bakingsheet

Introducing "Baking Bites"!!!

2007-04-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your patience, everyone! I have migrated over to a brand new URL, and with the new address comes a new name: Baking Bites.

The new site has a new look, increased usability (including a top-notch recipe index!) and all of the usual recipes. There will be lots of new content, as well as many new recipes, to look forward to now that the site is up and running.

What are you waiting for - head over and check it out! There is a post about Peep S'mores just waiting to be read!

Patience and changes

2007-03-26T05:34:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for being so patient lately. I'm making a couple of changes to the site and it is taking me a little longer than anticipates. I have a couple of recipes waiting to go, but am trying to hold off on them for a few more days.
Bear with me, guys. I'll be back at 110% soon!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

2007-03-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

The New York Times ran an article this week about traditional Irish soda bread - or rather, they ran an article that discussed how the loaf presented as "traditional" in the US is often not. The author's loaf had butter, sugar and eggs in it, as well as raisins, and turned into a very cake-like loaf. I myself am guilty, to a degree, of making a less-than-traditional loaf. I don't use butter or eggs, but I usually add a bit of sugar, caraway seeds and raisins. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, it is good to know that the Irish soda bread that I typically make is a variation on the standard, not the standard itself.
The article hinted at the fact that the traditional recipe used only flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda, but for some reason failed to include the recipe (it did include the cake-like version, however). I thought I'd step up and fill in the gap. I took out all the extraneous ingredients from my usual recipe and whittled it down to a plain, basic traditional loaf.
The bread is best when it is warm and comes out of the oven with a crisp crust and a tender interior. It is easy to taste the buttermilk in the loaf, but it is very plain bread. I like it with soup, where it can sop up broth, or cut into slices (I often simply pull pieces off the loaf) and topped with butter or jam. Irish butter is usually salted and will taste better with the bread than unsalted butter.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 - 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir together. Add buttermilk and mix with a large spoon (or with your hands, shaping your fingers into a "claw") until the dough comes together. You might need two tablespoons more or less buttermilk depending on the weather. The dough should be moist, but not so sticky it is very hard to handle.
Shape into a round and place on baking sheet. Cut an X into the top with a sharp knife and bake for about 45 minutes, until dark golden. A toothpick will come out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before slicing. Bread is best served soon after baking.

Chocolate Mint Sticks

2007-03-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

"Who's gonna turn down a Junior Mint? It's chocolate, it's peppermint -it's delicious!" -- Kramer, Seinfeld

I know one person who does not like the combination of chocolate and mint, but to be fair, he does not care for peppermint-type flavors in general. Doubtless there are a handful of other people who also do not care for the combination, but the vast majority of people simply adore it. The freshness of mint complements the rich and intense taste of chocolate (particularly of dark chocolate) and makes the two a winning pair.
Junior mints and York peppermint patties are two of the best examples of this flavor combo, but Maida Heatter's Chocolate Mint Sticks might even be better. The little bars are dense, but tender, and intensely chocolaty. On top of the chocolate layer is a thin glaze of peppermint, which in turn is topped with a drizzle of melted, bittersweet chocolate for contrast. It tastes like a little candy bar, only better.
As if the outstanding flavor weren't enough, the "sticks" are even better when they are cold, so store them in the fridge or freezer and use them as a treat to cool off with on a hot summer day (or a hot winter day, if you have also been experiencing this year's rather odd temperature shifts!).

Chocolate Mint Sticks
(adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts)
2 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square cake pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
Melt chocolate and butter together in a small bowl in the microwave, stirring after every 30-second interval until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar, salt and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in chocolate mixture, then stir in the flour at low speed. Mix in chocolate chips, then pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Mint Icing
2 tbsp butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp milk or cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Spread evenly on cooled chocolate base, then refrigerate for exactly 5 minutes while you make the chocolate glaze.

Bitter Chocolate Glaze
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 tbsp butter

Melt together chocolate and butter in a small bowl, in the microwave, stirring after every 30-second interval until smooth. Immediately pour the hot glaze (it should be fairly fluid) over the chilled chocolate/mint base. Tilt the pan around to coat the mint layer as much as possible, or drizzle over evenly. Some white will show through; this is ok.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before removing foil and chocolate bars from pan and cutting into 24 thin bars with a sharp knife.
Sticks can be served at room temperature, but are best when chilled or frozen.

Makes 24.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread

2007-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have posted a yeast bread recipe. This isn't because I haven't been baking them, however. I have simply been sticking to old favorites for a while, like Sourdough and Country White Bread, and have been working on a new baguette recipe that I really like (not ready for prime time yet, sorry!). What this all boils down to is that I have been in a bit of a rut and was finally kicked out of it by a box of cinnamon raisin granola. The granola was so good that after running through a box of it for breakfast (and snacks), I decided that I needed to make some cinnamon raising bread for toasting in the morning as a replacement.
Cinnamon and raisins obviously played a role in the bread, and I went for a fairly plain loaf, rather than doing the slightly more traditional cinnamon spiral. Since granola is a whole-grain product, I also decided to go with whole wheat in my bread. I used both whole wheat flour and white whole wheat flour, as I wanted to maximize the amount of whole grain in the bread but didn't want the texture to be too coarse, which can be a fault of whole wheat-only breads. I used honey, instead of regular sugar, to add some sweetness to the bread, and I used both buttermilk and butter to ensure that the finished loaf had a hint of a buttery taste to it. The buttery taste is a good feature in bread meant for toasting.
All in all, the bread turned out to be very satisfying. It wasn't too heavy or dense because I gave the bread a long time to rise a develop small air pockets as the yeast did its thing. The final loaf also had the tenderness that the relatively low gluten (lower than regular flour, anyway) whole wheat flour provides. The cinnamon was mild in the untoasted bread, but came out beautifully in the finished product. I wish now that I would have tried a few slices of french toast with the loaf, but the call of the toaster was just too tempting and just about every single slice ended up there.
Butter, jam and peanut butter (not necessarily together) are my top three toppers for toast made with this bread, but use whatever strikes your fancy. But be sure to toast it. It's well worth it!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (approx 110F)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature or a bit warmer
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 - 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cups raisins

In a large bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
Mix in buttermilk, honey, salt, cinnamon and whole wheat flour. Stir well. Gradually mix in white whole wheat flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, adding a bit more flour as you go to keep it from sticking, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes (it won't get quite as smooth as breads made with other flours, but it will still be a bit stretchy). Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Turn bread out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Shape into a rectangle, then form into a log by folding the short ends into the center, then pulling the long ends up and pinching them together. Place dough seam-side down into a greased 8x4 inch loaf pan. Let rise for 45-60 minutes.
Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes (until an internal-read thermometer inserted into the bottom of the loaf reads approx 200F). Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and toasting.
Makes 1 loaf.

Black Forest Tart

2007-03-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

Black Forest Cake was once the pinnacle of all desserts. Every restaurant worth eating at - or that wanted to look like it was worth eating at - had it on the menu. The cake is from, as you might suspect from the name, the Black Forest region of Germany, where it began as a cherry and liquor dessert before morphing into a cake. The cake itself has layers of chocolate cake with lots of whipped cream and cherries stacked between the layers. Some recipes will use rum or kirsch, but the important things are the chocolate, cream and cherries.
Combining these three things can turn anything into a "black forest." The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop chain in LA, for example, makes a delicious ice blended coffee drink with maraschino cherries, chocolate and coffee called the Black Forest. Faced with a jar of perfectly preserved (in cherry juice) Morello cherries, I decided to make my own version of the Black Forest - in tart form.
I made a crust out of chocolate wafer cookies (you can use the ends of Oreos or similar cookies, with all the filling removed), filled it with a smooth cream cheese filling and topped it with the cherries. The dessert was so simple, yet it managed to seem perfectly balanced. It definitely falls into the comfort food category before the gourmet one, but that's not always a bad thing, right?
If you don't have cherries or other fruits are in season, go ahead and top the tart with strawberries, raspberries or some combination of other fruits for a chocolate fruit tart. Don't forget a little dollop of whipped cream on top of each piece!

Black Forest Tart
Chocolate Crust
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a medium bowl, combine chocolate crumbs, sugar and butter and stir well. Pat into 9-in. pie plate.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until firm at the edges.
Cool completely.

Assembly
8-ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp kirsch

approx. 2 cups cherries, pitted (Morello or marischino) or other fruits
whipped cream

Combine cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla (or kirsch) in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Spread evenly into cooled tart crust. Top with an even layer of fruit and a few dollops of whipped cream before serving.

Serves 8.

Peach Passion Muffins

2007-03-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

The other day when I was at Trader Joe's, I noticed the most unusual fruit in the freezer department. Now, when it comes to fruit, I always like to have fresh on hand for eating and frozen on hand for baking. After all - it can be difficult to get wild blueberries (which I adore in all kinds of cakes, muffins and scones) in January. The fruit I found on this particular occasion was sliced, peeled peaches that were passion fruit flavored - by which they seemed to mean that the stone fruit slices had been soaked in passion fruit juice before freezing. I didn't think that you can go too far wrong with either peaches or passion fruit, so I bought a bag.
When still cold, but slightly thawed, I could taste both fruit flavors in the peaches and they went splendedly with yogurt. Sticking to my original plan, however, I duitifully chopped up some of the slices and folded them into a batch of muffins. The passion fruit flavor didn't quite carry over in the way I had hoped, but I like to think it was there in a (very) subtle way.
Despite the lack of passion flavor and the rather plain look of these muffins, they were actually very good. I added a fair amount of vanilla, which blended nicely with the fruit. The peaches worked out perfectly and had a great texture - far, far better than what you'd get with any canned peach and much easier than working with a fresh one (especially in the off-season!).
The only change I would make to this recipe is that I would add a sprinkle of coarse/raw sugar to the top just to make them look a bit prettier

Vanilla Peach Muffins
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp vanilla extract*
1 ½ cups peeled, diced frozen peaches (unthawed)
coarse sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk/beat together eggs and sugar for about a minute at high speed, just until fairly smooth, then add in oil and vanilla. Add in flour mixture and stir until just combined. Briefly stir in peach pieces. Divide evenly into muffin cups and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bbake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
These are best on the day they are made.
Makes 12 muffins.

*Vanilla paste, if you can find it, is a great substitute, since it will add attractive vanilla specks to your muffins.

Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake

2007-02-25T06:05:00.000-08:00

I might like a good superlative as much as the next person, but I'm not one to throw around words like "amazing" and "the best" lightly when it comes to a recipe. In fact, I probably wouldn't use them myself to describe this particular coffee cake. I will say, however, that the lucky people who got to eat this cake used those exact words to describe this moist, tender, light and crazily addictive cake.
Backtracking for a moment, the reason that I wanted to make this cake in the first place was twofold: I had a mostly-unused container of sour cream sitting around in my fridge that was looking for a recipe to work itself into and I had a package of Nutorious nuts that were also looking for a job.
Nutorious is a Wisconsin company that makes gourmet candied nuts. I'm not necessarily a big nut fan, but theirs are really outstanding. They use a mix of nuts and they come in flavors like Cherry Vanilla and Cranberry Orange. It is easy to breeze through one of their bags in no time flat, especially if you have someone to help you much, but the company goes out of their way to point out how good the nuts are in various recipes, so I wanted to try them out in something. I ended up using a mixture of their Original and Cherry Vanilla flavors with excellent results, as the candy coating blended right into the cake. Any candied or sweetly spiced nut will work in this recipe, and you can always opt for plain, toasted nuts, too. Nutorious mixes walnuts, pecans and almonds, so try to use a blend if you're not using theirs.

Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake
Streusel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped candied/toasted nuts (Nutorious or other)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Cake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (light is fine)
1/3 cup chopped candied/toasted nuts (Nutorious or other)

Prehat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9-in square pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together all topping ingredients until wet crumbs are formed. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light. Beat in vanilla, followed by the eggs, adding them one at a time until mixure is smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to sugar mixture, alternating with sour cream in two or three additions, until well mixed. Stir in nuts and scrape into prepared pan. Top with streusel mixture, spreading it into as even a layer as possible.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Serves 12.

Flourless Chocolate Mini Cakes

2007-02-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Flourless chocolate cake is a little bit overdone. And by "a little," I actually mean "quite a lot." It was the hottest dessert that a restaurant could serve for a while, but now it has fallen back into a comfortable, but permanent, position beside cheesecake on almost every single dessert menu.
That said, the reason that it became a dessert menu-staple is that flourless chocolate cake is very good and is still very popular. The rich chocolate dessert is difficult for chocolate-lovers to turn down.
As a belated Valentine's Day treat (as you might guess from the little heart-shaped pans that I used), I baked up a batch of mini flourless chocolate cakes.
Fudgy and flavorful, these cakes are not too sweet by any means. I used a 65% dark chocolate for these and would only go up to a 70% without adjusting the sugar level. I know that it's popular to get as dark as possible without increasing the amount of sugar in something, but that is one trend that is starting to get old. Of course dark chocolate is good - I just think that desserts still need to have some balance and that you're always going to find that a slightly sweeter dessert, when compared to a bitter one, is going to be more popular with guests.
I used Reynold's Fun Shapes pans to get the oh-so-sweet heart shapes of my cakes, but these can also be made in a regular muffin tin.

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
14 tbsp butter (2 sticks minus 2 tbsp)
7 oz bittersweet/dark chocolate (65 or 70%), chopped
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a cupcake pan or set 12 foil molds (like the hearts that I used) on a baking sheet.
In the microwave, working in 30-second increments, melt together the butter and chocolate in a large bowl, stirring after each time increment. When melted, stir int the sugar and let the mixture cool for a few minutes before whisking in the eggs one at a time. Once all the eggs have been incorporated, whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
Pour batter evenly into prepared pan(s) and bake for 10 minutes. Turn off oven and let cakes sit inside for an additional 10 minutes. Remove pan to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
Use a spatula to gently turn out the cakes before serving.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Makes 12.

Red Velvet Cake Sandwich Cookies

2007-02-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Red velvet cake is one of my favorite types of cake. It is a buttermilk cake with a hint of cocoa - just enough for flavor, not enough to make it "chocolate cake" - that has a gorgeous red hue. The red, in theory, comes from the interaction between baking soda and cocoa powder, but more often than not food coloring is added. Some people are put off of the cake by the food coloring, but they're the ones missing out on a delicious cake.
Instead of going with a regular cake or cupcakes, I opted for cake-like sandwich cookies, more similar to the whoopie pies that I made a few weeks ago than to, for example, Oreos. The cookies are moist and tender and the filling is a mascarpone cream cheese mixture that adds just the right amount of flavor and sweetness. The cookies themselves are actually low fat, although the presence of the filling makes up for that fact. I added a little bit of buttermilk as a nod to the traditional red velvet cakes, but I have to admit that you can't really taste it. You can, however, taste the cocoa, the vanilla and the delicious filling.
These are best if eaten within a day or two of being made.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Red Velvet Cake Sandwich Cookies
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp red food coloring (more, if necessary)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg whites, followed by the applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add additional coloring, if needed, to reach desired color. Keep in mind that the color will dim slightly with baking, but I try to shoot for a burgundy/brown color. Stir in flour mixture until batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain.
Drop batter two tablespoonfuls at a time onto the prepared baking sheet, forming 2-inch in diameter rounds.
Bake for 10 minutes, until set but not browned. Cookies should spring back when lightly touched, like a cake.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely

Makes about 40 cookies.

Mascarpone Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla paste is even better)
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat together mascarpone and cream cheese until well combined. Beat in vanilla and milk. Add in confectioners sugar, scraping down the bowl as you go. When it has all been incorporated, beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until icing is very smooth and thick, but not stiff. Add more confectioners sugar, if necessary.
Spread filling between pairs of cooled cookies.
Makes about 20 sandwich cookies.

Sour Cream Lemon Shortbread Bars

2007-02-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Since I love lemon, you might think that I love lemon bars. Unfortunately, this is not true. More often than not, lemon bars are just plain awful. The lemon filling is usually either gummy or too gelatinous and the base is almost always bland, soggy or both. The lemon flavor is rarely as clear as it could be and, while lemon bars shouldn't be as tart as the filling for a lemon meringue pie, where the meringue acts to temper the semi-tart lemon flavor of the filling, it should still be bright enough that one bite sends the "this is lemon" message to your brain. In short, I usually pass on lemon bars.
Of course, if I make the bars myself, I have no problems eating them. This recipe seems to solve all the lemon bar problems that I just listed, turning out bars that are as close to perfect as I can recall having.
The base is a light and tender shortbread cookie, which crumbles gently into your mouth and retains some crispness in spite of the moist topping. The topping is just thick enough to hold together well and has a bright, but not overly tart, lemon flavor. In fact, the flavor is tempered by the addition of some sour cream, which gives the bar a great mouthfeel.
I used my Baker's Edge pan to ensure even baking. Don't have one yet? No worries - just use a 9"x13" baking pan and plan to take a couple of minutes off the final baking time.
I topped these off with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, but that is entirely optional. The whole batch will be gone in a flash - with or without the extra sprinkle.

Sour Cream Lemon Shortbread Bars
Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into several pieces

Lemon Topping
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (1 generous tbsp)

Preheat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a food processor, whizz together the flour, sugar lemon zest and sald. Add in butter and pulse until mixture reaches a crumbly, sandy (with some pea-sized chunks of butter remaining) pieces. Press evenly into the Baker's Edge pan (or 9"x13" pan) bake for 16-19 minutes, until just slightly golden at the corners.

While the crust is baking, beat together the remaining ingredients until smooth. When the crust comes out of the oven, pour in the lemon filling while it is hot, then return pan to the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes, until set and slightly browned at the corners.
Set pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 16 large bars.

Chai Latte Muffins

2007-01-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

I usually have a small jar of pumpkin pie spice sitting around. It's easy to make, but in the morning it is very convenient to have some ready to go when I want to spice up my oatmeal on a chilly morning. A few weeks ago, I picked up a jar at Trader Joe's and was very surprised to discover that it tasted nothing like the classic pumpkin pie spice mix that I know and love. I also discovered that it's not necessarily the greatest thing to blindside your tastebuds shortly after waking up. Their version of pumpkin pie spice included lots of cardamom, ginger, cloves, pepper and cinnamon. Call me traditional, but that's not what I want my pumpkin pie spice to taste like.

The point of this little story is that when I was deciding what recipe I wanted to try from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I realized that the spice combination in the Chai Latte Cupcakes was very similar to my non-pumpkin pie spice mix. I made the cakes and used it instead of the original recipe's combination with great results. The flavor was very spicy and chai-like, but not too aggressive.
The only complaint that I have is that I don't think these are actually cupcakes. They have a less refined, more muffin-like texture than I want for a cake. I would have added more sugar if I wanted to try for more cakiness from this recipe. Fortunately, the muffins went beautifully with a cup or tea or coffee and, as they weren't frosted with anything more than a bit of spiced up confectioners' sugar, I didn't feel the least bit guilty about having them for breakfast instead of dessert. And this time I wasn't surprised by the spicing - just pleased by it.
By the way, these turned out just fine with regular yogurt instead of the soy, so don't worry if you need to make a small substitution to make the recipe fit the ingredients that you keep at home.

Chai Latte Muffins
1 cup soy milk (I used vanilla)
4 black/chair teabags
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of ground pepper

Prehat oven to 375F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Heat milk to almost boiling (in the microwave or a small sauce pan) and steep the tea bags for about 10 minutes, making very strong, milky tea. Don't worry about making the tea bitter (which can happen as a result of oversteeping) because you won't taste it in the end product.
In a large bowl wisk together oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Pour half into the yogurt mixture, stirring well, followed by the tea mixture and the rest of the flour. Stir only until just combined, then evenly distribute into prepared muffin tin.
Bake for about 21-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Makes 12 mufins.

Top with sifted confectioners' sugar when cooled. Mix 2 tbsp cocoa powder with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg together in a small bowl. Sift lightly over top of the sugar (using a stencil for accuracy, if you want) to add a bit of extra spice.

Pecan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2007-01-25T05:31:00.000-08:00

The only problem that I have with loaf cakes/breads is in choosing the pan size. I tend to prefer using my 8x4 inch pan because I like the higher rise, but the 9x5 inch size is slightly more common and I often feel pressured to write my recipes for that particular pan. Pressure or no, however, I usually just go ahead and use the pan I like, simply indicating the size instead of changing the recipe around. All that said, this time I did opt to use the larger, slightly wider pan for my loaf.
This recipe is a twist on my standard recipe for banana bread, with a little bit more butter and loads of chocolate chips and pecans. Normally I'm not one for nuts in my baked goods, but here the pecans add a nice textural contrast with the chocolate chips. The bread is best when it is toasted and topped with butter or cream cheese, but if you prefer to eat it untoasted, you might want to keep it well wrapped overnight to make sure it is at its moistest when you go to eat it.
Because the pan makes the bread thinner than it might ordinarily be, it will cook more quickly and there is a greater chance of the bread overcooking. Make sure to check it with a toothpick and take it out of the oven as soon as it is done. I would check it a couple of minutes early, just in case your oven runs on the hot side.

Pecan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 medium-sized, ripe bananas, mashed (about ¾-1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9x5-in loaf pan
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. When light and fluffy, beat in egg, followed by mashed banana and vanilla extract. Blend in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
Bake for about 45 minutes at 350F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool on a rack in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn loaf out of pan and let cool completely before slicing.
Serve toasted, with butter and/or cream cheese. Store well in an airtight container (or plastic wrap).
Serve 8-10.

Guess who I met?

2007-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Want to know what I've been up to for the past couple of days that has kept me away from blogging? I've been at the Winter Fancy Foods Show in San Francisco! Check out this post for a full report.

And, yes, I do have a recipe ready to go for tomorrow.

Bailey's Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Crust

2007-01-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

When I got a bottle of the new Bailey's with a hint of Caramel Irish Cream Liqueur, I knew that I wanted to bake something with it even before I tasted it. I had two reasons for this. First, I don't often have a full bottle of Bailey's sitting around, so it seemed to provide ample resources for creativity. Second, while I like the taste of Irish cream, I'm not that interested in having more than a few sips at a time. The creaminess of the liqueur is just too rich for me on its own, even over ice, in large doses.
That being said, the Bailey's Caramel doesn't really taste like your typical Irish cream at all. Without sharing a drink with you (would that I could!), I'll simply say that it tastes very similar to a caramel macchiato from Starbucks, albeit an alcoholic one. Caramel is such a versatile flavor that I couldn't initially decide what to do with it. Brownies came to mind, but somehow I ended up deciding to start with cheesecake.
I have made plain cheesecake bars using my Baker's Edge pan before and they turned out so beautifully that there was no doubt in my mind I would have to use it again. I still think that the unusual design of the pan makes it perfect for anything that is likely to end up with overcooked edges and an undercooked center when baked in a normal pan, like cheesecake bars and brownies, in addition to whatever else you want to put in it.
These bars turned out beautifully. I used quite a bit of Bailey's, so they are rather "grown up" and probably won't be a big hit with the kids, but they should be a big hit with the adults, especially if you like Bailey's to begin with. The cheesecake is creamy, with notes of caramel and Irish cream and the chocolaty crust provides a wonderful, shortbread-like contrast in texture. They're easy enough to make on a weeknight, fancy enough to serve at a dinner party and taste fantastic. What more could you want?

Bailey's Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Crust
Crust
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup half & half/light cream
1/2 cup Bailey's Caramel (or regular Bailey's)
2 (8-oz) packages plain cream cheese, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a Baker's Edge pan (or 9x13-inch baking pan). Begin by making the crust. In a large or extra-large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt in a small bowl. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture. Mixture will be crumbly when all the flour has been incorporated. Press evenly into prepared pan and bake for 15-17 minutes.
While the crust bakes, combine sugar, half & half, Bailey's and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, waiting until each in incorporated to add the next, followed by flour and vanilla.
Pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. Return pan to oven and bake for 22-26 minutes, until the filling is set (a 9x13 pan might need an extra couple of minutes, so be sure to test that the cheesecake is set by gently jiggling the pan before removing it from the oven).
Cool completely before slicing (don't worry if the cheesecake appears to deflate as it cools), or refrigerate overnight.
Store in the refrigerator.
Makes 16-20 bars.

Note: Use full-fat cream cheese in this recipe, or substitute Neufchatel cheese to reduce the fat, but do not use whipped or fat free cream cheese.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

2007-01-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

Remember when I pointed out a few weeks ago that cashew butter could be used to make extra-chewy cookies? It turns out that the very same property carries over to brownies, although this time I used peanut butter instead of cashew butter for something a little bit different.
Besides - who doesn't like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? It wouldn't be such a popular pairing in the candy world if it wasn't well-liked.
These brownies use both peanut butter and cocoa for a tasty twist on a favorite. The texture is wonderful, as they are chewy and rich without being extremely wet or heavy, as some "fudgy" brownies tend to be. They also keep quite nicely and taste just as good on the second day as they did on the first. I can't vouch for the third day because I suspect that they won't last that long.
I really recommend including the chocolate chips in this recipe because the brownies themselves are not super chocolaty and the chips will keep chocoholics content, but if you want to go really peanut-buttery with this one, try using peanut butter chips instead. You can also try using other nut butters, although your results may vary slightly from mine if you use a natural nut butter, since I used a regular brand.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup all pupose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9x9-in square pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth, then beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a small bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in to peanut butter mixture at a low speed, stopping when just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and scrape batter into pan, spreading into an even layer.
Bake for 26-29 minutes, until set. Edges should feel slightly firm and the center should not look wet or jiggly.
Cool on a wire rack and lit brownies out with the foil when ready to slice.
Makes 16 brownies.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cake

2007-01-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, I found myself with the need to make a dessert for some guests - surprise, surprise, right? I somehow got it into my head that a bundt cake would look good, not to mention that since these guests happened to be family members, I didn't feel the need to go over-the-top and made an especially elaborate dessert. I wanted something that would go well with a bit of cofee.
My first inclination was to make the pear cake yet again, but I ultimately decided that the inclusion of chocolate into my dessert would probably make it more appealing to everyone. So after much deliberation and a few twists, I arrived at a double chocolate peppermint cake. The cake is a black and white swirl bundt that uses melted bittersweet chocolate in the black layer and melted white chocolate in the white layer. I spiked only the white layer with some peppermint extract, which added a lovely flavor without being too overwhelming, since it was tempered by both the plain chocolate cake and the chocolate chips that I stirred in to both batters before baking.
The swirl in the cake was self-made, by which I mean that I simply layered one batter on top of the other. The lower layer, the chocolate batter, rose up around the white batter because of the way the cake cooks in the oven, creating a gorgeous swirl without the need to force the different batters to "marble."
The finished cake was moist and minty, with a good hint of chocolate that could be emphasized even more if you add a chocolate glaze, rather than a simply dusting of powdered sugar. It was substantial, but neither as heavy nor as dense as a pound cake. It went beautifully with coffee and even better with hot chocolate.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cake
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (or semisweet), chopped and melted
4 oz white chocolate, chopped and melted
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 10-in. bundt pan thoroughly with cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Set aside.
Combine vanilla and buttermilk in a measuring cup. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Working in three or four additions, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, mixing only until just incorporated and no flour remains.
Scoop half of the batter back into the medium bowl. Into one bowl, stir in melted bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate. Into the other half of the batter in the other bowl, stir in melted white chocolate and peppermint extract. Divide chocolate chips and stir half into each bowl.
Pour chocolate batter into prepared bundt pan. Smooth surface. Pour white batter evenly into bundt pan and tap gently to smooth surface. Do not swirl the batter.
Bake cake for 70-75 minutes at 325F, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently touched.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serves 12-14.

The Cheeseboard's Currant Scones

2007-01-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

It's not really possible to eat low fat all the time, not without missing out on something really tasty every once in a while, so even if your New Year's resolution is to eat healthier, just keep in mind that eating healthier doesn't have to mean excluding everything that could be described as "decadent." It just means eating less of those items. Really good scones usually get that way because of the liberal use of butter and cream, so it is best to eat just one, but do take that one because you'll be missing out if you're never had a really good scone.

This recipe is from the The Cheeseboard in Berkeley, easily one of the best - not to mention one of the most interesting - bakeries in the SF bay area. It is a collective, so all the workers are part owners of the bakery and basically seem like one big family. The Cheeseboard sells everything from baguettes to sticky buns depending on what day of the week and time of day it is, but everything they sell is excellent. This scone, although fairly simple, is one of their best sellers. It was their "original" scone and on a busy Saturday, the tiny shop can sell through over 500 of them.
The scones are moist, flavorful and tender, with a nice, but slight, crispness to the outside. Dried currants are more easily found at natural foods and gourmet stores, but if you cannot find them at all, use small, dark raisins.

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!

Currant Scones
(from The Cheese Board: Collective Works)
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup dried currants
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup buttermilk

coarse sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add in butter, toss to coat, and rub in with your fingers (or a pastry cutter, if you prefer) until only pea-sized chunks remain.
Stir in currants, then add the cream and buttermilk, mixing only until the ingredients just come together into a ball. It is ok if there is a little flour left at the bottom of the bowl.
Divide dough into 12 balls (about 2-in in diameter, although the cheeseboard's seem to be larger in the shop) and dip the top of each in coarse sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 12.

Margarita Cupcakes

2006-12-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

Chocolate and vanilla are classics for a reason, but that doesn't mean that you can't think outside of the box a bit when it comes to cupcakes. And I'm not refering to boxed cake mixes here. I'm talking about using more unusualy flavors, like Cupcake Bakeshop does, to really let cupcakes shine, not just act as pacifiers when we're in the mood for a little nostalgia.
You have probably never had a margarita cupcake before, let alone heard of one. This recipe comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, a book that I recently got to try a few recipes from. Not only are they creative, but they taste great. This batch of cupcakes, for example, was served to a group of omnivores and I didn't even mention that they were vegan. They were a huge, huge hit. It could have had something to do with the taste of tequila in the outstanding frosting, but even so, there were no complaints about the texture or the flavor of the cake. And yes, I mean this as a complement because anyone who has tried vegan baking will tell you that the flavor is not the problem, it's the texture. This cupcake has it all - excellent flavor, nice moistness and even crumb, and a great frosting. The lime/tequila flavors really shine.

Because they're modeled after a cocktail, these are kind of "adult" cupcakes. Make them for a party - how about New Year's?

Margarita Cupcakes
(from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)
1/4 cup lime juice

1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)

1 cup soy milk (plain or vanilla)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp tequila

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to lime mixture and stir until just combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed.
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Tequila and Lime Frosting

1/4 butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, softened

1 tbsp soymilk

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp tequila

2+ cups confectioners' sugar

coarse sugar for "rims"

Cream together butter/nonhydrogenated shortening (depending on whether you want the frosting vegan or not), soymilk, lime juice, tequila, and 2 cups of confectioners' sugar. Add in more sugar as needed to make frosting stiff, but spreadable.
Spread on cupcakes and roll the edges in a small amount of coarse, colored sugar (poured into a small bowl, so it's easy to direct it.

Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Rugelach

2006-12-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas (Hanukkah, etc.) with their families and friends this year. I know I did.
I feel that I am a bit late with these rugelach because they are a tradititionally Jewish cookie and very popular during Hanukkah, especially at parties. This doesn't preclude them from being eaten the rest of the year, of course, but I must say that these were a huge hit as holiday gifts this year.
This rugelach is made with a lightly sweetened cream cheese dough that is very rich, but very easy to work with. The dough is spread with a filling that can include fruit, spices, preserves, nuts or - as in this case - chocolate, then is cut into thin triangles and rolled into individual crescent shapes. The finished cookies look quite impressive, but they are surprisingly easy to make because the dough is, as I said, very easy to handle.
The pastry is soft and tender without being crunchy, brittle or flaky, unlike shortbread and other types of pastry dough. The filling is has a nice balance of chocolate, fruit and nuts that has been ground almost into a paste. It is lightly sweetened and very flavorful, but not overwhelming to the dough. Like so many other cookies, these go perfectly with a hot cup of tea. If you have never had rugelach, I highly recommend giving them a try.

Cranberry Chocolate Pecan Rugelach
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

For dough:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8-oz. (1 package) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

For filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted pecans (raw or lightly toasted)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg, beaten lightly
coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Make dough:
Beat together butter and cheese in large bowl. then beat in the sugar until light. Gradually mix in flour and salt and when the dough comes together into a smooth ball (you might need to help the mixer with your hands), divide into 2 equal discs and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Divide each of the discs into four pieces (for a total of 8) before rolling out.

For filling:
Mix sugar, cranberries, pecans, chocolate chips and butter in the bowl of a food processor and blend until spreadable and fairly smooth.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchmemt paper.
Working with one disk of dough at a time, roll into an 8-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Spread the round of dough with 3-4 tbsp of filling, spreading it in a thin, even layer to the edges of the dough. Use a pizza cutter and cut each round into 8 "slices." Working from the outside edge, roll in towards the point, then place the cookies tip-point-down onto the baking sheet. Curve slightly into crescents. When the whole tray is filled, brush each lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar (regular sugar can substitute).
Bake about 20 minutes, until light golden.
Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely and repeat with remaining dough.
Store in an airtight container.
Makes 64 cookies.

(Bon Appetit said that these will keep for 1 week in an airtight container and can be frozen for 1 month.)

Rum Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

2006-12-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

If you haven't noticed by now, I reallly, really like oatmeal cookies. Past favorites include Banana Oatmeal Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, Coconut Oatmeal Cookies, Heart Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and Oatmeal Cookie Biscotti - and even with a list of recipes that long, I don't feel the need to stop yet.
This recipe was a spur of the moment idea and is a variation on one of my favorite lowfat oatmeal cookie recipes. I decided to jazz up the regular cookies with a splash of rum to give them some holiday spirit and it worked beautifully. The rum flavor was present, but subtle. You could tell that there was something different about the cookies, but until you knew that there was rum, it was hard to pinpoint the source of that flavor. The result was delicious and slightly adult.
The cookies, although they are low fat, still have a nice chew to them and stay moist when you store them in an airtight container, although they don't have the same light texture that a really buttery cookie will have. Frankly, I don't mind in the least. These still taste great and I'm not going to complain when I can eat an extra cookie or two without feeling guilty.
If you don't want to go with the low-fat cookies, just make the run raisins and use them in this recipe instead!

Rum Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 cup raisins
2-3 tbsp dark rum
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plain apple sauce
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats

Combine rum and raisins in a small, microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for a few seconds, until just warm. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add cinnamon if using raisins, instead of chocolate chips.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and the vanilla extract. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the rum-raisin mixture.
Drop tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, flattening each cookie slightly. Bake for about 9-12 min at 375F. Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done.
Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Foolproof Lemon Tart

2006-12-19T05:40:00.000-08:00

Meyer lemons, the non-bitter lemon hybrids that are growing in popularity with cooks everywhere by leaps and bounds, are in season right now. It is much easier to find them at stores and markets than it was only a few years ago, and more people are familiar with them as an ingredient. Even if you're not, the only thing you need to know is that they seem sweeter than the average lemon but no less lemony.
I've used them in scones, quickbreads, cakes and risottos, but they can be used in place of lemons in any recipe. With this in mind, I didn't hesitate to substitute them in for the regular lemons in this recipe for a Foolproof Lemon Tart from the LCBO magazine, Food & Drink, which is one of my favorite recipe sources.
The tart is, as promised by the name, pretty foolproof. The "hardest" part is the crust because it needs to be prebaked. Prebaking basically means that you bake the crust after filling it with pie weights or dried beans to prevent the crust from getting soggy once the filling is added and to stop it from puffing up during baking once the filling is added, which could ruin the look of the finished tart. Prebaking a crust like this one is no different from prebaking a graham cracker crust, so there is no need to be intimidated by it in a recipe even if you're a novice baker.

There is a bit of lemon zest in the crust, but the star of the tart is the lemon filling. Not only is it incredibly simple, but it is bright, perfectly balancing sweet and tart flavors so that all you taste is lemon. It is also very smooth and light. The tart would probably be quite refreshing during the summer, but in winter, it is a nice change from heavier, spicier desserts.

Foolproof Lemon Tart

(from Food&Drink)
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut in cubes
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp lemon juice (meyer or regular)
2 tsp lemon zest

For the filling:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (meyer or regular)

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 425F
In a food processor, combine flour and sugar and pulse to blend. Add butter and pulse until mixture is coarse and sandy. Add in egg yolk, lemon juice and lemon zest and whizz until dough starts to come together, adding an extra tablespoon of water or lemon juice, if necessary.
Turn dough into bowl and knead gently until it forms a ball.
Place dough on a lightly floured board and roll until it is large enough to fit a 9-in tart pan. Lay dough gently into pan and press (do not stretch) into the corners. Cut excess from the top of the pan.
Prick the crust with a fork and place a sheet of foil on top of it, filling with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and beans and bake for 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling.

For the filling:
Reduce oven heat to 350F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Whisking steadily, add in melted butter, lemon rind and juice. Pour into pastry shell.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling is set and jiggles only slightly when the tart pan is pushed.
Cool before serving.

Serves 10.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

2006-12-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

Every year I try to make one "different" cookie recipe around the holidays. I'm not saying that I go for something extreme, like chocolate chip bacon cookies, but I do like to have one thing on the Christmas cookie plate that isn't just chocolate chip oatmeal, gingerbread, shortbread or a sprinkle-laden butter cookie. Bright with orange zest and packed with chewy dried cranberries, these cookies fit the bill perfectly. They're delicious.
The cookies themselves are light, with an excellent texture, and are very buttery tasting. They get crisp at the edges after baking, but are left with a soft chew by the next day. The orange zest is not overwhelming and it gives the cookies a light flavor that makes you reach for another straight away. I think that cranberries are a good match for the orange, but dried blueberries would probably also work out very well if you want something different. And, of course, you can always toss in either white or dark chocolate chips.
Don't overbake these cookies. They should only be ever so slightly colored at the edges when they are done baking. Leave them to set up on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool, or you could end up with cookie crumbs, instead of whole cookies.

Cranberry Orange Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
zest of one large orange (about 1 tbsp)
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light. Beat in egg and orange zest. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until just combined. Stir in the cranberries.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (about 1 1/4-inch balls) onto prepared cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned. Cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes about 4 dozen.

By the way - did you know that the 2006 Food Blog Awards are going on right now? It's a low pressure event, but it's nice to go and nominate your favorite bloggers. I'm not thrilled with the way that they have judges pick from all the nominated blogs to see who we will vote on, but hey - that's their system. And the idea behind the event, recognizing everyone's hard work and decication of every reader (who hopefully finds lots of tasty recipes), is definitely agood one.

A few holiday gift ideas

2006-12-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a lot of gift lists to suit various themes, but I still feel like I haven't hit upon some of the best gifts that are out there. So, I've decided to make up a little list for fans of bakingsheet that has some of the best gifts that I can think of. These are all things that I have, have used, want or otherwise recommend and are pretty much guaranteed to please anyone who is a fan of this blog. Now, you might not want to get them for yourself (buying presents for yourself right before major holidays is a major no-no), but you can forward this post to friends and loved ones to nudge them in the right direction:

The Good Home Cookbook - I was one of the recipe testers for this brilliant collection. My name is even listed in the back of the book - true, it's with all the other testers, but it was exciting for me to see regardless. The recipes are easy, work well and it covers just about everything the home chef might possibly want to make. The pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, cheese bread and black walnut cake are all great.

I think that Beth Hensperger is a brilliant baker and The Bread Bible is one of my favorites, although all her books are excellent. The range of breads, from Dutch Crunch Bread and Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread to whole grain breads, tortillas, scones, quick breads and even bread-machine breads, you can find everything in here. Other bread books I highly recommend are Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads and Baking with Julia for breads and other things.

For non-breads, I really enjoyed Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours, which has tons of great recipes, great photos and great ideas. Just about every recipe in the book sounded appealing. I already made Chewy, Chunky Blondies and Cinnamon Chocolate Squares and am planning on trying the Cranberry Lime Galette and Apple Cheddar Scones in the not-too-distant future. I also, as always, highly recommend anything by Maida Heatter. Other top authors in my book are Donna Hay, Bill Granger (yes, I know he's not primarily a baker) and David Lebovitz, to name but a few.

Vegetarians, vegans or anyone interested in diversifying their cooking/baking should definitely try Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (just tried a couple of recipes from this book and will report back in upcoming posts, but for now I'll just say they turned out great!), Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home and Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, both of which are not recent, but still worth having.

Books on my wishlist include Perfect Light Desserts, King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking and The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes .

Vegetarian Times and Eating Well are my two favorite food magazines this year. Cooking Light is getting a little bit... heavy for my tastes and if I want a full-fat recipe I'll turn to one of my many, many cookbooks. Both VT and EW have innovative ideas and the recipes almost always turn out wonderfully.

I trust that you can all find your own spatulas, spoons and measuring instruments, but OXO's Good Grips 2-Cup Angled Measuring Cup is a lifesaver for working with liquid ingredients and the Baker's Secret Basics Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin Tin is pretty much the best that I've ever used. Nothing sticks to it, so cleanup is dead easy, and it cools down completely within minutes after taking it out of the oven! I also really liked the Baker's Edge Pan, partially because I usally like the "edges" on baked goods and partially because I hate ending up with undercooked cakes, etc. There are a lot of recipes that can be used with the pan. My favorites are (obviously), the two I made: Rocky Road Brownies and Cheesecake Bars

As far as larger/more expensive kitchen equipment goes, I adore my Shun Classic 6-1/2-Inch Santoku Knife, which seems like it could cut through just about anything, and my Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Automatic Ice Cream Makeer gets a lot of use during the warm summer months and puts out an excellent product.

Ignore the odd reviews of the FrancisFrancis! X3 Espresso Machine (check this one instead). The machine works beautifully and turns out espressos and cappuccinos that will rival, if not surpass, your local coffee house. The only drawback is that it works best if you only want to make a couple of drinks. The heating unit gets noisy if you attempt to use it for serving a crowd. If espresso isn't for you, I can definitely recommend the Capresso MT-500 coffeemaker with thermal carafe, which has never let me down. And, to go with a regular coffee machine, an Aerolatte Frother can whip up some foam in seconds (and is superb for mixing up hot chocolate).

By the way, you can find the recipe for the cookies pictured above here.

Pear Bundt Cake

2006-12-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Speaking as someone who chronically does this, pears are an underutilized fruit when it comes to baking and dessert. This is a shame because they have great flavor, work well with a variety of spices and are easy to bake because they already have a soft texture and you don't have to worry about undercooking them (it can occasionally be a problem with apples, which is why many apple muffin recipes call for them to be shredded, or finely diced).
This is a pear bundt cake, relatively low in fat and made with pear sauce, which I found at Trader Joe's. Applesauce can easily be used instead without sacrificing anything in terms of flavor. The cake has a tender, but firm, crumb of the kind that is ideal for pairing with coffee or tea, when you want to pick up the slice of cake and eat it with your fingers, rather than delicately nibbling off a plate. The pieces of pear are wonderfully moist and blend in with the cake well. You would never know that it was low in fat.

Tempted? I hope so, because I loved the way this cake turned out. Unfortunately, I spilled coffee all over my notes for the recipe and can no longer make out my final version. I'm going to go back through my notes and piece it together again, but I couldn't resist putting the photo up now. I'll bake another cake, if I must (not a big sacrifice, I assure you), to get it right again.

Update: Here is the recipe:

Pear Bundt Cake
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pear sauce (unsweetened apple sauce is fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups peeled, diced pear (1 large or 2 small)

Preheat over to 350F. Grease a 10-inch bundt pan well, brushing it with melted butter or nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. It will look sandy when well-combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by pear/apple sauce and vanilla extract.
Working in two or three additions, alternately add flour mixture and milk to the sugar mixture. Stir only until just combined, then gently stir in the diced pears.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently pressed.
Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Serves 12.

A secret to really chewy cookies

2006-12-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

I go back and forth, trying to decide whether I prefer chewy cookies or crisp ones. More often than not, I'll take the crispy cookies because most cookies that claim to be chewy don't really end up being exactly what I had in mind. There are exceptions to this general rule, like these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, but there is only one type of cookie that will consistently turn out to have a good chew: peanut butter. If you bake the cookies at a low temperature, they will develop an appealing and addictive chew. The problem here is that they are peanut butter flavored. I finally figured out how to get around that and still achieve the same chew.
The secret? Cashew butter.
I made some homemade cashew butter on Slashfood and used it in a standard peanut butter cookie recipe. I usually make mine crispy, but this time I took a tip about baking time from Elise to try for chewy ones.

The cookies turned out perfectly chewy and, incredibly, you couldn't taste cashew at all. The flavor is so mild, lightly sweet and vaguely buttery, that it just blended into the cookie! Everyone was asking how on earth I ended up with such chewy cookies. Of course, you'll have to diclose your "secret" to anyone with a nut allergy, but otherwise you can try this with chocolate chips, raisins, or any other add-in you like in your cookies.

Really Chewy Cookies with Cranberries
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cashew butter (homemade or storebought)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or chocolate chips, etc)

Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg, followed by the cashew butter, and beat well. Add in dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed, mixing until just combined. Stir in dried cranberries (or chocolate chips).
Shape into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly onto a cookie sheet, leaving enough room for them to spread.
Bake for 14-15 minutes, until just beginning to brown on the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Baked Apples

2006-12-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Baked apples are something that I don't make very often because it is just so much easier and faster to eat the apple as it is. Of course, when you do that, you're not getting the warmth and tenderness that a baked apple has, which can be very satisfying on a winter day.
The apples are very easy to make, since they're basically just apples that are baked in the oven until they are very tender. Anything else - fillings, spices, etc - is completely optional. I recommend peeling off most of the skin before baking as it tends to get kind of tough. For the apples I made here, I used a potato peeler to remove a spiral strip, but it would be easier to peel vertical strips and would be equally as effective.
I used some of the streusel topping that I made here to top off the apples after removing the core and stuffing them when chopped pecans and raisins. It's not an exact science, but I like the fact that having some flour in the mixture gives it a crisp top. You can just use sugar and cinnamon, if you prefer. The amount you'll need of everything varies based on how many apples you're going to make, but the baking time should be the same whether you're doing one or a dozen.

Baked Apples
large baking apples
streusel mixture or other suger+spice mix
raisins
pecans

Preheat oven to 400F
Partially peel the apples and use a corer or melon baller to remove the stem and th center core. Do not go all the way through the apple (yes - you'll have to eat around the very bottom bit after its cooked, but it's worth it to keep everything inside the apple).
Place apples in an over-safe casserole dish.
Stuff apples with raisins and chopped pecans. Pack plenty of sugar in and or top of the apples.
Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the apple) until tender. Check tenderness by inserting a sharp knife. When it comes out easily, the apples are done.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

2006-11-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

The holidays have a way of making time go by both very slowly and very quickly, which is why it has taken me so long to get this post up even though I intended to do it days ago. Fortunately for me, despite the fact that Thanksgiving is now over, pumpkins are considered to be winter fare, as well as fall. Of course, canned pumpkin means that you have have pumpkin all year long, though.... I digress. The point is that these are delicious muffins - delicious enough to make up for my delay in posting them.
Pumpkin muffins can often be rather heavy and dense due to the fact that there is so much moisture in the pumpkin. These muffins are neither. They have a very tender crumb that is fluffy and light, but very moist. Because they use both butter and sour cream, they can be quite rich, but you can cut back on the amount of fat slightly by using yogurt, either low fat or fat free. The taste will probably make up for any guilt you might feel from eating these, though. They have a good pumpkin flavor, but not overwhelming enough to put off even people who aren't particular fans of pumpkin. The spices, and the hint of cinnamon in the streusel, really round out the overall flavor of fall.
I should also note that the instructions for the streusel below will make a bit more than enough to cover the muffins. You can either try to stack the extra on top of the muffins or store it in the fridge for a couple of days to use on a second batch. You can also half the recipe but isn't it better to have too much stresel than too little?

I really love pumpkin in any form that it comes in and I have to say that, in my opinion, these are realy excellent muffins. They can also be dangerously addictive, so you might want to have some people in mind to share them with.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
1/2 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line twelve muffin cups with paper liners or lightly grease the tin.

Make the streusel:
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and rub the butter in until the mixture is crumbly. This will be a bit of a sticky operation because the butter is soft, but take your time. Once it is crumbly, gently squeeze bits of the mixture together to form larger pieces of crumble/streusel. Set aside.
Make the muffins:
In a large bowl, combine melted butter, pumpkin, yogurt/sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices and salt, then stir in the sugar. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and sir until just combined. Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups and top with streusel.
Bake for 16-19 minutes at 400F, until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Cool muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes to allow the topping to set up, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 muffins.

Cream of Artichoke Soup

2006-11-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

Before Thanksgiving, I usually think about savory foods. This is because I already know what I'm going to do in terms of dessert (pie, of course!), so I need to spend more time working out the other things on the menu, like soups and side dishes.
Last year, the soup course was some kind of potato soup that was uninspiring and perhaps a bit too heavy with the other potato dishes at dinner. I wanted to do something lighter and a little bit different, so I thought back to a very good artichoke soup I had at an Italian restaurant a few months ago and decided to aim for that flavor. I recall the waiter explaining that there was no cream and no potato, which is often used as a filler, in the soup, so I started out with a lot of artichokes. I used frozen because they're just as good as fresh for soups and other cooked dishes and they take very little prep time. I added in a little bit of rice to help thicken the soup and ended up adding in some milk to smooth it out. You can use any type of milk in the soup, from skim milk to cream, based on how rich you want it to be. I used a combination of skim milk and light cream (half and half), which is pretty much like low fat milk.
Is it the same as the soup I enjoyed this past spring? No, but it does taste delicious. The flavor of artichoke really comes through and you'll know exactly what it is you are eating. I highly recommend serving the soup with a sprinkle of dill - fresh or dried - and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, as the dill really blends well with the artichoke flavor.
This soup can be served as a first course in smal bowls or as a main dish with bread or half a panini sandwich.

Cream of Artichoke Soup
24-oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 large onion, diced
30-oz vegetable broth
1/4 cup rice, uncooked (I used basmati)
1 tsp tarragon
pinch red pepper flakes
salt, to taste
1 cup milk or cream

dill and yogurt/sour cream, for serving

In large saucepan or pot, combine all ingredients except for the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, until everything is very tender.
Using a hand blender (or working in small batches in a regular blender) puree the soup until very smooth. Slowly stir in the milk and, if necessary, blend again.
Season with more salt and pepper to your tastes, and serve with a small dollop of sour cream and a generous sprinkle of dill.

Serves 6-8.

Vegetarian Stuffing

2006-11-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, this dish and its many variations are a classic holiday dinner side dish. Personally, I always called it stuffing, regardless of the fact that it may or may not have actually be stuffed in a bird. I don't really care for the mushy texture of the in-bird stuffings, so I tend to opt for the "on the side" variety with a crunchy, browned top.
I was working on a couple batches of stuffing for Slashfood this week and I really like the recipe that I ended up with, so I figured I'd share it here as well as there. This version uses cranberries instead of raisins and eliminates the small amunt of oil, which I found made little difference in the crispness of the final stuffing.
It's very easy to make and completely vegetarian. It is flavorful with sage and a fair amount of sweetness from the fruit. You can, of course, adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes and the type of bread you are using. I don't usually measure things as I'm adding them (and will sometimes toss in a bit of paprika or garlic just to make things different), so these are ballpark figures anyway. I like to use fresh bread, not stale, since the flavor is better and it gets just as crispy on top in the oven. I also like to use a good-qualiy store bought bread (usually from TJs or something) rather than homemade, since I tend to want to eat homemade breads and not chop them up into stuffing.
The only "odd" thing about the recipe is that I noted you should use "strong" vegetable stock/broth for the best flavor. I use a vegetarian bullion to make my veg stock, so it is easy to increase the amount for a stronger batch. Add a tbsp of soy sauce to boost the flavor if yours isn't particularly flavorful.

Vegetarian Stuffing
3/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup apple, peeled and diced
2 tsp dried or 3 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
4 cups bread cubes (white or whole grain)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
10-12 tbsp strong vegetable broth* (up to 3/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a 1.5-quart baking dish.
In a small frying pan, sautee the onion, celery and apple until tender with the parsley, sage, salt, cayenne (or regular pepper, if you prefer). This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with onion mixture, cranberries, pecans, vegetable broth, adding slightly more if the bread is very absorbant (some need more liquids), and mix well. Taste one of the cubes and, if necessary, add additional salt or pepper.
Pour into prepared casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until top is crisp and golden.
Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Dried Cranberry Dinner Rolls

2006-11-16T07:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is only a week away and I don't know about you, but I'm already starting to think about what I'm going to serve. I don't usually do "test recipes," making up a batch of something before I intend to serve it, and this isn't one. Instead, these rolls came about as al the ideas that I had for different courses and ingredients were floating around in my head. Dinner rolls and cranberries were the two that spoke loudest to me, and combining them produced these Dried Cranberry Dinner Rolls.
The rolls are delicious, soft with a great texture and a bit of sweetness from the cranberries. They're not actually sweet at all, although there is a bit of honey in the recipe, and they can certainly be used to sop up gravy with dinner. The good thing about any roll like this one is that, even though they work with savory foods, they can still be breakfast-friendly if you have leftovers
I used bread flour, not all purpose, in this recipe and that is what gives the rolls such a nice texture. They sell bread flour at most supermarkets these days, so keep an eye out for it.

Dried Cranberry Dinner Rolls
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk, warm (105F-110F)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2-2 1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 egg yolk

In a large bowl, combine milk and yeast and let stand for about 5 minutes, stirring slightly to dissolve yeast.
Stir in honey, butter, salt and 2 cups of bread flour. Add remaining flour in a tablespoonful at a time, stirring until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes). Place dough in a lightly greast bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and flatten slightly. Knead in cranberries and let dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into eight equal portions and shape each into a ball. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F.
With a fork, beat the egg yolk with 2-3 tbsp water and brush the mixture over the rolls.
Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until rich golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack before enjoying.

Makes 8 rolls.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies

2006-11-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

I know that I just recently made something from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours, but as I flipped through the book I bookmarked over a dozen recipes that I wanted to try, so here is another one.
This recipe appealed to me both because I like blondies and because there is so much good stuff packed into these. A blondie is supposed to be a slightly fudgy/chewy, non-chocolate version of a brownie. In most cases, the blondies turn out to just be slightly chewy cookie bars, which is exactly how these turned out. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but if you're looking for a more brownie-like bar, this might not be the ideal recipe.

The batter is thick and doughlike - in part because of the fairly generous amount of flour and in part because there are chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans (the original recipe called for walnuts) and shredded cocnut - and the only problem I had with the recipe was getting it into an even layer in the pan. I solved this little issue by lightly greasing my spatula and using it to flatten down the dough. I recommend keeping an eye on your oven temperature, or else the bars might turn out to be a touch crispy on the edges and dry in the center. Otherwise, however, they had a great flavor and a nice, chewy texture. These aren't refined cookies to be eaten with tea, but ones to be dunked in a glass of milk when no one is watching.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
(from Baking: From My Home to Yours)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (light) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet/semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips or toffee bits
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated to add the next, then beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring only until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chips, nuts and coconut by hand.
Spread batter into prepared pan, using a lightly greased spatula to even it out.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs.
Cool blondies in the pan, but turn them out (and then reinvert them so the top is facing up) before slicing into 32 bars.

Lemon Cornmeal Bundt Cake with Raspberries

2006-11-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you think that the title I gave this cake is long, let me assure you that it could have been longer. It almost makes me wish I was the sort of person who could come up with short, cutesy names for my creations, like "Mary Sunshine Cake" or something. Alas, I am not and so we are all stuck with a long name.
Names aside, this is a really good cake. I've been thinking about incorporating cornmeal into a cake for some time now but I really wanted to avoid the dense texture that so many cornmeal-heavy cakes have. I wanted to keep a hint of the crumbly, rustic texture that cornmeal offers, though.
This recipe seems to have come out just as I imagined. It has a noticeably different texture from an entirely flour-based cake, but is still very cake-like. The best way I could describe it is to say that there is the tiniest hint of crunch in the crumb. It is moist and very tender, yet isn't heavy at all. The only thing more that you could want is flavor, and this cake has plenty of that, too.
I used buttermilk to add a bit of richness and a generous amount of lemon zest to get the lemon flavor into the cake. I happened to have some Meyer lemons, but ordinary lemon zest will work perfectly well, too. The only thing is that you really must let it sit, well-wrapped, overnight. If you don't, the cake will be good, but it will be a bit cornbread-like because the texture will be slightly more coarse on the first day. After sitting overnight, however, it is perfect.
I highly recommend this cake. Try it with blueberries instead of raspberries if you prefer, or for something with a bit more fall flavor (or if you like slightly tart desserts), try using chopped up cranberries.

Lemon Cornmeal Bundt Cake with Raspberries
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 2 lemons (about 1 tbsp, or a bit more)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups raspberries (if frozen, do not defrost)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 10-inch bundt pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine the vanilla extract and the buttermilk and, working in 3 or 4 additions, alternately add the flour and buttermilk to the butter mixture. Keep the mixer on low speed and make sure to end with an addition of flour (i.e. F, B, F, B, F). Stir in raspberries and pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Add lemon glaze at this point (see note below), while the cake is still hot. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap it up well and let it set overnight.
Serve the next day.

Makes 12 servings.

Note: For the glaze, I combined about 1/4 cup lemon juice with enough regualr sugar to make a thick, but somewhat runny, slurry. I drizzled this over the still-hot cake, which added a boost of lemon flavor and a slight crunch from the sugar. You can also mix lemon juice with powdered sugar to create a more traditional glaze to add after the cake has cooled.

Sunday Brunch: The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

2006-11-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

One of the first recipes I made on this site was for buttermilk pancakes. The recipe was one I used frequently, probably for years, with only tiny variations as I never really looked at a written recipe when I went to make them. Those pancakes are slightly thicker a puffier, although still tender and not too heavy.
This new recipe is why it sometimes pays to experiment a bit and no just stick with the same old thing, no matter how good the original was.
When I started on this recipe I thought that I wanted to make pancakes that would be slightly thinner and lighter than my standard, without going all the way to the crepe end of the spectrum. I used more liquid and omitted the baking powder, which gave the first cakes an extre lift during cooking. These turned out to be a bit thinner, but it was the texture that was the real difference. They are lighter and more tender than the original and where you can eat only a few of those cakes, you can have a whole pile of these (if you're so inclined). They have a lot of buttermilk flavor, so there is no need to add a lot of butter to the batter, though a bit on to of the cakes as you're eating them wouldn't hurt.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups butermilk

1 large egg

2 tsp vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Heat a skillet or griddle over high heat until a drop of wate placed on it skitters around the surface. Drop by large spoonfuls (to make desired size) into the preheated pan and cook until golden on both sides, turning once.
Serve with maple syrup.

Makes enough for 3 hungry breakfasters.

Ultimate Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

2006-11-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

If you have ever even considered applying the word "chocoholic" to yourself, you simply must make these cookies. They are the ultimate in chocolate sandwich cookie-ness.
They start with fairly thin chocolate cookies that come out of the oven slightly crisp at the edges, due to their thickness (or lack thereof), and have a chewy, chocolaty center. The cookies are rather like thin brownies and have an intense taste that doesn't get overwhelming because they are thin. And they are loaded up with chocolate chunks of varying sizes, too.
The filling is basically the topping I used the other day to finish off a cinnamon cake. I added a bit of vanilla to it to round the flavor out ever so slightly. As it cools and solidifies, it melds with the outside cookies, producing an incredibly chocolaty treat that just cries out for a big glass of milk.

The cookies themselves are very easy to make and the only thing to keep in mind is that they will spread a lot. Use a teaspoon or a rounded teaspoon (yes, the actual measuring utensil) to divide up the dough. Try to chop the chocolate chunks relatively finely or use mini chocolate chips to get an even distribution of them.
Again, I can't really overstate the necessity of having a glass of milk nearby when you try one. You'll need it.

Ultimate Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
(cookies adapted from Epicurious)
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee (or espresso) granules
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips or finely chunked bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until light. Beat in egg, water, vanilla and instant coffee powder. Gradually add in the flour mixture, using the mixer on low speed. Stir in chocolate chunks/mini chips. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are slighly firm at the edges and no longer shiny in the center (baking time may be slightly shorter or longer depending on the exact size you scoop).
Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool.

Filling
6-oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt together the chocolate and the butter in a small glass bowl on low power in the microwave, checking and stirring every 20-30 seconds until it is smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. If the chocolate is runny, let it stand for a few minutes until it thickens and is spreadable.
Sandwich about 1 tsp (or as desired - I didn't measure and had two cookies left unfilled) between cookies.

Makes about 24 sandwich cookies.

Pumpkin Pie, Squared

2006-10-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

The first thing you might notice about this piece of pumpkin pie is that it does not look like a traditional slice of pie. Instead of using a 9-inch round pie pan, I opted to use an 8-inch square baking pan. I did it partially out of laziness because the square pan was right in front of me and fresh from the dishwasher, and partially because I wanted to do something a bit out of the ordinary.
Before I even get into the pie, I think it turned out beautifully this way and when I am baking another pie that has a crumb crust (graham or otherwise) I will definitely make a square pie again. This is also a good trick for anyone who has limited access to kitchen equipment but owns a square casserole dish.
Back to the pie.
This pumpkin pie is made with canned pumpkin, but was inspired by a recipe from The Good Home Cookbook (read more about it here), rather than the one on the back of the can of pumpkin. I altered the spicing, the amount of liquid, the crust and, of course, the shape of the pie, so it really looks nothing like the original recipe in anything but the baking time, which should be just about the same regardless of whether you make a round or square pie.
The pie itself is delicious: creamy, light and flavorful. One bite makes you think of fall in an instant - and I can attest to the fact that two pieces make you feel even better. I left ginger out of the filling and, instead, used crushed gingersnaps to make the crumb crust.
I think pumpkin pie is one of the easiest you can make - especially since I've eliminated an actual pie plate. Make two and enjoy one yourself, then use the other to impress your family.

Pumpkin Pie, Squared

Crust:

2 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tbsp sugar

Filling:

3 large eggs, room temperaure

1 - 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk (any kind)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine all crust ingredients into a medium bowl and stir to combine. Press into the bottom of an 8-in square baking pan and bake for 12-14 minutes, until just beginning to brown at the corners.
Set aside to cool completely.

Turn up oven temperature to 425F.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until slightly foamy, about 1 minute. Whisk in all the remaining ingredients, except the milk, and beat until smooth. Then whisk in the milk.
Pour mixture into cooled pie crust and bake for 15 minutes at 425F, then reduce the temperature to 350F and bake for 35-40 more minutes, until the pie jiggles only slightly and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting and refrigerate if storing leftovers.

Makes 9 good-sized pieces.

Cinnamon Chocolate Squares

2006-10-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

I was asked by Sara, from i like to cook, if I would be interested in trying a couple of recipes from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours, I immediately said yes. My general feeling is that no matter how many recipes or cookbooks I have (a lot is an understatement), I can always have more. Besides, new cookbooks mean new pictures, and I love flipping through books for ideas even if I don't make anything.
To choose my first recipe, I looked at the ones that were illustrated first. I wish that they all could have had pictures, as the photography was excellent, but given that the book was already 500+ pages, it was understandable that they didn't want to make it any longer.
My first choice was for a recipe called Cinnamon Squares, slightly renamed here because I think that Cinnamon Chocolate Squares is a slightly more accurate name. The recipes is for a cake with a cinnamon-coffee-chocolate swirl running through the center of it. It would be a coffee cake, but for the fact that it is topped with a rich chocolate glaze - not usually a feature of coffee cakes.
The cake is dead easy to make and you don't even need to cream the butter, since it goes in melted. The only difficult part is spreading the second half of the batter evenly on top of the cinnamon mixture without disrupting it. Once it is finished, the cake is moist on the inside and very flavorful. The corners of the cake were a tiny bit crisp at the edge, so keep an eye on the baking time. I think that this would be great with a streusel topping, but the chocolate glaze seemed to be a real showstopper - people loved it. Overall, this is a great cake. Make it as dessert and serve it with coffee or add your favorite streusel topping and make it for breakfast.
Incidentally, my only negative comment about the book is that there are only about 5 recipes for yeasted breads, and for a book titled Baking I would have expected all types of baking to be covered, not necessarily just a focus on baked goods. Of course, I love baked goods and the book is still a good one, but it's not necessarily the only cookbook you'll want if you want to bake breads, too.

Cinnamon Chocolate Squares
(from Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Cake:
1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp + 2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee/espresso powder
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk (I used nonfat)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled(unsalted)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Glaze:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 tbsp butter, soft

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8-inch square cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and the espresso powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, the remaining cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla and slightly cooled, but melted, butter. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour half of the batter into the prepare pan, spreading it evenly over the bottom. Evenly sprinkle on sugar/espresso mixture and mini chocolate chips, then top with the remaining batter, spreading it evenly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350F, just until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and remove the parchment. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the glaze, melt together the chocolate and the butter either in a double boiler (or on low power in the microwave, as I did) and stir until smooth. If it is runny, let it stand for a minute or two, but otherwise the chocolate should be thick, smooth, shiny and spreadable. Spread on the top of the cake (the flat bottom side should be facing up, which makes it easy to frost) and allow the frosting to set up before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Meyer Lemon Scones

2006-10-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Meyer lemons, as I have mentioned before, are a type of lemon that is actually a hybrid between a tangerine or mandarin orange and a lemon. As a result, the fruit is slightly smaller than your average lemon and significantly sweeter, although it still has a very lemony flavor. Tasting a meyer lemon is more like tasting lemonade - albeit tart lemonade - than a regular lemon, as it lacks some of the bitterness that the ordinary lemons have.
Meyer lemons can be used in the same way as regular lemons, but will often impart a greater lemon flavor, since it does not have to be tempered by extra sugar. This is why meyer lemons work perfectly in these scones. They have a nice fresh lemon flavor that is not aggressive, and they are not very sweet, so you can taste the butteriness that makes scones so delicious in the first place.
The technique for scone making is very easy, since everything goes into one bowl. You do need to practice rubbing the butter into the flour, working it into a coarse, sandy mixture, but you can always cheat by pulsing the mixture in the food processor 5 or 6 times.
These scones are crisp on the outside, soft in the midde and not too dry. The lemon "glaze" must be added when the scones are hot out of the oven so it can set up without softening the "crust" on the top of the scone.
I suggest having a couple extra lemons on hand in case you need extra juice, although you could always try adding in a regular lemon if you have to.

Meyer Lemon Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into 10-12 small pieces
8-10 tbsp fresh meyer lemon juice
1-2 tsp meyer lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add butter and toss to coat. Using your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse sand. A few large bits are ok, but most should be smaller than a pea.
Add 5-6 tablespoons of orange juice and zest and stir dought with a fork. Add remaining juice until dough comes together into a not-too-moist ball. Divide dough in to two balls and flatten onto baking sheet to for discs about 1-inch thick. Divide each disc into quarters and separate slightly.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, until scones are a light golden color. A toothpick should come out clean, but color is a reliable indicator for these.
Makes 8.

For the "glaze": Mix together a few tablespoonfuls of white sugar with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to make a paste. Drizzle on scones when hot out of the oven.
Let scones cool before eating.

Gingerbread Blueberry Muffins

2006-10-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

I must say that I felt a bit bad seeing that my front post was not about baking when this blog got a mention in the Guardian the other day, but to make up for that, I promise that this is a really good recipe.
I love gingerbread in just about any form it comes in, from cookies to cakes to pancakes, and usually look forward to cooler weather as a sort of permission to bake anything spicy. Of course, the temperature shot back up into the 80s today, so it wasn't exactly cold outside - but let's overlook that for now, shall we?
The original recipe for this gingerbread was in an old issue of Cooking Light I happened to flip through the other day. It had all of my favorite ingredients - buttermilk, molasses, blueberries - and was somewhat low in fat, too. I altered the original recipe by turning a cake into muffins and using less egg, since with light baked goods I feel that an extra egg can give the finished product and unpleasantly eggy taste. There only odd thing about the recipe is that it makes an unusual amount of batter. You could make 16 medium-sized muffins with it, or you could do what I did for the muffin pictured above and make 12 large muffins, filling the tins nearly to the top and discarding the small amount of leftover batter. The choice is yours. Both baking times are noted below.
The batter comes together in a flash and the muffins a nice contrast between spicier winter flavors and summer berries. The combination creates a very light, moist muffin that is dangerously addictive, especially if you have some cream cheese to spread on it and a nice hot cup of coffee to wash it down.

Gingerbread Blueberry Muffins
(adapted from a Cooking Light recipe)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with paper liners (12 or 16, see times below).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves and allspice.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and egg whites until creamy. Beat in molasses, buttermilk, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla. Pour wet ingredents into dry ingredients and whisk until just smooth, with no flour remaining. Stir in blueberries and divide into 12 or 16 muffin cups (if using 16, fill only 3/4 full).
If making 12 large muffins, bake for 17-21 minutes.
If making 16 medium muffins, bake for 15-19 minutes.
In either case, make sure a tester comes out clean before removing them from the oven.
Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container if not eating on the first day.
Makes 12 or 16 muffins.

Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup

2006-10-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Soups can be beautiful in person, but unlike most solid foodstuffs, they can be extremely difficult to "style" for photographs. Soups that are a solid color and smooth in texture are usually the most photogenic. Soups that have a lot of components, such as lentil soup or chili, tend to look overly busy, like a jumble of random, mushy ingredients. This soup fell into the unphotogenic category the first few times I made it, since the onions and cabbage - its main components - just turned sort of brownish. It tasted good, but I didn't want to take a picture. Then, in a moment of food blogging epiphany, I decided to use red onion and red cabbage. Suddenly, the soup looked as vibrant and delicious as it tasted.
The soup is originally from a Sara Moulton recipe and I think that I first copied it down during one of her shows, back when she was still on the Food Network.
It is very easy to make and involves minimal prep work. For anyone who has ever chopped up a cabbage, you probably know that it is one of the easiest veggies to work with after you cut out the core. The "hot" part of the soup comes from the red pepper flakes and the head level can easily be adjusted by eliminating a quarter teaspoon or so. The "sour" part comes from the balsamic vinegar, which adds a very slightly sweet-sour taste to the soup. Choose a good vinegar, since you'll be able to taste it in the finished dish.

Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
1 large red onion, quartered and thinnly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 - 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
6 cups finely sliced red cabbage (about 1/2 large cabbage)
1 can (15-oz) plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and cook the onions until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring for and additional minute.
Add all remaining ingredients and cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the temperature and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 1 hour.
Season with additional salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 6-8

One-Bowl Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes

2006-10-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, you'll see a blogger write in that "real" life - in some form - got in the way of blogging and interrupted their flow. I have to say that I, too, recently had that very same conflict and. as a result, my posting schedule was interrupted. I had a busy couple of weeks and, to cap it all off, it was my birthday. I don't apologize for that last bit, but I do apologize to everyone who enjoys visiting my blog as much as I enjoy writing it. I'll try to get back on a more regular posting schedule.

But first, here are some cupcakes that I made in honor of my birthday. Don't worry - I had a "real" cake, too, and I suspect that I may yet have another cake before the week is up. This is just something quick that I through together, taking the very easy eggless chocolate cake and making it a little bit richer by using buttermilk in place of milk and melted butter in place of oil. They're quite chocolaty, but they are also light and moist. I think that the buttermilk and butter make them have a little more depth than the recipe with oil, but they are both excellent. I think that this serves as a good example of how some substitutions can be made in recipes and still produce good results. You do, however, have to take into account the properties of the things you are substituting. In this case, I reduced the amount of vinegar in the mix because the buttermilk is acidic.
For the cake in the picture, I used lightly sweetened whipped cream as a "frosting."
But my favorite part was blowing out the candle.

One-Bowl Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Pour in the rest of the ingredients (it's helpful to have the buttermilk at about room temperature) and stir until just combined.
Divide evenly into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 14-16 minutes at 350F, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Lime Chiffon Cake

2006-10-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Lime and vanilla really is a fantastic flavor combination, although it's not necessarily the first one you might think of when it comes to desserts. Lemon and orange are far more popular when it comes to citrus, but lime deserves a role at least as prominent.
In this chiffon cake, lime really plays a starring role and many will be surprised to find that it isn't overpowering in the least. The cake is sweet with a great citrust tast, and much less tart than other lime desserts, such as key lime pies. I think that the glaze is a nice touch and included simple instructions after the cake recipe, though I should hope that you all will know how to make a simple glaze with powdered sugar after the number of times I've mentioned it here!
This cake is moist, light and very tender. Even though it is an egg-based cake, it doesn't taste overly "eggy," but has that plesant springy texture that sponge cakes have. It goes extremely well with berries, but is equally good on its own if berries aren't available.
You'll note that the recipe calls for sifted cake flour. Simply sift more flour than you think you'll need onto a sheet of parchment paper, then spoon it up to fill the measuring cups to the desired amount. Funnel the rest of the flour back into its box/bag for next time. The flour is so light that the amount (i.e. the weight) will be too much if you sift after measuring, so be sure to do it first!
One other thing to note is that the egg whites should be at room temperature to whip up to their full volume. Eggs are easier to separate when they are cold, so separate the yolks and whites (disposing of the extra yolk) into two small bowls, cover with plastic wrap and let sit out for about an hour or so before beginning.

Lime Chiffon Cake
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
5 tbsp vegetable oil
zest 1 lime (or 2 or 3, if you really want to boost the flavor)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
7 large egg whites, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325F. Get out a 10-inch tube pan, but do not grease it.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the sugar (reserving 2 tbsp), baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together in the lime juice, vegetable oil, lime zest, vanilla and egg yolks, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
In another large bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding in the last 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar when the whites begin to get foamy.
Gently stir 1/4 of egg whites into the lime mixture to lighten it. Gently, working in two additions if it is easier, fold the remaining beaten whites into the lime mixture until no streaks remain.
Pour into the ungreased tube pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.
Invert cake over a bottle (or onto a wire rack if your pan has "feet" to hold it up) and let cool completely. When cooled, run a knife around th edges and turn cake out onto a platter.

If desired, drizzle with a mix of powdered sugar, lime juice and vanilla extract (starting with about 2 cups of powdered sugar and adding enough juice to make it drizzle-able)

Makes one cake. Serves 12.

For another chiffon cake, check out the Banana Chiffon Cake I made a few months ago.

Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies

2006-10-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

If you have ever stayed at a Doubletree Hotel, you will probably remember only one thing about your visit: they give guests warm chocolate chip cookies at check in, and pretty much any time you feel like wandering down to the main desk to get one. And the cookies are fantastic: warm, chewy, packed with chocolate chips and nuts (yes, even I liked the nuts in these cookies, though I usually omit them at home).
Many recipes claim to be the real Doubletree version, but this recipe is the closest that I have found. It makes cookies that are large, chewy and dangerously addictive. I make them about hald the size that the recipe recommends (2 tbsp instead of 1/4 cup) and only sometimes chill the dough. In either case, they turn out well. The only thing you have to watch is the baking time, because these can go from done to over-done in less than a minute.
The cinnamon is minimal and not really present in the final cookie, it just adds to the depth of flavor. The vinegar adds a lightness to the cookie, really giving the baking soda something to react with.
Now, in all honesty, I can't say that this really is the recipe for Doubletree's chocolate chip cookies and unless I ordered some online and did a side-by-side taste comparison, I can't even guarantee that they will taste exactly the same. What I can guarantee is that these are excellent cookies that are at least as good as the original Doubletrees that inspired this.

Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup rolled oats (oatmeal)
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 large eggs
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind oats in a food processor until very fine and almost powdery. Put tthe oats with the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla and vinegar, then add the eggs in one at a time. Gradually, on low speed, add in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.
Divide dough into 2 tbsp balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (dough can also be chilled for a slightly less-spread out cookie), leaving about 2 inches between each ball so the cookies can spread.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden at the edges. Cool for about 4 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 3-dozen (you'll get a few more if you use the walnuts, which I usually leave out)

Almond Chocolate Chip Bars

2006-10-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try this recipe for a very long time. Land O' Lakes (yes, the butter company) has a great recipe section on their website and I frequently browse through it when I don't have anything in particular in mind to make. Their pictures are tempting and since this is the very first entry in their Bars and Brownies section, it stared up at me every time I opened the page. This time, I finally made them.
The main reason why these look relatively almond-free for a bar cookie with "almond" in the name is that I left off the slivered almonds that were supposed to be sprinkled on top. By the time they came out of the oven and cooled, I discovered that I no longer felt like bothering with the icing, either. I love the almond flavor, but I generally prefer my cookies nut-free, so it didn't surprise me when I liked these cookies just as I (lazily) made them.
The entry describes them as "a cross between a cookie and a slice of coffeecake," though I would just say that they are fairly cakelike, but slightly dense, cookies. I thought that the texture went well with the almond flavoring (and a cup of coffee), which was strong and would have been far too overpowering in a fudgier sort of bar. The recipe was easy to make and the individual cookies look lovely, though they are on the small side and you might want to make a double batch if you're expecting to share.

Almond Chocolate Chip Bars
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp almond extract
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Cream together sugar, butter and almond extract in large bowl, then beat in egg. Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and gradually mix it into the butter mixture at low speed. Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cooled, you can add a glase: Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp very soft butter and 1 tbsp milk and stir well. Spread over the bars and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Allow to set before slicing.

Sunday Brunch: Apple Spice Vegan Wafffles

2006-10-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

I know that I've mentioned before how I don't like breakfast to be a fattening affair. Once in a while? Sure, but because I really enjoy breakfast foods and want to have them more than once in a blue moon, I like to work out ways to have my cake - waffles, in this case - and eat it, too.
These waffles are based on a recipe that a friend gave to me, so I'm not sure where they originated, but when I first made them I was surprised that they came out as well as they did. After all, waffles are usually generous about the amount of fat that they use, so to see a recipe for a waffle that didn't use butter, oil or eggs, but still turned out to be quite tender and, if you grease the iron well, they will come out crisp, just as you would expect any other waffles to. Greasing the iron is very important with this recipe because they can stick even in a nonstick pan.
The waffles are flavored with a combination of spices that is often used in apple pies and other apple-flavored baked goods. It brings out the subtle sweetness of the applesauce and goes very well with maple syrup.

Apple Spice Vegan Wafffles
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk (soy, or regular if you aren't vegan)
1 cup apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Add in milk, apple sauce and vanilla and stir until just smooth.
Preheat waffle iron, grease well with cooking spray (even if it's nonstick) and cook waffles according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Serve immediately, with plenty of syrup.

Makes 2-4 waffles and serves 3-4, depending on the size of your waffle iron.

Cooking School: Dutch Crunch Bread

2006-09-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

I mentioned Dutch Crunch Bread on my list of five things to eat before you die. The name comes from the distinct and unusual topping on the bread, which is made with rice flour, yeast and a little bit of oil, salt and sugar. On its own, the topping is pleasant, but when paired with some good bread, the contrast is amazing.
Thanks to some of my commenters, we know that this bread is called Tijgerbrood, or "tigerbread" in Holland, named after its striped and textured appearence. I didn't stripe mine, which I suppose you could do by running a fork through the mixture before baking, but appearace doesn't take anything away from the fantastically crunchy texture and the ever so slightly yeasty taste that complements so many sandwich fillings. It also makes excellent toast.
Sandwiches are my favorite things to make with this type of bread and if I'm at a deli (only in the SF Bay area, the only places I've seen them) that sells them, I will always get it. So, when I make the rolls at home, I like to make them big so that they make hearty, filling sandwiches. The size also provides enough bread to not make the topping overwhelming. The topping can be used on other types of bread, including as a topping for regular sandwich loaves, if you only want a little bit of the "crunch" per serving.
By the way, if you have leftover rice flour at the end of this, just go ahead and make another batch. I usually do. Alternatively, you could use it to make some gluten-free crepes instead.

Dutch Crunch Bread
Bread
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet or 1/4 ounce)
1/4 cup warm water (105-110F)
1 cup warm milk (105-110F) (nonfat is fine)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Topping
(from The Bread Bible)
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-110F)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup white rice flour (not sweet rice flour)

In the bowl of an electric mixer*, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add in vegetable oil, salt and about 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment, mix at medium speed unti the dough comes together. Add remainging flour a tablespoon or two t a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased by and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each into a ball (demonstrated here) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl and mix very well. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Once the rolls have risen a bit and the topping is ready, spread a generous layer on the rolls, trying to use all the topping in a thick coat on the top and sides. Let rise for another 20 minutes.
Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating. Store in an airtight container, if necessary.

*You can mix this by hand, too.

German Chocolate Cake

2006-09-25T07:07:00.000-07:00

I hesitated about running the same picture twice in a row, but I promised to deliver the recipe, so there's not much I can do about it. Besides, at the risk of sounding terribly immodest, I really like this picture.
As many of you guessed, this is indeed a German Chocolate Cake. Despite the name, the cake is thoroughly American and was invented in Texas, or at least, that is where the recipe was first published. The name comes from the fact that the chocolate cake made with a type of chocolate sold by Baker's Chocolate Company called German's Sweet Chocolate, named after an employee named Sam German in 1852. The cake recipe didn't appear in print until 1957, but it has been a favorite ever since.
Eventually, the "'s" was dropped and the cake simple became German Chocolate Cake. There is pretty much just one standard recipe for it, with slight variations. All produce a relatively mild chocolate-buttermilk cake with a really gooey, rich frosting that is thick with coconuts and pecans. The frosting is really too rich to eat on its own, so even though it seems like there is only just enough to fill and top the cake, as you eat you'll discover that the amount is just right.
The cake is quite easy to make and very impressive to look at. The only tricky part is dividing the batter evenly into 3 pans. Instead of pouring directly into one pan, use a spoon of some kind to ladle out the batter until they are even, ensuring an even baking time. In my experience, no serious damage will be done to the third layer if it has to wait for the first two to be baked, if you have a small oven and cannot fit them all at once.

German Chocolate Cake
4 oz. Bakers'S German'S Sweet Chocolate (or semisweet chocolate)
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 9-in. round cake pans and line the bottoms using parchment paper.
Melt chocolate and water together in a large bowl, in the microwave or on top of a double boiler. Stir well and set aside to cool.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and then stir in the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the chocolate mixture and buttermilk, working in three or four additions. Mix only until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pans for 15 min., then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely, removing the parchment paper.

Coconut Pecan Frosting
(from AllRecipes)

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the condensed milk, egg yolks, and butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla.
Cool to room temperature (stirring to loosen, if necessary) and spread between cake layers and onto top of cake.

A few days off

2006-09-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm taking a couple of days off, so I'll leave you with this picture to hold you over until I get back. I'll update with the recipe soon. Promise.

Nectarine Scones

2006-09-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of fresh fruit in a scone. Dried fruits are easier to control and produce consistent, flavorful results. I feel like the fresh fruits release too much moisture and have a negative effect on the texture of the final product. This is especially true of berries, but the firmer the fruits get, the better the scone. Apples work fairly well and, as far as stone fruits go, nectarines aren't too bad, either.
Nectarines are sweet without getting as soft as most other stone fruits as they ripen. I prefer to cut the fruit into medium-sized chunks, but a finer dice could easily be used and still produce good results. Thrown into a scone, they maintain their shape as they soften and still leave the crumb of the scone fluffy and light, not soggy. You could use peaches or plums, but I think that nectarines will give you the best result.
There is a lot of vanilla relative to the size of this recipe, but it really brings out the flavor of the nectarines. These are a light, lovely change from a plainer scone and a great way to use up a nectarine. The scone tastes very like a cobbler, and if you really go for the slightly crispy top of the cobber (like I do) you'll probably love these.

Nectarine Scones
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
5-6 tbsp milk (any kind)

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/3 cup nectarine, peeled and diced

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add butter and toss to coat. Using your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse sand. A few large bits are ok, but try not to have any pieces larger than an average pea.
Add 5 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla and stir. Mix in nectarines. The small amount of juice given off the the fruit should moisten the mixture as much as it needs to form a ball, but if it doesn't, add remaining tablespoon of milk.
Divide dough in four pieces and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar, if desired.
Bake for 16-19 minutes, until scones are a light golden color. A toothpick should come out clean, but color is a reliable indicator for these.
Makes 4.

Crispy Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

2006-09-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I made peanut butter cookies. They're a great cookie to have in a basic baker's repertoire because they are almost universally popular (except to those with peanut allergies), even if you're not a fan of the nuts themselves. Basic peanut butter cookies have a slight chew to them, but you can really do a lot of different things with cookies that use it.
This variation on the classic peanut butter cookies comes from Maida Heatter's Cookies and makes a light, crispy cookie. They use whole wheat pastry flour, which is a finely ground whole wheat flour that can usually be used interchangeably with regular all-purpose flour, unlike the coarser regular whole wheat flour. If you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour, you can substitute 3/4 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup regular whole wheat to make up the total 1 1/4 cups needed. The cookies also use raw sugar, which is much coarser than regular sugar and, according to Maida, contributes to the texture.
Because they taste so light, these cookies are very addictive and definitely need a glass of milk to go with them. They have a good peanut butter flavor and you can't really taste anything "healthy" (they're not really all that healthy) about them, despite the use of whole wheat flour.
Judging from the differences between my batch and Cathy's batch, I would say that using a mainstream peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy) is better than using a natural one. I didn't have any problems handling or slicing the dough once it was cold, though the dough does have to be sliced quickly before it thaws. I completely agree with Cathy's comment that the cookies end up in perfect circles even if you slice them imperfectly. They spread a lot, and the spread covers up any flaws.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies
(from Maida Heatter's Cookies)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup raw sugar
1 large egg

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg, then gradually incorporate the flour mixture.
Spoon cookie dough into a 12-inch log on a large piece of wax paper, then roll it up and freeze it for at least 3-4 hours, until firm.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Slice roll of dough into 1/4 inch thick slices and arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies. If you don't have enough sheet pans to hold all the dough at once, store the unsliced dough in the freezer until ready to use.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until cookies are golden and slightly firm to the touch at the edges.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 cookies.

Individual Lime Pudding Cakes

2006-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

This isn't the first time I've worked with this recipe. I've made lemon and orange pudding cakes before, and limes falling off the tree from over-ripeness seemed like the perfect excuse to trot out one of my favorite easy recipes again. I usually make one large pudding, but this time I decided to divide it up and make individual puddings.
The method is exactly the same: wet ingredients plus dry ingredients, then fold in egg whites. At this point, it is divided into five greased ramekins. Since the pudding does not really rise, but separates to create a pudding and a cake, it is not necessary to coat the ramekins with sugar or flour, as you might with a souffle.
You could divide this in to six ramekins, rather than just filling five all the way to the top, but the puddings don't really puff up, so it isn't necessary. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a slightly larger dessert.

If you find that you only need four desserts, you can either have seconds or keep one overnight for breakfast. They're best hot, but good the next day, too.

Individual Lime Pudding Cakes
(adapted from All American Desserts)
2 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp lime zest (or from 1 lime)
2/3 cup milk (I used nonfat)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup ap flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease five 6-ounce ramekins. Find a roasting pan, or other large pan at least 2-3 inches deep, that can accomodate all your ramekins and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Add in egg yolks, lime juice, lime zest, milk and vanilla, and whisk thoroughly.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Stir or fold egg whites gently into lime mixture, until well combined. Divide pudding mixture into prepared ramekins and place in the roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and fill it with water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake for 30-35 mintues, or until lightly browned.
Serve warm.

Makes 5 six-ounce ramekins.

Cooking School: Extra Creamy Cheesecake

2006-09-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Even though there are many kinds of cheesecake in the world - ricotta cheesecake, vegan cheesecake, marbled cheesecake - the one that springs to mind at the first mention of the word is not the light, airy version that is a delight on a hot summer day, but the velvety, ultra-indulgent, creamy cheesecake. This would be that kind of cheesecake.
The recipe comes from one of the cookbooks of a favorite food blogger of mine, David Lebovitz's Ripe for Dessert. The book is all about fruit and fruit desserts, with recipes from the fairly basic, like Apple and Quince Tarte Tatin, to the more unusual, such as Mango Napoleons with Lime Custard and Coconut Flatties. Of course, the cheesecake itself has no fruit in it. David meant for it to be served with mixed berrries, which I omitted out of sheer laziness. By all means, feel free to slice up some berries of your choice for serving.
The cheesecake has a secret ingredient that contributes to its texture: mascarpone. The use of mascarpone makes the cheecake a little lighter and a little silkier than one you would get if you used all cream cheese. The technique used to bake the cake is a little unusual, as well. It is cooked in a water bath and then, after the appropriate amount of time, the oven is turned off and the cheesecake continues to "cook" for another 30 minutes. This slow cooking means that the cheesecake stays smoother than most and seems just barely done when it comes out of the oven. It sets up more as it cools.
I decided that a thicker crust than originall called for would complement the creamy cake best, so I doubled the small amount David called for. You can halve the crust recipe below, but since I love crust, I can't really imagine that you would want any less. Use the best graham crackers or cookies you can find. Gingersnaps would work well here, but cookies with too much cinnamon might be overpowering.
This is really a fantastic cheesecake, especially if you like your cheesecakes to be rich. It has a fairly mild flavor and a slightly yellow color due to the number of eggs used. This cheesecake must be served cold or it might just melt itself right off your fork. It does seem a bit lighter once it has warmed up, however, so the very best option might be to slice the cake cold and let the individual slices warm up for a few minutes before serving.

Creamy Mascarpone Cheesecake
(from Ripe for Dessert)
16-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature
16-oz mascarpone, room temperature

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar (optional, if your cookies need it)

Make the crust:
Preheat oven to 375F. Combine crumbs, butter and sugar and stir together. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

Make the cheesecake:
Heat oven to 325 F and get out a large roasting pan that will fit the springform pan. Cover the sides and bottom of the springform pan very, very well with aluminum foil.
In a food processor, blend sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time, until blended and smooth. Add in mascarpone and process again. Pour into the crust and place in roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and fill halfway up the sides of the springform with warm water.
Bake for 55 minutes at 325. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for 20-30 minutes, until the center just seems set but will still ripple when the pan is jiggled (I left mine in for a bit longer, about 35 minutes, since it seemed a bit loose).
Remove from water bath and cool compeletely on a wire rack. When it has cooled, refrigerate overnight or until cold, before serving.

Serves 12, but it could be more or less depending on how much you like cheesecake.

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Praline Icing

2006-09-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Praline is a Southern candy made with brown sugar and pecans. The confection has the unusual property that it melts in your mouth almost instantly after you bite into it. The icing on these cupcakes has the same flavor as praline. I didn't include any nuts, but the icing really does melt in your mouth.
I first used this recipe, which comes from Cooking Light, a few weeks ago to make a layer cake and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make it again. This time, however, I made cupcakes. The cake is delicious - moist and fluffy, with a lovely taste of vanilla and buttermilk. It is best with frosting and rather plain without it but it would probably be quite tasty with fruits if you are inclined to experiment a bit.
It is the icing that really makes this cake work, though. I added a smidge more salt than the original recipe called for, so it is incredibly addictive, with just enough salt to take the edge off the sweetness. It is a wonderful icing and, when paired with the cake, the combination is sure to please anyone eating it. I think it went particularly well with a cup of coffee, which helped to blend the flavors even more and cleanse the palate of excess sugar. I know that I will be using this recipe often in the future.
Oh, and try not to eat too much of the icing before you get all your cupcakes frosted. If you have some left over, I highly recommend dipping pretzels or potato chips in it.

Buttermilk Cake with Praline Icing
from Cooking Light)

Cake:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 egg white
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 18 muffin cups (you'll probably need two trays) with cupcake wrappers.
Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl, and cream together with an elextric mixer until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the 1/3 of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir well, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Add in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the buttermilk and the last of the flour. Stir only until no streaks of flour remain.
Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Praline Icing:
1 cup brown sugar, packed (light, dark or golden)
6 tbsp low-fat milk
1 tbsp corn syrup (light or dark)
1 tsp butter
dash of salt (1/8 tsp or so)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the brown sugar, milk, corn syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Pour syrup mixture into a large bowl and let stand for about one minute. Add powdered sugar and the vanilla, then beat with a mixer at medium/high speed until smooth. Cool for 2-3 minutes (icing will be thin but thickens as it cools) before frosting, mixing for a few more seconds with the mixer to smooth it out.

Frost cupcakes and let them stand at room temperature until ready to serve so the frosting can set.

Makes 18 cupcakes.

Lime Loaf Cake

2006-09-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

I find that if I am looking for a recipe with nothing already in mind, one of two things happens: everything sounds good, or nothing sounds good. Because of this, I don't often stumble upon recipes competely by accident and I almost always have something in mind before I start to look for a recipe, let alone start to cook or bake.
This lime cake was not a recipe I was searching for, but once I saw it, I knew I had to try it. Perhaps it was meant to be, since I happened to have a lime just asking to be used on my counter...
The cake was incredibly easy to put together and I only made a few changes to it to boost the flavors. I added a little bit of salt, along with some vanilla extract and the zest of one lime, in addition to the juice. Once it was baked and cooled, the cake had a slight lime scent and a wonderful lime flavor, which was mellowed by the vanilla extract from being too sharp. It had a texture that was similar to pound cake, so it was slightly dense, but tender and not heavy at all.
The finished cake was a small loaf, but provided slices just the right size for serving with a cup of coffee or tea. In fact, it makes a lovely cake to serve with berries at breakfast, but it could also work with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Easy Lime Loaf Cake
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tbsp butter, soft
2 large eggs
juice and zest of one lime*

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8"x4" loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and crumbly, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the lime juice, lime zest and vanilla extract.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir the flour mixture into the lime mixture. Stir only until just combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake and the top is golden brown.
Turn cake out onto a rack to cool completely before slicing.
Serve plain, or with berries and whipped cream.

Makes one loaf.

*Note: This should be about 2 tablespoons of juice and 1-2 tsp zest, but just use as much as your one lime provides.

Five Things to Eat Before You Die

2006-09-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

While the title of this post has a bit of a macabre sound to it, there is nothing ominous about the Foodblogger's Guide to the Globe. FBGttG* is a meme (short for "internet phenomenon") that was started by The Traveler's Lunchbox and is traveling around the world via various food blogs. I was tagged to come up with my own list of five things to eat before you die by my friends Helen, of Grab Your Fork, and Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen. The rules are that the five things you select have to be things that you have eaten. The problem with this is that I have eaten far more than five things, making it difficult to narrow down the list.

1. Kona coffee in Kona, Hawaii - You'll have to ferret out a place that brews good coffee yourself, but you won't get many closer to the source and Kona coffee is some of the best in the world. Roasting green beans is an amazing experience, too, but you have to be a dedicated coffee drinker to go that far.
2. Breakfast at bills in Sydney, Australia - I recommend the ricotta hotcakes, scrambled eggs and the wonderful coconut bread, but everything is fantastic. Dinner at bills2 is excellent, as well.
3. Dinner at the French Laundry - This is probably the best restaurant experience you'll ever have.
4. Pizza at the Cheeseboard in Berkeley, California - The Cheeseboard only makes one type of pizza each day and is open for lunch and dinner. The pizza is always vegetarian and it is always exceptional. The bread, pastries and cheeses at the Cheeseboard are worth a trip, too.
5. Dutch Crunch Bread - While there is a lot of good bread to be had in the San Francisco Bay area, it seems to be the only place in the world where Dutch Crunch Bread is sold. The bread is a type of white bread with a very unusual and crispy crust made with yeast, rice flour and a bit of vegetable oil. It makes fantastic sandwich rolls and I have a recipe for it, so you can give it a try at home and cross it off the list.

*I decided to abbreviate the name in the same way I abbreviate the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, HHGttG.

Cooking School: Whoopie Pies

2006-08-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

A whoopie pie is a commonly found treat in New England, but is relatively unknown elsewhere, especially on the West Coast. The pies are not really pies at all, as you have probably discerned from the photo above, but are two chocolate cookie/cake discs with a vanilla cream filling sandwiched between them. They're not like sandwich cookies and not like cream filled cupcakes, but are an entity unto themselves. No one can say for certain where the name came from, though the most widely held belief is that they were named after the reaction that they were intended to elicit from people who ate one.
This recipe comes from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie (and is also available on Leite's Culinaria) and I like it because it doesn't use shortening in the filling. Don't get me wrong here: I have had some excellent cookie and cake fillings that use shortening and have no objection to using it in general, but the filling here is simply wonderful. It is very fresh tasting, and not at all greasy or heavy, as vegetable shortening-based fillings can occasionally be.
The cookies are moist and soft, with a rich and chocolaty flavor. They are not overly rich to the point where they overwhelm the flavor of the filling. You might feel compelled to eat them with a bit glass of milk, since they have a very nostalgic quality to them. They are a huge hit at parties, with adults and kids alike. The only change I would recommend making is to double the filling if you like a lot of cream in your whoopie pies.
The cookies are soft and keep very well when stored in an airtight container for several days - assuming that they last that long, of course. The two-bite sized cookies are awfully hard to resist.

Whoopie Pies
(recipe from The Good Cookie)
Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, very soft
1 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Add the baking soda to the hot water.
Adding 1/3 of each ingredient at a time, stir in hot water, buttermilk and flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, making sure to end with an addition of dry ingredients and to mix only until just combined.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheets, flattening slightly.
Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are cracked and cookies look set.
Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Filling:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp butter, very soft
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
small pinch of salt

With the mixer on a low speed, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Mixture will be somewhat crumbly. Add in cream, vanilla and salt and beat at high speed until smooth.

Spread the cooled cookies with the filling. Double filling recipe if you want more, but the book recommends using one heaping teaspoon per sandwich.

Makes 24-28 whoopie pies.

How to make a great hamburger

2006-08-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

When I've written about making hamburger buns (and hot dog buns)in the past, I generally left out any sort of instructions for making the filling. Basic hamburgers are made with ground beef, which is seasoned and grilled over a relatively high heat, leaving a juicy inside and a patty with very slightly crisp edges.
The timing for grilling hamburgers varies so widely that I won't even offer suggestions as to how long you should cook you meat, but I will share a few tips on how to ensure that your burger is flavorful and juicy.

I have heard people say that they add everything from oatmeal and breadcrumbs to shredded vegetables to their hamburgers. While the vegetables are actually a pretty good idea, especially if you're trying to sneak a few more into a child's diet, oatmeal and breadcrumbs are for meatloaf - not hamburgers.
I saw this technique on Paula Deen's show well over a year ago and it works beautifully. Simply add a bit of water to your (lean) ground beef, just a tablespoon or two per pound, and some salt and pepper before mixing it up. Once it is well blended, shape the meat into balls, making twice as many balls as the patties you want (4 patties = 8 balls).
Place all the balls on a plate and season them with a bit more salt and pepper. Place one ball on top of another and squish them into a flat patty. Because the meat will shrink and get a bit thicker as it cooks, it is wise to make them larger and thinner than you want them to be. I estimate the size using one of my buns to make sure that they'll fit.
Once all the patties are shaped, you can put them on the grill, or even freeze them for later use. It really does seem to keep the burgers moist, and the extra seasoning (feel free to use spices other than salt and pepper) in the center improves the flavor of the burger.

French Toast Waffles

2006-08-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Pancakes, french toast, waffles... sometimes it seems that breakfast options are so limited. This is, of course, a ridiculous notion that only exists because I tend to make the same basic recipes repeatedly. After all, it's hard to go wrong with buttermilk pancakes.
One way to spice up breakfast is by adding new spice combinations and fruits, but another way is to think a little bit outside the box. Here, I used my waffle iron to make french toast.
I took a loaf of brioche, soaked each slice in a milk and egg mixture, then put them into the waffle iron to cook, which took same amount of time as a regular waffle. After cooking, the toast turned out to be slightly crispy and waffle-like on one side, and a bit softer on the other, due to the fact that there was slightly more upward pressure on the toast than downward (I didn't press the lid of the waffle iron down). Not surprisingly, it tasted like a waffle and french toast fused together.
You can't use just any waffle iron for these. A Belgian waffle iron is likely to tear the bread unless you are making a very, very thick slice of french toast. I recommend sticking to a standard (shallower) iron for these. You can also simply cook the french toast on a griddle on top of the stove if you don't care to use a waffle iron.

French Toast Waffles
1 cup milk (any kind)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
6 slices of brioche (about 1/4" thick) or plain bread

Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into a shallow pan or baking dish. Lay slices of brioche (or regular bread) in the mixture and soak them until just saturated with the mixture, turning to coat.
Preheat waffle iron and grease lightly.
Place slice of toast on center of waffle iron and cook as a waffle.
Serve immediately.

Makes 6 slices.

SHF#22: Plum Jam

2006-08-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

When I heard that the theme of this month's Sugar High Friday event, hosted by Delicious Days, was to make jam, jelly or some other type of preserves with fresh summer fruits, I was momentarily disappointed. I love jam, but I don't love the huge amount of work that goes into making it, and I certainly had no intention of standing around and sterilizing jars in 100F+ weather when I can buy perfectly good jams.
Then I saw the blackberry jam post on Meathenge and realized that I didn't have to go through that whole procedure. I could make a single batch of jam, about enough for a jar full, and would not have to think twice about whether my jars were the right type.
This got me excited again, and I started to mull over my fruit options. My mind was made up when I saw some lovely plums at the market.
My jam is very simple. Plums have quite a bit of natural pectin - the stuff that makes jam and other preserves gel - so I did not have to add any. The fruit was sweet to begin with, so I added only a minimal amount of sugar and a touch of vanilla. The one thing that you do need is a candy thermometer because you must cook the jam until it gets up to just about 220 degrees - any higher than that and it will scorch, but if you don't cook it enough it won't thicken properly. The jam tastes great and - really - is very easy. I like the single batch size so I can use it up and switch to another flavor when I run out, rather than having a dozen jars of the same kind in my cabinet.

Plum Jam
About 1 1/2 lbs plums, ripe

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring about 3-4 inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan on the stove. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each plum, submerge in the simmering water for about 30 seconds to loosen the peel, then remove it while running the plum under cool water (so you don't burn your fingers). You may have to work a few plums at a time.
Cut plums into small chunks and remove pits.
Put sugar and water into a large saucepan and cook until dissolved. Add in plums, vanilla and a candy thermometer and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until it reaches 220F.
Pour into a clean glass container and store, covered, in the fridge to be eaten on toast, etc.

Note: I like my jam with a few bits of fruit, but you can finely dice the plums if you prefer.

Cooking School: Molten Center Chocolate Cakes

2006-08-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

One way to make a molten center chocolate cake is to undercook your batter, preferably at a high temperature that will cause the outside of you cake to appear to be cooked. I don't honestly think that this is the best way to make a dessert because while cake batter is tasty, I don't want it for my dessert. I mentioned once before that I was taught to make molten center chocolate cakes by putting a ball of ganache into the center of the cake (or of a souffle) before baking. Once the individual cake is done, the ganache is melted and makes a lovely, warm center when the cake is served.
The trick of using a ball of ganache can really be done with most cupcakes or souffles, and is not specific to this recipe, so don't be afraid to try it out with your favorite chocolate cupcakes sometime.
This recipe, from Williams-Sonoma, has a fairly light cake that is somewhere between a sponge cake and a souffle, though it is much more chocolaty than those two types of cake usually are. The base is formed and a ganache ball is inserted. It's very simple.
Once of the best things about this technique is that it is easy to add different flavorings. You can use mint truffles, for example, or even store-bought truffles, provided that they do not have a hard chocolate coating. A chocolate coating should not affect the outcome, but it's rather like adding ganache and chocolate chips, instead of just ganache.

Whipped cream is the best serving option because the light cream contrasts with the richness of the cake beautifully, though you can't go wrong with vanilla ice cream, either.

Molten Center Chocolate Cakes
(recipe from Williams-Sonoma)
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped and divided
1 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 6-cup muffin tin and dust each well with cocoa powder.
In a small bowl, melt together 2-oz. chocolate and 1 tbsp cream, either in the microwave in very small intervals or over a small double boiler. Chill for about 20 minutes once it is smooth. (This step can be done in advance and the ganache softened before using.)
In another small bowl, melt together the remaining 4-oz chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture triples in volume and is very thick (about 5-7 minutes). Sift flour over egg micture and fold in. Add cooled chocolate/butter mixture and fold in until batter is uniform. Pour into prepared muffin tins.

Form ganache into 6 teaspoon-sized balls and place one in each cake, pressing gently to cover with batter. (If there is a little left over, that's ok.)
Bake at 400F for 9-11 minutes, until the tops are set. Let cakes cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and serving on individual plates. Cakes can be served right side up or still inverted (personal preference for the look).
Serve immediately, with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Serves 6.

Cornbread Griddle Cakes

2006-08-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

A griddle cake is another word for a pancake, but it seems to be used more often to indicate something more rustic and less breakfast-y than the word "pancake." This makes it the perfect descriptor for these cornbread cakes.
Essentially, these griddle cakes are cornbread that is cooked in rounds on the stovetop, like pancakes, rather than being baked in the oven. The result is something that takes less time than baking, heats up the kitchen less and already comes in neat, individual servings. The cakes have a nice wholesome taste and a good texture, which is a bit "rustic" from the cornmeal, with a lovely little bit of crunch. They are not dense or heavy, but they are very satisfying.

I personally like them best with jam, but one of the best things about them is that they are incredibly versatile. The cakes can be topped with everything from butter to salsa, used to mop up barbecue sauce or gravy or even served with maple syrup.

I used some fresh corn in the griddle cakes, but you can also add other things to them, such as cayenne pepper and lime zest for a spicier variation, or some chopped up pre-cooked bacon, for something really savory.

Cornbread Griddle Cakes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels

Combine all dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine eggs, buttermilk and oil in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until the batter is just combined, adding in the corn kernels at the last minute.
Cook as you would cook pancakes, in a nonstick or lightly greased pan until lightly browned on either side. The cakes will be fairly thick and I like to make them about 3-inches in diameter. They will take a bit longer to cook than "real" pancakes, so be patient.
The griddle cakes can be served warm, at room temperature or popped in the toaster and heated up.

Serves 6-8, as a side.

Mint Chocolate Truffles

2006-08-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone should try making truffles at least once in their lives. They are delicious and dead easy to make.
Essentially, all you have to do is combine chocolate and heavy cream in a heat-proof dish (I tend to use glass bowls) and melt them together. Once the mixture - called ganache - is smooth, it is chilled slightly until it is firm and easy to handle.
One thing that I do to make the process easier is that I melt the chocolate and the cream in the microwave, rather than on top of a double boiler. You have to take your time - working in intervals of a few seconds - but the whole process only takes a minute or so.
When everything is mixed together, I refrigerate the ganache. It can be made a few days in advance and kept cold in the refrigerator, then warmed slightly to room temperature to make shaping the balls easier. Speaking of the balls, I find it very difficult to shape them by hand, so I scoop the ganache into a ball with a teaspoon and use a small knife to turn it out into a ball. The shape can be adjusted slightly once it is covered in cocoa and is less sticky.
Adding peppermint makes these taste a lot like the York peppermint patty candies, but any flavor of extract (or none at all, if you like things very chocolaty) can be substituted. Vanilla is a nice option, as is cinnamon, but feel free to get creative with any flavors you like.
The truffles can be stored in the refrigerator, but should be eaten at room temperature for the best flavor and texture.

Mint Chocolate Truffles

8-oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp peppermint extract*

cocoa powder

In a medium glass bowl, combine the chocolate and the heavy cream. Melt the two together, whisking frequently, until just smooth. This can be done by placing the bowl over a small saucepan of gently simmering water, or by putting the bowl into the microwave on high in 10 second intervals, whisking between each.
Whisk in peppermint extract.
Chill at least 30 minutes.
Remove from refrigerator and let the ganache soften until it is easy to work with. Form teaspoon-sized balls (using a teaspoon and a small knife to shape them) and roll in cocoa powder.
Makes about 24-28 truffles, depending on size and whether you sample any ganache.

*Note: You could use more, if you want a mintier flavor, and you can substitute just about any other kind of flavoring, too.

Apple Morning Muffins

2006-08-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for healthy baked goods, especially muffins and other breakfast pastries. I love breakfast and muffins, but I really prefer to get my days off to a relatively healthy start. This is especially true on weekdays, when I - and most people - are likely to be sitting around a bit more than a weekend. Flipping though the new issue of the Vegetarian Times that arrived this week, a recipe for Morning Muffins caught my eye.
The muffins had no added fat (meaning that there is no butter or oil added to them) and plenty of fruit. They also used low fat yogurt as the part of the wet ingredients in the recipe. Sounds like a nice way to get going in the morning, right?
I wanted to try them right away, so I made a few quick substitutions and ended up with a recipe that was similar in principle to the original. I'll say that my recipe was "inspired by" the original VT recipe.
The original recipe for the muffins called for using 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup all purpose flour, so I lost some of the whole grain-ness by using all all purpose flour. I made up for this, in my opinion, by using diced apples instead of all dried fruit. As much as I enjoy dried fruit, fresh fruit is much lower in calories and makes the low-fat muffin a bit moister.
They're quite good when they have just cooled, and the apples are a nice touch. They are best the first day they are made, but since they're so low in calories and fat, you don't have to feel guilty about eating a couple of them.
If they're too healthy for you, cut your muffin in half and spread with butter before eating. Or, simply skip this recipe and go straight to the delicious (but decidedly less healthy) Apple Streusel Muffins.

Apple Morning Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raw sugar (regular sugar will work fine)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup diced apple (1 large apple)
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain, adding in the apples and raisins at the last minute. Do not overmix.
Divide evenly into muffin tins and sprinkle with 1 tbsp additional sugar, if desired.
Bake at 350F for 16-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool on a wire rack. Muffins are best when just cooled.

Makes 12 muffins.

Cooking School: A Blue Ribbon Recipe

2006-08-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

I watched a special on the Food Network a few weeks ago that was about a pie competition. At the competition, there were a number of categories for amateur bakers: apple pie, fruit pie, cream pie, etc. Just about every pie looked delicious, but the one that ended up winning the best in show award was a fluffy pie that used Cool Whip as one of its main filling ingredients. My first thought, which I am sure was shared by others, was one of wonder - how could that have been picked over the perfectly made from-scratch pies? The answer is simple: it tasted better.
My point here is that food snobbery, however you choose to define it, is prevalent in the food-loving community and everyone has it to some small degree. When it leads to using only organic ingredients and from-scratch pies and cakes fresh from the oven, it can be a good thing. But it does not mean that the dishes that don't live up to those standards are sub-par, or unworthy of notice. I'm not going to say that they will always be as good as something that is entirely homemade - I do bake my own bread, after all - but it certainly can be delicious.
Case in point is this award winning recipe for Peaches and Cream Pie, which has apparently won the recipe writer 5 blue ribbons and a "Best in Show" award, not to mention a five star rating from more than 450 reviewers on AllRecipes. With that kind of pedigree, I knew that I had to try the pie as soon as I had seen it. It is not a traditional pie, though. It has a cake base, rather than a pastry one, and uses pudding mix in the batter. It also called for canned peaches.
I'm glad that I put aside any snobbery I might have felt and made it. I used cherries instead of peaches, but the pie was declared to be one of the best things my tasters have ever tasted.
And they have tasted a lot.
The reason that the recipe calls for canned peaches is twofold: they take less time to soften in the oven and are very consistent. Everyone has jarred or canned peaches, so the pie can be made at a moment's notice. I used jarred Morello cherries (not cherry pie filling, but cherries in juice) from Trader Joe's. Other berries, fresh or frozen and defrosted, would work here, too. The vanilla pudding added a ton of vanilla flavor to the base of the "pie" and made a wonderful match for the cream cheese topping. In fact, it was almost like a very unusual cheesecake, or a cake with a cheesecake frosting. It was moist, surprisingly light and very good.

I'm not saying that all recipes that aren't entirely homemade, etc. will be fantastic, but sometimes it is worth trying them just to find out. You might be surprised.

Cherries and Cream Pie
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 3-oz package vanilla pudding mix (not instant)
3 tbsp butter, very soft
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
25-30 ounce can/jar of cherries in juice (not pie filling), see note for substitutions
1 8-oz package cream cheese, very soft
1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 10 inch deep-dish pie pan or round baking dish.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder and pudding mix. Using an electric mixer, beat in butter and egg, adding milk gradually, until mixture is smooth. Pour into pie pan.
Arrange fruit on top of cake mixture.
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, then add sugar and 3 tbsp milk and beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon cream cheese mix over fruit, gently spreading it to within 1 inch of pan edge.
Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown at the edge.
Cool on a wire rack
Serve slightly warm or chilled.
Serves 10.

Note: If using frozen cherries, let them defrost before using. The same thing goes for other frozen berries. You will probably need about 1 1/2 cups fruit. Otherwise, use canned peaches, as in the original recipe.

Elise's Gazpacho

2006-08-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

When Alanna and Kalyn told me that they were going to make gazpacho today, I couldn't resist joining in with my blogging buddies. As far as I'm concerned, gazpacho is one of the best soups that you can have during the summer. Not only is it easy to make, since it requires no cooking, but it uses up lots of fresh vegetables at the peak of their season. I don't know about you, but I feel pretty good about a satisfying dish that is comprised entirely of tasty, healthy vegetables.
I have made many gazpacho recipes and tend to vary the ingredients according to the vegetable quantities that I either already have, using more peppers or more cucumber, or according to what I want to use up. The dish is very much a "toss everything in" sort of thing. But if I am going to stick to a recipe, I think that Elise's version is one of the best. It's a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet and very satisfying on a warm day.
I admit that, even though the recipe is lovely as-is, I do make a few very minor changes because I can't fight my anti-recipe gazpacho instincts. For example, I am too lazy to peel the tomatoes. I use them whole. I also use cilantro insted of the chives called for in the original. And sometimes, I use balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.

Now that confession time is over - and I think that Elise will forgive my occasional alterations - what are you waiting for? Make some gazpacho!

Elise's Gazpacho
(from Simply Recipes)
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 red onion
1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 red bell pepper, seeded
2 stalks celery
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives (or cilantro)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil*
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tsp (more or less) Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
4 cups tomato juice (or V8)

Combine the vegetables, tomatoes through garlic, in the food processor and pulse to chop. Add all remaining ingredients and blend to desired consistency (either smooth or slightly chunky). Place in a non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate for several hours (overnight is best), allowing flavors to blend and the soup to chill.

Serves 8.

*Note: I always reduce the amount of oil when I make this, if I use it at all. The oil adds a smoothness to the soup, but I rather like a slightly more "rustic" texture. If I add it, I just drizzle a bit in. I estimate that the amount is 1 tbsp, or 2 at the most.

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

2006-08-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Some home bakers will tell you that the secret to a good cookie is using brown sugar instead of white. I don't think that this is actually any kind of secret at all, but I will agree that brown sugar can add a unique flavor to a cookie.
Brown sugar is basically white sugar that has had some molasses added back to it. This gives it a deeper flavor, and consequently produces more flavorful cookies. Molasses also helps to keep the cookies moist, so a cookie made with brown sugar will be slightly chewier than one made with white sugar.
I would not say that these cookies are particularly chewy, though they do remaining soft in the center even after a couple of days in the (airtight) cookie jar. I would describe them as being an excellent example of what homemade cookies should taste like. They are simple, flavorful, slightly crisp on the edges and soft in the center. They are about 1 1/2 - 2 inches across and packed with chocolate chips.
I initially thought that I would put milk chocolate chips in these cookies, but while the cookies are not overly sweet at all, even the batter tasted too sweet with milk chocolate. Try using semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips in them for a good contrast.
These won't spread out as much as you might expect, so you can fit quite a few on a sheet if you leave about an inch between each cookie.

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and egg until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in all the flour mixture, stopping when the dough has just come together and no streaks of flour remain.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Place slightly rounded tablespoons of dough on baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until just golden around the edges.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 3 dozen.

Caramelized Banana Buttermilk Ice Cream

2006-08-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Just when you probably thought that I wasn't going to do any more ice cream posts, here is one more. After I posted the basic recipe for banana buttermilk ice cream, Fanny left a comment about making something similar: roasted banana ice cream. I was intrigued. How would the caramel-like flavor translate to the tangy ice cream?
I opted to caramelize my bananas on the stovetop instead of roasting them, though I think that grilled bananas would be a fantastic alternative. I thinnly sliced the bananas and dropped them into a hot pan. I don't think that they needed any butter or sugar, but you could certainly add a tablespoon (or two, of sugar) if you prefer. The bananas cooked until they were golden on both sides before I transfered them to a large bowl and mashed them somewhat. Some chunks remained, but all were small.
I combined the bananas with the ice cream base and let it chill until quite cold before pouring it into my ice cream maker.
The result was a slightly tangy ice cream that was both caramel-y and banana-y. (Like those -y endings?) The overarching flavor was the buttermilk, with the banana flavors rounding it out very nicely. This would be fantastic with either chocolate or caramel sauce. Maybe both.
If bananas aren't your favorite thing in ice cream, try the Black Cherry variation that I posted at Slashfood. Depending on your tastes, it might be even better.

Caramelized Banana Buttermilk Ice Cream
2 large or 3 medium bananas
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

Thinnly slice the bananas and put them into a medium skillet over medium heat to cook until golden brown all over. Transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk together sugar, buttermilk and vanilla in a medium bowl, dissolving most of the sugar, then stir it into the bananas. Refrigerate until cold (at least 30-60 minutes).
Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze as directed. Add in walnuts, if using. Mine took about 15-20 minutes.
Transfer to a freezer-friendly container with a lid and freeze until firm (at least 30 minutes) before serving.

Serves 6.

Cooking School: Herbed Breadsticks

2006-08-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have made breadsticks before, and though they were tasty and easy to make, I have wanted to pin down a good recipe for yeasted breadsticks. I wanted to get that nice texture that you just can't seem to get with a quickbread (non-yeast) type of recipe. Many recipes for homemade breadsticks are really just elongated dinner rolls, tending towards softness. Truthfully, I like those types of breadsticks, but I really wanted something crunchy, but not too hard, and flavorful. These seem to fit the bill. The recipe starts with a yeast dough that has dried herbs added to it, adding a relatively mild flavor that would complement many dishes. The dough is smooth and easy to handle. To shape it into those lovely twists, I just rolled the dough into long snakes, folded in half, and twined the loose ends together.
The trick to getting them crispy is in the baking. It seems that you need a high temperature and a relatively long baking time, compared to the size of the breadstick. I ended up baking them at 425F until they were a dark, golden brown all over. This produced sticks that were wonderfully crunchy on the outside and still a bit soft at the center. The long baking time did dry the center of the breadstick slightly, but this is a breadstick that is meant to be dipped in soups and sauces, soaking them up and adding a texture contrast. In short - it doesn't matter.
If you are a die-hard soft breadstick person, only bake them for 15-20 minutes, until they are light golden, firm to the touch and sound hollow when lightly tapped. Also, if you know your oven has hot spots in it, I recommend rotating the pan once during baking to avoid over-browning (a.k.a. burning) any of the breadsticks.

Herbed Breasticks
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)1 cup warm (110F) water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp carraway seeds (optional)
2 1/4-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
salt, for topping

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and the water. Let stand for 5 minutes, until slightly foamy. Add in vegetable oil, sugar, sald, dill, parsley, carraway seeds (if using) and 2 1/4 cups of flour and mix well. Add remaining flour a tablespoon at a time, stirring until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl, adding a little more if necessary. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place dough into a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1h15min, or until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll out into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut it into four strips (a pizza cutter will work well), then take each strip, roll it into a "snake" about 18-inches long, fold in half and twist together. Place twist on a lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second half of the dough to make 8 breadsticks. Cover the baking sheet with a clean dish towel and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F. When the breadsticks have risen, very lightly brush them with water and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until dark golden all over.
Let cool to room temperature (or slightly warm) before serving.
Makes 8 large breadsticks.

Note: To refresh them, since they will loose their crunch overnight, just pop into a 350F oven for a few minutes – but there’s no shame in having none left over, either.

Cherry Blueberry Clafoutis

2006-08-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

I had it in mind to make a blueberry clafoutis, but much to my chagrin, I found that the berries at the bottom of my small basket were beyond saving, much like the fresh raspberries I have had such bad luck with this year. I ended up adding some frozen black cherries to dish and the combination of fruits was delicious.
The recipe is only a slight variation on my favorite Pear Clafoutis, and while I love that one, it is a simple fact that ripe pears are harder to obtain and have a shorter season than cherries and blueberries - especially since the berries can be frozen with little detriment to their texture. An additional benefit is that the berries do not take any of the prep work that pears do. The finished product might not look quite as elegant as the sliced pear dish, but it makes up for any visual shortcomings in color - and in taste, of course.
The clafoutis is incredibly easy to make, with everything coming together in mere seconds in the food processor. A one step, one bowl recipe is incredibly forgiving, so even a complete beginner should be able to make this work.
Once baked, the finished dish is slightly eggy, like custard, but has a completely unique texture, somewhere between a custard and a cake. It is more dense on the bottom than the top and develops a slight "crust" where it comes in contact with the baking dish, but the whole thing is quite tender. The berries really shine in with the plain background flavors, but you could experiment with different extracts or spices if you wish. Cherries with cinnamon and vanilla would be delicious, and blueberries with lemon extract for part of the vanilla would be lovely, as well.

Cherry Blueberry Clafoutis
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk ( I used skim)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs

2 cups black cherries and blueberries, mixed, fresh or frozen*

Preheat oven to 425F.
Lightly grease a a 9-10 inch round baking dish (the pie dish I used was 9.5-in).
In a food processor, blend all remaining ingredients, except berries, until smooth, about 10-15 seconds (This can be whisked by hand, as well).
Place fruit on the bottom of the baking dish and pour egg mixture on top of it.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425F, then turn oven down to 350F and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, until clafoutis is light golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Holding the oven door open for a 30-40 seconds will help to reduce the oven temperature when you lower it.
Let it cool for at least 20-30 mintues before serving. The clafoutis will sink slightly as it cools.
Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Serves 6.

*Note: If using frozen, quickly rinse and pat them dry before using, since sometimes frozen berries have a lot of extra juice frozen to the outsides of the fruit.

Raspberry Lime Bread

2006-08-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is a very beautiful loaf. It has a golden top, an almost white interior and, of course, bright raspberries scattered throughout, making the contrast between white and red all the more obvious.
The idea to do a lime-raspberry flavor combination had been floating around in my head for some time, but I kept forgetting to buy raspberries. Or when I would get them, they would often spoil before I had a chance to use them. In all probability, the weather this summer has not been very produce-friendly, which probably contributed to the exceptionally short shelf-life of my berries. In the end, I ended up using frozen raspberries despite the fact that I could have used fresh. Frozen will hold their shape as the bread bakes and will not get smashed when mixed into the batter. You can use either kind, but I think that frozen might actually be a bit better when it comes to appearances.

The quickbread itself is sweet and tender, though it is not too light - marking it as more of a bread than a cake. This means that it stands up to toasting very well, if you prefer to eat yours with a bit of butter rather than having it plain. The lime zest gives it a bright flavor without coming across as too acidic or citrusy and serves to highlight the sweet berries.

I should also mention that this bread smells fantastic when it's baking. You might want to have a snack on hand so you'll be able to resist slicing into the loaf before it's cool.

Raspberry Lime Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lime zest
3/4 cup milk (any kind)
1 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, vanilla, vegetable oil and lime zest until smooth. Stir in 1/2 of flour mixture and all of the milk. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined. Quickly stir in the raspberries and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour at 350F, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.
Turn loaf out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
Store wrapped in plastic wrap and it will keep for several days.
Makes 1 loaf.

Blogging by mail returns!

2006-08-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

For all of you who have e-mailed me over the past few months, asking when we were going to have another round of Blogging By Mail, your time has come. The global, non-digital event has returned!
When I started Blogging By Mail, back before any of the other postal-blogging events did, I might add, I didn't know it would be as popular as it was. The first round had 26 people. Subsequent rounds had more than 100. It takes time and a vast amount of organization to coordinate packages going from Manila to New York and Auckland to Indiana. But I'm sure you don't want to hear about the boring details. We're leaving all that to the host of this round, Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness.
Stephanie has posted all the guidelines for packages and how to sign up, so read them carefully! You must e-mail her (and not me) to participate. Sign-ups will last from now until August 25th, and all packages must be shipped by September 15th, at the latest.

This event is a chance to swap a few of your favorite goodies, either local or homemade, with someone somewhere else in the world. I do ask, however, that you all profusely thank Stephanie for organizing this round. I know she's going to do a brilliant job, so we might as well thank her ahead of time - what else will we have to do while waiting to find out who we'll be sending our packages to?

Sunday Brunch: Pepper, Onion and Cheese Omelet

2006-08-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

The trick to making an omelet is to practice. The more often you make them, the easier they'll be to do. An omelet is sort of like a large egg pancake, if you've never had one before. The egg mixture has eggs (of course), a little milk or water and seasonings, then it is poured into a pan and cooked until just firm, before being wrapped around a filling of some kind. The most important thing is that the eggs should stay together in one round, not break apart like scrambled eggs. If they do break apart, a scramble is always an option.
Without coming over and using my pans and my stove, I can't tell you the exact settings to make the perfect omelet, if there is such a thing. I like to cook my eggs over a medium or medium-high heat until the top is still jiggly, but just set. Then, I add my filling and fold up the sides of the omelet. I always use a silicone spatula when working with eggs because it handles them more delicately than a hard or stiff tool.
I used a blend of sweet onions and red bell peppers for this omelet, mixed a little bit of dill into the eggs, and topped it off with some muenster cheese just before folding up the sides.
For the vegetables, use about 1/4 of a veggie per person. So, if you are only making an omelet for one, you don't need to cut up a whole onion. You can, of course, use more veggies, but keep in mind that it will be difficult to fold the sides of the omelet up if your filling is too thick.

Omelet with Pepper, Onion and Cheese

(for one person, can multiply as needed)

2 large eggs

2-3 tbsp milk or water

1/2 tsp dried dill

salt and pepper

red bell pepper, diced

sweet onions, diced

salt and pepper

1-2 tsp butter

cheese of choice (I recommend muenster or provolone)

In a small skillet, sautee diced pepper and onions (see above note for the amounts) with a small amount of butter and some salt and pepper until very tender. Working over medium heat, this could take about 15 minutes. Turn heat to low while you prepare the eggs.
Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Grease lightly if using a non-nonstick pan.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, milk (or water), dill and salt and pepper together until very smooth. Pour into prepared skillet and reduce heat slightly. Cook until the top of the eggs are just set, but still jiggly, and the edge separates easily from the bottom of the pan when you slide a spatula under it. Distribute veggies in the center of the eggs, top with cheese, then use the spatula to fold up the sides of the omelet.
Continue cooking until the omelet is as done as you like it (some prefer theirs slightly runny and some like them well-done).
Serve immediately, preferably with toast.

*Note: if you want to reduce the fat, omit the cheese and use one whole egg and two egg whites. The veggies can be sauteed in a nonstick pan, too, but a small amount of butter (only about4g fat per tsp) really makes them wonderful when they are cooked to an almost melting consistency.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

2006-08-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

I had a good time with the two-tone milkshakes that I made last week and decided to use the same effect to make these ice cream sandwiches. And by this, I mean that I made them with half vanilla filling and half chocolate.
Ice cream sandwiches are really simple to make because you don't have to actually make anything in order to make them. You can buy all the ingredients you need. Of course, there are some things that you should keep in mind if you're doing this. Here are a couple of tips:
First, choose with a soft or chewy cookie so that it doesn't crack and crumble all over the place while you're eating it. Second, get the best and most strongly flavored ice cream you can find, since you're only using a small amount and want the flavor to come through. Third, chocolate chip cookies pair very well with vanilla ice cream, the standard filling for a sandwich.
The technique involved in putting the sandwiches together is quite simple. You need to take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften until it is easy to handle with a spoon. Once it is sandwiched between two cookies, wrap the whole thing in a small piece of plastic wrap and freeze until solid. With individually wrapped cookies, you'll never have a problem grabbing one for a snack, and doing them one at a time allows you to get each sandwich into the freezer without worrying about the filling melting too much.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

vanilla ice cream

chocolate gelato

chocolate chip cookies*

The amount of each ingredient you'll need depends on how many cookie sandwiches you're going to make.
Simply soften the ice creams on the countertop, spread each half of one cookie generously with ice cream until it's about 1-inch thick, and top with another cookie.
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
To serve, simply unwrap and plate. The sandwiches will soften in just a few minutes, though you can certainly consume while they're straight from the freezer if your teeth can handle the cold.

*Note: Ok, you can use other cookies if you want to. Oatmeal raisin would be good, as would the very chocolaty amazing chocolate cake cookies, salty oat cookies or white chocolate cookies.

Cooking School: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2006-08-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

These are, hands down, the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and probably the best I have ever eaten. Granted, I actually make things that I like more than these (sometimes you feel like a muffin, not a cookie), but I have never seen someone not reach for a second cookies straight away. They are fantastic - slightly crispy on the edges with a nice and chewy center. They are buttery, without being greasy at all, and perfectly balanced. The cookies have just the right amount of chocolate chips to appease any chocolate lover, but not so much that the flavors of the oats and vanilla are drowned out.
I could go on about the taste, but I'll refrain.
The cookies are from The Frog Commissary Cookbook, a book of the recipes from a very popular local restaurant called "Frog" in Philadelphia in the 1970s. As I have family out in that area, I suspect that more than one relative of mine frequented the restaurant, which is probably how my mother ended up with a copy of the cookbook. She started making the cookies and, after a time, so did I.
The book says that the restaurant would "sell this cookie the way that McDonald's sells burgers: they fly out the door." They also note that they were "irresistible," even to employees who were around them every day.
Oatmeal cookies hardy make a good "cooking school" entry in terms of method because almost everyone knows how to make a simple drop-cookie already. They fit in, however, because this is a cookie that everyone needs to have in their repertoire.
Trust me.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from The Frog Commissary Cookbook)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or "quick," but not "instant")

2 cups chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen.

Notes:
- If you chill the dough for about 30 minutes before baking, you will have a slightly puffier cookie.
- You can substitute raisins for the chocolate chips.
- You can add up to 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts in addition to raisins or chocolate chips. You might want to make the cookies slightly larger if this is the case.

Lemon and Candied Ginger Muffins

2006-08-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

While we were at BlogHer, Elise told me a story of some semi-disastrous lemon muffins that she had recently tried to make from a recipe given to her by a friend. What precisely caused the muffins to fail was a mystery, since the friend who supplied the recipe later had the same difficulty, despite the fact that she had succeeded with the muffins in the past.
It was with those muffins in mind that I put together this recipe for Lemon and Candied Ginger Muffins, though you can rest-assured that my recipe is completely unlike the unsuccessful one I just mentioned.
These muffins, instead of being made with lemon juice, are only kissed with lemon through the use of lemon zest in the batter. The lemon flavor is boosted by adding an easy lemon glaze after baking. The glaze is added when the muffins are still slightly warm so that it almost melts into the top of the muffin.

The muffins themselves are very light and tender, in large part because I creamed the butter and sugar together, as I might do for a cupcake. These aren't sweet enough to be mistaken for cake, but at the same time, they don't fall into that trap of not having enough sugar in them, as some muffins do. They have an excellent balance overall and can be eaten plain, with a cup or tea or coffee, as well as with a bit of butter at breakfast.

The candied ginger boosts the sweetness of the muffins and provides a little crunch every time you encounter an unusually sugary piece. I actually use the crystallised ginger chips (pre-cut candied ginger) from the Ginger People, which have a higher sugar-to-ginger ration than most, but still carry across a lot of ginger taste, especially if you eat them more than a few at a time.

Lemon and Candied Ginger Muffins
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp zest)
3/4 cup milk (low fat is ok)
1/2 cup candied ginger, in small pieces

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter/sugar mix, working in two or three additions and beating at a low speed (or by hand) only until just combined. Stir in candied ginger.
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool on a wire rack, drizzling with lemon glaze (below) while muffins are still slightly warm.

Lemon Glaze
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup confectioners sugar

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar with enough lemon juice to make a glaze that will drizzle easily from the tines of a fork. You don't have to be exact, and can always add either a bit more juice or a bit more sugar to achieve a good consistency.
Drizzle a little glaze over each muffin and let dry for at least a few minutes before serving.

BlogHer 2006

2006-07-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

(Photo of food blogging group by Elise Bauer)

I'm back from BlogHer and I have to say that it was a wonderful event. I was able to meet a number of food bloggers, as well as a few people who were interested in getting started with food blogging. It is fascinating to hear people talk about why they blog and why they love it, and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it this year.
The first day, we listened to some more technical talks about things like building traffic and photo blogging. I was inspired to try making a video or two, so if things work out, I might put up a short cooking clip on here sometime in the future. The second day, we all talked about the content of our blogs, why we blog and where our blogs are taking us. For me, one of the best things about blogging is being part of a community of wonderful people (commenters included!) and I was lucky enough to meet with a number of them on day two of the conference. Among the bloggers that I met were, Shuna from Eggbeater (who had some great t-shirts for sale), Pim from Chez Pim, Erin from Erin's Kitchen, Fatemeh of Gastronomie, Meg Hourihan of Megnut and Cheryl of Cupcake Bakeshop.
Saving the best for last, I also spent a lot of time with Elise from Simply Recipes and Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. I can't say enough good things about the two of them, as they are wonderful women. The three of us, along with our conference friends Teri and Allison, all went out to dinner on Saturday night - taking a break from the rather appalling conference food - to an amazing Japanese restaurant in San Jose's Japan Town. We all kept on taking so long, that the restaurant workers were halfway through their meal at the end of the night before we noticed, offered our thanks, and left!
Overall, it was a great experience. I heard, while I was there, that the next BlogHer will be next summer in Chicago. I highly recommend that you come and join us, if you can make it, regardless of whether you are a blogger or simply enjoy reading blogs. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a whole food panel, which would make the conference even better.

Take a look at Elise's post to see some pictures of all your favorite food bloggers, or look at the whole Flickr group from the conference to take a peek at some of the speakers and other activities. Kalyn has a list of all the food bloggers who were able to meet up with us on Saturday, too.

Sugar High Friday: Rice Pudding Ice Cream

2006-07-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

I know that I've been doing a lot of ice cream posts lately, but with the temperatures getting to over 100F on a regular basis here over the last month, it's hard not to want a lot of cold food. Besides, I tend to make small batches of ice creams - not to mention that Sarah's chosen theme for this month's Sugar High Friday was cold desserts!
So, I'm not going to apologize for not doing a lot of baking lately, but I do promise to back of the ice creams for... at least a day or two. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to buy and ice cream maker.
Anyway, I wanted to do something a little bit different. I had heard the idea of rice pudding ice cream mentioned by a few people in passing and, the more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. I tried it and I loved it. It's just as easy as making rice pudding, chilling it and dumping it into an ice cream maker. This means that you could actually buy some rice pudding and do the same thing, if you don't want to make it yourself.

I made my favorite rice pudding recipe, which I like because you don't need pre-cooked rice for it to work. I used milk, instead of cream, because I felt that the starchiness of the arborio/short grained rice that I used would serve to add a thicker, richer texture to the final product. Skim milk or low fat is completely fine for this recipe, and soy milk will work well, too. If you want to make the ice cream richer - by which I mean more fattening - and lighter in texture at the same time, fold 1/2 cup of unsweetened whipped cream into the pudding before putting it into the ice cream maker.
The ice cream is very creamy, with some texture and a bit of chew from the rice. Think of it as having sprinkles (uh, very tender sprinkles) mixed into the ice cream - and that texture really sets it apart from plain ice cream and makes for a nice change. I used a lot of vanilla in my pudding, but you can add cinnamon or other flavored extracts, too.
This recipe also makes fantastic pudding pops.

Rice Pudding Ice Cream
1/2 cup short grain rice, uncooked (I used arborio)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 vanilla bean, split
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind)

Combine rice, sugar, water and vanilla bean in a medium sauce pan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce to a simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 45 minutes. Carefully remove vanilla bean. Scrape out the seeds and stir them into the rice.
Stir in the milk and, keeping rice over low heat, bring to a simmer. Remove pudding when it begins to bubble, after 20-30 minutes. Transfer pudding to a large bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's standard directions for regular ice cream. Scrape into a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 30 minutes until serving.

Serves about 6.

Note: If you want to stir in some raisins at the end of the churning, feel free. I'm not a huge fan of raisins in ice cream, personally, but they do taste great in rice pudding.

Cooking School: Chocolate Gelato

2006-07-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Gelato is Italian ice cream. While in composition it is not that different from other frozen treats, there are a couple of things that set it apart from a standard ice cream. First, it is generally made with milk and not with cream (some recipes do call for a small amount of cream). I've had many shopkeepers try to impress this upon me as a selling point, since it makes the gelato lower in fat than ice cream is (for the record, it works as a selling point). Second, gelato tends to be more dense than ice cream, with less air churned into it and fewer tiny ice crystals suspended in the mixture. This gives it a rich taste.
The final thing that sets it apart is that gelatos usually tend to have much stronger flavors than other ice creams. I won't go so far as to say that this is a standard feature of gelato, but in my experience, it tends to be true.
It is certainly true of this chocolate gelato. The recipe is from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. While many chocolate gelato recipes call for melted chocolate, this one only uses cocoa powder to chocolatiness. The gelato is very smooth and very, very chocolaty. You can probably only eat a small amount at a time. I added to the chocolate - not that the incredibly rich flavor needed it - with some chopped chocolate. I opted to go for the varying sizes of chocolate chunks (and shavings) instead of chocolate chips because I thought they would blend better into the gelato. I used a chocolate chipper, which looks like a tiny pitchfork, to get the job done, but your can use a sharp knife to shave off pieces of chocolate.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Gelato
(adapted from Bittersweet)
3 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 tbsp cornstarch
about 3-oz chocolate, shaved/chunked (1/2 cup)

In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of the milk just to a simmer, which is when you start to see steam rising from the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining cup of (cold/room temperature) milk with the sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Once the milk in the saucepan has come to a simmer, add in the cocoa mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Cook for one more minute, then remove from heat.
Strain mixture into a large bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and chill until cold. Overnight chilling is best.
Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes, before serving. Stir in the chocolate chunks/shavings after churning or stir them in halfway through the churning process.
Makes about 1 quart.

Note: You can use any type of milk for this recipe, from skim to whole. I recommed going with low fat (1 or 2%), since it produces a creamy product and one that is lower in fat than one made with whole milk.

A new toy and a bit of news

2006-07-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of knives. From no-name knives I've had forever to Henkels and Global knives, mine run the gamut from inexpensive to premium. But I think it's safe to say that I like my newest knife, a 6 1/2 inch Shun Santoku, the best. I love everything about it, from the look, to the feel, to the impossibly sharp blade.
Knives are a vital part of the kitchen and, unfortunately, too many people "make do" with sub-par knives. If you think about how much you need knives in cooking, it only makes sense to get one that performs well and will last a long time. Of course, you should always choose a knife based on its size, and how comfortable it feels in your hand, not just based on someone's recommendation (though I highly recommend a knife like this one or another high quality knife). By the way, Williams-Sonoma is a great place to check out knives because, unlike some retailers, they will let you test out all the knives in-store. They wil actually bring out a cutting board with a few things (potatoes, onions, etc), for you to chop up to get a feel for the knife.

In other news, posting will be a little bit slow over the next several days because I'm going to be going to the BlogHer conference this weekend. Anyone else going?

Sunday Brunch: Yeasted Blueberry Pancakes

2006-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason, yeasted pancakes don't seem to be quite as popular as yeasted waffles. This might have to do with the fact that pancakes are not supposed to be quite as "light" as waffles and that you can usually lighten the batter by beating the egg whites separately, if you simply want to get a puffier pancake.
I wanted a yeasted pancake recipe just to add to my collection, so I turned to this recipe from Bob's Red Mill, which is known for its various whole grain products, mostly sold at natural food stores. I added fresh blueberries and topped them off with some more of the blueberry syrup that I made earlier this week, leftover from dumpling making.
The pancakes themselves were delicious, light and fluffy. The baking soda stirred in at the end really raised them up. I would consider cutting the butter back to 1 tbsp in the future, but given that this recipe makes 6 generous servings (with blueberries), the overall fat content isn't really too high to be concerned by.
I will make a note about adding blueberries to pancakes. Once the pancakes have cooked on one side, put the berries in by hand and lightly dot each of them with batter. This will not only secure the berries in the pancakes, but the less time they spend on the griddle, the smaller the odds of them popping and discoloring the pancakes are. Some moisture will come out of the berries no matter what you do, so the pancakes will take longer to cook than berry-less ones .

Yeasted Blueberry Pancakes
(adapted from this recipe)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups milk (low fat/skim is fine), warm
1/4 cup water, warm
2 large eggs
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast and sugar. Stir in warm (110F) milk and water, mixing vigorously until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, melted butter, vanilla. Stir in the rest of the flour and the salt. Pour into yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Add in baking soda and stir well. Batter will be quite thick.
Heat a griddle or large skillet until very hot; a drop of water will sizzle and dance on the surface.
Drop dollops onto hot griddle and cook until golden brown, adding berries (as noted above) halfway through cooking and covering each berry with a very small amount of batter before turning.
Serve immediately.

Makes 6 generous servings.

Two-Tone Banana Milkshake

2006-07-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Unless you live in California, you might not know that we are having something of a heat wave. Sure, it gets hot here in the summer and I do technically live in the desert, but when the temperature is consistently over 106F, it takes a toll on your desire to do things. Like cook and eat.
Fortunately for me, I still feel like cooking. The thought of eating hot foods is another matter entirely. For an energy boost that took neither heat nor effort, I made a simple milkshake.
The classic American definition of a milkshake is a blended mixture of ice cream, milk and some sort of flavoring or fruit. This is known as a "thick shake" in countries like Australia and in the UK. There, milkshakes are traditionally cold, frothy flavored milks. I tend to view a milkshake as the latter, but this particular shake sort of spans the two types.
I blended partially frozen bananas with a bit of vanilla soy milk, then added chocolate to half of the batch. The shake isn't too sweet, especially the chocolate side, as I didn't add any extra sugar to it, but you can easily add in a few teaspoonfuls of sugar or a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it up and change the flavoring a bit. By pouring them into the glass simultaneously, I ended up with a neat swirled effect.

Two-Tone Banana Milkshake

2 medium/large bananas, frozen and partially defrosted

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (or plain milk), divided

2-3 tsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

In a food processor, blend one banana with 1/4 cup milk (The banana should not be frozen solid). Pour into a measuring cup, one with a pouring spout, and set aside.
Blend second banana with remaining milk and cocoa powder. Add sugar, to taste, if desired.
Pour chocolate mixture and plain mixture simultaneously into a large glass.
Add a straw and enjoy!

Cooking School: Beignets

2006-07-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

As a general rule, I don't deep fry things very often. In fact, I rarely eat anything that is deep fried. I do enjoy frying because I think it's fascinating to be able to watch the food cook and dough, in particular, puff up and take on a lovely golden color. So, I am willing to make fried foods when I have a special request.
My brother requested doughnuts, and I made beignets. Close enough.
Earlier this year, I made cake doughnuts, which use no yeast. I prefer them to yeasted doughnuts because they seem more substantial, but beignets have something special about them.
Beignets are a traditional pastry in New Orleans that are made with a yeasted dough. The dough is rolled out into squares and deep fried. The unique thing about them is that they have pockets in the center, making them incredibly light. Unfortunately, the one I cut in half for the photo had only a small, off-center pocket, but the rest really did have them! More often than not, they are sweet, but savory versions of beignets do exist and are very popular in some places.
I like this recipe, which I got from eGullet because it allows for an overnight rise in the fridge. This means that aside from heating up the oil, there is minimal work to be done in the morning. Since beignets are part of a tasty - if not exactly balanced - breakfast, this is a particularly good feature of the recipe. The beignets are usually served with a dusting of powdered sugar, though anything from jam to syrup can be eaten with them. A cup of coffee or hot chocolate is, in my opinion, a vital part of the dish.
Mine were very light and fluffy in the center and slightly sweet. The outside is pleasingly crisp fry the frying and, thanks to some thorough draining, they didn't seem greasy at all. I will say that they were a bit thicker than some of the commercially made beignets that I have had, but with this sort of pastry, practice will produce a more perfect product.

Beignets
(recipe from eGullet)
3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
3 3/4 — 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk*
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, very soft
canola (or safflower) oil for frying
confectioners sugar, to serve

In a large bowl (the bowl of an electric mixer), dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix in sugar, salt, egg, and evaporated milk. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat (by hand or with the paddle attachment) until smooth. Stir in the butter and 1 3/4 cups flour, switching to the dough hook towards the end of mixing if you are using an electric mixer. Add in remaining flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl into a soft ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, heat one quart of oil in a medium sauce pan (or more oil in a bigger pan if you want to cook a lot at a time), measuring it with a thermometer until it reaches 370F.

Scrap dough, which will have doubled in size, out of the bowl and onto a very lightly floured surface. Deflate and shape into a rectangle. Roll out the rectangle until it is 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 25 squares using a pizza cutter.

Lower squares into hot oil and cook, turning once, until golden brown. Monitor the temperature to make sure it does not drop too low or get too high. Do not overcrowd the pan.

Drain on paper towels and dust generously with confectioners sugar before serving.
Makes 25 beignets

*Note: If you do not have evaporated milk, do not use sweetened condensed milk. In a pinch, you can substitute cream or light cream (which I had done) for evaporated milk and still get good results.

White Peach Crumble

2006-07-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

When I buy fresh fruit, I almost always just eat it out of hand. I absolute love fruit desserts, but sometimes I just can't help but think that I'm missing out when I'm not eating them plain. After all, fresh, ripe fruit has a texture and flavor that is unmatched by cooked fruit. This is why I sometimes like to buy fruit in bulk. There is a time pressure to use it up quickly and more than enough for me to eat both raw and cooked.
Today, it was white peaches. In general, I am not a huge fan of peach flavor. I like it well enough, but I generally opt for nectarines instead of the furrier stone fruits. When I do get peaches, I prefer the slightly sweeter and less acidic taste of white peaches (and white nectarines) to the yellow ones, but the yellow ones have a stronger flavor when they've been baked.
This crumble is a simple dish of peaches with a crisp topping sprinkled over them. The flavor in the crisp is subtle and enhances the peach flavor wonderfully. It's a light, gorgeous summer dessert and one that will have you reaching for seconds, so even though the recipe really does serve 6, you might want to make it when you only have to serve three or four and prepare a light dinner to go with it.
It also makes a tasty breakfast - without ice cream, of course.
I'll warn you that some juice will come out of the peaches as they bake, so there could be some liquid at the bottom of your pan when you're serving. It's nothing to worry about and tastes delicious - it just is an indicator of how wonderfully ripe your peaches were.

Peach Crumble

5 large, ripe peaches (white or yellow)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

6 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

3 1/2 tbsp (50g) butter, cold

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer on the stovetop. Set a bow of cool water next to it. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each peach and submerge in simmering water for about 30 seconds. Dunk in cold water, then peel off skin. Repeat with all peaches. Slice peeled peaches into about 10-12 pieces each.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Cut butter into 6 or 8 pieces and rub in to flour mixture to create coarse crumbs.
Place peach slices in a pie dish and distribute crumble topping over the top.
Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, until the crumble browns at the edges and the peaches are tender. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes before serving.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or plain.
Serves 6.

Blueberry Dumplings

2006-07-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Since I mentioned that I bought a huge box of blueberries yesterday, I thought I'd let you know what I did with it. First of all, I ate a lot of the berries out of hand, munching on them throughout the weekend. They went surprisingly quickly. Second of all, I made dessert.
Tempted though I was to make muffins, I wanted to do something that would be fairly light, easy and use up a lot of berries. I considered pie, but ultimate decided that I wanted something lighter. Even though they are often considered to be a winter-time comfort food I chose to make dumplings in berry sauce. After all, you just can't get fresh berries of this quality in winter.
Now I will say right now that I am not an expert in dumpling-making, so if your grandmother's recipe is better than this one, by all means go ahead and use that one. My grandmother didn't make dumplings, so I was on my own. I think they're really easy and can be either rich and buttery, almost like a scone, or soft and fluffy. These are the fluffy variety and get a butter taste from the buttermilk without actually using any butter in the recipe.
I adore the sauce, and it's worth making even if you're not going to do the dumplings. Serve it (and the dumplings) hot, over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Buttermilk Dumplings in Blueberry Sauce
For the Sauce:
3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water
3-4 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water

For the dumplings:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk (approx)
1 tsp vanilla

For the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the berries, water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until most of the berries have popped. Stir in the cornstarch/water mixture and cook for an addition minute, unti lthe syrup thickens slightly.
Turn heat to a low simmer and cover.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add in the vanilla and gradually add in the buttermilk, stirring until the dough comes together. The final dough should be wetter than a scone dough, but thicker than waffle or pancake batter, so if it is too dry, add an extra tablespoon or two of buttermilk.

Drop golf-ball sized dollops of dough (3-4 at a time, depending on your sauce pan) into the blueberry sauce. Cover the saucepan and cook for 7-10 minutes (depending on ths size of your dough balls), until the dumplings spring back slightly when you poke them with a spoon.
Scoop out, along with some sauce, and serve immediately - alone or with ice cream.
I recommend serving them in a bowl, not on a plate.

Serves 4.

Sunday Brunch: Light and Crispy Waffles

2006-07-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a craving for Belgian waffles. It probably had to do with the fact that they were giving away free samples yesterday when I was shopping at Costco. Granted, their waffles were served with "pancake syrup" (which is really just flavored corn syrup) instead of maple, but they were very tasty. Crispy, crunchy and light.
My first thought was to use a recipe for Belgian Waffles that I've made before, but I didn't have any cake flour and I make it a general rule not to run to the market before 6am - mostly because I prefer to lounge in my pjs for a while. I remembered the very catchily-named Waffles of Insane Greatness from the last round of DMBLGiT and looked up the recipe; I already knew that they would be good.
I changed the ingredients around a bit, though. I made the batter thicker and added a bit more leavening. They turned out to be fantastic: crispy, crunchy and light. The waffles were barely sweet, but this made them the perfect foil for maple syrup (not pancake syrup) and I imagine that they'd be wonderful with powdered sugar, too. The berries I added on top were from a 2.25-lb box from Costco and are now mostly gone - just like the rest of the waffles.
In my Belgian waffle iron, this only made three full waffles. It will probably make 4 in a regular iron, but double it if you want more than that.

Light and Crispy Waffles

(adapted from the Waffles of Insane Greatness)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk (I used lowfat)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Whisk together until fully combined.
Let batter rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat your waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions (the oil in the waffles should eliminate the need to grease the iron).
Serve immediately with syrup, butter and/or berries.

Cooking School: Jelly Roll

2006-07-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

There are many, many bad recipes for jelly rolls out there. This is surprising because it is an incredibly simple thing to make.
A jelly roll, also known as a swiss roll, is a large, thin rectangle of sponge cake that is spread with jam and rolled up. It is traditionally served with only a dusting of powdered sugar, but some variations - noteably the Yule Log - call for frosting the cake and many people perfer to top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream. The cakes have been fairly popular since the mid 1800s, but have recently seen a decline in popularity due to an increased preference for sweeter, more decadent cakes.
I really like these relatively plain cakes, so it's a shame that more people aren't enjoying them. They are light, just sweet enough from the jam, and very attractive. They go wonderfully with tea.
The recipe I used is from Paula Deen. I have made chocolate and pumpkin rolls in the past, but Paula's Old South Jelly Roll is actually the most reliable that I have come across and it certainly produced excellent results. The cake is light and even, with a nice crumb and a slight sweetness. I love the fact that Paula didn't skimp on the vanilla, so the cake had a nice flavor and wasn't eggy, which sometimes sponge cakes are. It was also very easy to handle, as the rolling is the most difficult part of preparing this cake.
Once it is baked, the cake should be turned out onto a sugared dish towel and rolled up. The hot cake will roll smoothly and without cracking and the moisture that is trapped by the towel will keep it tender as it cools. The jam can be spread into the cooled cake before easily re-rolling it. Use any kind of jam. I used a mixed berry here, but you can never go wrong with strawberry or raspberry.
It should be noted that the cake should be served the day it is made or, if you make it the day before, be sure to wrap it well. Since there is so little fat in the cake, it will dry out a bit if left out. Serve it with a generous dusting of powdered sugar if you're a traditionalist, like me, or whipped cream and berries, if you prefer.

Old-Fashioned Jelly Roll
(from Paula Deen)

4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
3/4 cup plain sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

powdered sugar
filling: about 1 cup jam

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a 15 by 10 by 1-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer until light. This will take a few mintues. Gradually add in the sugar, followed by the vanilla, and mix until fully combined. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into the yolk mixture and beat in until just combined.
Quickly clean and dry beaters well, then beat the egg whites to soft peaks in a medium bowl.
Gently stir 1/2 of the egg whites into the flour mixture, then fold in the rest of the whites until the batter is even. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 400F for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back when lightly touched.

Dust a large dishtowel with powdered sugar.
When cake comes out of the oven, loosen edges of cake, then place the sugared towel on top of the cake (yes, some will come off), then invert the pan so the cake comes out onto the towel (which should be lying on a table or counter). Trim off the firm edges.
Beginning with the short side, roll cake and towel up together. Place towel wrapped cake on a wire rack and let cool.

When cake is cool, gently unroll and spread with jam (or jelly) and re-roll. Place on a serving plate.
Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves 8.

Banana Buttermilk Ice Cream

2006-07-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that I am going to be making a lot of ice cream/sorbet/frozen yogurt this summer. For the past five weeks or so, it has regularly been over 100F in my neighborhood. Granted - that's not completely unusual for the summers out here, but it's still pretty hot. I don't mind the heat, though, and I certainly don't mind more opportunities to have some frozen treats.
For some reason, there are some people who are put off by the idea of "sorbet" but not by ice cream. It is for this reason that I have decided to call this creamy frozen dessert "ice cream" even though it is very similar to the Buttermilk Sorbet I made a little while ago. Basically, I added more buttermilk and a whole bunch of pureed bananas. Easy, right?
It turned out great. The bananas definitely made it more ice cream-like than the sorbet in terms of texture and I'm glad that I didn't add any extra sugar because not only were the bananas sweet, but the buttermilk flavor wasn't convered up. The resulting ice cream was very creamy, with an addictive, refreshing tang from the buttermilk and a good banana flavor.
Since this is a frozen treat, the bananas should not cause the ice cream to discolor at all, so don't worry about having to add anything to prevent that.

Banana Buttermilk Ice Cream
3 medium/2 large, ripe bananas (enough to make 1 cup puree)

1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor, combine bananas and sugar and process until very smooth. As the motor runs, add in buttermilk and vanilla.
Pour mixture (which will taste great even at this point) into your ice cream maker and freeze as directed. Mine took about 15 minutes.
Transfer to a freezer-friendly container with a lid and freeze until firm (at least 30 minutes) before serving.

Serves 6.

Making a Magic Loaf

2006-07-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

I really like Jennifer's site Vegan Lunch Box, which hopefully you have all seen before via the link in my sidebar. Jennifer blogs what she packs for her son's lunch everyday, dealing with the changing and occasionally idiosyncratic tastes of kids as well as the fact that they're vegan and the other kids at school aren't. To make sure her little "schmoo" isn't left out, she sometimes gets quite creative with her lunch options, like vegan corndogs, homemade twinkies and vegan meatloaf.
Now, vegan meatloaf may sound like a bit of an odd concept, but I assure you that it can be a good one. And I know a think or two about meatloaf: my regular meatloaf won a contest.
I used an application that Jennifer created called the Magical Loaf Studio, which combines the ingredients of your choice into a meatloaf recipe, or rather, an un-meatloaf recipe. I've never tried an automatically generated loaf recipe and this seemed like as good a time as any to start.
I considered using black beans as my protein, but I ended up using a package of Yves Veggie Ground Round, which is a very tasty veg product that I've seen at Trader Joe's and even my regular supermarket. I added a little bit more breadcrumbs than the auto-recipe called for, but overall I would say that the experiment was a huge success. It tasted great and was easy to do. I would describe it as juicy, meaty and very meatloafy. And my loaf made great sandwiches the next day, so I think that the loaf studio has the potential to generate some real winners.

Vegan Meatloaf
(via the Magical Loaf Studio)
1 medium onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 package Yves Veggie Ground Round
1 1/4 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs (lightly toasted or slightly stale)
1/4 cup oatmeal, cooked with 1/2 cup water
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tbsp ketchup
2-3 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
Black pepper, to taste
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Saute onion, garlic, carrots and celery in a large pan until tender, about 10 minutes on medium-high heat.
Combine vegetables, veggie meat, breadcrumbs, oatmeal and all spices in a large bowl and mix together. If it doesn't stick together easily, add a extra tbsp or two of dry breadcrumbs.
Turn mixture onto foil-covered pan and pat into a rectangular loaf about 2-in. high.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until loaf is slightly firm to the touch.
Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
Serves 3-4.

Whole Wheat Maple Muffins

2006-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

While I usually opt for sweet, fruit-laden muffins, sometimes it is nice to have something plainer and more versatile available. Case in point are these muffins. They are healthy - low in fat and full of good things like yogurt and whole wheat flour - and they taste good. They are fairly plain, with a subtle sweetness, and can act as a stand-in for a dinner roll with savory foods or accompany breakfast when slathered with jam. Peanut butter could be applied for an afternoon snack, too.
You'll notice that I said I used whole wheat flour. What I actually used is whole wheat pastry flour - and there is a significant difference between the two. Whole wheat pastry flour is lighter in texture than ordinary whole wheat, so it is softer and performs in much the same way as all-purpose flour does in baked goods, though it does lend a slightly wheatier taste to the finished product.
It took me some time to track down my bag of the flour, as they don't carry it in many regular grocery stores. I ended up finding it at a specialty, upscale market, though some Whole Foods locations stock it, too. If you cannot find it, use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose to achieve a similar taste and texture.

In this batch, I added 1/2 cup of frozen cranberries. Any type of fruit may be added, but it does reduce the versatility of the muffin somewhat, committing it to sweeter servings. Feel free to omit the fruit entirely, if you wish.

Whole Wheat Maple Muffins
1/3 cup milk (lowfat or skim)
1 cup plain yogurt*
1 large egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup berries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375F and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, egg and maple syrup.
In a medium bowl, stir together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour into the large bowl and stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined, mixing in berries at the last minute, if using.
Distribute batter evenly in 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 15-18 minutes at 375F, until the muffin springs back when lightly pressed and a tester comes out clean.
Remove from tin and cool completely on wire rack before serving.

*Note: I used nonfat Greek yogurt, a style a highly recommend, but any fat content should work.

Cooking School: Shortbread

2006-07-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

There is something so delicious about shortbread, beyond just the flavor. I think it's the simplicity that makes it so appealing, that a few basic, simple ingredients can come together into an amazing product.
And that description is not over-the-top if you have had good shortbread.
I am of the opinion that everyone should know how to make shortbread. It is incredibly easy and you only need flour, butter and a little sugar. It's hard to mess up. All you do is combine all the ingredients - I prefer to rub the butter in by hand, but it is perfectly acceptable to use a food processor - press into a pan and bake.
Of course, though plain shortbread is wonderful, there are many ways you can liven it up. For this batch, I added the zest of a lemon. Orange zest is an equally good choice. In the past, I have used mints and chocolate-covered espresso beans to top them, giving the shortbread a pleasing seasonal appeal, but just about any dried spice or herb can be added.
This recipe produces shortbread that is crisp and seems to melt into your mouth as it crumbles. I doubled the original recipe, increasing it from an 8x8 pan to a 13x9 pan. The baking time only needed to be extended by a minute or two, but I recommend watching the corners of the pan for browning. As they turn golden, the shortbread is done.

Shortbread

(from a Better Homes and Gardens Recipe)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

6 tbsp sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 10-12 pieces

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325F.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add butter to flour mixture and pulse until mixture looks like very coarse sand.
Press evenly into 13x9-inch baking sheet.
Bake for 25-32 minutes, until the corners turn golden.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then gently score with a knife (a pizze cutter works wonderfully), cutting the shortbread into 30 pieces. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
Store in an airtight container.
Makes 30 pieces

Variations: Add zest of one lemon or one orange (or both) for a bright, summery variation. Add 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger or cardamom for spicer versions.
If you have vanilla sugar, this would be an excellent recipe to use it in.

Chocolate Whole Wheat Honey Biscuits

2006-07-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here's one more Independence Day-inspired post, though only the icing is red, white and blue. The cookies themselves neither need icing nor have anything to do with the holiday. In fact, though they are entirely dissimilar from gingerbread cookies in terms of their ingredients, they have a taste and texture similar to gingerbread that would make them excellent in the winter, too.
The recipe is one that I based on a Maida Heatter recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Wafers, which she describes as "old fashioned and plain." While these do taste a bit old-fashioned, they are far from plain and quite different from the original recipe.
I used white whole wheat flour to make these (King Arthur brand), but you could use a combination of whole wheat and all purpose as a substitute. The wheat flavor was not really evident, but the thing that struck me about the cookies is that they had an interesting depth of flavor. Right out of the oven, they had a little bit of a mexican chocolate thing going on, with cocoa and cinnamon standing out. After sitting overnight, the cookies softened up and the similarities to gingerbread (a soft, spicy cookie) were more apparent.
Of course, these aren't gingerbread, so don't be put off by that comparison if you're not a fan. The important things to know about these cookies are (1) the dough is sticky and should be frozen before you work with it, (2) they a nice and soft once they sit overnight, but slightly crisp on the first day and (3) they are not too sweet and have just the right amount of spice to appeal to both spice-lovers and non-spice-lovers.
And they're just as good without the icing, which is simply a mix of powdered sugar, vanilla, milk and food coloring that I drizzled over for color.

Chocolate Whole Wheat Honey Biscuits

1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or half all purpose and half whole wheat)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 tsp instant coffee (or 1 tsp coffee extract)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, coffee powder and brown sugar. When light, beat in honey, egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and stop when just combined. Divide dough into two or three discs, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and freeze for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Work with one dough disc at a time on a lightly floured surface. Roll out (flouring rolling pin or using wax paper to prevent sticking) the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch star cookie cutter (or other shape) and punch out as many starts as possible. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. The cookies will puff up during baking, so make sure to leave at least 1-inch between them on the pan. Reroll dough one or two times and repeat.
Bake cookies at 375F for 8-12 minutes (depending on the exact size of your cookie cutter). The cookies are done when the edges just start to brown and are slightly firm, or the tips of the stars darken slightly.
Allow to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack. Ice when cooled, if desired. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Red, White and Blue Bread

2006-07-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

It may look strange, but I assure you that this bread is perfectly normal. In fact, it's simply a white, sandwich-type bread that I dyed red and blue in honor of the 4th of July.
It was actually really fun to make this bread. I mixed up three small batches of dough, all at the same time, and added food coloring to get the colors dark enough. I had to add quite a bit of food coloring to get the colors nice and dark. I didn't measure it, but I'll estimate that it was 1/2 tsp per color.
The bread had an excellent, fresh flavor, with a soft texture and crisp crust. It made wonderful toast, sandwiches and, if there were any left, I have no doubt that it would have made wonderful french toast, too.

Happy Independence Day.

My recipe is written a little differently than my usual style here:

Patriotic Sandwich Bread
In each of three bowls, combine:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup water, room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp sugar

In one bowl, add blue food coloring (enough to get a very bright color) and add red food coloring to another. Leave the third bowl "white."
Stir each bowl until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add an extra tablespoon or two of flour, if necessary.
Working with each piece in turn, knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place each piece in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
After they rise, turn the three doughs out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Press the doughs together (I twisted them up) and shape into a rectangle. Place in a lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Cover with a piece of lighly oiled plastic wrap and let rise until about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F.
Bake loaf for 35 minutes at 375F, until golden.
Turn out of loaf onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely before slicing.

Sunday Brunch: Dutch Babies

2006-07-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

I love Dutch babies. No, not as in children (though I'm sure they're all just lovely), but as in the large puffy, oven-baked pancakes.
Unlike regular pancakes, the batter has a much higher ratio of eggs to flour, which gives them the same sort of lift that you might find in a souffle. Unlike a souffle, you actually want these to fall when they come out of the oven - and they definiately will. Not to worry, though, because the indentation is perfect for filling with syrup or some gently cooked fruit. Though my favorite way to eat them is with a generous amount of maple syrup, I think that bananas are a good choice and I have also had good luck with both apples and berries on top of Dutch babies.
It is imperative that Dutch babies be served right out of the oven. This way, the texture will be perfect. The pancake will have a slightly crisp edge and a soft, almost custardy interior (which I attempted to capture in the photo below, when the pancake had deflated slightly) that gives them a perfect texture.
You will have to resist making another one immediately.
I made these in my 6-inch stainless steel skillet. Each one serves two people, or one very hungry person. Double the recipe and cook in a 10-inch skillet if cooking for 4-6 people.

A warning: my dutch babies are nowhere near as buttery as Molly's, but I'm not one for vast amounts of butter in the morning. If you are, try her recipe, instead.

Dutch Babies
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk (nonfat, lowfat or otherwise)
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place ovenproof frying pan (stainless steel or cast iron) in the oven to heat.
Whisk together eggs, flour, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and melted butter until smooth.
Remove pan from oven and spray with nonstick cooking spray (or quickly brush with some butter), then pour the batter into the hot pan and put it back in the oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the Dutch baby is golden brown.
Slide from the pan onto a serving plate and serve immediately.
Serves 1-2.

Note: For a Dutch baby in a 10-inch skillet, double the recipe and cook for 20-25 minutes.

And the DMBLGiT winners are...

2006-06-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! We had some fantastic entries in this month's Does My Blog Look Good in This? event! We also had some fantastic judges who, up until now, were anonymous: Cathy, from My Little Kitchen, Lori from Dessert Comes First, Sarah from The Delicious Life and Slashfood and Anna, from the Annalog, which isn't a food blog, but she's an excellent photographer and still likes to eat. I was the fifth and final judge. We all had a blast looking at the entries.

Some tips for future entrants: Since the judging is based on edibility, originality and aesthetics, any one of those three categories can make or break a would-be winner. For aesthetics, aim for good or interesting lighting and a sharp focus. Originality could be anything from presentation to the food itself, or simply the fact that there are no other (cookies/cakes/salmon filets) entered that month, so it's a bit of a wild card. That brings us to edibility. If it's not edible or drinkable in its current state, it's going to be at a disadvantage. Of course, I think that every single entry scored highly in that category, so don't take this too serioiusly! We're food bloggers - we like to eat.

The overall winners are:
1. Baked Strawberry Pudding
2. Cinnamon Sugar Beignets
3. Blueberry Tarts with Lemon Cream
4. Beet Risotto with Fresh Garlic and Fava Beans
5. Spirale di filo ai Pistacchi

Other Awards:

Viewer's Choice: Fairly Easy Fairy Cakes (based on number of views)

Best Name: The Waffle of Insane Greatness
Meatiest: Fatted Calf's Organic Beef Links with Aleppo Pepper
Best Fruit/Veg: Olives and Thyme

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the judges. You can still view the rest of the entries here, if you missed them. The next round of DMBLGiT is being hosted by Helen, the Sydneysider who blogs at the wonderful Grab Your Fork. Head over there for more details!

I'll leave you with a gratuitous photo of my key lime pie. Any suggestions for which photo from the last month I should enter in the next round? Leave them in the comments!

Cooking School: Peanut Butter Tasty Kakes

2006-06-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Tasty Kakes are snack cakes that are originally from (and hugely popular in) the Philadelphia area. Since a lot of my family lives out there, I regularly got to taste these delicious cakes when I was growing up, despite the fact that they weren't sold out in California. More recently, I have seen a kind or two in the market, but they are still largely unavailable elsewhere in the country.
If you ask a Tasty Kake lover, they will tell you that they are the best snack cakes on the market. Now, I am no snack cake connoisseur, but they are certainly very tasty. The company makes a huge range of products and has a lot of extraneous "k"s in their spelling, which adds to their charm. When I'm back east, I like to go for the seasonal products, just to keep things interesting, but the gold standard of Tasty Kakes is the Peanut Butter Kandy Kake.
The Peanut Butter Kandy Kake (which used to be called "tandy takes" for reasons unknown) is a vanilla sponge-type cake with a thin layer of peanut butter and another of chocolate on top. The packaged Kakes are circular and are enrobed in chocolate. When I found a recipe on Epicurious for a version of these cakes, I knew that I had to try them, even though it can be difficult (and sometimes disappointing) to compare anything to a favorite food or product, since it is hard to match flavors exactly.
This recipe, however, was spot on - and maybe even a bit better than the original, because I liked the increased cake-to-topping ratio of this version.
The cake base is a vanilla-flavored sponge cake that is enriched with a little bit of butter. The peanut butter layer is simply peanut butter (not a "natural" kind, which will separate and turn greasy when put onto a hot cake) spread onto the hot cake and cooled. The chocolate is creamy milk chocolate. The whole thing is prepared in the pan and the only "trick" to remember is to make cut marks in the chocolate layer before it sets up completely, which will allow you to easily slice through the cake without cracking the chocolate when you are ready to serve it.
To keep the topping firm and give it a bit of "snap" when you bite into it, the cake must be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure to keep it well-covered so it does not get stale. You can also slice up the bars and individually wrap them, keeping them in the fridge or freezer for later use - just like the real, individually packaged Kandy Kakes!

Peanut Butter Tasty Kakes
(from Gourmet magazine)
For cake
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk (low fat is fine)
2 tbsp butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

For topping
1 1/3-1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (do not use a "natural" kind)
1 pound milk chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 17x11 1/2x1-in. jelly-roll pan, knocking out excess flour.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until thick and pale, 3-5 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
While that is beating (or before, if you're not using a stand mixer), heat milk and butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave until the butter has just melted and the milk is steaming, but not boiling. Set aside.
Sift flour and baking powder into the beaten egg mixture and beat until just combined. With the mixer running, slowly stream in the milk/butter mixture until just combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F. Cake is done when a tester comes out clean and the top is golden and springs back when touched lightly.

Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then place small dollops of peanut butter on the surface of the cake. Use an off-set spatula to spread the peanut butter into an even layer, covering the entire cake.
Let cool completely, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours to make sure the peanut butter is set.

When chilled, melt the chocolate in a double boiler (bowl over a pan of simmering water), stirring constantly. Once it is smooth, pour it over the chilled cake and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.
Using a knife, cut the cake into 30 bars. It is not necessary to cut all the way through the cake, just into the chocolate/pb layers. Make sure the cuts are clear, so wipe your knife in between each. This will make it easy to divide up the bars when the chocolate has set.
Return cake to fridge and chill until chocolate is firm (or overnight).

Makes 30 bars.

Mushroom Caviar

2006-06-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

When I saw Elise's post about mushroom caviar, I was immediately interested in it. It's a cross between dip and "real" food, not to mention that it's different from most of the dips that I have on a regular basis, so I thought it would be a great summer snack. And I was right.
This dish is called "caviar" for its slight physical resemblance to the fishy product and to make it sound a bit more posh than "mushroom dip." It comes together easily, with chopped up mushrooms and shallots, followed by a bit of garlic and seasonings, all of which is sauteed until tender. I didn't have an open bottle of white wine, so I left that out, as well as omitting the pine nuts (sorry, Elise). The caviar is served cold, so it can be made in advance, and is made creamy with the addition of a little bit of sour cream. I actually used plain yogurt instead of sour cream and, since I didn't measure it, my caviar appears to be slightly creamier than Elise's. The sour cream/yogurt helps the mushroom bits to stick together, so you can form it into an attractive round on your serving dish that looks almost like pate.
I'll be making this again many times. I served it with some garlic crackers that I picked up at Trader Joe's, though it also went extremely well with pita chips.

Mushroom Caviar
(recipe from Simply Recipes)
1 tbsp butter
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, finely chopped (I used about 12-oz.)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of minced shallots
1 tbsp dry white wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc, optional)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp sour cream/plain yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped parsley
A couple dashes of cayenne pepper, to taste

Sautee mushrooms and shallots in a large skillet, with the butter, salt and pepper, over high heat until quite tender, about 5-7 minutes.
If you're including pinenuts (which will add a nice crunch), lightly toast them in a small skillet (1-2 minutes), then set aside.
When mushrooms are slightly tender, add in the garlic and white wine (if using), and cook until for an addition 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, along with the pinenuts, and refrigerate until cool. Once chilled, stir in lemon, sour cream/yogurt, parsley and a bit of cayenne. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Refrigerate until serving.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Zucchini Cookies

2006-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you have ever experienced and overabundance of courgettes/zucchini/summer squash in either your garden or refrigerator.
Everyone? I thought so.
I don't try to grow it anymore for two reasons. The first is that it takes over the garden and results in an unbelievable number of squash. The second is that my garden is already overtaken with cucumbers and I don't have any more room. I buy it, though. I love zucchini because it tastes great, is versatile and is usually both plentiful and inexpensive. I have used it in cornbread and to make oven-fried zucchini sticks, and there are even blogs named after it. From time to time, I am struck by the desire to do something different with my squash and will toss some into a cake or bread, both of which work beautifully - but cookies?
Zucchini works as well in cookies as it does in cakes. Don't worry - the cookies don't taste like zucchini, even though you will be able to see little specks of green in them. It gives the finished product a moistness that is uncharacteristic of most cookies. It also makes them fairly cakelike, much like a muffin top, so this recipe is probably not for you if you only like crunchy cookies!
The cookies are easy to make and use up about 1 medium sized zucchini. Though cakelike, they are not dry and they keep well in an airtight container. I like the fairly mild spicing that the cookies have, but you could certainly add in a bit of freshly grated nutmeg or more allspice, if you like. I prefer raisins to chocolate chips in these cookies, but if you need to have your chocolate fix, simply substitute an equal amount of semisweet chips.

Zucchini Cookies
1 medium zucchini (with skin)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 t cinnamon

1/4 t allspice

1/2 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Finely grate the zucchini and, using several paper towels, squeeze as much moisture as possible out of it. You should have approximately 1 cup of zucchini. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg, then zucchini, and gradually beat in the flour mixture. When the cookie dough has just come together, stir in the raisins.
Scoop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Cookies will spread, so leave at least 1 1/2 inches between scoops.
Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350F, until light golden at edges, but not browned all over (which could cause them to be too dry).
Cool on baking sheet for about 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Serving suggestion: Sandwiching these with vanilla ice cream or cream cheese frosting is definitely going to convert even the cakey-cookie haters, not to mention it's a good way to sneak some zucchini into a non-zucchini lover's diet!

IMBB27 + SHF20: Cookies & Cream Vegan Ice Cream

2006-06-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

This month's food meme mashup of IMBB27 and SHF20 is hosted by Reid, of the inimitable Ono Kine Grindz, everyone's favorite Hawaiian food blog. If you don't know what I'm talking about, allow me to clarify. Every month, many food bloggers participate in the food blogging events Is My Blog Burning? (IMBB) and Sugar High Friday (SHF), which usually occur independently, but happen to both be run by Reid this month. Everyone makes a dish according to a theme and sends it in to one blogger who publishes a roundup (list of links) of all the participating bloggers and their recipes. The catch is that the events are themed and this month's theme is soy.
It didn't take me long to decide what to make.
First, I wanted something sweet, which would be appropriate to the spirit of SHF as well as IMBB. Given that it is getting pretty darn hot here in Los Angeles, I figured that something cold would be a good choice, too. The final piece of the puzzle came from leftover cookies.
I made cookies n' cream ice cream with a low-fat soy milk base. Since my Trader Joe's Jo-Jo's (Oreo cookie look-alikes) are vegan, this made the whole ice cream vegan. How's that for a guiltless summer treat?
The ice cream turns out to taste pretty much just like cookies and cream. It is smooth an creamy, with a bit of crunch from the cookies. The chocolatey color is due to the fact that I crushed up some cookies very finely, while leaving others in bigger chunks. If you only want chunks, stir in the crushed up cookies after the ice cream base has churned in the ice cream maker. And yes, I do recommend that you use an ice cream maker for this recipe.
This works best with low fat soy milk, which will yeild a slightly creamier than non-fat. Using vanilla soy milk will give you even more vanilla flavor.

Vegan Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
3 cups vanilla soy milk
5 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1/2 tsp almond extract
6-10 cookies (depending on how much cookie you want!)

In a large saucepan, combine 2 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk, sugar and vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer, then scrape out the vanilla bean, stirring the seeds into the milk mixture, and discard the pod. Whisk cornstarch together with remaining 1/2 cup soy milk and pour into the hot vanilla milk mixture, while whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium low and, stirring occasionally, cook until it has thickened and starts to bubble (3-5 minutes). Stir in almond extract.
Refrigerate until cold.
Crush cookies and add both cookies and chilled cream base into your ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.
Enjoy!

Makes 4 generous servings, more than enough to cool you off on a hot day.

Tagged with: IMBB27, SHF20, ice cream & cookies

Cooking School: Ricotta Cheesecake

2006-06-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you already have a really good cheesecake recipe, but want to make another one? Sometimes, it is hard to justify trying a new recipe when the one you have is excellent because it is taking a risk on something new when you already have a sure thing going. The best solution is to make a variation on the recipe, which will give you a similar product, but get you there in a new and different way. For example, I wanted to make a cheesecake, but I didn't want to use the same recipe again (even though it is fantastic). I made ricotta cheesecake instead.
Ricotta cheesecake is rich, but light at the same time due to the ever-so-slight texture that the cheese gives the cake. Of course, it's not "light" in the sense that it is low in fat or calories, but you'll certainly never mistake it for the super smooth and super dense New York-style cake. This cake has a hint of lemon, which is tasty and almost refreshing in the chilled cake.
I prefer it this way, but I won't say that it's necessarily better.
I used the recipe from Joy of Baking because it incorporated both cream cheese and ricotta, giving the cake a good flavor profile. The cheesecake whips together in minutes and, though it does bake in a waterbath, it is easy to tell when it is done because you want it to brown slightly on the top. As it bakes, the cake will puff up a lot, almost twice the size that it will be after it cools. After it deflates, there will be small wrinkles around the outer edge of the cake, giving it a distinctive and appealing look.
I omitted a crust because I noticed that many ricotta cheesecake recipes leave it out. While I crust would have been fine, I do think that the texture of the cheesecake was subtle and might have been lost with on the tongue with the crisp, crumbliness of a crust. It still would have tasted good, though.
One final word of advice: don't eat cheesecake at the end of a meal. You won't be able to finish a piece, but you will want to and will probably just end up feeling guilty that you wasted it. And even if you stuff yourself, you won't feel good enough to actually enjoy the flavor. Instead, have a piece with your coffee in the afternoon, when you're really able to savor it.

Ricotta Cheesecake
(adapted from Joy of Baking)
15-oz fresh whole milk ricotta, room temperature
2 - 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature (full fat)
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 large eggs, room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon (2-3 tsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round springform pan. Wrap the bottom in two layers of aluminum foil.
Place a deep pan, large enough to fit the springform pan, in the oven as it preheats and fill it with about one inch of water.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine ricotta and cream cheese and process until smooth. Add in sugar, whizzing for 2-3 minutes so the sugar dissolves in the cheeses, then add cornstarch. Add in the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add lemon zest and vanilla and pulse until blended. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Place pan into waterbath that has been heating in the oven. Bake for 65-75 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, but the center still jiggles slightly when the pan is gently shaken.
Remove from waterbath and cool on a wire rack. Chill overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Cake will keep several days, covered, in the fridge.

Serves 12.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

2006-06-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Watermelon is 80% water and, as such, is one of the most refreshing foods that you can have. It satisfies your sweet tooth, your thirst and your hunger, all in one go. I used to love to eat it plain, scooping it out of the rind with a spoon when I was down at the beach as a kid.
One day, years later, a coworker introduced me to the practise of adding a sprinkle of salt to the melon. What a revelation! The fruit was juicier and sweeter behind the subtle taste of the salt. It's not a big leap from there to realise that salty feta cheese can bring out the flavor of the melon in the same way, with the creaminess of the cheese adding a nice contrast to the crisp melon.
I don't have all that much to say about this salad except that it is simple, refreshing and delicious. It is the perfect dish to bring to a barbecue or a picnic, as it is surprising and summery. The only thing to keep in mind is that it is best to prepare it no more than a few hours before serving, as after a day or so in the refrigerator the watermelon will start to leak water into the bottom of the bowl (a phenomenon that anyone who keeps watermelon on hand will have witnessed before).
The amounts given here are approximate, so don't feel the need to measure too carefully. Add as much or as little feta to the watermelon as you like, but be sure not to forget the fresh basil. Jennifer used parsley in hers, but I think that the sweet, sharp bite of the basil is the perfect compliment to the cool melon and creamy feta.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

6-8 cups watermelon, diced (1/2 large melon)

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup fresh basil, diced

Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl and mix. Refrigerate until cold before serving.
Serves 8.