Madam Chow's Kitchen

Madam Chow's Kitchen Has Moved!

2009-05-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

Please come visit me at http://www.mzkitchen.com.

The Daring Dakers Tackle a Perfect Party Cake

2008-03-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

I, however, won't be able to join them this month, but I urge you all to check out the Daring Bakers’ blogroll for the latest lovely creation, Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. This month's hostess was Morven, of Food Art and Random Thoughts.

I'll be back next month. Meanwhile, I'm getting used to my new website, how to use Wordpress, and recovering from weeding, raking, trimming, and laying down new mulch.

Jam Session

2008-03-25T08:21:00.010-04:00

Preserved Meyer Lemons

No Tuesdays with Dorie for me today, but I'll be back next week for Gooey Chocolate Cakes! Be sure to check out the ever-growing blogroll to find your way to Dorie bloggers and this week's creation, Caramel-Topped flan. I am taking a break this week because I simply cannot spend three hours per day at the gym. Not even for flan.

What I did do with my time the past couple of weekends was to tackle two culinary projects that used up the huge amount of citrus stored in my refrigerator: Meyer lemons, blood oranges, and Seville oranges. I turned to the recipes that I had bookmarked at Elise's site, Simply Recipes.

First up: Preserved Meyer Lemons. I followed Elise's recipe exactly, and everything is looking good! Meyer lemons are so precious, I couldn't bear the thought of having to discard any before I could bake with them some more, so I decided to preserve them. They will turn up in a Moroccan tagine in the near future. Or a Smoked Salmon and Gruyere grilled cheese sandwich. Mmmm.

Next: Seville and Blood Orange Marmalade.

Elise's recipe calls for four cups of Seville orange juice, and I had enough oranges to yield 2 3/4 cups, so I made up the difference with the juice of Blood oranges (thus, the dark color of the marmalade). I used one regular lemon, 8 cups of sugar, and threw in one plus one-half vanilla beans for good measure, inspired by a Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean marmalade recipe that I found in Bon Appetit.

I grew up eating things that most American kids in the 60s and 70s were not eating, in part because we traveled so much, but also because my father was an immigrant, and my mother was a fabulous cook who rarely resorted to prepared foods. One of the things we had in our house was Dundee orange marmalade, not Welch's grape jelly (a very rare treat), so I developed a fondness for the sharp bitter tang of this orange jam, and have yearned to make some for myself. Through Rose Levy Beranbaum, I discovered a mail order source for Seville oranges, and took the plunge. I can't tell you how proud I was to have a piece of toast for breakfast, spread thinly with my jewel-toned creation!

Elise's instructions are fabulous, especially the "wrinkle" test to determine when the marmalade is done. It took a lot longer to set up than I had expected, but I'm so glad that I didn't give in to temptation and pull the whole batch off the flame before the jam was ready. The recipe doesn't call for the addition of any pectin, but relies on the naturally occurring pectin in the seeds and membranes of the fruit (photo of pectin bag to the right), a technique that I had never used before, so I was a bit nervous about having 12 cups of orange soup on my hands. Nevertheless, I girded my loins and stuck it out - Elise's recipe works! Woo-hoo!

I have quite a few Blood orange rinds sitting in the fridge, and I'm just itching to make candied orange peel. I'd better get started - I have to make those Gooey Chocolate Cakes for next week's Tuesdays with Dorie!

The Great Carrot Caper

2008-03-24T13:01:00.009-04:00

"Carrot? What carrot? I haven't seen any carrot!"

"Oh, THIS carrot. I just found it laying around."

"It sure does smell interesting."

"Hey! Where did you get that?! I want some, too!"

I Finally Make Soda Bread

2008-03-20T11:06:00.009-04:00

I love Irish Soda Bread, but had never made it until this week. Now, I know that the Irish American version full of raisins and other goodies is supposed to bears little resemblance to its original ancestor, although some say it does, and I don't care. It's really good, even with the dang raisins, which I leave in for Master Chow.
I used the recipe that I found at the New York Times via Smitten Kitchen, and altered it slightly by substituting white whole wheat flour for some of the AP flour, plumping the raisins, eliminating the caraway seeds, and by adding 1/2 teaspoon of lemon oil to the batter. Quick, easy, moist, and delicious, especially with butter. And it gave me a chance to bake in my 12 inch cast iron skillet!

Skillet Irish Soda Bread
Adapted slightly from a recipe in the New York Times 3/14/07

Time: 1 1/2 hours

Butter for greasing pan plus 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil (this is stronger than lemon extract)
1 1/2 cups raisins or currants (plump them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, drain, then pat dry before using)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch oven-proof skillet (Note: if you have a 12 inch skillet, like I do, you can use that and it will cook more quickly and yield a thinner loaf) and line with parchment or waxed paper.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, lemon oil, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the raisins or currants.

3. Pour batter into skillet. Brush top with remaining butter. Bake until golden and firm to touch, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Yield: 1 10-inch loaf.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Raisin Brioche Snails

2008-03-17T07:07:00.005-04:00

Buttery brioche. Rich pastry cream. Cinnamon. What's not to like?

Peabody, of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, selected Dorie Greenspan's Raisin Brioche Snails for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie (check out the link for the entire blogroll). And these tasty little morsels seemed to get better the longer they sat around!

First let me say that I am mightily impressed by all those bakers who made this dough by hand. It took me about 20 minutes of kneading with the Kitchen Aid to produce the brioche, while pressing on the mixer to keep it from dancing off the counter top!

I baked only half of the rolls, and froze the other half for later. A few more thoughts: next time I make this, I'm going to infuse the warm milk with half a vanilla bean pod, as it would have benefited from a stronger vanilla flavor. I am not a big raisin fan, and will use something else in the future, but flaming the raisins in rum (WOW!) was so much fun, and really gave them a lot of flavor. Note to self: rum-soaked raisins taste a whole lot better than plain old raisins.

Finally, when I made the glaze, I added a few drops of orange oil to the mixture to give it a bit more zing, and I'm glad I did. If you don't have orange oil, add some finely grated orange zest, starting with about a 1/2 teaspoon (for a full batch of glaze) and increase the amount to taste. Personally, I like a strong citrus flavor.

For the original recipe, check out Peabody's blog, or Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Below is my adaptation of the recipe.

Brioche Raisin Snails
Adapted slightly from a recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 cup moist, plump raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves, chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating overnight)
1 recipe Pastry Cream

For The Optional Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
About 1/2 teaspoon milk
2-3 drops orange oil, or 1/2 t. finely grated orange zest

Getting Ready: Line one large or two smaller baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

If you want tips on how to flambe safely, see here and here. Put the raisins in a small saucepan, cover them with hot water and let them steep for about 4 minutes, until they are plumped. Drain the raisins, return them to the saucepan and, stirring constantly, warm them over low heat. DO NOT WALK AWAY. The raisins heat up rather quickly, and you can burn them in an instant.

Be sure you have the pan lid ready, and clear your cooking area of all flammable materials. When the raisins are very hot, pull the pan from the heat and pour the rum over the raisins. Standing back, ignite the rum. Stir until the flames go out, then cover and set aside. (The raisins and rum an be kept in a covered jar for up to 1 day.) If things look like they're getting out of control, clamp the lid on the pan.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together.

On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Scatter the raisins over the pastry cream and sprinkle the raisins and cream with the cinnamon sugar. Starting wit the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder.)

With a serrated knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they're ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snails on the lined baking sheet(s), flat side down, leaving some puff space between them.

Lightly cover the snails with plastic wrap and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume--they'll be puffy and soft--about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Getting Ready To Bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven: depending on the number of baking sheets you have, either center a rack in the oven or position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes (rotate the sheets if you're using two, from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes), or until they are puffed and richly browned. Using a metal spatula, transfer the snails onto a cooling rack.

If You Want To Glaze The Snails: Put a piece of wax paper under the rack of warm rolls to act as a drip catcher. Put the confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and stir in a teaspoon of water. Keep adding water drop by drop until you have an icing that falls from the tip of a spoon. Add the vanilla extract, then drizzle the icing over the hot snails.

Golden Brioche Loaves

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Add the zest or orange oil to the powdered sugar. Mix the milk into the powdered sugar drop by drop, until you have a consistency that you can drizzle onto the rolls.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
3/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold.

Luscious Lime Cookies

2008-03-13T10:57:00.006-04:00

Looking for something to make with the abundance of limes that flood the markets in the winter months? Look no further - here is a recipe for lime cookies, courtesy of Carole Walter, that actually taste like lime! Imagine that!

I am a big fan of citrus, so when I was looking for something to bake with all my limes, and happened across this recipe from Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets, I decided to give it a try. Carole Walter builds the lime flavor via three sources: lime juice, lime zest, and lime oil. Needless to say, these refrigerator cookies have a lime taste that actually comes through. And they are so easy to make: roll them into a log, slice, and bake. This is great if, like me, cookies are not your most favorite thing to bake, but you sure like to eat them.

I adapted the cookies slightly by using ground almonds instead of pistachios. The cookies are crisp along the outside, and tender and slightly chewy towards the middle, with a pronounced but not overwhelming lime flavor.

"Pistachio" Lime Thins
Adapted slightly from a recipe by Carole Walter

2 cups all purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 T. freshly grated lime zest
1/2 t lime oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely chopped, toasted almonds, unsalted
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons of water (this is an egg wash that you should prepare just before you are ready to bake the cookies)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter, lime zest, and lime oil on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar in a steady stream and mix until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks, then the lime juice and vanilla, mixing well for about 1 minute and scraping down the bowl as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two additions until almost combined. Remove bowl and finish mixing by hand. Don't overdo it, or you will have tough cookies.

Shape the dough into a mound, and divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a six inch log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I just made two long logs. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months at this point.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F, and butter a cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Remove logs from the refrigerator. Brush each one with the egg wash, then roll in the chopped almonds. Using a serrated knife, slice the logs into 1/4-inch thick segments, either straight across or on a diagonal. Turn the log every two to three cuts, to keep it from flattening out. Place the cookies two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 8-9 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. To ensure even browning, you may want to rotate the pan half way through (I only bake one pan at a time when I make cookies, due to the vagaries of my oven.) Let stand for 2-3 minutes before loosening from the pan with a thin metal spatula. If you use a thick spatula, you may break the cookies!

Freeze, or store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Hey! Somebody Likes My Blog!

2008-03-13T09:37:00.007-04:00

Erin of Dinner and Dessert has passed along the “E is for Excellent” award to me! Thank you so much, Erin! I started reading her blog, and discovered many others, through the Daring Bakers and Tuesdays with Dorie.

When I started blogging, my primary purpose was to keep track of my cooking experiments, and to motivate myself to actually use my voluminous cookbook collection. Much to my surprise, it worked, and I've enjoyed blogging about food, and reading all of your blogs almost every day. When I don't get a chance to go on line and see what everyone is up to, I feel like something is missing.

I'm passing this award on to Cookbook Catchall, Kathy at a Passion for Food, Joy the Baker, and Breadchick Mary at the Sour Dough, great blogs, all!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie Cake

2008-03-11T07:34:00.014-04:00

What a little marvel this is! At first I thought, "this is just a pie!" Well, it is, but with an amazing, puffy crust. Nothing competes with the flavor of the apples. It's not rocket science to bake (although after the pecan biscuits, who am I to talk?) And it ended up tasting like an old-fashioned, homey, lovely little dessert.

I love the crust - very soft and pliable, which allowed it to conform to the filling, thereby eliminating that pie "gap" that often occurs between the filling and top crust when you make an apple pie. I made some adaptations to the recipe: (1) cut it in half, and baked it in a disposable 8-inch square pan, (2) used 4 Granny Smith apples and one Fuji, half the amount of raisins, all the sugar and cinnamon, and (3) added the zest of half a lemon to the crust. Then I mounded the filling over the bottom crust, and the pie/cake for about 35 minutes. The smell that filled the house was fantastic. I should mention that I rolled out the soft and sticky crust between two sheets of plastic wrap, after making it in my food processor.

Dorie says to let the cake cool to "warm" or "room temperature." Riiiiight. In my book, that was about five minutes, and then I dug in. Did I mention that I was baking this at 9:30 at night? Mmmm. It was only through sheer force of will that I stopped myself to take photos of my soon-to-be-gutted little wonder. If you look closely, underneath the crisp surface of the crust, the texture is a bit "cakey." Maybe that's where the name comes from.Thanks to Natalie of Burned Bits for this week's selection, and you can find the original recipe over at her blog. I agree with Natalie that this would be even better with some ice cream or some cream. Next week, Peabody has chosen Brioche Raisin Snails! And be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's creations!

Daisy Helps Me Out in the Kitchen

2008-03-10T12:21:00.003-04:00

She's reviewing the Daring Baker's French Bread Challenge for me. And this was pre-bath: I don't usually keep the pups on the kitchen counter!

I Tackle My Culinary Mt. Everest: Homemade Strudel

2008-03-06T12:25:00.010-05:00

Sorry the photo above isn't too good - the others mysteriously disappeared from my hard drive. After shelling out $600 last year to "repair" our desktop, we are coming to terms with the sad reality that we are going to have to replace it. The good news? We are going Mac!

Now, about the strudel. Pulling my own strudel dough has mesmerized me for years, the way making macarons has affected other bloggers. I read a ton of cookbooks, and even watched videos on You Tube (this one is humorous and instructive). The night before I made the dough, I dreamed all night that I was making strudel. I practically worked myself into a tizzy. Finally, I turned to Carole Walter's fabulous book, Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More: 200 Anytime Treats and Special Sweets for Morning to Midnight.

Unlike Ivonne, of Cream Puffs in Venice, I did not have much luck pulling the dough, despite my best efforts (but I'm not giving up!). Instead of a twenty-inch strudel, I ended up with a ten-inch stump:

Note the filling explosion on the bottom, left.

This little strudel endeavor triggered the loss of my baking mojo, much to my dismay. I tore the dough repeatedly, and finally decided to stop while I had something left in which to roll up the tasty filling. And tasty it was, folks: a cherry cheese filling from Ms. Walter's book, a filling that I made using sour cherries that I had pitted and frozen last year. I was eating the stuff with a spoon, and had to restrain myself. Luckily, the horizontally challenged strudel was too short to accommodate all the cheese filling, so I was able to eat that for breakfast the next day. What's a few thousand calories among bakers?

Needless to say, I'm going to tackle this again, but with a different dough recipe the next time. If any of you are interested in making your own dough, here are some books that have recipes and instructions: A Baker's Tour: Nick Malgieri's Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World;A Baker's Odyssey, includes DVD: Celebrating Time-Honored Recipes from America's Rich Immigrant Heritage;A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking;Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague;Indulge: 100 Perfect Desserts; and Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills: Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever.

Where in the World . . .?

2008-03-05T07:21:00.005-05:00

"Where have you been, Mama?"

I've been out of town on business since last week, so I'll be posting later today and responding to everyone's kind comments. It's good to be home!

The Daring Bakers: Julia Child's French Bread

2008-02-29T04:05:00.000-05:00

The bread was darker than it appears in the photo

Photo above is the "glamour shot": the culinary equivalent of having a photographer shooting you from the neck up, after a makeup artist has made you look your best. Below, a photo of the whole enchilada:

Short and squat. Note the odd bulges - the dough kind of "exploded" out the sides! From some reading that I've done, this could be the result of the dough sticking to something during proofing (my batard did), not letting the loaves rest long enough after final shaping, or not slashing the them deeply enough.

First, let me thank Breadchick Mary (The Sour Dough) and Sara (I Like to Cook) for selecting this wonderful classic recipe from Mastering The Art of French Cooking,and for typing out sixteen pages of instructions! You can find the original recipe here, and I encourage you to check out the Daring Bakers blogroll to see how everyone else did.

I loved this challenge because it really pushed me outside my comfort zone. In other words, it truly was a challenge! I had never made French bread before (I think my mom and I may have made it once when I was very young), and I learned so much from the problems that I encountered and the techniques that I learned with this bread, that I was able to tackle the Bread Baking Babe's Royal Crown's Tortano.

My house is pretty cold - we keep it at 59 degrees F. If I close the doors of my kitchen, I can get it up to the low 70s in there. This is supposed to be a great environment for bread baking. In retrospect, however, I may have made the kitchen warmer than I thought, leading to me over-proofing the dough.

I weighed my ingredients (using King Arthur Unbleached AP flour), mixed them together, then decided to knead by hand (e-GADS). That last step took about 20 minutes. If you ever want to get into bodybuilding, exercise your upper body by hand kneading dough. I wasn't sure when to stop, and may have overdone it, so I have a question for you more experienced bread bakers: can you overknead dough?

The first rise took three hours, but the "dome" looked a little flat. At the time, I almost let the dough proof longer because I thought it had not yet formed that puffy dome. Now, I think it may have formed the dome, and was starting to flatten out.

The second rise took only one hour. After I shaped the loaves, they barely rose at all; a couple of Daring Bakers noted that may be a sign that the yeast has run out of food. The loaves had also developed a strong yeasty smell, and I had only enough dough for two loaves!

I baked them on a baking stone, sprayed them with water, and had a pan of steaming water on the floor of the oven.

Though oddly shaped (the round bread reminded me of the movie "Alien," for some reason). The crust was crisp, and the bread actually had body, unlike a lot of supermarket French breads that are very fluffy inside. And the flavor was very nice; the loaves actually tasted like a mild sourdough.

I learned so much from this Challenge, that I'm already applying it to other breads. I plan to tackle this recipe again in the future, but this time I will knead by machine, get an idea of what the dough should feel like, and watch the proofing. Many thanks to Mary and Sara.

Some additional info: (1) For those of you who may be interested in a fancier steam contraption for your oven, see this post by Rosy Levy Beranbaum. (2) In his book, Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers, Daniel Leader recommends King Arthur Organic AP flour as the one that most closely emulates French 55-type flour (I didn't use this, I used AP flour per the recipe, so I can't vouch for it). But while perusing the website, I discovered that King Arthur now carries a French-style flour. Woo-hoo!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sour Cream Pecan Biscuits

2008-02-26T07:47:00.004-05:00

Light and fluffy these were not. Sometimes, a baker loses her edge, and that, my friends, has been my sad tale of woe over the past week or so. Yes, I know, I had a couple recent successes, but I've had more mishaps than I care to mention. This delicious little paperweight is one of them.

First, I must say, these biscuits/scones are good: dense, buttery, with a hint of caramel and a slight nutty taste. Did I say they were buttery? Mmm.

But everything went wrong in the baking process, pretty much from beginning to end. First, my new box of light brown sugar was so hard it could have been used as a deadly weapon. Luckily, I had dark brown sugar on hand, and Master Chow and I liked it so much that I plan to use it in the future. And I will make these again - you see, folks, Master Chow has asked me to put these on the "repeat list!" That's always a good sign.

Then I couldn't find my pecans, so I used walnuts.

My sour cream had frozen in the refrigerator. Yes, the refrigerator.

I discovered that my milk had soured, and had to use half-and-half.

I think the frozen sour cream and the half-and-half altered the water ratio in the final dough, because mine did not "pull together in a soft ball," to paraphrase Dorie. It was a crumbly mess, and I had to actively knead it (something you never want to do with biscuits or scones) to pull the dough together.

Then I rolled it too thin - 1/4 of an inch instead of the 1/2 inch in the recipe. By that point, I thought the dough might bite me, so I cut the "biscuits" out and threw them in the oven. Now I know why some people drink in the morning. And I hadn't even had my coffee yet! Note to self: do not attempt any baking at 7:00 a.m. without first having a cup of coffee.

I finally made myself a cup of Peet's Major Dickason's blend (thank you, Dowager Chow), and sniffed appreciatively as the scent of baking hockey pucks, . . . er, "tender biscuits" filled the air. And they did smell wonderful! They did not rise at all during the baking process, however, something that is supposed to happen with biscuits. When you haven't had to knead them. And you use the proper ingredients. My culinary shortcomings aside, I'm curious to see the results of other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers.

What I ended up with was more of a scone than a traditional American-style biscuit, but luckily I love both. Master Chow and I promptly devoured these tasty morsels (I only baked six - I froze the rest, unbaked, and then I did fifty minutes of cardio, I'll have you know!).

Eat Me, Delicious picked out this week's recipe. For the full roster of bakers, check out Tuesdays with Dorie. The recipe below reflects my adaptation of the original.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Adapted slightly from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan

(Makes about 16-20 biscuits if you use a 2 inch cutter)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cold whole milk or buttermilk
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers or a pastry cutter, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. When you cut the biscuit, cut straight down and do not "wiggle" the cutter - this compresses the dough and will keep it from rising. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. To firm up the butter a bit if you have worked the dough a bit too much, pop the tray in the freezer for about 10 minutes. (The biscuits can be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Mine never got tall or puffed, but there's always a second chance!

Madam Chow Tries to Regain Her Baking Mojo: I Take On the Royal Crown's Tortano

2008-02-24T16:28:00.021-05:00

Last week, the Bread Baking Babes posted about a bread that they had banded together to bake, Maggie Glezer's Royal Crown's Tortano, and invited everyone to join in this week, and give the bread a try. Well, I did it, and I'm glad I did - this was new baking territory for me. Over the past couple of weeks, I've felt like I lost my baking mojo (more on that in future posts), so tackling a recipe that turned out neither deformed nor with the consistency of a hockey puck was a major victory. Losing one's mojo when there are many other things going on - over which one has little or no control - is a sad thing, indeed.

So I dragged my woebegone rear end into the kitchen. Master Chow immediately perked up when he saw that I was in baking mode. A kind man, he doesn't care that much about appearance or texture; taste is king in his book. Luckily, most of my failed baking experiments still actually taste good. But I digress.

Here is my pre-ferment, which I started the night before. After four hours, nothing seemed to have happened, but about 13 hours later, I had this (trust me, this is a lot bigger than the blob of dough I started with):

This is what the dough looked like when I started kneading it:

About 20 minutes later, I had this:
Breadchick's photos were very helpful in determining when the dough was ready. Thank you, Breadchick Mary!

Here is my fourth turn of the dough (by this time it was very smooth and silky, but still a bit sticky):
At some point in the process, my sous chefs gave me some moral support:
Shaping the dough: I stuck a cereal bowl in the middle to help keep the hole open!

After I slashed the dough, I baked it for 50 minutes on a baking stone (I preheated the oven with the stone in it for over an hour - another Breadchick tip from a Daring Baker challenge), but it wasn't brown enough (according to what the other Baking Babes had posted), so I baked it for an extra 10 minutes. Voila!:I'm not really sure if this turned out right, but I'm happy with it. The crust was amazing - crisp, hard, but not too thick. The interior of the bread was firm, pocketed with holes, and mild in flavor.

I feel a bit more cheerful, and I took a step toward getting my baking mojo back! For the recipe, as well as a list of the Bread Baking Babes and their creations, check out The Sour Dough and Bake My Day.

Addictive Rugelach

2008-02-22T09:34:00.008-05:00

I'd never made rugelach before, but I was determined to do it because I just love them. Unfortunately, the ones that I can buy always taste rancid to me, so I haven't bothered to purchase any for years.

After a bit of research, I discovered that most rugelach recipes are pretty much the same: a cream cheese (or, in some cases, a sour cream) dough, and a tasty filling. I turned, yet again, to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, for her rugelach recipe because her instructions allowed me to make small batches at a time, for personal consumption and gift-giving.

I must say, these little gems were a hit. Master Chow and I couldn't stop popping them into our mouths. Some of the other recipes that I found excluded the jam to prevent "oozing," but I love that, so I left it in. The pastry was flavorful and rich, but complemented rather than competed with the filling.

I have enough dough in the freezer for two more batches, and I'm trying to drum up an excuse to bake them, in between all my other baking projects. Isn't there a national rugelach day that I can celebrate?

Rugelach

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten in Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2-pound (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 9 tablespoons
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, chopped
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup of your favorite preserves, pureed in a food processor ( I used a peach-apricot preserve)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

If your butter and cream cheese are not at room temperature, don't even attempt this - they will not combine properly to form the pastry. If they are, you can make this either in your food processor or stand mixer. For the mixer: Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. For the food processor: Pulse the cream cheese and butter until light. Add the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla, and pulse a few times . Add the flour and pulse until just combined.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut the ball in quarters, flatten them, wrap each piece in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour. At this point, you can also freeze the dough for future use.

To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the raisins, and walnuts.

On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. For each dough ball: Leave a one inch to two inch circle bare in the middle of the dough, and spread the rest of the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of the filling. The reason for that bare spot in the middle is because when you roll up the rugelach, the filling will ooze toward the middle, and you don't really need to put anything in there. You can always set the lid from a bottle in the middle of your dough and work around that, using the lid as a guide.

Press the filling lightly into the dough. Cut the circle into 12 equal wedges—cutting the whole circle in quarters, then each quarter into thirds. You can also use a pastry cutter to do this, which will give the pastries a decorative border (see photos above).

Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge. Place the cookies, points tucked under, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes, or put in the freezer for about 10-12 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on the cookies. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool. Devour.

Something to Make Your Heart Sing!

2008-02-21T12:53:00.003-05:00

Two wonderful videos that will make your day! The first, a dolphin and dog playing - watch the dog's tail wagging!:

The second: two little otters hold hands, but be sure to watch what happens at around 0:56. Via Tammy Bruce.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Almost Fudge Gateau

2008-02-19T14:19:00.007-05:00

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, we have a low-fat dessert. GOTCHA! No, not really. Nine ounces of chocolate? Five eggs? Butter? Low fat in my dreams! Crazy Delicious chose this week's baked goodie, Almost Fudge Gateau.

The smell of this over-sized brownie wafted through the house while it baked, and it was very easy to put together. No tempering eggs, you just plop the egg yolks, one at a time, into the warm chocolate batter and mix thoroughly before adding the whipped egg whites. My gateau was done in exactly 35 minutes (probably could have baked it for 30 minutes), but then I had to wait until it cooled to give it a taste. I decided against the "optional chocolate glaze," which would have required four more ounces of chocolate. I felt less guilty with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Now, the taste: the chocolate flavor obviously dominates here, so don't skimp, and use a good one. I found some 70% bittersweet chocolate from King Arthur Flour in my alarmingly large chocolate stash, so I used that. The texture is something between a fudgy and a cakey brownie, not quite either one, but it has the best qualities of each. The cake is moist and rich, but not too heavy, and not as dense as a fudgy brownie. With some lightly sweetened whipped cream, this would make an elegant dessert for a dinner party, and you can put it together in a little over an hour.

For more creations, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll! For the recipe, see here. Next week: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits!

Update: Master Chow just had a piece, declared it "delicious," and asked me to put in on the "repeat" list. We have a winner!!!

Challah Reverie

2008-02-18T11:59:00.012-05:00

I had wanted to make challah for years, but did not get around to it until recently, inspired by some of you food bloggers out there! While I am not a big fan of plain challah for eating (then again, I'm not a connoisseur), it is one of the best breads you can use for french toast or bread pudding.

As I've mentioned before, the Daring Bakers potato bread challenge inspired me to return to bread-baking after a hiatus of many years. What was I waiting for? Why not tackle a bread that has few equals in beauty, and that has such a rich history?

So, on a recent lazy afternoon, the kind where you just want to curl up with a good book and take a nap, I wandered into the kitchen with my two sous chefs, and made Sweet Vanilla Challah from Beth Hensperger's book,The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes. I'm not going to write out the recipe here because I did not adapt it in any way, but you can find a comparable recipe over at Ari's blog, one of my favorites, Baking and Books. In fact, Ari says that Hensperger's recipe was a source of inspiration for her Honey-Vanilla Challah.

This had to be the easiest, most peaceful bread baking experience I've ever had. Everything went smoothly. Shaping the dough was a breeze, and it puffed up - magically- in the oven, resulting in two gorgeous bronzed loaves of bread. We ate one (it tasted like . . . challah!), and I froze the other one to make Amaretto Bread Pudding in the near future.

This was so much fun, I'm diving into challah research, to see what other recipes and shapes I can play with. For me, the whole experience typified what I love best about baking: the peace, the challenge, and the feast for all the senses. Note: for more on making challah, and braiding instructions, see here and here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T16:32:00.004-05:00

Spice Cookie Heart, from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan in Bon Appetit

To my Valentine, Master Chow, the finest person I have ever known. I love you with all my heart. I've been blessed, and I know it. (And a heartfelt thank you to the dear Dowager Chow, my mother-in-law, who gave me the gorgeous copper cookie cutter with which to make the spice cookies!)

A Marbled Coffee Cake, and the Truth of Julia Child's Words

2008-02-13T15:19:00.003-05:00

Sour Cream Black and White Coffee Cake

Like many of you, two of the reasons I started this blog were to give me the incentive to use my many cookbooks, and to document what I do. The good news: it's working! The bad news: I've had to increase my cardio workouts at the gym.

One of the items that I decided to bake is a Sour Cream Black and White Coffee Cake from Carol Walter's fabulous new book , Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More: 200 Anytime Treats and Special Sweets for Morning to Midnight. This is quickly becoming one of the favorite cookbooks in my embarrassingly large collection. I'm not going to write out the recipe - the directions to get the swirl pattern are quite lengthy, and I'd rather spend my time cooking!

When I notified Master Chow that I had just just baked the aforementioned coffee cake, a look of mixed joy and horror crossed his face: he loves coffee cake, but he squeaked: "What! Before my reunion?!" You see, he has a Major Reunion coming up this June, he's looking fit, and he doesn't want to blow up into a blimp before then. "Master Chow," I said patiently, "it's February. You don't really expect me to stop baking for the next five months, do you?" He promptly realized the futility of any such argument. He and I tasted a little piece, and he took the rest to work. A happy compromise!

I learned a couple things from this recipe: do not substitute low fat ingredients, even it that's all you have on hand. The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, but I highly recommend you use semisweet - the cake is not overly sweet, and really benefits from a slightly sweeter chocolate. Now, you ask, how did I discover that? Why, I burned my first batch of chocolate, that's how! I tasted a wee part that hadn't turned into charcoal, and promptly realized that I need to use a sweeter chocolate, so I did. But that's another story. For those of you who have never burned chocolate, and might be tempted to use it anyway - don't. I learned that many years ago, the hard, nasty-tasting way. Ugh.

Now, the interesting thing is that, even though I loved the taste of the cake, it was a bit drier than I would have liked, because I used low fat sour cream (all I had on hand). As it sat out in my husband's office, he said it became even drier. And you know what? Folks told him that it was the best or one of the best coffee cakes that they had ever had! They also said that the chocolate was "really good," so use a good one if you decide to make something like this - it makes a difference.

All this made me realize, once again, how little most people cook, and that their access to baked goods is usually limited to Aisle 4 in the grocery store. Good eggs, fresh butter, and premium chocolate make a difference.

I recently heard that Julia Child once said that "people have forgotten what food is supposed to taste like." So true. And that's one of the reasons I cook so much - I love the idea of keeping a tradition of "real food" alive, even if a cake comes out a little drier than expected.

Update: there was a typo in the recipe - it called for 11 1/2 teaspoons (!) of baking powder, when it should be 1 1/2 teaspoons!

Tuesdays with Dorie

2008-02-12T13:28:00.001-05:00

A group of food bloggers has come together to bake something each week from Dorie Greenspan's wonderful book. If you want to see their latest creation, go check out the blogroll!

Cinnamon Cake Donuts

2008-02-11T11:06:00.001-05:00

Tartelette and Peabody are hosting a donut blogging event on February 13, which gave me the perfect excuse to use up a big jug of oil that I had purchased last year so I could make . . . donuts. Only I didn't make them. I was too busy baking a ridiculous amount of cookies for Christmas.

After consulting with Master Chow, I decided to make cake donuts, because they are his favorite. I found a recipe that, surprisingly, required no yeast, in Beatrice Ojakangas' book,Great Old Fashioned American Desserts.

This time, I told myself, I'm going to get everything ready. I'm going to be organized, efficient. No goof-ups. And then I discovered that I was OUT of all-purpose flour. Yes, a Daring Baker, out of flour. I have about ten different types in my freezer, but you do not make cake donuts with garbanzo flour. Or barley flour. So I had to resort to my bread flour. Therefore, I can now tell you not to use bread flour for donuts - they still taste great, but they sure are heavy.
I made a couple other changes to the recipe: I increased the amount of nutmeg from 1/4 t. to a 1/2 t., and instead of vanilla extract, I added a full teaspoon of Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor, which gave the donuts that unique bakery flavor.

It's hard to go wrong with fried dough - people the world over just love this combination, so I encourage you to give a donut recipe a try!

Cake Doughnuts
Adapted from a recipe in Great Old Fashioned American Desserts
Makes about 16-20 donuts

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 t. Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor
1 egg, slightly beaten
vegetable oil for frying
cinnamon and sugar, or powdered sugar, for dusting

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the ingredients that you will use to dust the donuts). Combine the wet ingredients (except the oil for frying) in a large measuring cup. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Knead dough briefly until it loses its stickiness. I found it helpful to refrigerate the dough for an hour before rolling and cutting, but the recipe doesn't require you to do so.

Make sure you have 2 to 3 inches deep of oil in a heavy pan. Preheat the frying oil to 375 F. Roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick, and cut out with a floured donut cutter. Be sure to make that center hole big enough, or it will close up when you fry the donut. Carefully transfer the donuts, just a few at a time, to the hot oil. Fry them for about a minute on each side, until a deep golden brown. Set aside to drain, then dust in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

P.S. You can find Beatrice Ojakangas' book for a great price over at Jessica's Biscuit.

Cooking Tips from Rose

2008-02-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

Head on over to Rose Levy Beranbaum's blog for her wonderful citrus curd recipe, plus a source for those bitter Seville oranges with which to make marmalade (I've already ordered some, and plan on using Elise's recipe to make a large batch). Rose notes that "Seville orange are also known as bitter oranges because they have an acidity level of about that of lemon. They offer the true orange flavor of a sourball candy and will give you the consistency of a perfect lemon curd, unlike that of other oranges which don’t thicken adequately." Rose also shares this fantastic curd-making tip: "if you beat the butter into the eggs and sugar before adding the juice it protects the yolks from curdling at all so you get 0 residue!"

Summer in February - A Light, Refreshing Slaw

2008-02-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Feeling overloaded and bloated from all the baked goods and sweets that have been making frequent appearances in my life ever since Thanksgiving, I felt the need for something light, refreshing, and healthy. So, I pulled out my July 2007 issue of Bon Appetit, and decided to whip up a batch of Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro.

One of the things that appealed to me about this recipe was its lack of mayonnaise. I wanted something that I could fill up on, and not have an iota of guilt over what I had just eaten. I had all of the ingredients on hand, except frozen orange juice, and coleslaw mix. So, I shredded up my own cabbage mix, and used Dole brand Pineapple-Orange-Banana frozen juice concentrate. Believe it or not, it tasted great!

Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro

Adapted from a recipe by Pam Anderson in Bon Appetit, July 2007

1/3 cup frozen pine-orange-banana juice concentrate, thawed
2 T. fresh lime juice
1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar (this can be rather hard to find - this is rice vinegar that does not contain sugar. If you can find only seasoned rice vinegar, increase the lime juice to taste)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 head of purple cabbage (about 8 oz.), shredded
1/2 head green cabbage (about 8 oz.), shredded
2 large carrots, grated
2 cups of frozen corn
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, cored, cut into thin strips
6 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Whisk orange juice concentrate, lime juice, rice vinegar, and olive oil in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Combine cabbage, corn kernels, carrots, red bell pepper strips, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Toss again and serve.

Happiness Is A Warm Lap

2008-02-04T08:36:00.000-05:00

Daisy and Gus, snoozing in a comfy lap

Amazingly Luscious Peanut Butter Bars

2008-01-29T14:13:00.000-05:00

These cookies are amazing. Master Chow loves peanuts and peanut butter, but he often avoids peanut cookies because they taste like peanut brittle, which he does not like. Personally, I like all of the above. A bit too much, perhaps. Last year, in a radical shake-up of my eating habits, I decided to measure out what I was eating: my "one tablespoon of peanut butter" was actually more like two. Or three. Master Chow goes through an alarming amount of peanut butter, which he mixes into his oatmeal. Yes, it's really, really good.

Needless to say, we are a peanut-loving family. These cookies leave every peanut/peanut-butter cookie that I have ever tried in the dust. I want to make them again, and soon. Unfortunately for me, Master Chow and I both have Major Reunions coming up this summer, and I have to exercise some self-discipline. Besides, I'm going to be making doughnuts soon!

The recipe comes from Tish Boyle's wonderful book,The Good Cookie: Over 250 Delicious Recipes from Simple to Sublime ,and the recipe has appeared on the internet in several places, including Peabody's blog, and the Best of the Best website. Ms. Boyle says that these bars are her "husband's desert island food choice: he could live on them." After trying out this recipe, I'm not surprised!

Crunchy Peanut Bars
Adapted slightly from The Good Cookie: Over 250 Delicious Recipes from Simple to Sublime

Brown sugar crust:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Peanut topping:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 2/3 cups (10 ounces) peanut butter chips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups (12 ounces) salted peanuts

To make the crust:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with foil, then grease the foil.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt, set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter with the brown sugar at medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. At low speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until crumbly, 10 to 15 seconds.

4. Pat the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Prick the dough well with a fork. Bake the crust for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the topping. Leave the oven on.

To make the topping:

5. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, and peanut butter chips and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

6. Pour the topping over the crust, using a spatula to spread it to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the peanuts evenly over the topping, and press them lightly into the topping. Bake the bars for 12-15 minutes, until the topping is bubbly. Cool the bars completely in the pan on a wire rack.

7. Lift the entire foil sling carefully out of the pan. Alternatively, lay a cutting board across the pan, and flip the pan over so that the entire slab of cookies is upside down on the cutting board. Place another cutting board across the cookie slab, then flip it over again, so that it is right-side up. Using a sharp knife, cut into 36 bars.

These cookies keep for about 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container, and for a couple months if you freeze them. If you freeze, don't put other cookies in the same container or the flavors will mix.

The Daring Bakers Strike Again! This Time - Lemon Meringue Pie

2008-01-28T09:00:00.002-05:00

Jen, of the Canadian Baker, masterminded this month's challenge - Lemon Meringue Pie! As I've noted before, I am a sucker for citrus, and I was thrilled by this months challenge because it gave me an opportunity to use the Meyer lemons from my little Meyer lemon tree:
The very first pie I ever made was a lemon meringue pie: I was twelve years old, and my mom let me plan and make a meal for the family, all by myself. I made a roast chicken, twice-baked potatoes, and a lemon meringue pie. I have to tell you, much to everyone's surprise, that pie was perfect. And it tasted good, too.Other than the curd, I think my favorite part of the recipe was the all butter crust - it was easy to work with, very crispy, and was still crisp the next morning. I know, because I had a piece of pie for breakfast. But I wouldn't use this crust on a lemon meringue pie again - I think it would be better in a really sweet pecan pie, or maybe even a pot pie of some sort.

Lemon Meringue Pie can be quite challenging for those who have not baked much: you have to work with a pastry crust, make a meringue, and temper eggs for the filling. While the recipe called for putting the cooled filling in a cool crust, and then instructed us to top the cooled curd with meringue, I've learned from sad prior experience to put the meringue on a HOT filling. This helps cook the bottom of the egg whites, and reduces the amount of clear fluid that builds up between the curd and the meringue (known as "weeping".)

I don't know that I would put this particular recipe on the repeat list, but I'm so glad that Jen picked this for January's Challenge. If you want to see and learn more, go over to the Daring Baker's Blogroll. And for the recipe, be sure to check Jen's site. I can hardly wait for the next challenge!

Ox Tail Soup with an Asian Spin - Monthly Mingle

2008-01-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Usually when I make oxtail soup for Master Chow, I do it Italian-style, meaning I use Italian herbs, tomatoes, etc. This time, I decided to shake things up a bit and throw in some Asian elements, and found inspiration over at Simply Recipes and The Scent of Green Bananas.

When it's cold outside, (and inside - we keep the house at around 58 degrees F), a warm bowl of soup, a salad, and some nice crusty bread make a wonderful meal. This month's Monthly Mingle's topic is, appropriately, "comfort foods." Oxtail soup is very popular in Hawaii, parts of Latin America, Spain, and Italy, and Master Chow is quite fond of it. Back in the old days, oxtails were quite inexpensive, but now they are pricey, indeed. When I find them on sale, which is hardly ever, I pounce, and whip up a big pot of soup for Master Chow.

This recipe provides a rough guideline of what I do - every time I make the soup, I change things a bit, including the seasonings. It all depends upon what I have on hand, and my mood. The key is to taste as you go along, and adjust the flavorings to suit your palate.

Oxtail Soup

5-6 lbs oxtails
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
kosher salt and pepper

Coat the oxtails in the sesame oil, plus some salt and pepper, and marinate for two hours.

1 large yellow onion, chopped (about the size of a softball)
2 large carrots, diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
5 lemongrass stalks, tender bottom part only, cut and crushed
1 piece fresh ginger (approx. 3-inches), thinly sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red chili paste
8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of red wine
2 star anise
3 bay leaves
4 cups beef stock
2-4 cup water
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil

To garnish: chopped green onions, mushrooms, lime wedges, cilantro.

This recipe takes two days, so plan ahead!
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Pour some vegetable oil into a large Dutch oven (I used a 12 qt.), enough to coat the bottom. Brown the oxtails in batches (don't crowd the pan), and set aside. You want about 1/4 cup of oil in the bottom of the pan before you go on to the next step, so pour off any excess, or add some more oil if you need it.

On medium low heat, add the onion, carrots, celery, ginger, lemongrass, tomato paste, and Thai red chili paste. Cook until the onions are translucent, but watch the pot carefully - if things get too hot, turn down the heat. Add the garlic and saute briefly.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine, and cook for about 5-8 minutes, or until the wine is reduced by about half. Add the star anise, bay leaves, beef stock, salt and pepper, and enough water to just cover the oxtails.

Lay a piece of foil or parchment across the opening of the pan, then push down gently so that the parchment or foil is just about the surface of the stew, but does not touch it. Cover with the lid, place it in the oven, and cook for about 3-4 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bones.

Remove from oven, and place the meat in a separate container. Refrigerate the broth and meat overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the surface of the broth - it's a lot easier to do this if you don't have to work around all the chunks of meat. Return the meat to the broth, and heat through. Serve with chopped cilantro, mushrooms, lime wedges, and/or chopped green onions

Serves 8.

Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie

2008-01-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite food magazines is Fine Cooking. During a recent visit with my auntie, she said that what sets this magazine apart is that she saves the entire issue. When it comes to other cooking magazines, she tears out pages that interest her, and she tosses the rest of the magazine.

Well said.

This past Thanksgiving, I decided to add a chocolate pecan pie to the menu, in addition to my favorite pecan pie. I'm just getting around to posting about it now, in part because the making of said pie was traumatic:

Yes, that's my homemade tart shell on my kitchen floor. This is why I have commercial crust back-ups in my freezer. The pie weights left dents all over the bamboo - it looks like someone shot it up with a BB gun. But I'll deal with that at some point in the future!

Rose's tart on the left, chocolate espresso tart, in production, on the right

So, I used a Pillsbury pie crust for a recipe by pastry chef Karen Barker in Fine Cooking's issue #88. Boy, this is one rich, sweet, fudgy pecan pie. Too sweet, I thought, but I noticed an odd thing: folks would take a small bite and, overwhelmed by the richness of the pie, they would set it aside. And then come back for another bite. And another. Hhm. I guess some folks like really sweet, chocolatey pecan pie. Imagine that!

I've tweaked the recipe a bit to tone down the sweetness, but trust me, it will still be very sweet. And do not be tempted to use anything but unsweetened chocolate, or your teeth will ache!
The original recipe used corn syrup and a cup of sugar.

Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie

Adapted from a recipe by Karen Barker, in Fine Cooking #88

One 9-inch pie crust, homemade or purchased, and blind-baked until a light golden brown
For the filling:
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Valrhona. Boy, is it good!)
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 cup Lyle's golden syrup
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. instant espresso powder (I used Megdalia D'Oro)
2 Tbs. coffee liqueur
2 cups lightly toasted, coarsely chopped pecans
About 1/2 cup perfect pecan halves

To make the filling:

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a small metal bowl set in a skillet of barely simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Set aside and allow mixture to cool slightly

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, Lyle's golden syrup, sugar, and salt. Dissolve the instant espresso in 1 Tbs. hot water and add to the egg mixture, along with the coffee liqueur and the melted chocolate and butter. Whisk to blend.

Evenly spread the toasted pecan pieces in the pie shell. To form a decorative border, arrange the pecan halves around the perimeter of the pie shell, on top of the pecan pieces, keeping the points of the pecans facing in and the backs just touching the crust. Slowly and carefully pour the filling into the center of the pie plate and over the pecans until the shell is three-quarters full. Pour the remaining filling into a liquid measuring cup or small pitcher. Transfer the pie to the oven and pour in the remaining filling. (The pecans will rise to the top as the pie bakes.)

Bake the pie until the filling puffs up, just starts to crack, and appears fairly set, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer it to a rack and allow it to cool completely (at least 4 hours) before serving. The pie is best if you refrigerate it overnight - the filling sets and the flavors develop.

Peanut Blossom Cookies for Sugar High Friday

2008-01-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

Candy Recapper is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday. The theme? Why candy, of course! In my first official foray into SHF, I present to you, Peanut Blossom cookies, garnished with Hershey's chocolate kisses. Little kids just love these, so if you have young ones who are free of chocolate or peanut allergies, definitely give these a try, if you haven't done so already.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Adapted from Land O'Lakes

Preparation time: 45 min Baking time: 8 min
Yield: 4 dozen cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter (not the health food kind)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
48 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and salt; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour and baking soda. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, just until well mixed. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. (If dough is too soft, refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes.) Roll balls in the 1/4 cup sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until very lightly golden brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks.

Nutrition Facts (1 cookie): Calories: 100, Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 70mg, Carbohydrates: 12g, Dietary Fiber: 0g, Protein: 2g
© 2001 Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Update: As I noted in the comment section, refrigerating this dough really helped reduce spread. I made a similar recipe at Christmas, but it used shortening instead of butter, and the taste just wasn't the same. If you still have trouble with cookie spread after working with cold dough, reduce the butter to 1/4 cup and use 1/4 cup of butter flavored Crisco. That will help, and the taste will still be very good!

Hey! What's All This White Stuff?!

2008-01-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

"What is all this stuff?"

"My feet are cold!"
"Hmm, I don't think there will be any grilling tonight!"

Salmon Cakes with Asian Salad

2008-01-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

Oh, these were sooooo good! Master Chow said, "this tastes like restaurant food!" Then he asked me to put it on the "repeat list."

One of my top two favorite cooking magazines is Cuisine at Home (the other is Fine Cooking). This recipe is from their April 2003 issue, and I tried it because I had a frozen piece of salmon that I wanted to use up, and I was desperate to prepare it in a new way. I decided upon this winning recipe, and tweaked it a bit by cutting down on the sugar called for in the dressing, and leaving out some of the herbs in the salad. Next time, I'm going to try it with canned salmon and see how that works.

Salmon Cakes with Asian Salad

Adapted from a recipe in Cuisine at Home, April 2003

Asian Vinaigrette

Whisk together and chill:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 T. vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. sugar
2 t. toasted sesame oil
1 t. fresh ginger, grated
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

For the salmon cakes, combine:

1 lb. salmon, poached, chilled, and flaked
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup scallions, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Poaching salmon: poach in enough water to cover the fish. Add some salt and a few lemon slices to the water, which help keep the flesh firm. Heat until you just start to see bubbles, then add the fish. You do NOT want this to boil or bubble a lot - it should be a gentle simmer. Cook until you can flake the fish, or about 6-10 minutes per pound. It may take a bit longer, so keep an eye on it!

Whisk together, and add to the salmon cake mixture:

4 eggs
3 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 T. rice vinegar (seasoned rice vinegar has sugar in it, unseasoned does not - use what you have and adjust the rest of the sugar accordingly to suit your taste)
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
2 T. jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 T. sugar
1 t. kosher salt

Once you have mixed all the salmon cake ingredients together, form them into patties, coat with the following, then chill for at least one hour (this is important - chilling the cakes firms them up and makes them easier to handle when you fry them):

1 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Fry cakes in vegetable oil until golden brown. Some suggestions: (1) use a non-stick pan, (2) use a clear vegetable oil, not olive oil, to preserve the taste of the fish, (3) use a fork to place the salmon cakes in the pan to keep from knocking off too much of the coating, (4) handle the cakes gently, or they will fall apart, and (5) do not overcrowd the pan.

For the salad:

10-16 oz. greens, cleaned and spun dry. Toss with vinaigrette and plate. Top with two salmon cakes, and drizzle with more vinaigrette.

Makes 12 cakes, 6 servings.

Easiest Hash Browns Ever. Really.

2008-01-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

Above, a photo of one of my favorite meals, bar none!

If I were rescued after being stuck on a desert island, my first meal would probably be hash(ed) brown potatoes and two eggs, with runny yolks. Oh, yum.

About 30 years ago, my mum found a recipe for hash browns in a woman's magazine, probably McCall's, but I don't recall for sure. I remember making them with her at that time, and the recipe included lots of sour cream and melted cheddar cheese. Ah, the memories, and the metabolism of a teenager. But I digress.

One of the things I have used from that recipe over the years, is this quick and easy way to make hash browns. No shredding raw potatoes. No squeezing the liquid out as you wring the spuds in a towel. No, siree. Are you ready? Here goes:

Step One:
Start with a starchy potato, such as a russet, like this one.

2. Step 2
Bake it. Then, ideally, refrigerate it overnight. You can even bake it in the microwave, but I prefer the oven.

3. Step 3
Put a pan, preferably NOT non-stick (I use my cast iron skillet), over medium high heat. Add some olive oil. Obviously, the more olive oil, the more delicious the end result, but Master Chow and I do try to watch our waistlines, so I tend to be careful. Most of the time.

4. Step 4
Using a box grater, grate the potato directly into the pan. If you like, remove the skin beforehand, but I find that as I grate the potato, the skin falls off and I just pluck it out of the pan.

5. Step 5
After you've finished grating the potatoes, spread them in the pan, season them with salt, pepper, and a bit more olive oil. Spread them out in the pan again, and then leave them alone! Let the potatoes cook for a few minutes, lower or increase the heat if necessary. Flip the potatoes over when they have formed a nice crust on the underside. This is not an omelette, and the whole thing won't flip over in one piece. Just flip bits over, piece by piece. At this point, I start to cook the eggs. Gastronomic delight is just around the corner!

6. Step 6
Eat!

Alice Medrich's Luscious Vodka Chocolates

2008-01-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite cookbook authors is Alice Medrich. I credit her, back in the 1980s, to with awakening me to the marvel of truly fine chocolate. I was a graduate student in the Bay Area, and one day I decided to walk into one of her Cocolat chocolate shops. I bought a white chocolate champagne truffle, and popped the whole thing into my mouth. If your tongue can have an orgasm, mine did at that time. I had never tasted anything like it. Every once in a while after that I would treat myself to some goodie, whatever I could afford on an extremely tight budget.

When I moved from Hawaii to the east coast a few years ago, I lovingly packed her book, Cocolat: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts, and mailed it. The post office lost the box, and I was so busy with work at that time, that I failed to replace the book promptly. When I did try to buy a new one, I discovered that the publisher must have lost its marbles, because the book was out of print, and I could only purchase it used, for quite a hefty price, via Amazon's marketplace. I bit the bullet and did so, a decision I do not regret.

Imagine my pleasure a few months ago, when I discovered Ms. Medrich's lovely new book,Pure Dessert. (Anita at Dessert First has also blogged about the book, as has Veronica's Test Kitchen). One of the first recipes that caught my eye was the recipe for Iced Citron Vodka Chocolates with Fresh Mint.

As I was preparing for the holidays, I discovered an alarming amount of chocolate that I needed to use up, as some of it was starting to bloom (that went into cookies). What better way to use up chocolate than to make . . . chocolates? And take a new cookbook for a test run? I doubled the batch (I don't recommend this, but I had a lot of chocolate, cream, and mint to use up). I did not have citron vodka, so I used Stolichnaya regular vodka and added a few drops of lemon oil to it.

The result? Delicious. I served them at a Christmas party, and people loved them, even Master Chow, who prefers white chocolate. I keep the chocolates in the freezer, and serve them ice cold. The vodka and faint mint and citrus flavors make the little morsels just go "poof" in your mouth when you bite into them. Medrich's instructions were clear, simple, and exhaustive (I'm going to summarize my adaptations below).

I can hardly wait to try other recipes in her new book!

Iced Citron Vodka Chocolates with Fresh Mint
Adapted from a recipe by Alice Medrich in Pure Dessert

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 cup plus 2-3 extra Tablespoons heavy cream
9 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, marked 55% to 60% cacao (I used Scharffen Berger)
2 Tablespoons vodka, plus 3-5 drops of lemon oil
12-16 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, for dipping

Equipment:

An 8-inch square baking pan
Instant read thermometer
Baking sheet
Foil
Wax paper

Make the mint infusion:

Combine the cream and mint in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight. I let mine sit for three days and it was fine.

Strain the cream using a strainer over a glass measuring cup, pressing the leaves to get all the cream out. Discard the mint, and add additional cream to make one cup.

Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with foil.

Make the ganache:

Chop the 9 ounces of chocolate into small pieces, no bigger than almonds, and set aside in a medium bowl.

Bring the cream to a low boil. Pour over the chocolate and gently stir with rubber spatula, until the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is completely smooth. Do not splash, or whisk or stir too briskly, or the ganache will have a grainy and cakey texture. Stir in the vodka and mix just enough to blend. Strain the ganache into the baking pan, level, and freeze until hard.

Line a large baking pan with wax paper. Cover a large cutting board with parchment paper. Using the edges of the foil, lift the slab of frozen ganache out of the pan, and flip it over onto the cutting board. Peel the foil off.

Using a large chef's knife dipped in hot water, cut the ganache into 6 or seven equal strips, taking care not to cut through the parchment paper, and working quickly to prevent the ganache from melting . Cut the strips into squares. Transfer the squares into the prepared pan, and cover it with plastic wrap.

Keep the squares frozen until ready to dip the chocolates.

Dip the chocolates:

To dip the chocolates, cover a sheet pan with parchment. Melt the chocolate for dipping over a double boiler of barely simmering water. When the chocolate is thoroughly melted, cool it to 100 to 105 degrees F. Working with small amounts of the squares at a time (keep the others in the freezer until you need them), dip them in the chocolate, using a fork, and wipe the tines of the fork against the edge of the bowl to drain excess chocolate back into the bowl. Don't let the chocolates sit too long on the fork, or they will stick. If you like, using the dipping fork, drizzle the dipped chocolates randomly to create patterns on their surface.

Refrigerate or freeze the chocolates in covered containers. They keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer. Note: the chocolates must be refrigerated, or they will bloom, as the chocolate shell is not tempered. They also taste terrific that way!

Another Winning Cookie: Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chunkers

2008-01-03T14:19:00.000-05:00

A Sea of Chocolate Heaven

These cookies accomplished a number of things: (1) they helped me clean out my pantry of an alarming amount of chocolate that I needed to use up; (2) they kept me interested in Christmas baking; and, (3) they put me into a chocolate coma. Can life get much better than that?

I am so glad I followed Dorie's instructions and used premium chocolate (the white chocolate chips that I used were Nestle, but I didn't skimp on the other chocolates). I used a combination of Ghirardelli, ScharffenBerger, and Valhrona.

These cookies are dense, gooey, and intensely chocolatey. The white chocolate chips provide a startling contrast to the richness of the dark chocolates. I used dried apricots and pecans in the recipe, but next time I might try craisins like Brilynn did over at Jumbo Empanadas. At My Feasts, Maya used raisins and pecans. I don't like cookie dough (I know, weird), but I had to restrain myself from eating this batter out of the bowl - that's how good it was.

A few final thoughts. I thought that the apricots were a tad bitter, so I'm going to try another fruit next time. I also think these cookies are not particularly kid friendly (especially with the apricots), unless the child in question has a taste for something other than milk chocolate. Finally, don't make the cookies too small. I found that a golf-ball sized blob of dough gave me a lot of cookies, yet maintained the gooey consistency inside.

Now THIS is chocolate cookie dough!

Chocolate Chunkers

Adapted from a recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Droste Dutch processed cocoa)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
3 tablespoon unsalted butter – cut into pieces
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz. white chocolate chopped
1 ½ coarsely chopped nuts ( I used pecans)
1 cup dark or golden raisins, plump dried apricots, or another dried fruit that you like.

Center rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats (don't skip this step).

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. Melt butter with unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. The chocolate should be smooth and shiny. Set on counter to cool.

Beat eggs and sugar on medium high speed until mixture is pale and foamy. Reduce speed, add vanilla. Then add cooled melted chocolate, and mix only until incorporated. Add dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Dough will be thick and shiny. Try not to eat all the dough out of the bowl.

Add semisweet and white chocolate chunks, nuts, and raisins. Drop dough onto baking sheets, making each cookie about the size of a golf ball. Leave an inch between dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes, but start to check your cookies at about 7-8 minutes. It's very hard to tell if a chocolate cookie is "done," and burned chocolate tastes terrible. Dorie recommends baking until the "tops of the cookies look a little dry."

Cool cookies. These freeze very well.

Cooking Tip: If You Don't Have Access to Bleached Flour

2008-01-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

I found this tip on A Merrier World, via Rose Levy Berenbaum's blog. This may be helpful to those of you living outside of the United States, where you may not have access to bleached flour. Thanks to Kate from A Merrier World for her discovery:

For those of you around the world who do not have access to the wonderful bleached flour available in the US (such as Gold Medal) necessary for the best texture and flavor in butter layer cakes, Kate has been doing some astonishing work using the microwave to 'heat treat' the flour, enabling it to gelatinize in much the same way that bleaching accomplishes. (Source).

My New Favorite Cookie

2007-12-30T12:10:00.000-05:00

Even though I didn't participate in December's Daring Bakers Challenge, I have been baking up a storm. Baking my least favorite things to bake, cookies.

This year, I decided to take the bull by the horns and pretty much jettisoned virtually every cookie I had baked previously, with a couple exceptions. Those exceptions were due to great taste, in the case of my mother-in-laws bourbon balls, and emotional appeal, in the case of Hershey's peanut blossom cookies.

The first cookie I decided to test was a butter cookie. I pulled the recipe from an add for Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter that I found in a recent issue of Gourmet magazine. Instead of Kerrygold, I used an Icelandic butter that I had purchased at Whole Foods, and that I needed to use up.

The butter was amazing - the texture was like cutting into a soft cheese or a fudge. The flavor was clean, with no aftertaste. And it produced the best butter cookie that I have ever made. Ever.

Butter cookies and shortbread are my favorite cookies. They are simple, satisfying, and melt in your mouth. When the butter you have used is top quality, that is. Some folks are very sensitive to the flavors in coffee, or cabbage, or wine. In my case, I can really taste when the oil in fats or nuts is even slightly off.

I will make these again, and again, and again. But using only a great European butter. I've tried butter cookies with Plugra brand, and while they were good, they were not outstanding.

And if you're wondering what the little pink dots are in the middle of some of the cookies, they are pink peppercorns. When you bite into them, you get a jolt of a vibrant, flowery flavor, not any heat. I took a cookie making class with Betsy Cukla of Hammersong (a great cookie cutter manufacturer) at La Cuisine a couple years ago, and that was something that she taught us. If you freeze the cookies after baking them, keep them in their own individual container so that they don't pick up other cookie flavors.

Elinor Klivans’ Slice and Bake Butter Cookies
Pastry chef and cookbook author, Elinor Klivans, developed this crisp and buttery cookie recipe for Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter. Adapted from an ad in Gourmet Magazine, 2007.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 package (8 ounces or 1 cup) salted Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter, at room temperature, or another premium European butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1/3 cup granulated sugar or coarse sugar crystals for rolling the cookie log
Pecan halves, walnut halves, or pink peppercorns (optional)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl and set aside. In large bowl beat butter and sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, using an electric mixer on medium speed, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture, mixing on low speed just until flour is incorporated and soft, smooth dough forms. Do not over beat, or you will have a tough cookie.

Divide dough into 2 pieces; form each into a log about 7 ½ inches long and 1 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 1 hour until cold and firm, or overnight. I chilled mine overnight, which is longer than I'd chilled cookie dough before, and it made a big difference in maintaining the shape of the log later on as I cut the cookies. Or freeze, wrapped securely, for up to 1 month. (Defrost in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.)

Position rack in middle of oven. Heat oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In small bowl, use fork to beat egg white until foamy, about 30 seconds. Use pastry brush to brush each log with egg white. Sprinkle the 1/3 cup sugar on strip of wax paper then roll each log back and forth in sugar to coat lightly. Use large sharp knife to cut each log into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Press nut half or peppercorn into each cookie before baking, if desired. Bake one sheet at a time until cookie edges and bottoms are light brown, about 18 minutes, but start checking on your cookies before then, at about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze.
Makes 40-60 cookies.

Cooking Tip

2007-12-30T11:24:00.000-05:00

When you chop nuts or chocolate, do you find that the pieces jump off your cutting board? You can always place the items to be chopped in a plastic bag or kitchen towel, and then whack it with a rolling pin. But what if you don't want to do that?

A few years ago, I read a tip that I've used successfully ever since: use two chef's knives simultaneously to chop. It really works! And if you're wondering what's all over my knives, I'll have you know it's chocolate and butter. Yum.

The Daring Bakers: Yule Log

2007-12-30T11:09:00.001-05:00

I was not able to participate in this month's challenge, but be sure to check out the Daring Baker's blogroll to view the beautiful Yule Logs!

And a very Happy New Year to everyone!

Gifts for the Cook and/or the Foodie

2007-12-17T16:04:00.000-05:00

Someone around here has the good sense to take a nap.

Like many of you, I'm busy cooking, cleaning, baking, decorating, etc. My least favorite thing to bake are . . . cookies. Yep, cookies. And I'm baking dozens of them. I realized that I was bored out of my gourd baking the same old things every year, many of which I never really liked. So this year I decided to shake things up a bit. I'll be posting about that later, but take a hint: if you haven't baked Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Chunkers from her marvelous book,Baking: From My Home to Yours, you should. I doubled the recipe and I am so glad that I did.

Because I had Dorie on my mind, I decided to take a long overdue cruise to her blog, and discovered a link with her suggestions for gifts for the cook. Homesick Texan has a post on her suggestions for gifts from Texas, including Dr. Pepper made with real sugar, not corn syrup.

I have a few suggestions myself:

(1) a Microplane Grater/Zester
(2) a gift certificate to Penzey's, a great resource for spices, herbs, and rubs
(3) Chicago Metallic Professional 8-inch Round Cake Pan - a lot of recipes call for eight inch cake pans, and most cooks have a standard nine inch pan.
(4) Pralus Infernale Bar, a chocolate bar filled with the most exquisite gianduja
(5) Slitti Nocciolata, which makes Nutella taste like old wax. I have to restrain myself from eating it out of the jar with a spoon, and I must say, I do not succeed.
(6) a Le Creuset Dutch oven, one at least 7-1/4 quarts.
(7) a heat resistant silicon spoonula, such as this one from Le Creuset, which is what I use every day.
(8) a set of Boyajian's citrus oils
(9) a baking stone

And finally, for the baker in your life, who needs something more powerful than a KitchenAid, there's always:

(10) a 5 qt. Hobart mixer. You can always go bigger, of course.

Now, I think I'll join the pups for a nap!

I'm Going to a Housewarming Party! I Hope Everyone Likes Coconut Cake with Lilikoi Curd

2007-12-06T17:27:00.000-05:00

*** Scroll down for update***

Hosted by Peabody, at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, another Daring Baker with a fun and drool-worthy blog!

As is clear from the picture above, we had to slice into the cake - we couldn't wait until Saturday, but there's plenty left for a virtual housewarming. The recipe is adapted from yet another Ina Garten winner from her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again.
I used buttermilk instead of plain milk, and increased the amount of almond extract in the frosting. I also decided to make my own passion fruit (lilikoi) curd using Goya brand frozen passion fruit pulp, which some of you may be lucky to find in your frozen food section under its Spanish name, maracuya. In my opinion, ambrosia, that legendary food of the gods, must taste like passion fruit. I know I'm right on this, so there's no sense arguing about it!

Instead of putting frosting between the layers, I used the passion fruit curd. I actually had enough curd to make the cake, despite spooning it into my mouth at any given opportunity. "Oh, I've opened the refrigerator - I'd better check on the curd," or "I see it's a full moon out tonight - I'd better check on the curd." And the always popular, "I'll go on a diet tomorrow. I'd better check on the curd."

In the end, the result: a dense but moist layer cake, laced with almond and coconut, sharpened by the brilliant, intense flavor of the passion fruit. For what it's worth, Master Chow dislikes coconut, and he really liked this cake. He could taste the coconut, but it was not overpowering. And, hey, who doesn't like ambrosia? See you at Peabody's!

Note: My recipe for the lilikoi (passion fruit) curd came from The Hali'imaile General Store Cookbook: Homecooking from Maui, which I can't seem to find in my pile of books at the moment. When I do, I promise to update this post with the recipe. Please do not think that you can use a lemon curd recipe and substitute passion fruit for the lemon - it won't work. Passion fruit needs more sugar. If you absolutely can't wait and want to make this immediately, look for some bottled curd (Heidi vouches for one on her blog), or you may consider using this recipe. Now, I haven't used that recipe, but the restaurant from which it comes, Chef Mavro, is considered by some to be one of the best in the nation.

Coconut Cake

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (set this out on a plate ahead of time so it dries out just a bit - it will be easier to handle)

For the frosting
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted (don't skip the sifting, or you will have a lumpy, grainy frosting!)
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (set this out on a plate ahead of time so it dries out just a bit - it will be easier to handle)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. If you have cake strips, use them to prevent doming. If not, build up the batter towards the perimeter of the cake to help keep it as flat as possible. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, don't worry - have fun, it will taste great!

Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix just until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and carefully slice in half. Using a piping bag, or an offset spatula, create a thin "dam" of frosting along the outer circumference of the layer. This is to prevent the curd, which you will spread withing this circle, from leaking out. Place the second half of the layer on top, top side down, and repeat the "dam" and curd process.

Now, take your second layer, split it in half, and repeat the dam and curd process. When you put the second half of the second layer on top of the cake, place it top side up. At this point, I would recommend you refrigerate the cake for least an hour to help stabilize it before you frost the top and sides.

After an hour, remove the cake from the refrigerator and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Update: found the lilikoi curd recipe! Here it is, and this makes a LOT of curd, so you will have some left over:

Liliko'i Curd

Adapted from The Hali'imaile General Store Cookbook: Homecooking from Maui

6 whole eggs

6 egg yolks

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups lilikoi (passion fruit) puree (unsweetened)

You will be using a double boiler, so get a pan of water boiling. In a stainless steel or other non-reactive, heat-proof bowl whisk together the egg yolks and eggs until well blended. Add the sugar and the puree, and mix well.

Place the bowl on top of the pan of boiling water, and whisk continuously for 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens to a consistency of a thick pudding. Mine never got quite that thick until I chilled it; it is important not to let the mixture boil. If you have to, take the pan with the lilikoi mixture off the double boiler periodically to prevent boiling.

When the mixture has thickened, immediately pour it through a strainer for a silkier texture, and to strain out any bits of egg that may have cooked.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one week, with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent the formation of a crust. I've actually frozen this for up to three weeks, and the taste was outstanding. The curd was slightly less creamy, but not by much!

Cranberry Orange Bread

2007-12-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

Behold, my lopsided cranberry orange bread, another winning recipe from Beth Hensperger, this time from her classic tome,The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes. I confused the cooling instructions with another one for a different bread, which said to cool the bread on its side. This resulted in my tasty but deformed loaf.

This is a wonderful little bread that takes advantage of the cranberries, oranges, and walnuts that are filling our markets this time of year. It is not too sweet, and the flavor of the cranberries really comes through, despite the presence of the zest of two whole oranges in the batter. The bread freezes very well, if you wrap it carefully. I wrapped it in plastic wrap, then foil, and then put the whole packet in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag.

I was out of ground ginger, so I substituted very finely minced crystallized ginger, which dissolved in the batter. This bread is definitely on my repeat list. And take a look at the batter - isn't that a beautiful pink color?

Cranberry Orange Bread

Adapted from The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes by Beth Hensperger
Makes one 8 1/2 inch-by-4 1/2 inch loaf

1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

1 cup sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 t finely minced crystallized ginger

grated zest of 2 oranges

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 large eggs

1 t pure vanilla extract

4 T unsalted butter, melted

Position rack in the center of the oven, and preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 8 1/2 inch-by-4 1/2 inch loaf pan.

In a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger, and mix well. Add the orange zest and walnuts, and toss to mix well.

In another bowl, combine the orange juice and eggs, and mix until frothy. Add the vanilla and cranberries. Pour over the dry ingredients, and then drizzle with the butter. Stir until just moistened (do NOT over mix) and the cranberries are evenly distributed.

Pour batter into the loaf pan. Place pan on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be crusty and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean.

Transfer to rack to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and let bread sit overnight before serving. Believe it or not, I actually was able to do this last step!

Cleaning Out the Pantry - Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

2007-11-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

As I've said before, I am on a mission to purge my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. It's so easy to buy this or that, and the next thing you know, it's five years later.

Recently, I was cleaning out my cupboards, and replacing some spices. Lo and behold, I found a stash of garlic that I'd forgotten about, and some of the bulbs were starting to sprout. What is one to do when faced with a huge amount of garlic that must be used, and quickly?

I turned to Ina Garten, and made her Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. Much to my surprise, Master Chow liked this dish (I thought it might be a bit too fancy for him). I think the loads of garlic won him over.

I didn't have any cream, which the recipe calls for, but I did have some creme fraiche that I needed to use up. Yahoo! Another item that needed to be used, crossed off my list! And I didn't have two whole chickens, but I did have a package each of chicken breasts, thighs, and legs, sitting in my freezer. I felt very efficient and frugal after making this dish. Peeling the garlic wasn't too bad either, after briefly boiling the garlic cloves - the skins slipped right off. If the bulbs are sprouting, just cut out the green shoot before you use the garlic.

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten, from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves

2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths, or 6-7 pounds of chicken parts

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine (I used the remnants of a bottle of rose, and it worked just fine)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons creme fraiche (or heavy cream, but do not use sour cream because it will curdle)

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat (you don't want the oil and butter to burn, so keep an eye on it). In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Use tongs to turn the chicken, as you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down.

When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute the rest of the chicken.

Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 40 minutes, until all the chicken is done. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot (do NOT just add the flour to the pot, or you will end up with a lot of lumps). Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the creme fraiche, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

The Daring Bakers: Tender Potato Bread

2007-11-26T09:41:00.001-05:00

For my second Daring Baker's challenge (and number 13 in the series), Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, presented us with something savory (for which I thank her from the bottom of my heart): Tender Potato Bread, from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World, by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford.

I grew up baking bread with my mom, but life, school, and career took precedence over bread baking for many, many years. Lately, I have felt a real yearning to start working with dough again, and have been filling up my freezer with all sorts of interesting flours that I've been hoping to experiment with. Someday.

Well, Tanna's challenge gave me the opportunity to take the leap. And the wonderful thing is, many things went wrong, but I was having so much fun creating this marvel that I didn't care! And the bread still turned out great!

Exhausted from Thanksgiving baking (more on that in a future post), not to mention desserts, I opted to bake two simple loaves, one a 9 x 5 inch and the other an 8 x 4 inch. I added about a cup more of flour than the directions called for, but still had a huge gooey mess on my hands that was absolutely impossible to shape. It was like a big pile of goo. I finally resorted to my KitchenAid with its dough hook (allowed for medical reasons).

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what medical reasons I could be talking about. Well, at Thanksgiving dinner, while removing a pecan pie from a tart pan, I cut the forefinger of my right hand so deeply with the edge of the pan that my finger continued to bleed for over two hours. I noticed something was amiss when I saw the blood running down the knife I was using to cut pie slices.

As if that were not enough, on Saturday I slammed the sliding glass door on the other forefinger, and opened up a nice little cut there, too. When I lost my band aids in my gooey potato bread dough and had to fish them out, I decided to pull out the KitchenAid.

At any rate, I can see from other Daring Bakers' pictures that I could have added even more flour. I literally had to pour the dough into the baking pans. No shaping of the loaves, let alone rolls, was possible. So I poured and hoped for the best.

There are a couple band aids in here. Luckily, I found them!

I was not disappointed. This bread is delicious - moist, with a lovely crumb that takes well to liberal buttering. The crust is chewy and crispy. The whole wheat flour and potato give the bread a depth of flavor usually lacking in white loaves. In fact, I'm thinking of having another piece as I write this, but have decided to wait and try a soy bacon - lettuce -and tomato sandwich for lunch. I can just imagine the mayonnaise sinking into the nooks and crannies of this tasty loaf!
Some notes: I used russet potatoes, and King Arthur brand unbleached all purpose, and whole wheat flours.

Happy Baking! And check out the wonderful creations of the other Daring Bakers!

There's Something Going On in the Kitchen

2007-11-22T14:12:00.000-05:00

"What's going on in the kitchen? We want in!"

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, from a rather tired Madam Chow. We will be joining a dear friend for a celebration with thirty other people whom we've never met, and we are sure looking forward to it. Of course, that meant I had to bake two different pecan pies, and a coconut cake with lilikoi (passionfruit curd). I will definitely let all of you know how it goes.

Yes, you. I'm talking to you, Chopped Liver!

2007-11-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

I saw Ina Garten make this on her show, Barefoot Contessa, a while back, and it was one of those recipes that intrigued me and just sort of percolated in the recesses of my brain. I watched a rerun of the same show, and this time I decided to make it. Master Chow usually likes meats with strong flavors, like lamb and venison, so I thought, "why not?" Well, this was a hit. He loves it, and when I take the lid of the container, the dogs go crazy. I took a little taste, and even I thought it was good! It tastes a lot like liverwurst.

Some thoughts: First, use organic chicken livers, which I get at my local Whole Foods. The liver is the filter of the blood, and every hormone or drug given to an animal ends up there, so you want to get as clean and pure a source as possible.

Second, if you keep kosher, have some chicken fat (schmaltz) on hand before you start. The original recipe calls for a cup of it, but I ended up using about 5 Tablespoons of clarified butter.

Third, cleaning the liver can be rather time consuming and messy.

Fourth, do not overcook the livers - they should be a pale pink inside.

Finally, this spatters a lot when you're frying the livers, so cover up and move anything out of the way that you don't want to get covered in grease.

Chopped Liver

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

2 pounds chicken livers
5 Tbsp. clarified butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1/3 cup Madeira wine
4 extra-large eggs, hard-cooked, peeled, and chunked
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tspp. cayenne pepper

Drain the livers and saute them in 2 batches in 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 5 minutes, or until just barely pink inside. Don't overcook the livers or they will be dry. Transfer them to a large bowl.

In the same pan, saute the onions in 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until browned. Add the Madeira and deglaze the pan, scraping the sides, for about 15 seconds. Pour into the bowl with the livers.

Add the eggs, parsley, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Toss quickly to combine. Transfer half the mixture to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 6 to 8 times, until coarsely chopped. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Season, to taste, and chill. Serve on crackers or matzo.

Pine Nut Orzo

2007-11-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

I am on a mission: to use up food items in my pantry and freezer. Like most people, I will buy this or that to use for a specific dish, then I forget all about it. Or I shop for produce, and loose a cucumber in the back of the refrigerator.

Not one to waste food, I discovered said English cucumber tucked away in a corner of the "chill chest," to coin a phrase from Alton Brown. I also had some feta cheese to use up, as well as a bag of orzo that had been sitting around for a while. Oh, yes, and that red onion. And a lemon or two. What to do?

Well, I turned to Rachael Ray after seeing her whip up a Pine Nut Orzo salad on her show, 30 Minute Meals. Master Chow and I thought it was nice on its own when we had it at lunch, but it really shone when we paired it later that evening with a rib eye steak (for him) and some scallops and shrimp (for me). Since I have half a pound of orzo left in the cupboard, I'll be making this again!

Pine Nut and Orzo Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray
4 to 6 servings

1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (use a good one, you'll be able to taste it)
salt and pepper to taste

Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil for the pasta salad. When the water boils, salt it and cook the pasta to al dente. If your pasta bag doesn't tell you how long that might be, start checking after 4 minutes. My orzo was al dente after 5 minutes.

If you want to take some of the bite out of the diced onion, let it sit in the bottom of the salad bowl in the juice of the lemons while you cook the pasta and prep the rest of the ingredients.

Drain orzo and add to the onions and lemon juice, along with the pine nuts, parsley, feta crumbles, about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with the olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

A Detour . . .

2007-11-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

My blog focuses on food. And puppies, once in a while.

Nevertheless, every so often something just jumps out at me that I feel I have to share. The news is so full of negative stories, doom and gloom, that combined with the stress of our daily lives, it can all get so overwhelming at times. So, I value positive stories, especially at this time of year. The one I'm linking to here is such a story - a tale of a small town in Iraq, and people working together. It is myth-shattering and uplifting.

If you have a moment, take the time to read it. I hope you will find it as inspirational as I did.

The Comforts of Cooking

2007-11-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

Recently, Ivonne, of Cream Puffs in Venice, had a thoughtful post on the comforts of baking. I have to agree - my life has been so hectic the last few months, I've barely had a chance to catch my breath. The weather has cooled a bit, and the leaves are finally changing colors. And I find myself wanting to spend my free time cooking and taking care of my family as much as possible.

So, a few days ago, I passed several happy hours in the kitchen, baking up a batch of cornbread and Tomato and Goat Cheese Muffins from Beth Hensperger's, Muffins. Master Chow loved the cornbread, and I thought the muffins, which included garbanzo flour (!), were wonderful. A tossed green salad, some sauteed broccoli rabe, and a bowl of soup made a wonderful meal. As I write this, I have a batch of Hensperger's Cranberry-Orange Bread baking in the oven (more on that in a future post). And I have a faithful companion on my lap:

Life doesn't get much better than this.

Book Review: Williams-Sonoma "Muffins," by Beth Hensperger

2007-11-06T14:24:00.000-05:00

Like many out there in the culinary blogosphere, I have an overburdened bookshelf, creaking under the weight of all the cookbooks I fully intend to use, but rarely get around to doing so. One of my reasons for starting this blog was to pull some of these tomes down and take them for a test drive.

The winner this month? The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins (Williams Sonoma Collection), by the wonderful and prolific author, Beth Hensperger. It's a little book, but the recipes are clear, easy to follow, and obviously thoroughly tested because they work. There's a picture for every recipe, which makes it even more fun to read the book. I always wonder why publishing houses skimp on food photography, when a little more effort in that direction would help the book fly off the shelves!

The book is divided into six categories: Classics, Fruit Muffins, Vegetable Muffins, Savory Muffins, Coffee Cakes, and Quick Loaf Breads. I made the Spiced Apple Coffee Cake you see at the top of this post, as well as the Blackberry Muffins (for which I substituted blueberries and orange zest, and they turned out fantastically well).

I didn't have cream cheese on hand for the coffee cake, so I substituted Neufchatel with no problems. When I put the batter together, it appeared to be a mass of apples, and I wondered where the "cake" part would come in. I shouldn't have worried! Here is the golden goodness:

The cake was intensely flavorful, and so moist that I could eat it frozen (and I did), and it still had a soft texture. It froze very well, retaining all its flavor and a pudding-like texture. Dang, I just made myself hungry again. To freeze, I recommend wrapping in plastic wrap, then foil, then placing in a freezer storage bag. The original recipe includes a vanilla glaze, which I eliminated because the finished product was sweet enough.

I also tried the luscious blackberry muffin recipe, but substituted blueberries, and orange zest for the lemon zest. Master Chow loved these. They didn't hold up quite as well in the freezer, but I suspect that may because I didn't wrap them in foil, a mistake that I won't repeat.

The recipe called for a whopping 2 cups of blueberries, but there was enough batter to hold them together well. The orange was a wonderful complement to the berries, and each muffin was topped with a walnut crumb mixture. Delicious! Tonight, I'm going to try either the Polenta Muffins with Fresh Herbs, or the Tomato and Goat Cheese Muffins. Hhhm. Decisions, decisions!

One final note: if your spices are old, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to some new ones. It will make a world of difference in your baking!

Spiced Apple Coffee Cake
Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins (Williams Sonoma Collection)

Makes one 9-inch cake

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, about 1 lb., peeled and cored
2 Tbsp. strained fresh orange, lemon, or apple juice (I used orange)
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Thoroughly grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, or a 9-inch round spring form pan. This is a very wet batter, and if you slack off on this step, a lot of your cake will end up sticking to the bottom of the pan!

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, toss the apples with the juice. In a third bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon. Add to the apples, toss to coat, and set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium, cream the butter, Neufchatel cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients in two or three increments, beating well until just smooth. Don't over beat the batter. Using a spatula, gently mix in the apples, just until they are incorporated. You want things to be mixed, but not over mixed, or you will have a tough cake.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Cool on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan.

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers: Bostini Cream Pie

2007-10-31T19:49:00.001-04:00

My freshman effort for The Daring Bakers a came in the midst of one of the most hectic time periods in recent memory for me. In the past six weeks, both computers blew up, the printer won't work, our furnace wouldn't turn on because the thermostat failed, our water heater wouldn't heat water, we are having electrical problems, and a faucet less than a year old had to be replaced. And these are just some of the things that have gone wrong. My computer still won't read some CDs, or download software properly. I apologize for the poor photography; never great to begin with, I don't have the use of software to clean it up a bit.

In the midst of this insanity, I dove into my first effort for the Daring Bakers: Bostini Cream Pie (not a typo). Mary, from Alpineberry chose this dessert for the month of October (follow the link to her site for the original recipe). One of the neat things about the Daring Bakers is that people pick things that I might never try on my own, and this recipe is an example. An incredibly rich pastry cream or custard, topped with a light and airy orange-scented chiffon cake, drizzled with semisweet chocolate at the end. I would describe this dessert as a symphony: each element, while tasty by itself, is elevated to new heights in combination with other parts of the dessert. Actually, pastry cream doesn't need any help. Ever. I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful!

I tweaked the recipe a bit by halving it, more or less, and it turned out just fine. There's just so much cream custard and chocolate that I consider safe to have around the house. I also baked the cake in a jellyroll pan, and used a biscuit cutter to cut out rounds for the dessert.

Check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll for all the masterpieces!

Bostini Cream Pies

(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala’s Bistro)

To prepare the custard
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature

1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 large egg, lightly beaten

4 egg yolks

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

5 oz. sugar

Mix together the milk and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth, then add to the eggs and mix well.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds, and sugar on medium heat. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove from the heat.

Temper the eggs by adding the hot cream mixture gradually, a little at a time, to the egg mixture while whisking all the time. When the egg mixture is warm, add it to the cream in the saucepan and return the pot to a medium heat. Cook until the mixture thickens so that it coats the back of a spoon. For me, this happened within seconds, so watch it like a hawk.

Remove the custard from the heat and pour through a sieve and into a bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent the formation of a "skin," and refrigerate for several hours.

To prepare the chiffon cake
3/4 cup cake flour

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cup canola oil

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1 Tbsp. grated orange zest

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

5 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line a half sheet (jellyroll) pan with parchment, and then grease the parchment. Don't skip the greasing of the parchment - you want to be able to actually remove the parchment from your cake!

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not over mix.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. I recommend taking a third of the egg whites and mixing them rather vigorously into the batter, then gently folding in the remaining whites.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes. The cake is done when it springs back lightly after being pressed with your finger. It will be a soft golden color.

Let cool on a wire rack before unmolding. Gently turn the cake over onto a cutting board or another piece of parchment or wax paper, and carefully peel off the parchment. Cut the cake as desired (I used round biscuit cutters).

To prepare the chocolate glaze

You can make as much or as little of this as you like, as there are only two ingredients and they are in a one-to-one ratio. While you can prepare the other parts of the cake, prepare the glaze right before serving.

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsalted butter

In a small pan or the microwave (if you use the latter, err on the side of caution and don't burn your chocolate!), melt the butter and chocolate. Strain through a sieve if needed (I didn't need to).

To plate

Place the custard on the bottom, top with the sponge cake, and drizzle or drown the cake with the chocolate glaze. Enjoy!

Baking Dorie's Chocolate Muffins

2007-10-22T10:58:00.000-04:00

These are for you if: (1) you love chocolate, (2) would like to find an excuse to eat it for breakfast, and (3) don't like baked goods that are too sweet. I definitely like chocolate, and have a fondness for muffins that don't make my teeth ache from too much sugar, so I thought I'd give these a try. I uploaded the photos before my entire computer crashed, so I have something to blog about!

The pros: a tender crumb, moist, crunchy top, and they freeze well. The cons: I will definitely switch to semisweet chocolate next time (they need it), and double wrap these muffins if you freeze them, or they pick up every flavor in the freezer.

I used Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate:

I made a couple of adaptations: I added 1.5 teaspoons of espresso coffee crystals to augment the chocolate flavor, and I sprinkled turbinado sugar on top of the muffins before baking.

Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Muffins

Adapted from Dorie Greespan's Baking, From My Home to Yours

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (next time I'll use semisweet), coarsely chopped

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I used Droste brand)

1 1/2 teaspoons espresso coffee crystals

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray a 12- slot muffin pan, or line with muffin liners. Place pan on a baking sheet.

Melt butter and half the chopped chocolate in a bowl over simmering water (or in the microwave). Add the coffee crystals and stir to dissolve. Take off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla together until well combined.

Pour the buttermilk mixture and the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix gently but quickly to blend, but do not over mix as this will toughen the muffins. A few lumps are OK! Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate.

Divide batter among the muffin tins. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thin skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool pan on a rack for 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

System Failure!

2007-10-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

Well, our computer has blown up. Literally. Master Chow "smelled something funny," then "the whole system shut down," and he "saw whisps of smoke."

We're getting a Mac. If Microsoft were a vampire, I'd drive a stake through it's cold, cold heart.

Chimichurri and Skirt Steak

2007-10-04T13:28:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to post about chimichurri (an Argentine salsa), so I dug through my photos, and here it is.

A recipe for chimichurri is going to vary from family to family, and everyone believes that the variation that they grew up with is the best one out there. I'm no different - I used to sneak in the kitchen and eat this stuff with a spoon while my mom was out back, grilling the steak. There are three "secrets" to good chimichurri, in my opinion: (1) use fresh ingredients, (2) don't use a food processor, as it makes the whole mixture rather bitter, and (3) loosen up and adjust the ingredients to suit your tastes! So, I present you with my family's chimichurri recipe, but keep in mind that it is only a guideline, and even I adjust quantities every time I make this.

1 cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh oregano
4-6 plump garlic cloves
a pinch of dried red hot peppers (unlike Mexican food, Argentine food generally is not "hot")
kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Finely chop the parsley, oregano, and garlic. Combine with all the other ingredients and adjust the amounts until you like how it tastes. You can add more vinegar and olive oil until you get the consistency of a thick soup. This will make enough to marinate the meat, but you won't have any extra to serve with the meat on the side, so if you want more chimichurri, at least double the recipe.

Rub over the skirt steaks (about 2 pounds) and marinate for a few hours. When ready to grill the meat, clean off the marinade (you don't want the garlic to burn), and grill quickly, usually only a couple minutes on each side. Serve with more chimichurri.

Fresh Garbanzos (Chickpeas)

2007-09-25T14:01:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons I love our local Asian market - they carry items like this! Fresh garbanzos are crunchy and sweet, sort of like a fresh pea.

California Pizza Kitchen's Tuscan Hummus

2007-09-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

Oh, how I love CPK's hummus! Creamy, smooth, rich - I couldn't figure out why I liked their hummus so much more than others. After I happily purchased California Pizza Kitchen Pasta, Salads, Soups, And Sides, I discovered their secret: they use cannellini beans, not garbanzos! Eureka!

I tweaked the recipe just a bit. This makes a generous amount of hummus - I would say more than enough as an appetizer for six to eight people.

Hummus Ingredients

5 medium garlic cloves
30 ounces drained and rinsed canned cannellini beans
1/2 cup sesame paste (tahini)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup cold water, if needed
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

California Pizza Kitchen Checca Ingredients

3 or 4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2" dice
1 tablespoon minced garlic (don't crush the garlic, as it will make this too bitter)
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Hummus:

In a food processor, process the beans and pulse the machine a few times to chop them coarsely. Add the garlic clove and process them until finely minced. With the machine running, puree the mixture slowly pouring the sesame paste through the feed tube. Still with the motor running, pour the olive oil, lemon juice, and soy sauce through the feed tube, stopping the processor occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Stop the processor, open the lid, and add the salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Process until thoroughly blended. If the puree seems too thick, pulse in the 1/4 cup cold water (or more, if needed, to reach the consistency that you are looking for). Transfer the puree to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to chill well before serving.

Checca:

In a bowl, combine the Checca ingredients, mixing them thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

About thirty minutes before you plan to serve it, place the chilled hummus in a bowl and arrange the tomato Checca on top. Garnish with the chopped parsley and surround with pita triangles or crackers.

Braised Leeks and Bacon in a Tart

2007-09-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

Another tasty bite from what has turned out to be one of my favorite cookbooks, Molly Stevens' All About Braising. I had one more commercial pie crust to use up, and I've had such success with recipes from this book, that I decided to give this one a try. I was not disappointed, and
(gasp!) I am not really a fan of gruyere. Master Chow enjoyed both the goat cheese tart and this one, but preferred the bite and depth of flavor that the gruyere and leeks gave the latter.

I did not alter this recipe, and as I've blogged about several dishes in Molly Stevens' book, I won't do so again. I urge folks to check it out from the library or buy it for yourselves. (Disclaimer: if you click on Amazon through this website, I get a small percentage of the sale. And I get paid in gift certificates, which I promptly apply to more cookbooks. It is a vicious cycle.).

To summarize, though: I braised the leeks with butter, salt and pepper, garlic, nutmeg, fresh thyme, stock, lemon and thick-cut bacon. I then chopped and combined the leek-bacon mixture with Gruyere, eggs, creme fraiche, half-and-half, fresh thyme, more nutmeg, and salt and pepper. I spread the leaks on the bottom of the pie crust, and poured the egg mixture over it. Popped it in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, and then devoured it.

Yum. Next time, though, I might try this with Emmental instead of Gruyere.

Cherries, Cherries, Cherries!

2007-09-10T11:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back. It has been a busy summer on so many levels, and my blogging has suffered for it. For those of you who read my humble blog, I've been working on so many projects (including me), that something had to give, and it turned out to be this blog, not to mention my favorite hobby - cooking.

I decided that my body was starting to creak a bit too much, so I did something about it. I started exercising more vigorously, and finally had some injuries looked at; it it appears that I may need some knee and wrist surgery, not to mention physical therapy on a shoulder. On a brighter note, in the past month I adopted a low-sodium, high fruit and veggie approach to eating known as the DASH "diet." It's purpose? To lower blood pressure. I must say, mine has plummeted. Diet and exercise never did much for my blood pressure before, but this "diet" has - on medication, my BP was 150/100 a month ago. Now, it is 106/68. I am stunned, and so is my doctor. For an easy-to-read yet thorough explanation of this approach, check out this link (pdf file, so you'll need Adobe).

But before my summer heated up, I managed to bake a fresh sour cherry pie. I adapted this recipe from one I found in Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie and Pastry Bible. I added 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the filling, because the sour cherries I had were a bit on the sweet side. And, for a change, I followed Rose's recipe exactly when I made my favorite crust, her Perfect Flaky & Tender Cream Cheese Pie Crust. The result was the best sour cherry pie I have ever made, and one I plan to repeat this winter because I froze several pounds of berries! If you can find frozen sour cherries, or have some on hand, I encourage you to try this recipe.

Goat Cheese Tart

2007-07-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

Puffy, golden goodness. Mmmm.

Inspired, yet again, by Ina Garten, I decided to try her goat cheese tart. Now, you may wonder at my use of a commercial crust. I make no apologies - they are my yearly Thanksgiving backup, ever since the Jehovah's Witness Incident of 2004.

What, you ask, was that? Ah, yes. I remember it well. I was furiously baking pies on Thanksgiving day. And it was one of those times when nothing was working quite like I had planned. I had just rolled some pastry into one of the pie pans, when a group of very nice Jehovah's Witnesses rang my doorbell. I was covered in flour, and my hands were filthy. I set the rolling pin on top of the Pyrex pie plate so that I could wash my hands, and the entire pie plate shattered. Glass everywhere. Pastry ruined.

Well, ever since then, I make sure to buy a couple commercial pie crusts, just in case. Of course, that means if things go well, I have to use up those crusts, which I did here. Quite tasty, I must say.

Even though I prepared the shallots, I forgot to add them to the tart. So I had them on the side. I think the shallots are important, so I would suggest not leaving them out. I also took the liberty of adding some thyme.

Goat Cheese Tart

Adapted from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup chopped shallots (3 to 4 shallots)

10 1/2 ounces garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)

1 cup heavy cream (preferably NOT ultra-pasteurized)

3 extra-large eggs

1/4 chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the tablespoon of butter in a small pan and saute the shallots over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Place the goat cheese in the bowl of the food processor and process until crumbly. Add the cream, eggs, basil, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper and process until blended.

Scatter the cooked shallots over the bottom of the tart shell. Pour the goat cheese mixture over the shallots to fill the shell (if the shell has shrunk, there may be leftover filling). Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is firm when shaken and the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.

The tart puffs up beautifully, and yields six generous slices. The perfect accompaniment is a green salad with a light vinaigrette.

Birthday Goodies

2007-06-19T14:44:00.001-04:00

I recently added another year to my time on earth, and my wonderful family wisely gave me . . . Amazon gift certificates! And a cookbook! Woo-hoo! This is a list of some of my birthday goodies:

1. The Art of the Dessert

2. California Pizza Kitchen Pasta, Salads, Soups, And Sides

3. The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients

4. A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals with Ingredients from Jars, Cans, Bags, and Boxes

5. Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate

I can hardly wait to start cooking!

Chicken Breasts Braised With Hard Cider & Parsnips

2007-06-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hhhm. I know this picture doesn't look like much but, trust me, it is chicken braised with hard cider and parsnips. Another Molly Stevens winner from All About Braising; I was tempted to try it because of the Amateur Gourmet's tantalizing post (he kindly posted the entire recipe, so check out his blog!).

I used the hard cider pictured below. Steven's notes that different brands will change the flavor of the dish. The recipe calls for bacon: My choice was Niman Ranch unsmoked bacon, which I picked up at the local Whole Foods.

Folks, this is a book that I can recommend without reservation. A five star addition for any cook's library.

Where Are You?

2007-06-08T13:29:00.000-04:00

Inquiring pups want to know.

Between injuries and an enormous "To Do" List, I haven't been blogging much, but I'll be back soon. I feel an urge to cook up a storm, and that usually produces some dishes worth blogging about!

Oatmeal Cookies

2007-05-21T22:58:00.000-04:00

I've heard a lot about Alice Medrich's book,Cookies and Brownies , so I decided to pull it down off the bookshelf and try some recipes. I love her books, and enjoyed her chocolates many moons ago when she owned Cocolat in the Bay Area.

I would not make the chocolate chip cookies again, not because they weren't tasty (they were), but because the dough was dry, crumbly, and very difficult to work with. The results weren't worth the aggravation.

The oatmeal cookies, on the other hand, were amazing. Usually, I like my cookies thick and chewy, so I wasn't too sure about these when they came out of the oven. I was pleasantly surprised - thin, but crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and a buttery symphony on the tongue. The nutmeg makes these cookies taste amazing.

It's a mystery to me why this book, which gets universal praise, is out of print.

P.S. Thanks to all of you who wrote and wished me well. I'm doing a lot better!

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
1/4 teaspoon FRESHLY ground nutmeg (wonderful - try grating it fresh)
16 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar, lump free
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinammon, and nutmeg in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork. Set aside.

Cut the butter into chunks and melt it in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Let the mixture and the pan cool. Stir in the walnuts and the raisins. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Scoop about 2 level tablespoons of dough and place them 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. If you want smaller cookies, use 1 tablespoon of dough. Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes for large cookies, 13-15 for smaller ones, or until the cookies are a deep golden brown. Rotate baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.

Remove from the oven and let cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Use a metal pancake turner to transfer them to rack to cool completely before storing or stacking. May be stored in a tightly sealed container for several days.

Makes about 40 large cookies, and about 80 small cookies.

I Have Not Been Abducted By Aliens

2007-05-16T15:45:00.000-04:00

Nope. I've just wrenched my knee and hip, sprained my wrist, and badly thrown out my back in the past two weeks. That's why I haven't been cooking much, or posting. But that will change soon! In fact, when I return to the blogosphere, I will have some thoughts on oatmeal cookies! Thank you for waiting, and I'll be back by the end of the week.

Food Contamination Affects More than Our Pets

2007-05-01T08:30:00.000-04:00

The mainstream media has more or less dropped the ball on the pet food contamination story that broke about six weeks ago. Fortunately, pet owners and bloggers have kept pushing for answers - the recall now includes thousands of products, including large animal feed. Some livestock that was fed melamine-laced food has made it into the human food chain.

The primary culprit for the contamination appears to be China, although melamine spiking of food goes back decades in both the United States and China. Why? Melamine contains nitrogen, and nitrogen content is commonly used to measure protein content.

In the past couple of days, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, and USA Today have once again picked up the story. In a virtually unprecedented move, the FDA has limited vegetable-based food imports from China:

The Food and Drug Administration is enforcing a new import alert that greatly expands its curtailment of some food ingredients imported from China, authorizing border inspectors to detain ingredients used in everything from noodles to breakfast bars.
. . .
Inspectors are now allowed to detain vegetable-protein imports from China because they may contain the chemical melamine. Melamine, used in the manufacture of plastics, was found in the wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate that has led to the recall of 5,300 pet food products.
. . .
An import alert of this breadth is rare. Before this new FDA action, only products from two Chinese companies that exported the melamine-tainted wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate had been detained.
Now for the products to reach U.S. foodmakers, the importers will have to prove to the FDA that they are safe. The ingredients restricted include wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn by-products, soy protein, soy gluten, mung-bean protein and amino acids.

This affects virtually every prepared food product on the market. Here is the FDA's import alert. For more information, check out itchmo.com, pet connection, and howl911.com.

Pantry Cooking, part 2, or Ye Olde Bacardi Rum Cake

2007-04-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Like many food bloggers, I bake from scratch. At least 99.999% of the time. The other .001%, I use a little help. I am not a snob, except perhaps when it comes to Parmigiano Reggiano. Oh, okay, I'm a snob when it comes to that.

Enter, the tried and true Bacardi Rum Cake. I have been making this cake for over 30 years, having learned to make it at my mum's knee. Her nickname for it was "sliver cake" - you have "just a little sliver," again and again, until you realize you've eaten half the cake. Every time I make it, someone asks me for the recipe, even avowed non-bakers. That's how good this is.

This cake keeps wonderfully, and freezes equally well - if there is any cake left over to freeze, that is!

Bacardi Rum Cake

Cake

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix (my mom and I prefer Duncan Hines brand)

1 1-3/4 ounce (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold milk, water, or half-and-half

1/2 cup vegetable oil, or melted butter (I always use butter)

1/2 cup Barcardi dark rum

Glaze

1 stick butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark Barcardi rum

Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan (this step is very important, or you will have trouble getting the cake out. Baking sprays work very well). Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan. Combine all cake ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until cake separates from sides of plan and a testing skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Invert cake onto serving plate. Prick top with a skewer. Drizzle glaze (see below) slowly over top of cake, allowing it to soak in between applications. Use brush or spoon to put extra dripping back on cake.

Glaze:

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

Pantry Cooking

2007-04-23T11:05:00.000-04:00

Hhhm, what to cook for dinner, since I haven't made it to the grocery store?

What's in the cupboard? Eggs. Cheese. Milk. And a secret ingredient that makes so many things taste better. Shhh . . . it's anchovies. Even if you don't like them (like me), they add an amazing depth of flavor to tomato sauces and souffles. They simply melt in and lose their anchovy taste.

I had some cheddar cheese that wasn't sharp enough for my tastes, so I decided to use it up in a souffle, and jazzed it up with some of those little fishies. I must say, the smell of this little golden marvel filled the house and wafted outdoors, much to the delight of Master Chow when he came home. "What is that?" he inquired. He soon found out. Just add a nice salad, and enjoy!

Cheese Souffle

Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Butter, room temperature, to grease souffle dish
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 anchovy filets, packed in olive oil, minced
1 1/3 cups milk, hot
4 large egg yolks
6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
5 egg whites plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Grease an 8-inch souffle mold with the room temperature butter. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the butter. When the butter has stopped foaming, turn down the heat and add the anchovies, stirring them in. Whisk the flour mixture into the melted butter and anchovy mixture. Cook for 2 minutes. Monitor the heat because you don't want this to burn, or you will have a rather nasty mess on your hands.

Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated. In a separate bowl, using a stand or hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Start by whipping the whites on a low speed until they start to foam, and then increase the speed. Be careful - if you overbeat the whites, they will be unusable.

Add 1/4 of the egg white mixture to the cheese base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently. Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top. If you like, run a damp finger along the inside of the rim to give the souffle a "hat-like" appearance.

Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

IACP Winners Announced

2007-04-16T13:57:00.001-04:00

Here is the list!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

2007-04-12T13:22:00.000-04:00

I was apprehensive to give this a try, but it looked so good! And the Chow household is glad that I did, as it is now on the repeat list.

We love butternut squash. However, I am not a fan of most lasagnas - too much cheese (yes, there is such a thing), and acidic tomato sauces. So, I decided to combine and tweak two recipes from the Food Network, one by Giada De Laurentiis, and the other by Michael Chiarello.

I was pleasantly surprised at how the flavors melded; not one thing stood out more than anything else. There are a few key things to remember when you make this. First, season the major components as you go along, or you could easily end up with an unpalatable mass. Second, use herbs and spices that you like. Third, think twice about using no-boil noodles; a reviewer of one of the aforementioned recipes warned that the starch overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the squash. Finally, you can cook the squash in advance and freeze it for a couple of weeks, before thawing and using it in the recipe.

The lasagna freezes very well, so you can put it together in advance, freeze it, and pop it in the oven on the day you plan to use it. If you do that, I recommend pulling it out of the freezer at least 4 to 5 hours before you plan to eat. Let the lasagna sit at room temperature for about two hours. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake at that temperature for two hours, covered with foil. Why so long at this temperature? So that the center warms up - I can't tell you how many times I've made a frozen lasagna, and the middle is still stone cold!

Turn the oven temperature up to 375 F and remove the foil. Cook for another 45 minutes, or until cheese is golden, melted, and bubbly. Another thing I don't like about most lasagnas is burned mozzarella cheese on top. Blech. Cooking it this way avoids that problem, as well.

Now, on to the recipe!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis and Michael Chiarello

Roasting the Squash

2 large butternut squash, about 4 to 5 pounds (I actually used a combination of kabocha and butternut)
1/4 cup water (more, if needed)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Place the squash face down on a rimmed baking sheet (you may need more than one). Place the baking sheet in the oven, and pour about 1/4 cup water in the pan to prevent burning. Roast the squash in the oven until very soft and beginning to brown, 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Remove squash from oven and let cool until you can handle it comfortably. Scoop out the flesh into a large bowl and allow to cool. At this point, you can continue, or freeze the squash for later use.

Preparing the Squash Mixture

14 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 to 2 inch sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat is OK)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano is best)
1 large egg

Have a large mixing bowl standing by. Puree the squash in a food processor (you may have to do that in batches), and put it in the mixing bowl. When you puree the first bit of squash, add the sage, thyme, rosemary, almond extract, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. After you have combined all the pureed squash, taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings. After you have done this, mix in the egg, and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. Set aside.

Making the Bechamel (white sauce)

6 cups whole milk (2% is fine, but do not use nonfat, or sauce will not thicken properly)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, bring the milk to a slow simmer over medium heat. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir. Add about 3 cups of the milk, and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil, while whisking continuously. Add the remaining milk and whisk again. Add the salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg. Adjust the heat to low to maintain a slow simmer, and cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Makes about 8 cups.

Preparing the Lasagna Noodles

12-15 lasagna noodles, each 6 1/2 by 3 inches
1 Tablespoon kosher salt (important, or your lasagna will suffer in the flavor department)
extra-virgin olive oil

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the lasagna sheets until they are slightly undercooked. In my case, the package said to cook for 10 minutes, so I cooked them for 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the sheets and spread them on a baking sheet. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil and set aside.

Putting Together the Lasagna

2-3 cups of mozzarella, grated (if you put it in the freezer for 30 minutes, it will be easier to grate) Use 3 cups if you like lasagna really cheesy.
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Spoon a ladle of bechamel into the dish and spread to coat the bottom. Place a single layer of lasagna sheets on top of the bechamel. Spread some of the squash mixture evenly over the lasagna sheets and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese and 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan on top. Repeat this step until all ingredients are used, using 1 to 2 ladles of bechamel for each layer. You should end up with 3 to 4 layers, depending on how you divide your ingredients per layer. Keep building the layers until the pan is full, to about 1/4-inch from the top. Finish with sauce, and cheeses directly over the last layer of noodles.

Cover lasagna with foil. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour. Remove the cover, and continue cooking for another 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Allow lasagna to rest before slicing. Serve warm.

More Signs of Spring

2007-04-12T12:21:00.000-04:00

Red Amaryllis

Thoughts on Food and Life

2007-04-10T18:10:00.001-04:00

This morning, my uncle passed away, at home with his daughter, just as he wanted. He was an adventurous rascal who fought in the South Pacific during World War, moved to Alaska in the late 1940s, and welcomed friends and strangers into his home. He died of mesothelioma, an asbestos lung cancer. He is the fifth family member to be diagnosed with cancer in the past eight years, and the fourth to succumb to it. So, as you can see, I am so glad that Chris at Mele Cotte posted the recipes today for the first ever Cooking to Combat Cancer event.

My uncle lived a full life. And he loved food. On a remote island in Alaska, he had one of the most amazing pantries one can imagine; among the canned venison and salmon, tucked behind those tins of beans, he had palm sugar, hum ha (shrimp paste), and capers. He was opinionated, and thought the food and exercise obsessions of those who lived in "the lower forty-eight" were ridiculous.

He may have had a point. One of the things that I've been realizing for a while now is how much guilt we have when it comes to food. Think about it: meat eaters are criticized by vegeterians. People who believe in "slow-food only" criticize those who would dare use a cake mix once in while. Vegans and vegetarians are often treated like the dotty old aunt in the attic. Low fat, low carb, Atkins, Zone, South Beach. Eggs are bad, eggs are good.

Life is so short. We live in a time when we have so many wonderful food choices. We should try, I believe, to eat healthily as much as possible, but one of the things I learned from my uncle, who lived to 87, is to eat with joy, and love what you eat. The attitude with which you eat may be just as important as what you put in your mouth. As a friend of mine recently said, "I'm sure I've eaten a donut or two that were actually healthy for me!"

I just had a piece of homemade rum cake. I will follow it with some Swiss chard and broccoli tonight, along with some tofu. These are my choices today, and I am happy with them. I can just picture my uncle smiling down at me, and praising me. Not for the chard, or the tofu. But for the rum cake.

Saturday before Easter in the D.C. Area

2007-04-10T11:31:00.000-04:00

Snow!

Blogger News Roundup

2007-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:00

Mouthwatering Meyer Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes over at My Husband Cooks.
Baking Bites (formerly Baking Sheet) reports that the FDA is considering changing the definition of chocolate, thereby lowering current standards. Perhaps they should concern themselves with more pressing issues, like contaminated food?
A guide on How to Freeze Anything, via Slashfood.
Becks and Posh's hilarious Easter entry, revisited.
**Updates**
Freya orders a pig's head, and details her Easter cooking.
I discover a blog: An Italian in the US, and drool over the Torta Pasqualina. Yum.

Human Foods that You Should not Feed to Your Dog

2007-04-09T12:27:00.000-04:00

Include alcohol, chocolate, macadamia nuts, avocado, coffee, tea, onions, raisins, and grapes. Much more here, and this list includes foods that you should not feed to cats.

Beer Batter Bread

2007-04-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

Last Christmas, we bought some Sam Adams Light beer for dinner guests. Because Master Chow and I do not like beer, five bottles have been sitting in our basement since December. What to do?

Beth Hensperger and Beer Batter Bread, to the rescue. Master Chow loved this! The taste of the beer that you use really comes through, so pick one that you like. I added 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to the batter, and even for me (I don't like a lot of heat in food) that wasn't quite enough, so you may want to eliminate it, increase it, or substitute other herbs. Dill and caraway might be a nice combination, or rosemary.

The bread is best the day it is baked, but I froze some and it was wonderful, toasted with butter, a few days later.

Beer Batter Bread

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection: Bread

3 cups (15 oz./470 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper
1 bottle (12 fl. oz./ 375 ml) beer, unopened and at room temperature
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pan

Preheat the oven to 375 F, and grease a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven, on the middle rack, while you prepare the batter.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Open the beer and add it all at once - it will foam up, so be sure to use a large bowl. Stir briskly just until ingredients are combined, about 2o strokes. The batter should be slightly lumpy and thick. Pour into loaf pan, and drizzle with the melted butter.

Place the loaf pan on the baking sheet in the oven. Bake about 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crusty, and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let loaf rest about 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy with plenty of butter, or plain.

Cooking to Combat Cancer - Healthy Braised Kale

2007-04-05T12:15:00.000-04:00

This is my entry for Chris's first Cooking to Combat Cancer event! Actually, this is my first entry to any food blog event, ever.

I picked a quick and easy kale recipe that I often make. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable (along with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower) that is high in calcium and other cancer-fighting ingredients. Kale is also loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, manganese, fiber, copper, vitamin B6 and potassium.

"As a member of the Brassica genus of foods, kale is a great food if you're looking to sustain your health and enjoy a delicious food at the same time. It's the organosulfur compounds in this food that have been main subject of phytonutrient research, and these include the glucosinolates and the methyl cysteine sulfoxides. Although there are over 100 different glucosinolates in plants, only 10-15 are present in kale and other Brassicas. Yet these 10-15 glucosinolates appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers." Source.

Choose kale with green unblemished leaves. You'll have an easier time prepping the vegetable if you find stalks with large leaves, but anything is fine as long as it is fresh and in good shape.

Healthy and Simple Braised Kale

2 pounds of kale, trimmed of stalks and coarsely chopped

1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (I use the lesser amount)

1 garlic clove, crushed or minced

2-4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 fresh tomato, diced

grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste (I use about 2-3 Tablespoons)

Prepping the kale

Wash thoroughly - kale can be sandy. Do not dry, simply shake out the stalks. The water left on the leaves with help them braise. Tear the leaves off the stalks and set aside.

Braising

In a large pan with a lid (I use my wok), gently heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes on medium heat. When the oil starts to sizzle gently, add the garlic followed immediately by the kale. You don't want the garlic to burn! Using tongs or large spoons, toss the kale to coat it with the olive oil mixture. Add the red wine vinegar - the amount will depend on your personal tastes, the kale, etc. Start with two tablespoons, and at more near the end if you feel the kale needs it. Add salt and pepper.

Turn heat down to low and put lid on pot. Braise gently for about 15-20 minutes, turning the kale gently now and then. If you are using young kale, it will braise more quickly than older, larger leaves.

Kale should be tender but not mushy. Shut the heat off. Mix in the parmigiano reggiano. Add the diced tomatoes, and put the lid back on for about 5 minutes. The residual heat will melt the cheese.

Enjoy, knowing you are eating a super vegetable!

My Meyer Lemon Tree

2007-04-05T09:47:00.000-04:00

More blossoms than ever before!

Then there's my poor kaffir lime tree, which experienced a bad case of leaf drop:

Blogger Problems

2007-04-03T16:35:00.000-04:00

I was fiddling with my template, and all of my links to other sites just disappeared! It wasn't on purpose, so please be patient while I reconstruct everything. I'm better at cooking than I am at this kind of stuff. Daisy is wondering what I'm up to:

Cinnamon Rolls

2007-04-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

It had been a while since I baked with yeast - years, in fact. And I grew helping my mom mill her own wheat flour, and bake whole wheat loaves. Every Sunday, we had homemade pizza with tomato sauce canned from our own tomatoes. So, how can someone with that background develop a Fear of Yeast?

Stop baking with it for a while.

Needless to say, I was determined to get back on that horse. Inspired by Ivonne's recent creation, I girded my loins and hit the kitchen this past weekend. Armed with Margaux Sky's Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings: The Best Sandwiches in America, I decided to bake some cinnamon rolls, which I'd never made before.

Both Ari, of Baking and Books, and Ivonne have used some of the book's recipes, and warned that the amount of flour the recipes called for could be off. They were right. Another reason to love the culinary blogosphere - you get reports back from the trenches.

So, I started baking. I cleared off the kitchen counter. I set out my ingredients, and got to work. And then . . . I ran out of flour. No problem, I thought, I'll just go down to the freezer and check my back stock. Among the rice flour, garbanzo flour, spelt flour, etc., I found . . . pastry flour. Which you don't use to make bread.

What the heck, I thought, there are times to live dangerously, and this is one of those times. Never mind that my freshly bought yeast wasn't bubbling, either. I ended up using 7 cups of all-purpose flour, and 4 cups of pastry flour.

I thoroughly enjoyed kneading the dough. Working dough by hand gives me a feeling of being connected to the earth. I think of women doing exactly the same thing, for thousands of years. It's a zen experience. I kneaded for about 10 minutes instead of the 4 stated in the recipe, partly because I enjoyed it, but mostly because I was trying to develop as much gluten as possible in the pastry flour.

After I rolled up the dough (the wrong way, but it didn't really matter in the end), I had an oddly shaped log, which I then cut up. I filled the muffin cups and put them in the refrigerator to rise overnight. The next morning, while they baked, I made the glaze, which I adjusted in terms of liquid and flavorings, otherwise I would have ended up with a thin, watery, and tasteless glaze.

Our thoughts? These were easy to make, and pretty tasty. Some of them were huge - 3 inches across! The insides were moist and fully cooked. On the downside, Master Chow and I both thought that the dough lacked depth of flavor. I don't know if this was due to my pastry flour incident or not, but I'd like to make them again using the correct flour. And even though I used this cinnamon, they didn't have a strong enough cinnamon flavor. My favorite part was the orange glaze I made for them, which had a nice, intense taste.

Would I make them again? Yes, but I'm going to continue my quest for the ultimate cinnamon roll. So many recipes, so little time! I'd better get cracking.

Oh, and yesterday, while I was digging through the freezer, guess what I found? A new, unopened bag of all-purpose King Arthur Flour. ARGH!

Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings: The Best Sandwiches in America

Sweet Dough

1 Tablespoon yeast
2 cups warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 cups all-purpose flour (Note - this is an approximation - stop at around 9 cups and feel the dough. Keep adding flour until the dough loses most of its stickiness but not all of it. Remember, you're going to be adding more flour when you knead the dough. I used 11 cups of flour, total.)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Put the water and milk in large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the mixture. Add the cream. Let stand until foamy. The recipe says about five minutes, but mine took almost 20. If you are using yeast well within the expiration date, don't worry and be patient.

Generously grease a large bowl, and a muffin tin. Set the tin aside. Add the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the yeast mixture.

Slowly add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients (see Note above). Place the dough on a floured counter top and knead for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm, dry place to rise for about 1 hour. Rose Levy Berenbaum suggest letting dough rise in a cold oven (make sure the oven is off!) with only the interior light turned on, and this has worked well for me.

Punch dough down and separate into two portions. You will be using one portion to make the cinnamon rolls, and you can reserve the other in the refrigerator for later use.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 portion Sweet Dough
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, melted
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cinnamon

Icing

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2/3 cup half-and-half or cream, or any combination thereof
1/3 cup orange juice
zest of one orange
4 drops of orange oil

Make sure your oven is empty (heh, heh, that's another story). Place rack in middle of the oven and preheat oven to 375 F.

You will need a lot of room to roll out the dough. Sprinkle a counter top with flour, and roll out the dough into a rectangular shape. The dough should be slightly thicker than a sheet of paper, and the long side of the rectangle should be perpendicular to your body.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Spread the cinnamon mixture over the rolled out dough, and spread it to the edges.

The short side of the dough should be parallel to you. Tightly roll the dough away from you, forming a loaf. Fold the outer edges in as you roll, to hold the filling in.

Cut into 9-12 cinnamon rolls. Place them in the greased muffin cups. I had a couple midget rolls, so I put them in the middle cups so they would not burn before the larger ones finished cooking. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet with an edge, like a jelly roll pan. This is essential, or you will have a big mess in your oven. The muffins rise a lot, and ooze everywhere.

Bake for 15-20 minutes - keep an eye on the rolls. Remove rolls immediately from tins and place on a plate.

While they are baking, you can make the glaze, which involves mixes together all the glaze ingredients. Add the half-and-half/cream and juice slowly to the powdered sugar, until the glaze reaches a consistency that you like. You may use less liquid than I did.

If you glaze the rolls immediately, they will absorb the mixture and just look shiny, so wait for them to cool a bit if you want a white, icing-like look. Enjoy!

Blogger News Roundup

2007-03-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

Like most of us, I've been pretty busy (and tired) lately, so as usual, I'm catching up on all the news, and recipes I'd like to try.

Over at Mark Ruhlman's blog, guest blogger Bob del Grosso teaches us how NOT to make a tomato sauce
Ivonne blogs about some incredible-looking Macadamia Nut Rolls with Orange Glaze that I have to try.
Reminder - Chris has launched a Cooking to Combat Cancer event - due date is April 9.
Heidi teaches us how to make pesto like an Italian grandmother (this is how my family made it, too)
I love to visit Ari's Baking and Books. Recipes to try: Empanada Pot Pie with Cream Cheese Crust, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Stuffed Pizza Pie. Yum.
You can find Thai mini pancakes over at Appon's Thai Food. They look good, and I love the pan!
As a former member of the food service industry, I love reading Diary of a Food Whore. She links to Waiter Rant's list of "50 Signs You Might Be An Asshole Customer." Go ye and read of it!
Again for those of you with furry friends, here is the most comprehensive list I've found that discloses the companies that have their dog and cat foods made by Menu Foods. The exact cause of the deaths is still unconfirmed, media reports to the contrary. More disturbing news, here (thanks to Beth for the recall info).

**Update: for up-to-the minute news on the pet food recall, check out Pet Connection. Some more unnerving developments: the FDA suspects some tainted wheat gluten may have found its way into dry dog food, and the FDA cannot rule out contamination of human food.

Braised Ribs with Porcini and Rosemary

2007-03-30T10:20:00.000-04:00

Another Molly Stevens recipe. I'm just going to post some pictures from this one - the instructions went on for about three pages, even though the dish is not complicated at all. Trust me!

The greasy hands above are Master Chow's, coming back for his second plateful of ribs. The sauce had a rich taste of porcini mushrooms. In fact, the scent and taste were so exciting, that little Gus, was walking around on his hind legs, sniffing the air! He was lucky enough to get a taste.

I decided to make this dish because I had been digging around in the freezer for a pot roast. I pulled out the package, only to discover a while later that it contained some rather fatty ribs. "Master Chow!" I said. "Did you buy these?"

"Yes," he replied. "But you have to make them quick - I bought them for cheap because they were old."

Ah. I see.

After they passed the sniff test, I turned to Molly Stevensyet again, as I had never before made ribs. I had fresh rosemary, and a copious supply of porcini mushrooms that I keep stashed. Had a bottle of wine, and other aromatics.

We were not disappointed. Next time, I will add more liquid during the braise so that there is more sauce to slurp.

1. Step one - prepare the marinade, which includes onion, wine, allspice, and peppercorns. I added some parsely.

2. After a 24 hour marinade, I dried off the ribs and broiled them quickly until browned.

3. Preparing the braising liquid - onions, tomatoes, wine, rosemary, porcinis, and a spice sachet.

4. Three hours later - ta da! Ribs! Master Chow ate them all! Cleaned the bones!

Braised Brussels Sprouts

2007-03-27T12:21:00.000-04:00

Another easy vegetable recipe from Molly Stevens's All About Braising. Stevens says that this may convert Brussels sprout haters, but I doubt it. It does take the edge off the sprouts, making them less pungent, but they still taste like Brussels sprouts! Luckily, we like that. I adapted the recipe by adding a touch of lemon zest.

Creamy Braised Brussels Sprouts

Adapted from "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens

1 pound Brussels sprouts
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon zest
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 lemon

Trim base of each sprout, discard ragged outer leaves, and then slice each one in half, thirds, or quarters (if they are very large). The point here is to have a bunch of pieces that are approximately the same size. Each wedge should be about 1/2 inch across.

Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. When the foaming stops, add the sprouts, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts begin to brown.

Pour in the cream, add the lemon zest, and stir. Cover pan and reduce heat to low simmer. Braise until sprouts are tender, about 30-35 minutes. The cream will have reduced and will be a light tan color.

Remove the cover, squeeze in lemon juice (squeeze from lemon half), and adjust seasoning. Simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes to thicken cream to a glaze that coats sprouts. Serves 4 to 6.

Fresh Water Chestnuts

2007-03-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

Can be hard to find, but they are delicious. Fresh ones are not only crunchy, they are sweet.

Spring!

2007-03-24T13:35:00.000-04:00

IACP and James Bear Nominees Are Announced!

2007-03-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

The IACP cookbook nominees are here, and you can find the Beard nominees here. Guess whose book shows up on both lists? Dorie Greenspan's!

Blogger News Roundup

2007-03-17T20:18:00.000-04:00

Chris of Mele Cotte successfully defended her dissertation, and now has a Ph.D. in Education. Congratulations, Chris!
Did you know that Coke makes kosher Coca-Cola? It contains sugar, part of the original recipe, instead of corn syrup, which was substituted for sugar in 1985. Via Off the Broiler.
Everyone's favorite Cream Puff is baking Orange Oatmeal Applesauce bread at midnight, while Ari is baking Banana Bundt Cake . . . at 5 a.m. I feel like such a slacker!
Kathy takes us on a tour of Honolulu's Chinatown market, one of Master Chow's favorite haunts back home. Like I've said before, sometimes I really miss Hawaii, especially when I read one of Kathy's posts!
Recipe I've added to my "to-make list": Dorie Greenspan's Prune and Armagnac ice cream, via Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas.
Rowena blogs about Italian hedgehogs. No, she doesn't eat them, so don't worry.
And speaking of critters, for those of you with cats and dogs, there has been a massive dog and cat food recall due to incidents of kidney failure and death caused by aflatoxin in the food. For more information, including a list of affected brands, check here and here. **Update: more on the pet food recall, here.**
HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

Hello, Sunshine!

2007-03-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Spring is around the corner!

Seven Hour Leg of Lamb

2007-03-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

Seven Hour Leg of Lamb. Unfortunately, I do not have Mae's photography skills (check out her beautiful lamb shank presentation!).

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking is a phenomenal book. I have hundreds of cookbooks, but I can honestly say that there are only a few that fall in the "exceptional" category. This is one of them.

Stevens takes you by the hand, and guides you through each recipe. She gives a mouthwatering description of the dish, advises on ingredient selection, and provides detailed preparation instructions. The recipes range from the simple, such as World's Best Braised Cabbage, to sophisticated dishes like Breast of Veal Stuffed with Sausage and Red Pepper, to classics such as Coq au Vin.

Stevens teaches you how to braise properly, and how to layer and concentrate flavors. The results are shockingly good. I say "shockingly" because the end products taste like so much more than you thought they would.

One thing I have always, always disliked is lamb. The smell of it. The thought of it. But Master Chow loves it, and I am not a veggie-Nazi, even though I don't eat meat. What people choose to eat is their own business. I cook what he likes, just as I would cook vegetarian if my spouse preferred it. When I do make lamb for him, it is special, and I will pay a premium for organic meat that was raised humanely.

I decided, then, to treat Master Chow to his favorite, leg of lamb. And Molly Stevens provided the inspiration with her intriguing recipe for Seven Hour Leg of Lamb. It was easy to prepare, and the results were extraordinary. "What?" you say. How could someone who hates lamb know this? Precisely because I don't like it. When it was done, I picked a little charred bit to see if it was any good, and I practically swooned to the kitchen floor. Unbelievable. No, it's not enough to convert me to carnivorous ways, but what does that matter? Master Chow said it was the some of the best lamb he'd ever had.

The meat was so tender, you could cut it with a spoon, just as Molly Stevens promised. The depth of flavor was tremendous, with no gaminess. The vegetables were tender and flavorful. Serve this to guests and they will believe you studied at the Cordon Bleu.

Try this recipe. You will not be disappointed.

Seven Hour Leg of Lamb

From "All About Braising," by Molly Stevens

Recipe abbreviated to save on typing

One 6 to 8 pound bone-in leg of lamb (mine was about 5 pounds, so I braised it for 5.5 hours total instead of 7 to 8 hours)
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth (I used wine)
2 cups stock (I used beef)
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried
15 garlic cloves (yes, 15), peeled and smashed
1 cup chopped canned peeled tomatoes, juices reserved
8 golf-ball sized yellow onions, or onions making up a total of 2 pounds
6 carrots, cut crosswise in half, and then halved lengthwise into fat sticks
6 medium turnips, peeled and halved (smaller turnips are better than huge ones)

Heat broiler on high.

Trim lamb of excess fat, and if there is a dry, whitish parchment layer, remove that. Be gentle about the fat - don't dig into the meat. You want to leave a thin layer of fat. Season lamb with salt and pepper and place in roasting pan.

Slide the lamb under the broiler until the fat begins to sizzle and the surface of the meat takes on a brown speckled appearance, about 5-10 minutes. Turn the meat by grabbing the bone with a dish towel, and broil the other side for 5-10 minutes. Transfer lamb to a baking sheet.

Turn down oven to 275 F, and place rack in lower third of the oven.

Pour excess fat out of the roasting pan, being careful not to discard the brown bits and juices. Set pan over one or two burners set on high, add the wine, and bring to a boil. Boil until the wine is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add stock, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and tomatoes with their juice, and bring to a boil.

Return lamb to roasting pan, lower heat to medium high, and bring liquid back up to a simmer. Scatter the onions, carrots, and turnips around the meat. Cover pan with heavy duty foil, and place lamb in oven. Braise for 5 to 7 hours (it will depend on how much meat there is), gently turning every two hours using two large slotted spoons. The meat will be falling off the bone.

If you are worried your oven might run hot, or that the meat might cook too fast, turn the oven temperature down to 265 F the first two hours (this is what I did).

Carefully transfer lamb to a serving dish. Don't worry if everything falls apart at this point! Skim juices of fat (or use a gravy separator), discard it, and bring juices up to a simmer. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon sauce over meat and vegetables. You will not have to carve the meat - it will be that tender. Simply provide a serving spoon!

Moorish Apricot Delight Biscotti

2007-03-15T17:38:00.000-04:00

Another biscotti recipe from the delightful little tome, Biscotti. I really could not taste the saffron (the author advises not to use more than 8 filaments, or the cookies can develop a medicinal taste). The recipe called for a 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, which I left out, substituting a teaspoon of orange zest. The cookies were still tasty, and absolutely beautiful to look at. They look like they are studded with jewels! What did I like best about them? The apricots - they pack a huge flavor wallop. I enjoyed them so much, I'm probably going to add more to the next batch, as well as additional orange zest!

Moorish Apricot Delight Biscotti

8 saffron filaments
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup butter, unsalted
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup apricot halves, finely chopped (spray your knife with cooking spray to make this easier)
2/3 cup pistachio nuts

Preheat oven to 325 F and set rack in the middle.

Sprinkle saffron onto orange juice in a small oven proof bowl. Heat in preheated 325 F oven for 5 minutes to infuse flavor.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange juice with saffron, and zest. In another bowl, combine flour, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until well mixed. Fold in apricots and nuts.

Divide dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet (or a Silpat) roll dough into two separate logs about 12 inches long, 1 1/2 - 2 inches wide, and about 1 - 1 1/2 inches tall.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned (I had to bake them for 35 minutes, but your oven may be different). Remove from oven, transfer logs carefully to cooling rack, and cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Place logs on cutting board and slice cookies about 1/2 inch thick, using a serrated knife positioned at a 45 degree angle. Lay slices flat on baking sheet and return to oven to dry out, about 10-12 minutes total. After about 5 minutes, turn the cookies over. Let cool on rack.

Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

2007-03-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

Mmmm. Those crispy potatoes you see in the picture above never made it to a plate, much less a serving dish. Boy, were they good.

What inspired me to try this was an episode of America's Test Kitchen on public television. I've butterflied and roasted a chicken before, but what intrigued me about this recipe was the placing of potatoes under the chicken while it roasted. The test kitchen crew raved about the results, claiming that the potatoes were so popular that the chicken almost became the side dish.

Well, I had to try this. I had about two-and-a-half pounds of red skinned potatoes that I wanted to use up. And I had just purchased an organic chicken (on sale!) at Whole Foods. Chicken is Master Chow's soul food, so I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for good deals.

So, I brined the chicken (using 1 cup of kosher salt to 8 cups of water) first. This helps retain moisture and adds flavor. Do not brine a chicken for more than two to three hours; if you do so, it can lead to chalky meat. Not always, but better safe than sorry. I butterflied it by removing the backbone, then I pushed down on the chicken until it was flat. I prepared an herb butter to put under the skin, lined the bottom of the grill pan with heavy duty foil, and layered in the potatoes with salt, pepper, and left over herbs. Into a 500 F oven, and an hour later . . . voila!

Those potatoes were good. Egads. They were crispy and golden on the outside, but the insides were moist and creamy. As I said, they never made it off the cutting board. I ate about half the potatoes before I begged Master Chow to get in the kitchen and finish them off. I felt like an anaconda that had just eaten its winter food supply. I had to go lie on the couch, belly distended, to recover. And I kept thinking about those potatoes . . . .

Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

1 3.5 pound to 4 pound chicken, preferably organic
3 Tablespoons softened butter
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 quarts (8 cups) water
1 cup kosher salt
salt and pepper to taste
2 - 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes

Line the bottom of a grill pan with heavy duty foil. Place oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500 F. Please make sure your oven is immaculately clean before you cook at this high a heat, or you will fill your kitchen with smoke!

The Brine

Dissolve 1 cup kosher salt in 2 quarts water. Soak chicken (unless it's a kosher bird, then it already has been brined) for 2-3 hours. Remove chicken, rinse off salt, and thoroughly pat dry. Wet skin will not brown well in the oven. In fact, the Test Kitchen crew advises leaving the bird uncovered in the refrigerator for a few hours after brining to assure that the skin is thoroughly dried out.

Preparing the chicken

In a small bowl, smash together the butter, parsely, thyme, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice. Set aside. Remove the backbone from the chicken. Press down on it to flatten it as much as possible. Salt and pepper the bird. Place the chicken on the top part of the grill pan. Gently work the butter mixture under the breast and leg skin.

Prepping the potatoes

Scrub the potatoes clean and pat dry (I used red skinned and one russet). Using the #1 slicing disk (the thinnest one) on a Cuisinart, slice the potatoes. Spread them out in the lined grill pan, add salt and pepper, and any left over herbs.

Roasting

Place the slotted grill pan with the chicken on top of the potatoes. Place in oven and cook for 45-60 minutes until done (it will depend on your chicken size and your oven). Remove from oven and let chicken rest for about 10 minutes, while you devour the potatoes and burn your fingers. Alternatively, turn the potatoes out onto a plate and peel back the foil to expose the crispy undersides.

Oh, I will have to make these again!

Blogger News

2007-03-09T08:40:00.000-05:00

Elise has an informative post on gnocchi. She discloses that the secret to a light gnocchi is to use older potatoes (because they are drier), and bake them to keep them as dry as possible. My paternal grandmothers (Italian and Spanish) told my mom the same thing!
Food blog discoveries: Rice and Noodles, Jumbo Empanadas.
Homesick Texan has posted a recipe on a delicious-looking Czech pastry that I'll have to try, kolaches.
Kathy continues to eat at an extraordinary rate. She will soon be winging home to Hawai'i where I'm sure she will regale us with further gastronomic adventures. I can hardly wait!
I just received my Cupcake Courier in the mail. Of course, you know what this means . . . I will have to bake some cupcakes. That's just the way it is. Ah, decisions, decisions . . . .

Pignoli (Pine Nut) Biscotti

2007-03-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

**Update** Thanks to Chris for leaving a comment. When I went to visit her blog, I discovered that her biscotti baking pictures were the ones that had inspired me to bake some of my own. I had not remembered whose blog it was until she posted. Thanks, Chris!**

Yesterday, Master Chow went away on a business trip, and it was snowing outside. With a number of food items that need to be used up, what else could I do but bake? That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I baked four batches of cookies - two biscotti recipes and two drop cookie recipes. Here, I present you with Pignoli Biscotti.

I really like pine nuts. And lemon is one of My Top Five Favorite Flavors. This cookie has both. Oh, you want to know all five flavors? Here they are: passion fruit, lemon (and orange and lime), vanilla, butter, almond. Yes, I love chocolate, but I find that I rarely order a chocolate dessert. If passion fruit is on the menu, that's what I get. No contest.

So I pulled out a little book I've had sitting on the shelf for a few months, Biscotti, and started baking. The cookies are a soft golden color, with a discernible but not overpowering taste of lemon. Surprising, given the amount of lemon zest in them. The pine nuts are a creamy counterpoint to the lemon.

Not willing to let good enough alone, I dipped some of them in semi-sweet chocolate. I've paraphrased the recipe for brevity.

Pignoli Biscotti

2/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 F and set rack in the middle. Place nuts in shallow pan and toast until light brown. Let cool.

Combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon juice, and zest. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until well mixed. Stir in nuts.

Divide dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet (or a Silpat) roll dough into two separate logs about 12 inches long, 1 1/2 - 2 inches wide, and about 1 - 1 1/2 inches tall.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned (I had to bake them for 35 minutes, but your oven may be different). Remove from oven, transfer logs carefully to cooling rack, and cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Place logs on cutting board and slice cookies about 1/2 inch thick, using a serrated knife positioned at a 45 degree angle. Lay slices flat on baking sheet and return to oven to dry out, about 10-12 minutes total. After about 5 minutes, turn the cookies over. Let cool on rack.

Pomegranates Are Good for You

2007-03-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

Edible rubies!

Lately, I've been buying pomegranates, cleaning them, and keeping them in a container in the fridge. I throw them in salads, and Master Chow puts them in his granola or his oatmeal in the mornings. Not only are they high in anti-oxidants, new research indicates that they may reverse atherosclerosis, lower high blood pressure, slow down several types of cancer, and help maintain skin health:

These studies indicate that pomegranate confers unprecedented cardiovascular protection by restoring endothelial health, lowering blood pressure, and protecting low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from damaging oxidation. Pomegranate also appears to fight several of the most common forms of cancer, slowing the progression of prostate cancer and suppressing the growth of colon, breast, and lung cancer cells. Pomegranate even appears to shield against unsightly signs of aging by supporting the health of the skin’s underlying matrix.

Source: Life Extension Foundation