sent to it by Google when they were sincerely trying to figure out how to make Homemade Pepper Spray. Something tells me they didn't stick around for long when they realized I just accidentally sauteed some jalapenos.

Stracciatella
Adapted from Bitten blog

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken stock
1 garlic clove
4 eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (I used Romano)
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger
3 to 4 big handfuls of fresh spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
-Put 5 cups of the chicken stock into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
-Wack the garlic clove with the side of a knife and add that to the stock.
-In a mixing bowl, combine the other cup of chicken stock, the eggs, cheese, nutmeg, and ginger and whisk together until completely combined.
-Cut up the spinach into thin strips.
-When the chicken stock comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and add the egg mixture and the spinach and cook until the egg clumps together in small curds and the spinach is wilted.
-Season with salt and pepper and garnish with additional cheese or fresh Italian parsley.

Layer Cake, A Testament to My Intelligence

2009-01-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

I don't really bake cakes, mainly because they're kind of impractical, especially if you are a household of two. I guess I could bake cupcakes, but unlike everyone else on the planet, I have not been swept up in the all too enthusiastic cupcake trend. Plus, I think of cake as a dessert that only really goes with birthdays. But since my dear friend Taylor was celebrating a birthday this weekend, I promised to make the cake. A lemon layer cake to be exact. The taste and texture turned out perfectly, and the recipe came from my friend Katie, but none of that is as interesting as my attempts to actually assemble the tasty, perfectly-baked cake and fluffy frosting. Consider this a tutorial on how NOT to put together your layer cake.

Okay, so when you bake a cake in two round cake pans, the tops come out a little bit rounded. No surprise. So you're supposed to remedy that for proper stackability by shaving off some of the dominess. Well, I'm cheap and hate wasting stuff, so I did minimal shaving. In fact, I took off so little it didn't really do much except let me taste the cake before I served it. Then I started spreading frosting to "glue" the layers together. Okay, going good so far. Then I plop the top layer on, and start frosting the outside of the cake.

At this point I realized something clearly wasn't going according to plan. First of all, the space between the layers was more like an abyss. Second, the icing probably needed more confectioner's sugar or less lemon or something because it was a wee-bit on the runny side and was pooling at the base of the cake. The only thing I could think to do was throw the whole thing in the fridge and hope that that would make the icing set, or something.

About an hour later Nic took the cake out of the fridge and tried to help smooth out the icing. The only reason it looked somewhat presentable was because he did this. My attempts only further damaged the cake's appearance. So I sliced up some lemon, and we decorated the cake in an attempt to distract the eye from the mishapen cake and its melting frosting.

At this point, I called my mom while I was waiting for everyone to come over for dinner and explained to her my cake decorating dilemma.

"I think I should have shaved off more of the rounded part of the cakes so that they stacked better," I said.

"Well yeah, you should really shave the bottom layer until it's flat," she said. "But at least you don't have to shave the top layer since it's already flat."

"It's already flat? What do you mean?"

This is the point where I realized that instead of stacking the cake the way any normal person would, with the flat part of the second cake on top of the first cake, I (for some yet unknown reason) stacked the cake rounded side to rounded side. I think I was thinking that I had to do this so that the top of the cake would be flat. (And look at that cake again, the top IS perfectly flat!)

"I thought you were supposed to be smart," my mom said. (The other quotes were sort of an approximation of the conversation, but that right there is an exact quote, albeit said while she was laughing at me.)

Also, that icing definitely need less lemon juice or more confectioner's sugar because by the time my friends got there to eat the cake, the lemon had separated out of the frosting and formed pools on top of the perfectly flat top and along the sides. Chris called it a "Hurricane Katrina" cake, i.e. flooded.

But hey, it still tasted good!

Banana-Spice Pancakes

2009-01-12T07:31:00.003-05:00

After my run Saturday morning, I was really in the mood for pancakes. But not normal diner pancakes, I don't really like those. (Not that there are decent diners in Virginia, or really any diners for that matter.) I like a slightly denser pancake with more flavor. So adapted these from the basic pancake recipe in How to Cook Everything.

They were really delicious, the banana made them lighter and the cardamom and cinnamon added just a touch of spice. Next time I might add a little bit more cardamom so that it has a more dominant flavor.

Banana-Spice Pancakes
Adapted from How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
3 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups mashed or pureed bananas (2-3, depending on size)

Directions:
-Heat a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat.
-Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a large bowl.
-In a food processor or with a potato masher, puree or mash the bananas.
-In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add the mashed bananas and 1 1/2 cups of milk.
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the batter is too thick (it should be pourable) add the other 1/2 cup milk slowly.
-Use butter or nonstick cooking spray to grease your skillet and give it a minute to heat, then pour batter onto skillet. The pancakes are ready to flip when the sides look set and bubbles are rising from the center. Flip and cook the otherside until light brown.

Vodka Sauce, or The First Time I Ever Used a Recipe for Sauce

2009-01-08T12:31:00.008-05:00

(Please excuse the pathetic picture. I used my phone to take a picture of the leftovers I was eating at work.)

I really shouldn't read food blogs in the middle of the afternoon. It's a dangerous time for me--lunch has worn off, but I'm still hours away from dinner. It's like going to the grocery store when you're hungry. I end up saving a lot of recipes that I probably will never get around to making. Then, every once and awhile, during this vulnerable time between meals (and actual work, which does distract me from hunger and blogs occasionally) I find a recipe that looks so good I want to leave early and go home and make it right away. Yesterday, I found that kind of recipe.

Maybe my hunger was getting to me, but I saw a Lidia Bastianich recipe for Penne alla Vodka on The Amateur Gourmet, and I immediately wrote down the only two ingredients I didn't already have (cream and parsley) and decided my dinner plans were going to have to change. I've been trying to eat really healthy all week, but the thought of brown rice and lentils just couldn't measure up to a bowl of pasta with creamy-alcohol sauce.

This was awesomely delicious, pretty darn simple to throw together, and fast. The sauce took less time to make then it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. And since I wasn't going to be eating lentils and brown rice, I tried to make it somewhat less sinful by using whole grain pasta and substituting half and half for the cream. I have to say, it felt immensely strange to be measuring ingredients for a pasta sauce, since I have never done that in the hundreds of times I have made pasta sauce, but this sauce was worth the little extra vigilance. The only change I would make next time would be to use about half the garlic and mince it. I just don't like the idea of wasting garlic by using a ton and taking it out, although I know this change would somewhat compromise the creaminess of the sauce.

Penne Alla Vodka
Adaptedfrom Lidia Bastianich

Ingredients:
35 oz. can Italian whole plum tomatoes with their liquid or crushed tomatoes
1 lb. penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup half and half
3 tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or romano cheese

Directions:
-Put a pot of salted water on for the penne. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions for al dente. Don't overcook because it will cook for a few more minutes in the sauce.
-If using whole tomatoes, process in a food processor with their liquid until finely chopped.
-Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the garlic cloves. Saute until slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
-Add the tomatoes to the garlic and olive oil and season with salt and crushed red pepper. Bring to a bubbling simmer for 2 minutes, then add the vodka. Lower the heat and simmer until the pasta is finished cooking.
-When the pasta is almost done cooking, remove the garlic from the sauce and add the half and half to the tomato sauce, stirring to combine.
-Drain the pasta, then return it to the pot. Pour the sauce over it and stir to coat the pasta. Add the parsley and check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper as necessary. Bring the pasta and sauce back to a boil, stirring, until the sauce is reduced enough to stick to the pasta (just a few minutes).
-Remove the penne and sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese.
-Serve immediately.

Lemon Chicken and Fresh Spinach

2009-01-07T08:18:00.008-05:00

I never liked spinach when I was a kid. I dreaded nights when that was our vegetable because I knew it meant I was going to sit at the table for a long, long time. My mom wasn't very lenient. She didn't say, "Fine, but no dessert." (Actually, dessert was a treat we only occasionally had anyway so that wouldn't have really worked.) She just made us sit there and stare at it. And if cooked frozen spinach was bad warm, it was infinitely worse cold.

It wasn't until college, that I realized that spinach could actually be quite good, if it was fresh. But still wary of anything cooked, I didn't try to cook the fresh spinach until about a year ago. Of course now my mom doesn't really use frozen spinach (my younger brothers have it so easy). And we both buy ridiculously large boxes of organic spinach from Costco, so no matter how much spinach salad I eat, sooner or later, I have to start cooking it. And now I can eat my whole serving no problem, before it even gets cold.

This is really more of an idea for a fast week night meal than it is a recipe, but I did try to measure everything. I served it with whole wheat couscous on the side, which I did make in a separate pot, but on second thought you could really just add the extra chicken broth to the lemon sauce and cook the couscous right in there as well. A one pot meal that doesn't look like it. I'm sneaky like that. Also, this is my favorite way to eat cooked spinach. Good luck serving it to kids.

Lemon Chicken and Fresh Spinach
Serves 2, easily multiplied

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied if they are very thick
flour for dredging
salt/pepper
3 tbs. butter (I use Smart Balance spread, which is not really butter but not really margarine either)
2 tbs. olive oil
juice from two large lemons (this should yield between 1/3 and 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chicken broth, plus extra needed for couscous if adding
several large handfuls of fresh spinach

Directions:
-Heat a large skillet on moderate-high heat ith the butter and the olive oil.
-While it is heating, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour.
-Brown the chicken breasts on both sides in the skillet. When both sides are browned, remove from the skillet and set on paper towels.
-Add the lemon juice and chicken broth to the skillet and bring it to a simmer.
-Put the chicken breasts back into the pot, and simmer for about 5 minutes, turning often so they absorb some of the juices.
-Slide the chicken breasts to the side of the skillet (or remove to a plate if you don't have enough room) and cook the spinach in the lemon sauce. This should only take a few minutes. Cook just until slightly wilted.

NOTE: To cook the couscous in the same pot, remove the chicken breasts after they have simmered in the lemon sauce for five minutes. Add the additional chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Toss in the couscous and stir until it is cooked. This only takes a few minutes. Remove the cous cous with a spoon, and cook the spinach in the remaining juices.

Banana Bran Muffins w/Chocolate Chips and Pecans

2009-01-05T08:31:00.006-05:00

Muffins are my favorite thing to bake. They're so easy, they're almost impossible to mess up. They're basically quick bread in individual portions. They're also extremely flexible, so you can experiment and still end up with something edible, and they are fairly healthy, if you choose to make them that way. I suppose you could go the other way and basically make un-iced cupcakes, but I tend toward the healthy so I can eat them quilt-free for breakfast. What did you say? These don't sound healthy? Hello, bran=fiber, dark chocolate=antioxidents, pecans=protein, banana= potassium. So healthy.

I make a lot of muffins, but I don't post all of them because I don't want to become the muffin lady. These muffins, however, were so good I decided they had to see the light of the blog.

The whole wheat flour and wheat bran give these muffins some hearty substance, but the banana and the low-fat sour cream keep them light. With just a small amount of chocolate chips and pecans, they have a lot of flavor without being too much of an indulgence.

Version 1.0 of these little guys was liberally adapted from the back of the Bob's Red Mill wheat bran bag, a recipe for Molasses Bran Muffins. I substituted honey for molasses and mashed bananas for apple sauce. I gave most of the 1.0 batch to my running group Saturday morning. I have no idea what they thought of them because I was still struggling through my treacherously long run when they all left, but I thought they were still a little too dense and dry. My opinion could have been slightly skewed by the fact that I ate my muffin moments after I stopped running, so I was pretty parched, but I decided to change them up some anyway. So last night I made another batch, this time increasing the amount of banana and substituting lowfat sour cream for milk. ::And she sticks the landing.:: Ok, so they're just muffins, but they're my new favorite healthy muffins.

Banana Bran Muffins w/ Chocolate Chips and Pecans
Makes 12 standard muffins

You can double the pecans and leave out the chocolate chips, or substitute other nuts, raisins, or other mix-ins, as long as the total of the mix-ins is 1 cup. You can also make these as a quick bread, but the cooking time would have to be increased slightly, depending on the size of the loave. The best way to judge the doneness is when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This recipe is easy to cut in half to yield 6 muffins.

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 cup honey
1.5 cups mashed bananas (3-4 very ripe bananas)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.
-Combine both flours, wheat bran, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
-In a separate bowl, beat together the sour cream, honey, mashed bananas, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
-Pour mixture into muffin pan and bake for 15 or 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleam.

Capellini w/ Anchovy Sauce

2009-01-02T09:34:00.007-05:00

Well this is it. My final holiday post. I considered holding on to it and waiting until next year to share it so it would be more timely, but the truth is most people aren't going to just start making capellini w/anchovy sauce as a holiday meal. That's not really how tradition works. But considering how easy it is, you really could make it any time. Although we never do.

You may have heard of the Italian-Catholic tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. Wikipedia tells me it has been around since medieval times, so this is some serious tradition here. I have no idea how long my family has been doing it the way we currently do it, but it seems to be for as long as the collective memory can remember. Apparently there is some significance to the number seven, since it appears in the Bible a lot, but my family has never (in my memory) really been able to get that many types of fish on the table. So I guess this is sort of the poor man's version of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Anchovy salad, anchovy sauce, fried smelts, and baccala (salted cod fish), and every once and awhile (although not this year) fried calamari. So we basically max out at 4 or 5. This year we served 30 people, and 4 types of fish were about all my Poppop's kitchen could accommodate. We also have salad and chick pea soup, but they have nothing to do with fish.

Why fish? Well, you're not supposed to eat meat on Christmas Eve, just like Catholics used to not eat any meat on Fridays or holy days. (The Jews and the Muslims must laugh at our idea of "fasting.")

Even people who don't like anchovies, will probably like this sauce. Mainly because there aren't that many anchovies in it relative to the amount of sauce it makes. It definitely has a distinct flavor, but if you don't tell people what that flavor is, they will never guess. (We have tested this.) You can just tell them it's your secret ingredient. You'll seem very wise and mysterious. Just make sure you dispose of the anchovy cans. You don't have to serve it over capellini (or angel hair), but I can't really imagine eating it any other way. The sauce is relatively thin, and the capellini is best because it absorbs the sauce, instead of just swimming around in it.

This pasta is the main course for our meal, and most years my mom makes it. This year we started cooking around midnight the night before Christmas Eve. My mom's patience for measuring (which is never high) was pretty low, so I had to watch and guesstimate for some of the measurements. It seems like a lot of water, but I added the water myself so I am not making this up. It does simmer for hours, so it thickens up. If you are worried that you won't have time for it to thicken all the way, add about half the water, let it thicken and then add the other half if you have time.

Anchovy Sauce
Serves 30 w/ 4-5 lbs. of capellini, (quantities for 1lb. of capellini below)

Ingredients:
10 cloves of garlic, minced (2-3 cloves of garlic, minced)
olive oil
54 oz. tomato paste (we used 9- 6oz. cans this time, but you could use larger cans)
2 to 4 (2 oz.) cans anchovies packed in olive oil(depending on taste)
1 to 2 cups fresh chopped parsley
salt/pepper

Directions:
-With a mortar and pestle (or a food processor, I suppose), mash the anchovies in their oil.
-Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a large sauce pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes in the oil.
-Add the tomato paste and the mashed anchovies to the olive oil and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Don't let the garlic burn.
-Fill every tomato paste can you used with water 3 times, adding the water to the sauce pan (162 oz. or about 20 cups of water). If concerned about thickening time, add about half the water at first. The other half can be added if time permits.
-Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
-Cover the sauce pan with a lid, leaving it slightly off center so some steam can vent. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours. The sauce will be smooth and on the thinner side for a tomato sauce.
-Add salt and pepper as needed before serving.

Ingredients for about 1 lb. cappelini
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
2-6 oz. cans tomato paste
36 oz. (4.5 cups) water
1/2 to 1 can anchovies (2 oz. can)
1/2 cup parsley
salt/pepper

Kibbeh Nayeh: A Family Recipe

2008-12-30T23:15:00.005-05:00

Wait, you're family doesn't eat raw lamb during the holidays? You are SO missing out.

I know these pictures aren't going to make many people run out to buy a leg of lamb and a meat grinder, but bear with me. I need to preserve these unwritten food traditions in my family. Besides, one day you might have Lebanese in-laws or a Lebanese boss to impress, and you'll know where to go for a kibbeh recipe...or at least you'll know what kibbeh is. Specifically kibbeh nayeh--twice ground lamb mixed with bulghur wheat, onions, and spices and served raw with olive oil, sliced onions, and flat bread. Sort of like steak tartare but much better. The taste is surprisingly mild, not as gamey as cooked lamb often is, and the texture is similar to any spread you would put on a good piece of bread. The hint of allspice and cinnamon accent the meat, and the bulghur wheat adds a contrast of texture.

I'm not even a big fan of lamb, cooked lamb, but I LOVE this. It might be genetic. All my dad's brothers and sisters got a share of the kibbeh nayeh after we made it, and I heard quite a few stories about when my grandmother made it. Apparently there was a certain uncle of theirs that managed to eat unimaginable amounts of the kibbeh nayeh, frightening my dad and uncles into thinking they wouldn't get any.

My grandmother (who is Italian-American) learned how to make kibbeh nayeh from my grandfather's sister (who was Lebanese-American). And my dad learned to make it from her. And while I was home, my brother and I learned how to make it from him.

This was an all day project. First, all the fat had to be removed from the lamb. I mean all of it. You see white? You're not done then. This took hours. (Now you're totally inspired to make this, right? Raw lamb that takes hours to prepare...well at least try it if you ever get the opportunity and appreciate the hard work done by others.) The good news is that once we de-fatted 9 pounds of lamb the hard part was done.

Well, kind of. Then the bulghur had to be soaked for 30 minutes then all the water had to be squeezed out by hand. I imagine this would be easier with a cheesecloth, but I didn't want to argue about technique since it was my first time in the kitchen with the lamb and the meat grinder. Then the spices are just mixed in and it is ready to serve!

I made many, many loaves of fresh flat bread to serve with the kibbeh, but I didn't get any pictures, so I'll have to make that again so I can share my recipe and technique (which was adapted from a guide I met in Egypt who cooked his bread on a piece of scrap metal over an open fire--kind of hard to replicate in a Western kitchen.) I also took some of this kibbeh nayeh and turned it into another type of kibbeh, which is cooked, for those who don't indulge in raw meat. But again, I forgot to take a picture, so that will have to wait for another day too.

Kibbeh Nayeh
Serves many

Ingredients:
1 leg of lamb, de-boned
3/4 cup of bulghur wheat (#2) per pound of meat
1 white onion
1 tbs. cinnamon
1 tbs. all spice
1 tsp. salt per pound of meat

Directions:
-Remove all of the fat from the meat, discarding the fat.
-Rinse the bulghur thoroughly, then soak for 30 minutes in water.
-While the bulghur is soaking run the lamb meat through a meat grinder once.
-Cut an onion into small pieces and mix it with the meat. Mix in the cinnamon, all spice, and salt.
-Run the meat mixture through the meat grinder a second time.
-Squeeze all of the water out of the bulghur using your hands or, a sieve or cheesecloth.
-Mix the bulghur in with the ground lamb.
-Taste and adjust seasonings.
-Serve with pita or flat bread, olive oil, and thinly sliced onions.

Sautéed Swiss Chard

2008-12-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

The first time I tried Swiss chard, I wasn't a big fan. I used it in a pasta dish with roasted garlic and the whole meal was just ok, nothing I wanted to make again. Then I started cooking Swiss chard the way I like to cook spinach and removed the stems, and I realized it was delicious. It is a slightly heartier green then spinach (but a little more tender than kale) and it has a more interesting, complex flavor, plus it is super nutritious. (I'm trying to make up for all those weeks of cookie and candy posts!) The stems can be sautéed as well, but I don't really like the flavor of them. If you do add them to the pan, make sure to sauté them slightly before adding the leaves because they take slightly longer to cook. You could also put the stems into a bag in the freezer with other vegetable scraps to make vegetable broth.

This side dish is fast enough for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for a holiday feast. I served it with the Christmas dinner, and people who don't even usually like spinach or other greens thought it was tasty.

Sautéed Swiss Chard
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 bunches green Swiss chard (about 8 leaves)
glug of olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt/pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions:
-Remove the leaves of the Swiss chard from the stems, rinse with water, and dry. Mince the garlic.
-In a small frying pan on moderate-low heat, toast the pine nuts, just until they are slightly golden brown and fragrant.
-Heat the olive oil in a deep pot on moderate heat, when it is hot, add the Swiss chard. Use tongs to toss the greens so they cook evenly. When they start to wilt, about four to five minutes, add the garlic. Cook for another minute, then remove from the heat. Don't let the Swiss chard over cook, it should be just wilted but still bright green.
-Season with salt and pepper and squeeze half a lemon on the greens. Toss in a serving bowl with pine nuts.

Beef Tenderloin w/ Balsamic Reduction and Braised Onions

2008-12-29T10:00:00.002-05:00

This was the main dish for Christmas dinner. The beef tenderloin was delicious and simple, in fact the whole meal for 9 people came together in about two hours. Of course beef tenderloin is a bit pricey to be an everyday meal, but these braised onions are so melt-in-your-mouth amazing they would make any cut of beef or pork or even chicken taste special. The braising gives the onions a deep, sweet, carmelized flavor. They were a big favorite at the Christmas dinner. The onions take a long time in the oven, but the preparation couldn't be easier. The balsamic reduction is also a slow, but easy process that yields a delicious, and very different, "steak sauce." Even if you aren't a big fan of vinegar, the reduction process takes it from its normal, tart taste to a sweet, syrupy sauce.

Beef Tenderloin w/ Braised Onions
Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients:
Braised Onions
4 onions
2 shallots, optional
4 cups of chicken broth
4 tbs. butter
pinch of salt
1 airline-size bottle cognac (50 ml, about 3.5 tbs.), optional

Beef and balsamic reductions
4-5 lb. beef tenderloin
3 tbs. butter
coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups good quality balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
salt/pepper

Directions:
Braised Onions
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-In a dutch oven* on the stove top on moderate heat, bring the chicken broth, butter, and pinch of salt to a simmer.
-In the meantime, cut the onions and shallots in half and remove the skin.
-When the chicken broth is simmering, remove the dutch oven from the heat and carefully place the onions cut-side down into the pot. Put the lid on the dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Braise for 1 hour.
-Remove the lid from the dutch oven, add the cognac, and return the onions to the oven. Braise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the tops are golden brown and most of the liquid is reduced to a glaze.**

Beef and balsamic reduction
-One hour before serving time, put the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce in a small sauce pan on moderate heat to reduce. The vinegar will reduce by more than half. It is done when it is a syrupy consistency that sticks to the back of a metal spoon. If you run your finger across the back of the spoon after it is dipped in the vinegar, your finger should form a clear line in the sauce. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
-Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
-Rub the beef tenderloin with the butter and sprinkle with the black pepper. Insert a meat thermometer into the heart of the meat.
-Place the tenderloin in the preheated oven. For medium doneness, cook until 140 degrees, for medium rare cook to 130-135 degrees. (Medium is actually reached at 145 degrees, but when the meat is removed from the oven, residual heat continues to cook the meat while it is resting.) Remember, the ends will be more done than the center.
-Place the tenderloin on a platter and tent with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting so the juices redistribute. Don't remove the meat thermometer probe until the meat is done resting or the juices will spurt out.
-While the meat rests, take the pan juices from the roasting pan and incorporate them into the balsamic reduction over low heat.
-Slice the tenderloin and serve with braised onions and warm balsamic reduction.

NOTES
*If you don't have a dutch oven, you can heat the broth in a sauce pan, then place the onions in a deep baking dish, pour the broth over them, and cover the dish tightly with foil.
**When making the braised onions with the beef tenderloin, the oven temperature will have to be raised to 500 degrees for part of the time top cook the beef. The onions might cook slightly faster, but they will still be fine.

Winter Fruit Salad

2008-12-28T14:16:00.006-05:00

Happy Holidays!

I know I have been negligent in posting for the last week or so, but I was enjoying my break. Now I have a backlog of recipes to share, including two old family recipes that I made with my parents, one Lebanese and one Italian. I'm still trying to get my act together from the holiday though, so for now I will share this beautiful winter fruit salad. I made this for our Christmas morning breakfast, and it was absolutely delicious. Simple, sweet, and refreshing, it's the perfect antidote to all those Christmas cookies and other fattening holiday food. The citrus and pomegranate give a very holiday feel to a dish that is normally associated with summer.

Winter Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
2 grapefruits
2 oranges
1 pomegranate
1 bunch of fresh mint leaves

Directions:
-Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the oranges and grapefruits so they can sit flat on the cutting board. Then going from top to bottom cut the rind and the pith (the white part between the rind and the fruit) from the fruit. Try to waste as little fruit as possible.
-Once the rind is removed use a sharp knife to carefully cut each segment out of the oranges and the grapefruits. Toss the segments into a serving bowl.
-To cut the pomegranate, make a thin cut all the way around the fruit, just deep enough to get through the skin, then twist the two halves to separate. Remove all the jewels from the pomegranate and toss in the serving bowl.
-Make a chiffonade from the fresh mint by rolling several of the leaves together longways, like you would roll a cigarette if you did that kind of thing, and cut very thin slices. Top the fruit with a sprinkling of the mint.

Christmas Dinner

2008-12-22T13:32:00.006-05:00

I love Christmas, especially since I'm going home to my parents house. I thought this meant I was off the hook for cooking, but then I got a surprise. My mom called last week and requested a menu because she has been frantically redecorating, painting, scrubbing, etc. for the past few weeks to prepare a brand new guest bedroom for us! I'm willing to trade a real bed (as opposed to the rolled up daybed mattress) for dinner. Especially since Nic decided that he wanted to help out with the planning and cooking, and Poppop donated a beef tenderloin and lamb chops to get the party started. (He will also be making dessert, thank goodness, because I feel like I never want to look at a baked good again after all these holiday packages.) We used my brand new copy of The Flavor Bible to get some inspiration for the flavors.

Now I'm off to pack up my dutch oven, meat thermometer, and vegetable slicer...

Christmas Dinner
main course
beef tenderloin w/ a balsamic reduction
lamb chops in a soy and ginger marinade served w/ mint yogurt

side dishes
sauteed porcini mushrooms and shallots
braised leeks
sauteed Swiss chard w/ roasted pine nuts
glazed carrots
roasted red bliss potatoes w/rosemary
fennel and apple salad w/pecans
homemade bread

Chai Biscotti

2008-12-19T12:15:00.002-05:00

Has this been the longest week in the history of the universe for anyone else? Just checking. Anyone want more hours in the day for Christmas this year? I'll settle for just two more, I'm not being greedy. Ok, I'll get to the point now.

This is my second batch of chai biscotti, and they are definitely my new favorite holiday cookie. I know I have said this a hundred times, but I'm not into sweet sweets, which seems like an oxymoron, but that is why I love these cookies. They are the perfect balance of bready, crunchy, coffee-dipping goodness. I haven't been having too much luck baking lately (why does every gingerbread I make taste funny? o there is more than one type of molasses, and I'm using the nasty, dark dark dark one? duh.) So when I decided to marry the spices from my favorite quick bread (chai-spiced bread) to my favorite biscotti dough (pecan and brown butter biscotti*), I just crossed my fingers. I had seen other recipes for chai biscotti on other blogs, but they all called for ingredients I didn't have or spice combinations that didn't remind me of chai at all. And so I forged bravely on. After a slight adjustment to the amount of flour, my idea worked! Unlike the gingerbread, these turned out great. The spices are warm but gentle, not overpowering like some spiced-cookies can be. Nic (who told me he doesn't like biscotti last week) loves these and almost ate all of them before I could send them to friends and coworkers. This weekend, I'm going to make another few batches. And leave the gingerbread for more skilled hands.

*Thanks to Poppop who sent me a batch of the pecan and brown butter biscotti, and Aunt Ellen who gave him (and me) the recipe, and Aunt Kristen that gave her the recipe! (whew, they came a long way, as all good recipes do.)

O and I couldn't resist taking a picture of these holiday goodie bags for my co-workers. My mom should be proud of how crafty I got. (Although she would prefer I call it artsy. She doesn't do crafts, she does art.) I am much more creative at 1 AM for some reason, I think the exhaustion frees my mind...or something like that. The cute little packages are hiding the not-so-fabulous gingerbread sticks. On Iron Chef they get points for presentation, so I should too, right? Just so you don't think I'm too on the ball, because I'm not, the greenery was ripped off my centerpiece and the stringy stuff came on a package of fake leaves I bought for Thanksgiving that I saved by wrapping it around a candle.

If you have never cooked with cardamom before, you should give it a try. The whole seeds add a delicious, exotic flavor when added to stews or rice or when you are brewing tea. A lot of Middle Eastern recipes call for cardamom pods. And the ground cardamom can be added to pretty much any baking recipe that calls for cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, ginger, or some combination of those. If you want a pronounced, chai-like taste, make sure there is more cardamom than any of the other spices. If you want a more subtle flavor, add it in about equal amounts to the other spices. Don't be thrown by the fact that it smells like cleaning solution before it is cooked, it won't taste like cleaning solution, I promise.

Chai Biscotti
Makes about 16 large biscotti or 30 small.

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus another 1/4 cup as needed
1 1/2 tsp. loose chai tea (about one tea bag)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (You will need two baking sheets if you want to make smaller biscotti.)
-Cook the butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat until brown and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl or baking dish to cool and harden. (This is what brown butter should look like.)
-In a medium mixing bowl, wisk together 2 3/4 cups flour, tea, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a separate bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the sugar and the butter (it doesn't have to be completely re-solidified, but it should at least be completely cool and starting to harden). Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
-Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until combined.
-The dough should be somewhat sticky, but possible to form into a loose ball. Add another 1/4 cup of flour if necessary and mix to combine. If you aren't sure, add the 1/4 cup, it won't hurt.
-Scrape the dough onto the parchment lined cookie sheet. (Divide the dough in half between the two cookie sheets for smaller biscotti.)
-Form the dough into a long, narrow log (about 3 inches across for one log, 2 inches across for two smaller logs). Pat the log down so it is about 1 inch thick.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes (20-25 minutes for two smaller logs). The dough should be slightly browned on top and cracked.
-Remove the log from the oven and use a serrated knife to cut the dough into 1/2 inch thick slices while still hot. (Use an oven mitt on the hand that holds the dough.)
-Arrange the slices on their sides on the cookie sheet, and bake for another 20 minutes or until the biscotti are golden. (The side touching the sheet will brown faster than the side facing up.)
-Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool.

Two New (To Me) Cookbooks, And Where I Have Been

2008-12-18T09:25:00.002-05:00

I'm not much of a cookbook person, but I have to say, I am so excited about my two new cookbooks! Nic gave me The Flavor Bible for my birthday, and I couldn't resist picking up How to Cook Everything when I saw it on super-sale at Costco. I read Mark Bittman's blog, and after much consideration decided that this was the perfect all-purpose, general reference cookbook which my small cookbook collection was lacking. (Sorry Joy of Cooking, you're just too old-fashioned for a modern girl like me. No offense.) All I have had time for so far is a quick scan of both, but I'm sure you will hear me (or rather read) reference these two books a lot in the coming months. What I like about both of them so much is that they are more general reference and less specific "have-to-follow-exactly" recipes, so they allow for a lot of creativity and flexibility.

I know I haven't been a very good blogger this week, and I know this is kind of cheating for a post, but I have mostly been remaking some of the holiday goodies that I posted last week for more packages for coworkers and friends. And this weekend I will be doing it all a third time for the family I will see on Christmas. I have made second batches of the candied pecans and almonds, both types of marshmallows, and the fudge--but this time I added 3/4 cup of dried cranberries, which made this SO much better. (I'll put a little note on the original post.) I am going to try out a few new goodie recipes for the rest of my packages tonight, if time permits, so those should be coming up soon. And eventually I will get back to cooking (and posting about) real food.

Sesame Seed Cookies

2008-12-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

Sesame seed cookies were always my favorite on my poppop's cookie platter. No one else ever seems to make these little guys! I don't know why. In my opinion they are the perfect holiday cookie. They are just a little sweet and have a nice crumbly texture--great with a cup of coffee or tea. I was really surprised when I saw them on the round-up of Gourmet magazines favorite cookies from 1941-2008. They were Miss 1955, although they were disguised as Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits). Even Gourmet says, "You may have forgotten about this Italian take on sesame seed cookies, but their cakelike texture and sweetness will remind you why they're an old favorite." Cakelike is kind of a stretch in my opinion, unless you make some really dry cake, but they are too good to be forgotten.

When I was in high school, I tried to make them from a copy of the recipe Poppop wrote on the back of an envelope for me. Thank goodness he lived five minutes away, because about half way through the recipe I had to call him for help. He came over and fixed the mess I made. This time around Poppop was 200+ miles away so I was on my own. Luckily, I have had a little more baking experience. Unluckily, I couldn't find my envelope with the recipe on it. I thought about calling Poppop for the recipe, but it was late, so I decided to use the Gourmet recipe for the ingredient proportions ::hanging my head in shame::

I started to follow the technique in the Gourmet recipe, and about one hand-made cookie ball in, I said to myself, "This is the most tedious way I could do this. Clearly the 1950s-era baker had a thing or two to learn about efficiency. I'm making them Poppop's way." So the technique is family tradition. And the ingredients are Gourmet.

I have to say, to me they tasted a little bit different than what I am used to, but I find I never like anything as much when I make it myself as I do when someone makes it for me! Convenient, I know. By the time they got to California, however, my aunt said they were great. She was probably just being nice. Either way, this is a 9/10 for a sesame seed cookie recipe. And when I get back to good-old PA next week, I will get you guys the original. Hopefully on an envelope again.

Sesame Seed Cookies
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tbs. vanilla extract
5 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 lb. sesame seeds

Directions:
-In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand held mizer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then gradually add the milk and the vanilla.
-In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
-Make a hollow in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients from the edges into the wet ingredients in the center. If the dough it too dry to shape into a loose ball, add a small amount of milk.
-Shape the dought into a ball and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
-Wash, drain, and dry the sesame seeds and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Take a baseball size chunk of the dough and gently roll into a log shape about 1 inch across. The dough may start to separate as you roll it. Use your hands to press it into the shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 1 inch long pieces, at a bias. Roll the pieces in the sesame seeds and place them on the parchment paper. (Do this immediately after finishing cutting each roll. The seeds stick better right after the dough has been handled.)
-Repeat with the rest of the dough.
-Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Birthday Dinner

2008-12-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of going out to eat with some friends on Friday night at Tallula's in Arlington. The dinner was delicious, but I couldn't possibly write anything resembling a review because the Gnome's Water (gin, lavender, and cucumber) and the Apples and Ale (apple cider and bourbon, I believe) were so strong. I know, I know, how un-foodie of me to order cocktails with a nice dinner, but it was my birthday dinner! Nic held up his side of the foodie relationship, ordering a lovely Zinfandel to go with his steak.

For much better pictures than you will ever see here, head over to my dear friend MK's blog (she's professional wedding photographer). She took some lovely pictures of the food and a not-so-lovely picture of me, awkwardly shirking from the camera after blowing out my candle. What can I say, I'm not photogenic.

In other food news, I think I may have made my new favorite biscotti recipe last night (CHAI FLAVORED), but unfortunately, I didn't measure the flour I had to add to get it to the right consistency, so I will have to make them again (the tragedy) and post the recipe later. In the meantime, I have some sesame seed cookies coming up as soon as I have a minute to edit the pictures!

Soft and Crispy Chocolate Cookies

2008-12-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Nic says he's not a picky eater, but at least once a day he says, "I don't really like..." This week that sentenced ended in "bready cookies." I have no idea what that means, but apparently he doesn't like biscotti or italian sesame seed cookies or gingerbread cookies. So basically he didn't like any of the cookies I was already baking. But I was feeling generous so I agreed to make a batch of his favorite chocolate cookies from his mom's cookbook. The oven was already preheated, I guess.

This was my second time attempting to make these. They are not the easiest cookies to make, but they are ridiculously delicious and chocolately. I think getting them to turn out is dependent on three major factors. 1) Let the dough get really cold. The recipe says to let the dough chill in the fridge until "firm, about 1 hour." Just leave it in over night. That's the only way I can figure to be sure it is cool enough. If it's not cool enough, these will not turn out. 2) Make the cookies into small balls. The recipe says 1 inch in diameter. Don't go over that size or the cookies don't spread out and cook evenly. 3) Make a small batch the first time to test your oven. These cookies are perfectly done for about a 1 minute window. The first batch I put in was not cooked enough and ended up soggy. The second batch was perfect, crispy and wafer like on the outside with a slightly soft center. The recipe says to bake 8 minutes on 350, but in my oven it took 12 minutes for these to be done. Maybe I should go buy that oven thermometer Alton Brown keeps telling me I need...

Well here's the recipe, good luck. As a funny aside, after making these I saw a little note at the bottom that the recipe originally came from Martha Stewart! I haven't made a Martha Stewart recipe since my mom and I almost killed our family with toxic decorations she told us to put on gingerbread cookies (apparently the cookies were only intended as decorations...). I also got a kick out of the fact that Martha apparently named them "Grammy's Chocolate Cookies." I can't picture Martha having a Grammy.

"Grammy's" or Soft and Crispy Chocolate Cookies
Apparently adapted from Martha Stewart via Miss Andrea

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
-In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla.
-Turn the mixer on low speed and gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
-Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Pinch off a small piece of the dough and roll into a 1 inch ball. Dip the top of the ball in granulated sugar. Place on baking sheet. Leave 1 1/2 inches between cookies, they will spread out a lot.
-Bake cookies 8-12 minutes, or until spread out and slightly puffed in the center. (The cookies will "fall" after baking, which gives them the appearance pictured).
-Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

FAILURE

2008-12-11T21:19:00.004-05:00

I just made the WORST tasting gingerbread that has ever been made. And a double-batch! This means I wasted more than 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of molasses, and 2 cups of sour cream. And I have two bald, zest-less oranges in the fridge! I also now have nothing to bring to my running group Saturday morning. Where did this recipe go wrong?

I adore Ina Garten, she has the best recipes ever, but this one was NOT a winner. After consulting with Nic I confirmed that it wasn't just a matter of taste. This was pretty much inedible. I like not-sweet desserts, but this was beyond just not-too-sweet. The only thing I changed from the original recipe was that I omitted the white raisins and the crystallized ginger. I can't believe that those two mix-ins would have saved this. Maybe they are magical, but I just don't know...

Some one, please, send me a better gingerbread recipe. I don't have the heart, or flour, to test something else without a personal recommendation.

I will get back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow morning.

Vanilla + Peppermint Marshmallows

2008-12-11T09:30:00.006-05:00

O the torture I put myself through... and the messes I make.

Let me paint a picture for you, because while this was happening my hands were covered in marshmallow goop so I couldn't take a picture. I wish I had. Monday night, in a flurry of over-confidence, I decided that I could undertake marshmallow making on a week night. The flurry of over-confidence should be what tips you off, this is how all my great messes start. After a few hours, two techniques, two batches, and maybe a few unprintable words, I did have vanilla and peppermint marshmallows setting, waiting to be cut up the next morning. So in one sense, I was successful. I also had, and I am not exaggerating, confectioners sugar everywhere in my kitchen, across my living room, and on my cat. On. my. cat. How did that happen? O that's right, Nic loves torturing the cat so he decided to sprinkle her with the confectioner's sugar, because hey it was already everywhere else. I couldn't be too mad though because without his help this would have probably never turned out.

Now that I have thoroughly discouraged marshmallow making it seems, let me say that homemade marshmallows are far superior to store-bought marshmallows. I don't eat store-bought marshmallows, but these little guys, especially the peppermint ones are quite tasty, especially on top of a hot chocolate. The recipe requires very few ingredients. So these actually are worthwhile making, just don't make the mistake I made. And to give you all confidence, I will be making two more batches of these before Christmas to bring to my family.

Alton Brown says you can make mini-marshmallows by piping them through a pastry bag into strips, then cutting them when they set. He does this on his show and it looks so easy. In real life, it is a near impossibility. The marshmallow goop doesn't want to go into the bag, then it wants to come out the top, not the point, then it starts to cool before it is all piped and becomes impossible to work with. Unless you are a professional candy maker, just make the marshmallows in the pan and cut them into mini-marshmallows (the pink peppermint ones, batch #2, were done this way).

Marshmallows
Adapted from Alton Brown
To make both flavors of marshmallow you need to do this process twice.

Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
Vanilla Marshmallows
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Peppermint Marshmallows
1 tsp. peppermint extract
6-7 drops red food coloring

Directions:
-Set up the stand mixer with the wisk attachment. Put 1/2 cup of the water into the bowl with the gelatin. Don't mix. Just let it sit.
-In a small saucepan, combine the other 1/2 cup of granulated water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Heat over medium-high, covered for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover and clip a candy thermometer on the side so that the point is submerged but not touching the bottom or the sides of the pan. Continue to cook until the temperature reaches 240 degrees, this takes about 7 to 8 minutes, but don't try to guess based on time. Use the temperature.
-When the mixture reaches 240 degrees, immediately remove it from the heat. Turn the mixer on low and while it is running slowly pour the sugar mixture down the side of the bowl.
-When all the sugar mixture is added, turn the speed up to high and let it continue to whip until the mixture is very thick and lukewarm, about 12 to 15 minutes. During the last minute of whipping, add the extract (vanilla or peppermint) and the food coloring if you are using it.
-While the mixture whips, combine the confectioners' sugar and the cornstarch. Spray a 13X9 inch metal pan with non-stick cooking spray and coat generously with confectioners' sugar mixture. (You can also use two smaller pans. I lined mine with parchment paper first because they were glass.) Spray a spatula with non-stick cooking spray and coat it in the confectioners' sugar mixture as well.
-When the whipping is finished, pour the marshmallow mixture into the pans. Use the sprayed and coated spatula to push the mixture into the pan evenly. Sprinkle the top with another generous coating of the confectioners' sugar mixture. (At this point you can press the marshmallow gently to even out and bumps.)
-Let the marshmallows set for 4 hours or over night at room temperature. Reserve the rest of the confectioners' sugar mixture.
-Coat a cutting board with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Turn the marshmallows out into the cutting board. Coat a very sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Cut the marshmallows into desired size. As you cut, roll the marshmallows in the confectioners' sugar so that all of the sides get coated. Also re-coat your knife or scissors frequently. You can't use too much. Excess will fall off of the marshmallows later. But if you use too little, they will stick and be much harder to work with.
-Store in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

Gingerbread Stars

2008-12-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Another installment of my holiday package breakdown. Last night, I baked two more types of cookies and packed up the boxes. Today I'm off to the post office. Then I'm done! For a while at least... I can't believe people do this every year.

These gingerbread cookies ended up being my favorite item in the boxes, which was very surprising for me because I thought I didn't like gingerbread. I have no idea why I thought that, but I was obviously wrong. Now that I have discovered my new love for gingerbread, I'm going to try making a loaf.

These were great because they were not too sweet (you know me, I don't really like sweet things... except for those sour patch kids), but they had lots of flavor from the extra spices and the orange zest I added to the Paula Deen recipe, which I picked as the starting point based on the fact that it used molasses, since I have a big bottle of it for some forgotten reason. The decorating part of these was extremely trying. As you can see, I have not pictured the truly horrific looking ones. (There were many. The really ugly ones are a great excuse to eat some while you decorate.)

Gingerbread Stars
Adapted (spiced up) from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (she suggested dark)
1 stick butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground all spice
1/2 tsp. salt
zest from one medium orange, very fine

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs. milk
2 drops vanilla extract
food coloring

Directions:
-Cream the butter and the sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, then the molasses, and mix until combined.
-Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through salt) then add the orange zest.
-Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a spoon to combine.
-Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
-Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or until it becomes pliable.
-Take about a quarter of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes. Reroll scraps, repeat.
-Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until just brown on the edges. Cool on wire racks before icing.
-Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla and milk for the icing. This does not make very much icing, so two batches would be a good idea. Color as desired.

Holiday Packages + Dark Chocolate Fudge

2008-12-09T09:30:00.003-05:00

Last night I had a marathon baking/making night. I was in the kitchen for seven hours. I was determined to finish the rest of the goodies for my first round of holiday packages so that I could send them out. Did this happen? No. I still have two cookies to make. But I did leave the easy ones for last.

But just in case you're curious about what is going in the packages (at least the first round)...

Holiday Packages:
Candied Pecans + Almonds
Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge
Gingerbread Stars
Vanilla + Peppermint Marshmallows
Hot Coco Mix
Pecan Biscotti
Sesame Seed Cookies

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not actually making the hot coco mix, although I might put it in some sort of pretty packaging. I did make the marshmallows though, and o what an experience that was, but I will save the story for another post. Stay tuned for the rest of the recipes and some packaging tips.

For now, here is a ridiculously easy recipe for dark chocolate and almond fudge from Katie over at Good Things Catered. This wins the award for the easiest treat in the package. It is very, very rich but not too sweet. I'm not a huge fan of fudge usually, but this tastes a little bit more like a chocolate bar to me. Why make it if it tastes like a dark chocolate with almond bar you can buy at the store? Because I can put in holiday packages if I make it. Also, did I mention how ridiculously easy this is? (Especially in retrospect, now that I've made marshmallows.)

Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge
From Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
3 cups high quality dark chocolate, chopped (I used half Scharffen Berger 70%, half Ghirardelli 60%)
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped (next time I will increase this to about 1 1/2 cups)

EDIT NOTE: Add 3/4 cup of dried cranberries (when you add the almonds) for a sweet and tangy addition to this fudge that is highly recommended.

Directions:
-Line an 8X8 or similar sized pan with aluminum foil and coat with non stick cooking spray.
-Combine dark chocolate and condensed milk in a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. (You can use a metal or plastic bowl placed on top of a sauce pan. Put about an inch or two of water in the saucepan, but it should not be high enough to touch the bottom of the bowl.)
-When it is melted and smooth, remove from the heat and stir in salt, vanilla, and almonds.
-Pour the chocolate into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and put it in the fridge for about 2 hours or over night.
-To slice: Remove from the fridge, remove from the pan, pull off the foil, and slice into pieces using a sharp, straight edged knife.
-Store at room temperature, covered.

Candied Pecans and Almonds

2008-12-08T08:12:00.005-05:00

I decided that my holiday season could start this weekend. I like to wait a little longer than most people to get into the spirit because I don't want to get sick of Christmas music and cookies and the smell of pine (ok, I could never get sick of that last one) before the 25th. My company holiday party was this weekend, so I figured I could start the season at home. Saturday we finally finished cleaning up from Thanksgiving (!), so Sunday we bought a Christmas tree and did a little decorating (I'll post pictures later). On a side note: Several people gave me a hard time about buying a real Christmas tree, but I think I appreciate the smell of the pine more than the ease of pulling a pre-lit tree out of a box. Also, when the tree is as little as ours, it really only takes 5 minutes to put lights on it anyway.

We also did our shopping for the families our apartment building "adopted" for the holidays. We had to buy clothes for an infant and a 3-year-old. We hit up the Baby Gap for some stylish duds-- I think they have better clothes than the adult store!

Sunday night I started my Christmas "baking" so I could send packages to the friends and family we wouldn't be seeing over the holiday season. These candied nuts were a good place to start, the hardest part was cleaning the pans after they were done. Use parchment paper! I ran out and was too lazy to go get some, even though I ended up going out to buy it a few hours later. Bad idea.

I will blog about the rest of the treats going into the packages over the next week. Happy Holidays!

Candied Nuts
Adapted from New York Magazine

Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
generous pinch of cayenne pepper
generous pinch of ground ginger
1 egg white
1 tbs. water
1 pound nuts (I did one batch of almonds and one of pecans)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
-Combine the sugars and spices in a bowl.
-Wisk together the egg white and water in another bowl.
-Put the nuts in a large mixing bowl. Pour the egg white mixture over the nuts and mix gently until they are all coated with a thing layer of egg white.
-Pour half the sugar mixture over the nuts, stir gently until combine, then pour the rest of the sugar mixture into the bowl, and stir gently until the nuts evenly coated.
-Pour the nuts onto the cookie sheets and using a spatula to spread them. They can be touching, but they should be in one thin layer, not piled on top of each other.
-Put the nuts into the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then take them out and stir them around, using the spatula to spread them into a thin layer again before putting them back in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the sugar coating starts to look dry.
-Let the nuts cool, then break apart any that are stuck together and store them in an airtight container.

Snacks of Shame

2008-12-04T21:29:00.006-05:00

This is how I know I'm having a bad day. I ate this:

And this:

Which were both after eating a burrito bowl from Chipotle for dinner. Shameful.

I developed a bad habit in college of eating large quantities of [some sort of gummy]+ queso+ diet coke while staying up to write papers. So when I worked three hours overtime to try to pull together a story about the conference I was at all day, I resorted to my snacks of shame to keep myself sane. I finished my story and filed it a few minutes ago. Now excuse me, I have to go lay down. I feel nauseous from all the cheese and sugar and jittery from the massive caffeine consumption. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some more pleasant eating to report.

Please feel free to share your snacks of shame in the comments. It will make me feel better about myself.

Fennel & Apple Salad w/Pecans

2008-12-03T19:19:00.010-05:00

I never got around to posting that leftover turkey potpie recipe, did I? But I have a good excuse. I made it, but I didn't measure anything or take a picture. Then I was going to make it again to write down the measurements and snap a few photos...but then I realized I was so. sick. of. turkey. O well, you are too, right?

Here is something better--a light and beautiful salad with a really interesting combination of flavors. The hint of licorice flavor from the paper-thin slices of fennel plays off the sweet apple, which is also sliced into thin leaves. The simple lemony dressing brings the salad together, and the pecans add the perfect crunchy compliment. This dish includes seasonal ingredients without being heavy, which can sometimes be a challenge this time of year when the fresh produce lends itself more to hearty, heavy foods.

I served this salad with pan-seared halibut, simply seasoned with salt and pepper and served with ginger butter. Nic decided to make his into a sandwich, and I'm so glad he did. The halibut, ginger butter, and fennel and apple salad made a truly delicious fish sandwich, even if it was not particularly photogenic. Nic loved it so much, he called his dad to tell him about it before he even finished eating. (The halibut came from Nic's dad after all of ours went bad in the aforementioned freezer debacle.)

When my mom left a bulb and a half of fennel in my fridge last weekend, I had no idea what I was going to do with, but I'm so glad that she left it. Otherwise, I would have never thought to make this. I grew up eating fennel or finocchio, the Italian word for this vegetable (I didn't know the name for it in English until I was an adult), but only around Christmas time and usually by itself, picked from a plate with celery sticks and black olives.

I got to use my slicer for the first time to create the leafy apple and fennel slices. You could also use a mandolin, but this little guy is cheaper. You can get one at most kitchen stores, this one is from Williams-Sonoma. You might even be able to use a good vegetable peeler, but I haven't tried that. The best part about dinner tonight? The entire meal came together in 20 minutes.

Fennel & Apple Salad
Makes 2 large servings

Ingredients:
1 bulb fennel
1 apple (about the same size as the fennel bulb)
juice from one lemon
1 to 2 tsp. olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans

Directions:
- Cut off the root end of the fennel. Using a mandolin or another kitchen gadget, thinly slice the the bulb of the fennel, stopping when you get to the stalks. (These can be reserved for another use.) Use the tool to do the same thing with the apple, turning to slice all sides and stopping before you get to the core.
-In a large bowl combine the fennel and the apple with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt and toss to combine.
-Plate the salad and top with chopped pecans. Garnish with fronds from fennel top.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

2008-12-01T10:01:00.006-05:00

I just got these pictures from Carrie and I wanted to share them, even though I know everyone has already moved on to Christmas, as evidenced by the incessant carols playing in all stores and public places. I'll post a real leftover recipe soon: turkey pot pie, made entirely from leftovers. Then I guess I'll have to get in the holiday spirit and start baking Christmas cookies.

Cran-Apple Pie...Better Than Raisin

2008-11-29T11:00:00.004-05:00

It's really all in the title, everything you need to know.

This is my replacement for that goofy raisin pie on my original Thanksgiving menu that turned out to be such a dud. But this pie wasn't just better than the raisin pie, it was really great, in my humble opinion. I love the slight sweetness and the tangy tartness in this pie. I like apple pie by itself, but the addition of the fresh cranberries made this a much more interesting dessert with a more complex flavor. I did use the pie crust recipe from the raisin pie though, and it was nice and flaky.

I have been using fresh cranberries so much lately, I don't know what I'm going to do when they disappear from the markets. I think I might have to stock up on them and freeze them to make them last longer!

Cran-Apple Pie
Makes 1 standard pie

Ingredients:
2 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar+ extra for the top
1⁄2 lb. chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup ice cold water
4 cups tart apples, cored and sliced (about 5 medium apples)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs. orange juice
2 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg white

Directions:
-Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut the chilled butter into very small pieces and add to flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or two knives until the butter is in pieces the size of peas. Add ice-cold water to the mixture a few tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together. Form the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least two hours.
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Combine apples, cranberries, sugar, orange juice, cornstarch cinnamon and nutmeg, and toss until combined.
-Roll out each piece of dough separately. (This is easier between two pieces of parchment paper.)
-Place the first piece of dough in the pie dish, pour in the fillings. Cover the top of the pie with the second piece of dough and seal the edges. Cut four vent holes in the top of the pie. Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any overflow from the pie.
-Brush the top 0f the pie with the egg white and then sprinkle with sugar.
-Bake for 45 minutes. Cover the crust with foil if it starts to get too dark.

NOTE:For a larger, deep dish pie multiply the recipe by 1.5 and bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 30 minutes more.

A Thanksgiving Miracle, Accomplished

2008-11-28T10:59:00.006-05:00

I'm happy to report that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My family, good friends, and good food. There was a lot of laughing and good times, I am so thankful that my family and my best friends could be here. I love cooking, but more than that, I love sharing what I make with the people I love, so thank you Mom, Dad, Maxx, Jake, Donald, Nic, Carrie, Alec, Taylor, and Chris! And a BIG thank you to Poppop, who sent down pumpkin pie, cookies, and banana bread so my life would be a little easier.

I am thankful that we were blessed and able to enjoy this holiday during these tough economic times, because as Mom said last night, "By next year we might all be eating pigeon."
Even if we are, I will still be thankful for the family and friends. Besides, they make delicious pigeon in Egypt, I bet I can find a recipe for it...

Where to start with the food? I guess the logical place to start would be the turkey. I made a 13 lb. cider-brined turkey and two 4lb. turkey roulades. An unscientific poll came up 50-50 over the favorite. As final judge and arbiter, I'm giving the first-place, blue ribbon turkey prize to the cider-brined whole turkey (which I don't have a picture of yet, but I will get one up as soon as I get reports from my unofficial photogs for the evening). It was very moist and flavorful because of the brine, and it was considerably easier--just plop it in the bag with the brine for 24 hours, take it out, stick some oranges and herbs in the cavity, and roast.

The turkey roulade, on the other hand, required de-boning (ok, the butcher actually did that part for me, but I had to ask, twice!), pounding flat with a rolling pin, filling with stuffing and rolling up and tying with little pieces of string. In fairness though, the turkey roulade was delicious also, and it was quite a few peoples favorite, including Nic's. So it will be awarded a second-place ribbon and a permanent page protector in my recipe binder. (Where do recipes who do not earn a page protector go, you might ask. They get stuffed in the side pockets, become splattered with food, crumbled, and sometimes lost or forgotten. A sad fate.)

I know no one even wants to think about making turkey the Friday after Thanksgiving, but for the sake of preserving history, and my recipes in case I ever lose that binder, I'm going to post both recipes today. Feel free to ignore for the next 364 days, unless you are a turkey for Christmas person. In which case, this might be useful sooner.

Cider-Brined Turkey
Ingredients:
Brine
9 cups cider (You can use water if you don't have cider.)
1 cup kosher salt
1 tbs. black peppercorns
1 tbs. all spice
6 cloves
2 bay leaves
7 cups of ice

Aromatics
1 orange, quartered
1 onion, quartered
bunch of sage
bunch of rosemary
salt/pepper
olive oil
butter

Directions:
-Boil cider and the rest of the brine ingredients, except ice, for 5 minutes.
-Remove from heat and add ice.
-Remove neck and other innards, rinse turkey, and place turkey, breast side down, in large plastic bag (a trash bag works, but double bag to be safe).
-The brine should be cool from the ice. Pour brine over turkey. Cinch bag with rubber band and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
24 hours later...
-Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
-Remove turkey from brine and rinse. Place on a roasting rack, tuck the wings underneath the body. Stuff herbs in the bottom of the cavity, then fill with oranges and onion.
-Run your hand between the skin and the breast meat of the turkey. Stuff two small pads of butter between the skin and breast on each side. Now tie together the turkey legs with kitchen twine.
-Brush the outside of the turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with salt (just a little!) and pepper.
-Roast for 20-30 minutes in 500 degree oven, until the turkey is nicely browned. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165-170 degrees. Don't wait for the little pop-up to pop if you have one. The turkey will already be a little overcooked usually if you wait for that.
-Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and tent with foil. Let rest at least 30 minutes so the juices redistribute before you carve it.
-In the meantime, tip the roasting pan and skim some of the fat off the pan drippings. Stradle the roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add about 1 cup dry red wine (or white wine, or turkey stock, or vermouth...) to the pan drippings and reduce by half. Strain the pan drippings and reserve juices to serve with turkey or to add to gravy base.

Notes:
-The turkey has to be defrosted before you brine it, or the brine won't really have the same effect.
-After you put the brine in the bag, try to pull the bag snug around the bird so that the brine is in contact with at least most of the bird. This is why you put it in breast side down, so you are at least sure the white meat, which tends to be what gets dry, is totally covered by the brine. (Credit where credit is due, the upside-down brining technique was Nic's idea.)

Turkey Roulade w/ Cranberry Stuffing
Adapted (i.e. simplified) from Gourmet
Ingredients:
Stuffing
2 cups diced baguette
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 tsp. salt (I didn't measure this)
3/4 teaspoon black pepper (I didn't measure this either)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup whole milk

Turkey and Sauce
1 (4 1/2- to 5-lb) boneless turkey breast half with skin
1/2 cup medium-dry Sherry
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 cup apple cider

Directions:
Stuffing
-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-Toast bread cubes on a baking sheet until dry and just beginning to brown around edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
-Put cranberries and water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat and simmer uncovered until cranberries are rehydrated and all the water is absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat. (Drain any water that doesn't absorb.)
-Cook celery, onion, garlic, and sage, in 2 tbs. butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat to let cool.
-Whisk together egg and milk in a large bowl, then add bread cubes, cranberries, and onion mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Let the bread absorb all of the liquid and let stuffing cool.

Turkey
-Arrange turkey, skin side up, on a work surface with narrower, pointed end nearest you. Determine which long side of the breast is thickest, then, starting from that side and holding knife parallel to work surface, cut breast horizontally almost in half, stopping 1 inch from other side. Open breast like a book and put between 2 sheets of plastic wrap
-Pound turkey to 1-inch thickness with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin.
-Spread stuffing evenly over turkey, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Start rolling the turkey from the skin-less half toward the half with the skin, so that the skin ends up on the outside of the roll.

-Arrange rolled turkey breast seam side down, then tie crosswise at 1-inch intervals with string.
-In a heavy skillet, sear the roulade, seam side down first. Brown all sides of the roulade. If your skillet is oven safe and has high sides you can put it directly into the oven. Otherwise transfer the roulade to a roasting pan.

Pan sauce
-Combine sherry, soy sauce, cloves, bay leaf and apple cider.
-Pour this over the roulade, then cover the roulade with foil.
-Roast in 350 degree oven until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees, about one hour.
-When the turkey is cooked, remove from roasting pan and tent with foil. Let the meat rest at least 20 minutes so the juices redistribute.
-In the meantime, stradle the roasting pan over two burners and reduce by half. Pour through a strainer and reserve the juices to serve with the roulade.

Notes:
-You could brine the turkey breasts, using the cider-brine from the whole turkey, before assembling the roulade. This is what I will do next time to get the best of both. Although, as Mom said, this might make this recipe dangerously good.
-You can toast the bread cubes and flatten out the turkey breasts the night before.
-I did 1.5X the stuffing recipe for two turkey breasts that totaled about 6.5 lbs. This was the perfect amount for that much turkey. Then I made an additional 6X the recipe for a side, but I reduced the cranberries, using only 2 cups for the total 12 cups of bread cubes. That was plenty of cranberries in a side-dish stuffing.

Cranberry-Orange Bread for Bribery

2008-11-26T07:30:00.006-05:00

Monday night, after my lovely book club trailed out the door and after I cleaned up, I remembered that I had promised to bake something for my office as a Thanksgiving treat. It was 10 p.m. and I had had some red wine, but I was determined not to disappoint. I have this theory that bringing snacks to work gives me a smidgen of extra job security. I'm not delusional. I still work really hard to do a good job. But I figure if times get tight, and they have to lay someone off, and they are choosing between me and someone else, and we both do the same work equally as well... then I'll have the edge. Because I bake bread. With this in mind I pulled my gigantic, five-pound bag of cranberries (I love Costco) out of the fridge at 10:15 p.m.

By 11:15 I had one normal size loaf and four mini-loaves of cranberry-orange bread. My pre-work taste test the next morning was a thumbs up. Cranberry and orange zest might be my new favorite flavor combination for the holidays, which is good news because I have a lot of cranberries left. (The scones from earlier this week were also this flavor.) The bread was deliciously tart, and the overall texture was very light for quick bread, which can sometimes get a little cakey. I was impressed with how good this tasted considering the relatively small amount of butter and sugar. Nic found it to be a little bit too tart, so I might consider adding few tablespoons of sugar to the cranberries before I mix them into the dough next time. If you don't like tart, you should definitely do this. If you are big fan of tart cranberries (like me), you can probably leave the recipe as is.

Cranberry-Orange Bread
Adapted from Good Things Catered
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour*
1/2 cup granulated sugar (+ 2-3 tbs. for sweeter, less tart bread)
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. grated orange zest
2/3 cup orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cup fresh cranberries, coursely chopped

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Sift together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
-Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from an orange, then finely chop the zest. Add zest to the flour mixture.
-In a small bowl, combine orange juice, eggs, and butter.
-If adding sugar to the cranberries, combine 2 to 3 tbs. sugar with chopped cranberries in a small bowl.
-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
-Fold in cranberries.
-Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Mini loaves take 35-40 minutes.)

*You can use 2 cups of all purpose flour if you prefer, but I find that half and half does not compromise the flavor or texture too much.

Note: I asked Katie, from Good Things Catered, if letting the bread chill on the counter wrapped up in plastic wrap, changed the flavor, since her original recipe called for doing this. She said: "If you wait a day or two [to eat the bread] the flavors meld and the bread ends up tasting a *bit* sweeter because of it. But not by much. It is fresh cranberry, so you could add some more sugar if you like." Thanks Katie! (P.S. Not only do we share a name, but she is also part Lebanese on her dad's side. Crazy, right?)

The Ghost of Thanksgiving Past

2008-11-25T11:00:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving 2006

The last thing I remember was the ball of blue, firey gas barreling out of the oven. The force from the fireball, or maybe it was my natural reaction to reel backward, pushed me across the kitchen until the refrigerator brought me to an abrupt stop. I still had the match in my hand.

To explain how I ended up nearly blowing myself up, I have to back up about a day. We had a long weekend for Thanksgiving because we went to an American university in Cairo, and we were supposed to go to Upper Egypt to check out the tombs and whatnot. I was not even supposed to be making Thanksgiving dinner. Then Nic got sick, had a 104 degree fever, and we canceled our trip. I went to the pharmacy at the bottom of our building and bought Nic some super strength antibiotics and prayed they would bring the fever down. I had seen the inside of the hospital once, and I didn't want to go back unless the situation was really dire. I’m talking hit by a bus dire.

The square my apartment building sat on. I have no pictures of the kitchen for some reason...
This is when I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner. All our friends were gone, Nic was sick, and I had nothing else to do other than take his temperature every couple hours. I went to the big "Western" grocery store in the "suburbs" to get some things to make a "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner. I got everything I needed for stuffing, mashed potatoes, and even pumpkin pie. I bought a little chicken to stand in for the turkey. Everything was going smoothly. Until I had to light the oven.

Our stove was a 1950s gas model that had seen better days. You had to turn on the gas then light the pilot with a match. To light the oven though you had to turn on the gas and leave the door shut for just a minute or so or else the pilot would never light. I guess I left the door closed for a minute too long.

I jumped up from the floor in front of the refrigerator screaming, "I'm on fire! I'm on fire!"

I wasn't actually on fire, but I was at a loss for words to describe what had just happened.

Nic, delirious with fever, came running to meet me on my way to the bathroom. I felt my face. It was still there. I felt my neck, that was ok too. Then I grabbed my hair. And it came out in my hand. I started wimpering. Confused to see me not actually up in flames, Nic grabbed me and started shaking me. "Are you ok, do we have to go to the hospital?"

I couldn't really form words. I was staring into the mirror wimpering, watching a significant portion of my bangs flutter into the sink. I leaned into the mirror and saw that my eyelashes were also gone.

"Are you crying because you’re hurt or are you crying because you lost your hair."

"My hair," I wimpered.

I know it’s vain, but I really liked my eyelashes. They were ALL gone. But other than that, I was ok. No visible burns, except for a squiggly line across my neck where the flame hit the chain from my necklace and a very uncomfortably warm face for about a day. I still managed to finish Thanksgiving dinner. The pie even turned out somehow. Neither Nic nor I went to the hospital. But I know how lucky I was to walk away with just a handful of stinky burnt hair. This is why I will never, ever deep fry a turkey. I don’t want to press my luck.

Six months later when we were moving out, we told our landlady that we thought the oven was a little dangerous.

"That oven? I love that oven! That’s the best oven I’ve ever owned! There’s nothing wrong with that oven. You just don’t know how to work an oven."

I guess not.

They might have had a point when they said to test it.

2008-11-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

I told Nic I was making raisin pie for Thanksgiving. He said that sounded horrible. I told my mom I was making raisin pie for Thanksgiving. She said that sounded horrible. And that no one likes raisins.

I tried to argue the point that the pie was actually made from white raisins, which are not the same at all, but my ever-skeptical cooking advisers were having none of it. I have had this raisin pie recipe bookmarked for more than a month because it just sounded so cool. I mean, have you ever had raisin pie? I didn't think so. I could make pumpkin pie sure, but no one is going to look at a pumpkin pie and go, wow how unexpected. Obviously I was not going to abandon the raisin pie idea without a fight. And fight I did. By baking a test pie Saturday night.

The good news is raisin pie is not awful. The bad news is, it's not exactly a home run either. The main problem for me was that it was incredibly, incredibly sweet. Kind of like pecan pie, which is also too sweet in my opinion. I think that the pie would benefit from about a half cup less sugar than the recipe calls for and maybe some cranberries thrown in to make it more tart, say a half a cup or so. My friend Claire, who graciously agreed to participate in the taste test, suggested serving it with vanilla ice cream to break up the strong flavor.

The changes would make it better, but the thing is, eating raisin pie is also just kind of strange. I can't quite wrap my mind around it. I think it's the texture that's strange. It's like chewing on handfuls of raisins straight from the box. So basically I'm going to make a different pie for Thanksgiving. It won't be pumpkin, but it probably won't be as far out as raisin either.

O well, at least I got a great pie crust recipe out of it! If nothing else, check out the recipe for the crust, which is enough for a top and a bottom crust. Instead of refrigerating the crust for an hour or more, ever impatient, I put it in the freezer for 45 minutes and that worked great.

In case you missed it, the recipe for the raisin pie is here. I switched pecans for the walnuts, but other than that I made it the same. If you make it with any of the above recommendations let me know. But I'm guessing after my review, not many people are going to run to the grocery store to pick up the white raisins to make this.

Best Scones in the World, in My Opinion

2008-11-23T19:03:00.011-05:00

If you ever bake one thing I post on this blog, make it these scones. These are the single most worthy use of flour, butter, and sugar I have ever offered up here. These scones are the perfect combination of tart and sweet and they are SO light and moist, especially for scones which tend to be a little on the dry side. You don't even need clotted cream or jam or butter or whatever else it is you normally put on your scones if you eat these when they are fresh out of the oven. I made one batch (which only yielded about 8 scones), and then decided I better make another, they are that good.

I made these this weekend and flash freezed them on the baking sheet (before baking), then put them in ziploc bags to store in the freezer until Friday morning. I actually picked this recipe because there was a note that said you could bake the scones right out of the freezer, which sounded like about the right amount of work for the Friday morning after Thanksgiving.

Then I spent the rest of my Sunday in the kitchen making turkey stock and snacks for book club tomorrow. (Why host one dinner a week when you can host two?) Neither the stock nor the snacks were as inspiring as the scones, although I did remember why I hate making mini-anything--it is 20X more work than making the normal size. Pumpkin pie from a can? Easy. Mini-pumpkin pies from a can? %$*&$%#

Back to the scones. Make them. Technically you can substitute dried cranberries, but I really don't think they would be the same. Also the original recipe called for lemon zest, but by batch number two all my lemons were bald already, so I used orange zest and it worked just as well.

Cranberry Scones
From SmittenKitchen, which adapted from Gourmet
Yield 8 scones
Ingredients:
2 tbs. lemon or orange zest (from about 2 large lemons; or 1 navel orange)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tbs. additional if using fresh cranberries
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (6 tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse (approx. in quarters)
... or 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries (but it won't be as good!)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees if baking immediately.
-Peel the lemons or orange with a vegetable peeler, then finely, finely chop the zest.
-Combines the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a course meal. The easiest way to do this, without a food processor which would really be the easiest way, is to dice the butter very small and make sure each piece is separated before you add them into the flour. The flour will keep them from sticking back together so shake the bowl before adding in more pieces. Then use two knifes to cut the butter pieces even finer.
-In a small bowl combine the chopped cranberries and the sugar, then fold these into the flour mixture. (Don't add sugar if you use dry cranberries, just fold them directly into the flour.)
-In another small bowl beat the eggs and the cream.
-Mix the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, just until combined.
-On a lightly flour surface, dump the dough out and press it into a 1 inch thick circle with your hands. Using the top of a glass that has been dusted with flour, or a circular cookie/biscuit cutter, cut out scones and place them on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Gather the scraps and reform into 1 inch thick circle as needed until all the scones are formed.
-If baking immediately, bake in 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until a pale golden color.
-If freezing, place baking sheet in the freezer for at least one hour or until the scones are hard and frozen. Place the scones in a freezer bag until ready to bake. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a pale golden color.
-Serve as soon as they are cool enough to handle.

EDIT NOTE 11/28: Baking these straight from the freezer didn't work that well. I would defrost them on the cookie sheet the night before. Otherwise the outside is browned before the inside is cooked.

A Thanksgiving Miracle

2008-11-20T16:19:00.008-05:00

That's what I'm going to call it if I manage to pull off Thanksgiving for 12-15 in my 700 sq. ft. apartment. And even though I'm nervous about space, I have been having a lot of fun planning the menu for the last week. Alton Brown tried to scare me Monday night by saying that you should never make anything you have never made before on Thanksgiving, but where's the fun in that? I figure I have enough old standbys on the menu to mitigate any new recipes run a muck. Now that everything is planned, the next step is figuring out the exact configuration necessary to fit all the ingredients into the refrigerator...

Picture courtesy of Flickr user Sage
The italics in the menu are items someone else is bringing to the table. Can you hear the sigh of relief? I'll try to put links into this post as I get the recipes up. I will probably post one or two recipes I've made in the past before Thanksgiving, so check back!

before the meal
fresh vegetables w/ dilly yogurt dip
candied pecans and almonds
Taylor's holiday cocktail
pumpkin soup w/ savory whipped cream

main attraction
apple cider brined turkey stuffed w/herbs and citrus, served with pan juices
turkey roulade w/ cranberry stuffing

accompaniment
mashed sweet potato casserole w/walnuts
garlic-chive mashed potatoes
simple sage stuffing
cranberry-orange chutney
warm caramelized carrot and raisin salad
string beans w/almonds
mixed green salad
buttermilk biscuits
honey yeast rolls

the icing on the cake
raisin pie
pumpkin pie
orange and pomegranate fruit salad

Homemade Pepper Spray and Black Bean Soup

2008-11-19T10:56:00.005-05:00

Does anyone know what happens when you try to soften jalapeño peppers by sautéing them for a few minutes in a pan? You fill your kitchen with a noxious gas somewhat akin to pepper spray. In fact, I'm fairly sure if you could figure out how to bottle it, you would have a self-defense mechanism. The sad thing is that I vaguely remember learning this lesson once before, albeit with crushed red pepper (used in a rub on steak and then thrown on a stovetop grill), but I still managed to repeat the mistake when I was making jalapeño-chedder cornbread last night. I was working from a recipe that called for canned chilis and since those are soft, I thought I should soften the jalapeños I was substituting for them. Then I sneezed and wheezed for the next hour.

The worst part is that the cornbread was HORRIBLE. I realized something was wrong with the recipe when the dough came out like soup, so I tried adding another cup of cornmeal and some flour. Even that wasn't enough though. After more than an hour in the oven, the cornbread was more like spoonbread. The flavor was good, but it was not cuttable or crumbly. Nic tried to make me feel better by saying, "Cornbread is hard to make." But let's be honest. It really isn't.

Luckily, dinner was not a total disaster because the black bean soup I made was a success. The soup turned out really delicious and was much easier to make than the cornbread. Added bonus it's really healthy, and if you use vegetable broth (I didn't have any in the pantry), it is even vegetarian. I'm sure it would be great served with, say, a slice of cornbread. Or something like that.

Black Bean Soup
Makes 4 dinner servings

Ingredients:
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
glug of olive oil
1 jalapeño, minced (and deseeded if you want a milder soup)
1 tomato, diced
3 (15 oz.) cans black beans
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
-Heat a large pot with a glug of olive oil on medium heat. Sauté the bell peppers, onion, and garlic for 5 minutes, just until the start to soften. Add jalapeño, tomato, black beans, and broth.
-Bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
-Season with chili powder, cumin, and salt.

Irish Soda Bread w/ Dried Cranberries

2008-11-18T09:50:00.007-05:00

Sometimes, in over ambitious moments, I buy ingredients because I plan to make something. Like when I bought buttermilk to make a pumpkin butterscotch layer cake on a Friday night to bring to a friend's house Saturday morning. (Never happened.) Then I have a quart of buttermilk sitting in the fridge giving me the evil eye every time I open the door. I can hear it saying, "I'm going to go bad and smell awful and make you feel guilty for wasting me." Drives me nuts. And it's not like you can just throw some buttermilk on your cereal in the morning.

Then I saw this recipe that called for buttermilk on blog I like to read, herbivoracious, and it had about 15 less steps than the pumpkin butterscotch layer cake, and I don't even want to guess how many less calories. So last night when I got an unexpected reprieve from cooking dinner, I decided to make this so my oven didn't get lonely. It seriously took me about 10 minutes, start to finish, including washing the bowl, and there is only one bowl to wash. I really don't know why I ever made bread with yeast. This is just as good and there is no rising and kneading (well there's a little kneading, but nothing intense.) And there is no chance the bread will rise too much, overflow the bowl and make a mess. Not that I ever do that.

The bread was delicious for breakfast this morning with a little bit of butter. It's not a sweet bread but a nice hearty bread with a little tangy sweetness around the edges because of the cranberries. It is little bit denser than yeast bread, but not that much denser. (And if you live around here, where you can't buy decent bread even if your life depends on it, then it is probably lighter than some of the bread you've eaten.) A much better way to make buttermilk into breakfast than pouring it on your cereal. I will definitely be making this again, maybe with something else folded in instead of cranberries or maybe plain.

Irish Soda Bread w/ Dried Cranberries
Adapted from herbivoracious, which adapted from Saveur magazine. Go ahead adapt your own.

Ingredients:
2 cups pastry flour*
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tbs. sugar (use 2 tbs. for a plain loaf)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tbs. butter, cool
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg, beaten
2 cups buttermilk

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Sift together flours, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
-Cut in butter using two knifes until the butter is in very small little chunks (smaller than a pea).
-Mix in the egg and buttermilk with a spoon. A loose dough should form. It should be sticky but able to hold the shape of a ball.
-Add the dried cranberries and knead them into the dough. You can do this in the bowl.
-Grease a cookie sheet and place the ball of dough on the center.** Cut an X in the top with a sharp knife.
-Bake for 40 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow. (Internal temperature should be 180 degrees, if you have a meat thermometer you can use).

*herbivoracious notes that the pastry flour will make a more tender bread, but you can basically use 4 cups of any flour. I trusted him on this and used the pastry flour, and my bread was very tender indeed.

**The loaf pictured is half of this recipe. You can make it all as one loaf or you can divide it in half and make two smaller loaves. When making smaller loaves, it takes slightly less time to cook, 30-35 minutes.

Linguini w/ Clam Sauce

2008-11-17T10:30:00.002-05:00

Some big cooking news came in this weekend: I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner! (In my 700 sq. ft. apartment! For 12-15 people!) When you have a kitchen that small and that many people, you have to plan ahead. I ordered my turkey (free range, but not organic, I had to draw the line). I already have the menu down, except for the stuffing. I have figured out exactly how many and which casserole dishes fit in the oven. I bought two size roasting pans so I'm prepared for however big the turkey turns out to be. I have assigned tasks--Mom is bringing that huge salad she makes, Poppop is in charge of pies (if he decides to grace us with his presence), and Taylor is coming up with a fall cocktail to entertain pre-dinner. And I have contemplated exactly how to rearrange the furniture so we all actually fit!

So there will be quite a few Thanksgiving posts in the next few days, but for now, this very un-Thanksgiving recipe will have to do. One of my favorite meals my Mom makes, as I mentioned last week, this is how I make it. (How does she make it? Who knows, she doesn't measure anything or write anything down.)

This is my favorite pasta that is fast and easy to make. (Meat sauce doesn't count, it takes all day.) Even people that don't usually like clams (::Nic::), can appreciate this pasta. The flavor is not too fishy or too clammy. And you will be amazed how creamy the sauce gets without using any cream and with very little butter. It only takes as long to make as it takes for you to boil the water and cook the linguini. Be careful though, it is way too easy to eat several helpings.

Linguini w/ Clam Sauce
Makes 4 large servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb. regular or whole wheat pasta (I use whole wheat.)
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
4 (6.5 oz.) cans minced or baby clams, with juices
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tbs. fresh chopped parsley

Directions:
-Put pot of water on to boil. When the water boils, put the linguini in immediately.
-In a large sauté pan, melt butter on medium heat. Mix in flour and cook for 1 minute, just so the roux starts to darken slightly.
-Mix in clams (do not drain!) and bay leaf. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 10 minutes or until it thickens. Add wine, and let it reduce again for 10 minutes or until the linguini is finished cooking.
-Cook the linguini according to the package directions for al dente/firm. Drain the linguini.
-Add the salt, red pepper, and parsley to the sauce, and stir. Add the linguini to the sauté pan with the sauce and toss with tongs.
-Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Cream of Mushroom Soup From Memory

2008-11-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

I have an addiction to the Food Network. If Nic wasn't ferociously defending the remote control, it is the only channel I would watch. I don't like all the shows--a certain perky lady that adores acronyms kind of gets to me--but shows like Iron Chef and Good Eats absolutely enthrall me. I get mad when someone changes the channel during the commercial.

But even though I watch a lot of cooking shows, I almost never make anything I see made. I don't know why. I take some of the general advice I get on the shows, like Alton Brown's explanation of why brining makes meat more juicy, but I never feel compelled to make what I see made. Until this mushroom soup.

To be honest, if I hadn't found out my parents were coming to visit with only 24 hours notice, I probably would have never made this either. Without ample menu-planning time, I panicked. I had nothing prepped so I had to make whatever it was I was going to serve after work. And I had to buy anything I needed on the way home. I had the recipe for apple pizza lying around from when I searched for every recipe requiring apples known to man after coming home with 20 pounds of apples a few weeks ago. But apple pizza does not qualify as a meal. My solution to foods that don't quite cut it as a meal is usually to add a mixed green salad with a bunch of junk on top. But even with the salad this was looking pretty shabby. Then I remembered watching Barefoot Contessa a few days earlier, and she made this awesome cream of mushroom soup that didn't look too hard to make. A quick Foodnetwork.com search later, and I had the recipe. I gathered my belongings from my cube and left work to go grocery shopping.

Two metro stops later I realized I forgot the recipe. And if you remember from earlier posts, my apartment=Internet dead zone. So I had to recreate it from memory. The good news is I didn't forget any major components and the soup was really delicious. It was creamy without being overwhelmingly rich, and I was surprised how flavorful the stock turned out. Nic apparently doesn't like mushrooms (who knew?), but he ate two bowls. But you are probably starting to think that all I ever make is soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup
What I remembered from this recipe

Ingredients:
5 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
5 oz. fresh baby portobello mushrooms
5 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms
glug of olive oil
1/2 lb. butter (1 stick)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, chopped
handful of fresh thyme
kosher salt
black pepper
2 leeks, chopped (dark green tops removed)
2 tbs. flour
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
-Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Do not submerge them in water; they will get tough. Remove the stems and set aside the caps. Roughly chop the stems.
-Stock: Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pot. Add the mushroom stems, onion, carrot, and thyme. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables soften. Add 6 cups of water and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until the stock tastes flavorful. Strain and reserve the liquid and return just the liquid to the pot. You should have 4 cups of stock. (Add some water if you have less.)
-While the stock is cooking, in a large saute pan melt the stick of butter. Add the leeks and cook over medium low heat until the leeks start to soften and brown, about 15 minutes. Slice the mushroom caps in1/4 inch slices. Add the sliced caps to the browned leeks. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom-leek mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Let the mixture sit on low heat until the stock is cooked.
-Add the mushroom-leek mixture, then the the half-and-half and the cream to the pot with the stock. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat through, but don't let the soup boil.

Breakfast Burritos

2008-11-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

When I started this food blog, my dear friend Taylor immediately told me that I should post this recipe. She fondly remembered me making these for breakfasts for our little group of friends a few summers ago in a tiny one bedroom apartment, converted into a two bedroom apartment I shared with three other people. (Don't even try to imagine it. It was horrible.) Next to my chili, this is probably the meal I have cooked most often for my friends, and they either really like it or don't have the heart to ask me to stop making it.

It took me awhile to get around to making my breakfast burritos for the blog though because they are not the type of meal you whip up for two. But last weekend while Nic and I were staying with MK and Joe in Frederick, MD, we made them these for breakfast. (Well, I made them. Nic was holding their puppy.) I didn't put the turkey bacon in because I forgot to get it at the grocery store, but they were still delicious. I had forgotten how much I love these. They were so good I made them again Tuesday morning when I was off for Veteran's Day. (Mom and Dad liked them too.)

Breakfast Burritos
Makes 6 burritos

Ingredients:
6 10 inch flour tortilla shells
9 eggs (I use 5 whole eggs, and 4 whites), scrambled
6 slices turkey bacon
4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
canola oil
2 tbs. butter
kosher salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
chili powder
paprika
garlic powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream
chives

Directions:
-Heat a glug of canola oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add in potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, until they start to get tender. Add diced onion and season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder to taste. (If you aren't sure how much to use, go easy on the cayenne and the garlic powder. You can be a little more heavy handed with the other spices.)
-While the potatoes cook, heat a second pan and cook turkey bacon. Place the bacon on paper towels and set aside. Clean out the pan and cook the scrambled eggs.
-When the bacon, eggs, and potatoes are all done, heat the tortilla shells in the microwave for 1 minute.
-Assemble tacos: potatoes, then eggs, then bacon, topped with cheddar cheese. Garnish with snipped chives, salsa, and sour cream.