Key Lime Pie

13 May

And it’s officially summer.  Key Lime Pie has been made.  Actually, one of my coworkers particularly loves Key Lime Pie and requested that I make it for her birthday.  In September.  Of last year.  Better late than never right?

Anyhow.  This is a particularly good rendition of the famed pie, if I do say so myself.  What makes it better than all the rest you ask?  And how exactly do you change Key Lime Pie, which is really just lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks?  Well, you know those egg whites you always toss out? (Unless you’re me and can’t bear to waste anything so you freeze them in an ice cube tray for a future pie making endeavor – but that’s beside the point.)  You whip them until they hold stiff peaks, and then fold them into the filling, which makes it beautifully light and airy.  I love love love Key Lime Pie,but even I sometimes find it too dense and heavy, or even, depending on the limes used, too tart to enjoy.  This was the perfect balance of lime-y tartness and light sweetness.  And an added benefit is that is comes together in no time at all.  So start your summer off on the right foot – get to whipping up your own birthday pie.  Just try to be a little more punctual than I was.

Key Lime Pie

Crust:

  1. 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs from about 12 (2 1/4-inch by 4 3/4-inch) crackers
  2. 1/4 cup sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  4. 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

  1. 2 large egg whites
  2. 4 large egg yolks
  3. 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  4. 1/2 cup fresh or bottled Key lime juice

Garnish:

  1. 1 cup heavy cream
  2. 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Crust:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle with the melted butter and stir until well combined. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the oven on.

Filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or a large mixing bowl with a whisk or hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add the lime juice and whisk until combined. Gently fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the mixture then add the remaining egg whites and fold until just evenly combined. Gently spread the mixture in the pre-baked crust and bake until just set in the center, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

In a medium bowl, combine the heavy cream and sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. Cut the pie into slices and top each with a dollop of whipped cream.*

DO AHEAD: The pie can be baked and stored, covered, in the refrigerator, up to 3 days.

*I like to spread my whipped cream over the top of the pie – if you’re transporting it at all, it’s much easier, and it’s already there so dishing it out later is a cinch.  I also grated a little lime zest over the top to pretty it up, but that’s up to you.

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Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

12 May

If you’re going to eat vegetarian, Indian food is the way to go.  This dish is packed with so much flavor that you don’t even notice that it’s meatless.  I love cauliflower (although that wasn’t always the case), but if you’re on the fence about it, throw it in a skillet with some garam masala and you’ll make up your mind real quick.  Chickpeas too can be a little bland on their own, but in this case they’re perfect.  They’re just a little crunchy, even when cooked, so they balance out the tomatoes and cauliflower perfectly.  And there’s just something about indian spices – they make even the simplest vegetable seem exotic and interesting.  When I first started cooking on my own I never would have used so many strong spices in a single dish – I would have thought they’d all just run together and overpower my food.  Coriander and cumin and garam masala and chili powder and ginger- it sounds like a lot if you’re unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, but they all play off of and enhance each other so well that you end up with layers and layers of flavors that all contribute something unique to the dish.  It’s like when you hear an orchestra rehearsing before a performance – as they’re tuning up individually or running through they’re own parts it’s like a bunch of ally cats howling out back, but when they come together and play as group, each instrument and part highlights the others and then you have music.

I found this recipe on Pinterest - which is not at all surprising when you think about the amount of time I while away there.  It’s not too hard to make, but I did make a few changes.  The recipe calls for blanching the cauliflower in water before adding it to the curry to finish, but I roasted mine instead.  I love roasting vegetables – I like to think it brings out the best in them.  They get a little caramelized, the flavors deepen, and they have a little crunch.  Also, instead of plain chili powder, I used Aleppo pepper instead.  It’s awesome if you haven’t tried it (hot and the tiniest bit sweet) but really I just like to say it.  Aleppo pepper. Aleppo pepper. Aleppo pepper.  Try it.  You’ll like it, I promise. To eat I mean.

The only other thing I changed was to use chicken broth instead of water (and I’ll just cower behind my cutting board until the cacophony dies down).  Yes, I know it’s supposed to be vegetarian, but I’m really not one, so I added chicken broth for a little more depth.  You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I did, and enjoyed it too.  So there.

Anyway, the point is that this dish is really really good.  Even if you’re not a vegetarian.  Even if you prefer more mild seasonings in your food (and by that I mean bland.  Don’t eat bland food, it’s just not worth it).  If you’ve never tried a curry before, this is a good one to start with.  Aside from the garam masala (although even that you can find in many an ethnic Wal-mart aisle) most of the spices are familiar and easy to obtain, and if you really want to add some more substance to this (I found it to be a satisfying and filling meal, but I’m on a going-to-the-beach diet, so I may not be impartial) you could add some chicken if you really wanted to and it would probably be very good.  So go out and be adventurous. Enjoy!

Also, please admire my new bowls.  Aren’t they cool?  I really like them.

 

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

(Serves four to six)

1 whole cauliflower

2-4 tbsp olive oil

3 medium onions

4 cloves of garlic

½ tsp chopped fresh ginger – I used 1/4 tsp dried, since I forgot to buy fresh and it was fine.

2 tsp ground coriander

2 star aniseed

½ tsp ground chilli

4 curry leaves

2 tsp garam masala

2 tsp ground cumin

1 (14.5 oz) can of chopped tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) can of chickpeas, drained

Fresh chopped parsley for serving.

 

Preheat oven to 400°.  Remove the stalks from the cauliflower and cut into large florets. Place in a large bowl and add a couple of tablespoons olive oil, just enough to barely coat the florets.  Salt and pepper a little and roast in oven for 12-15 minutes, until the cauliflower is browning a little and is just tender enough to pierce with a fork.  You may stir it around a few times while it’s roasting. When done, remove from oven and set aside.

While the cauliflower is cooking, cut the onions into small pieces. Peel the garlic and chop fine.

In a large pan, melt a little butter (I used about 2 tbsp) then add the onion, garlic and ginger if using fresh (if not, add the ginger with the other spices) and sauté until golden brown, several minutes.  Add the remaining spices and cook for a further five minutes.

Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and stir well. Then add the cooked cauliflower. Add 100mL of cold water* and bring to a simmer for five to 10 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked through.

I chopped a little parsley to top it with, which was not in the recipe, but I liked it.

 

*I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t tell you how much 100mL was to save my life.  I just filled my empty tomato can about 3/4 full and called it good.  Then I realized that my pyrex measuring cups have mL on them.  Oh well.

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Manicotti

11 Apr

Manicotti is my husband’s favorite dish.  And that’s saying something for someone who is mostly indifferent to what he eats.  In fact, he judges every italian restaurant we visit based on the quality of their manicotti.  I’ve rarely seen him order anything else if it is on the menu, and I know I have a captive audience if I make it at home.  This recipe happens to be pretty good, and I will definitely be making it again with just a few changes.  You can see I didn’t use the authentic manicotti pasta – the long thin tubes that are typical.  Not that I have anything against them, they’re just really hard to fill.  I used the jumbo shells because I can just spoon the filling into them instead of having to try to pipe it into the tubes without splitting them open.  Also, the recipe I used (from Saveur.com) called for a whole teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg, which we found to be a little much.  Actually, it was almost overpowering when we first tasted it a few minutes out of the oven, but I found that when I ate the leftovers the next day it had settled down into something a little more palatable, but I would still decrease the amount the 1/2 – 3/4 tsp next time.

While the dish as a whole was a success, the real star of the show was the tomato sauce.  Again, I got my recipe from Saveur, but what made it so awesome was the tomatoes.  I had canned some of my crop from last summer, and if I can help it I will never buy generic ones again.  It was like opening up a can of summer when I popped the lid.  This was by far the best marinara sauce I have ever made, and while it was fairly simple, with just a few key seasonings, the tomatoes really shone through.  They were so fresh and bright, the most vibrant flavor I’ve had since we had fresh produce last year.   Actually, my “uninterested in food” husband remarked that the sauce had a “rustic” taste – which made my day since that was exactly what I was going for.  The sauce cooks up in less than half an hour, and would be easily adaptable to almost anything that called for marinara – it would be perfect over a simple bowl of spaghetti, for example, or in a lasagna, or even on pizza.  Do what you will with it, but definitely make it soon.  With the freshest tomatoes you can find.

Angelo’s Marinara Sauce 

Makes about 3 cups

1  28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes - I used a quart jar of canned tomatoes from my pantry
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1⁄2 small onion, finely chopped
1⁄2 tsp. dried oregano
1⁄4 tsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. finely chopped
curly or flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste

Put tomatoes and their liquid into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Set aside.

Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes along with the oregano and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly and its flavors come together, about 20 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

 

Baked Manicotti

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 cups Angelo’s Marinara Sauce
1  8-oz. box dried manicotti shells (about 14)
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups whole-milk ricotta
1 cup grated parmesan
7 tbsp. chopped curly or flat-leaf parsley
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten

Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with 1 tbsp. butter and spread 1⁄2 cup of the marinara sauce across the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the manicotti and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes. Drain manicotti and rinse under cold water; set aside.

Heat oven to 450°. Heat remaining butter in a 12″ skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer garlic to a medium bowl along with the ricotta, 1⁄2 cup parmesan, 5 tbsp. chopped parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and eggs and stir to combine.

Spoon some of the filling into both openings of each manicotti shell. (Alternatively, transfer the ricotta mixture to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag, snip off a bottom corner of the bag, and pipe filling into pasta.) Repeat with remaining manicotti shells. Transfer stuffed manicotti to prepared baking dish, making 2 rows. Spread the remaining marinara sauce over the manicotti and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

SERVES 6

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

7 Mar

You know it’s springtime when the Rhubarb starts showing up in the grocery stores.  I like to think that Rhubarb Pie is one of those southern staples that everyone’s grandma made for them when they were a kid, but apparently that is not the case.  Or maybe those kids just weren’t paying attention to the stuff their grandmas were putting in the pie, because I witnessed a surprising number of people who seemed to have no idea what it was.  When I walked into my Publix the other day, the rhubarb was in the cold counter right in front of the door where they usually display the “Great Deal!” meat (ie, the meat that is going to expire about 45 minutes after you buy it) and the seasonal fruits and veggies that are on special.  The kind folks at Publix had obligingly cut the stalks into small lengths and packaged them up in 1 pound increments, but they had forgotten to tell people what it was.  The packages just read “Publix Produce Department” and a price, and I watched several people pick it up and put it back down again with that facial expression that says “I should probably recognize this, but I don’t, and I don’t want to ask someone at the risk of sounding clueless.  Oh look!  These steaks are only $4.99, and they’re only a little green!”  So home I went with my rhubarb, gleefully planning my pie (and possibly some jam? We’ll see.) and thanking the kind folks at Green Giant for not finding a way to package it in a can, making it instantly recognizable to the masses, and thus securing me a steady supply for the length of the season.  Don’t judge me. The good produce goes quick around here, and if I’m the only one who knows what it is, then there’s no danger of them selling out before I’ve had my way with it (insert evil laugh here).

Anyway, everyone (or maybe just me.  See above.) knows that rhubarb and strawberries were made for each other.  I mean, they’re like soul mates.  So it was destiny that strawberries were on sale too, and from Florida no less (yes, I’m aware that’s not technically local, but really it’s only a few hours from here, and that’s much closer than California or Mexico, so again, don’t judge me.  A girl’s just gotta buy non-local, out of season strawberries sometimes.) so I stocked up on them too and ran right home to begin construction on my piece de resistance.  Except I had a pie crust Fail.  Such a large Fail, in fact, that I didn’t even photograph the soggy, wet, sticks to everything in a 2 foot radius, pie crust that I first made.  I have a basic pie crust recipe that pretty much always works for me, so I usually just ignore the ones that come standard with most pie recipes.  This time however, in a spate of rhubarb inspired excitement, I decided to set aside my time-tested favorite in favor of a new kid in town.  In my defense, it was pretty close to my standard one, with just a few changes.  For instance, I’ve never seen vanilla extract added to a pie dough before.  It also wanted like 11 tablespoons of butter, which seemed a little excessive to me for just a single crust recipe, but who am I to argue? I mean, someone obviously tested this recipe and it worked right? Since it is from a well respected publication, right?  Um, no.  Don’t be fooled.  If you think 11 tablespoons of butter is too much for a single-crust pie dough, you’re right.  It is.  It will only make a shaggy, sticky mess, and not a pie dough that can be rolled out (Fail), placed in a pie pan (Fail) and made to resemble something similar to a golden and flaky crust (Major Fail).  Do I sound a little bitter about it?  It’s just that I was so excited about the shining example of a pie that was soon to be issuing forth from my oven, and this stupid crust fiasco forced me to make another dough which needed to chill for a couple of hours and by this point it was like 11:30 pm and I had to wait until the next day to bake my masterpiece.  But I’m totally over it.

Long story short, I made my standard pie crust, it turned out beautifully (duh), and the pie was just as wonderful as I had hoped. It was tangy, but sweet, the strawberries and the rhubarb perfectly complimenting each other, and since I used a crumb topping, the tendency of strawberries and rhubarb to be soft and runny was perfectly balanced out by the crunchy oats and brown sugar on top.  It was just what I needed to make this early spring we’re having around here (74 degrees outside while I made the pie.  In March.) even more perfect.  So go.  If you see an unidentified pinkish, stalky thing in your produce department, buy it.  Make a pie.  And tell someone next to you what it is so they can make one too.

Pate Brisee

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces

4-6 tablespoons ice water

1 beaten egg (for glaze)

2 tablespoons rolled oats

  1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
  2. With machine running, add 4-5 tablespoons ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  3. Form dough into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
  4. Roll dough out into a 10-11 inch round ( I know that’s a broad range, but it really depends on how deep your pie pan is and how much overhang you want for crimping your edges.  I usually just roll it out until it looks like it will fit.)  I do this on a lightly floured countertop, but you can do it between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to eliminate some mess.  Place dough into 9 inch pie plate and trim overhang.  Crimp edges decoratively if you desire.
  5. Refrigerate dough for 30 or so minutes, preheating oven to 350° while dough is chilling.  Line crust with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake in center of oven for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and weights.  Brush bottom and sides (not edges) with beaten egg, and sprinkle with the oats.  Bake until crust is golden, about 20 more minutes.  Cool completely on rack.  (I hardly ever let my crust cool completely.  I’m usually too impatient.  I’ve never noticed any detrimental effects, but if you have the time it’s probably not a bad idea.)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping

Adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook

Topping:

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Filling:

3/4 pound rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch thick on sharp diagonal (3 1/2 to 4 cups)

2 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, halved

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

  1. For topping, combine 2/3 cup oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in processor. Add butter and cut in until crumbly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oats.  Set aside.  I didn’t bother with the processor for this, I just used a pastry cutter, which worked fine, and also eliminated all those dishes.
  2. For filling, mix rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom in heavy large saucepan. Let stand 30 minutes. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until juices thicken, about 3 minutes.
  3. Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover with topping. Bake 20-30 minutes (I baked mine for 27) until topping is golden and juices bubble.  Cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


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Blood Orange Cake

8 Feb

This cake is awesome.  Awesome I tell you.  It’s perfectly moist, the oranges and olive oil work exceedingly well together giving it a fruity, just-the-tiniest-bit bitter flavor, and I didn’t take a single photo of it.  You’ll just have to settle for my glowing recommendations, because I was literally standing by the oven waiting to snatch it out and dash to my car (running in the driveway) to be on my way.  I was bringing this to a lunch date (Hi Mama!) I had  last week and as per usual I was just on the edge of being late. I did take some lovely action shots while I was baking though, so hopefully you can all forgive me for not showing you the finished product.


Actually, as seems to happen to me so often, I came upon this cake because I was trying to use up some random fruit I had laying around.  My husband bought a bag of blood oranges and then ate only two of them before going out of town and leaving me with like 47 of them to find something to do with. Well, maybe not 47, but several anyway. I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, which is one of my favorite sites, and I must say, for being a combination of ingredients that I wouldn’t have put together it has turned out to be a really good cake.  And versatile, too, since I imagine that it would quite easy to substitute the blood oranges for any other fruit you have laying around for much the same result.

It came together pretty easily, and I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about the olive oil, being an all-butter advocate myself, but I really enjoyed the flavor in the finished product – it is pretty mild with just a hint of fruitiness, but it really makes for a moist cake that holds up well for a couple of days.  So run along and make your own.  You know you want to.

In other news, it’s only February and I already have daffodils.  I’m not sure, but I think winter is having an identity crisis.  Happy Spring!  Or whatever!

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 blood oranges
1 cup (200 grams or 7 ounces) sugar
Scant 1/2 cup (118 ml) buttermilk or plain yogurt
3 large eggs
2/3 cup (156 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups (219 grams or 7 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar (My sugar was all pretty and pale orange!).

Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.

Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup; hopefully you’ll have about 1/4 cup but however much it is, don’t sweat it because you’re going to  add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs and olive oil.  My batter was a lovely shade of pink at this point, which gave me high hopes for a pink cake, but alas.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ones. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.

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Dutch Baby, Etc.

28 Jan

I had an excellent holiday season.  As you can see, my friends and relatives have pretty much accepted that I’m obsessed with food/cooking (and Julia Child, but really, the two go hand in hand) and they have bestowed upon me a wealth of new cooking tomes (Tomes.  That’s a cool word.  How often do we really use it though?  Like, never).  Before you go getting all jealous that I have the best family ever (I do) that spoils me with excessive gifts on Christmas, I should go all full-disclosure on you and admit that I also had a birthday last week that accounts for some of my haul. And I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I got about receiving so many of these “defining” cookbooks, as it were.

That Cook’s Illustrated one, oh it is Awesome.  With a capitol A.  I have been reading it like a novel (yes, I am a nerd.  Deal.) and I had to stop sticky-noting the things I wanted to cook because I was putting one on every page.

The Commonsense Kitchen, aside from the story behind it being one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard, has some of the best, and most simple, “home-style” recipes I’ve come across in a while.  The Dutch Baby I’m sharing with you below comes from it, and it was so good that it was eaten before it’s photo shoot was complete.

And really what kitchen is complete without How to Cook Everything?  I have a love-hate relationship with Mark Bittman since I’ve had some …weird (for lack of a better work)…luck with his recipes in the past, but he does know his stuff, and his kitchen tips are invaluable. And you really can’t beat it for a wide selection – there’s bound to be something in 2000 recipes that sounds good to you.

The others three in there are more specialized, and most importantly to me, are about my favorite kitchen pursuit.  I love to bake, and I don’t discriminate.  Cookies, cakes, pies, bread, you name it, I love it.  So that Peter Reinhart book pretty much made my day.  He is one of the ultimate authorities on bread-baking and an excellent teacher.  Despite the fact that almost all the recipes in this book require a starter of some sort, he explains everything in such a way that it not only sounds like an easy, approachable project, but something you should go out and do Right Now.  As someone who does not particularly care for the typical sandwich loaves sold so prevalently in our supermarkets, this book is invaluable to me since it will (hopefully!) be able to teach me to create bakery style breads at home.

Sky High is the book for you if you like to bake celebration cakes; i.e. towering, three story cakes with a variety of flavors, fillings, and frostings.  Which I do.  Actually, I made one from the book for my birthday, which I will share with you another day.  The pictures are gorgeous, and makes me want to eat the book, but I guess I’ll just have to make them all instead, since I would miss it terribly if anything untoward were to happen to it.

Farmer’s Market Desserts is another book that is near and dear to my heart.  You see, I hate cold weather. I enjoy fall and spring (I mean, it’s gorgeous outside, so I can’t really dislike it), but winter is just not for me.  I hate snow with a passion, and cold, blustery days make me want to stay inside with a cup of coffee and Pinterest Big Bang Theory reruns anything but laundry a good book. Summer, however is my season.  I love everything about it: the produce (oh, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, any-and-all berries, peaches, pears, how I love you!) the weather, the beach, the long days, all of it.  So when I saw this book, I pretty much had to have it.  I mean who doesn’t need to know like a thousand to new ways to use up all of that wonderful stuff that fills the farmer’s markets in the warmer months?  The book also has chapters such as “Autumn Harvest” and “Winter Citrus” for those of you who like that sort of thing, but let’s be honest; I got it just for Aprium Almond Tart.

Lastly, As Always, Julia is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Julia Child.  The book is a collection of the letters between Julia and her friend Avis DeVoto, who played a prominent part in getting The Book published.  Most people have seen the movie, or read those other books, and so know something about how Mastering the Art of French Cooking came to be written, but this is really a whole ‘nother view of it.  Avis was very involved in the editing of the book and finding someone to publish it after the original deal fell through and I really enjoyed seeing all of that behind-the-scenes type stuff.  And all of the little things that two friends talk about (gossip, politics, popular culture, etc) was really very entertaining.

So, what I’m saying is “Go out and get these books immediately.”  Or just stick around here and see what I make from them.  Whatever.

Dutch Baby

Adapted from The Commonsense Kitchen

These are also known as German Pancakes, and are sort of a cross between a pancake and a crepe.  The batter will be very thin but when removed from the oven will be puffy and golden.  After cooling for a moment it will sort of settle down into a thin pancake (or a thick crepe) that is the perfect marriage of the two.   You can serve it with fruit and powdered sugar, or syrup and  butter, or really anything, just be prepared to take pictures for your blog immediately because if it’s anything like our house, it won’t sit around very long.

  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup sifted flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Beat the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a medium bowl until very smooth.  I started out using a “spoonula” (one of those silicone spoon, spatula hybrids), because I wasn’t sure if I needed to be whisking a lot of air into the batter, but I couldn’t get it smooth at all, so I switched to just stirring with my whisk (not whipping) and that worked perfectly.

Melt the butter in a heavy 10 or 12 inch oven-safe skillet (I used a 10 inch cast iron).  As soon as the butter is bubbling, pour in the batter and immediately put skillet into the oven.  After 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake for 7-9 minutes until the pancake is deep golden brown and edges are crispy looking.  (If the center if is puffing up in really large bubbles in the first 10-15 minutes, you can pierce them with a fork, although I forgot, and I didn’t notice that it affected the taste.  See above about not lasting long enough for decent photos.)

Cut the pancake into wedges and serve immediately with your topping of choice.  I used powdered sugar and sliced strawberries, while Jacob chose maple syrup, though again, it’s your choice, and either way it’s delicious.

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Pasta with Mushrooms

18 Jan

I know, I know.  I waxed poetic about my new year’s resolution, and then I left you hanging for like a week and a half. Well I’m just going to pass the blame along to my husband who, for the third time this year no less, has brought home a cold and insisted on sharing it with me.  So I have been moping around, using sick days, and cooking nothing more complicated than tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Now that I am on the mend (really I’m fine, I’m just trying to milk this pitiful invalid thing for all it’s worth) however, I’ve had to catch up with all of that stuff I’ve been avoiding – like two weeks worth of laundry, and cleaning my bathroom, and catching up all those Nanny reruns I’ve been recording off of Nick at Nite (does anyone but me still watch that?? I’ll be honest, I can’t stop.)  And I really did want to share something wonderful with – something so good you would need to rush into the kitchen and make it immediately – but after all of that exhausting housework, I really just wanted to sit down with something simple and easy.  I raided my fridge of all the odds and ends that have been piling up: half a red onion, mushrooms left over from last weekend’s dinner party appetizer, and the tail end of a block of Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar.  I sauteed the onion and the mushrooms in just a very little olive oil and tossed that with half a box of spaghetti, hastily cooked to al dente, and I had dinner.  I added a little butter and grated the cheddar onto the pasta and let it all sort of melt together and it was a perfect weeknight supper.  I was a little worried that the cheese would try to run the whole show with such a strong flavor, but once it melted in, it just sort of coated the noodles in a suggestion of cheesiness and I just barely knew it was there – in a good way.

It was actually really good.  It certainly wasn’t mind blowing cuisine, but it was tasty, satisfying, homey food, and what more can a girl who’s just gotten back into the kitchen after a week on her deathbed ask for? OK, maybe not my deathbed, but if I see another cough drop I’m going on strike.

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