FlavorSings

Carrot-Ginger Soup and Scallion Meatballs with Snow Peas and Shiitakes

2012-01-08T20:26:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I've made something that made me this happy. I'm not sure whether it was just the taste, or if it was the satisfaction of making a meal that my husband raved over, or if it was the knowledge of time well-spent on a Saturday night, or a combination of all of these. But just know that every slice of the knife, every second spent reducing the sauce, every penny spent on ingredients-- it's all worth it. This is a comforting, and yet exhilarating, combination of flavors and textures. You really do need to try these recipes. They have to be experienced to be believed.

But since my job here is to tell you why, exactly, you should spend time making this meal.... let's start with where they come from. One of my favorite blogs is Smitten Kitchen and both the meatballs and the soup come from recent posts. The meatballs were introduced as an appetizer, but, since we don't entertain and have no plans to start now that the holidays are behind us, I decided I would turn these separate pieces into a meal, tied together with an appropriate side. I've loved every single thing I've made from SK and was particularly surprised with the flavor of the sauce for the meatballs. It's the richest-tasting, easiest sauce I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and now we're best friends. I will be making this to glaze stir-fries with pork or chicken, more snow peas (because they're my husband's favorite vegetable) and anything else I can think of.

This soup. There may not be words to describe how delicious this is. If you've ever had the carrot and ginger dressing served in any sushi restaurant, that's the flavor profile to start with. Then imagine that fresh taste mixed with the earthy, salty taste of miso and, really, it's a match made in heaven. It's a little bit spicy (I added extra ginger at the end), a little bit sweet and very fresh and light. The drizzle of oil you see above is toasted sesame liquid gold, which adds a roasted depth of flavor that is absolutely perfect. Everything is balanced and everything harmonizes. Just the way I wish my life could be. Is it odd to want to model myself after a bowl of soup? Anyway, this is the perfect dish to make if you've never worked with miso before. I'm ashamed to admit that it was my first and we have an Asian market within walking distance of our house. But now that I am the proud owner of a tub of miso, I need to find other things to make with it... a happy dilemma, really.

I'm starting with the vegetable side since it's my own creation and I'm happy with how it turned out:

Sautéed Snow Peas with Shiitake Mushrooms

serves 2

1/2 lb. snow peas, trimmed

small container of shiitake mushrooms (4 oz), sliced

1 T. butter

1 t. sesame oil

In a medium skillet, melt butter. (I accidentally let mine get very, very browned. It was delicious, but very rich, too. I'll let you decide how decadent you want these to be...) Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 4 minutes. Meanwhile, boil a saucepan of salted water. Add peas and cook 4 minutes, until bright green. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add peas to mushrooms, drizzle with oil and toss until peas and mushrooms are coated and warmed through, 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

Carrot-Ginger Soup with Miso and Sesame

serves 6-8

This recipe makes a lot of soup. It's so good, I won't mind eating it every day... but if you don't want a large quantity, you might try halving the recipe.

2 T. olive oil

2 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced thin

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed

1 T. chopped or grated ginger or more to taste

( I used closer to two tablespoons and grated more into the soup just before serving)

4 c. vegetable broth

1/4 c. white miso paste

toasted sesame oil

2 scallions, sliced thin

Warm oil in a large soup pot. Add carrots, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 10 minutes. Add broth and ginger. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced with a knife, 30 minutes. Puree soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. In a small bowl, combine miso and a ladleful of soup and whisk until blended. Add mixture back to soup and tasted for seasoning. (I added another spoonful of miso, but my vegetable broth was unsalted, so adjust according to your tastes.) If more ginger flavor is what you're after, grate in another small knob of ginger, about 1/2 teaspoon or so, until you get the flavor and heat level you like. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkle of scallions.

Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze

makes about 24 meatballs

Sauce:

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. mirin

1/4 c. peeled, minced ginger

1 t. ground coriander

4 peppercorns

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground turkey

4 large or 6 small scallions, finely chopped

half a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

1 egg

2 T. sesame oil

2 T. soy sauce

pepper

vegetable oil

steamed rice, for serving

Make sauce: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil and stir until melted. Lower heat and add soy sauce, mirin, ginger, coriander and peppercorns. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, 30 minutes. ( I let mine cook down while making the soup and meatballs, which was probably more like an hour and a half. It was nice and sticky, but very sweet, so I added a few splashes of soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste as you go and adjust.) Strain sauce through a sieve. Make meatballs: Combine turkey, scallions, egg, oil, soy sauce and a few grinds of pepper. Mix gently with a fork until blended. Use a tablespoon to portion the mixture and pat into balls with your hands. It will be very moist, but should hold together fine. Place balls on a plate or baking sheet as formed. Heat a good amount of oil in a large skillet (or use a medium one and make two batches). When oil is shimmering, add meatballs and cook until well-browned on bottoms, about 4 minutes. Gently turn over and cook until dark golden brown on other side, 4 minutes longer. Pile on top of steamed rice and drizzle with sauce.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

2011-11-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

Maybe this is how blogging is supposed to be. I took this picture on the spur of the moment, after I took one bite, looked down and thought, " That's beautiful." So I decided to post it and share my creation with you. It started out as banana nut oatmeal, which I had made before and my husband loved. As it's his birthday today, I wanted to create something extra special for him and bananas foster oatmeal was born.

Up until now, I've posted recipes that I thought would be delicious, or would take a good picture. I would spend days, and even weeks and months trying to find the perfect recipe. And nothing would get posted. I have a lot less time these days to cook since I've started working two jobs, so that's affected my blogging/cooking/baking routine, too. But even more than that, I would try to plan, to perfect the dish and the plating and photography in my head so I would have something "blog worthy". But I'm going to try to be more organic in my posts, sharing what I make because it's something I think everyone needs to have in their lives. This is one of those things. It's a decadent bowl-- definitely something for special occasions and it's quite possibly the most elegant way to dress up your breakfast ( or brunch, if you're like us and wait until 12:30 to think about eating on a Sunday). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

serves 2-4

3 c. water

1/2 t. salt

1 c. stone-ground oats (we love Bob's Red Mill brand)

1/2 c. walnuts, toasted

3 T. butter, divided

2 ripe bananas, sliced at an angle

scant 1/4 c. dark brown sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

grated nutmeg

milk/ cream, to taste

Bring water and salt to a boil in medium saucepan. Add oats slowly, whisking to prevent clumps. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 2 T. butter in pan. When foam subsides, add bananas and cook 3-4 minutes and turn over. They should be softened and warmed through, but not mushy. Add brown sugar, pinch of salt, cinnamon and a few gratings of nutmeg; stir gently to melt the sugar, being careful not to mash bananas. Cook 3-4 minutes longer, stirring gently, then add 1 T. butter and continue to stir until melted and smooth. When oatmeal is cooked, taste for seasoning. I like to add a little more salt and a bit of sugar to bring out the flavor of the oats. Stir in milk or cream to taste ( a creamy oatmeal will balance the sweetness of the topping). If you like, stir in about half of the caramel from the bananas, leaving just enough to coat them and some extra for drizzling. Portion oatmeal into bowls and top with bananas, caramel sauce and toasted walnuts.

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies

2011-10-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

I've always been on the fence about the combination of chocolate and pumpkin. I will almost always choose peanut butter or caramel.... but this recipe made me change my mind. This most definitely works and if you've ever wondered why people insist on putting these two flavors in the same pan, well, this is why. It's delicious.

Leave it to Martha Stewart to find a way to make it work. The secret is the format. A brownie is the perfect texture to balance the richness of the chocolate with the spicy earthiness of the pumpkin layer. And my next project might be to transform this recipe into a blondie because I can't just leave a great dessert alone. The preparation is genius, although it does involve a lot of bowls. To start, you melt chocolate and butter together and mix a base batter.

Then you add the chocolate to one portion and pumpkin and spices to the other. Marble and swirl with a knife and whatever you do, don't stop to take pictures because this batter starts to set up and thicken right away. It's way easier to blend the two before this happens. Trust me.

To cut down on dishes, I just melted the chocolate in a pan over very low heat instead of using a double boiler. When I divided the batter, I measured out about half of the base into another bowl and poured the chocolate directly into the base remaining in the mixer bowl. It sounds involved, but it's very easy to assemble and there's one less bowl to wash. There didn't seem to be quite enough batter to make four different layers, so I poured half of the chocolate batter on the bottom of the pan, all of the pumpkin batter next and then dolloped the rest of the chocolate and swirled it. The next time I make this (without the photo-shoot) the batter should be a bit more loose and easier to blend. In the end, it was beautiful and delicious, which is all I ask for in a brownie.

Sprinkling nuts on top is essential. I happened to have some toasted and skinned hazelnuts, but you could also use pecans or walnuts. This brownie is very dense and fudgy ( there is no other brownie worth eating, really) and the contrast of a nutty crunch on top is perfect.

When we cut into these on the first day, I thought they were really good. What I wasn't prepared for was how much better they were on the second day. When the flavors blended, they were incredible. If at all possible, wait until the second day to serve these. Half the pan was gone by the time I made that discovery and I wished there were more... or you could always make a double batch.

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies

from Martha Stewart

makes 16 brownies

1 stick butter plus extra

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. cayenne (optional)

1/2 t. salt

1 3/4 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 1/4 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 c. chopped hazelnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9" square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment and butter lining. (I just sprayed my pan with cooking spray; my brownies came out easily). Melt butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne and salt in large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs and vanilla in bowl of mixer and beat until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture. Divide batter between two bowls ( about 2 cups batter each). Chocolate mixture into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon and nutmeg. Working quickly, move half of chocolate batter to pan, smoothing evenly. Pour half of pumpkin batter over. Repeat layers. Swirl layers with knife. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake until set, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely.

Peach Pie

2011-08-25T12:28:00.002-04:00

When is pie more than just a dessert? When it becomes a legacy. When it becomes the symbol of one of the most influential people in your life. When it has meaning. That's what this picture represents. It's who I am and who I would like to become. Come along with me on my journey....

Every summer my mom would bake a peach pie. We would wait and wait until the best peaches showed up at the supermarket. For us living in the plains of Nebraska, that meant Colorado peaches. They always had the richest flavor, the best texture and just enough juice to make a scrumptious pie. The recipe I'm sharing with you was one she started making when I was a teenager. It comes from a book called the Southern Heritage Pies and Pastry Cookbook and it has become my gold standard for peach pie. The peaches you see pictured are the ones I wait for every year. These are Red Haven peaches from Pennsylvania. A little produce stand down the road from my house has them every summer. The fragrance will lure you in like a perfume. These peaches are extra juicy, so don't let them get too, too ripe if you're making a pie.

I can't even begin to count the number of times I would watch my mom rolling out pie dough. She made a lot of pies. French Silk in the winter, strawberry-rhubarb in the spring, cherry for my dad's birthday in April and always peach in August. Her crust came out perfect every single time. It took me years of attempting the process myself before I got the hang of it, but it was her coaching and demonstrating the fine details that brought the techniques to life. My mother is a born teacher. She taught me and my three younger brothers at home for about five years. That takes some dedication and commitment. And she was good at it. Always patient, always looking for opportunities to teach her children, no matter if it was from a book or in the kitchen. That's part of why this pie means so much. It represents her investment of time and attention to detail that she imparted to me. Not to mention a love of food as a time capsule, a memory trigger and a kind of scrapbook that keeps all the snapshots of my childhood.

Back to the recipe: There are two ingredients that make this pie unique. One of those are the tapioca pearls that thicken the peach juices. Most pie recipes will call for flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I love the tapioca because it lets the flavor of the peaches shine through. The clarity of the filling, both in appearance and in taste makes this pie sparkle.

A word of caution about the juice factor: If you end up with excessively juicy peaches and they have a pool of liquid at the bottom after adding the sugar mixture, drain them. I once baked a lovely peach soup in a tender flaky crust and nothing is as discouraging as eating all that time and effort with a spoon. I was nervous about all the liquid I had, so I drained them slightly and then sprinkled some more tapioca around the edges before dotting the top with butter. No peach soup this time.

Secret weapon number two: Almond extract. Nothing harmonizes so well with peaches as almond. In fact, I've notices that stone fruits in general have a real thing for almond accents. This is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Somehow the earthiness and nuttiness of the almond makes peaches taste even sweeter and more complex.

Just before the pie goes in the oven, it's crowned with a ring of foil. I've never tried baking the pie first and then covering it, but it seems easier to do it when the pie is not steaming and bubbling with molten fruit. The steam vents are my mom's signature decoration. She tells me she took the idea from a pie she admired and I'll always do the exact same design. I love the rustic simplicity of the darts, how it almost looks feathered.

So if pie is a legacy, who do I pass it on to? We don't have any children and I've been hesitant to start a family with my job future a little uncertain. But. Teaching a daughter of my own how to make a memory would be the thing that could change my mind. Having a companion in the kitchen is something I've greatly missed since I moved away from home. I can't imagine any greater joy than passing on my love of food and making it for others to someone I love and cherish. A peach pie may not last forever, but the memory of it will.

Georgia Peach Pie

from the Southern Heritage Pies and Pastry Cookbook

Pastry for one double crust pie (9") for recipe, click here

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

3 T. quick-cooking tapioca

1/8 t. salt

5 c. peeled, sliced fresh peaches (5 large)

1/8 t. almond extract

1 T. butter

Roll half of pastry to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface; fit into a 9" pie plate. Set aside.

Combine sugar, brown sugar, tapioca and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add peaches and toss gently to coat. Stir in almond extract. Pour peach mixture into pastry shell; dot with butter. Roll remaining pastry to 1/8" thickness and place over filling. Trim edges if needed, roll excess pastry under to seal, then crimp. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake additional 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Chipotle Fish Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Cream

2011-08-14T14:24:00.000-04:00

Is there anything more perfect for summer than a fish taco? We don't think so, unless it's eating ice cream by the quart or making cheeseburger sliders with mini pretzel rolls. But for this post, I wanted to share a creation/bastardization of a recipe I had tried before and tweaked slightly to make my own. As much as I love a fried piece of fish, I'm a little wary of deep-frying things in my tiny kitchen. So I took my favorite breading for pan-frying fish and gave it a Baja twist.

Besides the crispy fish fillet, the other star of this dish is the lime-cilantro cream. Imagine, if you will, a cool, creamy tzatziki sauce with a Mexican accent and you will have an idea of how delicious this sauce is. You could easily use any leftovers as a dip for vegetables and it's so easy, you will want some of this on hand and within easy reach. Just three ingredients: sour cream, lime juice and cilantro (and I added some lime zest as well because you can't have too much lime!), season to taste and you're ready for taco night.

I love the colors of red and green cabbage. You could just as well have one or the other, especially if you're only serving a few for dinner. But extra cabbage in the refrigerator means coleslaw at your fingertips and I am nothing if not a coleslaw fiend. That, also, is a summer staple and I've never had a home-made coleslaw I didn't love.

Here is where I got creative with the original recipe. The first time I made these, the instructions directed me to coat the fish with minced chipotle chiles and cook until blackened. The problem I ran into was that the moisture of the chiles in their delicious adobo sauce was that it was far too moist to actually sear and blacken the fish. It was tasty, but there wasn't any texture. So I decided to take the cornmeal coating of my favorite catfish recipe and apply it here. I brushed the fish with the adobo to make the cornmeal adhere and fried until well and truly crisp and golden. I won't be making fish tacos any other way.

Chipotle Fish Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Cream

Serves 8

adapted from Bon Appetit

1 c. sour cream

1 c. finely chopped cilantro, divided

2 T. lime juice

zest of 1/2 lime

1 T. cumin

1 t. salt

1 can chipotles in adobo

(sauce only, reserve chiles for another use)

1 c. yellow cornmeal

1 1b. basa/ tilapia fillets

1 T. vegetable oil

16 6" corn tortillas

1 stick butter, melted

2 c. shredded green cabbage (1/4 of a head)

2 c. shredded red cabbage ( 1/4 of a head)

2 c. chopped plum or cherry tomatoes

Whisk sour cream, 1/2 c. cilantro, lime juice and zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk cumin, salt and cornmeal in a shallow dish ( such as a pie plate). Lay fish on a large plate and season lightly with salt and pepper. Working with one fillet at a time, brush/ smear adobo sauce over both sides of fish, then coat with cornmeal mixture, pressing to adhere. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add fish and cook until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Move to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with a little more salt, if desired. Heat another skillet over high heat. Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter. Working in batches, place tortillas, buttered side down, in skillet. Cook until soft, about 20 seconds per side. Arrange tortillas, buttered side up, on a platter. Break/ slice fish into small portions and divide amongst tortillas. Top with cabbage and sprinkle with tomatoes and rest of cilantro. Drizzle with cilantro-lime cream and serve.

Monster Cookie Bars

2011-08-11T19:14:00.000-04:00

Um, hello again. I really did not mean to be gone for that long. Funny how a few weeks can turn into a few months. So many factors contributed to my absence.... a new computer with a new version of iphoto that I needed to get used to... a sense of dissatisfaction with my photography skills.... the impending loss of my current job.... I guess I just lost my motivation somehow but the truth is, I've missed writing about food and taking pictures of it, even though I wish they were better. But I'm going to forge on and share with you the perfect bar cookie to make for your end-of-summer picnics. Meet my new friend, the monster cookie bar.

I had this treat when I went to Boston to visit my brother, John and his family. We spent the last day together with some fellows my brother has spent the last year working with and everyone met on Cape Cod for the afternoon. We had grilled sausages and falafel, dips and chips, but the best offerings were these bars that my sister-in-law, Lori brought. They are from Tasty Kitchen, a recipe blog compendium by Pioneer Woman. And believe me when I tell you that they are all you are ever going to need to bring to any gathering to satisfy anyone's dessert cravings.

This is the easiest dessert I've ever had the pleasure to make (and I have made them at least four times this summer). Simply dump all the ingredients into a bowl, mix and dump the dough into a pan. Bake and then consume. Perfect for a picnic, they are sturdy, sweet-salty and chewy like a brownie; they'll make you feel like a kid on summer vacation again.

Monster Cookie Bars

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter (one container)

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 t. baking soda

4 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1 c. M&M's

3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine butter, sugars, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla and baking soda until combined. Add oats, M&M's and chocolate chips. Spread in greased 11x7" jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely before serving.

Sushi Bowl

2011-05-22T18:32:00.000-04:00

This is the recipe that made my husband fall in love with brown rice. Over and over again he would turn up his nose at brown rice and whole wheat bread and I would try to accommodate him as much as I could. But then I found this recipe by Heidi Swanson ( a favorite blogger of mine) and I decided to make this as is, except making chicken instead of tofu. He'll never be a vegetarian, but I'm so thankful he is open to trying new things and eating healthy foods. Like this dish, for instance. It's short grain brown rice tossed in a citrus-soy dressing, with toasted sheets of nori and toasted sesame seeds, asparagus and avocado. All the delicious Asian flavors I love, without the hefty price tag of actual sushi.

I've been craving Asian-style food a lot lately. Something about the combination of salty-sweet and nutty sesame, or the fragrant heat of ginger and the clean, straightforward style of Japanese cooking in particular has really made my culinary heart beat faster. I'm so intrigued by miso as a cooking ingredient, not just something to make soup from. All I want to eat lately are soba noodles, seared tofu in soy sauce, green onions, ginger-flecked stir-fries and lots of vegetables. It must be getting close to summer.

Unable to find just plain short-grain brown rice, I used this brand of rice blends, which I happen to love. It's not nearly as colorful once it's cooked, but the texture is chewy and the flavor is nutty, and that's exactly why I love brown rice. The fact that it's covered with a dressing made from lemon and orange juices, rice vinegar and soy sauce gives it a big boost in flavor. If you are someone who has never been enamored of rice, this will make you want to shovel it in, I promise!

Assembling this bowl of goodness is so easy. While the rice cooks, you can sear the chicken (or tofu) and cook the asparagus. Then toast the nori sheet and chop it to resemble little seaweed croutons. Chop or slice the avocado and then toss everything in a bowl and start eating. This keeps very well for lunch the next day, although you might want to reserve some avocado in a separate container with some lemon juice to coat it, so it doesn't turn brown. But even if it does, it will be delicious. Just close your eyes.

If you haven't done so yet, I encourage you to check out Heidi's blog, 101 Cookbooks and get your hands on her gorgeous cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Everyday. Her recipes are simple and delicious and her photography is what I aspire to create myself. It's inviting and inspiring and makes me want to eat whatever it is she's suggesting that day. Her recipes are inspired by fresh ingredients along with spices and herbs used in Mediterranean, Asian and Latin American cuisines. That's the kind of food that makes me want to keep cooking and experimenting and exploring. It's never boing, it's never bland. It's what I want for dinner.

Sushi Bowl

minimally adapted from Super Natural Cooking

serves 4

For chicken:

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 T. tamari soy sauce

1/2 t. toasted sesame oil

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced in thin strips

For rice and vegetables:

2 c. short-grain brown rice

3 1/2 c. water

2 t. sea salt

2 4"-square sheets nori

6 oz. firm tofu (or just use chicken), patted dry, cut into slabs and seared in a hot skillet, then sliced in

matchsticks

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends chopped off

4 green onions, chopped

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, sliced thin

3 T. toasted sesame seeds

For dressing:

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

2 T. natural cane sugar

2 T. shoyu sauce (I used tamari here, too)

2 T. brown rice vinegar ( I used white rice vinegar)

Rinse and drain rice a couple of times. Combine rice, water and salt in a saucepan heat to boiling. Lower heat, cover and simmer gently until water is absorbed, 45 minutes.

In a shallow dish, like a pie plate (glass), combine citrus juices, zests, soy sauce, oil and chicken. Toss a few times to coat and marinate about 30 minutes. Heat a swirl of canola oil in a large skillet and let it get hot. When it starts to shimmer, add about a third of the chicken and let it get browned, which will take about 2 minutes per side. When they feel firm, take them out of the pan and place on a plate. Repeat with rest of chicken.

To cook asparagus, heat a saucepan of water to boiling. Add salt and asparagus and cook 4-5 minutes (depending on how thin/thick your asparagus is). Drain in a colander and then plunge into an ice water bath to cool immediately. Pat dry.

To make dressing, place zests in a small bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine juices and sugar and heat to boiling. Cook 1-2 minutes and stir to dissolve sugar. Add soy sauce and vinegar and bring back to a boil and cook a few minutes more, until slightly thickened. Take pan off heat and add zests.

To toast nori, heat a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, place a sheet of nori in skillet and heat a minute or two, until it feels hot to the touch. Flip it over and toast other side another minute or two. Place on a work surface and cut into strips. Cut these strips into squares.

When rice is done, stir 1/3 c. dressing into rice and stir to blend. Add more dressing if you like. Scoop rice into bowls and sprinkle with nori and sesame seeds. Add tofu/chicken, sliced green onions, avocado and asparagus.

FFWD: Spinach and Bacon Quiche

2011-05-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

This is a winner of a quiche. So simple (yes, even the pastry..) and so delicious. There is nothing like the combination of fresh spinach and bacon. It's a match made in heaven and I never get tired of it. I'm a big fan of breakfast dishes and will happily eat things like omelettes for dinner, so I was very excited to try this elegant and eggy treat.

I love that Dorie calls for sautéing fresh spinach for this. It doesn't take much longer than defrosting a block of frozen spinach and the flavor and color are so vibrant. I could eat this every day. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more greens into my diet and this is my favorite option so far....with bacon and a pastry crust!

Topped with grated Parmesan, this quiche has all of my favorite flavors: minerally greens; toasty, salty cheese; crispy, porky bacon bits, creamy custard and flaky, buttery pastry. This made an amazing week-night dinner for us this week next to a fresh salad of greens and tomatoes (that actually tasted good). Thank goodness for spring! If you would like to see how the other bloggers did with their quiche, visit French Fridays with Dorie and see what's next on the menu!

Lenox Almond Biscotti

2011-05-04T20:56:00.000-04:00

If you've never made your own biscotti before, you're missing out on something wonderful. If you've only had them from a box, or one that was massed produced and handed to you with your morning coffee, there's a whole new world of deliciousness awaiting you. I'm a big fan of crazy flavors in my biscotti, but for this, my first biscotti post, I had to share my favorite: straight-up almond.

Who better to turn to for a winning biscotti recipe than my favorite baker, Dorie Greenspan? This comes from her epic bible of sweets, Baking: From My Home To Yours. I adore almond biscotti. They go equally well with coffee or tea (or directly from the cooling rack to your mouth) and the simple flavors let you enjoy your beverage and the biscuit together. These biscotti have a New World twist, though. There's cornmeal in the dough, which makes them even more crumbly and delectable than my previous favorite recipe. And then there's the almond extract, which gives you even more wonderful nutty flavor.

Biscotti take some time to make, but they are by no means difficult. The dough comes together just like any other cookie dough, only slightly stickier. Simply shape it into logs, bake, slice and bake again. These just may be my favorite type of cookie for no other reason than you get a whole lot of cookies with very little effort. No rolling and cutting, no scooping, no waiting for the dough to chill. Are they the original slice and bake cookie? I think so.

The recipe doesn't instruct you to toast your almonds before incorporating them, but the first time I made almond biscotti, I used raw nuts and found that they didn't get as browned as I would have liked. Toasting them first gives them all that rich, nutty flavor and crunchy texture that makes nuts worth eating in the first place. I'll make a confession right here: I toast every nut in nearly every application and recipe I make. The only exception is if they're going into a cake and they're getting ground into a flour before baking. Every other time, I toast.

One other adjustment I made to the recipe is that I baked my biscotti about ten minutes per side to give them a nice golden color. The side that has contact with the pan browns more (obviously) so I flipped them and baked them until they were the color I was looking for.

I hope you try making your own biscotti and that you love them as much as I do. There will be more biscotti variations to follow and much, much more from Dorie's Baking cookbook. The next treat might be madeleines. I've always wanted to try those and now that I finally bought myself the pan, they're the next recipe to check off my To Bake list.

Lenox Almond Biscotti

adapted slightly from Baking: From My Home to Yours

makes about 30

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 t. almond extract

3/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal. In the bowl of standing mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth, 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat, scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes, until light and smooth. Beat in almond extract. Add dry ingredients and blend just until flour is incorporated.

Scrape out half of dough onto one side of baking sheet and use a spatula and/or lightly floured fingers to mold into a log 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Be careful to keep the dough narrow at this point because it will spread during baking. Repeat with rest of dough. Bake 15 minutes, until logs are light golden and firm to the touch. Move to cooling rack and cool 30 minutes. Keep oven on.

Using a spatula, move one log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, trim ends and slice into 3/4 inch-wide slices. Place cookies back on baking sheet, cut side down. Repeat with other log. (All biscotti should fit on one large baking sheet- you can place them fairly close together since they won't spread). Bake 10 minutes, turn biscotti over and bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on racks and store in an air-tight container.

FFWD: Bistrot Paul Bert Pepper Steak

2011-04-28T22:39:00.000-04:00

This pepper steak was delicious. I'm a big pepper fan and I can still remember the first time I used freshly ground pepper to cook with. I was in my first apartment and cooking for myself. I had bought my very own salt and pepper set and I could not get over how aromatic that pepper was. I had no idea it could smell so fragrant or that it could be spicy. The powder in the spice rack I was used to was nothing like this.

In the tradition of buying myself new toys to put in my kitchen, I got a mortar and pestle to grind spices with. I have a coffee grinder dedicated to spice grinding, but by pounding the pepper out by hand, I was able to get a very coarse texture. That would have been hard to do with a grinder.

I've never been a filet mignon kind of girl. I prefer a rib-eye or a strip steak, like what you see here. There's so much flavor in these cuts and you get more meat for your money. These steaks cooked up beautifully and were a great weeknight meal.

For my side dish, I made Dorie's pancetta green beans, a recipe I skipped out on earlier in the groups' rotation. They were delicious and a nice accent to the meal. This was my first time cooking with brandy. I was nervous about flaming the alcohol, since I have wooden cupboards above my stove. Instead, I simmered the brandy to burn off the alcohol and proceeded with the recipe. It was the easiest, most delicious sauce. My husband especially likes the combination of a creamy sauce with a peppery kick. The sauce was creamy, but not too heavy and the meal overall was something very special.

Check out the other meals the bloggers made this week over at French Fridays with Dorie and stop by next week to see what's cooking from Dorie's book, Around My French Table.

Baked Sunday Mornings: New York-Style Crumb Cake

2011-04-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you streamline a coffee cake down to its bare essentials? This cake. It's the contrast between the rugged, sugar crunch of the topping with the tender softness of the sour cream cake that makes it so special. No nuts to take away from the brown sugar sweetness, no chocolate, no swirl. I love a good minimalist, if you can call the glorious excess of this crumb minimal, that is.

This is extreme streusel, people. I got a little nervous when I poured the melted butter over the brown sugar. What if the sugar dissolves? How am I going to clump this together? But then I read the rest of the recipe and after I added two and a half (!) cups of flour, the mixture did indeed form boulders of streusel.

Can I tell you how much I love the proportions of this cake? It's genius, really. Texture contrast gets me every time. It's something about the taste of sour cream in the pillow-soft cake, just barely able to support the weight of all that topping. It's a brilliant combination and as much as I love add-ins like nuts and chocolate, the simplicity of cinnamon-sugar and cake is comforting. It beckons you to grab just one more piece to finish your mug of coffee.

Take a tour of the other bakers who made this coffee cake over at Baked Sunday Mornings. And don't forget to nibble on a few streusel nuggets. They were made for snacking.

Mushroom Sauté

2011-04-18T20:48:00.000-04:00

Spring vegetables are what I have been craving for weeks. Because of my schedule, I haven't been able to cook on Mondays like I usually do, so today I jumped at the chance to try one of Heidi's new recipes from her cookbook that just came out, Super Natural Every Day. My husband gave me Super Natural Cooking for my birthday and we both loved the recipes I made from that one. This is another winner. From front to back, the book is filled with recipes that make you want to eat and instructs you step by step to the dish you knew you wanted, but didn't know was waiting for you behind a mere handful of ingredients.

I can't get enough of either asparagus or mushrooms. What I really want is to cook with morels, but until I stumble upon a stash of those in my backyard, supermarket varieties will have to do. Nothing tastes more green, more spring-like, than asparagus. The earthiness of the mushrooms and the grassy notes of the asparagus are my idea of the perfect pairing. And one of the reasons I love Heidi's recipes so much is that she lets them shine. When produce tastes this good, there's no point fussing with them too much. A quick toss with olive oil, a sprinkle of lemon zest and garlic and everything is turned out onto the plate and you are ready for dinner.

I've never worked with tempeh before. The recipe calls for seitan, which I've also never used before and the Raisin Rack was out of the latter. I grabbed the tempeh with wild rice and I have to say, I was pleased with the results. For being a fermented soy cake with whole soybeans incorporated with the rice, it tasted surprisingly earthy, kind of like a mushroom. It took on a lovely golden color when I cooked it with some olive oil and I might try cooking it with some soy sauce as the package suggested. I may never be a full vegetarian, but I love experimenting and trying something new like this. Heidi wisely recommends using a soy product for what it is in and of itself. If you try to just substitute tofu for meat, you're missing the point of utilizing it as an ingredient. Use it thoughtfully and in a way to make it taste as good as you can.

If meat is your thing (like it is for my dear husband) this dish is also perfect as a side. I browned and then roasted a pork tenderloin with garlic and thyme. It was a simple and flavorful preparation, which I thought would complement the vegetables. Together they were a perfect spring meal and I'll definitely be making this again.

Mushroom Sauté

slightly adapted from Super Natural Every Day

serves 4

Extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt

6 oz tempeh, patted dry and slice in strips

1/3 c. slivered almonds

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered

8 oz. button mushrooms, quartered

1 bunch thin asparagus, in 1" lengths

3 cloves garlic, minced

zest of 1/2 lemon

Heat a swirl of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tempeh and season with salt. Let cook 5 minutes to get a golden crust, then turn and add almonds to toast lightly. Cook tempeh until golden on second side, then slide everything out onto a plate.

Wipe out skillet and add butter, 1 T. oil and let heat until foam subsides. Add mushrooms, in batches if necessary, and stir to coat with oil. Let mushrooms cook until deeply golden, 2-3 minutes. Stir to brown all over, then add asparagus and cook a minute or two. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until asparagus is crisp-tender. Remove from heat, add lemon zest, season to taste with salt. If desired, add tempeh and almonds back to skillet to reheat slightly. Serve tempeh and almonds on top of mushrooms and asparagus at once.

FFWD: Mocha Éclairs

2011-04-15T08:20:00.000-04:00

As hard as I try for perfection, sometimes it just isn't meant to be. If I had a large family or more friends to practice on, I might have done a practice run with this recipe. But what you see is what we got. I couldn't decide what flavor I wanted to use, so I made coffee and chocolate. The end result wasn't quite what I had pictured in my head, but they were delicious, if not the most beautiful eclairs I've ever seen.

The recipe was time-consuming to make, all the steps were fairly easy. My only bump in the road was not cooking my eclairs long enough. At least, I think that was why they sank flat as pancakes. As soon as I rotated my pans, actually, I noticed them deflating. They looked golden brown and were firm to the touch, so I thought I should take them out so the bottoms didn't burn. I was able to cut them in half to fill with pastry cream, but just barely.

Using a plastic bag worked just fine for piping the dough. It took some time to get the sticky batter inside the bag, and the recipe does state that the dough should still be warm when you work with it. I wonder if that could be part of my problem with the pastries staying puffed? I would like to try this again, maybe with vanilla filling and glaze next time.

If eclairs would keep a few days, they would be the perfect dessert. They have presence and caché, they have pudding centers and shiny glazes. But be sure to have a lot of friends on hand to help you devour these because they get a little soggy after a while. I'm not holding my issues with baking the pastry against them. They turned out very well, all things considered. I especially loved the coffee pastry cream. It was kind of like a café au lait, very creamy with a hint of bitterness from the instant espresso powder.

I may not have felt like a French pastry chef while making these, and mocha eclairs may not be something you would find in Paris, but these sweet treats were definitely transporting. The best thing about making these? Knowing they were in the refrigerator waiting for me to come home from work. That's a happy ending. Don't forget to visit French Fridays with Dorie to see what flavors the other cooks used for their eclairs.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Carrot-Coconut Scones with Citrus Glaze

2011-04-10T00:06:00.002-04:00

It's not too soon for another scone post, is it? I hope not. I never get tired of scones. I could be classified as an addict. And I'm totally addicted to these coconut scones. Adding coconut to a scone was a first for me. These really are a bit like a glorified cookie, but made with a biscuit formula. But if it looks like a scone and tastes like a scone, that's enough for me. I love the cragginess that holds the citrus glaze like tiers of lace. It doesn't get much more beautiful than this. Or more perfect for the arrival of spring!

As with all scones, these were a breeze to make. Well, they would have been if my carrot puree had pureed nicely. It sounded so simple in theory: cook a carrot in a small bowl with some orange juice until very soft. But no instructions were included about what to do if all your orange juice cooks down to nothing. Out of juice and out of patience, I mashed that carrot as well as I could and tried to puree it in my mini food processor, but it was still chunky. It didn't affect the texture at all, they were just a bright pop of color in my scones and I'm actually kind of happy with how they look.

Between the coconut, the rolled oats and the carrot, there is a lot of texture going on in these scones. They were so moist and chewy; I had a hard time saving the rest for breakfast the next morning and those didn't last long at all. My favorite part, though, was the citrus glaze. I usually sprinkle sugar over the tops of my scones, but this drizzle is bursting with tangy sweetness. It's the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Which also makes you keep going back for more. I can't imagine a more perfect accent to this scone. With any other flavor combination, it might be too sweet. Not here. It's just right.

These are just one more reason in a long list of why you should pick up a copy of Baked: Explorations. Because even if the techniques don't quite work the way you want them to, it does absolutely nothing to the flavor profiles. That's a good recipe. Hop over to Baked Sunday Mornings to check out the other bakers and their Carrot-Coconut Scones and stop by next time for a piece of New York-Style Crumb Cake.

FFWD: Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli

2011-04-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

Dressing up a vegetable is always a good idea. Not that I need any extra incentives to eat vegetables; I love the way they taste and I will rarely cover them up with sauce. However, this dish kills two birds with one recipe. Both broccoli and the bread crumbs get a little fancy here and I love it when a few ingredients make such a difference in the flavor of my food. The texture of the dry bread crumbs is a perfect topping for steamed broccoli, which are tossed in a lemon-garlic-spiked butter that gives new life to a pantry staple.

Simplicity is a beautiful thing. That's why I love Dorie's recipes and why this book is becoming one of my favorites to cook from. It's the everyday meals that give me the hardest time. What can I throw together after a day at work that will still taste good? Around My French Table answers that question and lets us have the best of both worlds: elegant French components that will work for any occasion, from a casual dinner to a celebration meal. For more variations on the broccoli, check out French Fridays with Dorie and join us next week for Vanilla Eclairs. This is one recipe that I'm very, very excited to make.

Meyer Lemon and Dried Blueberry Scones

2011-04-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

Summer seems so far away. It is, actually, a long way off, but I have good news. You can have a delicious blueberry scone months before June, when they are actually in season. The secret is dried blueberries. These are tiny, flavorful wild blueberries and they're here to jog your memory. Remember sunshine? Remember twilight fireflies? It's just around the corner. Thank goodness for dried fruit to bridge the gap. They may not be juicy, but they are jammy, concentrated, bits of summer flavor.

Making scones isn't hard. Really. I've made scones before going in to work at 9:00 in the morning. If you had any idea of how easy they are, how rewarding they are, you wouldn't accept the sad substitutes pawned off on you with your morning latte. Those are not scones, my friends. There is a huge difference. Mainly, a real scone as a life-span shorter than a butterfly. They were meant to be enjoyed moments after coming out of the oven. They can last a few hours after that, but they go downhill fast. But if you have a freezer, then fresh scones are mere steps away.

Step one: Toss some sugar, salt and flour together. Step two: Cut in butter (preferably with your pastry cutter you bought in Amish country!). If a food processor is a staple appliance in your life, as it should be, it's the work of seconds to blend this together. Step three: Add the cream/ buttermilk and stir/toss until a shaggy dough comes together. And no longer! Turn dough and flour particles out onto a board and pat/ knead gently until soft as a baby's bottom.

Cut this buttery round of deliciousness into six or eight triangles and place on a baking sheet. At this point, you could stick the pan in your freezer ( if you have room, that is) and freeze for an hour or two, until hard and then pack them into freezer bags to save for a rainy morning breakfast. After about 20 minutes or so, scone nirvana is yours to enjoy.

The flavor possibilities are endless with scones. That's part of the reason I love them so much. I used the last of my meyer lemons to flavor these, but regular lemon would be just as lovely. I'm partial to orange and currant, myself, and be sure to stop back for Baked Sunday Morning where I'll be showcasing an incredible Carrot Coconut Scone with a citrus glaze. I'll be using that glaze for more than just scones, too, by the way. Quick breads, muffins, cupcakes, cookies-- they're all just a vehicle for getting powdered sugar spiked with orange juice into my mouth.

Back to today's scones, though. They are simple, classic and the perfect excuse to take ten minutes in the morning to yourself. I recommend a nice, bracing cup of Earl Grey to go with the lemony zest and berry sweetness. They might even make you a morning person. I know I would get out of bed for one of these beauties.

Meyer Lemon and Dried Blueberry Scones

from Bon Appetit

makes 12

3 c. self-rising flour

1/2 c. plus 1 1/2 T. sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, in 1/2" cubes

1 1/2 c. dried wild blueberries ( about 10 oz.)

1 c. plus 1 T. buttermilk

1 1/2 T. grated Meyer lemon zest

Adjust oven rack to upper third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter or rub in with fingers until crumbly. Add blueberries and toss to coat. Combine 1 c. buttermilk and zest in a measuring cup and add to flour mixture. Stir gently until dough mostly comes together, then turn out dough and floury bits onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat together until uniformly blended and form into a ball. Cut in half to make two portions and form each into a 1"-thick round. Cut into 6 triangles. Move to baking sheet and brush with some of remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with rest of sugar. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick in centers comes out clean. Repeat with rest of dough.

FFWD: Quinoa, Fruit and Nut Salad

2011-04-01T08:12:00.000-04:00

Would you believe me if I told you this was my very first attempt at making quinoa? I know! Where have I been the last, I don't know, five years? What's even worse is that I have had a box of quinoa in my cupboard for months. Maybe I was just waiting for the right recipe to come along before I jumped in. And was this ever a good recipe to start off with! I'm in love with quinoa and I regret having waited so long to try it.

This seed that doubles as a grain is quick-cooking, delicious and high in protein. That qualifies as a super-food in my book. Maybe I thought quinoa would be a hassle to work with, having to rinse all those little guys and then cook them, but it took no time at all. I actually cooked these before I went to work one morning.

I love the taste and the texture of quinoa. It kind of pops in your mouth and it has a nutty, almost grassy flavor that is a great match for dried fruits and toasted nuts and seeds. I used pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, golden raisins, currants, cranberries and apricots. All of which I just happened to have in my pantry because I'm a pack-rat with this sort of food. Mostly because I love to make my own granola. Now I'm going to be using them for this salad and taking it to work for lunch. I could eat this every day, that's how good it is.

The dressing for this salad is a blend of lemon juice, olive oil, walnut oil and a pinch of ground ginger. Lemon-ginger vinaigrette. That's a new one for me and it's genius. If I ever have any fresh ginger laying around, I'll be trying it with some grated into the dressing. But ground ginger was delicious. I loved the dollop of yogurt on top, too. It brings a fantastic tangy dimension to the dish that contrasts with the sweetness of the fruit. I never would have thought of putting yogurt on a salad like this, especially with greens, but somehow it works.

Be sure to check out the rest of the bloggers who made this salad over at French Fridays with Dorie. I'd also like to say a big thank you to Dorie for giving me the perfect quinoa starter recipe. Readers, you really should pick up Around My French Table and make this as soon as you can. This was the recipe for me that made it so worth the price of the book.

Satisfying Sleek

2011-03-29T23:46:00.003-04:00

With most blog posts, you will see the lead photo of the finished dish in all its glory. Well, whoever gave this recipe the name "Satisfying Sleek" was probably talking about how you feel after eating it, rather than the svelte appearance of the dish itself. This is a delicious meal, it's good for you and it's easy. It is not, however, gorgeous. Not like Rainbow Swiss Chard, anyway. Chard should get more airtime than it does; it's nutritious and simple to cook. Just chop and wilt. The flavor has a mineral sort of earthiness and is perfect in this mixture of spices, beans and grains.

You'll have to read to the end to see the finished product and take my word for it: you'll be wanting this filling, slightly exotic, yet effortless plate of goodness and you won't be able to stop thinking about it until it's yours. I'm only speaking from personal experience here.

Let's start with the bulgur. It's not an attractive name, I know. But this grain is delicious and works in hot dishes like this one and also in salads. ( I made one recently with roasted red peppers and green olives with a cumin vinaigrette. Yum. ) The flavor is nutty, but still mild enough to mix well with other ingredients. It's the texture that I adore, though. Especially in this meal, these chewy grains are the backbone that support the silkiness of the wilted chard and the creaminess of the black-eyed peas. It's all about contrast.

Here we have the Baharat spice blend. The largest portion of the blend is black pepper, and actually, baharat, in Arabic, translates to pepper. The heat sneaks up on you, but blended with the rest of the spices and the lemon juice added at the end, the overall effect is more warming, and comforting, and perfect for a chilly spring like the one we're having. There are all kinds of variations of Baharat, probably one for every Middle Eastern family, which is typical of regional cooking in any country. I love the idea of honing a particular mixture of spices to make a blend that is my very own. You could use all pre-ground spices, if needed, but I highly recommend buying a coffee-grinder and dedicating it to spice grinding. It will change your world, I promise. I firmly believe that there is nothing more intoxicating than the smell of freshly ground cumin. We're all about the simple pleasures here.

I used canned black-eyed peas for this recipe, which is what it calls for, but I really want to make this again with dried beans. I've been on a bean kick recently and I'm considering using some birthday money to order beans from Rancho Gordo. Is that an odd thing to splurge on? They have cream-of-the-crop beans, I understand. I would love to take my meatless meals up a notch or two with great quality dried beans that I soaked and cooked myself.

There you have it: Satisfying Sleek. It's a meal you will feel good about making and eating. The squeeze of lemon at the end is essential. All these earthy flavors and spices need some acidity to brighten everything up. I sprinkled a tiny bit of the spice blend over everything to bring some of the fresh quality of the spices to the finished product. I hope this looks as good to you as it does to me. This is food that loves you back.

Satisfying Sleek

adapted from VegNews magazine

serves 2

1/2 c. medium-grind bulgur

1 1/4 c. vegetable broth

1 T. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, minced

2 c. chopped Swiss chard

3 scallions, chopped

2 t. Baharat spice blend

15 oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed

2 T. lemon juice

In medium bowl, combine bulgur and broth. Soak 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion in oil. Cook until soft and golden. Stir in chard, scallions, spice blend, black-eyed peas and reserved bulgur mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with salt.

Spice Blend

1 T. ground black pepper

2 t. ground coriander

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground fenugreek

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground cardamom

In small bowl, combine all spices and mix until blended. Store in air-tight container.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Malted Crisp Tart

2011-03-27T00:03:00.000-04:00

Who needs a candy bar when you could have a tart like this? I have been waiting for a Baked malt recipe to make like a five-year-old waits for Christmas morning. Or maybe a birthday cake. Because this was my birthday present to myself and it pretty much made my week. This is top-to-bottom malty, chocolate nirvana. I've made chocolate chip malt cookies before, but this takes the soda shop flavor to a whole new level.

I would say that my tart turned out perfectly, except for the addition of caramelized rice krispies. They never got browned, just chewy and sweet. Not the texture contrast they were intended to be, that's for sure. So I dumped them and continued on with the recipe. We didn't really miss them. The chopped malt balls in the filling and the brown sugar cookie crust were both plenty of texture and flavor. I loved how sturdy the crust was, actually. I was afraid I had made it too thick, so I didn't use the entire portion of dough. As luck would have it, it was just right. Just right for picking up and nibbling on, that is. Fewer dishes to wash.

The diplomat cream topping was a little bit of a challenge; it turned out very loose. Next time I'll beat the whipped cream to slightly firmer peaks, maybe. It was delicious, though. It reminds me of Tiramisu filling: a Marsala-flavored custard folded into whipped cream. The technique was similar- the flavor was incredible. Imagine a malt flavored custard and tell me you wouldn't be licking the bowl. I would have been a little more upset about how difficult it was to slice a piece, but it was so decadent, I didn't even care. So my diplomat cream is soft and drape-y instead of standing in perfect layers. If it tastes this good, I'm fine with it.

This little slice of heaven has been brought to you by Baked Sunday Mornings. Jump over to the main page and check out the other bloggers' versions of the Malted Crisp Tart; the recipe will be there, too.

Next time: Carrot Coconut Scones. As much as I adore chocolate, I think I'm ready to bake something that's not brown (however tasty it might be!). There's been an abundance of cocoa on this blog, but I'm going vegetarian in my next post. It'll be heathy and delicious.

French Silk Pie

2011-03-25T21:44:00.000-04:00

Everyone needs a show-stopper in their repertoire. This one is mine. Or maybe I should say, it's my mom's. She's known for this pie (and a few other desserts I'll share in the future) and I'm so happy I can call it my own. I've watched her make it hundreds of times, but I've only made it twice. But I feel like I can take ownership now. This pie is me. It's part of my history. I love this pie because it reminds me of my mom and because it's delicious, but also because I like to be known as a girl who can make a pie like this....

The hardest part of this dessert is the pie crust and once you get that technique under your belt, you can just let your stand mixer do the rest. As you can see by the photo above, I have yet to perfect the perfectly symmetrical pastry crust, but it still tastes wonderful, and French Silk is all about the fluffy chocolate clouds inside anyway. All you need are butter, sugar, vanilla, chocolate and eggs and you can make this pie. But you don't need to tell anyone how ridiculously easy this is to make. They probably won't believe you anyway.

One note of preparation, though. This recipe does call for raw eggs. I make sure to buy eggs right before I make it, so they are as fresh as possible. We've never experienced any ill effects from it, but if you're sensitive to raw egg, you might like to try this recipe. It looks like a cooked custard base that gets folded into whipped cream and it looks amazing, too. I might have to try it to compare the two. But this one is the one that says "home" and "memories" and "Mom" to me.

Chocolate curls are not my strong suit, yet, apparently. The trick is to warm the block of chocolate in the microwave to soften it and make it pliable, but not so soft that it starts to melt. There's nothing wrong with chocolate shards and twigs, though. And more practice. Definitely more practice.

French Silk Pie

serves 6-8

Single 9" pie crust:

1 1/3 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. shortening

3- 4 T. water

For pastry: Heat oven to 475 degrees. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until it's crumbly. Add one tablespoon of water at a time, tossing and stirring gently until dough comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a 10" diameter circle. Roll dough onto rolling pin and move to 9" pie plate. Roll excess pastry under and crimp. Prick entire surface of dough with a fork and bake 8-10 minutes, checking after 7 minutes to press crust down if it starts to bubble up. Let cool completely.

Filling:

3/4 c. butter, room temperature

3 oz squares unsweetened chocolate

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. vanilla

3 eggs, very fresh

whipped cream

chocolate curls

Melt and cool chocolate. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Blend in cooled chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed 5 minutes after each addition. Pour into cooled baked crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls. Store any remaining pie in refrigerator.

Pan-Fried Basa with Andouille Succotash

2011-03-21T22:14:00.000-04:00

It's time for dinner. Part of this blog was supposed to be motivation to find quick and easy dinner recipes for weeknights. Ideally, I would find fast, yet delicious recipes that I could cook after a long day at work, then share that gold mine with you. But I'm a baker at heart, I suppose, and pies are so much prettier on a computer screen than some things. Then I found this recipe for the tastiest, easiest fish and a side with colors that give buttercream a run for it's money.

Have you heard of basa before? I hadn't either, until I wanted to buy catfish at the store and they were all out. The kind lady behind the counter recommended this fish to me and I've never bought regular catfish since. The texture is slightly firmer and flakier with a sweet, mild flavor. And it's one of the cheapest fish fillets in the case. After doing a little bit of research, I discovered that it's a variety of freshwater catfish from Southeast Asia. This is a versatile fish that you can use in simple preparations and ones with bold flavors as well. I'm thinking about fish tacos this summer with cilantro-lime slaw.

In the original Bon Appetit recipe, the catfish is paired with a salad of arugula and oranges, which is delicious. I decided to make a succotash for a heartier side and it was perfect with the cornmeal-crusted basa. I can't wait for summer to make this with fresh vegetables, but frozen corn and lima beans taste really, really good after a long winter. With a little flavor-boost from the sausage, it was completely satisfying.

Pan-Fried Basa with Andouille Succotash

adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

1/2 c. cornmeal

1 t. Cajun seasoning

1/2 t. ground pepper

1 1/4 lb. basa fillets

1/3 c. vegetable oil

Combine cornmeal, seasoning and pepper in a shallow dish. Run fish under cold water, shake off excess water and coat with cornmeal on both sides. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook until golden and crisp and fish is opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Move to plates and serve.

Succotash:

2 T. butter

1/4 c. minced onion

2 c. frozen baby lima beans, thawed

2 c. frozen sweet corn, thawed

6 oz. andouille, thinly sliced crosswise

2 c. chopped seeded tomatoes (I used a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, rinsed)

2 T. chopped parsley

2 t. lime juice

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; stir and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add lima beans, corn and sausage; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through, 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook 3 minutes longer. Add parsley and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

French Fridays with Dorie: Salted Butter Break-Ups

2011-03-18T00:05:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what shortbread would be like if it was soft, instead of crispy? Well, this is it, in all of it's buttery, flaky glory. The middle is tender and melting, like a cookie and the edges are crisp and shattery like the best shortbread you've ever had. Because it came out of your oven and it's remarkably simple to put together.

This giant cookie starts out like a pastry, but don't let that intimidate you. It's merely putting flour, sugar, salt and butter in a processor and pulsing it with a little bit of water until it comes together all by itself. See? You didn't have to do a thing.

The next step is dumping it out onto a counter and patting it into a square. It takes a little rest in the refrigerator (or the freezer, if you're impatient like me... ) and then you roll it out in that same square shape, which is far easier than trying to get a perfect circle. And the more rustic-looking the better. I love that. Brush the dough with an egg yolk wash, drag a fork across the top to decorate, and then pop it in the oven. Half an hour later you have the best sugar cookie you ever tasted. Buttery, salty, flaky and impossible to stop eating. It's a good thing it's so easy to make. Stop by French Fridays with Dorie to see what everyone else thought of these Salted Butter Break-Ups.

Banana Bread with Oatmeal Cinnamon Streusel

2011-03-16T22:29:00.002-04:00

This bread is how I became a blogger. It's an interesting story, actually. I have collected quite a line-up of food blogs that I visit on a regular basis. One of them is Heidi Bakes. This woman knows how to tempt me. When I saw this recipe on her blog early last summer, I decided I had to make it. Unfortunately, I made it wrong. Really wrong. As in, bread batter all over my oven, wrong. Fortunately for me, she is a patient, encouraging and understanding woman. She returned my questioning e-mails and was full of concern, compassion and helpful hints to baking success.

As we got to talking and sharing more about each other, I mentioned how much I would love to learn more about photography and how much I love to talk about food. Heidi promptly suggested that I could do that; that I could do what she and so many others were doing-- taking pictures of food and telling stories about them. She is basically my "blog-mom". With generosity and encouragement, she guided me into this uncharted territory, and while I'm still feeling my way around, I owe that first plunge into the unknown to her. Thank you so much, Heidi, for sharing your experience, your knowledge and your love for baking and making people happy.

So, about this bread. It's as delicious as it looks. This loaf has a nice, sturdy crumb that is moist without seeming soggy like some quick breads I've tried. The star of the show, however, is the oatmeal streusel on top. A generous amount of streusel, I might add. No point in skimping on the crowning glory, after all. Is there anything more comforting, more satisfying, than buttery clumps of cinnamon and sugar studded with oats? No, no there isn't. I hope you'll try this bread and I hope it reminds you, as it reminds me, that we can be an inspiration to someone. We can guide them. We can be the one to say "Yes, you can. Here's how."

Banana Bread with Oatmeal Cinnamon Streusel

adapted from Heidi Bakes

makes 2 8x4" loaves

3 c.flour

1/2 t. salt

2 t. baking soda

5-6 ripe bananas

2/3 c. melted butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

Streusel:

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/3 c. rolled oats

1 t. cinnamon

6 T. cold butter, in cubes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bottoms of two 8x4" loaf pans with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda and whisk to combine. In another large bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher until smooth. Add butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Add flour and fold in gently until mostly combined. Pour into pans. In another medium bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until medium size bits remain. Add oats and continue cutting in butter until crumbly and bits are pea-sized. Sprinkle over batter. Place pans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Baked Sunday Mornings:Salt 'n Pepper Sandwich Cookies

2011-03-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

Oreos for the adventurous. That's what these are. Re-imagined, re-made, remarkable. I'm so impressed by these cookies because they changed my mind. You see, at first, I didn't like them. The combination of heat and sweet didn't do much for me. Sweet and salty? You bet. On board. Sign me up. Sugar and pepper? Mmmm... I don't know....

As it turns out, though, I'm so glad pepper got invited to the party. The white pepper in the dough sneaks up on you, letting the fluffy frosting, the dark chocolate and the salt take center stage. After you're done with the first cookie, you realize there is a warmth on your tongue that wasn't there before. It fascinates you. This is a new experience. That's my favorite thing about this recipe. The surprise of it; the unexpectedness. This is an addicting cookie, one that makes you go back for more of the sweetness and anticipating more heat with every bite.

I doubt if salt and sugar together will ever get old for me, but this is one sure way to wake up your taste buds- adding the aromatic spice of white pepper. This recipe makes a bunch of cookies. I highly recommend sharing; telling your friends all of the ingredients is up to you.

Look for the different variations of Salt and Pepper Sandwich Cookies over at Baked Sunday Mornings. It will be interesting to see if the other bakers gave this one a thumbs up. The Explorations continue with a Malted Crisp Tart up next.

Meyer Lemon Bars

2011-03-05T19:38:00.000-05:00

It's time for some sunshine. I'm so ready for spring, but it's going to be a little while yet.... there are still some piles of snow left on the ground and it's been a chilly, rainy day. So I decided to take some action and bring the sun inside. I found Meyer lemons at the grocery store and snagged two bags to hoard in my refrigerator. If you could taste sunlight, this is it. Imagine standing in a field of citrus-scented blossoms and you get an idea of what the Meyer lemon experience is like, except that you can taste that heady aroma, too. Their season is so short, but that makes the joy of finding them and the pleasure of using them so satisfying.

After much deliberation and recipe-searching, I decided on lemon bars to showcase these little beauties' unique flavor. I took the picture above to show you the difference between a regular lemon and a Meyer lemon. A cross between a tangerine and a lemon, the Meyer is a fruit I've only just come across in our Ohio grocery stores in the last two or three years. It can be hard to find and has a short season (starting in November/December and ending in February/March). When you see one, grab it... it may not be there next time!

I have fond memories of my mom making us lemon bars, but in a family of six they never lasted very long. She always made them in an 8" square pan and they would be gone that same day. I decided I wanted an abundance of lemon bars, so I made them in a 9x13" baking pan. I used Ina Garten's recipe for the crust and doubled the amount of the filling in the Land o' Lakes recipe that my mom used. It's the best of both worlds, really, since this gives you an equal layer of shortbread crust and lemon custard filling. Click here for a picture of the original and Smitten Kitchen's adaptation of the recipe. I like a sleeker, more portable bar (which also used fewer lemons, so I have extras to use in a different recipe... like lemon curd, perhaps... ) but I might try the variation with more lemon filling next time. These are the classic dessert from my childhood, though, and they were even more delicious with fragrant, seductive Meyer lemons.

Meyer Lemon Bars

adapted from Ina Garten and Land o' Lakes

makes about 24

Crust:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. cold butter, in cubes

Filling:

4 eggs

1 1/3 c. sugar (or to taste- SK used 1 2/3 c. for regular lemons; Meyers are less acidic)

1/4 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

1 T. lemon zest

1/2 c. lemon juice

Powdered sugar, to serve

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13x9" baking pan with parchment or coat generously with cooking spray. For crust: In large bowl combine flour, powdered sugar and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Press into bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes, until just lightly browned. In another bowl, combine eggs and sugar; blend well. Stir in rest of ingredients. Pour into warm crust. Return to oven and bake 18-25 minutes, until golden and set in center. Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

French Fridays with Dorie: Savory Cheese and Chive Bread

2011-03-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to French Fridays at FlavorSings. I've been absent from the group for a bit; I wasn't feeling inspired by the braised ribs, or the green beans. To be honest, I almost didn't make this recipe either. But I'm so glad I did. A quick bread didn't feel very French to me, and maybe I wanted more of a challenge--an adventure or a profound story to tell. There isn't one. This is as easy as it looks, but a thousand times more delicious than words could convey. This bread comes together like any coffee cake or banana bread you've made before. The big difference is the addition of olive oil, cheese and herbs to make a savory snack. I love how adaptable this can be to what you may have on hand. I used white cheddar and chives, but I'd like to try a Swiss and dill version of this, or maybe Parmesan and fresh basil when our garden gets started again. The texture is soft and moist and would show off any combination of flavors nicely.

Now that I think about it, sliced thinly, this bread might make an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. Because there is no such thing as too much cheese. A glass of white wine would be perfect with it, as would a bowl of soup. This bread is just waiting for ways to be used creatively. Don't forget to see how the other cooks over at French Fridays with Dorie did with their bread. I'm looking forward to seeing the variations and getting some fun ideas.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Angel Frosting

2011-02-27T00:06:00.002-05:00

And here we are back to sweets on Sundays. No regrets. I'm so in love with these cupcakes- they're moist, full of rich chocolate flavor and the halo of fluffy meringue is, well, icing on the cake. For as much as I love cupcakes, I've only baked my own once before and they were just okay. These, however, I will bake again, but maybe with a buttercream frosting next time. I'm very glad I made this one; it's the kind my mom always made for the angel food cake my brother always requested for his birthday, but hers was made by DreamWhip. Homemade is so much better.

Cake batter doesn't get much prettier than this. The addition of chocolate melted into hot coffee and milk was a stroke of genius. I had to hold myself back from just drinking it and posting a picture of my cat instead. But I wanted to taste the cake itself and see if it turned out dry-ish like the last ones I made. I've never eaten a more tender cake in my life. And they stayed that way. For a good long while. I won't tell you how long, since they never left the house like they were supposed to (or I would have just made the layer cake), and my husband and I enjoyed cupcakes for dessert for nearly a week.

Even though they sank in the middle a bit, they were cooked through and delicious. The tops were concave enough to hold a generous swirl of frosting, which is all to the good, I say. The process for the meringue frosting intimidated me, I'll be honest. I don't whip egg whites all that often and I'm never sure how far to take them before they get too dry. I thought that might have happened with my frosting, but when I added the sugar syrup, it whipped up nicely. I still prefer a buttercream, but I'm happy with how this one turned out. All that marshmallow fluffiness was a nice contrast to the fudgy chocolate cake underneath.

Another winner from Baked, another reason to eat some salads. It's all about balance, really. Here's the link to Baked Sunday Mornings where you can take a peek at the recipe and all the beautiful cakes on display.

Broccoli Crunch

2011-02-20T19:57:00.000-05:00

This is something I've wanted to make for quite a while now. I'm a vegetable lover, really, even though you wouldn't know it from this blog. So I wanted to take the time to give some love to the vegetables. It's their turn. Starting with broccoli, which, when cooked properly, is delicious. This ensemble has everything I want in a salad: texture, flavor, and color. Ever had a creamy, too-sweet broccoli salad at a pot-luck and wished you hadn't bothered? Well, this is a distant, more sophisticated, healthier relation. Grab a fork and dig in.

This recipe comes to you courtesy of 101 Cookbooks, one of my favorite blogs to visit for amazing recipes, both savory and sweet. Heidi's flavor combinations are truly inspired: take the dressing for the salad, for instance. Garlic, oil, almond butter, honey, lemon juice. It's almost like a tahini dressing and you could use that if you have it on hand, but the nuttiness of the almond butter goes perfectly with the caramelized shallots and toasted nuts, as well as the sweetness of the honey and the bitter greenness of the broccoli.

One of my favorite things on this earth (besides chocolate) is a good caramelized onion. I'm not a huge fan of raw onions, but when they're cooked down to soft, melting strands of edible gold, their personality changes. They're nutty and sweet like browned butter and, sprinkled with some salt, they're irresistible.

The process takes some time, but it's well spent. Don't be tempted to take them out of the pan too early. You want the shallots to be as deeply golden as you can get them before they start burning. It's a fine line, but watch them carefully, stir often, and you will be rewarded.

There are a few steps to assembling all the components of this dish, but many of them can be done in advance, like toasting the almonds, browning the shallots, chopping and blanching the broccoli and making the dressing. Be sure to toss everything with the dressing right before you serve it, though, so everything stays crisp and delicious.

Broccoli Crunch

adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Note: If you have a nut allergy, or would just like a variation on this salad, try sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter. It's nutty and sweet and we like to keep it on hand just for snacking. Substitute roasted, salted sunflower seeds for the almonds/candied walnuts.

2 heads broccoli, in florets (and stems, peeled and chopped, if desired)

1 clove garlic, peeled, minced

scant 1/2 t. sea salt

1/4 c. almond butter

3 T. lemon juice

1 t. honey

2 T. olive oil

2 T. hot water

2 small, crisp apples, in thin slices or bite size pieces

1/2 small red onion, sliced thin (soak in cold water 15-20 minutes to mellow harsh bite of raw onion- this

tip has changed my life.)

1/2 c. toasted almonds/ candied walnuts

1/3 c. pan-fried crunchy shallots

chives, to garnish (optional)

To cook shallots: Heat a swirl of olive oil in medium skillet. When hot, add thinly sliced shallots and a sprinkle of salt. Cook over medium heat and stir occasionally ( let them have plenty of contact with pan so they brown). When deep golden brown, about 15-20 minutes later, remove from skillet and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with a tiny bit more salt and let cool. (They may or may not crisp up, depending on how thin they were sliced and how long you cooked them. Mine didn't get very crispy, but for me the important thing was the flavor; there's plenty of texture going on.)

Cook broccoli: Heat a large pot of water to boiling, and, while you're waiting, fill a bowl half full with water and add a tray of ice cubes. When water boils, add some salt and the broccoli and cook 30 seconds, until bright green. Drain in a colander and immediately move to ice water. Swirl to cool broccoli and drain again. Pat dry with paper towels.

For dressing: Sprinkle 1/4 t. salt over minced garlic on a cutting board and mash to a paste with the back of a small spoon. Place in a medium bowl and add almond butter, lemon juice, honey, and olive oil; whisk well. Add hot water and whisk again until smooth and just thin enough to drizzle. Taste for seasoning and add more salt/ honey/ lemon juice to taste. In a bowl, toss broccoli, apples, onion (drained and patted dry, if soaking), most of shallots and nuts. Add about half of dressing and toss to blend. Add more dressing to taste. Move to a platter and garnish with rest of shallots and chives.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

2011-02-13T00:35:00.000-05:00

About this time last year, I made Red Velvet cupcakes and was hoping to fall in love. They were o.k. I meant to try that recipe again, hoping that it was me, not the cake. But now I probably never will. Look no further for the perfect way to say "I love you." These are easy and delicious and stunning. What more could you ask for in a cookie? I've always wanted to make the classic layer cake, but I've fallen hard for this twist on the Southern classic.

These cookies came together so quickly. The moist cookies are reminiscent of cake, but there's no pan to turn them out of (yay!). I was a little concerned with not having any gel food coloring on hand, but there was about a teaspoon of liquid coloring left in the bottle in the cupboard. It was just enough. I like the way these are brick red instead of stop-light red. It's not natural, but it looks more inviting, somehow.

But we all know that the most important part is the butter-cream-cheese frosting. The most revolutionary thing in this cookbook is the addition of salt. It's ubiquitous now in caramel and toffee these days, but putting a pinch of salt in this frosting changed my world view. My life just got a little bit better and my baking is going to be so much more addicting. So much for cutting back on the sweets. I'll just have to start eating more vegetables. I can do that. Because I need these cookies in my life and so do you.

I went with half and half cookies; which is to say that I put toasted walnuts on half of the cookies for the garnish. They were equally good. I enjoyed the crunch and nutty flavor in the ones with the nuts. But the purist in me loved the ones that were simply cookie and frosting. If you would like the recipe, visit Baked Sunday Mornings and see how other bakers' cookies turned out. Oh, and try not to eat the frosting directly out of the bowl. Some of us around here have no shame, however.

French Fridays with Dorie: Orange-Almond Tart

2011-02-11T07:42:00.000-05:00

This tart embodies everything I love about French cooking; French pastries in particular. It has a buttery, flaky shortbread crust, a pastry-cream/frangipane-type filling using my favorite nut, the almond, and it showcases a simple fruit that takes center stage like it was born for it. I'm not sure mine would make the pastry shop window, but the flavor was incredible. The orange is unusual and that's why I love it so much. Anything a little bit different catches my eye and I have to try it.

The most time-consuming part of this tart is the peeling and segmenting of the oranges. I had some leftover so I used them as a garnish (since the filling swallowed up my carefully-placed fruit). I might put more of them in the actual tart next time.

Leaving the orange pieces out to dry intensified their flavor and when baked, reminded me a bit of marmalade. They were sweet and had a smidge of bitterness that went perfectly with the nutty filling.

I especially loved the edges near the crust that got a little chewy and sticky, like the corner piece of a lemon bar. The pastry crust got a little on the dark side for me....I'd bake it a few minutes less before pouring in the filling, but other than that, and the amount of time it took to assemble the whole dessert, I'm incredibly pleased with the end result. For more versions of this dessert, visit French Fridays with Dorie.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Double Chocolate Loaf Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

2011-01-31T22:25:00.000-05:00

This post is a little late for the Baked Sundays, but I wanted to participate in these blog groups more than I have lately. They have been sneaking up on me and catching me unprepared.... and I have been intending to cook more with vegetables and grains in an effort to eat better. But then this cake came up on the schedule and it's chocolate. And it's got peanut butter with it. I had to make it. Unfortunately, it didn't want to come out of the pan. In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, I cut a slice in half and spread the peanut butter cream cheese one one side to make a little sandwich. It was delicious. I'll definitely be trying this recipe again; it reminds me of Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies- there's cocoa powder, chocolate chunks, brown sugar and a generous amount of salt. This just happens to be soft (and in my case, crumbly) instead of crispy and crumbly. Same flavors, different application. You can never have too many options for your chocolate, can you?

There will be other pictures of beautiful chocolate loaf cakes on the Baked Sunday Mornings home page. Check out what this treat was supposed to look like and get the recipe there, too!

Shrimp with Saffron Rice and Fennel Salad

2011-01-23T17:59:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love bistro-style cooking? I'm not sure how to define that, exactly, but I would direct you to this dish and tell you that this is the kind of food I get excited about. This is comfort food that is a little more sophisticated, a little different, very fresh-tasting and not very complicated. Think of this as a tower of building blocks. Every component is part of a whole and when they are all put together, it's something to be very proud of indeed.

It's right about this time in mid-winter that I start craving fresh flavors. Honestly, slow-cooked short ribs always sound good when it's 14 degrees outside, but I definitely spend more time in the produce aisle these days dreaming about what to make with lemons, oranges and grapefruit. This recipe from Food and Wine magazine caught my eye and I decided it would be fun to re-create it for dinner. It may actually be a starter/appetizer, but it was perfect for two of us. It was filling, but not heavy or overly rich (impressive, since there is a sizable amount of butter and cream involved). The citrus, fennel and white wine give refreshing notes of brightness in this dish, but my favorite part of this meal was the shrimp stock that is created as a base for the risotto and also is used to poach the shrimp.

This takes a little bit of time, but it's worth every minute to create a broth that tastes so complex. It's the backbone of the dish. There's carrot, fennel, fennel seeds, garlic, onion, celery, shrimp shells and even a pinch of pepper flakes. Sounds like a lot going on, but they all have their part to play. It's this combination of aromatics that gives the rice and shrimp the flavors that make this something you would expect to find in a little restaurant in a big city. If I owned a bistro, this would be on the menu.

My other favorite part of this meal was the fennel salad the crowns the whole thing. It's just part of the fennel bulb slice paper thin, mixed with sliced scallions and lemon juice. So simple, but this is a genius addition to the creamy rice, the sweet shrimp and the savory shrimp stock. It brings a fresh-from-the-garden crunch that I could have by itself for lunch any day of the week. If you plan on making this dish, please do add the leaves of thyme at the end. You'll be surprised how much that herbal note lends to the entire meal. I was surprised, myself by how well it went with all the other flavors. It was distinct and subtle and I would miss it if it wasn't there. I highly recommend keeping some herbs in small containers through the winter. I have parsley, rosemary, thyme and marjoram in various rooms of the house (to give them as much sunlight as possible). Winter is when I miss my herb garden the most, but with these herbs on hand, I can still have fresh flavors at my fingertips.

Shrimp with Saffron Rice and Fennel Salad

adapted from Food and Wine

Serves 4

1 c. Carolina Gold/Arborio rice

1 T. vegetable oil

16 lg. shrimp (1 lb.), shelled, shells reserved

1 lg. fennel bulb, quartered, 1 quarter finely chopped

3/4 thinly sliced on a mandoline

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 t. fennel seeds

1 t. Aleppo pepper or 1/2 t. crushed pepper flakes

1/2 c. Riesling ( I used a Pinot Grigio)

3 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. cream

pinch of saffron, crumbled

5 T. butter, in tablespoon-size pieces

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 T. lemon juice

1 t. thyme leaves

Bring large saucepan of water to a boil. Add rice and cook, stirring, until just barely tender, about 16 minutes. Drain in a colander. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat oil until shimmering. Add shrimp shells; cook over medium-high until lightly browned, 3 minutes. Add chopped fennel, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, fennel seeds and Aleppo/ pepper flakes. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until onion is golden, 6 minutes. Add wine and cook until nearly evaporated. Pour in 2 cups of broth and simmer over medium heat, 12 minutes. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids to get every last drop of stock. In another medium sauce pan, combine cream with saffron, 1/2 c. of shrimp stock and last cup of chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add partially cooked rice and cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened and rice is tender, 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, cover and set aside. In large skillet, bring rest of shrimp stock to a simmer. Add shrimp and cook over medium-low heat, turning over once, until pink and curled, 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk in four pieces of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, toss sliced fennel and scallion with lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Warm rice over medium heat and then stir in last tablespoon of butter. Spoon rice into shallow bowls. Top with shrimp and fennel salad. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve.

Classic Italian Lasagna

2011-01-19T20:24:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons I love winter is the comfort food that you only crave when it's cold. Well, it might be the only reason I ~~love~~ tolerate winter (and the wind that goes right through my wool coat). Mid-January can be pretty bleak. Thankfully, there is a remedy: Layers of noodles and creamy, cheesy sauce. Baked pasta is the king of comfort food and my absolute favorite baked pasta is lasagna.

My mom is very well-known for her fabulous lasagna. Hopefully, this recipe will carry on that tradition. I spent every evening in the kitchen with her helping to make dinner (well, most nights, I'm pretty sure....) and I definitely learned that there is a big reward for some extra effort put into a meal. People appreciate good food prepared with love. It's a small part of why I love to cook. Mostly it's the creative aspect of cooking that I love. But I also enjoy hearing that something I made was delicious. This version is a little different than the lasagna I grew up with: it takes the dish to a whole new level. There's creamy tomato sauce, crumbled Italian sausage, spinach, mushrooms and more creamy ricotta. A whole lot of things are going on in this dish and I won't pretend that it's a quick, throw-it-together kind of meal. But, wow, is it ever worth the time and energy. The basis of the recipe is taken from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Italian cookbook. This is her first book and it's packed with no-fail, approachable Italian meals. It's the next best thing to watching her create simple, delicious Italian meals on television. I miss the original show. "Giada at Home" just isn't quite the same. Sometimes reruns can be a good thing....

Classic Italian Lasagna

adapted from Everyday Italian

serves 6

15 dry lasagna noodles

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet or hot), removed from casings

8 oz. cremini/ button mushrooms, sliced

1 t. ground black pepper

2 1/2 c. Bechamel sauce

1 1/2 c. purchased marinara sauce

1 1/2 lb. whole-milk ricotta

3 eggs

2 T. unsalted butter

1 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook, stirring once in a while, about 6 minutes or not quite al dente. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water. Spread on a baking sheet and cover with some dampened paper towels. Set aside.

For bechamel sauce:

5 T. butter

1/2 c. flour

4 c. warm milk

1/2 t. salt (more to taste)

pinch of white pepper

pinch of grated nutmeg

In 2 qt. saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth, 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer over medium heat, whisking, until sauce it thickened, 10 minutes (do not let sauce come to a boil). Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 t. salt, pepper and nutmeg. Adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage and break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until no pink remains, 8-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until browned and soft, 10 minutes. When cooked through, transfer to paper towels to drain and let cool.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine bechamel and marinara sauces. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if desired. In another medium bowl, combine ricotta, eggs and 1/2 t. each salt and pepper. Set aside. Spread butter over bottom of 13x9" baking dish. Spread one-third of bechamel mixture over bottom of dish. Place 5 lasagna noodles (I actually used three long sheets of pasta for each layer, using only 8 noodles total, but it's a good idea to make more than you need in case some tear in cooking) over sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread ricotta mixture over pasta. Top with spinach and mushrooms. Arrange 5 ( or three) more noodles on top of vegetables, then top with sausage. Spoon one-third of bechamel mixture over, then sprinkle with 1/2 c. mozzarella. Top with last of pasta, then sprinkle with rest of mozzarella and the Parmesan.

Line a large baking sheet with foil. Place baking dish on the sheet and bake lasagna until heated through and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Bear Country Cookies

2011-01-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

Everyone needs a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. This one is mine. It's only recently come into my life-- I had these for the first time about a year ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about them since. I consider these a Christmas present from my brother's girlfriend Jamie ( thank you! thank you!) because now I can make them myself instead of going to Utah for my fix. Don't think that didn't cross my mind. I would have found them eventually.

As it turns out, they are the creation of a company called Kodiak Cakes, who started with boxed pancake and brownie mixes and now have some stores that sell cookies. Visit their website for mixes, recipes, syrups and all the latest news in their cookie development. I would love to try their lemon cookies, as well as the cookie sundae. Brilliant idea.

The website also has a blog that lists some cookie tips- a series of suggestions for cookie-making success. Things like baking for a shorter time at a higher temperature and cutting back on sugar to let the flavor of the chocolate (really good chocolate) come through. This recipe has just enough sugar to make a good tasting cookie, but not so much that you can't taste the chocolate and the butter. The butter (and the vanilla) are what make this cookie so special. It's densely chewy, it melts in your mouth and you'll dream about them after the last one is gone.

I thought about whether I should focus on mostly savory dishes for the New Year (for variety and also so my jeans will still fit) but I really wanted to share this recipe with you. I love it because it's so simple; it's perfection and the ingredients are the same as most any other cookie recipe out there. But it's what you do with them, how you bake them, the proportions that are used that make these so unique. Keeping things simple is a good rule to follow in the realm of baking, not just cooking. Good ingredients can make magic happen for a batch of plain, simple, classic chocolate chip cookies.

BesBest Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe, by Kodiak Cakes

1 cup butter, softened
½ c white sugar
1 c brown
2 eggs
3 c flour
1 t vanilla
1 t soda
1 t salt
1 cup chocolate chunks

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, mix well, then add dry ingredients, and mix just until combined. Fold in choc chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets from 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

t Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe, by Kodiak Cakes

1 cup butter, softened

½ c white sugar

1 c brown

2 eggs

3 c flour

1 t vanilla

1 t soda

1 t salt

1 cup chocolate chunks

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, mix well, then add dry ingredients, and mix just until combined. Fold in choc chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets from 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Best Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe, by Kodiak Cakes

1 cup butter, softened

½ c white sugar

1 c brown

2 eggs

3 c flour

1 t vanilla

1 t soda

1 t salt

1 cup chocolate chunks

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, mix well, then add dry ingredients, and mix just until combined. Fold in choc chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets from 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

FFWD: Speculoos

2010-12-17T00:06:00.000-05:00

Spices are for the holidays. It's the time of year when we crave bold flavors and anything warm. These speculoos fit the bill perfectly. They're crunchy and have a blend of spices that will make you want just one more. I'm usually a soft, chewy cookie kind of girl, but I wouldn't want these little gems any other way than what they are: crisp and crunchy,while still having a melt-in-your-mouth quality that is seriously addictive.

I tend to steer away from cookie dough that is very high-maintenance. If I come across a recipe that directs me to roll anything out between sheets of paper and work quickly, I'll just turn the page. But this dough was actually easy to handle. It will get soft at room temperature, but just throw it back in the refrigerator for five minutes and then carry on. No big deal. I've always used a pastry cloth and rolling pin with a pastry cover to roll out cookies, but they require flour to keep the dough from sticking. This way, no extra flour gets worked into the dough, so the cookies all stay equally tender.

A filling of some kind would be perfect with these. I was going to try to find some dulce de leche, but it's not as readily available as I thought it would be. I'm not averse to making my own, but that's a three hour commitment that I just didn't have the time for this week. It would be incredible, though. My husband thought a creamy white center would be a good addition, too. I'm thinking this one in particular would be divine. They would be a little like gingerbread cookies, but you would be able to taste more of the spices without the molasses to compete against. Just cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It sounds (and tastes) like Christmas.

If you're curious about what other delicious recipes are cooking over at French Fridays with Dorie, click here to check them out. There's beef stew, sweet and spicy nuts, potato and leek soup, glazed carrots and of course, spice cookies with a funny name. Lots of inspiration for comfort food and it's all from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.

Trios

2010-12-15T23:50:00.000-05:00

Christmas traditions are sacred to me. These are the things that make a certain time of year feel like a holiday. They make a memory tangible and the best part is they can be old or they can be new. The important thing is that you remember. My little Trio cookies are a new tradition; this is the second year I have made them and they say "Christmas is here!" I love them because they look so festive and especially because they are delicious.

I'll be sharing more of the cookies and candy I grew up with; these are particularly dear to my heart. It's all about the memories that are attached to and blended in with them. Just because these cookies are a new addition into my baking repertoire doesn't mean they shouldn't be on your cookie tray.... soon. The dough is a simple sugar cookie with a generous pinch of salt that balances the buttery richness and the jammy centers. And to be honest with you, I have a hard time staying out of it. Have I mentioned before that I'm a cookie dough fiend? It's true. I love it.

These cookies are perfect for a cookie making party with friends. The process takes a little time, so dividing up the steps and talking at the same time will make it seem like no chore at all while rolling teaspoon-sized balls of dough and then filling them with three different jams. I can have a short attention span with some things, but it's proof of how much I love these cookies that I'll go through this whole process myself, not once but several times in the holiday season. That's how good they are.

You'll have lots of jam and preserves... it's up to you what you do with the rest. It'll make a whole lot of batches of these cookies, but you'll need a lot. The first batch will be for yourself because you won't be able to stop eating them once you try the first one. Then you will want to make more to share because they're way too good to keep to yourself. They really are the perfect gift to give. Or you could make yourself a bagel with cream cheese and jam-- one of my favorite breakfasts. This could lead to a whole new post about what to do with leftover preserves. But really, the best thing is to make more cookies with them. You can never have too many jewel-toned confections for Christmas.

Trios

from Gourmet

makes about 3 1/2 dozen

2 1/2 c. flour

1 t. salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

About 2 T. seedless raspberry jam

About 2 T. apricot preserves

About 2 T. strawberry preserves

Make dough: Whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half and form each into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.

Assemble cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll 3 separate level teaspoons of dough into a ball, then flatten each slightly (to 1 inch wide and less than 1/2 inch thick). Arrange them in a triangle on baking sheet with edges touching in center, then make a deep indentation in center of each round with handle of a wooden spoon. Make more cookies, arranging them 1 inch apart on sheets. Fill indentations in each cookie with about 1/8 t. jam (each cookie should have 3 different fillings), avoiding any large pieces of fruit. Bake until cookies are baked through and golden-brown on edges, 15-20 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Bake more batches on cooled baking sheets lined with fresh parchment.

FFWD: My Go-To Beef Daube

2010-12-10T07:40:00.000-05:00

A snowy night calls for comfort food. Which is exactly what this is: the perfect winter meal. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for this dish. It snowed the entire day and I spent it chopping, browning and braising. Absolute heaven. This meal surprised me. I wasn't prepared for the depth of flavor to be had from a chunk of beef, some root vegetables, a bottle of red wine, and.... Grand Marnier?

Yeah, so I got a little creative with the original recipe, which calls for a quarter of a cup of brandy. I didn't have any and wasn't sure I wanted to make a special trip for that amount. I was just going to de-glaze the pan with some of the wine. But then I thought to myself: I have this liqueur in my cupboard. Orange goes with beef. Orange goes with carrots. Well, alright, then. Let's live dangerously. I poured in the Grand Marnier..... and it worked. I mean, it really, really worked. That smell was incredible.

This was my first time working with a large chunk of beef. Dorie calls for a 3 1/2 lb. chuck roast, cut into 2" pieces. I've cut up some meat in my day, but that was the largest slab of protein I've ever had in my kitchen. I found some for a great price, so I grabbed it and decided I would take the extra time to negotiate around the connective tissues. It took some time, but I was very satisfied with the feeling of breaking down a substantial quantity of beef and making it do what I wanted it to do. I'd like to learn how to actually butcher meat. That's a secret a lot of people don't know about me. Just thought I'd share that with you.

Other than the Grand Marnier experiment, I followed the recipe exactly as written and I loved it. I'm usually the vegetable lover in the house and will usually throw all manner of greens into a beef stew. But the beef deserves the limelight this time. Something magical happens when it cooks with wine and herbs and carrots (and parsnips- they're delicious!). Everything becomes homogenous in the most beautiful way possible. The flavors mingle. Characteristics are exchanged. Lives are changed. Mine certainly was.

I can't imagine anything more French, or more delicious, than this meal. Bon Appetit! Don't forget to stop by French Fridays with Dorie to see what else is cooking this week.

Cranberry-Cornmeal Quick Bread

2010-12-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've shared one of my recipes with you. The baking/cooking groups are fun, but they've been monopolizing the real estate here, just a little bit. So here is a recipe of my own choosing, a recipe that I love dearly. I've made this bread for our Thanksgiving breakfast for the last two years and every time I taste it, I fall in love again. Meet a loaf of cornbread kissed with maple syrup and studded with toasted pecans and dried cranberries. I think it would look great on your kitchen table on Christmas morning.It would also be perfect for any breakfast from September to February, as far as I'm concerned.

This is a standard quick bread recipe.... it really does come together in a flash and although the recipe calls for white whole wheat flour, you could use additional all purpose flour here. I had some whole wheat pastry flour (which I love to bake with) and it gives the bread a slightly darker, maybe more toasted flavor, while keeping the crumb velvety and tender. Actually, for me, it's all about the maple. And the corn meal. Oh, and the toasted pecans, too.

Have you ever seen powdered buttermilk in the baking aisle in the supermarket? If so, pick some up. It's the handiest thing I've ever come across. I love the flavor of buttermilk, but unfortunately, I rarely ever use up an entire container before it expires. But with the powder, you keep it in the refrigerator and add it in with the dry ingredients, adding in equal parts of water for the liquid measurement. It works perfectly. Genius, whoever thought of that.

So this recipe may be a little late for your Thanksgiving menus, but this bread is so delicious, I would hate for you to wait for next year to try it. So make it tomorrow. Be sure to get Grade B maple syrup, if you can, though. The flavor is so much more intense; you'll really taste it here. Also a note about maple extract. It's not the same thing as imitation maple flavor. Get the extract if you can, too. I don't know if it's sold in stores... I've not seen it where I live. But you can order it. Three cheers for the internet!

Cranberry-Cornmeal Quick Bread

from Bon Appetit

Makes 1 loaf

Nonstick vegetable spray

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. white whole wheat flour, regular wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1 c. medium-grind whole grain cornmeal or regular cornmeal

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/4 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c. pure maple syrup

2 large eggs

1/2 t. maple extract (Full disclosure: I didn't have any so I used the imitation kind. And it was fine.)

3/4 c. chopped pecans plus 10 whole pecan halves for garnish ( I like to toast any nuts first; they taste

better that way)

3/4 c. dried cranberries (about 4 oz.)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. (If using a dark, nonstick loaf pan, decrease temperature by 25 degrees.) Spray 9x5x3" metal loaf pan with nonstick spray. Whisk both flours, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, melted butter, maple syrup, eggs and extract in medium bowl. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Stir in 3/4 c. chopped pecans and cranberries. Spoon batter into pan. Arrange pecan halves in a row down center of batter. Bake bread until top is golden brown and paring knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean, tenting bread loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack; cool.

BAKED Sunday Mornings: Sweet and Salty Brownies

2010-12-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

These brownies are killer. A lot of brownies probably get that label, but these are the real deal. I've had some practice with making caramel and now I can't get enough. This caramel not only has cream in it and a generous pinch of salt, but also sour cream, which was a first for me. It's so rich and creamy and the salty kick at the end just makes you want more.

And more and more... and then before you know it, they're gone. Which is why I gave most of them away before I ate them all myself. It would have happened. I was very impressed by how well the brownie itself turned out. I've made some other brownies that never set up, but these were perfect the very first time. There is an original Baked Brownie that I have not yet had the pleasure of making, but these are the same, just with an extra layer of salty caramel inside. You can't really tell it's in there until you take a bite, so I decided to drizzle my brownies with some of the extra caramel and then sprinkled them with sugar and sea salt . Baker's prerogative.

I'm so glad I got over caramel intimidation. You should, too. It's more worth it than I can say. Have a candy thermometer handy, keep an eye on it and you will have liquid gold on your hands. Stop by Baked Sunday Mornings to see everyone else's take on the best brownie you will ever eat. The recipe will be posted there. But get the cookbook, because you're going to want all the recipes anyway. And come back in two weeks to see what comes next.

FFWD: Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts

2010-12-03T00:02:00.003-05:00

I have two words for you regarding this recipe: Double it. I'm in love with the simplicity of this recipe and by how much these resemble the cinnamon almonds that you find in the malls this time of year. This recipe is the perfect holiday snack: Quick to make and completely addicting.

In the bowl above you will see a variety of spices. I used cinnamon, Chinese five-spice powder and a pinch of cayenne. The original recipe called for chili powder, but I wasn't sure about that spice mixed with sugar. But I'm more curious than skeptical about the combination, so I'll be trying it with my next batch(es).

Part of the greatness of this recipe is its flexibility. The nuts are a blank canvas; you can mix together any spice and/or herb mixture you want. I'm a big fan of aromatic spices and the five-spice powder is a perfect choice for the holidays with hints of ginger and anise. I can't take the credit for this brilliant idea, though. It was taken from Dorie's bonne idée in the sidebar of Around My French Table. These are suggestions from the author for variations on the recipe. So really, you're getting at least double the recipes with this book. I love this feature of the cookbook. There's so much inspiration at your fingertips.

This is another recipe I'll be using often and sharing with friends and family. What could be a more perfect gift than these sparkling, spicy and sweet nuts? I know I would be overjoyed to see these in my stocking on Christmas Eve, which was when my family always exchanged presents. It's a great tradition. I now direct you to French Fridays with Dorie, where you can see what everyone else chose to make. I'm looking forward to seeing what flavor combinations the others picked for their Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts.

BAKED Sunday Mornings: Nutella Scones

2010-11-21T00:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I've joined another baking group. I had to, though. It's for the Baked cookbooks and I'll get to cook through the entire book (both of them) while getting feedback from other bakers making the same things. It's a great set-up and I'm loving my French Friday group. This one will be amazing too. I mean, just look at the scones. This also just happened to be the recipe I wanted to make from this book first. It was meant to be. And oddly enough, it is also my very first chocolate scone creation. Ever. Sad, but true. I'm so glad Matt and Renato were kind enough to fix that for me. I can't imagine needing any other chocolate scone recipe after trying this one.

This is also my first experience baking with hazelnuts. It won't be the last. I was unsure how roasting and skinning them would be, but it's no different or more complicated than toasting any other nut. Place them in a baking dish (I used a pie plate) and toast in the oven until they smell delicious. They should be golden and the skins will be peeling back slightly. Put them in a cloth towel and rub the skins off. Easy. And so delicious. I'm sorry I waited this long to make something with them.

There are a few more steps involved with this scone recipe, but it involves getting Nutella inside the dough, so I didn't mind. And I made this batch in less than an hour, before going to work at 9:00 in the morning. (And I stopped every few minutes to take pictures.) They're not hard to make at all. The directions say to spread the Nutella in diagonal lines across the dough, but I didn't see any harm in just coating the surface with it instead. Any objections? I didn't think so. I did find this to be a little drier than some doughs that I've worked with. I tried to be as gentle as I could, but the flour mixture needed a little coaxing to come together with the cream and butter. I was a little worried. The authors are careful to say that this should be handled as little as possible. I shouldn't have been concerned, though. The first bite melted in my mouth. As did the rest.

The next step is genuis, really. You roll up the dough jelly-roll style, stand it up on one end and press it flat into a round. ~~All~~ Most of the Nutella stays encased in the dough and you proceed with cutting it just like any other scone recipe. Pop them in the oven and twenty minutes later: breakfast heaven.

The Sweet Spot

As with most baking groups, BAKED Sunday Mornings will have a whole list of bloggers who have made these same scones. Click here to go to the Leave Your Link page and check out their results and the recipe should be posted there as well. I would highly recommend getting the book for yourself, though. The photography and design of the book are stunning. I love the vintage styling next to the modern versions of classic desserts. This cookbook itself is a classic and I can't wait to share some more amazing Baked treats with you. Next time: Sweet and Salty Brownies.

French Fridays with Dorie: Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake

2010-11-19T00:10:00.000-05:00

All the convenience of a bowl of cereal, all the elegance of a French dessert. Would you ever guess that this cake is made with Cream of Wheat? I never would have. This recipe is usually made with a box mix by the French; Dorie says that our Cream of Wheat cereal is a very close approximation. I have fond memories of winter mornings spent doctoring up bowls of porridge with a pinch of this, a dash of that (mostly butter and sugar, and most importantly, salt). This tastes a lot like I remember, actually. The big difference is the caramel because the base is simply milk, cereal, egg, sugar and vanilla. Put them together and what do you get? A custard! Love. Love. Love.

I may have let my caramel cook a tiny bit longer than I should have. Mine soaked completely into the cake ( or custard, really) and I had no graceful pools of amber around my slices. I was a little nervous about the timing; maybe the caramel sensed my fear. But nevertheless, I loved the burnt sugar taste that contrasted with the custardy sweetness of the rest of the cake. I went with Dorie's suggestion of golden raisins as the fruit addition, but the next time I make this I'm adding dried currants. I love their tiny size and their intense jam-like fruitiness. They would go well with the dark sweetness of the caramel and maybe wouldn't sink right to the bottom of the pan.

Custards have always been a favorite dessert of mine. I adore bread pudding, rice pudding, and anything else that involves eggs, vanilla and cream. I've never attempted a flan, but I would like to, now that I've conquered my fear of caramel. I have a feeling that it will just take some practice to recognize the right stages of coloring and knowing just when to pull the pan off the heat. This dessert is a perfect place to start. The custard/cake is a snap to put together and only involves the most basic of ingredients. Milk, sugar, eggs.... and these are a few of my favorite things. Practice makes perfect and I'm pretty sure that there is no bad way for this cake to turn out. Be sure to check out what the rest of the group picked to bake/cook this week on French Fridays with Dorie!

FFWD: Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux

2010-11-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

This week I roasted a chicken and it was easy. Because it was designed for lazy people (les paresseux). There is a secret to this chicken; you can't see it in my pictures, but it's there and it's the real star of this dish. For me, anyway. Before you add the chicken, you put some bread on the bottom of the pan for the bird to rest on. The result will blow your mind. I've never tasted the essence of chicken before. I've never tasted anything so rich and so intensely chicken in my life. This is huge, really. It changed the way I will cook chicken from now on. There will always be bread underneath. I used a halved baguette and it was so caramelized at the end of the cooking time that I thought it was burned. But not quite, because it was so delicious I almost forgot to eat the rest of the meal. Oh yes, and the chicken was delicious as well, as were the vegetables that got basted and roasted in all the chicken fat.

This was another surprise and another gift from Dorie. Thank you so much for sharing this little secret. I'll never look at a chicken the same way again. Be sure to see what everyone else decided to cook this week over at French Fridays with Dorie.

French Fridays with Dorie: Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans

2010-11-04T22:29:00.001-04:00

This month the FFWD bloggers get to choose what recipe to make week to week. I picked the flan this week and I can think of a couple of words to describe this little starter. Sophisticated and easy. I love a custard in any shape or form. I also am crazy about pumpkin and blue cheese and walnuts. Could there be any other combination that says "Autumn" more than those? Well, apart from pumpkin and cream cheese, of course. But I love a savory pumpkin just as much. I opted for the drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of sour cream to finish it off. It was divine. Instead of making six of them, though, I only made two and put them in an oven-proof skillet filled halfway with water. The rest is waiting for me in the refrigerator, just because I wasn't having a dinner party that night. I might have tried to eat them all myself anyway, but now I can look forward to a luxurious little custard whenever I want. Delayed gratification. I could get used to that.

Cowboy Cookies

2010-11-02T12:55:00.000-04:00

These beauties are from my latest cookbook obsession, Baked Explorations. I love the concept of sweet and salty in a cookie, I love the name and I love anything that comes out of this bakery. Pretzels and chocolate in an oatmeal-espresso cookie? I'm sold.... and now addicted. So I wanted to pass these along to you, because everybody needs an obsession.

This cookbook, and its predecessor, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, has beautiful pictures and a philosophy I can get behind. They revive the classic bakery treats and give them a modern polish. All done with elegance, simplicity and flavors like malt that should get way more publicity than it does. There are baking tricks like how to soften butter just enough to combine it with sugar, but not so much that your cookies spread. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The recipe calls for chocolate chunks, so I chopped up some Ghirardelli from my stash. I love chunks in cookies; feel free to buy a package if you want, but I like having irregular pieces, some large, some shaved to add more texture to the party. After mixing the dough, you fold in the chocolate and some of the pretzels and add my other favorite ingredient. Espresso powder.

My friends, this is my equivalent of gold dust. I've made coffee bars, coffee cheesecake and now coffee cookies and this stuff makes it so easy. No need to brew; just pour it straight in (or in this case, dissolve it in hot water). A word of warning: don't start eating the dough. You won't be able to stop.

And just as a small aside, if you've been watching Top Chef: Just Desserts (and you should; it's so much fun!), and you know about this bakery, Baked and have seen this, this or this around the Web, maybe you'll put 2 + 2 faster than I did and figure out that this contestant is one of their bakers. I'm hoping he wins the whole thing.

Cowboy Cookies

from Baked Explorations

makes about 36

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 c. rolled oats

14 T. (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cool but not cold, cut in 1" cubes

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. instant espresso powder

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chunks (about 12 oz.)

3/4 c. thin salty pretzels, broken into tiny pieces, but not crushed into dust

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add oats and stir to combine.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add egg and yolk, beating until mixture looks light and fluffy. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, add vanilla and beat 5 seconds. Dissolve espresso powder in 1/4 cup hot water and add it to bowl, mixing until combined.

Add half of dry ingredients and mix 15 seconds. Add remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and fold in chocolate chunks and 1/2 cup of pretzel pieces.

Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate dough at least four hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out dough in 2 tablespoon-size balls and place dough onto sheet about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle rest of pretzels over dough balls. Use palm of your hand to press dough down slightly; don't smash the cookie--you just want to slightly flatten the ball and push pretzels into dough.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating pans halfway through the baking time, until edges of cookies are golden brown or just start to darken.

Set pan on wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to rack to cool completely. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

French Fridays with Dorie: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

2010-10-28T20:11:00.000-04:00

This is a French apple cake and it's the easiest cake I've ever made. Really. No mixer required. This is also about half apple, half cake, so it's kind of healthy. Sort of. Something about this dessert is so comforting, so simple - and yet so decadent. The interior is like a custard, chock full of apples and laced with rum and vanilla. Sure, it looks like dessert, but just between you and me....I ate most of it for breakfast the next day.

In the story behind this recipe, Dorie explains how she tested and experimented to get this recipe just right. All she had to go on were basic ingredients ( but no measurements) from it's creator, Marie-Helene. The key was to get a variety of apples, some sweet and some tart, to get a range of flavors. I chose Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala and Jonagold. However, after testing (by which I mean tasting) the apples, I discarded the Gala. That particular apple didn't taste like anything. So I used a Honeycrisp apple I had in the refrigerator. Now there's an apple with some personality. It's my favorite for eating out of hand, and this was the first time I'd ever baked with it. It blended right in with everything and the result was apple perfection.

This recipe calls for an 8" springform pan, but all I had were 9" pans. It wasn't easy finding an 8" cake pan, but here it is. It came from a craft store and I wasn't sure about the gold finish, but it's a well-known baking brand and the cake turned out beautifully. I'm glad I looked around for a smaller pan; a larger one would have made a thinner cake and I would have had timing issues with my oven (which runs hot anyway). Let's just say that my patience was rewarded with a new pan and a great recipe with which to use it.

So here is one more reason why you need Dorie Greenspan's book, Around My French Table: It has an amazing recipe for apple cake that you can make every other day if you want to; it's that simple to create. Click here to see all the other entries for this recipe. Visit them all and get inspired to make some delicious, comforting French food.

Country Captain

2010-10-27T20:48:00.000-04:00

Need an idea for dinner? Something different, yet easy to make and absolutely delicious? Let me introduce you to this tasty number, Country Captain. Not being from the south, I wasn't familiar with this dish, but it was given a make-over by Bon Appetit and one look was enough to convince me that I needed to try this. Originally, it's a saucy chicken dish flavored with curry powder and served over rice. There's an interesting article on the history of how it got its name here. But all you really need to know is that it's easy and mouth-watering and (if you're interested) good for you.

What makes this dish truly stunning is the toasted spices. I'm a spice-a-holic and I have a huge collection in my pantry. It's so worth it to invest in the whole spices and a coffee grinder. Your house will smell amazing. People will swoon. You will never buy pre-ground, pre-packaged curry powder again. Why would you when you could play around with spices and create your own favorite blend? This one is warm, spicy and exotic. I've never ground cinnamon and cloves before to use in a savory application, but I loved it. All the spices blend together and each lend their own note to the song. It's a beautiful thing.

The other component that makes this meal is the toasted coconut garnish. I found some in the bulk bins of a local heath food store and I would strongly encourage you to seek it out. It adds a sweet, toasty, nutty accent. Whatever you do, don't turn your back on it when it's in the oven. It burns very quickly. I found that out the hard way, I'm afraid. It was still good, but most of it was just this side of burned to a crisp. So check it often. You want golden, fragrant flakes, not dehydrated mushroom look-a-likes. Just so you know.

Country Captain with Cauliflower and Peas
Bon Appetit
Serves 6

Note: It's true that there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but it does come together quickly. I didn't have any dried cherries so I substituted dried currants. You could skip them, but I like the idea of something a little sweet in a spicy dish.

Ingredients

Spice Mixture

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds (from 3 whole green cardamom pods)
1 1/2-inch piece cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon (scant) cayenne pepper

Chicken

5 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, divided
1 small head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into 1-inch florets (about 4 cups)
Coarse kosher salt
2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, trimmed, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
1 bunch green onions, dark green and white parts chopped separately
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 2/3 cups crushed tomatoes with added puree (from 28-ounce can)
1/3 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups frozen petite peas (9 to 10 ounces; do not thaw)
1/3 cup coconut shavings, lightly toasted

Preparation

Spice Mixture

Place coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom seeds, and cinnamon stick in small dry skillet. Stir over medium heat until fragrant and slightly darker in color, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; cool. Finely grind spices in spice mill or in mortar with pestle. Transfer to small bowl; add turmeric and cayenne.

Chicken

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large deep pot over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower florets; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and sauté until beginning to soften and brown in spots, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and half of chicken to same pot; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and sauté until chicken is light brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to large bowl. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Add white parts of green onions, finely grated ginger, and minced garlic to same pot; reduce heat to medium and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground spice mixture; stir 15 seconds. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add crushed tomatoes; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in dried cherries and peanut butter; return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add sautéed cauliflower to pot; cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through and cauliflower is tender, adding more chicken broth by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry, about 10 minutes longer. Season with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing.
Add frozen peas to stew and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Ladle stew into bowls. Sprinkle each serving with green onion tops and toasted coconut shavings and serve.

French Fridays with Dorie: Hachis Parmentier

2010-10-22T09:17:00.000-04:00

It's time for another visit with French Fridays with Dorie. This week we made Hachis Parmentier, which is essentially a French shepherd's pie. I almost didn't make this. It didn't seem like it would taste like much. Just meat and potatoes? I wasn't inspired, I'll be honest. However, this is another winner and maybe the best example of approachable French food I've come across. The base is browned ground beef and sausage in a sauce with a hint of tomato. The topping is mashed potatoes, but potatoes elevated to a whole new level. It's so simple, yet full of flavor. This is comfort food at its best: easy to prepare and it has a big payoff. The man in your life will love you for it, I promise!

I read someone's response in the Problems and Questions post for this assignment that a Parmentier is a person who sings the praises of potatoes, or something like that. So this is a dish for potato lovers. It glorifies the humble potato and makes it ethereal. If for no other reason, I love the French for the way they love and respect food. The preparation for these mashed potatoes will be my go-to recipe for the fluffiest, creamiest, most flavorful potatoes ever. And the cheese on the top? Gilding the lily, my friends. It's browned Gruyere and Parmesan and it's a thing of beauty.

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Ribbon

2010-10-19T20:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I've finally decided which of my pumpkin recipes I'm trying first. I went with pumpkin bread because I liked the idea of a little cream cheese tucked inside of these loaves. I love how the filling turned into Amazon smiles. I promise this bread will make you smile, too, because it's easy and delicious.

I made a few changes to the recipe, which is unusual for me. I'm the kind of person who follows a recipe to the letter and measures everything. A good thing for someone who likes to bake. But these were little tweaks that I felt would make them just a little bit better. First of all, I used brown sugar in the cream cheese filling, because, well, I love brown sugar and cream cheese together. Did anyone else have mothers who would slice up apples and whip together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla to dip them in? Mine did and it was my favorite fall treat. Kind of like caramel, but so much easier!

The most time-consuming part of this recipe is the layering, but it comes together fairly quickly. If you make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature, it's very easy to spread. The next change I made was to only use chocolate chips in one of the loaves. I'm such a purist; I'm never sure that I'll like chocolate getting in the way of my pumpkin. I'll eat it and I've had that combination before and liked it. On top of that...I'm an unapologetic choco-holic. I can't get enough. And still I'm all, "mmmm...I don't know..." I'll even tell you this: I loved the one with the mini chocolate chips. But even so, I would miss the one with just cream cheese if I didn't have it. So that's the beauty of this recipe: it makes two loaves. Just hold back the chocolate chips, toss them with a little bit of flour and add them at the last minute before making the second loaf. Then you'll have the best of both worlds. Feel free to use regular size chips if you want a more pronounced chocolate accent to your pumpkin....I won't judge.

So now the floodgates are opened. I was deliberating over my pumpkin choice partly because I think I knew if I started it would be hard to stop. What form will my puree take next? Cookies? I have a couple of pumpkin whoopie pie recipes I want to try. Cake? (as in: cupcakes) Should I find the perfect pumpkin pie recipe for our Thanksgiving? Or maybe a cheesecake? It's hard to pick. I have a hard time saying no to a new recipe like some people have a hard time saying no to new shoes. I'm just going to have to take them one at a time and maybe then, someday, I'll have made everything I want to make. I'm kind of afraid that I'll miss the perfect recipe and I won't even know it. Yes, I do realize that I have issues. Don't we all?

The good news is that this obsession of mine is relatively affordable. I just have to keep buying cans of pumpkin every time I go grocery shopping. But everyone does that. Right? Anyway, I plan on not worrying next year when pumpkin is hard to come by around September, right when I start feeling the itch to bake.

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Ribbon

adapted from MixingBowl.com

Makes 2 loaves

4 c. flour

2 T. pumpkin pie spice

2 t. baking powder

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips ( original recipe calls for 12 oz. regular chips)

1/2 c. toasted, chopped walnuts ( or pecans)

1 c. butter, softened

29 oz. can pumpkin puree

3 c. sugar

4 eggs

1/2 c. sour cream, room temperature

2 t. vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 t. vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms of 2 9" loaf pans. In large bowl, combine flour, pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chocolate chips and nuts. In med. mixing bowl, combine butter, pumpkin, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Beat with mixer on medium until smooth. Add flour mixture, one cup at a time, beating on low until moistened. For filling: In a bowl, combine all ingredients and blend well with hand mixer until fluffy. Spread half of batter into pans. Carefully spread cream cheese mixture over batter. Top with rest of batter. Swirl with knife. ( I skipped this part, wanting a defined cream cheese middle.) Bake 65-70 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. (These were actually better the next day after spending the night in the refrigerator.) Store in refrigerator.

Grilled Pork with Cider Jus and Browned Butter Cauliflower Puree

2010-10-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Okay. I'm ready to jump headfirst into fall foods. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. No other season inspires me as much to get in the kitchen and create things. This is actually one of my favorite savory meals to celebrate the season. I can't get enough of the cider reduction--it smells like everything that makes autumn special. It's sweet, spicy, aromatic and complex. I've made it three times and I'm thrilled to share the recipe with you.

And as often as I've made it, you would think I could get the reducing part right. It really should have a little more body to it than this, but the flavor is still incredible. I love that this is a relatively light autumn recipe, too. It bridges the gap between end-of-summer cook-outs and hibernation fare. Plenty of time for those baked pastas and hearty braises in the months to come. This recipe lets us use our grill one last time and it lets the light jus accompany the pork instead of a heavy, fruity compote.

Here we have the key players in the jus; bay leaves, cinnamon, allspice, thyme and star anise. Just a handful of spices and aromatics make all the difference in the world. All you do is toss these into simmering cider, along with some chicken broth, some cider vinegar and some chopped onion. Everything gets strained out at the end and some butter is swirled in. So easy. So delicious!

The other star of this meal was the cauliflower puree. I didn't even follow an exact recipe for this. I knew I wanted a side (and not the rutabaga the original recipe called for; just as well--the store didn't have any anyway). I love roasted cauliflower and I've made a cauliflower puree before that was delicious....I wondered what would happen if I combined those two elements. And instead of just melting the butter in the cream...why not brown the butter first? It worked very well indeed.

In addition to browning the butter, I also threw in a halved clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary. Everything gets blended in the food processor and out comes pillowy roasted cauliflower puree. I think I just created a recipe. Another first for me, the one who follows the letter of the recipe down to measuring the salt and pepper.

The end result was a buttery, nutty, creamy addition to the meal and I loved every bite. I hope you enjoy the meal as much as we did and I look forward to sharing more fall discoveries with you soon. It might be time to break into my pumpkin stash...

Pork Tenderloin with Cider Jus

Bon Appetit

Serves 6

2 c. apple cider

1 c. low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 c. chopped onion

6 whole allspice

3 whole star anise

3 large thyme sprigs

2 cinnamon sticks

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 Turkish bay leaf

5 T. unsalted butter, in 1/2" cubes

2 12 oz. pork tenderloins, well trimmed

olive oil

Mix first 9 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 c., about 20 minutes. Strain, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Return liquid to saucepan and boil until reduced to 1/2 c., about 3 minutes. Whisk in butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue to medium-high heat. Brush pork with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145 degrees, turning frequently, about 20 minutes. Let pork rest 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 150 degrees). Thinly slice pork crosswise.

Divide pork slices among 6 plates. Drizzle sauce over pork and serve.

Roasted Cauliflower Puree with Browned Butter

Serves 6

1 head cauliflower, in small florets

1 c. cream

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic, halved

6 T. butter

salt to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil. In a bowl, combine cauliflower, enough olive oil to coat lightly and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Spread in even layer on prepared sheet and roast about 25 minutes, until browned in spots and tender. Let cool. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter over med-low heat until browned and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Watch butter closely and stir occasionally. Move to bowl and let cool slightly. In another small saucepan, bring cream to simmer. Add rosemary and garlic and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Discard solids. Place cauliflower, butter and cream in food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired. Reheat in microwaveable bowl until warm.

French Fridays with Dorie: Gerard's Mustard Tart

2010-10-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my first installation of French Fridays with Dorie. This is an on-line cooking group that enables bloggers (or anyone with a camera and a kitchen) to cook the same recipes from the same book and compare notes and photos of the results. The book in question is Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. It was just released last month and this is the first recipe I've made. I'm in love..

I'm also a brand-new convert to all-butter pastry. It's a revelation for me. I grew up making shortening pastry, which isn't bad at all and I'll probably still make that pastry from time to time. But this--this dough is like nothing I've ever experienced. The flavor of butter is somehow intensified by the addition of sugar, of which, to be honest, I was skeptical. Don't be afraid of the sugar. It's only there to make the butter taste sweeter and more buttery. Again, it's a revelation. A sweet pastry for a savory tart? I'm a believer.

This pastry is so easy to work with. I was a little nervous after hearing about how temperamental butter pastry can be. But this was a joy to handle. I made it a few days before making the tart, pulled it out of the refrigerator and after a few minutes I had a supple, tender dough to line my pan with. I used my ceramic pie weights my husband gave me for Christmas to bake off the crust and instead of chilling for an hour I froze it for 30 minutes. What can I say? Sometimes I'm impatient.

I sliced up the vegetables in advance as well to save some time. I made this last night after work and I was hoping to have a nice dinner for the two of us and I would do the exact same thing again. This is a simple recipe and the steps are concisely and expertly described. Really, if you can roll out cookie dough and beat eggs together, you can make this dish.

The only thing I did differently is to arrange the carrots and leeks anyway I could that would keep them above the surface of my custard. I didn't have any creme fraiche available, so I used cream. I think the former would have made a denser base for the vegetables to rest on.....mine sank to the bottom promptly. But I'm ecstatic about how this turned out, because in our house, we love mustard. This was delicious and the smell of rosemary and mustard is now my new favorite combination. Thank you, Dorie, for a delicious recipe that brings the essence of France into my home.

If you would like to get the recipe, you'll have to get the cookbook. If this recipe is any indication of what's to follow, it will be more than worth it. This collection of recipes, from starters and salads to main courses and desserts is definitely one of the only cookbooks you will need. The photographs are inspiring, the stories are entertaining and the food is magical. There will be lots of other comments on the web-site, French Fridays with Dorie, if you would like to see how this tart turned out for other bloggers. Click here to visit and see what's cooking.

Orange and Oat Scones

2010-10-02T18:43:00.001-04:00

For the first of what promises to be one of many scone recipes on this blog, I wanted to start with this one. I made it for the first time only last week and it is now one of my favorites. And I've consumed quite a few in my life. This one is a keeper. Thank you, Heidi, for sharing this gem and I'd like to pass on the word that this is one delicious and comforting recipe.

This is very similar to one of my favorite scones, an oat and blueberry one I made about five times last summer because I couldn't get enough of that chewy texture and nutty flavor oatmeal gives to baked goods. The fruit element is represented by dried currants and I adore them. I've never been a big fan of raisins, but I've used golden ones in things like granola and those are good, but these little babies pack a jammy, almost wine-y flavor that is addicting and so much better to me than regular raisins. Really. You should try them. Especially in this recipe. This might be the best way to show them off: with the brightness and fragrance of orange zest, nestled into a densely woven, chewy scone dough.

Maybe most importantly, be sure to have the right accessories to go with your treat. A cup of tea and a sociable cat go so well with freshly baked scones. My recommendation is Earl Grey--the orange in the scone and the bergamot in the tea would be a match made in heaven. So grab a good book and then curl up with a great scone.

Orange and Oat Scones

from 101 Cookbooks

makes 8 extra-large scones

3 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 c. turbinado sugar ( I used brown sugar)

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

2 sticks butter, in small pieces

2 c. rolled oats

zest of 1 orange

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. coarse turbinado sugar

2/3 c. dried currants

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, turbinado sugar, baking powder and baking soda in food processor ( I also added a pinch of salt). Add butter and pulse until it looks like sandy pearls (15-20 pulses). Move to a bowl and stir in oats and zest. Stir in buttermilk and currants just until moistened. Bring dough together with hands and pat into 8" round. Cut into wedges and move to baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes, until bottoms are deeply golden.