Friday, May 20, 2011
It has been raining in New York City all week. It finally let up today, but the sky is still gray. Everyone has been dealing with overall sogginess, puddles in our shoes and getting poked by other people’s umbrellas while walking down the sidewalk. This is the sort of weather we don’t see here often, but when we do, it’s all anyone talks about. I can’t wait to see the sun in all its glory. After all, it is spring, isn’t it?
Spring. The glorious mid-seventies weather we experienced every day last week. The flip flops, sun dresses, iced coffees and fruit crumbles we all grow to expect at this time of year. All of it starts with spring.
You know that smell spring has? That breezy, floral, hopeful smell? I guess I haven’t been out of school long enough to forget that smell, which always signaled the end of the school year and the long summer break that awaited (gosh, I miss that)
These days, life is moving along at a nice pace. My neighborhood is starting to buzz with spring and street fairs and blooming trees, work is the same (do I seem unenthusiastic? Oh. Well, I am.), singing in an opera chorus has been keeping me quite busy (I’m playing a tavern wench. ow ow.) and we’re looking forward to a trip to San Francisco, Napa and Seattle next month, which is very exciting! (If anyone has any suggestions for places we MUST visit it these cities, please let me know! We have a decent idea of what we want to do and, more importantly, where we want to eat, but any suggestions would be great.)
I’ve also got key lime pie on the mind. For some reason, probably because of the citrus aspect, I see it as a warm weather dessert, but apparently it also plays a prominent role on the dessert table for Thanksgiving. Whatever the occasion, if you happen to like key lime pies, you’ll be happy to know that I made a recipe recently that is so easy and SO good. I never thought it’d be so simple to make this pie, but I assure you that it is.
The thing I like about key lime pie is the texture. I love custards and creams and desserts that you can eat on a spoon. I’ve got my eye on this recipe after watching Jamie at Home on the Cooking Channel and can’t wait to make it. Oh and Jamie Oliver? <swoon> Perhaps I’m late to this “Jamie Oliver is awesome and rustic and cooks amazing looking food” fascination, but I’m enjoying it all the same.
Anyway. We were talking about key lime pie here. The crust from this recipe is very crumbly and it doesn’t overpower the zesty filling. The custard is wildly sweet and tart and, paired with the whipped cream topping, which is infused with sugar and lime zest, there’s a creamy, airy, citrus quality to this pie that pairs so well with warmer weather.
What desserts remind you of spring and summer? Anything you really look forward to making once the weather gets warmer?
Key Lime Pie
Yield: 6-8 generous servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes (including cooling time)
I couldn’t find key limes for this recipe, so I used the regular ones you find at the store.
Ingredients:
For crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (9 sheets of graham crackers), crumbled in a food processor
2 tbsp. sugar
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
For filling:
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp. fresh lime juice
For topping:
3/4 c. very cold heavy cream
1 Tb. sugar
zest from 1/2 lime
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter a 9” pie plate.
2. In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with a fork until well-combined.
3. Fill the pie plate with the graham cracker crumb mixture and spread it around evenly, pressing it to the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes and, once it’s done and you remove it, leave the oven on.
5. In another large bowl, whisk the condensed milk and egg yolks until very well combined. Add the lime juice and whisk well again. The filling should get a bit thicker from whisking.
6. Add the filling to the crust and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Cool the pie completely and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
8. Right before serving the pie, whip the cream and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until you see soft peaks. Either spread the cream evenly over the pie or drop a bit onto each piece as you serve it, adding the lime zest to the top of the cream.
9. You can make this pie 1 or 2 days ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator until you’re ready for it. Just make sure you don’t add the cream until right before you serve it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Searching food blogs, magazines and cookbooks for recipe inspiration is one of the things I love to do. It’s sort of therapeutic for me to see food in all its different forms, made with disparate techniques and combined with a myriad of diverse ingredients and herbs and spices to produce delectable results.
The one thing I don’t like is recipes that are really fussy. The moment I see that the ingredient list for a recipe is longer than my weekly grocery list or that there are a dozen steps which require more effort than stirring, simmering, blending or blanching (you get the idea), I skip it and move on. Certain dishes remain bookmarked, but others, as incredible as they might be, just never get made.
Maybe I’m lazy. I guess that could be true. But I know many people can relate to the feeling of standing in the kitchen at 7:30PM on a weeknight, ready to cook something for dinner and not really wanting to spend 2 hours doing it.
I think people my age (and not my age) can relate to this. We’re working, we’re busy, we’re trying to be social and to get things done and to feel accomplished at the end of the day. While some people go for take out after a long day, I like to get into the kitchen and unwind by cooking something healthy, that tastes good, and that will provide leftovers that I can pack up and bring to work for the rest of the week for lunch. Cooking meals is one of my favorite ways to unwind, so, even though the temptation to go out all the time is pretty intense, it isn’t too difficult for me to stay in the kitchen on week nights. (On weekends, though? Trying new restaurants is one of my favorite things to do.)
When I do cook, my absolute favorite dish involves any kind of pasta. I’d eat pasta every single day for the rest of my life if I could, that’s how much I love it. Swear. Mix in some vegetables or a great sauce and I’m SO sold. I made a ridiculously simple pasta meal recently that fits into the delicious and healthy categories, and that took about 20 minutes to make, in all. And it had broccoli rabe in it. Can’t get much better than that.
I know that some people can’t stand the inherent bitter quality in broccoli rabe, but for me, it’s something that astounds me every time I eat it. This vegetable possesses such a clear, unique quality that most vegetables can’t get from only being boiled. That’s why I love it. You don’t even have to do anything to it for its flavor to pop from the florets and bushy leaves.
The method is really straight forward. Even if you have never cooked anything in your life or if you’re dead tired and can’t imagine exerting any energy into cooking, you’ll be able to make this. Boil a big pot of water and when it’s at a rolling boil, add the pasta. Once the pasta is 5 minutes from being finished, add the broccoli rabe and, at the same time, heat some olive oil in a large skillet, add some garlic and red pepper flakes, and, once the broccoli rabe is tender, add the pasta, some pasta water and the broccoli to the skillet with the garlic. The. End. Top with some pecorino romano if you’ve got some around, and there you have an easy, healthy, wonderful weeknight meal. And, hopefully, some leftovers.
Spaghetti with Broccoli Rabe
Adapted from Gourmet
Yield: 4 servings
1 lb. spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
1 lb. broccoli rabe, leaves and florets cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
grated pecorino romano (optional)
1. Heat a large pot of water on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Salt the water liberally and add the pasta, cooking for 5 minutes less than the package suggests. Add the broccoli rabe to the pot with the pasta and cook until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 2 minutes.
2. When you add the broccoli rabe to the water, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, toasting for 2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn.
3. Once the pasta and broccoli rabe are done, add them straight to the pan with the garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring to coat the pasta and broccoli rabe with oil and garlic. Add a bit of pasta water if the pasta seems dry (which it most likely will).
4. Serve warm in large bowls with pecorino romano or a coat of fresh cracked black pepper.
Spaghetti with Broccoli Rabe
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
1 lb. broccoli rabe, leaves and florets cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
grated pecorino romano (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat a large pot of water on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Salt the water liberally and add the pasta, cooking for 5 minutes less than the package suggests. Add the broccoli rabe to the pot with the pasta and cook until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 2 minutes.
2. When you add the broccoli rabe to the water, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, toasting for 2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn.
3. Once the pasta and broccoli rabe are done, add them straight to the pan with the garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring to coat the pasta and broccoli rabe with oil and garlic. Add a bit of pasta water if the pasta seems dry (which it most likely will).
4. Serve warm in large bowls with pecorino romano or a coat of fresh cracked black pepper.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Nutella is one of those fascinating sweet treats that some people go wild about and other people have never even tried. I was in this latter camp until college. I so, vividly remember sitting in an Italian class one day and over hearing a conversation about the infamous Nutella and how it was so good that the only way to really eat it properly would be to have a huge glob of it on a spoon. (now that I am a self proclaimed fan, I will attest that this is, in fact, the best way to go about eating it)
I don’t remember where I was or how it was prepared, but one day I finally tried it. And, to be honest, I was pretty lukewarm about it at first. I think I expected it to taste like pure chocolate and when it didn’t, I was disappointed. You’ll be happy to know, though, that after a few more tastes, nutella took hold over me and has become one of those snacks for which I’ll sneak into the cupboard, armed with a spoon in hand.
One of my favorite ways to eat nutella is on a crepe with sliced bananas or strawberries. Perhaps one day I’ll post my method for this on here because, really, it’s just too good to keep to myself.
Today’s recipe, from Sugarlaws, is for Peanut Butter Nutella Bars, the most decadent dessert I’ve ever personally made. A batch of these literally weighs about 10 pounds. These bars are so dense and rich that it’s difficult to eat more than one at a time. They fill the mouth with wonderful sweetness and chocolate, hazelnut, peanut butter goodness and once you start with them, it’s hard to stop.
These bars are fairly easy to make but do take a bit of time to prepare. First, the peanut butter is creamed with confectioners sugar and ground up graham crackers and is then put in a 9×9 square pan and left to rest in the refrigerator for an hour. The second step involves melting chocolate and adding nutella before spreading that mixture onto the peanut butter mixture and letting it rest in the refrigerator for another hour. For the last step (or the best step!), nutella is spread on the top of the bars, it’s all refrigerated again, and then the product is luscious, rich squares bursting with flavors of peanut butter, chocolate and hazelnuts. The taste is so, overwhelmingly sweet and glorious.
Oh, and if you’ve never tried nutella before, you might want to give it a try! I can’t promise you’ll love it, but if you do, you’ll be that much happier about it.
Peanut Butter Nutella Bars
Yield: 16 bars
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
12 sheets of graham crackers, broken up in a food processor
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Nutella, divided into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cups
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, confectioners sugar, vanilla and peanut butter until well combined and smooth. Pour this mixture into a buttered 9x9 square pan lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. In a metal or glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate and 1/4 cup of nutella, stirring often until melted and mixed well. Be careful not to burn this. Spread the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter crust and spread it evenly throughout. Refrigerate for an hour.
3. Spread the rest of the Nutella (3/4 cup) over the top of the bars and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for one more hour.
4. Once completely set, remove the bars from the refrigerator and cut into squares before serving.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
I am constantly amazed at how some of the most surprising food I make is often the easiest to pull off. It comes from recipes that don’t have a laundry list of ingredients which I don’t already have at home and they don’t require me to slave in front of the stove all evening while trying to prepare dinner. The kind of food I love to cook is that which practically prepares itself; the ingredients naturally work well together and, over time, fuse in a way that yields delicious results. It helps, too, when the food involved is on my top 10 list.
Oh, you want to know my top 10 foods? I never thought you’d ask! (disclaimer: parts of this list change frequently)
1. pasta (all kinds topped with anything)
2. chickpeas
3. Brussels sprouts
4. cauliflower
5. red grapes
6. bleu cheese
7. olives
8. falafel
(this is where things go down hill)
9. everything bagels (preferably topped with scallion cream cheese…)
10. french fries
There you go. Today’s recipe, which features number 2 on my list of favorites, comes from Orangette, and was recently featured in a more elaborate fashion in the May issue of Bon Appetit (it’s the same recipe as the one below but with a few herbs and garlic added to the mix) but I chose the simple one, about which Molly wrote more than 4 years ago on her blog. I’ve looked at this recipe several times and never really found the right time to make it. When I did, I was craving a light, cool, no-fuss salad. That’s exactly what this is.
This recipe is so, very approachable in its simplicity. There are five ingredients: chickpeas, sea salt, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and parmigano-reggiano. The chickpeas are coated with a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice and olive oil, and then bound in a salty, cheesy, thick coat of cheese. Each bite is refreshing and zesty and would be the perfect accompaniment to a picnic lunch. It’s great at this time of year when the weather is warm, the flowers are blooming, and the flip flops, iced coffee and sun dresses begin making a welcome appearance into our lives.
I served this salad cold after letting it rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes. It would also be very good at room temperature, but cold is better, in my opinion.
Chickpea Salad with Lemon & Parmesan
Yield: 2 side dishes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained well
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to make sure everything mixes together well. Adjust seasoning as necessary and either serve immediately or chill, covered, until you’re ready for it.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
I’ve always secretly envied people who can jog for long distances without blinking an eye. On marathon day in NYC last November, I walked around the Upper West Side, where I live, enamored by all of the runners who had finished the 26.2 mile race and who looked great as they hung around with family and friends and headed out to celebrate. If I ran 26.2 miles in one race, I can assure you that I’d be a frightening sight at the end of it.
About a year ago, Scott and I decided we wanted to start jogging regularly. My longest run prior to this was 1 mile. (laugh) Back in high school on the JV soccer team, we’d start each practice with a 1 mile run. I can vividly remember complaining sometimes about an achy this or achy that to make myself exempt from that day’s run. (so sneaky) I just never enjoyed running and could never psych myself into doing it for long.
So, back to last year. We jogged from Scott’s old digs on 157th St. along the Hudson River on Riverside Drive until we reached Grant’s Tomb. That’s about 30 blocks, which, in lay terms, is about a mile and a half. By the end of it, I was practically dead. As the summer, fall and winter progressed, I jogged as regularly as possible and got up to a good 3 1/2 miles without stopping, at about 8.20/mile. I honestly could not get past this point for months. I never thought I would. I’m not sure I even wanted to.
Then, on Monday night I decided to run a new (to me) path through Central Park that I hadn’t really done before. I thought it would be about 4 miles. It turns out it was more like 5.4. So I did it. And it was AWESOME! It felt so great to PR myself and the fact that I survived to tell the tale made me so happy. It’s the little things, you know? The long standing idea that anything we work hard for will be achieved with enough practice, perseverance and drive is still true. I think that sometimes we need small achievements to remind us that we are, in fact, progressing in life and always becoming better versions of ourselves.
This story really has no relevance to baking or cooking, but it’s something that I have been thinking about and have wanted to share. Maybe someone else out there has reached some sort of plateau in his or her life and needs a little push to get to the other side of it. Even if the goal is small and isn’t even tangible, it still matters to you, and that makes it important.
Well, now that we’ve had an uplifting moment…
Red velvet cupcakes and cakes and whatever else are so last year, I know, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good. The last time I dealt with red velvet was over a year ago. I made some MEAN red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting but my family’s youngest beagle, Shea, got at them and ate them ALL. (Yes, he was hospitalized. Yes, he is fine. And yes, he has done this more than once. He’s baaaad. And so adorable.)
The latest red velvet experiment was for red velvet whoopie pies. I made them so much larger than they should have been, but they turned out incredibly delectable. They were like huge, fluffy cakes with deliciously sweet and tart cream cheese frosting oozing from the middle. These things disappeared so fast, I don’t even want to talk about it.
The deep, bold red color is gorgeous and exciting. There’s something about eating these pies, which are not overwhelmingly sweet but rather light and smooth with a hint of sugar in the cake and a more present saccharine quality in the frosting that balances each bite and makes them such a satisfying dessert.
They are SO good.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Yield: 10 large or 20 small
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the whoopie pies:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz bottle of red food coloring
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy and light, 2 minutes. Then beat in the egg and vanilla until everything is well combined.
4. Alternating between the two, add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the sugar, butter and egg mixture, a little bit at a time until everything is combined. Then add the food coloring.
5. Shape the batter into rounds and place on baking sheets, keeping 1 inch between each round.
6. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are sturdy. Cool completely on baking racks.
7. Blend all of the frosting ingredients in a clean stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment for 3 minutes.
8. Spoon filling onto the smooth side of the cooled whoopie pies. Top with another cookie, smooth side down.
These cookies will keep well in the fridge in an air tight container for 4 days. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
People seem to think I cook a lot. I have a food blog and I bake things and cook things and yada yada, I must cook all the time. I must love to cook.
I actually really thought about this the other day. How often do I cook? How often do most people cook? People with kids must cook mostly every day. I know my mom did. She’d take one day off on the weekend, I think, but that was pretty much her only break. To be honest, if I was forced to cook every day, I think I’d hate it. Something about the obligatory nature of cooking would make me feel trapped. What if I ran out of ideas? What if everything I tried to make was terrible?
Knowing that I have the power to decide when and what I cook and that the only person I (usually) have to cook for is myself (no harsh critics involved) makes the process much more soothing and pleasant. Making enough to feed myself for dinner and a few lunches makes me feel accomplished. And having leftovers means I won’t have to eat yogurt for lunch at work the next day (yes, this does happen).
Between work, family obligations, seeing friends, rehearsals, voice lessons, dinners out on the weekend and then the occasional days when I can’t be bothered with cooking and can only muster up the energy to preheat the oven (guilty!), cooking only happens a few times a week. When I have the time, I sit with my laptop on a Sunday morning and make a meal plan for the week, input all of the ingredients into a grocery shopping app on my iPod touch and then head to the grocery store to procure all of the necessary ingredients. I love that. Today’s recipe is a product of planning ahead and, of course, my fixation on eating pasta as often as possible.
Pasta with cherry tomatoes and arugula works perfectly now that warm, spring weather has finally broken through the endless rain and cold, and helps to celebrate this weather by being a dish that isn’t cooked for long and that doesn’t weigh me down. The method for making this is pretty straight forward, and it doesn’t take long to prepare at all. While the pasta water is heating its way to a boil, you marinate the arugula and tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, sea salt, basil & balsamic vinegar. The flavors have the chance to blend together while the pasta cooks, and as soon as it’s ready, you mix everything together and dinner is served. Easy enough.
The key is to use coarse sea salt. The salted flavor is important, of course, but occasionally biting into a piece of sel gris is actually really refreshing here. The garlic perfumes all of the pepper incensed arugula and sweet tomatoes, and the pasta adds necessary bulk and bite to make this a suitable dinner. Or lunch.
Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minute
Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic cloved, minced
sea salt, to taste (I used sel gris)
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup arugula, chopped coarsely
1 tsp. basil, sliced into ribbons
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. pasta
1/4 cup grated parmiggano-reggiano, optional
Directions:
1. Combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar, arugula, basil and olive oil in a large bowl, mixing until combined with a large spoon. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes while the pasta water heats to a boil and the pasta cooks. After 15 minutes, check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water (kosher salt is fine for this), and add the pasta, cooking until al dente.
3. Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the bowl with the tomato and arugula mixture, and stir until combined. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and serve either warm or at room temperature.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
There’s something incredibly serene about lazing around on a cool Sunday afternoon while drinking a piping hot cup of tea and munching on a piece of freshly made banana bread.
Simple indulgences like this are rare. I’m sure I’m not the only person here who finds it hard to sit back and relax over the weekend instead of running necessary errands, seeing friends and going out to enjoy every possible moment of Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes, though, taking time to breathe and reflect and indulge in delicious banana bread (which, I think, goes perfectly with tea) is a great way to prepare for a new week and all of the craziness that is bound to come. Unless you prefer spending your Sundays doing something more exciting like partaking in booze brunch, which I cannot blame you for.
I got this banana bread recipe from Orangette. I think this recipe was reinvented for Molly’s first book, but this recipe, from the blog, was wonderful. The first thing I thought when I saw it was, “OH MY GOODNESS, candied ginger? Hells yeah.” As a result, candied ginger was procured immediately and banana bread was made.
This bread is moist, spicy at times (thanks to the ginger), sweetened by chocolate, and filled with the wonderful crunch of walnuts, but overall, remains a bread instead of swaying too far into cake-like territory. It’s approachable yet refined, and doesn’t blow your mind with sweetness or richness. It’s the kind of bread that you slice into pieces that are too big and then return to for seconds. When it’s around, there are always crumbs on the counter (or the floor) because someone is always gnawing at it. It’s good, it’s comforting, and it’s really easy to make. Puree some bananas with a fork and mix everything in a bowl and then transfer to a bread pan, bake and boom: you’re done.
Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Candied Ginger
Yield: 1 9x5 inch loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ripe medium bananas
3 tbsp. milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
small chunks of candied ginger, to taste (I used about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar, egg and butter.
3. In a separate bowl mash the bananas and mix them with the milk.
4. In a third bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
5. To the butter mixture, alternate adding the flour mixture in three parts and the banana mixture in 2 parts. (ie: add flour mixture, banana mixture, flour mixture, banana mixture, flour mixture.) Stir this part by hand until just combined.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips, ginger and nuts.
7. Put the batter into your buttered loaf pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
8. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
A few weeks ago I made these cookies and, despite my hopefulness that they’d turn out wonderfully, I didn’t really love them. (This did not stop me from eating several, though.) It’s not that the cookies were bad, it’s that they weren’t quite my style. I found them too mealy and not sweet enough and missing the chewiness and spunkiness that usually excites me about cookies. While the texture was mostly pleasant and far more rustic than a regular chocolate chip cookie might be, the flavor was sort of fleeting and undramatic. I worried about sharing them with other people for fear I’d be mocked as the terrible cookie baker, so they sat in a sad air tight container overnight before I could decide what to do with them.
After getting a second opinion about the cookies and being assured that they were very good and that I was just an over critical, broken palate cookie taster that day, I brought them with me to an opera in which I was performing in the chorus because I love my opera pals. And because they love cookies.
For this particular show, “The Mikado,” a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, we would ready ourselves a few hours before curtain in the basement of the hall each day while listening to either a) Madonna b) the Grease soundtrack or c) the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. (While listening to option c, I meekly mentioned that I had never seen the movie. At that point I was bombarded by comments like, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” and “I HAVE NEVER MET ANYONE WHO HASN’T SEEN THIS MOVIE!” and other sorts of things. I still haven’t seen it but I am slightly more motivated now.) We all had a marvelous time singing and getting wigged and made up and eating these white chocolate almond cookies. Before Act one of the show was even over, the entire batch was gone! And people claimed to like them, too, which made me happy. So, even these cookies weren’t my favorite, you should know that if they sound like a delicious idea to you, you can be assured that people really do like them.
The process of making the cookies is pretty simple, as it usually is with cookies. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars, add the eggs and vanilla, and then coarsely grind oats and almonds in a food processor before adding them to the ingredients mentioned before. The only advice I’ll mention is that there’s a fine line between these cookies being done and being slightly on the overdone side, but if you follow the baking times pretty closely, you shouldn’t have any problems. The cookies are done when the sides are slightly brown and the centers are sturdy.
White Chocolate Almond Cookies
Yield: 4 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick 1-minute oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place a rack in the top position. Place parchment on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the butter and both sugars until well combined. Then add eggs and vanilla and mix until everything is incorporated thoroughly.
3. In a food processor, blend the oats until they are coarsely chopped (not until they are powder).
4.Add the oats to the batter along with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. With a wooden spoon, mix in the white chocolate chips.
5. In the same food processor you used before (you don’t have to wash it between uses), pulse the almonds until broken down into coarse bits.
6. Add the chopped almonds to the rest of the batter and mix with the wooden spoon to combine.
7. Drop cookie dough balls onto your parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 1 inch of space in between them. Flatten the balls with your fingers before put them in the oven and baking them for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 3-5 minutes. The cookies are done when the top and edges are slightly browned and the cookies are set.
8. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Store any extras in an air tight container.
Monday, April 18, 2011
I was originally going to write this post about this recipe, but I can’t find the pictures I took when I made it! It’s a great recipe, though, so if you’re a fan of pasta and/or eggplant, I promise you won’t be disappointed if you try it.
Something I never shared on here is that I am what you’d call a “Pescatarian.” I don’t eat meat but I do consume fish (albeit rarely), and, with the exception of a few innocent mistakes and a couple of shamefully intentional ones that are less numerous than fingers on one of my hands, I haven’t eaten any sort of beef, poultry, pork or other in 3 years.
People ask me why I eat this way. My answer is, “I don’t know.” Most people accept my decision with a simple shrug of the shoulders and a “whatever works for you” attitude. Others have more opinionated remarks to offer, and I appreciate that candor, too. To be honest, meat was always that thing that I sort of never liked at all. I’d never voluntarily eat a steak or a burger or anything with meat in it (besides prosciutto – can you blame me?) because I just never enjoyed it. I have thought about going back to being a meat eater numerous times, though. I want to experience these food revelations that meat eaters talk about all the time! But every time I try to go back, I come to the same conclusion: I don’t want it right now. And until I do, I will continue eating the way I do. And I’ll make a bold statement here: not eating meat does not mean I don’t eat incredible, life changing meals. In fact, I think I eat quite well.
I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned my meatless ways on this blog before. Perhaps the honesty leaf I turned over in my last post gave me the courage to share this part of myself with whoever might read this.
I started my diet because my mom stopped eating meat several years ago and stopped cooking it all together. She has taken her meatless eating to the next level and has been vegan for the past year. The thought of cutting cheese out of my diet makes my heart palpitate a bit because I could never eat this way, but she is so enthusiastic about her diet and has been enjoying it very much. My brothers follow the same diet I do. My dad could not live a day without meat, and since none of us have the right to tell him he should eat otherwise, we don’t. My boyfriend, who will willingly and happily eat my meatless meals on occasion, eats less meat now than before we started dating 2 years ago, but truly embraces a good steak or burger or lamb rogan josh at Indian restaurants, and I’m not too interested in changing his eating habits.
All of that said, I do eat lots of vegetables, but they are by no means my only source of sustenance. I’m a huge fan of beans (chickpeas especially), and pasta is my favorite food. Those are probably the two things I crave most often (you know, other than beer, chocolate and french fries, but…uh…let’s not go there.)
I initially saw the recipe I’m sharing today here, and once I finally made it, it was clear that it’s one of those perfect vegetarian weeknight meals that fills you and makes you feel good. Some nights I crave something healthy and fresh, and this is exactly the sort of meal that fits that desire perfectly. Creamy white beans are simmered with diced tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini and seasoned with rosemary — a potato’s best friend — to make a stew that’s healthy, filling and warm. It may be vegetarian, but this dish doesn’t need any meat to make it taste good. The leftovers make a great lunch, too.
Braised White Beans with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Potatoes
Yield: 2-3 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed (or about 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 medium yukon gold potato, diced into cubes
1 zucchini, diced into cubes
1 (14 oz.) can Great Northern beans, rinsed & drained
Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sautee the olive oil, garlic and red pepper until the mixture sizzles lightly, about 30 seconds. (Don’t let the garlic brown.) Stir in the tomatoes, rosemary, water, salt and potatoes and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost completely cooked.
2. Add the zucchini and beans and cover the pan, allowing the mixture to simmer for another 10 minutes until the zucchini and potatoes are tender. Once this happens, if you feel that the sauce is too thick, add a bit of water. If it seems to watery, allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes more, uncovered.
3. Serve warm, in large bowls.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
I have a confession to make. It probably won’t matter that I make it here since I visit the bathroom more times each day than my blog receives hits, (that’s a little bit of a joke) but I’ll make it anyway.
There are lots of food blogs out there. I read many of them. I read some really popular ones and some that are a little more obscure, and what I love most about the posts, besides the occasional great photo or recipe that I star on my Google Reader *immediately,* is that there are so many styles of writing and that they are all so different. Even when the themes are the same and when the recipes are similar, the writing is always quite different. Each person has his or her own way of expressing what they want to say.
I don’t know what kind of writer I am. I’d like to find that out. I don’t consider myself to be a writer at heart. I always preferred math class and chem labs to English papers, yet I was always secretly intrigued by words and writing and vocabulary. Minoring in Italian in college increased my interest in grammar by a million percent. It’s amazing how little I actually knew about English grammar and how much I was able to learn about it from studying a foreign language. Grammar is so interesting and wonderful and it’s quite mathematical in its formulation, too, which I appreciate in a dorky sort of way.
My confession is this: I think I’ve sort of been faking this whole blog writing thing since I started. What do I mean by that? Well, I don’t think I really allow my inner personality to shine through this blog. The words are sort of careful and I don’t talk about anything too interesting, and I never really feel my individuality coming through my words.
I don’t want to censor so much of what I say and write in these posts. I also don’t want to try and express myself in a way that’s more as an imitation of other writing than it is of my own. I want to be myself and show you my food experiences through my eyes and with my words and feelings. I guess it took me time to discover that what I’ve been saying here isn’t exactly what I want to say. I want to be more honest, and I’ll try to achieve that here. I want you to see the sarcasm, excitement, frustration, enlightenment, and overall craziness that defines me and makes my personality unique. If that doesn’t thrill you, I don’t know what will.
So, first point of business. Kitchen eff-ups. They happen to everyone. It’s inevitable. Just a few days ago I made something for dinner that I thought would be WONDERFUL. The ingredients, the simplicity and the freshness all made me thrilled all day to cook it. The recipe also came from a reliable source, so I was all the more certain things were going to be good. I followed every step in the recipe and added every ingredient, and the final result was really bad. Like, so absolutely terrible I don’t even want to talk about it bad. I won’t even share it here with you. That’s not because I don’t want to admit I made a flop, it’s that I wouldn’t share anything on this blog that I wouldn’t readily make again.
It turns out, though, that I did mess up something recently that still wound up tasting good despite the fact that it looked awful. The pictures are pretty rough, too. I don’t know about you people, but I don’t have the time or the patience to style every photograph or make everything look perfect. I got a good camera a few months ago and I’m still learning how to use it properly. Perhaps one day I will discover my eye for photography and really show you something nice. Until then you’ll see pretty much what I see when I sit down to dinner/dessert/random snacking/etc. I guess we can call it realism.
I made a flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut meringue topping. Apparently, when you over whip meringue, it totally loses its frothiness and becomes a loose white mess. It still tastes fine, but just doesn’t look all that appealing. When I made this, I over whipped my meringue, and the only thing worse than coming to terms with my screw up was the fact that my boyfriend had been planning on and looking forward to making this recipe for weeks and then I was the reason the cake got “messed up.” Thank goodness he is more patient than I am.
We all survived just fine. The cake even tasted quite good. The meringue looked sad, but the cake was light, sweet, had just the right amount of chocolate, and wasn’t smack-you-in-the-face rich like some heavier chocolate cakes can be. This is the sort of dessert that would be perfect for an outdoor lunch where a light dessert would match perfectly with the warm kiss of the sun and a nice, summery cocktail or cold beer. That time of year is coming, by the way, even if the weather isn’t showing it. Get excited.
Chocolate & Hazelnut Meringue Cake
Yield: 1 9-inch cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Ingredients:
10 tbsp. (1 stick + 2 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 large eggs, separated
4 egg whites
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted & cooled
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. rum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
Directions:
For the cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-inch spring form pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the oven for 10-15 minutes. (You’ll know they’re done when their aroma permeates the kitchen and the skins start to peel off.) Once cooled, remove the skins and chop them roughly.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the butter and brown sugar very well, until they are creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix them thoroughly until the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in the melted chocolate, rum, vanilla and combine.
4. Set the mixture aside in a separate bowl and clean out the mixing bowl.
5. In the clean mixing bowl, combine the 6 egg whites and salt. Whisk on high speed until the whites form soft peaks, about 2 minutes.
6. Carefully fold 1/3 of the frothed egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest of the whites until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and bake for 25 minutes.
For the meringue:
7. In a small bowl, mix the hazelnuts, chopped chocolate and corn starch. Set aside.
8. Whip the 4 egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer until frothy but not set. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the hazelnut mixture.
9. When the chocolate cake that has been baking in the oven is done, spread the meringue you just made over the top, and then put the cake back in the oven until the top is slightly brown, 25-30 minutes.
10. Cool the cake on a cooling rack before serving.
Share
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via Email
Follow Me on Twitter
Be a Fan on Facebook