Pleasant Eats

Roasted Cauliflower

2011-11-21T16:09:00.000-05:00

Roasting is an amazing way to transform vegetables. I could never be convinced to eat cauliflower as a kid (it just looked like sad, albino broccoli), but slowly roasting cauliflower turns it into something marvelously delicious. Now, I can't get enough!

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
1 Tbs olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cut cauliflower into florettes. Place cauliflower in a shallow-lipped baking sheet (I find it helpful to line the pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up). Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower begins to brown. Remove from oven and add Parm while the cauliflower is still hot. Gently toss to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Applesauce

2011-11-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

Applesauce is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the fall - especially after a productive trip to the you-pick apple orchard. This works with just about any variety - a sweeter apple yields a sweeter sauce. Mix types of apple for a nice blend of slightly different flavors and consistencies.

Homemade Applesauce

8 apples (any variety), peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
1/4 c water
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Cook over med-low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. There should be a small amount of water on the bottom of the pot, simmering. If needed, add more water - a Tbs at a time to keep apples from getting too hot. When apples are tender and begin breaking down, remove from heat. Use immersion blender to puree to desired consistency or allow to cool completely and blend in a food processor. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

Glazed Carrots

2011-11-19T15:51:00.005-05:00

Today was the last day of our local farmers market. It's always a bittersweet day, the last day we get to enjoy the 3 block stroll to the market on Saturday mornings, exploring and collecting the best gems and jewels of the locally produced in season foods. It's also a mark of the beginning of the holiday season, and the chance to embrace the change in the seasons. Though we collected a great deal of goodies, these petite, golden carrots caught my eye. Wanting to use them to their full potential, I kept them whole and cooked them up quickly on the stove top with a sweet, tangy and savory glaze.

Glazed Carrots
adapted from the Healthy Hedonist by Myra Kornfeld

1 small bunch petite carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp mirin
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
pinch of coriander, ground

Place all ingredients in small saute pan over med-low heat. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes, or until carrots begin to become tender. Uncover and cook an additional 4 minutes, until carrots begin to caramelize slightly. Remove from heat and enjoy!

My Take on the 'Super Charged' Cookie

2011-01-21T14:12:00.006-05:00

I've seen the recipe many places, but every time I see it, I've been seduced by its relative simplicity, healthfulness and the likely hood that all of the ingredients are currently in my pantry. Finally, I whipped up a batch for myself and I'm pretty pleased. I'll admit, this is indeed a 'healthy' cookie - not to be confused with some of the other more buttery decadent things you may have seen here. But for right now, this hits the spot just right.

Super Charged Cookie
adapted from Dreena's Blog and a Foodie Stays Fit

1 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp (rounded) kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 Tbs of mixed dried currants and cranberries
2 Tbs chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup pulverized chia seeds (I used my coffee grinder - you can also use flax meal, but I find it's flavor a little overpowering sometimes in baked goods and chia is a nice neutral flavor)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp peanut butter (can use any nut, seed butter)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp olive oil (can also use canola - it's just what I had on hand)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, coconut, raisins, carob or chocolate chips, and baking powder, and stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine pulverized chia, syrup, almond butter, and vanilla and stir until well combined. Stir in oil.
Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until just well combined (do not overmix).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease with oil or spray). Scoop onto try (I have a handy disher that works great for this)
Bake for about 10 minutes ( I bake with convection - 2-3 more minutes if you're using a regular oven). Do not overbake or they will dry out.
Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Comforting Carrot, Orange, Ginger Soup

2011-01-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like kicking off the new year by getting sick. Ugh. When there is nothing you'd rather do than pull the covers over your head and will your airways free of congestion, you might want to consider mustering up the energy to make this simple, comforting soup. With hits of sweet carrot, tangy citrus and spicy ginger, this was the perfect comfort-me food when I'm on the down and out. Even it's bright orange hue can enliven an otherwise dreary sick day.

Carrot, Orange and Ginger Soup
adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 onion (chopped)
5 carrot (grated)
2-3 Tbs fresh ginger (grated on a micro plane)
Juice of 2 oranges
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp olive oil
3 c vegetable broth (I had homemade on hand, but any good broth or reconstituted bullion will work)
kosher salt & pepper to taste
thyme

Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic. Let cook until onion is just starting to become translucent or about 5 mins. Add carrots and ginger and let it sweat for a couple of minutes. Try not to let anything brown. Add the broth, thyme and orange juice and let it boil for 10-15 minutes. Use a hand blender to puree the soup, but don’t blend it all if you like your soup chunky. Add the orange zest, salt and pepper and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

Peasant Soup

2010-12-05T14:45:00.004-05:00

This is one of those soups that was made for me in my childhood, but I have not had in a long time. It was also one of Emily's favorites - and it's nice to feel a little closer to her memory some days. While in the past, I've made vegetarian versions, this is the first time I've made it with the pork it calls for. I have to say, I'm pretty blown away. The perfect hearty soup for a cold, blustery wintry day.

Peasant Soup
from The Silver Palate

1 1/2 c beans (canned or cooked dry beans)
4 Tbs bacon fat (or butter)
1 c finely chopped yellow onions
3 leeks, white part only, thoroughly cleaned and thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, cleaned and coarsely chopped
1 tsp dry thyme
1 bay leaf
8 c chicken stock
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 ham hock
1/2 small white cabbage, shredded
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1.2 c chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Melt bacon fat in large heavy soup pot (our cast-iron dutch oven was great for this). Add onion, leeks, celery and carrots and cook, covered over low heat until the vegetables are tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the thyme bay leaf and a grinding of black pepper, and pour in the stock. Add parsnips and ham hock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 40 minutes.Remove ham hock and allow to cool slightly. Cut the meat off the bone into chunks and return meat to the pot.

Add cabbage, garlic and parsley and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Taste, correct seasoning and serve immediately.

Brussel Sprouts and Whole Grain Crostini

2010-09-12T10:10:00.003-04:00

I don't recall ever being offered Brussels sprouts as a vegetable option as a kid. I'm not sure if my parents refused to even try to wage a PR campaign against the sadly maligned vegetable, or if they themselves were victims of poorly prepared Brussels sprouts. This ain't your momma's Brussels sprouts. Or if they were, I'd like to shake your mom's hand. I was introduced to the transformative power of bacon on Brussels sprouts at DC's Central restaurant where we and our friends thought the sprouts were so delicious, we literally ordered another serving. Here, Mr. P has called on Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" (a great cookbook to have on hand, by the way) to recreate some of that magic, and his attempt was a great success! Cut the sprouts as small as you are able without them disintegrating for maximum deliciousness. Someday, I'd like to try this roasted or braised with whole sprouts, but this makes for a tasty and surprisingly quick side of vege. Mr. P had the brilliant notion of toasting some whole grain baguette under the broiler with a bit of olive oil and salt to accompany this. So simple, so delicious!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

3-5 slices of uncooked bacon, chopped
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut into quarters
1/4 c of water
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the bacon in a large skillet until crisp over med-high heat. Add the sprouts and a 1/4 c of water to the skillet. Reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes until sprouts soften. Raise heat, and cook off the remaining water - cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and serve.

Whole Grain Crostini

1 whole grain baguette
Few Tbs of good-quality olive oil

Preheat Broiler. Slice baguette into thin slices. Brush with olive oil and dust with sea (or other) salt. Broil for 1-2 minutes (be sure to keep an eye on them as they burn quickly!) until they reach a nice golden brown. You can jazz this up with cheese, herbs or garlic also, if desired.

Enjoy!

Green Tea with Mint

2010-08-20T15:52:00.004-04:00

This is such a simple thing, but it's a fabulous treat on a hot day. All you need is your favorite green tea, hot water and some mint. And a little sweetener if you feel so inclined.

Green Tea with Mint
2 green tea bags
bunch of fresh mint, washed
4 c hot water
optional - sweetener of your choice, to taste

Place tea bags and mint in large heat-resistant bowl. Pour water (just under the boiling temp), over the tea and mint and allow to steep for a few minutes. Remove tea bags and allow to cool. When sufficiently cool, place in your favorite container and chill in the fridge. This is a great basic recipe to play with. Try this with lemongrass, lemon, pineapple, whatever your favorite flavor combination. are.

Hot time, summer and Tzadziki

2010-08-20T15:24:00.005-04:00

It's been a particularly miserable summer in DC, and the kitchen has sadly, been very lightly used. There are, however, a few summer favorites I keep coming back to that require little if no time around anything hot. Tzadziki, a middle eastern salad (or spread) of yogurt and cucumber is one of my favorite no-heat summer dishes. Whip some up, spread it on your favorite pita and add your favorite protein (grilled chicken is the favorite here) and lettuce and you're good to go for one great summer meal.This is also a great way to use some summer garden bounty (container or otherwise) - like my wee cucumbers here. There is nothing wee about the amount of mint I have in the garden, so I like to use a heavy hand with it.

Tzadziki
adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking

2 cups Greek yogurt (do 0% if you must, but it will taste so much better with 2% or whole)
2 c cucumber chopped (about 1 large or 2 small or 4 teeny tiny)
salt and white pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried dill (if you have fresh, use 2 tsp, chopped)
1 tbs chopped mint leaves
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil

Seed and chop the cucumber. Place in a colander gently toss with a few pinches of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes (trust me, wait the 30 minutes. This will dry your cukes out so you don't get the dreaded slimy cucumbers or an overly-watery sauce). After the 30 min. have passed, wring the cukes out with a clean tea cloth or napkin. Place in bowl.

Crush garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle and add to bowl. Add dill, mint, vinegar and additional salt or white pepper to taste. Mix together and drizzle olive oil on top right before serving.

Baked Salmon with Coconut Rice

2010-08-02T09:56:00.004-04:00

I don't often prepare salmon at home as Mr. P has a rather strong aversion to the fish after having it poorly prepared most of the times he's had it. However, when I saw that there was fresh, wild-caught Coho salmon on sale at the grocery store, I couldn't help but get a pound, as it is one of my favorite fishes. Fortunately, I lucked out in finding a fabulous recipe that even the salmon-averse Mr. P enjoyed and suprisingly, brought him back for seconds. It was so in demand in fact, that there was nothing to photograph when all was said and done.

This is definitely one of my favorite ways to have salmon. Lightly flavored but satisfyingly filling with the slight sweet of the marinade and creaminess of the rice. Serve with steamed broccoli and cauliflower like we did, or incorporate your own favorite vege. Save a little of the marinade to pour overtop of your plate. If feeling particularly bold, you can even bake the salmon on a cedar plank as they did in the original recipe. Not willing to wait the 4 hours for the plank to soak, I prepared this without the plank to still delicious results.

Baked Salmon with Coconut Rice
adapted from Cookie via epicurious.com

1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
1 pound salmon fillet
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 cup jasmine rice
Salt to taste

1 oil baking dish
2 Preheat oven to 500°F.
3 In a bowl, combine the syrup, mustard, soy sauce, and lime juice. Add the fish; let it marinate for 10 minutes.
4 In a saucepan, bring the broth and coconut milk to a boil.
5 Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 20 minutes.
6 Lay the fish on the plank, skin side down. Sprinkle it with salt; drizzle it with marinade.
7 Bake until the thickest part is still springy, 12 to 15 minutes.

Asparagus Coins

2010-06-24T21:04:00.004-04:00

I love learning new things about food and cooking. One of the ways we Pleasants go about learning about these things is through cookbooks. I have a rather long list of cookbooks in my library queue, and when we really fall in love with something, we'll buy it for ourselves. One of the best of these finds recently has been Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc.I was a great admirer of his French Laundry cookbook, but found the scale and technique rather daunting. More of a 'look but don't touch' feeling as far as I was concerned. However, like the restaurant of the same name Ad Hoc caters to family-style gatherings with approachable but impeccable food. The Mr. and I love how almost every recipe in this book teaches us something new about cooking, technique, particularly the 'light bulb moments' the book shares about simple, obvious, smack-your-forehead 'why didn't I think of that?' tidbits about cooking.

One of these was sharing a way to prepare the Asparagus coins pictured here. Not only did it suggest a method of preparing asparagus we had never tried before (coins?!?) but also, while fresh asparagus can be unwieldy and difficult or time consuming to cut individually, wrapping them up in a bundle with a rubber band and taking them as a group to a mandolin is a wonderfully easy and precise way to prepare these beauties. Duh!

Enjoy these on their own as a side dish or toss them into a salad like we did.

Asparagus Coins

adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc

1 1/2 lbs thin asparagus, with ends snapped and 'coined' (technique above) plus tips

3 Tbs olive oil

a small handful of fresh chive

a small handful of fresh parsley

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil and herbs in frying pan over medium heat with the tips, swirling ingredients together for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the coins and cook until the edges look cooked but the centers are still raw. Add 3 Tbs water and cook until the asparagus is tender, another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and enjoy.

Chicken Milanese with Brown Butter Orzo and Spring Greens

2010-06-24T20:53:00.006-04:00

I love pouring through cooking magazines, websites, blogs, books ...just about anything I can get my hands on. In so many magazines, they give you preset menu ideas, sometimes helpful sometimes limiting. I admit it's rare that I actually go through and make the entire collection of dishes they recommend for a meal (there are just so many other good ideas out there!) but I hadn't worked with orzo or made chicken palliards before, so I thought I'd give this a shot. The orzo especially was a revelation. You prepare it much like you would a risotto - which initially frightened me a bit. However, though you saute it a bit first like a risotto, it cooks up in just 15 minutes, which is fabulous! None of that tedious stirring either. Glad to have gotten over my fears and given this a try. It's definitely now a household favorite.

We also served this with our very own container-grown greens. It's the first time we've tried growing anything besides herbs and I must confess to being proud of our success. We'll see how the rest of our container 'garden' fares for the rest of the season, but it's definitely off to a good start!

Chicken Milanese with Brown Butter Orzo and Mixed Spring Greens

from cooking light

Ingredients
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
Dash of sugar
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cups packed spring mix salad greens
2 lemon wedges

Preparation
1. Combine juice, vinegar, shallots, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and sugar; let stand 15 minutes.
2. Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.
3. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a shallow dish. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place egg white in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Dredge chicken in flour; dip in egg white. Dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken on a wire rack; let stand 5 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick (I prefer to use cast iron) skillet over medium-high heat (or med-low heat for the cast iron - don't let the pan get too hot - you can see evidence of this wee mistake above on the 'well' browned chicken ;) Add chicken; cook 3 minutes. Turn chicken over; cook 2 minutes or until browned and done.
5. Add 2 teaspoons oil and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to shallot mixture; stir with a whisk. Add greens; toss gently. Place 1 chicken breast half and 1 cup salad on each of 2 plates. Serve with lemon wedges.

Banana "Soft Serve"

2010-06-24T20:19:00.003-04:00

Hardly a new innovation of the innumerate creative and food-wise minds shaping the blogosphere, but one that I only just finally got around to trying. So simple, so refreshing, why hadn't I done this before? Thicker than a smoothie, looser than ice cream, this is much more like a deliciously refreshing and natural take on a frostie. Especially now that the mercury is practically boiling, it's a perfect way to end a hot summer day. Don't feel limited to the ingredients here, by the by. It's delicious with other frozen fruits mixed in too.

Banana "Soft Serve"

2 frozen bananas

1 Tbs of cocoa powder

1 Tbs of peanut butter

splash of milk (or coconut milk or milk alternative)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy. Scoop out and enjoy!

Krepsua- Pannukakkua - Finnish Oven Pancake

2010-06-24T19:59:00.008-04:00

This beloved breakfast dish goes by many names in our household. Growing up, my dad called it Pannukakkua, my grandmother called it Krepsua and when trying to describe this scandanavian favorite to the non-initiated, it becomes a "Finnish oven pancake". Mr. P has taken to calling it "thing in the pan". There is also disagreement about the best way to top this custardy breakfast confection. My grandmother loved hers with maple syrup (easily accessible in Northern Michigan), my father's (and my) favorite preparation is to add less than the original 1/2c of sugar called for (as I've listed the recipe here) to the pannukakkua itself and then top the completed dish with lemon and a sprinkle of granulated sugar. There are those, however, who prefer it with powdered sugar or even plain. By any name, and however you top it, this is a delicious way to start a day.

Pannukakkua aka 'thing in the pan'

3 eggs

1 1/4c flour

3 c milk

1 tsp salt

1 stick (1/4 lb) butter, melted and lukewarm

1/4 c sugar

Preheat oven to 450 F and grease a 9 x 13" pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with whisk. Add 1/2 c of the milk and whisk until combined. Add melted butter and sugar, whisking to combine. Add remaining milk. Slowly add flour, whisking until combined. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown and the middle has set. It will un-puff as it cools, but do not fret, it's supposed to collapse. Serve warm with your choice of topping.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread

2010-06-24T19:52:00.003-04:00

This bread has been one of my favorite additions to breakfast lately. It's a moist, dense, rich bread that toasted with your favorite butter is fabulously delicious and filling!

Whole Wheat Flax Bread

from a foodie stays fit

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups very warm water
1/3 cup olive oil [or whatever oil makes you happy]
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon salt [I used sea salt]
2 tablespoons dry active yeast
6-7 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. milled flaxseed

Directions
Place the oil, honey, and molasses in the bowl of your mixer. Add the salt, water and the yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes, until puffy and bubbly.

Add two cups of the flour and the milled flaxseed and mix until well combined.

With your mixer turned on to the lowest setting, gradually add more flour until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t add too much – you want it to be fairly sticky. I usually add around 6 1/2 cups total [including the 2 cups added above]. The trick is to have your dough stand up with the least amount of flour so the bread will be fluffy. Don’t overmix it.

When your dough is holding together, leave it in the mixer, cover the bowl and let it rise for 30-60 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen. It doesn’t have to double, but you want it puffy.

Spray two bread pans with non-stick spray. [My pans are 9x5.]

Mix the dough again just enough to knock it down close to the original size. Just a few seconds on the lowest setting is all you need.

Drop the dough on a floured surface. Divide the dough in half and form each one into a loaf shape. Do not roll the dough out with a rolling pin – use your hands to make a ball and then turn the dough under itself over and over until you have a nice loaf shape – smooth top, smooth sides.

Place the loaves in your bread pans and let them rise until almost doubled.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 35 minutes, until the tops are golden and if you tap the bottom of the loaves, they sound hollow.

Remove from the pans and cool the loaves on a rack. In theory, you shouldn’t cut the bread until they are fully cooled because they still do a little cooking while cooling and if you cut it while cooling, it releases the heat. Yeah, right – go ahead and cut into that baby, slap some butter on and enjoy it hot.

Relearning to Taste

2010-05-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

In another shameless bout of self-promotion, my second Better Bites piece is now up at Eating is Art! I hope you enjoy it!

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Coconut Dream Frosting

2010-05-17T17:42:00.004-04:00

Now, anytime you use the word 'vegan' to describe baked goods, most folks flee. In this combination, the cake is suprisingly moist and richly chocolately. It might lack that bit of mouth-feel richness butter can give but when paired with the coconut frosting, boy-oh-boy! This frosting rocked my socks off! This is the fluffy stuff of rainbows, unicorns and other puff-the-magic-dragon-like childhood dreams, but bursting with the coconut flavor your adult tastebuds rejoice in.

Chocolate Avocado Cake
adapted from the edible perspective
3 cups whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
8 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sucanat or granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used cold-pressed canola oil)
1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
1 cup water
1 c almond milk
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch rounds or 1 9 x 13-inch pan. Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Set that aside.

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.

Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, remove from pan and place on rack to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Dream Frosting
1/3 c non-hydrogenated shortening or butter alternative like Earth Balance
1/4 c coconut butter*
1/3 c light coconut milk
2-3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and coconut butter in ingredients in bowl of stand-mixer with whisk attachment (or in a bowl to blend by hand or with hand mixer). Slowly add powdered sugar as you mix at low speed. Add vanilla and coconut milk in a tablespoon or so at a time (you may not need the full amount), until frosting reaches the desired consistency. Frost cake once cool. Enjoy!

*to make coconut butter at home, get some unsweetened dry, shredded coconut and put in a food processor until creamy.

(P)FAT on a whole new level!

2010-04-16T11:03:00.002-04:00

In a completely self-promoting post, check out my guest blog post on Eating Is Art. It will be familar to regular Pleasant Eats readers, but it's the first in a monthly series called 'Better Bites' on eating well. Check it out!

Frozen Custard with Homemade Dark Chocolate Syrup

2010-04-14T18:15:00.006-04:00

So many sweets lately, I know. It's hard to whip up enthusiasm for a meal you make out of the last wilting selections in your cupboards when special sweets are so much sexier. I promise, more proper meals to come in the near future, but right now, let me share with you one fabulous warmer-weather treat!

Custard has to be one of the most simple, fabulous and yet underrated foods of the world. Almost every culture has their own take on custards, sweet and savory. Bake it in a crust with some onion, bacon, spinach and cheese and you've got quiche. Add sugar, caramelize, set it and you've got flan. Add gelatin and you're rocking a pana cotta. Add mango and you're getting closer to one tasty pudding. The basic formula of egg + milk +cream yielded some pretty fabulous results.

Sometimes, these results come when you're not really expecting them. Like when I started making David Liebovitz's vanilla ice cream last night.It started out as a regular ice cream, but as I stirred the delicious combination of egg, vanilla, cream and milk over the stove I got a little wrapped up in the mouth-watering aroma and probably let the egg firm up a bit more than I should. More than I should if I were going for regular old (if fabulous) vanilla ice cream. However, it turns out, just about perfect for making frozen custard. That velvety, decadent custardy flavor you know from creme brulee, baked custards and creme anglaise...spiked with vanilla bean, cool and lovely, melting against your tongue. Oh, and the dark chocolate syrup didn't hurt either. Now, where did that spoon go...

Frozen Vanilla Custard

Adapted from David Liebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

1 c 2% milk

2 c heavy cream

5 egg yolks

3/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 vanilla bean

pinch of salt

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.

Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula - or if you're really going for that frozen custard flavor, a little past this stage but before the mixture begins to curdle. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping. Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Adapted from Kim O'Donnell

1 c unsweetened hershey's special dark cocoa powder

1 c granulated sugar

1 c cold water

¼ tsp salt

2-3 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk cocoa and sugar until all the lumps of cocoa are gone. Add water and salt and mix well with whisk. Cook over medium heat, bringing it to a boil. Keep boiling until thick, stirring to keep from scalding.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool, add vanilla. Pour into an airtight glass container or a squeeze bottle and keep refrigerated.

To make chocolate milk, use at least 1 tablespoon of syrup for every 8 ounces of milk, adding more to taste.

Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

Fat

2010-03-25T13:16:00.002-04:00

If you'll bear with me, dear readers, an aside from normal recipe fare for a note on nutritional research published in the last few months.

F.A.T. Those three little letters have been the bane of nutritionists and cardiologists throughout the US for the last three decades; And perhaps any chubby child on the playground and the menstruating woman (or her partner). Increasingly, however, research has been disproving fat as the ultimate enemy in America's war on obesity.

Why the turn-about in conventional nutritional knowledge? There is an informative summary here, published by Slate, of the studies published, but basically, researchers have determined that not LDL ("bad" cholesterol) is so bad after all. The researchers identified that consuming saturated fat, while increasing total LDL levels, only increased the levels of the benign LDL particles, not the ones that do indeed raise the risks of heart disease. Another study identified that women who ate the highest amounts of vegetable fat (from foods like olive oil and nuts) had lower risks of heart disease than women on low-fat diets.

Now, fat as an integral part of a healthy diet and is hardly new knowledge, but it has been so demonized in the last three decades that my head is still spinning a bit from this latest about-face in conventional nutritional knowledge. Real food advocates like Nina Planck, have long asserted that traditional saturated fats like lard, butter and coconut oil are not the health enemies they have been depicted to be. Publications like Nourishing Traditions have also advocated a return to real food - a book precipitated by the start of the 'war on fat' decades ago. While the positions these writers advocate may be a bit extreme for the average American, they clearly reflected a polarization of approaches to healthy eating with a rather inflexible national nutritional standard that went against generations of eating habits. Now, it seems, the position of conventional nutrition is moving somewhere more moderate in terms of dealing with fat. But I imagine it will still be quite some time before Americans can imagine welcoming fat to their tables.

So what DOES raise the levels of the really naughty LDL cholesterol? The kind that leads to an increased risk of heart disease? Highly processed carbohydrates - foods that spike blood sugar levels. Research suggests that highly processed carbs, particularly those with high fructose levels (like high fructose corn syrup) not only increase the risk for heart disease, but diabetes, gallbladder disease and breast cancer (for references to all of these findings, please see the Slate article). Keep in mind, this does not mean ALL carbs are bad - whole grains, fruits, vegetables are all still fiber and carbs and vital to a healthy diet. Trans-fats also are still perpetrators on this front as well. No change in policy there.

And what has America been reaching for when it cuts fat out if it's diet? Perhaps diet foods like Snackwells, Baked Lays and other low-fat products ring a bell? You know, the highly processed carbohydrates? Uh, what I spent a good part of my teens and early 20's indulging in thinking it was making a 'healthy' choice? Uggh.

Bottom line? We KNOW how to eat for optimum health. We've known for centuries and it's all about eating real food. Food you grow, food you make from whole ingredients. Simple and delicious foods you don't need a PhD in Biochemical engineering to understand. Now, we (meaning I and many other Americans) just have to get over our fat phobias and relearn that yes, healthy fats - even saturated fats!- have a place in a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Walnut Shortbread

2010-02-24T09:51:00.003-05:00

I have a great fondness for shortbread. I don't think I'd tasted anything close to real shortbread until I was in the 5th grade. Before that, about all I'd had were those tinned Danish butter cookies at post-church coffee hours and the Girl Scout Trefoil cookies I sold as a Brownie. That all changed once I recieved the topic allotted to me for my 5th grade pioneer day: food. Tasked with recreating some tastes of the history of American pioneer fare, I thought of the descriptions of food in A Little House on the Prairie, one of my favorite elementary school reads. We somehow extrapolated one of their recipes for shortbread - you know, the special treat in Mary and Laura's Christmas stockings? It may have been thanks to some behind-the-scenes parental digging getting our hands on a copy of The Little House on the Prairie Cookbook - but who knows? I was probably too busy licking the batter of my fingers to notice. Once the first taste of homemade shortbread melted on my tongue, I suddenly realized just how much I'd been missing with those tinned and boxed cookies. A nice little lesson in appreciating that even if the pioneers didn't have the marvels of modern technology and society, they had daggone delicious eats! Most of my classmates if I recall correctly, agreed with me. There certainly wasn't anything left to bring home. Though I have yet to get my hands on that recipe again (a task I am working on I assure you), I saw a delicious and slightly similar-sounding shortbread recipe in this month's MSL magazine. I tweaked it a bit to make it a bit more nutritious but it was certainly still absolutely melt-on-your-tongue tasty shortbread.

Walnut Shortbread

adapted from MSL March 2010

1/4 c walnuts toasted and chopped

1 c whole wheat pastry flour (the original used white flour)

1/2 c Sucanat or brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick of butter

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 F. Process walnuts in a food processor until ground fine. Add to a bowl with the flour and salt.

In a separate bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined.

Press down into a 8" cake pan (a sheet of cellophane will be handy here to keep it from sticking to you), and cut the dough into 8 slices. Prick slices with fork a few times (I found concentric circles around the pan are rather pretty).

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the shortbread is golden brown and the middle is solid.

Enjoy!

Pleasant Eats PSA

2010-02-23T13:52:00.004-05:00

If you haven't noticed already, check out the newly added recipe page! After 2 1/2 years (can you believe it!?!?) of delicious recipes, they are finally indexed for your browsing convenience. Enjoy!

Wheatberry Salad with Dates, Celery and Walnut

2010-02-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

Wheat berries and the idea of the freedom of adulthood go hand and hand to me. Growing up, I went to church more or less every Sunday and I will confess, sometimes I went rather grudgingly. I would look with longing at the leisurely brunchers at Bread and Chocolate as we sped by on our way to church, wistfully hoping for the day when I was a grown up and could spend Sunday mornings as leisurely as I liked and over brunches if I so chose. Every great once and a while, I could convince my parents to stop for brunch on the way home from church. While the challah french toast at Bread and Chocolate was divine, they served a wheat berry salad - sweet, nutty, acerbic and delicious that somehow tasted like those grown-up dreams of mine. It was the first place I'd ever tasted wheat berries and it's still my favorite way to prepare them. Though Bread and Chocolate isn't there anymore, my memory of that wheat berry salad and all the promise it represented is still quite vivid. And this adaptation of Martha Stewart's version comes quite close to recreating that salad. To have as I choose on Sunday mornings or otherwise, of course ;)

Wheat Berry Salad
adapted from MSL March 2010

1 c wheat berries (soaked overnight or at least 4 hours, drained)

2 celery stalks, chopped

3/4 c pitted, chopped dates

zest of 1 orange

juice of 1 orange

2 tbs walnut oil

3 tbs sherry vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Place wheat berries in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 35 minutes. Drain.

While cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. Whisk together orange zest and juice, walnut oil and sherry vinegar.

Once the wheat berries are done, in a bowl, combine wheat berries, walnuts, celery, dates and vinaigrette (give it a good whisk before you pour it in, making sure it emulsifies). Mix together and enjoy!

Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley

2010-02-22T21:50:00.003-05:00

It's hard not to be a little disenchanted with root vegetables as the end of winter. This time of year, when the promise of fresh spring veggies is so close, yet you are still cycling through the same root vegetables that have been available for most of the season. Another root vegetable? Siiiigh. However, this month's MSL had a nice little pick-me-up for one ubiquitous root vegetable - the carrot. Roasted to a delicious intensity of flavor and lighted with feta cheese and parsley, this is a fabulous way to pep up veggies when you're pooped out of the same-old-same-old winter veggie selection.

Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley
adapted from MSL March 2010

1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled, sliced on the bias about 1" thick
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 feta cheese
1-2 Tbs chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Place carrots on sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and turn to coat. Roast carrots for 20-25 minutes until browned and tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste while warm. Once cooled, mix together in bowl with feta and parsley.

Enjoy!

(slightly) healthier chocolate chip cookies

2010-02-17T19:53:00.006-05:00

Today kicks of the season of Lent for most Catholic and Protestant Christians, and whether you subscribe to those faiths or not, this time of year seems to be one of reflection and renewal. For some it may be a time of devotions, others perhaps closet reorganizing, starting at that long list of spring cleaning to-dos, garden planning and other outdoor chores and pursuits. It tends to be a time of introspection for me, a time to get back to the heart of what's really important to me and cut back on all that other extraneous stuff that get's in the way.

It's also a time of year I seem to naturally want to eat more nourishing things. With spring just around the corner, the first veggies and other sweet tastes of that so-close-I-can-almost-taste-it-season will soon be upon us. That said, we're not out of this winter buisiness just yet. And sometimes, especially at the end of a long and tiring day, I still want a cookie. A really tasty cookie. But perhaps a more nourishing cookie than most. Enter Myra Kornfled and her Healthy Hedonist. Her chocolate chip cookie recipe sounded like a great place to start for something nourishing with whole grains and unrefined sugars, but was still satisfactorily indulgent.

Slightly Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from The Healthy Hedonist by Myra Kornfled

1/2 softened unsalted butter

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c sucanat or maple syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour (whole wheat flour works too, just a slightly denser with a more earthy flavor)

1/2 tsp

1/4 kosher salt

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Using a mixer or wooden spoon and strong wrist, cream together butter, sugar and sucanat/syrup until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the flower, baking soda and salt together. Slowly mix in the dry mixture into the butter mixture about 1/3 at a time until just combined (always best not to overmix cookies!). Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop walnut-sized cookies onto the prepared sheets 2" apart. Squash them flatish (but not too thin) with the palm of your hand or a glass or jar. Bake for 10-12 minutes for a cakey cookie and 15 for a crispy cookie.

Enjoy!

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakelettes

2010-02-10T11:28:00.006-05:00

I was a stranger to sticky toffee pudding until a visit to the UK for the holidays nearly a decade ago. I was in Bath, strolling the streets living out Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in my mind to my whimsical hearts' content. We stopped for dinner someplace the clerk at our hotel had recommended. It had columns out front - although in Bath, this really isn't much of a distinguishing characteristic. I'm sure dinner was lovely, but any memory of it was swiftly drop-kicked out of my mind by my first taste of sticky toffee pudding. Something I grieved over not having been in my life before then. Cakey, sticky toffee caramel sauce, whipped cream... nothing else I'd ever had before quite compared. It was almost my first traditional British 'pudding' expanding my global culinary experiences.

My whole family was smitten, and have since tried to replicate that decadence without great success. Though not quite the same as the original (can anything ever truly be?) this is one of my favorite approximations, and also comes quite close to the tasty way they make it a few blocks over at Commonwealth gastro pub. Also a plus for this version, it makes four individual servings as opposed to an entire bunt cake if you're cooking for a smaller crowd.

Sticky Toffee Cakelets

adapted from apartmenttherapy.com

Makes 4 single-serving cakes

For the cakes:

3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pitted finely chopped dates

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons packed brown sugar (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the sauce:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350° F. Use nonstick spray to coat custard cup or ramekin. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to blend. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the apricots and dates. Pour enough boiling water over the fruit to cover. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Drain the fruit and gently fold it into the mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared ramekins, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed up high and a cake tested inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. The cakes will fall like a soufflé when removed from oven. Allow cakes to cool slightly before turning out of their ramekins. Prepare the sauce:Combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter is completely melted and the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, until the sauce darkens to a deep brown color. To serve, drizzle the warm sauce over the cakes, allowing the some sauced to pool in the center where the cakes have fallen, or under the cake to let it soak up from the bottom.

Bread and Blizzards or a Post in Pictures

2010-02-10T00:10:00.013-05:00

In case you've been wondering what was up with all the posts lately, allow me to explain:

We've been getting just a wee bit of snow here. Here, Mr. Pleasant and I dug out to check out the nieghborhood on Sat. as the "snowpocolypse" was winding down. Wow! What a storm! Haven't seen this much snow in DC EVER! A bone-a-fied BLIZZARD!

Oh, ho! but WAIT! There's more!! "Snowverkill" was winding up...and this morning the view out a kitchen window looked like this:

and by noon, it looked like this:

Just to clarify, yes kids, the window is more than halfway blocked by snow and it ain't slowing down anytime real soon...

...and yes, your eyes to not decieve you, there is a rubber chicken hanging out on our windowsill. One of those ridiculous family traditions that is ridiculous and funny to no one but us...but doesn't it just make you chuckle anyways? Blizzard? Rubber chicken? Ha? No? Okay, moving on...

So what's a girl to do when snowed in? Why, bake bread of course! I started with a pumpernickle to go with some delicious lentil soup...

followed by some amazing cinnamon raisin bread...

and even turned out some homemade pita and hummus. A nice little taste of warmer mediterranian climes when it's feeling a lot like Antartctica here.

I'll post more about that pita soon - right after I have some chili and some of Millie's delicious cornbread.

Faux-'Reos

2010-02-01T21:59:00.007-05:00

Another addition to the collection of delicious, homemade versions of storebought pantry sweets. I had wanted to try Tricia's delicious-looking take, but didn't have any shortening on hand. Luckily, I did have the evaporated milk this recipe called for, so I was in business. These and a tall glass of cold milk? Belly-rubbin'-heaven.

Cookies

1 c granulated sugar

2 1/2 c all purp. flour

1/2 c dutch-process cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chopped into in cubes

2 egg yolks

2 tsp bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips or chunks, melted and cooled (Although still liquid)

2 Tbs water

Filling

1 c confectioners sugar

1 Tbs corn syrup

1 1/2 Tbs evaporated milk

Process sugar for 30 seconds in food processor, then add the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa to combine. Can also do this in a regular bowl. Add butter and combine just until carse crumbs form. Blend in th egg yolks and vanilla. Scrape the melted chocolate into the batter an ix to combine. Add the water, 1 Tbs at a time until the dough comes together when squeezed in your hand. Note that he batter will be crumbly, but cohesive.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease 2 cookie sheets.

Gathere the dough together on top of a piece of parchement paper or wax apper with a scraper nearby. Divide teh dough in half and shape each piece into a flat square. Set one square aside and roll out the first square by covering it with a second sheet of parchemnt or wax paper and flattening itno a large rectangle about 13 x 15 inches and about 1/4 in thick.

Cut out as many cookies as you can using an inversted glass or cookie cutter. A scraper is a handy tool to get the dough off of your counter onto the cookie sheet.

Bake the first sheet 7-9 min or until edges are slightly dark. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 min. before transfering to a wire rack. Meanwhile, repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining dough. If the dough gets too soft to work with, leave on parchemnt and chill for 20 min. in teh fridge or 5 min in the freezer. BAke cookies as above. Allow cookies to cool complteely or about 30 min.

To make the filling, combine the sugar, syrup and milk in a bowl untill they form a sticky mass. Spoon filling onto cookie with the flat side up or pipe through a pastry bag or ziplog bag with the corner nipped. Sandwich second cookie onto first. Each cookie combo should use about 1-2 tsp of filling. I found I needed to double the amount of filling to adequately fill all of the cookie combos. Allow to set for an hour to get ideal filling texture (if you're that patient - I wasn't).

Enjoy!

Grahm Crackers for Seth

2010-02-01T21:25:00.008-05:00

Nothing like a snowy weekend to hole-up in the kitchen and keep yourself warm by keeping delicious things on the stove and in the oven. In addition to some delicious homemade whole wheat bread, lentil soup and mayonaise (yes, that recipe will be coming to you soon), I got down to some baking. What kind of baking? Still in the I-can-make-it-better-than-store-bought frame of mind, I set out to tackle some pantry staples. Or perhaps, more accurately, pantry sweets. I first made the grahm crackers from this fabulous cookbook, but while I enjoyed them immensely they were very molassesy, which is not truly grahm-cracker like and Mr. Pleasant is not at all fond of strong molasses flavor. So, for my second attempt I turned here, which produced a fabulous traditional honey, cinnamony grahm cracker flavor but so, so much better than anything storebought. For a softer, flakier cracker, bake for only 10-15 minutes. For a nice crispy, bring-on-the-milk sort of cracker, bake for the full 25 minutes.

You can thank our family friend Seth and his visit from the Midwest for this prompt post. By his request, I've got on the ball and posted this sooner rather than later. Yes Seth, here's your shout-out. And the Grahm cracker recipe as promised.

Graham Crackers

adapted from 101cookbooks.com

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen (or with a sturdy, sharp knife and loads of caution, cube frozen butter)

1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover

5 tablespoons whole milk (I found 2 additional Tbs. of milk were required, but this will depend on how dry the air is where you are - add any additional milk slowly and mix well, observing the consistency until it is sticky as described below)

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough. (If it is already cold in your kitchen, as it was in mine, I had no qualms about resting the baking sheet full of cut grahm crackers on the cold tile floor to "chill". I confess to not letting them chill the full 30 min -just as long as it took me to cut the second batch of crackers and I was happy with the results).

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line. Alternatively, cut the crackers out into rectangles (I found our ravioli cutter to be quite perfect for this) once rolled, poke with a fork as desired and sprinkle on sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Or, for the softer, flakier crackers, 10-15 minutes.

Yield: 10 large crackers or about 2 dozen smaller rectangles.

From Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery (Villard, 2000)

Mango Pudding

2010-01-10T22:54:00.009-05:00

Mango is a fabulous way to get your fruit fix in the depths of winter. Bright, sunny mango is delicious with a fabulous nutritional punch. Here's a light but flavorful way to end a meal. Not terribly sweet, but will be sweeter the riper your mangoes are.

Mango Pudding

from Eating Well

Ingredients
1 envelopes envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup water
2 cups diced frozen mango, thawed (Trader Joes handy here)
7-ounce nonfat sweetened condensed milk (about half a 14 oz can - extra is fabulous for Thai iced tea and coffee)
2 tablespoons lime juice

Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand until softened, about 1 minute. Microwave on High, uncovered, until the gelatin has completely dissolved but the liquid is not boiling, 10 to 20 seconds. Stir the mixture until smooth. Be cautious here in cold weather, gelatin will set quickly so don't do this until right before you add it to the rest of the mixture. Solidified anyway? Warm it in the microwave for 10 sec. until liquid again.

Place mango in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Push through a very fine sieve into a large measuring cup until you have 1 cups puree (or put through a foodmill on the finest setting). Whisk the mango puree, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the softened gelatin mixture until well combined.

Lightly coat eight 4- to 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Divide the pudding among the ramekins. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

To serve, run a knife around the inside of each ramekin to loosen the pudding. Dip the bottom of the ramekin in hot water for 30 to 40 seconds, then invert onto a serving plate, holding ramekin and plate tightly together.

Ebelskiver

2010-01-10T22:48:00.008-05:00

Ever since tasting Ebelskiver or Danish pancakes at Broder's in Portland, Mr. P and I could barely contain our enthusiasm for making some of our own. Luckily, Santa brought us a fabulous Ebelskiver pan for Christmas (thanks to the handy elf-work of my lovely MIL) and we finally got to try making our own. We hunted down a recipe that sounded good and were not disappointed. You can fill these little beauties with just about anything. We used homemade raspberry jam, but I imagine sweets like bananas, nutella, caramelized apples or savories like breakfast meats, cheese, green onions and more would all be fabulous fillings also. They are also fabulous plain with topping. Serve with syrup, lingonberries, powdered sugar, whipped cream or the Mr.'s favorite - lemon curd. Wondering what to do with that leftover buttermilk? This is one fabulous application. Makes enough for two hungry people with a bit leftover.

Basic Ebelskiver Batter

adapted from SugarMama Baking Co.

1 eggs, separated

1 cups buttermilk

1 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tbs. sugar

2 tbs. Melted butter

Separate eggs; beat egg whites until stiff. Mix all the other ingredients together at one time and beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites.

Heat pan on low to medium heat. Put 1/2 tsp. butter, oil or shortening in each cup. Pour in batter near top but not filling cup. If desired, put 1/2 tsp. of jam, a piece of pineapple, blueberries, raisins, etc., in batter. (If fruit is added, reduce the amount of batter initially placed in cup. Add fruit and cover with a small amount of batter.) When bubbly, turn ball with a fork or skewer. Continue cooking until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm as desired.

Butter

2010-01-10T22:45:00.006-05:00

That's right. Making butter. Rocket science you say? Hardly. If I had any idea just how simple it was to knock out a batch of butter, I would've been doing this years ago. It's hard to believe sometimes just how separated we are from our food sources, when an adult has a vague sense of how butter gets to her table, but is sure it involves a hyper-complicated process or hours and hours at one of those old-school churners that seem to be used almost exclusively as country decor tchatchkas, nick-knacks or occasionally, storage. I felt almost ashamed that it took Karen Solomon's lovely cookbook Jam It, Cure It, Pickle It, to make me realize just how simple making your own goodies like butter really are. No wonder each family used to make their own butter! So simple, you get beautiful, fresh buttermilk and fabulous butter all at once! How does the magic happen you ask? Shake. Shake. Shake. Or, for the weak-armed, Mix. That's right. Grab yourself some heavy whipping cream and let's get started.

Butter
from Jam It, Pickle It, Preserve it by Karen Solomon

1 c Heavy Whipping Cream
salt to taste

Place cream in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid. Jar should be large enough for cream to only take up half of it. Shake. I imagine this would be an awesome game for kids - just beware of launching jars. Shake, dancing along with the shaking is even more fun. Shake while reading the paper. Shake for 3 minutes or so (depending on the temperature, warmer = faster), you'll have whipped cream. Another few minutes you'll have the beginnings of butter. Once you get a good amount of solidified mass and separated buttermilk, pour and reserve the buttermilk in a separate bowl (for ideas on how to use the buttermilk, see the next post!).

Once buttermilk is removed, pour just enough water to cover the nascent butter into the jar and shake some more. Once more solid, dump this water out (do not keep this liquid). Repeat once more. Once the butter consistency is to your liking, mix with your favorite salt or fresh herbs, garlic, whatever your little heart desires. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Also makes a great gift.

ALTERNATIVELY, if you just don't have the shake in you, place cream in stand mixer (or use hand-held mixer) and mix until the butter is mostly solidified and you have your buttermilk. Reserve buttermilk by pouring into separate bowl. Add water to butter, again mix until it's at the consistency you want, pour out water (no need to keep this water) and add in any of your favorite mixings as mentioned above.

Sea Salt Caramels

2010-01-10T22:39:00.007-05:00

This Christmas, the Mr. and I managed to put together a whole bunch of homemade gifts. My favorite by far was a recipe for caramels I'd had my eye on since I noticed it at the apartment therapy blog in 2008. Caramel and candy making in general has always daunted me with it's talk of precise temperatures, "hard ball" stages and vivid memories from my childhood of the smell of burnt sugar from a particularly disastrous caramel-apple making session at a friends house. However, with one wee little candy thermometer (which you can pick up for less than $5), this recipe couldn't be simpler. I ended up making many batches of these babies and perfected the technique with each attempt, but honestly, each batch was delectable as was - even the first batch! Though it requires careful babysitting on the stove, this process is surprisingly simple and incredibly delicious.

Sea Salt Caramels

adapted from apartmenttherapy.com

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

Directions

Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.

Bring the cream, butter and sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat and set aside.

Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan; then cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 248°F, the firm-ball stage. Carefully stir in the cream mixture—the mixture will bubble up. Simmer, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. The temperature should not go higher than 250°F. The mixture will slowly darken and turn golden brown. Once to the consistency you want (see candymaker tip below), pour the mixture into the baking pan and cool 2 hours.

Yield: About 40 caramels

CANDYMAKER TIP: To get the caramel consistency you want, test by dropping a spoonful of caramel into a bowl of cold water. It will form a ball, which you can test with your fingers. Stop cooking when the ball is the consistency that you want.

OPTIONAL: You can enrobe your caramels in tempered melted chocolate; sprinkle the top with some grains of sea salt (pretty salts make a difference); or press in some culinary lavender buds.* Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, folding ends or twisting to close like taffy.*

ALTERNATIVE: Pour the caramel into individual candy cups.

Grandma Rosie's Persimmon Pudding with Cinnamon Creme Anglaise

2009-11-30T22:11:00.008-05:00

This little persimmon followed us all the way across the country from Oregon. It sat ripening with other fruit for a week and change before finally becoming tender enough to be included in a recipe I've been excited to try ever since I came across it in my mom's collection of recipes. Although my mom's mom - my Grandma Rosie was never much of a cook, my mom had this recipe, written in Grandma Rosie's own hand writing on a faded index card for persimmon pudding. Having not ever tasted persimmons until last November and never having cooked with them myself, I was excited to try working with this strangely overlooked fruit.

The pudding looked simple - the simplest of the other persimmon pudding recipes I had encountered online. But I trusted in the simplicity of the dish - especially cooking with persimmon for the first time. I was not disappointed. Similar texture to a traditional English pudding, slightly crunchy carmelized sweetness on the top with a softer middle with a touch of tartness from the persimmon and the warmth of cinnamon. Positively mouth-watering.

However, that little note in the bottom left hand corner to "serve with sauce" left me a bit stumped. What sauce did you mean, Grandma Rosie? The back of the card provided no insight, so I went back to the Internet for some inspiration and settled on a cinnamon crème anglaise - another treat I had never made before, though I have enjoyed it many times. The simplicity of the recipe seemed a natural pairing with the simplicity of the pudding. The crème also did not disappoint - so much of a non-disappointment that I had no qualms using my fingers to scrape out every last bit of the few remaining dregs of crème from the bowl.

Cinnamon Crème Anglaise

from Bon Appétit

2 cups whole milk
1 3 1/2- to 4-inch-long cinnamon stick, broken in half
6 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt

Combine milk and cinnamon stick halves in medium saucepan. Bring just to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 1 hour. (I confess to shortening this time to about 20 minutes due to time constraints and added ground cinnamon to intensify the cinnamon flavor).

Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Return milk mixture to simmer. Gradually whisk milk mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce thickens and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 165°F to 170°F, about 3 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Strain through sieve into small bowl; cool. Cover; chill until cold. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead; chill.

Sweet Potato Rolls

2009-11-30T22:09:00.003-05:00

Even though I didn't make much in the way of contributions to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I still had a blast playing with some of the recipes I mentioned in my dreaming of thanksgiving post. One of my favorites were these sweet potato rolls from James Beard. As clearly demonstrated in this blog, orange food and I have a very special relationship - and the sweet potato is in the top teir of those treasured autumnal delights. Put together with a delicious parkerhouse-style roll? Heaven. I certainly wouldn't mind making these again...and again...

Sweet Potato Rolls
adapted from Adapted from "Beard on Bread," by James Beard via the washington post

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) sweet potato
4 1/2 teaspoons (two 1/4-ounce packets) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus enough to grease the pie plates for baking the rolls
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the work surface
Oil, for greasing the proofing bowl

Directions:
Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork, and microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes or until soft. Let cool, then peel and put through a potato ricer or food mill, press through a strainer, or thoroughly mash so it is smooth. You should have 1/2 cup of flesh.

Combine the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer; proof for 5 minutes. (If the yeast bubbles and foams, it is active. If it does not, it is dead; buy fresh yeast and start over.) Add 2 eggs and beat on low speed, then add the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, the butter and salt. Beat on low speed for about 2 minutes (no need to scrape down the bowl), then add the sweet potato and beat for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the flour at a time, beating to form a slightly stiff dough that has pulled away from the sides of the bowl; add flour as needed.

(Alternatively, mix by hand: Proof the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl, then whisk 2 of the eggs in a large bowl just to combine, then add the yeast mixture, along with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, the butter and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to blend well. Add the sweet potato; stir until thoroughly combined, then stir in 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and is stiff enough to work.)

Lightly flour a work surface.

Transfer the dough to the prepared surface; knead for 2 to 3 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon or so at a time, and adding only enough to prevent the dough from sticking to the countertop. It should still be tacky to the touch but should not stick to your hands. When it is smooth and springy, shape it into a ball.

Use oil to lightly grease the inside of a large bowl, then place the dough in it, turning it to coat evenly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let the dough rest for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. The dough will be ready when you can push 2 fingers into it and the indentations remain.

Use a little melted butter to lightly grease the inside of 2 glass pie plates or round cake pans (9 or 10 inches).

Punch down the dough and use a bench scraper to divide it into 3 equal pieces. Use the scraper again to divide each piece into 8 golf ball-size pieces (for a total of 24). Roll into balls, then arrange them in the prepared pie plates.

Cover with plastic wrap; let the rolls rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the remaining egg, then brush it on the rolls. Bake them for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown on the top and bottom. Let cool slightly in the pie plates, then cover loosely with aluminum foil and serve warm, letting diners pull them directly out of the plates; or use a large spatula to transfer them (held together) to a cloth-lined basket or another serving dish.

VARIATION: Instead of the freshly cooked sweet potato, you can use 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree. Proceed as directed, but be prepared to add up to 1 cup of extra flour in the initial mixing to account for the extra moisture in the canned puree and to create a stiff enough dough.

Baked Doughnuts

2009-11-23T18:53:00.004-05:00

As if taking over a certain Portlander's kitchen to make these once wasn't enough, the Mr. and I repeated the deliciousness.

I dream of Thanksgiving...

2009-11-20T11:28:00.003-05:00

My family has a long history of hands-on, potluck/bring it and make it dining events. Whether it was a cornucopia of CSA-fresh goodies on "Farm Night", or the annual neighborhood potluck supper, our kitchen was not only the center of some fabulous cooking but community. Thanksgiving for my family these days is no different with friends from all over bringing their own annual specialties, or exciting new combinations of flavors for traditional ingredients. It's always a blast to get together to share, prep, cook and eat together. Though I may not be cooking for the annual event this year (Mr. Pleasant and I are celebrating with the In-Laws this year) I can't resist pouring through the Thanksgiving-related recipes from cooking magazines, websites and blogs with great relish, mouth-watering as I pick out my favorite-sounding recipes. If I were hosting a Thanksgiving celebration, I dream of whipping up the following:

starters:
fall harvest salad
sweet potato rolls

main event:
cider glazed turkey or Julia and Jacques' deconstructed turkey
Pumpkin stuffed with Vegetable Stew
Beanloaf

stuffing:
chestnut and thyme stuffing or chestnut stuffing or chestnut and apple stuffing
porcini, chestnut and sausage stuffing
sides:
Sweet Potato and Grits spoon bread or sweet potato spoon bread
Brussels sprouts with toasted hazelnut butter
carrot with shallots, sage and thyme
green beans Amandie or green beans with roasted garlic
honey parsnip medley
braised potatoes

sauce:
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce

dessert:
sweet potato tart tartin or sweet potato souffle pie
vegan chocolate cheesecake
pumpkin pecan pudding cake or triple-chocolate pumpkin pie
sweet potato pie or gingered butternut squash pie or acorn squash and honey pies
apple pie
mini cranberry pies

Carrot and Apple Shortbread Cookies

2009-10-26T22:08:00.006-04:00

I saw this recipie at 101 Cookbooks and decided that it would be an excellent way to enliven an otherwise hundrum Monday night. Don't let the nutrient-rich ingredients fool you folks, these cookies are little bites of pure, buttery decadence.

1/4 cup / 2 ounces / 50g semolina flour

1 1/2 cups / 6 ounces whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

5 ounces (150g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup / 3 1/2 ounces (100g) light Muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)

2 ounces (50g) carrot, grated

1 ounce (25g) apple, grated

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, or 180C. Sift the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir the carrot, apple, and lemon zest into the flour mixture, and mix until well coated and evenly dispersed. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a dough forms, then knead a couple times to bring everything together. Split the dough in two, flatten each piece into an inch-thick patty, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

When you're ready to bake the shortbread, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface 1/2-inch thick/1cm. Or, to reduce mess, keep it in the plastic wrap and roll flat between two layers of plastic. Use a metal cutters to stamp out cookies, then place them on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown just a bit.

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

2009-09-27T22:40:00.006-04:00

As I have already mentioned once, twice, or perhaps a few hundred times on this blog, I adore autumn. The flavors, colors, coolness, sense of newness and the beginning of all sorts of possibilities. One of my favorites of the season is the butternut squash. I love it in soup, in ravioli, roasted.... we'll you get the idea. I stumbled across a method of preparing this glorious vegetable described in Deborah Madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone - wrapping up a delicious combination of onion, sage, roasted garlic and butternut squash in a rustic olive oils yeast-raised gallete dough wrapper. It sounded absolutely fabulous, and I was not disappointed.

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 large butternut squash

1 head of garlic cloves separated but not peeled

1 Tbs olive oil and extra for brushing squash

1 onion, diced

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 c freshly grated pecorino or parmesan

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

Make dough (instructions listed below). Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half, scrape out seeds, brush the surface with oil. Stuff garlic into cavities and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake until flesh is tender- about 40 minutes. When cooled, scroop out squash and squeeze garlic cloves. Mash together until fairly smooth - leaving some texture.

Warm 1 Tbs oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sage and cook until onion is soft and begining to color -about 12 min. Add it to teh squash along with cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out dough into one large tart or 6 small tartlettes ( I did the latter). Spread filling over it, leaving about 2'' around the edges. Pleat dough over filling, brush edges with egg. Bake until crust is golden about 25 min.

Yeasted Olive Oil Tart Dough

2 tsp active dry yeat

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 c warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

1 egg

3/8 tsp salt

1 3/4 c flour, as needed

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a meduim bowl and let stand until bubbly or 10 min. Add oil, egg, salt then stir in the flour. Knead with hands when mixture is too thick for a spoon. Knead until smooth and elastic or about 4 min. Place in oiled bowl and allow to rise, covered, until doubled in size - about 45 min. Turn out and roll out if making one large tart, or break into 6 equal pieces and allow to sit for 15 min.

Honey Cake

2009-09-27T22:34:00.010-04:00

This was pure pleasure to bake. Sure, it's always a bit of an adventure to coax out the sticky, syrupy honey and molasses 1. out of their containers and 2. into a measuring cup and 3. back out of said measuring cup. That said, after all the mixing was done, the whole house filled with the deliciously aromatic scents of ginger, clove, nutmeg and molasses. And yes, it does taste even better than it smells. And I haven't even let it sit the overnight you are supposed to to get the 'real' flavor of the honey cake. I can't wait till breakfast...

Honey Cake

Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook

2 tsp olive oil for oiling pan

2/3 c good-quality honey

1/3 c mild-tasting dark molasses

1 c all-purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp each of: ground clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger ( I used fresh ginger to delicious results)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with olive oil use parchment paper to line bottom if desired.

Heat milk, honey and molasses in saucepan on med-low heat until dissolved. Set aside to cool. Mix together dry ingredients. Form well in dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Slowly whisk in a circular motion staring from the center until all the flour has been incorporated. The batter will be very thin.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 min. until the surface is brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then loosen with a knife around the edges and invert onto plate. Let cool completely, wrap in foil and let rest at room temp. until the next day (or if you are impatient like me, mouth watering from the delicious smell of the bread filling the apt. for the last 40 minutes, slice yourself a delicious warm slice and wrap up the rest of the bread for breakfast;).

Homemade Yogurt and Granola

2009-08-29T12:27:00.004-04:00

Though the economists tell us that we're on our way out of the recession that has been plaguing us, it seems like it's always a good time to save a little money. When saving money can mean eating better - if with a bit more work, I'm all for it. It's been great making my own bread and the pennies saved have definitely added up. So, I thought I'd venutre into other suprisingly easily homemade staples - yogurt and granola.

Homemade Yogurt

from Mirelle Gulliano's FWDGF

2 c milk (2% is my preference)

1-2 Tbs plain, good quality yogurt

Place milk in saucepan and heat until slightly foaming around the edges and steaming. Allow to cool to between 110-115 F (or when you can leave your finger in the mixture comfortably for 20 seconds). Take small amount of milk and mix into a seperate bowl with the plain yogurt. Add yogurt mixture to milk in thirds, making sure to mix thuroughly after each addition. Cover milk mixture tightly with a clean cloth. If you have a gas stove, allow it to sit in a warm place near the pilot light for 6-8 hours. If you have an electric stove, boil some water and place it in a pan in the oven, then set the milk in the oven for 6-8 hours. Once set, refrigerate for an additional 8 hours. Then enjoy!

French Chocolate Granola

from orangette

3 cups rolled oats

½ cup raw almonds, chopped

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

6 Tbsp. mild honey

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ cup, or more, finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 300°F.In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, coconut, sugar, and salt. Stir well to blend.In a small saucepan, warm the honey and oil over low heat, whisking occasionally – watch out! the oil will want to splash - until the honey is loose. Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to combine well.

Spread the mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Set a timer to go off halfway through the baking time, so that you can give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly. When it’s ready, remove the pan from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and cool completely.

When cool, transfer the granola to a large bowl, storage jar, or zipper-lock plastic bag. Add the chocolate, and stir (or shake, if using a jar or bag) to mix. Store in an airtight container.

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

2009-08-29T12:26:00.005-04:00

Falafel is one of my favorite street foods. I still have dreams sometimes about the particularly delicious spinach falafel I had in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Alexandria, Egypt. There seem to be limitless variations each bringing something new and delicious to the classic chic pea-based falafel. I also happen to love sweet potatoes, and when I came across a recipie that included both (and also did NOT include deep frying) I couldn't pass up trying it out for myself.

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

from 101 cookbooks

2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 small cloves of garlic, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped

Juice of half a lemon

a scant cup (120g) gram /chickpea flour (can't find any? buy some dry chic peas and grind them in your food processor)

a splash of olive oil

a sprinkling of sesame seeds

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees (220C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.

Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).

Reheat the oven to 400F/200C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6. I enjoyed it on it's own but was especially tasty with a tzadziki sauce or a yogurt garlic sauce (yogurt, garlic and salt and pepper mixed to taste) with some toasty warm pita and sprouts.

Bread with a good story

2009-06-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

DC is a strange town. It's a town of contradictions, controversy, conflict and confluence. And occasionally little, tiny, adorable bread makers. With a good stories. It's not every town that has some of the world's best brains coming through, trying their darndest to make their mark on teh world. The Mr. happens to work in a place were such said brains congregate to try to find solutions to the worlds trickier problems. One of his favorite colleagues' stay was cut short by an urgent call home - just some trifling thing about prosecuting one of the Balkans' bloodiest tyrants, and needed to move quickly. He ended up giving just about everything of his away to his colleagues and lucky Mr. P came home with a itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny bread machine. Shoved into some dark cabinet and forgotten for years, a fortuitous search for matching tupperware lids uncovered the little bread-making gem. I was instantly smitten and haven't bought sandwhich bread in weeks!

Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good handmade bread. The whole process is remarkably fufilling and cathartic for me. However, in this crazy life, sadly, there is not always time to make bread this way. And so, turning out adorable, delicious loaves of bread in 45 minutes isn't such a terrible alternative. This recipie is scaled for this particular itty, bitty machine, but can be scaled up to other grown-up-sized breadmakers.

Spelt Bread

1/2 c warm water
1 Tbs butter
1/2 c spelt flour
3/4 c bread flour
1 1/2 Tbs agave or honey
1 Tbs dry milk
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast

Place in order in bread machine. Set to "wheat" bread setting and begin baking cycle. Makes particularly amazing toast when well jammed and/or buttered.

for scale

Pulla - Finnish Cardamom Bread

2009-05-09T22:21:00.000-04:00

Pulla. I used to love to come home after school to a house warm and smelling of fresh baked cinnamon rolls. A sure sign my Aiti, my father's mother, who spend a good part of the year with us, had a very productive afternoon. At Christmas, she would make little bread men with them, using currants for eyes and buttons, sometimes adding a little simple frosting. I have fondly sticky memories of sharing pulla and my grandmother's homemade raspberry freezer jam, chest puffed out in pride at having helped my grandmother make the jam, at my elementary school's Heritage Day. Although, admittedly, I grew rather tired of hearing "You're Finnish? Finn-ished? So you're done, right?" by the end of the day.

My grandmother passed away a few years ago, sadly, never writing down her own recipe for her cardamom bread. My dad has his own technique for making it (he's successfully adapted the dough-making portion for the bread machine!) and I've tried to recreate it as best I can, giving it my own spin of course. I always make multiple batches at once, as each batch is quite the labor of love. I do love the process of making it though - it always makes me feel closer to my grandmother - a woman who had a very large part in raising us but was no longer able to do much cooking by the time I was getting really interested in it. It also helps me feel a bit closer to my Finnish heritage - though only half of my ethnic makeup, is certainly a formative half. In our flawed but never-the-less melting pot of a society, it feels good to have something solid to hold onto when it comes to tradition and roots. Making pulla is a very grounding thing, especially when preparing it for your pulla-loving family. I don't think I've quite achieved her mastery, but I like to think that she's watching and nodding approvingly.

Bread

2 c milk

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 Tbs. crushed cardamom seeds

2 pkgs. dry yeast (or 2 Tbs)

6 c unbleached white flou

2-3 c whole wheat flour

2/3 c butter1 tsp salt

Topping

1 egg yolk

1 Tbs waterplus about

1/4 c Turbinado sugar

Optional for Cinnamon Rolls:

2 Tbs melted butter

1/4 c white sugar

1/2 brown sugar

3 Tbs cinnamon

1. Scald milk with cardamom and 2 Tbs of sugar from 1/2 c of white sugar

2. Cool to lukewarm, and add yeast. let sit for 5 minutes or until doubled

3. In seperate bowl, add remaining white sugar and brown sugar, salt and 1 1/2 c white and 1 1/2c wheat flours

4. combine melted butter cooled to lukewarm, egg and milk/yeast mixture

5. add wet mixture to dry, adding remaining flour as necessary

6. knead for 10 minutes, then allow to rise about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in greased bowl covered in a damp dish towel.

7. Shape into braids (2-3 depending on size) or rolls*, cover with dish towel and allow to rise 45 mins or until doubled8. For braids, brush with egg mixture and sprinkle with turbinado sugar9. bake in 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes

*rolls option: roll dough flat into a rectangle to about 1/4" thick, spread melted butter till covered and sprinkle sugar mixture evenly accross it. Roll into a log and cut into 1/2-1" slices and place in buttered cake pan (round or rectangular). Allow to rise as mentioned above and then bake as described.

Blueberry Scones

2009-05-04T19:47:00.004-04:00

I confess, I was right there with many young girls in the world when it came to tea parties. My sister and I were queens of them - and believe me, it took serious mastery to engender regency to mudpie making (and yes, I mean literal mud). Once we were old enough to be entrusted with slightly battered but shabbily elegant tea set from the thrift store, our parents were hard pressed not to find us taking tea when they came home from work. I'm sure the sticky remnants of cinnamon sugar toast only made our exuberant embraces of them all that more special - if perhaps contributing to increases in dry cleaning bills.

When I reached 5th grade, we once had the very special priveledge of taking high tea at the Four Seasons. Even now, I can perfectly recall the sheer delight at living out one of our favorite girlhood fantasies - the deep puice color and tangy flavor of the black currant tea I ordered (each of us got our own pot, amazing!) and the scones decadently smeared with Deveonshire Cream and topped with fresh strawberries. Oh! I'm salivating at the mere memory!

To this day, scones always taste a bit of wonder and evoke a sprinkling of that magic of childhood and imagination.

Blueberry and Lemon Scones
inspired by orangette

½ c half and half
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 Tbs unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
3 Tbs sugar
1/4-1/2 c frozen blueberries
2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat together the milk and the egg and then set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, working until you have no lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar blueberries and zest.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Bring dough together gently with a wooden spoon.Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it no more than 12 times. Pat dough into a round approximately ½-inch thick, and cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet or a Silpat, if you have one. Using a pastry brush, glaze wedges with a little extra half and half. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack.

Popovers

2009-05-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

This, friends, is how all mornings should begin. Licking sticky homemade strawberry jam off of your fingers after swallowing a delicious bite of still-warm-from-the-oven popovers your significant other made for you as you lazily slept in. Maybe a little almond butter on the next bite...

Birthday Cake for Mr. Pleasant

2009-05-04T10:51:00.005-04:00

Each new year deserves quite the celebration - and for me that celebration needs cake. Great cake, make you wiggle your toes in culinary exstasy kind of good cake. The enjoyment of said birthday cake depends on a number of things of course - and I truly, honestly believe that the love put into a cake, no matter what the recipe, ingredients or skill, truly make the expereince the most rewarding. Perhaps nothing so dramatic as the magical realisim of Like Water for Chocolate, when the embittered cake baker pours all of her hurt, sorrow and anger into a wedding cake that makes all the guests suffer as she has. No, something more along the lines of sharing something with the people you care about. Birthday cake that my mom or grandmother made always tasted magical somehow. One of the first cakes I ever made all by myself as a kid, albeit from a mix, tasted really, really good to me - surely because of the hope and excitement I poured into it and pride I had in it. That said, I've also made some pretty awful things - no matter what feelings I was channeling at the moment - although in doing so, have good stories that my family still laugh about (ask my sister about the cinnamon bun that exploded the microwave sometime).

So yes, homemade, lovingly made and proudly displayed cake can be very tasty. It's even better when the cake is really, really amazingly delicious. Definitely a testament to Ms. Bernbaum here on the cake itself - such delicate crumb, velvety texture - something I admit to not always achieving with every cake I make. She broke down the basics to make a fool-proof, fabulous cake. It's a bold move to title one's cookbook the "Cake Bible" but Bernbaum does it credit!

Raspberry Chocolate Cake

Cake (from Bernbaum's Cake Bible)

1/2 c + 3 Tbs dutch process cocoa

1 c boiling water

3 large eggs

2 1/4 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 + 2 Tbs sifted cake flour

1 1/2 c sugar

1 Tbs baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9 x 1 1/2 inch round pans and line with wax or parchment paper (also greased). Wisk together cocoa and boiling water, cool to lukewarm. In another bowl, lightly combine eggs, vanilla, 1/4 of cocoa mixture. In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Add butter and remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down sides. Gradually add egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addtion. Scrape batter into pans, bake for 25-35 minutes - until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Filling

approx. 3/4 c raspberry jam ( I used a combo of black and red raspberry jam)

1/4-1/2c frozen raspberries, thawed and drained

dash (to taste) of raspberry rum (we had on hand) although framboise liquer would be lovely

Frosting

basic vanilla buttercream

powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, milk

Finishing Touches

solid milk chocolate, warmed in hand then shaved. pressed lightly to sides of cake with wooden spoon

Cupcakes - Vegan and Delicious (not an oxymoron)

2009-03-20T12:38:00.006-04:00

Despite eating every day, I think many of us hardly think twice about our relationship with food. So much goes into every bite we take. From seed to plant to produce, from source to table, from ingredients to heaping dishes, from nourishment to comfort - our relationship with food is anything but simple. I've found that how you feel about and deal with food says a lot about where you are - and who you are.

Is food just about filling a void? Cramming something down your gullet because it's time to eat- you're running late and just need something to get you to lunchtime? Or is food about nourishment - not only nutritional, but emotional as well? The truth, realistically for most of us is something in between. We are busy people. We are on budgets. We have precious little time as it is, and frequently even less energy to do much with it.

When I think about the meals of my childhood, I don't think about the protein to complex carbohydrates ratio, or the proportion of my plate covered in vege, but I remember time spent with my family. Those precious few moments in an otherwise chaotic blur of sports practice, homework, school, friends, rehearsals and girl scouts - my family always made time to sit down and eat a meal together. Be it 20 minutes of morning oatmeal or 30 minutes of spaghetti, I remember those times because they filled me with something more than just food. They filled me with a special kind of nourishment, body and soul, that did more to get me through the days than old-fashioned oats ever could on their own.

I had the great pleasure of attending Molly Wizenburg of orangette's book signing when she was in DC this week. One of the things she said that I found profound despite seemingly obvious, is that food has a story. I've been trying more and more to really think about the stories around the food I make and eat. Giving full justice to the full experience of food - source to belly and beyond.

Appreciating our imperfect relationship with food - perfection never makes for great stories, now does it? - I turn to this particularly scrumptious, yet relatively healthy and animal-product free chocolate cake. I made it as cupcakes and couldn't get enough of them. Best, of course, when shared with those you love whenever your chaos-filled life allows ;)

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate 'Butter Cream'
from npr

Makes 12 cupcakes or one 9-inch cake

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (can use a mix of wheat and white flours)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease one 9-inch cake pan or line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Whisk together until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool before frosting.

For the butter cream:

4 ounces unsweetened (or bittersweet) chocolate, chopped
3 cups confectioners' sugar
8 Tbs shortening (I use non-hydrogenated), room temperature
2 to 3 tablespoons almond milk, plus more, if needed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat chocolate in a double boiler until melted. Let cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners' sugar, margarine, milk, vanilla and salt, and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low. Add the chocolate and beat until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks.

Mom's Irish Soda Bread

2009-03-20T11:59:00.005-04:00

My mother brought this to our St. Patrick's day feast and I haven't been able to get enough of it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner... I have no qualms about savoring the deliciousness all day long. My brown bread was not nearly so spectacular, but it never stood a chance next to the sweet, savory, well-crumbed soda bread.

Mom's Irish soda bread

2 cups of flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup currants
1 tsp of caraway seeds
1 Tablespoon butter
1 egg
2/3-1 cup of buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients. Add currants and seeds. Beat egg lightly, add 2/3 cup buttermilk and butter. Stir in dry ingredients. Add more buttermilk if needed. Make a stiff dough, but kneadable. Knead 8-10 times shape in a ball and cut ½’ deep cross on top. Cook at 350-375 for 40-50 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm.

Taste of the Irish

2009-03-18T10:29:00.008-04:00

I love to celebrate St. Patrick's day because my mom loves to celebrate St. Patrick's day. I have particularly fond memories of waking up in the room I shared with my sister to discover a Kermit-the-frog piggy bank my mother had placed on our pillows one March 17th morning. I love celebrating St. Patrick's day because it makes me think of my mother's mother, a woman I never really knew, but who's life-story I've pieced together from my mother's tales, aged family photos and my grandfather's fond remembrances.

The story begins with a "fiery Irish girl" named Mary Rose who lived in the same apartment complex as my grandfather. The only girl in her class at Sacred Heart's all-girls graduating class NOT invited to join the sisterhood, our cousin O'Donnell confessed as we came across a curling snapshot of my grandmother at age 16. She was one of 7 siblings but an orphan most of her life, never quite reached 5', had dark hair and bright blue eyes. Eyes that she passed on to my mother and sister, and held a touch of mischievousness even as she sat for her formal bridal portrait. She had a best friend named 'Mugsy', somehow made her way to Los Angeles and despite the Great Depression, managed to find love with an ornery engineer from Texas who lived in the aforementioned apartment complex.

I love celebrating St. Patrick's day because it gives me a sense of connection, a sense of roots and culture and of belonging - not just to a particularly green island in the north Atlantic, or pipes, flutes and fiddles, Guinness or Jameson's, but to family. Family I didn't necessarily know, but is a part of me and who I am - not just where I come from.

I also love celebrating St. Patrick's day with the tastes of my family history. Though I sadly don't have any recipes passed down from my grandmother for the occasion, I've been working on a few of my own. So far they include tasty Irish-inspired food and time with the family I'm lucky enough to have around. Last night was quite the feast, roasted lamb, shepherd's pie, mashed potatoes, red cabbage salad, brown bread and my mother's contribution of delicious soda bread and my dad's contribution of a few rounds of rummy. The ending was particularly sweet, though. A decadently moist and rich Guinness chocolate cake and David Liebovitz's milk chocolate Guinness ice cream. To really up the ante, next time I think I'll replace a tablespoon or two of the cream with Irish cream. And yes, you only frost the top so the cake resembles a pint of Guinness.

Chocolate Guinness Cake

from the New York Times

For the cake:

Butter for pan

1 cup Guinness stout

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups superfine sugar

3/8 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the topping:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream.

1. For the cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch spring form pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

3. For the topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

4. Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

Yield: One 9-inch cake (12 servings).

Far Bretton

2009-02-08T15:53:00.004-05:00

I admit. I love custard. In any form, with just about any mix-ins. Fruit, chocolate, spices, lavender... I have yet to be disapointed. When I saw this recipe, I had never heard of a Far before, although I am a fan of baked custards and claufoutis, so it seemed like a no-brainer to give this a try.

Far Bretton

inspired by epicurious.com

2 cups milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2-3/4 c frozen wild blueberries

2-3 Tbs cognac or brandy

powdered sugar

Combine milk, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt in blender jar. Blend 1 minute. Add flour and pulse just until blended, scraping down sides of jar. Cover and chill in jar (ideally) at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Place blueberries in cognac and let soak as long as your batter chills.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter 8-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. Butter paper. Dust pan with flour, shaking out excess; place on baking sheet.
Reblend batter until smooth, about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared cake pan. Drop prunes and raisins into batter, distributing evenly. Bake cake on baking sheet until sides are puffed and brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake completely in pan on rack.

Place piece of parchment or waxed paper on flat plate. Sift powdered sugar onto paper. Run knife around cake in pan to loosen. Invert pan onto paper, releasing cake. Remove pan; peel off paper. Place serving plate over cake and invert. Dust top of cake with additional powdered sugar.

Pear Tart

2009-02-08T15:36:00.008-05:00

The pears at the farmers market this morning just called out to me -I answered their summons and made this scrumptious tart:

Pear Tart
inspired by Julia Child's Mastering French Cooking

Pate Brisee crust, baked for about 15 minutes
4-6 bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 c sugar
2 tbs butter
handfull of fresh or frozen cranberries

Sprinkle 3 Tbs of the sugar on the crust. Arrange the pears in the crust as you like. Here, I kept them in the shape of the pear but sliced them. It's more traditional to slice them horizontally. You can also simply arrange the slices in concentric circles within the crust. Place cranberries in center and in spaces between pears. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar on top and dot with butter. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Bean Loaf

2009-01-22T18:30:00.005-05:00

Oh yes, the family classic is finally making an apperance on the blog! This recipie has been a staple for family gatherings for a good decade and a half - a product of my mother's work in sustainable agriculture. The concept came from a community food project in Minneapolis, MN - and was lovingly tweaked over the years by my mother - happy to have something to please two vegetarian daughters come Thanksgiving. You can also go hog wild on molds here too - mom has tried a number fun shapes and sizes over the years. It's hard to beat the basic loaf pan, but have fun with it.

A note on beans - though some have predicted that beans will be the food of 2009 - it's hard not to appreciate the humble bean's enduring value to human kind. As a former staunch ovo-lacto vegetarian I can tell you, beans are your friends! Yes, even if you need beano to safely consume them in mixed company. Rice + beans = a perfect nutritional protien, what omnivores get from animal protien, you can get from non-animal sources (and lower calories per serving to boot!). These days especially, it's easy to appreciate the bean's stellar nutritional value and earthly prices. They also have a much longer shelf-life.

Even though I now eat organic, sustainably raised foul, I will always have a very special place in my heart and gullet for the humble and delicious bean.

Bean Loaf

4 c bread crumbs (fresh bread pulsed in food processor or blender is ideal)
3 cans of beans rinsed and drained (kidney, black, pinto, navy, butter beans all acceptable)
2 c shredded chedder cheese
1/4 c non-hydrogenated shortening or butter
1/2 c onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 eggs

In food processor or blender, pulse beans until smooth. Empty into large mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs, cheese, onion, egg, salt and pepper to taste and stir till combined. Pat down into well-greased loaf pan. Bake at 375 F for about an hour or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a rack, then turn over onto plate.

Enjoy!

Jambalayah and Bread Pudding

2009-01-17T16:11:00.006-05:00

Publish Post

With temperatures the lowest they've been in a decade here, it seemed about time to warm things up in the kitchen. Why not with a flavorful taste from New Orleans? A great end to a day with a windchill close to zero!

Jambalaya
adapted from wholefoods.com recipe

2 tablespoons safflower oil, divided
2 (12-ounce) packages pre-cooked spicy Italian chicken sausage, sliced diagonally
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green, 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 cups rice
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 (1-pound) bag frozen shrimp, thawed, tails removed
Hot sauce for serving

Method

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pot and set aside. Add remaining oil, celery, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Stir in tomatoes, broth, water, rice, thyme, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 35 minutes, stirring now and then. Add frozen okra and reserved sausage. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until rice is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add frozen shrimp and continue cooking until heated through. Taste and season with more salt or cayenne if desired. Serve with hot sauce.

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

adapted from the Silver Palatte cookbook

1/2 loaf stale whole grain bagette
1 c heavy cream
1 c milk
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs vanilla

Slice or crumble bread in bite-sized pieces into large bowl. Soak bread in milk and cream for at least an hour. Combine sugar and eggs and vanilla in separate bowl. Once bread is soaked, pour egg mixture into bread and milk mixture, stir till combined. Pour into a well greased 8 x 8 baking pan and bake at 325 F for about an hour and 10 minutes or until browned and set.

Whiskey Sauce

1/2 c confectioners sugar
1 egg
4 Tbs butter
Whiskey to taste

Melt butter and sugar together in a double boiler over medium to medium-high heat. Once both are melted and very hot, remove from heat and add egg, stirring constantly. If the mixture gets lumpy, don't fret!* It's pretty forgiving. Add the whisky and stir till combined. Serve over warm bread pudding. Delicious!

Enjoy!

* A trick I learned from an early Moosewood cookbook saved my tukus in college the first time I ever attempted to make a custard sauce (when preparing it for over 40 people!). Use your handy-dandy food processor or immersion blender to smooth! It's that simple, and the texture comes out perfectly!

Millie's Cornbread

2009-01-13T22:17:00.003-05:00

One of my mom's gradschool roommates has been a long-time friend of our family. She also happens to work in the world of sustainable food systems. This is one of her recipies that has become a family favorite. It is luscious, moist, with a golden gorgeous crumb, but a fraction of the fat and calories most traditional cornbreads have.

3/4 c cornmeal
1 c unbleached white flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
t tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar
2 Tbs unhydrogenated vegetable shortening or butter
1/2 c low fat sour cream or yogurt
1/4 c milk
1 egg, well beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Work shortening or butter in with a pastry cutter or your fingers till combined. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Gently mix wet ingredients into dry until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX or bread will be tough. Smooth into 8 x 8 pan and bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until golden brown and solid through.

Raspberry Scones

2008-12-28T22:17:00.006-05:00

I've been having fun experimenting with flours recently. Having always enjoyed spelt bread, I thought it might be worth a try to try baking with it. This recipe comes from Erin McKenna of BabyCakes NYC featured in Food and Wine Magazine. It's nice also to move away from supremely refined sugars - after the overindulgences of the season. They are nutty, sweet but not-too-sweet, and a delicious paired with a homemade latte to start the day.

Raspberry Spelt Scones

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup hot water
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 cups spelt flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk the spelt with the baking powder and salt. Stir in the oil, agave nectar and vanilla. Stir in the hot water, then the raspberries.
Scoop 12 mounds of batter 1/3 cup each onto the prepared baking sheet and lightly brush the tops with oil. Bake the scones for 20 minutes, or until golden. Let the baking sheet cool completely on top of a rack.

Buckwheat Banana Pankcakes

2008-12-26T12:06:00.002-05:00

After those intensely sweet sugar cookies, I was more than happy to take the healthy quotient back up today. Another GOOP recipe, this one called out to me because buckwheat is one of my favorite grains. In kasha form, it's a fabulous nutty addition to stews, under curries, or meat or fish. You see this as the grain of choice in Russia as if not more often than rice. Although in Russia kasha can be translated as both grain and oatmeal - it all depends on the preparation. Yes, you can prepare a grain meal much like oatmeal of buckwheat (along with wheat, rice, corn, and just about any other grain you can think of) and Russian's often do. In this instance however, I'm just relying on the flour. It was deliciously nutty and satisfying, without the cloying sweetness your basic buttermilk pancake can give you with syrup. Don't get me wrong, I love a good buttermilk pancake, but it's nice to have something heartier sometimes. While this preparation was delicious, in the future, I'd probably mash the banana and fold it into the batter. The slices got a bit messy, although they did carmelize nicely. I used regular milk with delicious results - but as written, it is entirely vegan (and can also be gluten free).

SERVES: 3 or 4 (makes about a dozen pancakes) TIME: 15 minutes

1 1/4 cups soy or rice milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or white spelt flour (substitute rice flour to make pancakes completely gluten-free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas, thinly sliced

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a slightly bigger bowl. Add the wet to the dry and stir just enough to combine – be careful not to over-mix (that’s how you get tough pancakes).

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat (I love Jamie Oliver’s nonstick cookware – it’s so slippery that I don’t need to use any oil or butter). Ladle as many pancakes as possible onto your griddle. Place a few slices of banana on top of each pancake. Cook for about a minute and a half on the first side or until the surface is covered with small bubbles and the underside is nicely browned. Flip and cook for about a minute on the second side. Repeat the process until you run out of batter. Serve stacked high with plenty of maple syrup.

Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-23T12:03:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned it already, but now I've finally done it! Sugar Christmas Cookies! Frosted! Of course, not terribly good for you, but a delicious indulgence of the season. Not a bad way to spend a chilly, winter-weather-advisory evening after completing your Christmas shopping, finally putting up your Christmas tree, and kicking back by the fire. These definitely fall into the soft, buttery crumble category of Christmas cookie - my personal favorite. It comes from my new mother-in-law. 2 c sugar
1 1/2 c butter
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 c flour
1 tsp baking soda in hot water (about a Tbs of hot water)

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, gently mixing in the wet to the dry.

To frost:
1 c powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs milk
1 tsp melted butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
food coloring as desired

beat ingredients together, adding milk last - one Tbs at a time until you reach your desired consistencey. Add food coloring and play!

Menu for Hope

2008-12-21T14:28:00.002-05:00

It's a time of year when many of us choose to open our hearts, homes and wallets in the spirit of giving and sharing our joy in the season. As you peruse this and perhaps other food blogs, you may come across a food-blogger UN World Food Program (WFP) fundraiser, called Menu for Hope. I have had the great honor of working with WFP in some of the work I do, and they truly are a remarkable organization staffed with incredible people. While any UN agency has it's share of bureaucracy, they are still able to do work that no one else can do in their scale and proficiency. Buy a $10 raffle ticket for a chance to win a number of goodies donated by food bloggers, proceeds to benefit WFP's school-based program in Lesotho:

This year Menu for Hope 5 again raises funds for the WFP's school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. This is the second year we are supporting this program, which assist the WFP's efforts to supply the program by buying directly from local farmers who practice conservation farming methods. With this program, we help feed the kids (which keep them in school) and support their parents and community farming. This sustainable approach to aid is something we believe in and strongly support.

For more details, visit the Menu for Hope website.

Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

2008-12-19T11:43:00.002-05:00

I came across what many have likely already discovered in GOOP - Gwyneth Paltrow's new lifestyle blog. While I loved Emma, Shakespeare in Love, and others as much as the next angsty adolescent of the 90s, I have no strong feelings either way about the actress. Some are rather affronted by her penchant for privacy and using big words, but really, if she's become as successful and happy as Ms. Paltrow appears to be, is it such a bad thing to take some of her advice? When fashion magazines clamber for crumbs of detail about stars' diets, hair, make-up, and exercise habits, what makes us so reluctant to take their lifestyle advice as well? There seem to be some threshold where we draw the line when it comes to someone telling us how to live. It seems to be different for everyone, but it's interesting to see how it plays out.

All that aside, I've been happily exploring her newsletters on food. One dish she highlighted from Food and Wine magazine particularly appealed to me. It goes sweet, if that is your preference (it was not Mr. Pleasant's) but you can reduce the amount of brown sugar if you like it a little more savory. Serve it over, or throw in steamed veggies - along with jasmine or brown rice.

Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken
from Food and Wine Magazine, via GOOP

SERVES: 4 generously
TIME: 10 minutes

2/3 cup dark brown sugar (unrefined)
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons finely grated garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper

1 or 2 fresh Thai chilis (to your taste!), halved
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 pounds organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (1/2”)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, water, garlic, ginger, pepper and chili and reserve.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the shallots until softened and a bit brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and stir-fry, browning it all over, about a minute. Add the sugar mixture and simmer over high heat until the chicken is totally cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

The First Food

2008-12-18T12:44:00.006-05:00

While purusing the Washington Post's top cookbook picks this year , I came across Anne Mendelson's Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk through the ages.Having explored one facet of dairy yesterday, I couldn't help but share what sounds to be a facinating read. Not only does it explore the relationship between humans and dairy through the ages, it includes delicious sounding recipes. We American's really are limited in our understanding and use of, as Mendelson puts it, the first food.

Butter, Butter everywhere...

2008-12-17T10:21:00.002-05:00

'Tis the season for cookies galore. I've had great cookies, cookies that made my teeth hurt, cookies I couldn't get past my gums and cookies I don't feel I could live without. I have many memories attached to cookies in the holiday season - warm memories of midnight cookie-snacks in grandma's kitchen, and 'painting' on cookie frosting at my aunt and uncles house.

When I roll up my sleeves and get into the baking holiday spirit, I have my short list of favorites. My absolute favorite cookie of the season however, will always be the simple, scrumptious frosted sugar cookie. I've always had the inkling that butter was the key to a successful cookie - especially when you're talking about a cookie that get's all of its flavor from butter and sugar. Today's NYT food section article puts science behind that belief.

It really is remarkable just how many butters are out there - and how little I, and many I believe, know about them. Like any dairy product, there are so many variables that affect the over all taste, quality and usability. European butters, with an emphasis on terroir and higher percentage of butterfat, an increasing production of non-factory farmed butters from American producers and with slightly lower percent milkfat of it's European counterparts.

I can't wait to try out some of the recipes they offer here, especially to try out some butter's I've never tried. this one is at the top of my list.

Croq-Télé

Adapted from “Field Guide to Cookies” by Anita Chu (Quirk Books, 2008)

Time: 45 minutes

3/4 cup blanched almonds or hazelnuts, lightly toasted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt (if using fine or table salt, use 3/8
teaspoon)
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
1. Position 2 oven racks in top third and bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, grind nuts, sugar and salt to a fine meal. In a mixer, beat flour and butter together on low speed until texture is sandy. Add nut mixture and mix on low until dough starts to form small lumps; keep mixing until dough just holds together when pinched between fingers. Do not use wet fingers: the cookies will collapse.
3. Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough and place in palm of your hand. With tips of fingers, pinch and press dough together until cookie has a flat bottom and pointed top, like a rough pyramid. Cookies need not be perfectly smooth or equal size. Place on parchment about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake about 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. Cookies should be turning golden brown on edges. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely before storing in airtight containers up to 1 week.
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies.

Portland Eats

2008-12-08T22:28:00.006-05:00

I just returned from a fabulous trip to the left coast to visit Ms. T of eatingisart. What a blast! Though I'd been to Portland before, it was when I was 12 and I remember little else than lots of bridges and kiwis growing on a churchyard fence. This was a much more memorable visit - not JUST because of the fabulous food, or the remarkably sunny weather, or the amazing sauna experience. There's nothing like getting two childhood friends together - who both love to cook, bake, eat, and laugh. It's like no time has passed at all.

Here's a tour of some of our culinary adventures. Though there was much more than this, these are some of the highlights (and when I was patient enough to haul out my camera. Some food just didn't make it to print, only because it was too delicious to not eat as soon as it reached my plate).

Crema cafe and bakery. DELICIOUS. And great coffee and cocoa plus one sexy red velvet cupcake

Perhaps one of the most surprising and delicious meals was the Bosnian street cart not far from Pioneer Square. Bosnian food? From a street cart? In downtown Portland? I suppose stranger things have happened, but it was delicious. A surprising combination of Mediterranean and Slavic cuisine, with a flaky "pita" that reminded me of Georgian Khatchipouri. Deeeelicious. We pretty much ate our way through Portland, and it was awesome.

Pumpkin Hazlenut Pie

2008-11-28T18:23:00.005-05:00

Dear readers, I believe I've already hit you over the head with my love of this season, and two of it's fabulous bounties: pumpkin and nuts. Enter the hazelnut. Oh, how tasty you can be. Especially wrapped in fabulous European chocolate. I tried this recipe last thanksgiving with pecan, but thought I would try hazelnut this year. I like both versions, but where the pecan fades to a sweet nuttiness, the hazlenut stands out but sings in harmony with the rich pumpkin custard. While adulterating classic pumpkin pie may not be for everyone (Mr. Pleasant is a staunch traditionalist in this particular instance) it's a tasty variation sure to gratify your tastebuds.

Pumpkin Hazlenut Pie
from FWDGF by Mirelle Gulliano

Piecrust:
2/3 c flour
pinch of salt
1 Tbs sugar
6 Tbs chilled butter
1 1/2 Tbs ice cold water

Filling:
1/3 cup ground hazlenuts (a coffee grinder works great for this - make sure the nuts are fresh!)
1/4 c granulated brown sugar
2 Tbs softened butter
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 c unsweetened canned pumpkin
1 Tbs flour
2/3 c granulated brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 c heavy cream

Combine flour, salt and sugar in food processor. Pulse to combine. Cut chilled butter into small pieces and add t obowl. Add water and process for 15 seconds. Add more water by droplets if too dry. The dough should just hold together. Do not overmix.
Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill in refrigerator 4 hours or overnight. Can also be chilled in freezer for the express version - at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Roll out or press the dough into a 9" pie plate. prick with fork and line with aluminum foil. Add pie weights or dried beans to weigh down. Bake for 10 minutes.
Increase the oven temp to 450 F and prepare filling by combining nuts, 1/4 c brown sugar and butter. Work into a paste and spread into partially cooked pastry shell. Bake for 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 325 F. Mix together the eggs, egg yolk, pumpkin, flour 2/3 c brown sugar, spices, salt and heavy cream. Pour into pastry shell. Bake for 45 minutes.

Chestnut Soup

2008-11-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

Each season has it's special qualities, but autumn calls to me in a way the other seasons don't. Cooler air, sense of the old passing away and new endeavors to take on - though I've been out of school for years the smell of sharpened #2 pencils in the fall still remind me of the excitement of starting a fresh school year (before the homework fatigue sank in;).

Chestnuts are one of my favorite heralds of late fall, promising the holiday season to come. I love them roasted, but I also discovered that they made a lovely soup - I had chestnut soup for the first time with my mom at a lovely French restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. They combined Jerusalem artichokes and chestnut, but as the former are not around just yet, I thought I would try my luck with just the chestnuts.

Browsing through my cookbooks, I found a recipe that looked just perfect. French Women for All Seasons has some of my favorite, simple dishes that really celebrate the true flavor of the ingredients. This worked beautifully with the chestnuts, although admittedly, not as well with the farmers market endive that's true flavor was a little too bitter for my taste. Still, this is my favorite way to cook - bringing out the flavors of good, local and organic if possible ingredients.

Chestnut Soup
adapted from French Women for All Seasons
1 lb chestnuts
2-3 C vegetable or organic chicken stock
1/2 c milk
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper to taste

If you can manage to find pre-peeled chestnuts, this soup will be a breeze. If you're not afraid of rolling up your sleeves a bit, by the whole, fresh chestnuts and peel them yourself. To peel, chop the knobbly end off of the nut (you don't need to cut much of it off) and boil in water for 10-12 minutes. Wait for them to cool slightly, then peel of the outer shell and skin. This is easier to do the warmer the nut is.

Once you have peeled the chestnuts, place them and 2 cups of stock in a pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Keep simmering, uncovered for 40-50 minutes, until the nuts are soft and mushy. At this point, it should be blended, but if you still have some remaining skin in the mix, put through a sieve or a food mill once you've blended it. Our new immersion blender was perfect for this, but a food processor or blender will also do the job nicely.

Once blended, add the milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste and serve warm. It's quite rich, so a little goes a long way. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake with Honey Frosting

2008-11-14T18:10:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned just how much I love this season? Reason # 452, my friend, the pumpkin. Ms. Adams Morgan likes to joke about my orange food habit. There is some truth to her reflection though. Pumpkin? Love it. Squash? Love it. Sweet Potatoes? Gimme more! Curries? Yup. Especially with slightly-orange-ish garbanzos. So how to best purpose this season of orange food cornucopia? Ms. T of eating is art and I stumbled on this little jewel from Martha Stewart. For once, no complicated steps, just mix, bake, frost and eat. Simple, delicious.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting
from marthastewart.com

FOR THE CAKE
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice (or 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon each allspice and cloves)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin puree

FOR THE HONEY FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1 bar (8 ounces) regular (or reduced-fat) cream cheese, very soft
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin-pie spice. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin puree until combined. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and mix gently until smooth.
Turn batter into prepared pan, and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan, and cool completely, right side up, on a rack.
Make Honey Frosting: In a medium bowl, whisk butter, cream cheese, and honey until smooth.
Spread top of cooled cake with honey frosting. Cut cake into squares to serve.

Homemade Pasta

2008-10-19T17:51:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite gifts from Mr. Pleasant and my wedding was our pasta maker. Considering the last time I actively used a pasta maker was my Sculpy ceramics class, it took a little while to get readjusted to the right technique, but once you've got it down it's a breeze. Whipped this up with a fabulous red sauce from orangette - it truly is a voluptuous sauce as she claims. It's become my go-to basic tomato sauce.

Basic Egg Pasta
from The Ultimate Pasta Cookbook
1 1/2 c flour
2 egg

Put the flour in a food processor and add the eggs. Start the food processor and run 45 seconds or until dough forms a tight ball. If it doesn't form the ball, add a 1 tbs. of water, and run for another 45 seconds. Add more if necessary, but be frugal. A little goes a long way.

Once a ball is formed, split in half and put 1 half through the well-floured machine. Can make linguine, spaghetti, angel hair or lasagna noodles. We used linguine.

Voluptuous Red Sauce
from orangette

2 cups whole, peeled, canned plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices (about one 28-oz. can)
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt, to taste

Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free from the tomato. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and salt as needed.

Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.

Yield: Enough sauce for about 1 pound of pasta, or 4 servings

Shave Ice

2008-10-19T17:49:00.003-04:00

Shave ice - a truly Hawaiian treat ! Don't confuse these babies with snowcones, it's a whole different ballgame. To start, they don't use crushed ice. The ice is litterally shaved with very sharp blades to produce a lovely consistency. Flavored syrups are poured over it - and it can be - as it is here- served over ice cream (macadamia nut to be precise :) It turned my whole mouth blue, but oh boy, was it delicious. While I am sadly without the tools to recreate this little gem of a sweet, I shall remember it very fondly and return for it when I can! Anniversary trip sound good, Mr. Pleasant? :)

Honeymoon Eats

2008-10-19T17:18:00.003-04:00

Of course, the location is half of the deliciousness. Hello, Hawaii. Ms. Pleasant is now Mrs. Pleasant - Mr. Pleasant and I tied the knot last month and greatly enjoyed a Hawaiian honeymoon shortly thereafter, first to Kauai then to Maui. Fresh, seasonal tropical fruits - who knew starfruit actually has a taste? Pineapple, mango, papaya, apple bananas... so delicious. After our first and fabulous day at the Four Seasons - with a delicious breakfast served on our Lanai - we stayed in condos where we could do our own cooking. But check out that Four Seasons spread. Oh, five-star resorts, how I wish I could afford to take advantage of you all the time. Fresh pineapple juice?! Mixed with the complimentary French champagne room service brought us? Ohyesplease.

When left to our own devises, we didn't too too shabbily either though. What to do with limited kitchen supplies, but a bounty of fresh farmers market fruit? Apple banana pancakes! No syrup, use deliciously juicy mango!

Apple Banana Pancakes with Fiberless Mango

2 Apple (or regular) bananas
1 pocket of single serving pancake mix
water
1 fiberless mango

Mash the bananas, add to the mix along with water, according to packet directions. Cook and serve according to packet instructions. Slice mango on top of pancakes and enjoy!

Market Turkey Chops

2008-09-13T14:15:00.009-04:00

I love going to the market. I shake off slumber early on Saturday mornings, eager to take off to investigate breadline's francophone vendor's baguette and croissant selection, see if the Italian plumbs are in, and if the yellow watermelons are as good as the orange ones. It's like Christmas. Every week from April-November, and in between if I get myself down to Dupont or Eastern Market. Mr. Pleasant can attest (grumpily no doubt) to my shaking him awake and skipping out of the apartment, baggu in hand, eagerly anticipating what delicious surprises await us this week.

This past week, there were some glorious golden plumbs available. I loved to hear the exclamations the French fellow next to me was making, how he had never seen these beauties outside of France. They seduced me with their sweet, tangy scent, their plump, juicy flesh seeming to glow in the morning sun. Seductive beauties indeed!

In the bag and on the counter (only a few lost to sampling in the process), they begged to be made into dinner. But how? Another market find comes to the rescue - chops! Of turkey! Who knew? Another market surprise find. A little inspiration from Rosso and Lukin's Silver Palate Cook Book, and we were good to go.

Turkey Chops with Golden Plums

1/2 c chopped plums
1 1/2 Tbs dijion mustard
2 Turkey Chops
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 c red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs olive oil

Mix the plums and mustard together in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat with about a 1/2 Tbs olive oil and 1/2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the chops and brown lightly on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and spoon the currant mixture evenly over them.

Cover the chops, reduce heat and cook until the chops are done or about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Deglaze pan with vinegar. When reduced by about 1/3, pour over chops and serve immediately.

PS- there is a good amount of plum mixture left over. It's great reused braised with red wine and chicken breasts.

Cardamom Cookies, Part Deux

2008-08-21T14:27:00.004-04:00

The Pleasant kitchen is currently in a state of upheaval to become more pleasant (heh, heh...) so I couldn't find Deborah Madison's cookbook for the cardamom cookie recipe posted a few weeks back. Here, finally is the recipie, thanks too my dear friend miz T of Eating is Art. Can I plug her more? :)

Cardamom Cookies (by Deborah!)

1/4 pound (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for tops
2 tblsp granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp ground cardamom
3/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups flour

cream to butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolk. stir in the cardamom, salt and flour. divide the dough in two, roughly shape each piece into a log about 1 inch thick, then roll in plastic or wax paper. pull each log through your thumb and first finger to make it even and, if you prefer, longer and narrower. refrigerate until firm or freeze until ready to use.

preheat oven to 375 degreees. cut the dough into 1/4 inch rounds or diagonals and set them on cookie sheets at least 1 inch apart. bake until pale golden on top and lightly browned around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. cool. serve plain or dusted with confectioners sugar.

Pietopia!

2008-08-21T14:01:00.006-04:00

If you haven't already discovered the awesomeness that is Pietopia, check it out! Tricia poses the question,

"What does it taste like to be unemployed, starting a new job, just married, divorced, a new homeowner or desperately searching for housing? What kind of pie would describe the way you are feeling right now? Could you imagine your thoughts, concerns or joys transformed into the All-American Pie? If so, take part in the Pietopia Pie Contest!"

See the inspired entries and more at the Pietopia blog, and also on Tricia's food blog, Eating is Art. Believe me, you'll be glad you did :)

Mr. Pleasant's Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

2008-08-20T14:06:00.006-04:00

Mr. Pleasant has been on a roll with the ice creams this summer. Just last week he made a fabulously rich and creamy coffee ice cream, along with a pina colada sherbet. Mmmm. One of my favorites so far this season was his cookies and cream, though. Based off of the basic vanilla ice cream from David Liebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" , and added in some zing! a la Mr. Pleasant, the people at the party we took this too couldn't get enough!

Mr. Pleasant's Cookie and Cream Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1 c whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean split in half lengthwise (or about 2 tsp. of extract - not quite the same but does fine)
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp. almond extract
12 chocolate sandwich cookies, hand crumbled

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium sauce pan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from heat and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes. (or without bean, move to the next step).

Pour the remaining 1 c of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the sauce pan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla and almond extract and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. As the mixture is churning, add half of the cookies. They will be pulverized in the process. when done churning, add the remaining cookies and stir in, reserving a few for the top for garnish if desired.

Poulet Mijote a la Moutarde - Chicken Stew with Mustard

2008-08-18T12:54:00.007-04:00

The French name just sounds so much more interesting, doesn't it? This is a simple and delicious dish and served over rice, it's a fabulous and feasible midweek meal.

adapted from Clotilde Dusoulier's "Chocolate and Zucchini"

1 whole head garlic
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
one 3-31/2 lb. whole free-range chicken cut into 8 pieces thawed if frozen
4 medium red onions
one 28 to 32 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 Tbs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
a good pinch of ground chili powder
1/3 c dry white wine
3 Tbs dijon mustard with whole mustard seeds (I used Meaux mustard).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Peel the outer layers of skin from the head of garlic until you reach the individual cloves. Slice off the top of the head so the flesh of each clove is exposed. Put the head of garlic on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and close the foil into a pouch. bake for 45 minutes, until the flesh of each clove is light brown and very soft when tested with teh tip of a knife.
Once you've slipped the garlic into the oven, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot or dutsaston with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes on each side until golden.
while the chicken is browning peel and quarter the onions. Set aside on a plate and pour out the excess chicken fat. Put the onions in teh pot and cook for 5 minutes, until softened stirring regularly.
Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and ground chile powder, and arrange the chicken over the vegetables. Pour in the wind and bring to a simmer. cover and cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes stirring from time to time.
Remove the garlic from the oven, open the pouch and let cool. Squeeze the garlic out of each clove into a small bowl and mash with a fork to form a paste. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
When the chicken is cooked, spoon the mustard in the pot and stir to blend into teh sauce. turn the heat up to medium high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. Cover and keep over low heat until ready to serve. Serve over rice or pasta.

Memories and Cardamom Cookies

2008-07-30T13:13:00.002-04:00

It's very hard to loose someone you care a lot about. Even harder when you are faced with days you should be celebrating with them, but find yourself without them. I find one of the best ways to feel connected to them is doing something we both shared and enjoyed. For me, that is very often cooking. I treasure my grandmother's handwritten recipes, remembering the smell of fresh strawberries and the feel of her aged but deft hands teaching me to roll out pie crust. It feels like I'm celebrating her each time I make those recipes - and a bit of her is with me. The same goes for my dear friend Em, who left this world over a year and a half ago. We went to college together, were roommates then, and when both of our fledgling careers brought us to DC, we shared an apartment that we loved to fill with great food and laughter. We both went moon-eyed over cardamom and had a favorite cardamom cookie recipe from Deborah Madison's "Everything Vegetarian". In honor of what would have been her 26th Birthday, I baked a batch of these melt-in-your mouth beauties, remembering how much fun we had cooking together.

Coffee

2008-07-23T15:25:00.003-04:00

I love coffee. As a beverage, as a flavor, as an ingredient. I didn't always though. I have very vivid memories of my sister and I recoiling in horror as my parents refilled their insulated travel mug of coffee on long road trips. We would wail on and on about how it made the car stinky. Funny how things change. I can thank my mother - who innocently enough- introduced me to starbuck's frappicinos and then it was all downhill from there. I wouldn't say I'm addicted, but there's nothing quite like savoring a tasty cup of joe or a homemade latte.

That said, the area has increasingly interesting and just plain good coffee.Considering the wealth of Ethiopian cuisine in Our Nation's Capital, you'd think I'd have tried more of it's coffee. Adventures to report on for another post. Speaking of coffee and cuisine though, the recently opened Co Co Sala restaurant on F street really is fabulous. Their menu focuses on 5 different dessert courses featuring two of my very favorite ingredients: chocolate and coffee. While they do have meze style "real food" available, go for the dessets. It's sooo worth it.

Today's article in the Washington Post's Food Section got me waxing on about this topic. They also had a recipie for an espresso spritzer that I'm eager to try out. The recipie was published in the post, but hails originally from Susan Zimmer's "I love Coffee!". I think it's a cookbook I might just need to check out :)

Espresso Spritzer
The Washington Post, July 23, 2008
To sweeten this drink, you can add 1 to 2 ounces each of light cream and chocolate syrup.

1 serving

Ingredients:
6 ounces crushed ice
1 cup cold espresso or cold strong coffee
Carbonated mineral water or soda water

Directions:
Fill a tall, chilled glass with the crushed ice. Pour the espresso or strong, cold coffee over the ice, then fill to the top with the carbonated mineral water or soda water.
Recipe Source:

From "I Love Coffee!" by Susan Zimmer (Andrews McMeel, 2007).

Tarte Aux Pêches- Peach Tart

2008-07-21T22:17:00.005-04:00

The farmer's market was over flowing with luscious peaches this weekend. The only question was what to do with them.

The answer came from Julia Child. It starts with a sweet short paste...

Pâte Brisée Sucrée
adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking
2/3 c flour (scooped and leveled)
1 Tbs granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 1/2 Tbs butter
2 1/2 to 3 Tbs cold water
Mix all ingredients together except the water in the food processor till combined. Fill tart pan and bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes or until just begining to turn golden brown.

Tarte Aux Pêches
adapted again from Julia Child
3 to 4 peaches
2/3 c granulated Sugar
1 Tbs butter cut into pea sized dots

Drop the fruit into boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds. Peel, halve, and remove pits. Slice the fruit if you wish. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle 3 Tbs of sugar in the bottom of the pastry shell. If the fruit is sliced, arrange it over the sugar in a closely overlapping layer of concentric circles. If it is halved, place the halves, domed side up, closely together in the shell. Spread on teh rest of the sugar (although if fruit is very ripe, you don't need all of it). Bake in the middle level of preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit has colored lightly and the juices have become syrupy. You can add a fruit glaze, or enjoy it as it is (which is what I did).

Sunday Morning French Toast

2008-07-20T13:28:00.004-04:00

There's no treat quite like a delicious Sunday brunch. When I spotted the remaining baguette from the farmers market yesterday, I knew it was a morning for French toast. Paired with a mamosa and fruit salad, it was a fabulous way to start the day.

French Toast
from William Sonoma's Bride and Groom Cookbook

1 day old baguette
4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 Tbs orange juice
4 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Slice the baguette on a slight bias into 20 slices about 3/4 inch thick.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, yolk, milk, vanilla, orange juice, zest, sugar and salt, blending well. Submerge the slices of bread and prick their surfaces with a fork so that they better absorb the egg mixture, If the bread is fairly dry, turn over a few times and press the bread into the egg mixture, massaging it into the bread. let the bread sit in the egg mixture for at least 15 minutes, turning once; this ensures a custard like interior when the bread is cooked.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Melt some of the butter in a cast-iron frying pan or on a seasoned griddle over the medium heat. Place the bread slices, in batches, into the foaming butter and reduce the heat to low. Cook each slice just until the surface is golden brown and the inside has the texture of pudding, 3-4 minutes on each side. Add more butter to the frying pan if necessary. As the slices are cooked keep warm in the oven spread in a single layer on baking sheets; do not stack.

Chocolate Chip Cookies to the Next Level

2008-07-18T13:23:00.003-04:00

Read this article in the NY Times and am thrilled to give it a try this weekend. Mr. Pleasant has always insisted that refrigerating the dough improves cookie flavor, but my impatience has always won out :) Now, we'll see if he get's to do his best "i told you so" ever.

To try for the weekend (from the NYT):

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Published: July 9, 2008
Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Oatmeal with Grated Apple

2008-03-09T11:59:00.006-04:00

so delicious, not a drop left. Look at my adorable Marimekko mug though. It's love.

Waking up to one of the coldest, brightest mornings this Month, oatmeal seemed like the perfect way to start the day. Plus, I can attest to it still sticking satisfyingly to my ribs as we speak :) While we do resort to the instant oatmeal on weekdays, the weekend offers a perfect chance to really savor the real stuff. This recipe comes from Mirelle Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat, memoir/cookbook. Though I've always appreciated French cuisine, I never found it accessible until I read this book. I've since gone on to explore more French cooking to my great delight. This cookbook still has my favorite recipes for poached pears, pumpkin pie, French bread and a whole host of other things. Including oatmeal. I reduced the recipe so it makes enough for two and also sweetened it a bit.

Oatmeal with Grated Apple
adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat

1 c old fashioned oatmeal
1 3/4 c water
pinch of salt
1 medium apple, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 c milk
1/2 tsp butter
2 Tbs brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Combine the oatmeal, water and salt in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Add the grated apple and lemon juice and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the milk, sugar and butter and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately. Add cinnamon if desired.

Caramelized Onion Chicken

2008-03-06T21:57:00.006-05:00

When trying to decide what do do with the chicken in the fridge, I came across this recipe from Cooking Light. I was a little wary of any dinner that called for jam, but this turned out scrumptiously! It's rather red, but totally delicious. Paired with green beans with a drizzle of walnut oil and shallots and roasted Yukon golds, it made for a delicious meal!

Caramelized Onion Chicken
from cookinglight.com

1 pound chicken breast tenders
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 2 minutes. Add chicken to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove onion and chicken from pan.

Add jam and remaining ingredients to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return chicken mixture to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces chicken and 1 tablespoon sauce)

Red Shrimp and Mango Curry

2008-03-02T19:39:00.004-05:00

I've been running a low on cooking inspiration lately, so I thought I'd seek out some new cookbooks. I picked up Nigella Lawson's new Nigella Express cookbook and have been very happy with it. It's perfect for tasty, healthy, quick meals you don't mind making even when it's been a long day, your hungry, exhausted and desperate for dinner. Now. Tonight's experiment was red shrimp and mango curry - I didn't have Thai red curry on hand, but had another curry paste and plenty of red curry powder and it turned out fairly well. It's probably better with the real deal but this was fun and tasty.

one day, the kitchen lighting will be as good as the food made in it...

Red Shrimp and Mango Curry
adapted from Nigella Express

1 scallion, finely sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs curry paste
1 13.5 oz Lite coconut milk
1 c organic chicken stock
2 tsp fish sauce
2 1/2 c sweet potato, cubed
7 oz shrimp
1 c mango
1 tsp lime juice
3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Fry the scallion in the oil for a minute then add teh curry paste
Whisk in the coconut milk, stock and fish sauce and bring to a boil. Tip in the sweet potato and simmer partially covered for about 15 minutes until tender. Tumble shrimp into pot and let the sauce come to a boil. Add mango and lime juice and cook for another minute or so until the shrimp are cooked through. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve over plain rice.

Grocery and Green-ing

2008-02-26T10:36:00.006-05:00

Mr. Pleasant and I love to cook. We love to cook delicious, wholesome food and we love to try new things. For us, that frequently means trips to multiple grocery stores and our local farmers market. As the recent USDA beef recall has reminded me, I think it's important to buy (generally, but especially) meat that has been raised humanely, locally, sustainably and organically. Which, unfortunately, frequently comes with a higher price tag - which, for us, generally means fewer meat dishes. However, we are lucky enough to be part of a group that orders meat, dairy and some baked goods directly from a local Amish farm. The price is quite reasonable and the products are AMAZING. There are many similar programs for both meat and dairy as well as more commonly known "Community Supported Agriculture" or CSA's that allow you by a share in the farm and you are provided with farm fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the growing season, and they are becoming more and more popular as people are becoming more and more aware of food security issues.

That said, we don't always get our order in time in which case we call on one of our local grocery stores. While our closest store has an okay general selection, they carry no organic meats. Whole foods (known to some as 'whole paycheck') is frequently where we end up buying much of our meat and produce. Whole Foods happens to be going the Ikea route and as of Earth Day 2008 are no longer providing disposable grocery bags. One of my new year's resolutions this year was to reduce my use of plastic and paper disposable bags. Enter Baggu (although there are a whole host of options out there)- sturdy little reusable grocery bags that hold more (and more securely) than your average double-bagged plastic bags and stuff down into tiny bags that fit easily in my purse.

I bought six, along with reusable produce bags , and haven't looked back! I augment them with a rag-tag collection of canvas and conference bags I've collected over the years, and they do marvelously! In fact, I probably could've done with just the old rag-tag troupe, but the small size of the baggu bags wooed me. I've gotten some admiration and no dark looks or angry bag-stuffing from any of the cashiers I've presented with my bags. It felt silly the first time I did it, but now I really feel good about using them :)

They are small changes that really add up to big changes.

Winter Pear Tart Frangipane

2008-01-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

This recipie comes from one of my most dog-eared cookbooks - Sundays at Moosewood. Even if you're not vegetarian (although some of the recipies include fish) it is a fabulous resource for regional cuisine. Each region has it's own section - and the regions are as diverse as Sub-Saharan Africa, Finland, Japan, and the US South. Although tonights stuffed peppers and Gateau de Pommes de Terre did not go over so well with Mr. Pleasant (good thing to know over 4 years into a relationship that one's future husband does not care for stuffed peppers), the dessert was more of a hit. The Pate Brisee is inspired - it's melt-in-your mouth with just a hint of lemon that compliments the pear and almond beautifully. I wasn't sure what to expect - most pate brisee does not call for egg. I thought it might be heavy, but no! Beautifully buttery, crumbles delectably. I might try this a la Julia to compare the versions, but this was a delightful end to a cold, blustery January day.

Winter Pear Tart Frangipane
adapted from the Provence Section by Kip Wilcox of
Sundays at Moosewood

Pate Brisee
1 1/2 C unbleached white flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 C chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tbs cold water

Stir flour and sugar together (I used a food processor for maximum mixing in minimum time - you do NOT want to overbeat this) in a mixing bowl. Add butter and mix until mixture becomes crumbly. Whisk together egg yolk, lemon juice and 1 Tbs of water. sprinkle the liquid over the butter-flour mixture and continue to mix until a ball forms. If the mixture is crumbly, add the remaining 1 Tbs water. Roll out into 9 or 10 " pie plate or tart pan. Flute and chill.

Carmelized Pears

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 c water
5 pears, washed cored and sliced

Heat butter and brown sugar in heavy skillet. Add the water (carefully! if too hot will splatter!) and stir briefly. Add the pear, and saute them for 10 minutes, covering the pan when not stirring. Remove from heat and set aside.

Frangipane
7 oz almond paste, softened
1/2 c butter, softened
2-3 drops pure almond extract
2 eggs
2 tsp flour

beat together the almond paste and butter. Add the almond extract. In another bowl whisk together the eggs and flour and then blend them into the butter mixture.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Smooth the custard into the pie shell. Arrange pears on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden and the custard is firm. If the crust browns too quickly, cover with foil.

No-Knead Bread!

2008-01-15T08:50:00.001-05:00

Finally! I've managed to try out the famous no-knead bread recipe that took the food blog world by storm! First (I believe, and please correct me if I'm wrong) published in the NY Times in November of 06', this little (and it is a little, simple recipe) recipe is a breeze to make and has remarkable results. It's even fairly flexible - I definitely let the dough sit longer than 18 hours in a room less than 70 degrees and still had great results. I'm eager to try the Washington Post's food sections variations with this technique!

No-Knead Bread

from the NY Times

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

¼ teaspoon instant yeast

1¼ teaspoons salt

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Buckeyes

2007-12-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

This weekend, a good friend of mine, Ms. M from Cleavland came to visit. In honor of it, I thought it might be fun to make buckeyes, a peanut butter-chocolate confection most folks from Ohio (and beyond, I'm sure) are familiar with. For me, it was a Christmastime treat my Ohio State alum parents included in our regular holiday fare. It was the first time I ever tried to make them on my own and it was a bit of an adventure! Also, it seems that paraffin is not a staple of any of the grocery stores around me. We omitted it without difficulty. Ms. M and I made the peanut butter balls without trouble, but once we started melting the chocolate in a double-boiler, we ended up with a congealed mass of rather gross looking chocolate. We tried again (this time with a recently and generously gifted copper beating bowl), to great success. Amazing what a difference a pot can make! And slow, low, steady heat. Much better results!

Buckeye Candy
Courtesy of The Ohio State University

1 lb. bag of powdered sugar
2/3 lb. creamy peanut butter
2 sticks soft butter
16. oz. chocolate chips
1 Tbs. Paraffin
1 wood toothpick

Blend sugar, PB and butter
Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet
Freeze for about 5 minutes
Melt chocolate and paraffin in double boiler (over low heat!!)
insert toothpick into peanut butter ball and dip into chocolate leaving "eye". Refrigerate until served.

Literary, culinary

2007-12-08T23:34:00.001-05:00

First, my apologies for the long absence. It's been an exciting time - Mr. Pleasant and I got engaged! Plus, I got to spend a week in Paris - pity I didn't photograph my meals - they were fabulous!!!

But, back to the present - we have a monthly book club, and this month was Mr. Pleasant's turn to pick. He picked "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. Not bad culinary reading. Inspired by the book, as we were hosting, we put together a French-inspired meal with our new Williams Sonoma Bride/Groom cookbook (courtesy of Mr. Pleasant's brother and sister in law). Not only does it have great, basic but delicious recipes but it also has helpful advice about setting up and stocking a kitchen. Sure, it could be read as one giant ad for W-S, but it really is a valuable resource. It was the first time we used it and we were very impressed with the results! As were our fellow bookclub members.

First up was a fabulous marinated goat cheese. So easy! It's great to be able to do things ahead and this even tasted better for it! Dinner was red wine braised chicken with a mixed green salad and my standard roasted potatoes. I was very pleased with the chicken, although due to some regrettably over-the-hill chicken legs, we had to substitute boneless, skinless breast at the last minute, but it turned out okay. The salad was a triumph too - I've never actually made a salad with different greens before. Sure, I've bought lettuce mixes, but never before have I bought greens like frissee, watercress, endives and arugala separately and really thought about how all the flavors would meld. It opened up a whole new world to experiment with. It was all set off nicely by a lovely vinaigrette and pomegranate seeds. It really does add a whole new element to a bookclub when you can have a literal taste of what you're reading!

Here is what we did for the marinated goat cheese. We doubled the amount of cheese with great results, by the way.

Marinated Goat Cheese
W-S Bride and Groom Cookbook

4 rounds fresh goat cheese, each 1/2 inch thick sliced from a 2 1/2" log
3/4 C olive oil
3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme (used dried thyme)
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted (this is easy to do in a nonstick pan- heat on medium for a few minutes - careful not to burn!)
2 dried bay leaves

Place the goat cheese in a shallow dish (we found a pasta bowl worked well). Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the thyme, chili flakes, fennel seeds and bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day and up to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.

Tamarind Stir-fried Shrimp w/ jasmine rice

2007-09-16T10:39:00.000-04:00

Mr. Pleasant and I, on a whim, decided that instead of going out with Mr. Pleasants' folks - as we had planned - we'd cook in instead. It really turned out to be a fabulously fun evening and I'm glad we went with spontaneity. The stir-fry was delicious - the tamarind didn't stand out as a overt flavor, but my experience with tamarind, limited though it may be, is that it compliments well with a slight sweetness and a tang which lent itself very well to the flavors in this dish. We also added two diced peppers, one green and one red - we threw them in the same time as the shrimp. The colors turned out quite nicely.

Tamarind Stir-Fried Shrimp
adapted from Wok and Stir-Fry by Linda Doeser

2 Tbs tamarind paste
2/3 c boiling water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs chopped onion
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs chicken stock or water
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 dried red chili, chopped
1 lb uncooked shelled shrimp
1 Tbs fried chopped garlic
2 Tbs fried, chopped shallots
2 scallions, chopped to garnish

Put the tamarind paste in a small bowl, pour in boiling water and stir well to break up any lumps. Set aside for 30 minutes. Strain, pushing as much of the juice through as possible. Measure out 6 Tbs of the juice. Heat the oil in a wok and add the chopped onion and fry until golden brown. Add the sugar, stock, fish sauce,dried chillies and the tamarind juice, stirring well until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Add the shrimp, garlic and shallot. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked. Garnish with scallions. Serve over jasmine rice.

Challah

2007-09-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

Ms. A. Morgan and I had a great time recreating baking and book's recipe for honey and apple challah bread for the cholidays. Sorry, couldn't help channeling my punster father there. Even though the interested buyers in the furniture Ms. Morgan had hoped to sell didn't show, we still had a fabulous evening. There's nothing quite like the apartment filling with the smell of baking bread, especially when you are reliving your youth through the silver screen with a fresh-faced Heath Leger, Julia Stiles and a certain re-adaptation of 'Taming of the Shrew'- complete of course with heavy sighs of nostalgia ;) We doubled this recipe with great success. Even though not listed in the instructions, be sure to add the nutmeg with the cinnamon. We managed a fairly solid braid and a great round, perfect for the holiday!

Honey and Apple Challah
from baking and books

1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup of warm milk (whole is best, low-fat is ok too)
2 eggs + 1 for the glaze
4 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 teaspoon for greasing the bowl and another for the glaze
3/4 tablespoon dark wildflower honey
1/2 cup diced organic dry apples

In a large bowl using a whisk combine the yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1 cup of the flour. Add the warm milk, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then the honey. (Add the olive oil first, then use the same measuring spoon to add the honey - residual oil on the spoon will make the honey slide right out.) Vigorously mix the ingredients until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the apples, which should be added in handfuls. Switch to a wooden spoon when the dough becomes too thick for the whisk. Continue mixing the dough until it is too stiff to stir.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and springy, about 4 minutes. If the dough is sticky, dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time - just enough to prevent it from sticking to the surface. The dough is done when it’s smooth and small air bubbles show under the skin. If you press your thumb into it the impression should bounce back. This is a slightly firm dough, which is exactly what you want for easy braiding later on.

Place the dough in a deep container greased with 1 tsp of olive oil. Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it with non-stick spray. Gently deflate the dough by pressing your fingers into it, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Braiding: There are several ways to braid your dough, using anywhere from 3 to 6 strands (or more!). It’s traditional for Rosh Hashanah loaves to be round, but challah is delicious regardless of shape so go with whatever shape feels right to you.

Three strand braided challah. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, and roll each portion out into a smooth, thick strip about 20 inches long, with the ends slightly thinner than the middle. Lay these ropes side-by-side, not quite touching. Beginning in the middle and working towards you, braid the lower half of the three ropes. To braid, alternately move the outside ropes over the one in the center - left over, right over, left over - until you come to the end. Now go to the other side of your working space and braid the other half, this time moving the outside ropes under the center one. Braid tightly - you don’t want any gaps. When you finish braiding each side crimp the tapered ends together, then tuck them under.
Once you have braided your dough in this fashion you can bake it as is, or twist the braid around itself, pinwheel fashion, thereby achieving the round challah look. Tuck the tail end of the braid underneath the coil and gently pinch the dough together to seal it closed. Another 3 braid option is to place the braided dough in a 9 x 12 inch loaf pan so that your bread has a rectangular bottom and a braided top.
Woven round challah, which is what I did to the bread pictured in this post. To achieve this look divide your dough into 4 equal portions, then roll each out into smooth, thick strips about 15 inches long, with the ends slightly thinner than the middle. Arrange these ropes into a tic-tac-toe shape, with one pair of ropes perpendicular to the second pair. (You should have two ropes of dough running directly away from you, and two ropes running parallel to you.) Instead of just laying the top ropes on the bottom ones, weave them under/over: with the ropes running parallel to you, take the rope farthest away from you and weave it under the leftmost vertical rope, then over the rightmost vertical rope; take the parallel rope closest to you and weave it over the leftmost vertical rope, then under the rightmost vertical rope. Push the ropes together so that there isn’t any open space in the middle of your beginning weave.
Now take the bottom of the rightmost vertical rope (probably the one directly in front of your right hand) and weave it over the rope next to it on the right (counter clockwise). Take the rope that was just woven over, and weave it over the rope next to it. Continue until you reach the first rope, then reverse the process and weave the ropes left, in a clockwise fashion. If you have enough dough, weave the ropes one more time right, counter clockwise. By this time you should have short stumps of dough sticking out - one by one, pull them clockwise and gently pinch them against the larger mass of already woven dough. Finally, using both hands, gently grab your woven dough and slowly flip it over. You’ve just created a woven challah. Yay!

Helpful link: There is a useful tutorial on how to weave a round challah here.
You can also bypass the entire braiding process by cutting your dough into four or five large chunks and stacking them side-by-side in a large loaf or bundt pan. This simple method also produces a beautiful loaf of bread!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place the braided dough on your baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. If you are using a loaf pan, likewise loosely cover your dough with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.

Just before the rising time has finished whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, this is going to be the glaze for your bread. Gently brush the dough with a thick layer of it. Place the dough in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom. If you are using a loaf pan you can test your bread by covering the pan with a clean kitchen towel then, while wearing oven mitts, flipping the pan over so that the bread falls into the towel. Thump the bottom. If it does not sound hollow place the pan back on the bread, flip it over, and put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so.

When your bread is done transfer it to a baking rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before slicing - or at least wait until it’s warm, not hot - then enjoy!

Becky's Banana Bread

2007-09-10T23:09:00.000-04:00

This is one of our favorites - although Mr. Pleasant calls this more of a cake then bread, it is much lighter than many of your standard banana breads. This is my favorite way to use bananas that turn before I get to them - I stick them and the freezer until it's time for banana bread or smoothies or even (now that we have an ice cream maker) sorbets and ice cream. I like to thaw them in a bowl on the counter while I prep to make the bread. I'm a little fuzzy on it's origins but I believe this one originates from college bud Hannah but I got the recipe from college bud Becky. I have very warm fuzzy memories of us gobbling up a fresh batch of this bread while studying at her place on a cold Minnesota night.

Becky's Banana Bread

1/2-1 c chocolate chips (or to taste)
3 bananas 3/4 c sugar
3/4 c veg oil
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Grease pan and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat bananas (peel if necessary) with mixer until smooth. Add oil, sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl, add dry ingredients. Gradually add this to the banana mixture. Careful not to overmix. Pour into pan and bake. In a loaf pan, give this about an hour. In a 13"x 9" we needed only 35-40 minutes. You'll know it's done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Heather's Mock Crab Cakes

2007-09-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

A good girl from MD loves her crab cakes with real, Chesapeake crab. However, especially this year, crab does not come cheap. When on the cheap or when cooking veggie, these are a nice alternative to the real deal. Mr. Pleasant was not as big a fan as I was of these - but he is not a zucchini fan. In light of that, we might try substituting carrot, spinach or parsnip next time. These were great on their own but might be nice on potato rolls - coleslaw completed them and we added in some market-fresh green beans to complete the meal.

Heather's Mock Crab Cakes
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning or more
1 egg

Mix, form patties, saute in oil until browned.

Chili-Glazed Shrimp with Rice Noodles and Sugar Snap Peas

2007-09-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Mr. Pleasant and I love our shrimp. Mind you, it took me a while to come around to the idea of eating the little buggers, but I'm a convert. Mr. Pleasant does a mean stir-fry over rice, but I thought we could shake things up a bit. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Chili-Glazed Shrimp
adapted from cookinglight.com

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey
1/2 Tbs chili sauce

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add garlic and shrimp, and stir-fry 1 minute. Add the onions, soy sauce, honey, and chili sauce; stir-fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done (they cook really fast, careful not to overcook them!) Serve over rice noodles and with sugar snap peas.

Weekend Morning Treat

2007-09-03T20:46:00.000-04:00

Nothing quite like a quiet morning on a long weekend. Especially when it involves blueberry muffins! Though it was closer to lunchtime by the time we finally sat down to eat "breakfast", sometimes, that's just perfect.

Blueberry Muffins
from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 c milk
1/4 c cooking oil

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all dry ingredients. Separately, mix wet ingredients. Stir all wet ingredients into dry until just moistened. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until just moistened. Makes 10-12 muffins.

A Proper Sunday Dinner

2007-08-26T18:37:00.000-04:00

Came home with a great haul from the farmers market this morning - great beans, corn, peaches, and a whole host of other delicious things. We couldn't wait to dig into the corn and had it with a quick lunch. Dinner, however, was a more meditated affair. Broke out a whole broiler chicken from a previous trip to the farmer's market and set our with my first braising attempt. While I don't yet have a cast iron casserole (it's been on my wish list for some time now), my hand-me-down glass casserole dish held up well. Mashed potatoes and fresh market green beans rounded out the meal (we do love potatoes;)

Braised Chicken
from chocolateandzucchini.com

1 large free-range chicken, about 2 kilos (4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fine sea salt, freshly ground pepper
1 large head garlic
1 organic lemon, cut in four quarters
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Rub the skin of the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper on all sides, and place it, breasts-side up, in a clay pot or cast-iron cocotte large enough to accommodate it. Peel the outer layers off the head of garlic to separate the individual cloves -- don't peel the cloves themselves. Arrange the cloves, lemon, and herbs around the chicken.

Put the lid on, slip the pot in the cold (not preheated) oven, and turn the oven on to 150°C (300°F). Bake for three hours, or until cooked through (if you have a meat thermometer, insert it in the inner part of a thigh: the chicken is done when the thermometer registers 82°C / 180°F), basting the chicken with its own juices every 45 minutes or so.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, carve the different serving parts, and transfer to a warm serving dish (pour very hot water from the kettle into it and let stand as you cut the chicken). Transfer the juices, herbs, and cloves to a gravy boat, and serve immediately.

Happy Belated Birthday to me

2007-08-25T00:21:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a Friday evening gathering with friends...all the better when it's an event to celebrate your Birthday! Even if it's a few days late. Everyone brought a dish to share, Mr. Pleasant made a fabulous cake for me and I whipped up a few appetizers, the star of the pack being an asparagus, Parmesan tart. Time was short, so I had a perfect use for the puff pastry that's been sitting in my freezer. Buttery but light and the asparagus was just tender crisp enough, seasoned to perfection. Simple and delicious. Adapted from Martha Stewart via The Perfect Pantry.

Asparagus Parmesan Tart
adapted from The Perfect Pantry

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
2 cups (approx. 5-1/2 oz) Parmesan, shredded
1-1/2 pounds medium asparagus
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll pastry into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife score the dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce the dough inside the markings at half-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the pastry shell from the oven, and sprinkle with cheese. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.