A Messy Kitchen

Toffee Granola Bars

2012-01-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

If you like crunchy granola and chewy, gooey toffee-like caramel with chocolate, give these bars a try. They're not a one bowl thing, but very tasty. The crisp base is very similar to those crunchy Nature Valley granola bars in the green wrapper, though not so hard. Then comes a layer of toffee (caramelized sweetened condensed milk), and finally a thin accent of chocolate. I love how it all comes together. This recipe is adapted from an Eagle Brand recipe. The girls were thrilled to get one of these as a lunchbox treat all week.

Toffee Granola Bars

makes 36 bars

1 cup oats

½ cup packed light brown muscovado sugar

½ cup whole spelt flour

½ cup finely chopped walnuts (crispy walnuts work great here)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, divided

¼ tsp baking soda

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (6oz) mini chocolate chips (they melt faster)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 13x9 inch pan with parchment paper. Melt 6 tbsp of the butter. Combine the oats, sugar, flour, nuts, melted butter and baking soda. Press firmly into bottom of lined pan. Bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. (You're going to bake it again, so don't over brown.)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 2 tbsp butter and condensed milk. Cook and stir until mixture thickens slightly, about 7-12 minutes. (Once it starts to thicken, it will do so quickly. Watch it carefully and don't let it get too thick to spread.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over baked crust. Bake 10-15 minutes longer until golden brown.

Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chips evenly over the top. Let stand a minute. Spread melted chips with an offset spatula. Cool and cut into bars. Store bars tightly covered at room temperature.

Any of the crust that decides to fall off makes some darn fine granola!

Soy Free Mongolian Beef at last

2012-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I had a wonderful, favorite Mongolian Beef recipe. It came from a friend and was my go to "impress-guests" dish. And it's been three years since I've been able to make it. The cornstarch is a cinch to avoid, just use arrowroot or tapioca starch instead; the soy sauce and bean paste for many of our favorite asian style dishes, not so much. Up until now, I had not been able to find a suitable substitute for the bean paste. I did find coconut aminos a little over a year ago which, with a little sea salt, is a great substitute for soy sauce.

It's available at Whole Foods and some better grocery stores and health food stores. (The ones on amazon are overpriced. I pay $5.99 a bottle at my local health food specialty store.) But just recently, I found something to replace the bean paste. Miso: Soy. Free. Miso. I had actually seen an advert for it a while ago but it was not a locally available item. Well I finally decided to special order some from this little family owned, artisan miso company. It is located at South River Farm in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in Conway, Massachusetts, and they only ship during winter months. [South River Miso and South River Miso Tamari are unpasteurized, living fermented foods. We can not ship these products during summer-like weather. The extended warmth and vibration of road travel can induce active fermentation and cause expansion and leakage of the product. We minimize this effect by shipping only during the cooler months of the year. Unpasteurized miso and miso tamari will keep for an unlimited time when refrigerated; so you can stockpile these products to cover your summertime needs.] Check out their website to learn more. I'm only sorry I waited so long to order some. Now that I know it works so well, I don't mind having to order two jars at a time. I got the 3 year Chickpea Barley Miso and it is amazing.

Update: They do carry misos that are both soy and gluten free for those that have both those worries!

As to results, well... Darling hubby is a Mongolian Beef lover. It is what he always orders for Chinese food and he would be happy eating it 3-5 days a week. He sat down to dinner and took a bite. His eyes practically rolled back in his head and he looked over at me and mouthed "THANK YOU." I asked him, "Is it Mongolian Beef?" His reply was, "It's better." This is the highest praise possible from my Chinese food lover. The miso gives all that umami flavor we were missing. And he loved the sauce, which is not heavy, but extremely flavorful. Most telling in his reaction was the fact that he did not even bother to add any tamari, which I had put out for him. (He does like to add hot oil to his Mongolian Beef, which I let him put just on his own dish.) He and R both had two helpings and there were happy noises all around the table. I am a very happy camper right now. So if you've been living with a soy allergy and miss some of your old favorite Chinese food, give this one a try. You will not be disappointed. (Yes, the special order is worth it if you love and miss this kind of food.)

SOY FREE Mongolian Beef

Serves 4-6

1 small flank steak (¾-1 lb.-ish)

2 small onions, sliced into strips

1 small bunch green onions, chopped in 1" pieces (optional)

oil for frying (I use sunflower or refined coconut oil)

Marinade:

1-2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 tbsp arrowroot starch

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 tsp dry sherry

¼ tsp sea salt

few dashes white pepper

Sauce:

5 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tbsp coconut sugar (or regular sugar)

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp dry sherry

1 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

1 tsp chili paste

1 tbsp South River Chickpea and Barley Miso

2 dashes chili flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

Slice the flank steak very thinly against the grain (crosswise and at a 45º angle gives extremely tender results). It really requires a perfectly sharp knife to do this effectively. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and toss together with the meat strips. Cover and let the mixture marinate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a measuring cup.

Heat ¼-½ cup oil in a wok or large skillet. Fry the meat in batches just until cooked through. It won't take too long if the meat is very thin. Scoop out the meat as it finishes and set aside. Fry the regular onion in the oil until crisp tender. Pour off all but a couple tablespoons oil and return meat to wok. Pour sauce over the top and add green onions if using. (Save a few for garnish if desired.) Cook for a few minutes until thickened to your liking.

Serve with steamed rice.

This post will participate in Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist and Allergy Free Wednesdays at The Willing Cook

BBB - Cuban Bread (for when you don't plan ahead)

2012-01-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

I must admit, all too often we go without bread because I forget to start it in time to be ready for dinner. Sometimes I have to scramble for non-sandwich lunch ideas for the school kiddo because I have run out of sandwich bread. No longer. I wasn't expecting all that much out of this bread, but it is going to become my procrastination savior, I can tell. I've already made it twice. Here's the second loaf. It's already gone too.

And I even forgot to set the timer on the second loaf and it did a complete rise and peak. It still worked great for the cold oven method. I'm starting number three now. (And I am using part light spelt flour on these.)

This bread makes awesome french toast. I grew up with true eggy bread: soaked well - we don't hold with two second dipped dry toast. Yuck. Some breads will try to fall apart on you with really eggy bread. Not so with this one. It has a nice firm, chewy crumb and holds up fabulously to soaking and squishing to get all the egg batter inside it. Mmmmmmm.

I still love making long method, artisan breads, but this will be my go to "in-a-pinch" loaf from now on. Give it a try and check out the original post at Lucullian delights.

CUBAN BREAD
from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

1.2-1.4 litre/ 5-6 cups of bread or AP flour
2 packages dry yeast, I used 50 g fresh
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
500 ml/ 2 cups hot water
sesame or poppy seeds (optional)

by hand or mixer (15 min)
Place 4 cups flour in a mixing bowl and add the yeast, salt and sugar. Stir until they are well blended. Pour in the hot water and beat with 100 strong strokes, or three minutes with a mixer flat beater.
Gradually work in the remaining flour (using fingers if necessary), 1/2 cup at a time until the dough takes shape and is no longer sticky.

kneading (8 min)
Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Work in the flour as you knead, keeping a dusting of it between the dough and the work surface. Knead for 8 minutes by hand or with a dough hook until the dough is smooth, elastic, and feels alive under your hands.

by processor (5 min)
Attach the short plastic blade.
Place 2 cups flour in the work bowl and add the other ingredients, as above. Pulse several times to thoroughly mix. Remove the cover and add 2 more cups of flour. Replace the cover and pulse to blend.
Add the remaining flour through the feed tube, pulsing after each addition, until the dough begins to form and is carried around the bowl by the force of the blade.

kneading (45 sec)
Turn on the machine to knead for 45 seconds.

rising (15 mins)
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in a warm (26-37°C/80-100°F) place until double in bulk, about 15 minutes.

shaping (4 min)
Punch down the dough, turn it out on the work surface, and cut into two pieces. Shape each into a round. Place on the baking sheet. With a sharp knife or razor, slash X on each of the loaves, brush water, and, if desired, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

Baking (205°C/400°F; 45-50 min)
Place the baking sheet on the middle shelf of a cold oven. Place a large pan of hot water on the shelf below, and heat the oven to 205°C/400°F. The bread of course, will continue to rise while the oven is heating. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the loaves are a deep golden brown. Thump on the bottom crusts to test for doneness. If they sound hard and hollow, they are baked.

This post will go up for Yeastspotting!

Streusel Topped, Maple Glazed, Peach Carrot Buttermilk Muffins

2012-01-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

Streusel Topped, Maple Glazed, Peach Carrot Buttermilk Muffins. Say that three times, fast. Better yet, eat one. It's like crumb cake peach cobbler. And these are some rich and delicious little crumb cakes. I had seen a delicious looking similar recipe last year but it used a lot of mixes and things you had to special order. So I put it off until I could come up with my own version. I love how it turned out. The muffins are tender, moist and rich and not too sweet, but with a nice sweet glaze to balance it all out. Of course, this time of year I did use frozen peaches. But they are beautiful local peaches with loads of fresh peach flavor in them. The muffins are great slightly warm too. ☺ This recipe makes 2 dozen, but it can definitely be halved. (I'll bet these would be great with apples too - just like the Costco apple streusel muffins, only a manageable size!) I included the recipe for the homemade pancake mix that I used. Most commercial mixes are not allergy friendly for R, plus they have nasty hydrogenated oils in them.

Oh, R is going bonkers over these. She wants them for snacks AND treats.

Streusel Topped, Maple Glazed, Peach Carrot Buttermilk Muffins

makes 2 dozen standard muffins

2½ cups pancake mix (recipe follows for homemade mix)

2 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen peaches

~¾ cup finely grated carrots (about 2 small/med carrots worth)

¾ cup sunflower oil

¾ cup light brown muscovado sugar

¾ cup old fashioned oats (or a mixture of oats and barley flakes if you have them)

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs, slightly beaten

zest of one orange

¾ cup buttermilk

Streusel topping:

2¼ cups pancake mix (recipe for homemade follows)

1/3 cup finely chopped or ground pecans (optional)

½ cup melted butter

½ cup light brown muscovado sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp maple syrup (Grade B is best)

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps

1-2 tsp hot water

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the oil, brown sugar, oats/barley flakes, cinnamon and vanilla and stir to make sure there are no lumps of brown sugar. Add in the eggs, buttermilk, peaches, carrots and zest and whisk together well. Add the pancake mix and stir well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Fill muffin cups/liners about ¾ full of batter. (I used a muffin scoop for uniformity.)

To make the streusel, combine the pancake mix, optional pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Drizzle in the melted butter and combine with a fork (or your fingers) until crumbly. Top the muffins with the streusel. Be generous, there's plenty. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden and done. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. (I like to get my muffins out by sticking a bamboo skewer down the side to lift them.)

While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, honey, maple syrup and 1 tsp hot water in a bowl and stir to combine. Add more water, a few drops at a time, until the glaze is of the desired drizzling consistency. Use a fork to drizzle or if you want to be fancy, stick the glaze in a ziploc bag and snip the tip for even-sized drizzles.

Enjoy! (They might be crumbly if you eat them too warm. Try to wait at least 20 minutes. ☺)

Homemade Pancake Mix:

4½ cups flour (I used 3 cups all purpose, 1 cup light spelt and ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour)

¼ cup non hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum organic)

¼ cup cold butter, cut into pieces

2 tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer and mix on low speed until the consistency of Bisquick. About 5 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.

(This is a half batch, but any more would spill out of my kitchen-aid during mixing, and this is enough for a full batch of muffins.)

Inspired by Chef Tess Bakeresse

Cheddar Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

2012-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

These tasty little bites are fairly quick to whip up and pack a lot of flavor into one mouthful. This is the other old favorite recipe that I re-discovered when I went hunting for that fudge recipe. Though it's been years since I made them, I do recall that certain family members used to double check with me to be sure they would be on the menu for whatever gathering was up next. They can be assembled an hour or so ahead and chilled until serving time. And you can certainly change up the cheese, they are equally good with Jack or Havarti or even Swiss if that floats your boat. If you want to fill them with a piping bag, be sure to use a plain tip; the cheese shreds will get stuck in a star tip's edges and make things difficult. (Yes, I speak from experience.) At any rate, this is a nice little treat to add to the appetizer tray.

Cheddar-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

makes about 36 tomatoes

2 pints cherry tomatoes

1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (4oz.) finely shredded cheddar cheese

1 tbsp milk

2 small cloves garlic, mashed

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cayenne

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Cut a cone shaped core from the end of the cherry tomatoes. (The original directions say to cut the stem end, but cutting the bottom and not the stem end will sometimes provide a more stable base for the little rollers.) Gently scoop out the centers. Drain the shells upside down on a paper towel while you prepare the filling.

Cut up the cream cheese in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (except the tomatoes of course), and mash with a fork until well blended. (Yes, you can use a mixer if you want to dirty up more bowls and such. It will yield a more homogenous mixture.) Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a large plain tip and pipe into tomatoes. Or use a small spoon to fill them.

The filling and tomatoes can be made up ahead separately and assembled an hour before filling.

Adapted from Holiday Cakes & Cookies by Family Circle 1999/2000

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

2012-01-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

This recipe has been pinned to my "likes" board on the time suck that is Pinterest for a couple weeks now. I happened to have a couple spare chicken breasts so I decided to try it out. It's a winner. Not only in the fact that R raved over it, but also that it was good enough for hubby to decide to take the small amount of leftovers to work. And it's like pulling teeth to get him to take leftovers. Sorry about the picture, there was no holding the hungry horde at bay. And that in itself says that it was a good meal. I adapted it to be soy and corn free, so I'll post the original recipe with my changes in parentheses. R misses Chinese food often and feels left out when hubby gets it for himself or to share with little sis. Everyone definitely said I could make this again. The original post also has a good looking fried rice, though we used steamed. (I made a half batch to serve our family of four.) I'm sure this would be great with bell peppers added in during baking, but since I was out I just steamed and lemon peppered some broccoli. It's one of the girls' favorite dinner veggies.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

serves 6-8

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper (sea salt and fresh ground pepper)

1 cup ~~cornstarch~~ (arrowroot starch)

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup canola oil (refined coconut oil)

Sauce:

¾ cup sugar

4 tbsp ketchup

½ cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar)

1 tbsp ~~soy sauce~~ (coconut aminos + salt)

1 tsp garlic salt (garlic powder + salt)

Preheat oven to 325ºF and grease a 9x13" pan. Whisk together sauce ingredients and set aside. Rinse and dry chicken and cube into bite sized portions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken well in the starch and place in a gallon ziploc bag. Pour the beaten egg over top, seal bag and shake well. Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown chicken but do not cook completely. Place the chicken in the baking dish and pour the sauce evenly over top. Bake for one hour, turning chicken every 15 minutes. Enjoy!

I fried my chicken almost done and baked for 20 minutes, turning a couple times. Cut the preparation time in about half. For a full recipe you may need to fry in batches; my half batch filled up my nice big skillet, but they were huge chicken breasts too. I also added a few dashes of tabasco to the sauce but next time I think I'd just add a few crushed red pepper flakes for a tiny bit more heat.

In any case it was good stuff.

Adapted from life as a Lofthouse

Texas Fudge

2011-12-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Fudge, real chocolate fudge, seems to be one of those confections that delights in defying me. I think I rebatched my fudge at least four or five times last year. It was happily eaten but I was never really satisfied with it. So this year, in the interest of my sanity, I spent an entire day digging through old magazines for that one fantasy type fudge recipe that always turned out great results (Christmas 1999 to tell you how long I've kept this one). And, BONUS, I found an old favorite appetizer recipe in the same issue that I had completely forgotten about. I'll share that one later. Normally, I like my fudge without nuts, but this one I have always added the pecans. It goes well, but you certainly don't have to use the nuts. If you want to avoid the corn syrup in commercial marshmallow fluff, you can whip up a half batch in about half an hour or less. That will give a little less than two jars worth and make for some darn fine corn free fudge. ☺

Texas Fudge

makes 36 pieces

1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)

2½ cups sugar

½ cup butter

¼ tsp salt (use ~1/8 tsp if using salted butter)

7 oz. marshmallow cream

1 pkg (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup finely chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp bourbon

Line a 9" square pan with foil and butter it lightly.

Combine the evaporated milk, sugar, butter and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring to combine. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add marshmallow cream and chocolate to butter mixture and blend until smooth. Stir in pecans, vanilla and bourbon. Pour into prepared pan and cool to room temperature. You can score the fudge with a sharp knife now if you want. Refrigerate until firm.

Lift the fudge and foil from the pan and peel foil from sides. Cut through score lines or let warm up for a few minutes and cut into small pieces. Store in refrigerator for long term.

Adapted from Holiday Cakes & Cookies by Family Circle 1999/2000

I understand you can do a white chocolate variation of this simply by subbing white chocolate in, but I think it would be tooth achingly sweet. I would probably either try cutting back the sugar, or do a marbleized swirl version instead.

BBB - Stollen

2011-12-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

I've never made a stollen before. And like many people unfamiliar with the actual baked good, I had assumed it was a dry crumbly yeast rendition of a fruitcake. Well let me tell you, no bread with this amount of butter and other enrichments could ever turn out dry unless you doubled the flour and baked it black. My pastry cloth was practically transparent with butter oil by the time I was done rolling and shaping. Not that butter is a bad thing... ☺ I'd say this über rich pseudo-pastry is like a cross between a danish, a fruitcake and a croissant. I did add the almond filling that is often seen in stollen, even though it was not in the original challenge recipe. (Congratulations by the way to Susan of Wild Yeast, the host kitchen, on her marriage this month!) I think maybe next time I won't need to add the filling, this was so rich and delicious anyway. And easier to make wonderful toast out of it without the filling oozing out as it warms... Mmmmmm. We'll see. If you want to try it out, here is the recipe as presented for the Buddy challenge.

Stollen

Yield: 1500 grams (3 loaves, more or less)
Time:

Candy and dry citrus peel: 12 hours or more (can be done ahead)
Soak the fruits: 12 hours
Mix and ferment sponge: 12 hours (can be simultaneous with fruit-soaking)
Mix dough: 20 – 30 minutes
First fermentation : 30 minutes
Preshape, rest, and shape: 30 minutes
Proof: 90 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes

Sponge Ingredients:

120 grams flour
80 grams water
0.1 gram (small pinch) instant yeast [or 0.13 g active dry, or 0.25 g fresh]

Soaked Fruit Ingredients:

130 grams raisins
75 grams dried cherries (or more raisins, or chopped dried apricots, or a combination)
61 grams candied orange peel
92 grams candied lemon peel
82 grams slivered almonds
34 grams rum

Final Dough Ingredients:

348 g flour
53 g milk
25.3 grams (2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) instant yeast [or 18.6 g osmotolerant, or 31.6 g active dry, or 63.3 g fresh]
8 g (1-1/3 t.) salt
8 g (2-1/3 t.) diastatic malt powder (omit if you don’t have it)
51 g sugar
50 g egg (about one large egg)
5 g grated lemon zest (one average lemon)
5 g grated orange zest (one small orange)
1/3 t. of each of these ground spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, nutmeg
273 g unsalted butter, at room temperature (should be pliable)
all of the sponge
all of the soaked fruits

Finishing Ingredients:

clarified butter
fine granulated sugar
powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

Method:

Toss the soaker fruits with the rum in a medium bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature for about 12 hours.
Meanwhile, combine the sponge ingredients in another medium bowl. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 12 hours.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine all of the final dough ingredients except the soaker. Mix in slow speed until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Continue mixing in medium speed until the gluten reaches full development. The dough should come together around the hook and should no longer stick to the sides and bottom of the bowl. This could take about 25 minutes or more, but will depend on your mixer.
Add the soaked fruits and mix on slow speed just until they are evenly distributed through the dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered container. Cover and ferment for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Turn the dough onto the counter. Divide into three pieces, or however many you would like. Preshape the dough into balls and let them rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
To shape each loaf: Form a blunt-ended batard and dust it lightly with flour. With a thin rolling pin, press down firmly, separating the dough into two parts with one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the flap of dough connecting the sections so it is about 2 inches wide. Flatten the larger section slightly with your hand, then fold the smaller section over to rest on the larger one.
Place the loaves on parchment-lined baking sheets (two per sheet) and slip them into a large plastic bag with a bowl of warm water. Proof for about 90 minutes, replenishing the water when it cools.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 on convection setting or 400 on regular bake setting. You will also need steam during the initial phase of baking, so prepare for this now.
Bake for 10 minutes, open the oven door briefly to allow any remaining steam to escape, and bake for another 20 minutes. If you do not have convection, you may need to rotate the position of the baking sheets halfway through the bake to ensure even browning and keep the one on the lower rack from burning on the bottom.
While the loaves are still warm, brush them with clarified butter. Dredge them in fine granulated sugar, brushing or shaking off the excess.
To finish, sift powdered sugar over the loaves.
Cut when completely cool. You can leave the stollen out overnight to let the loaves dry and the sugar crust up a bit.

This post will go up for Yeastspotting!

Candied Citrus Peel

2011-12-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Not many recipes call for things like candied orange and lemon peel until you get to a holiday season. Or you live on a different continent. I have never seen candied peels in any of our grocery stores. Now I haven't really looked hard, but a friend from England tells me they are readily available there for things like Christmas puddings and such. I happen to need them for a German Stollen. Fortunately these little dainties are fairly easy to make at home. And by doing it that way, I save money and can be assured that the organic fruits I choose are not saturated with pesticide residue. After seeing how well they turned out, I may need to make some specifically to dip in chocolate. Yum! I am borrowing this method from Wild Yeast. I simmered mine just a bit longer, but otherwise, it is exactly her directions. I recommend the organic citrus because of the pesticide load on conventionally raised citrus. Bagged organic lemons are relatively inexpensive, as are the oranges when you can find them pre-bagged.

Make these the day before you need them.

Candied Citrus Peels

makes about 350g (~12 oz) candied peel and 2½ cups syrup

10 medium organic lemons (I used 12 small lemons and 3 large navel oranges in separate batches. Next time I would use 4. Good stuff.)

water for blanching

3 cups sugar

2 cups water

1. Score the fruit in quarters. Peel, leaving the fruit whole.

(I'll be making lemon curd with these later!)

2. In a large saucepan, cover the peels with cold water. Bring to a boil, drain, and rinse the peels in cold water.

3. Cut the peels into strips (about four strips per quarter-lemon section).

4. Blanch the peel strips twice more.

5. In the large saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Here are my oranges on their final sugar simmer, and the lemons on their first blanch.

6. Add the lemon peels (make sure you lower them into the syrup; if you drop them in and the hot syrup splashes on your skin, you will be very sad). Reduce the heat and simmer until the peels are starting to become translucent, about an hour.

7. Drain the peels, reserving the syrup.

8. Place the peels in a single layer on a wire rack and allow to dry overnight.

9. Store in an airtight container, or in the freezer. Store the syrup in the refrigerator.

Now I need to find a use for these two awesome jars of citrus infused syrup...

That Chocolate Caramel Crunch Cake - From Scratch

2011-12-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've had my eye on this recipe since July. It looked so rich and decadent. But it was one of those "cool" desserts that uses all mixes and premade ingredients. Well, those are on the naughty list in this house. (That would be allergy unfriendly.) So I've been intending on "scratchifying" the thing for months now. If you like the idea of the easy recipe, you can find it here. I believe it was originally a Taste of Home recipe submission. I will never make it that way. I have sworn off Cool whip, much as I used to like it, because of the soybean oil and hydrogenated fats. Besides, this scratch version is ridiculously rich and satisfying. (Read: better.) I had one tiny forkful to satisfy myself that it turned out as I had hoped. Now I'm hiding it until I can send it to work! It's like a Butterfinger blizzard on top of a chocolate tres leche cake. Rich. Sweet. Decadent. I also cut it down to a half batch of one 9x9" pan. Firstly, because that's how much cake my favorite recipe made; secondly, who needs that much temptation calling from the icebox? It can always be doubled back up to the 9x13" pan to serve a crowd. If you want to try the scratch version, here is how I did it. (My favorite chocolate cupcake recipe served perfectly and comes together with a whisk almost as quickly as a boxed mix.)

(Best served the day it's made, or reserve the topping until ready to serve - otherwise you lose that nice crunch.)

Chocolate Caramel Crunch Cake (Scratch version)

makes a 9x9" cake

One chocolate cake to fit 9" square pan (I used this recipe)

½ can (7 oz) sweetened condensed milk (freeze the rest for another time)

¼ cup caramel ice cream topping (I used this recipe or you can purchase)

5 fun size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ cup sifted powdered sugar

3 tsp cold water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp unflavored gelatin

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a 9" square baking pan. Prepare cake batter as directed and pour into pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool on a rack.

Combine caramel sauce and condensed milk in a small bowl. Poke holes about every two inches all over the cooled cake. Pour the caramel mixture over the cake. Sprinkle with two thirds of the crushed candy bars.

If you intend to serve the cake right away, you can just use sweetened whipped cream. I used stabilized whipped cream to prevent breaking down and weeping. (The cream, not me.) ☺ To make stabilized whipped cream:

In a small pan combine gelatin, cold water and vanilla; let stand until bloomed (thick). Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and cool but do not allow it to set. In a medium bowl, whip the cream and powdered sugar until slightly thickened. While beating on low speed, gradually add in the gelatin mixture. Whip at high speed until stiff.

Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining crushed candy bars.

Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Cut smaller pieces, this is sinfully rich but ever so satisfying. ☺

Crockpot Tapioca Pudding

2011-12-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

Pudding is a pretty simple but satisfying treat. We never had homemade pudding growing up and those premade cups were a few and far between occurrence. We did the cook and serve and/or instant box stuff. Probably because making pudding does take a little bit of time, and standing over the stove was not on the top of the list. I do remember that tapioca was an especial treat because it was the most rarely seen in our house. (And I think I had to wrestle my dad for it.) So I was very happy to find a version that required little supervision and could be accomplished while I got things done around the house. Like that pile of laundry that's been sitting by the kitchen table for two days now. This makes a lovely rich, thick and filling pudding. I must admit, I do love my tapioca warm and it is just as fabulous and thick before chilling.

Crockpot Tapioca Pudding

makes 8 ½-cup servings

1 Qt whole milk

¾ cup sugar (you can scant this when measuring if desired)

½ cup small pearl tapioca (not the quick cooking stuff)

2 eggs (farm pastured for great nutrition)

½ tsp vanilla

pinch sea salt

Stir together the milk, sugar and tapioca in a crock pot. Cover and cook on high for about 1½-2 hours. You can stir occasionally as you walk through the kitchen. Or not. No biggie. Do watch to make sure it doesn't get to boiling though or you may have a mess to clean up. It will depend on the cooker in use. (Fortunately caught mine right before it boiled over the sides.) The tapioca will get soft and start to thicken.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and salt. Temper the eggs by slowly whisking in ½ cup of the tapioca mixture. Do that twice more with two more half cupfuls. Then whisk the egg mixture into the tapioca until well combined. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes longer until the pudding is nice and thick. (It may not take that long, mine was practically ready as soon as I whisked in the eggs because my tapioca had boiled, but in that case you have to be careful not to scramble the eggs!) Portion into single serving containers and chill in the fridge. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap to avoid a skin.

Enjoy cold or warm, plain or with whipped cream!

Adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking

Quick and easy harvest granola bars

2011-12-01T15:20:00.001-08:00

I have another favorite granola bar recipe, nice and chewy with cranberries or whatever I decide at the time. They're great granola bars and I do still love them. But I think they may have been eclipsed on the basis of speed alone. These nifty little bars come together in practically no time at all. And they have the added benefit of being gluten free if you are careful to choose the GF certified oatmeal. They got huge thumbs up from R and thumbs up from two school friends and their mom who happened to be available for testing at after school pickup. And since the mom said she didn't normally like granola bars much, her surprised look of approval was gratifying. ☺ I have orders to include these in the backpack for snack time at school. I will happily do so as there is not a single store bought granola bar I have found that is completely okay for R to have. I'll bet daddy will love these too. One tip about the "glue" that holds them together. The longer you cook it, the firmer the bars will end up being. So you can tailor that to your liking. I left mine on low while I was measuring out some of the dry ingredients so mine are pretty firm and chewy. They will mellow by tomorrow, but if you want them softer, cook for less time. You can also store them in the fridge to make them more firm, or in a jar on the counter to be a little softer. (Oh, fair warning, Sunsweet brand adds high fructose corn syrup to all its dried fruits - BOO, HISS. Phooey on them. Get a different brand like Mariani (regular corn syrup) or even better - something like Kirkland brand (regular sugar).)

Harvest Berry Granola Bars

makes an 8x8 pan full

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup raw or sprouted (crispy) pumpkin seeds

¼ cup raw or crispy sunflower seeds

1 tbsp golden flaxseed meal

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 cup unsweetened puffed millet cereal

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried blueberries

¼ cup creamy style almond butter

¼ cup honey

¼ cup muscovado sugar (or brown sugar)

¾ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp sea salt

Lightly oil an 8" baking dish and preheat oven to 350ºF.

Spread oats, pumpkin seeds (if raw), sunflower seeds (if raw), and sesame seeds on a rimmed cookie sheet and toast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. (If your pumpkin and sunflower seeds are already soaked and dried or "sprouted", you don't have to toast them and will retain more nutrition if you don't.) Combine the toasted mixture with the seeds, dried berries and cereal in a bowl.

Mix together the almond butter, honey, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is blended and slightly bubbly, about 2-5 minutes. The more you cook it, the harder the finished bars will be. (It's like making candy.)

Pour all the dry ingredients into the saucepan and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly coated. Scrape into the prepared pan and firmly press down with oiled hands. Refrigerate until firm, 20-30 minutes. Cut into bars and store.

Adapted from In Praise of Leftovers

Mulled Cranberry Sauce

2011-11-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, cranberry sauce. Folks usually fall into either the jellied or whole berry lines of thinking. Me, I'm a jellied fan though I haven't been willing to buy cranberry sauce for years because of the nasty high fructose corn syrup found in most of them. I have seen nice organic sauces at "Whole Paycheck" but never tried them because cranberry sauce is pretty simple to make. A few years back (about the time we discovered the corn allergy), I volunteered to make the sauce and have been doing it ever since. Funny thing was, the host forgot I was bringing sauce and opened up four cans of the main brand stuff. They were still sitting in their dishes, practically untouched when the feast was over. Mine were demolished. ☺ I got a kick out of it and decided my recipe was a winner. Give it a try, tailor the spices to your liking and leave as much whole berries in as you please. But do try making your own one year. I doubt you'll ever go back to canned.

Mulled Cranberry Sauce

makes about 2 pints

22 oz cranberries (approx. 4½-5 cups) fresh or frozen is fine

1 cup water

¾ cup Ruby Port

¼ cup orange juice

2 tbsp candied ginger chips (or chopped chunks)

1 cinnamon stick

5 whole cloves

1¾ cups sugar

½ tsp almond extract

Wash the cranberries and drain. Pick them over for any duds. Combine berries, ginger, water, port and juice in a large sauce pot. Place the cinnamon stick and cloves in a spice bag or a piece of cheesecloth doubled and tied. Add that to the pot and boil until the cranberry skins burst. Purée using a food mill or food processor. (I use the medium disc of my food mill.) Return mixture to pot and add sugar. Boil mixture almost to gelling point.* (Sauce will start to thicken and drop in partial sheets from a spoon.) Cranberries have plenty of pectin so go slow or it might end up a really stiff sauce. I like to put a small plate or custard cup in the freezer and do periodic checks with a dollop of sauce to see the cooled consistency. ☺ Mix in the almond extract when the sauce is to your liking. You can process the sauce in canning jars - 15 minutes in a boiling water canner if you like. We don't do that anymore because it never lasts long enough to need canning.

This jellied sauce will be firm enough to hold its shape in a pretty mold if you wish. Otherwise, a straight sided jar or container makes removal easier when serving.

* If you prefer a whole berry sauce, you don't need to do the additional cooking, just make sure all the sugar is dissolved and cook for about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

For the sweet tooth - Orange scented white chocolate toffee with almonds

2011-11-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

People have been posting toffee recipes. I love toffee. So I can only make toffee when there is a holiday so I can get it out of the house. Well, there's a holiday coming up and I made some toffee that I've been looking at for months. Toffee, or buttercrunch, is pretty darn simple. (Dave Lebovitz' chocolate almond buttercrunch is out of this world.) You don't even need a thermometer, as one fabulous blogger recently pointed out. Just get a brown paper bag and boil the mixture until the color matches. I love dark chocolate on my toffee, but hubby is a white chocolate fiend. I find the fact amusing since he is otherwise not big on super sweet stuff. But yes, he did indeed approve this tasty confection. ☺

Orange scented White Chocolate Toffee with Almonds

1 cup butter (if using unsalted, add a generous pinch of salt)

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp Lyle's golden syrup (optional)

2 tbsp water

1/3 cup crispy or dry roasted almonds, chopped, divided

2 tsp orange extract

1 cup white chocolate pieces

Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. In a medium heavy bottomed pot, combine the butter, sugar, water and golden syrup. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches about 295-300ºF and a nice golden amber (brown paper bag) color. Quickly add in the extract and 1½ tbsp of the almonds. Boil for a few more seconds until mixture is smooth again.

Pour out onto the parchment lined pan and sprinkle chocolate pieces evenly over. Let stand for 10 minutes. Then gently spread the melted pieces over the toffee with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the remaining almonds evenly over the top. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until hard set. Then crack into chunks.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for longer keeping. Bring to room temperature when serving. (I actually like it cold though.) Lasts, (technically speaking), a few weeks. ;)

Adapted from lipstick blogger

Lotions out of the kitchen

2011-11-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

I've been dabbling in homemade lip balms and body care type stuff for a little while. Had pretty good success with the balms, some a bit firm but they last really nicely on the lips. The last super moisturizing brown sugar Shea butter scrub I made sure was super moisturizing, but also way too greasy to use except in tiny amounts. The fragrances or something in retail lotions tends to give me hives, eek! :( So even though I may love that hazelnut vanilla cream lotion from Bath and Bodyworks, I can't use it for more than one day. Sunscreens do that to me too. Maybe it's the SLS. The nice thing about that shea moisturizing scrub though, was that it was completely edible ingredients. All of it. I will never have to worry about a reaction to the homemade stuff.

So my latest kitchen body creation was to attempt a non greasy hand and body lotion. I am very pleased at how it turned out. I may cut back on the Shea butter just a wee bit next time or go halfsies with cocoa butter. (Yummy smell!) You can choose whatever fragrance or essential oil you like to scent the lotion. I'm sticking with the oils. Fragrance and I are not friends. So if you are feeling adventurous, here is how to make a thick, luxuriant body lotion. A little goes a long way, think pea size for hands and carrot coin for legs. I love to use it after doing the dishes or washing my hands. They just drink it up, no greasy feel at all. If they are just dry, it takes just a minute to soak in. (I got all my specialty ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs.)

Creamy Aloe and Shea Body Lotion

makes about 4 cups

8 tbsp Shea butter

4 tbsp almond oil

4 tbsp olive oil

3 rounded tbsp emulsifying wax

3 tbsp liquid vegetable glycerin
3 cups aloe vera gel
10-30 drops essential oil or 1 tsp fragrance
10 drops vitamin E oil (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat Shea butter slowly to 200ºF. Turn off heat, add wax and leave to sit for 15 minutes. Then add in the almond and olive oil. In another pot, combine the aloe and glycerin and heat to 120ºF. Remove from heat and slowly pour into the oil mixture, whipping with a stick blender. Cool the mixture for 30 minutes and whip with the blender every 5-10 minutes. After 30 minutes, add desired essential oil and Vitamin E oil, if using, and blend again. Pour into four 8oz pump bottles. (It may look a little runny right now, but it will thicken considerably when completely cooled so get it bottled while it's still easy to pour.)

Take a look at the ingredient list on your favorite commercial lotion. Then enjoy your very own skin safe lotion that is practically edible.

Adapted from Glorious Lotion

Cookie stuffed cookies...

2011-11-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Yep, I caved. I've seen a number of renditions of these over-the-top cookies making the rounds over the past few months. And I had some sandwich cookies going stale, so what better way to use them up? I did use 100% light spelt flour at least and cut back on the sugar a bit. I must say these were delicious though, especially slightly warm. A wonderful marriage of chocolate cookie and drop cookie. I'd make just the plain chocolate chip cookies with whatever add ins I feel like at the time too. It's a great ooey gooey chewy type cookie. The way I like my cookies. You can never have too many cookie recipes. (I used Back to Nature chocolate creme filled sandwich cookies because they are the only brand with ingredients that are okay for R. I am in general, highly impressed with their product offerings, quality and ingredients.) I did make only half a batch to limit the damages... ☺

Cookie Stuffed Cookies

makes 2 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

1 cup light brown muscovado sugar

½ cup evaporated cane sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

3½ cups flour (light spelt or white whole wheat works great here)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

1½ cups mini chocolate chips

24 creme filled chocolate sandwich cookies

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixture lightens in color. (A couple minutes.) In another bowl, mix together flour, salt and soda. Combine in three additions to the egg mixture. If using spelt, stop as soon as the flour is just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill dough for at least a few hours. Overnight would be great but not essential.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Using a teaspoon or cookie scoop, form a ball of dough and squish onto one side of a sandwich cookie. Add another ball to the other side and seal the edges together with your fingers. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to rack to finish cooling.

Remember these are actually two cookies per "cookie", so don't go hog wild and eat a bunch at once. They sure are great with a glass of milk though!

I saw these most recently, of the many I have seen, on Very Culinary.

Frosted Caramel Squares - In Memory of Papa Don

2011-11-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

This was one of my absolute favorite treats growing up. The recipe came from my Grandma and we had them all too infrequently because they were so rich. Today I am making them in memory of a beloved surrogate Grandpa that passed yesterday. I don't know what his favorite treat was, but he was "rich" and sweet just like these are, so I think they are perfect for remembrance. I encourage you to try these delicious and decadent bars and enjoy some wonderful memories of the special people in your life. ♥

These treats have a rich, cakey blondie base, a gooey, nutty transition layer and a crisp and richly sweet meringue topping. This is the first time I've made them for my girls and they echoed my raptures on how good the bars taste. ☺

Recipe may be halved.

Frosted Caramel Squares

makes a 9x13" pan

1 cup butter, room temperature

1½ cups sugar

2 eggs, + 2 yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1½ cups finely chopped nuts (I used crispy walnuts this time)

2 egg whites

1½ cups brown sugar, loosely packed (I used light brown muscovado)

1 tsp vanilla

Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. Preheat oven to 300ºF. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, then add the vanilla. Add in flour mixture and beat just until fully incorporated. Spread this mixture into the prepared pan and flatten it out evenly with wet or greased hands. Sprinkle the chopped nuts evenly over the batter and lightly press down. In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in the brown sugar to make a stiff meringue, then beat in the vanilla. Pour the meringue mixture as evenly over the nuts as possible, then gently spread out with the back of a spoon or a rubber scraper. Use a light touch or the meringue will try to pick up the nuts. Bake for about 45 minutes. Cut into squares with a serrated knife or the meringue will crack all over. (It tends to anyway, but is still delicious.) Cool on a rack.

We used to double the meringue recipe to make it easier to spread, but if you can do it as written, it is the perfect sweet, gooey and crunchy offset for the rich base and nuts. The picture is as written. (Recipe may be halved.)

BBB makes like a tree and... fougasse

2011-10-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

(Yes, you can groan at the title. Sorry - it got stuck in my head and I had to let it out.) Boy, just on the line for timing here, but I got my buddy bread baked today! Elizabeth of blog from OUR kitchen decreed this to be a month for fougasse. Whatever fougasse you pleased. I have made foccacia, a similar bread, but never fougasse - a leaf shaped variant. So I decided to do a recipe from epicurious, lightly scented with anise, orange and orange flowers. I wasn't expecting too much from the recipe but I was surprised at how much I liked it after it baked up. The dough smelled delicious, like a cardamom braid only more subtle. After baking and cooling, which is quick for this flatish bread, I ripped off a piece to try. It was slightly crispy with a soft and somewhat delicate crumb and lovely subtle hints from the anise and orange. I didn't have the orange flower water but I did have cake palm sugar which has floral notes that transport me back to my honeymoon in Tahiti whenever I smell it. A little addition of that as some of the sugar was the perfect substitute for the flower water. This dough would make admirable dinner rolls. I also got a very strong impression of regular pizza or foccacia dough as I noshed on it. It is not as chewy as pizza dough but it sure speaks pizza. A very intriguing recipe and a fun shaping method. Give it a try sometime!

Fougasse

makes 2 loaves

from Epicurious

For starter

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water (105–115°F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For dough

2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon anise seeds, lightly crushed
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons orange-flower water (preferably French)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/3 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil (preferably French) plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons flaky or coarse sea salt

Make starter:
Stir together sugar and warm water in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Whisk flour into yeast mixture until combined well. Let starter rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 30 minutes.

Make dough:
Add sugar, salt, crushed anise seeds, water, orange-flower water, zest, 1/3 cup oil, and 11/4 cups flour to starter and beat at medium speed until smooth. Mix in remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, at low speed until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, sprinkling surface lightly with flour if dough is very sticky, until smooth and elastic (dough will remain slightly sticky), 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Pat out each half into an oval (about 12 inches long and 1/4 inch thick), then transfer to 2 lightly oiled large baking sheets.

Using a very sharp knife or a pastry scraper, make a cut down center of each oval "leaf," cutting all the way through to baking sheet and leaving a 1-inch border on each end of cut. Make 3 shorter diagonal cuts on each side of original cut, leaving a 1-inch border on each end of cuts, to create the look of leaf veins (do not connect cuts). Gently pull apart cuts about 1 1/2 inches with your fingers. Let dough stand, uncovered, until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.

Brush loaves with remaining tablespoon oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake, switching position of baking sheets halfway through baking, until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes total. Transfer loaves to a rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Cooks' notes: Fougasses are best eaten the day they're made.

This post will go up for yeastspotting.

Comparing Candy Corn methods

2011-10-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned that I was going to try the marshmallow based homemade candy corn recipe. Here's how it turned out. It was certainly easier than the cooked version, other than I did have to make my marshmallows from scratch. I used a half batch of my Lyle's based marshmallow recipe, using invert syrup and substituting 2 tbsp honey for that much syrup. Turned out good mallows with a just a hint of honey flavor. The candy corn recipe is pretty simple. Melt 8 oz of mini marshmallows with 2 tbsp water, then stir and knead in about 1 pound of powdered sugar until smooth and supple. If you use too much it will get stiff and difficult to work. Then it's the same job of kneading in some color, rolling out some ropes and sticking together (it may take water to stick this kind together), and cutting into corns. I added a touch more sugar than I think it needed so mine got stiff after a while. The recipe I used is here. The kids loved it, but it's candy and they're not too picky since it is such a special treat. ☺ I definitely prefer the cooked version. It may be persnickety on temperature, but the results have better flavor and creaminess.

Winner: cooked mellow creme candy corn

This year's batch:

Now I usually love Alton Brown's recipes, and his candy corn recipe is almost identical to a half batch of the one I use. I tried his recipe twice and it turned into hard cream candy. Went back to mine and did fine. I think it may be the different amount of water and the ingredients I have to use. Definitely powder the dry milk fine if using instant or the measurement is off. The milk protein gives the corn that bit of chewiness.

A Corn Syrup Substitute for the holidays

2011-10-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Just made a batch of invert syrup in preparation for some upcoming candy making sessions. (Yes, mine is golden colored, but that's the sugar I used.) Going to make this year's batch of candy corn but I am going to try out an alternate version that is marshmallow based, kind of like a fondant. Still need the syrup to make the marshmallows. I really love using the Lyle's golden syrup for quick and easy marshmallows, but I decided this time to go with the invert syrup for a simpler flavor profile. I used the standard recipe I use with Lyle's but used the invert syrup and two tablespoons of honey instead. The thought being that candy corn has some honey flavoring in it. Not much, but a little. We'll see if the touch of honey in the mallows translates properly into the candy corn.

photo credit: chefeddy.com

I've learned a few things about making invert syrup in the past couple years. Number one, you really cannot do a small scale batch - it will crystallize on you. You can scale down a marshmallow recipe but not the invert syrup. Number two, if you have a gas cooktop, you will have much better success if you use a heat diffuser. And number three, you can successfully use a less refined sugar if you so desire and don't mind a more colored result. You will just have to do some skimming of foam and impurities that surface. If you are trying to avoid corn syrup but still want to do your holiday confectionery magic, try some homemade invert syrup. One to one substitution, beautifully clean flavor profile, keeps up to 6 months. The picture above is made with extra fine granulated sugar. (It's also that thick because it is chilled.) The one on top that I made used organic evaporated cane sugar, which has a blonde color out of the bag. I did have to skim about 2-3 tablespoons of foam impurities while cooking, but ended up with about 3 cups of beautiful syrup. It is perfectly clear and thick, resting in my fridge now, not a sign of any crystallization going on. That diffuser really helped. (With gas stove-tops, a lot of the heat goes up the side of the pan and can affect the outcome. This is my diffuser, I got it years ago as a requested Christmas present and have only used it a handful of times, but those times have really appreciated the option:

It's nice and flat and takes up no room in my stove drawer. Hooray for even heating. So here is the recipe, taken directly from Eddy Van Damme.

Invert Sugar

makes ~ 2 lb 3 oz

4 cups + 6 tbsp granulated sugar (white sugar yields a nice clear syrup, evaporated cane sugar yields a honey colored syrup)

2 cups water

¼ tsp cream of tartar or citric acid (I used the cream of tartar)

If you have an induction cook top or an electric stove use these options instead of gas. (If you have gas, use a heat diffuser.) In a non-reactive saucepan stir to a boil the sugar, water and cream of tartar (or citric acid).

Once the mixture boils wash away any sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan with pastry brush dipped in water. Any additional water added to the pan from this process has no effect on the final outcome.

On medium heat without stirring boil the mixture to 236°F (114°C). Remove from heat and cover the pan. Let cool at room temperature. Store in a refrigerator.* Invert sugar will last at least 6 months.

* Just in case you are wondering why you should store the syrup in the fridge, the low temperature significantly reduces the molecular movement of the sugar crystals and will slow down any crystallization that may want to occur.

(Here's another trick to help prevent crystallization: Use two sauce pans. When you are close to temperature, pour the mixture into a clean pan and finish the last few degrees in that pan. This helps ensure no crystals introduced from the side of the pan, as does cooling with the lid on. Also, store your finished syrup in a glass jar as the surface of plastic is more likely to speed crystallization.)

Using the two pan method, I was able to simply pour it into the jar and not have to worry about ladling or seed crystals. As of four days later it is still pristinely uncrystallized. Let come to room temperature for ease of measuring.

Sausage and Peppers with Spaghetti... squash

2011-10-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, this was our first time with spaghetti squash. I think it turned out really well. Trying to cut back on the amount of grains and starches that get served at the dinner table can be a touchy process. Fortunately the simple yet delicious dish that this is makes it somewhat easier. Now I will admit that the hubby said it was good, but he would naturally prefer the old standby of a noodle or rice base. That being said, he also went back for seconds! ☺ Spaghetti squash is certainly not as toothsome as those other options but it carried the sauce very well and added a nice bit extra rather than just eating a plain saute. This recipe comes from Modern Alternative Mama's ebook, Against the Grain. I already had everything on hand for it except the squash. Now I will definitely make it again but for a splurge, I might serve it with a little bit of spelt or brown rice pasta. For a dish so simple, it has wonderful flavor. I used a local mild italian sausage that we particularly like and managed to find a few leaves of basil in the garden amidst the overgrown sow's thistle. (That's that nasty, prickly, tall dandelion look alike.) The whole thing comes together very quickly. If you use the microwave to precook the squash a bit, it is a 30 minute meal. I don't use the microwave that much anymore so I started the squash an hour earlier and then prepped the rest. Give it a try; with or without pasta, it is great.

Sausage and Peppers with Spaghetti Squash

Serves 4-6

1 lb. Italian sausage
2 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. diced tomatoes (fresh or canned) (I used one full 14.5oz can)
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
1 medium spaghetti squash

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the two halves cut side down in a baking dish. Use a fork to poke some holes in the squash. Add about ½ cup of water. Bake the spaghetti squash for about an hour, or until soft. (I held mine on warm until the family was ready to sit down together.) Slice Italian sausage into ½” thick rounds. In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. (I used a mixture of garlic infused olive oil and coconut oil.) Add the garlic, onion, peppers, and sausage and sauté until the veggies are softened and the sausage is cooked through. Add tomatoes and spices; cook for 5–10 minutes around medium low heat. “Comb” the baked spaghetti squash with a fork to get the “noodles” to fall out onto a plate. Top with sausage mixture. Garnish with fresh basil if desired and serve with a fresh green salad.

Simple comforts - Tuna noodle casserole

2011-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

There it is. It's not glamorous, but it is immensely comforting and nostalgic to me during this cold, wet fall weather. I've decided I'm pretty much a tuna noodle casserole purist. It's tuna, it's noodles and not much else. Just enough stuff to have good flavor and creamy, bubbly sauce. Of course, that also means you are perfectly welcome to add peas or whatever to your casserole if you love it that way. The nice thing about this dish is that even though it does not rely on a can, it still comes together in about the time it takes to boil the water and noodles. I just can't do the can thing anymore. Bad ingredients. Besides, homemade tastes better anyway. Now I would love this with diced onions sauteed with the mushrooms in the sauce as well. Next time I'll add them too. But this simple version was great with a liberal addition of fresh ground pepper. I might even add my obligatory soup dash of tabasco next time. I love customizable dishes!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

makes enough for 4-6

2 cups uncooked macaroni or noodle of choice
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup milk (or ½ broth, ½ milk)
chopped mushrooms to taste
chopped onions, sauteed in butter until tender (optional)
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste (be liberal with the pepper)
1 can tuna, drained and flaked
¼ cup butter
¼ cup milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated, divided

Preheat the oven to 370ºF. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When the water is boiling, add the macaroni and cook until it still has a firm bite. (Don't cook the macaroni completely or it will get mushy when you cook it in the oven.) Drain the macaroni.

While the noodles are boiling melt 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the flour a little at a time until smooth and cook for a minute. Turn heat to low and add milk/broth slowly, stirring to keep it smooth. Get any lumps out early on. Stir in the chopped mushrooms, as many as you'd like (I used a generous ¼ cup), and sauteed onions if using. (I would use half an onion if using one.) Return heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly until well thickened. (It will be thick like a condensed soup.) Season to taste with sea salt and plenty of fresh ground pepper. This is your seasoning for the whole dish other than the salt in the cheese/butter, so don't be shy here.

Combine the macaroni, mushroom sauce, tuna, milk and butter in the pot used to boil the noodles. Stir in half of the cheddar cheese, and check seasoning one last time. You can do this over low heat to help it come together if your noodles have cooled off a bit. Pile the mixture into a 1½ Qt casserole dish (or an 8×8″ pan). Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and just starting to brown, and the casserole is bubbly.

The leftovers are great the next day too. ☺

18 hour Crock pot Chicken Soup

2011-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

We're starting to get into true Fall weather here in the Pacific Northwest. That also means cold season. It's soup weather all over and my kids love soups thankfully. I bookmarked this recipe from nourished kitchen and did not make all that many changes to it. Mostly I just used what was on hand and available. For instance, the grocery store was running a special on regular whole chickens so they did not have any free range or organic on hand. We actually cannot use the regular chickens because the residue of their feed in the meat (purely corn and soy and guaranteed GMO) can actually cause a stacked allergy reaction in my daughter. So I was left with the option of packages of organic drumsticks and thighs. That worked perfectly as well as being cheaper. To be honest, maybe better; I have made plain whole chickens in the crock pot for significantly less time and still found that the breast meat tended to get a touch overdone. This time I got perfectly done meat and a broth that actually gelled! Hooray! Talk about a nourishing soup. And I am totally sold on the leeks in the soup from now on, I LOVED what it added in flavor. We all enjoyed this soup the first night and my four year old and I enjoyed the leftovers for the next two days. It reheats beautifully. (I just have a 3Qt slow cooker, so it was quite full on this recipe, a larger one would be easier, but I did slightly scale down to fit.) Start this before bed and it will be ready to finish up in the morning and simmer all day for dinner. And remember to wash your leeks well to avoid grit. ☺

Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

Makes about 1 gallon soup (if your cooker will hold that much)

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs) or one package each drumsticks and thighs - mine were about 2.5 pounds together (6 drums and 4 thighs)

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced thin (I used one large leek)

2 bay leaves

1 onion, peeled and chopped

6 carrots, scraped and sliced into rounds ¼" thick (I only had three on hand, would have been good with a couple more)

6 celery ribs, sliced ¼" thick

1 lb potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used 3 or 4 small organic russets)

¼ cup fresh minced parsley (I used the equivalent of freeze dried)

extra seasoning like lemon pepper and/or tabasco

Rinse chicken or chicken parts and place in slow cooker, seasoning well with sea salt and pepper all over or between layers. Add leeks and bay leaves to pot and cover all with water. Cook on low heat for about 12 hours. Depending on who will be eating the soup, at this point you may want to remove the chicken and pick out the meat. Since I have little kids, this is what I did. (I had so much meat, I decided to save half for another batch of soup.) You can save the skin and bones for a separate batch of stock if desired. Now add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and potatoes to the pot, top up with water if needed and continue cooking on low for an additional six to eight hours. Adjust seasoning and stir in parsley before serving. I love a few dashes of tabasco in my soups because the vinegar brightens up the flavors. I like lemon pepper for the same reason. Lemon brighten flavors. Season to your own taste. This was a great soup!

And just look at that beautiful gel, I can't even get my stock to do that!

BBB twists up some Soft Pretzels

2011-09-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

I liked that this month's BBB challenge was something completely new for me and yet still pretty easy. And of course I chose the cinnamon sugar version of these quick little twisties. (Though I imagine they would be great with garlic in the dough and Parmesan on top). I think I have had a sample of those mall pretzels once in my life. Maybe. But I figure they are supposed to be similar in bite and texture on the outside, to a bagel. Though softer overall. I think these turned out absolutely perfect as far as taste and texture were concerned - soft and chewy with a tight crumb. I think if I had made the ropes larger, they would be fluffier but I like them this way. The only trouble I had was that I didn't grease the parchment I laid the pretzels on after forming them. So after boiling the first one, I found that the rest wanted to stick! Ack! After nearly mangling one of my only six pretzels trying to get it off, (I made a half batch), I finally figured it out. Cut the parchment around the pretzels and plop them in the water, paper side up. Not only do they hold their shape perfectly that way, but the paper is willing to come off quite nicely after about 10 seconds. Just in time to flip. Yay! I've been on a spelt kick recently so I made mine with all light spelt flour. Very pleased. Give these a try and top them however you choose for your favorite pretzel flavor. Check out the original post link for nice step by step photos on how to shape. Oh, and I didn't bother with the eggwash since I was going to cover them up with butter and sugar anyway. They still came out pretty shiny. (Before sugaring.) ☺

Soft Pretzels
from Cooking Light OCTOBER 2005
Makes: 12 servings (serving size: 1 pretzel)

Ingredients
1 package dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons) (I used 1 tsp instant yeast for a half batch)
1½ teaspoons sugar (I used coconut sugar for flavor)
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided (about 14½ ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
6 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cornmeal (Didn't bother - baked mine on parchment)
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preparation
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes. (Not necessary for instant yeast.) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll each portion into an 18-inch-long rope with tapered ends.

Cross one end of rope over the other to form a circle, leaving about 4 inches at end of each rope. Twist the rope at the base of the circle.

Fold the ends over the circle and into a traditional pretzel shape, pinching gently to seal.

Place pretzels on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 10 minutes (pretzels will rise only slightly).

Combine 6 cups water and baking soda in a nonaluminum Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer.

Gently lower 1 pretzel into simmering water mixture; cook 15 seconds. Turn pretzel with a slotted spatula; cook an additional 15 seconds. Transfer pretzel to a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining pretzels.

Place pretzels on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Combine 1 teaspoon water and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until smooth. Brush a thin layer of egg mixture over pretzels; sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until pretzels are deep golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzels: (see photo at top of post)
When you put on the egg glaze in the above recipe, don't add any toppings. When the pretzels are baked and still a little warm, dip or brush them in melted butter and then dredge in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. I used ¼ stick of melted butter (and there was plenty left over), plus ½ cup sugar and about 1 teaspoon cinnamon but use the cinnamon amount that suits your taste.

We'll put this up for yeastspotting

Sourdough brownies

2011-09-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

I decided to give these a try because I had neglected my starter, yet again, and needed to refresh it. Wow, I am really impressed. Almost akin to a flourless chocolate cake, these are dark, rich and yes, melt in your mouth chocolatey brownies. I first saw the recipe on Wild Yeast; I do love her recipes. I tweaked just a little bit and of course my starter was old and hoochy. They might have more tooth to them with properly fed starter. These are not as sweet as most brownies, but super rich and satisfying. I'll see after school if they appeal to kids or just adults.

Oh yes, they definitely appealed to my 2nd grader. ☺ "Mom, will you send one of those brownies in my lunch today? And bring one after school for my snack..."

Sourdough Brownies

make one 9x13" pan (Adapted from Wild Yeast)

300g 72% cocoa bittersweet chocolate (I used a 90g bar of 65% chocolate and 210g semisweet chocolate chips)

226g unsalted butter (1 cup) (I used salted butter so I cut the salt to ½ tsp)

200g sugar

1 tsp salt (less if using salted butter)

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp honey (optional)

3 eggs, room temp

30g dark cocoa powder

10g malted milk powder

pinch of cinnamon

220g mature sourdough starter 100% hydration (I used unfed starter with hooch, straight from the fridge)

a couple extra handfuls of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Prepare a 9x13" baking dish by buttering, lining bottom with parchment and buttering the parchment. In a saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring constantly. It shouldn't heat up too much to the touch, just enough to melt and come together. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla and cook and stir over low medium heat for about two minutes, just until the sugar starts to dissolve a bit. (That will give the shiny top.) Stir in the honey if using. Add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition. In a bowl, stir together the cocoa powder, malted milk powder and cinnamon. Sift over chocolate mixture, stirring in as you go. The mix should change viscosity now and really come together. Gently stir in the sourdough starter until completely combined. Stir in some extra chocolate chips if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from near the middle. Cool for about 20-30 minutes before removing from pan - it should firm up quite a bit. Carefully lift the whole slab out with the overhanging edges of the parchment paper. Finish cooling completely on a wire rack. For clean edges, wait to cut until completely cool! Cut these into small squares, they are very rich and densely chocolatey.
Break out a glass of milk and enjoy!

A quick frozen treat

2011-09-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I stopped buying popsicles because of the high fructose corn syrup and switched to sugar free. I stopped buying sugar free popsicles because all the artificial flavors, sweeteners and colors were creating a reaction that was just as bad. There are a very few brands of fruit juice bars that do not have corn syrup in them. And the girls do love them. The only trouble is, they have 18g of sugar per bar compared to the 8g in a popsicle! So I prefer to make our own juice pops as often as I can. I must say, since I got it over a year ago, it is my firm opinion that the Zoku quick pop maker is one of the best inventions ever. You know how those freezer bowls work for ice cream makers? This is the same concept. The mold stays in the freezer and then you can have finished, hard frozen popsicles in 12-14 minutes. It also teaches the girls how to be patient. They don't even watch the mold anymore, they just wait for the timer to go off. ☺ But it also means I don't have to plan ahead 8 hours to have a frozen treat! Another nice thing about the zoku is that the pops look pretty big but actually only hold about ¼ cup of liquid. So each pop turns out to have about 6.5g sugar. (In this case.) Now that, I can live with. (One caveat: you cannot make sugar free pops - they will not release.)

Well, after walking home from school today in the 88ºF heat (which is warm for the pacific northwest), it was definitely time to make some frozen pops. I recently made a trip to Costco and picked up some things I don't usually have on hand and had never tried before. Some really tasty Odwalla strawberry lemonade - no corn syrup, yippee! They were demoing it as a starred item - once it's gone, it's gone. It has a thicker consistency because it's made with strawberry puree. Pretty good stuff, has a nice pucker to it. I also got some nice organic raspberry kefir with which I am pleased as well. So I figured I could add a hint of probiotics to the pops and slow down the absorption of that sugar by adding a little dairy/fat into the mix. I'm sure you could use coconut milk kefir for a dairy free option. I just used a 3:1 ratio of juice to kefir and the girls loved it. Maybe I'll try half and half and see if they still release well. They should, there is almost as much sugar in the kefir as the juice!

Frozen Strawberry Lemonade Kefir Pops

makes 4 zoku pops

¾ cup strawberry lemonade

¼ cup raspberry kefir

Mix in a liquid measuring cup and pour into the molds. Since the zoku only makes three at a time, you can either drink up the fourth portion or wait to freeze it in a second batch. (Yes, you can get two batches out of the zoku, the second just takes a few minutes longer.) Or you can freeze in your favorite frozen pop mold or dixie cups for 6-8 hours or overnight.

(Personally the time savings and versatility of the zoku has been so very worth the $50 price tag for me; I would be willing to get a second one if I had the need and the freezer space!)

Grandma's Zucchini Bread

2011-09-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmm. I love zucchini bread. I'm snacking on a piece slathered in butter as I type. The girls like it plain. This recipe was my great grandmother's and I've seen popular versions that only differ by ¼ cup and ½ tsp here or there. So I'm sure it's one of those old original goodies that gets passed down. This zucchini bread has converted many people who said they didn't like zucchini. I have tried other different recipes, even one with chocolate chunks in it. Meh. This is my recipe for the generations. Now, that being said, I have done some very minor changes on occasion to "healthify" it just a little wee bit. (A tad less oil, less sugar, part whole grains.) I am including the original, which is totally awesome, along with the changes I made this time I baked it up. This slightly more healthful version is what we are all chowing down on right now and what is pictured. It is still moist, flavorful, sweet and delicious. Good with butter or without. Good toasted too, though that's my mom's preference for aging quick bread. I like it soft. You don't have to use nuts though they really add a lot. I used walnuts this time though generally speaking, my nut of preference is pecan. You can make this however you want, see how it compares to your favorite. The whole grain emmer flour I used was a new thing for me, from a local company and mill. I am very pleased with the results. I think Grandma would approve, she was a phenomenal woman who lived to be 101. And somewhere, either my mom or me has the original recipe card written in my grandma's fine cursive. I can picture it, so it might be in my house... Good memories every time I bake it.

Great Grandma's Zucchini Bread

makes 2 loaves

3 eggs

1 cup oil (I used ¼ cup melted coconut oil, ½ cup sunflower oil and ¼ cup applesauce)

½ cup brown sugar (muscovado)

1½ cups white sugar (¾ cup evaporated cane sugar and ½ cup coconut sugar)

2 cups grated zucchini (one medium garden zucchini, little more than 2 cups)

3 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour (used up the last of the spelt ~½ cup, 1 cup ap flour, 1½ cups emmer flour)

1 tsp salt (celtic sea salt)

1 tsp soda

3 tsp cinnamon (love Penzey's cinnamon blend!)

½ tsp baking powder (listed on Grandma's card as B.P ☺)

1 cup nuts, chopped (walnuts this time, pecans are great too)

Grease and flour two 8x4" loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat eggs until very light and foamy, about 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer. Add oil, vanilla and sugars, mix until combined. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl. Add to egg mixture and beat on low speed until well combined. Stir in nuts and zucchini.

Divide batter equally into the prepared pans. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bread is golden brown and feels firm on top. A cake tester inserted in the center will come out clean. (If the bread is not perfectly moist, reduce bake time by 5 minutes next time. Everyone has a feel for their own oven.) Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edges to loosen if necessary and turn out. Finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve sliced and slathered with butter or plain, as desired.

Enjoy!

Homemade Maple Cream/Maple Butter

2011-09-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Do not make this stuff if you have a big sweet tooth, seriously love maple, and think you could sit down with a spoon and a jar and do serious damage to your waistline. Because I gotta say it is taking all my will power not to do just that.

I have shoved it to the back of the fridge, happy that I only made half a batch. I will not allow myself to make this more than once every few months. For one thing, good maple syrup is spendy! For another, well I just don't have enough gumption to stay out of it. This is one exceptionally decadent, (and sweet), condiment. You may have seen it on the shelf of some specialty stores or very well stocked grocery stores at an exorbitant price. That kind is lighter in color than mine because it is made from Grade A fancy maple syrup. I made mine with Grade B because that was all I had on hand. We just used up the last of the A for sourdough pancakes this week. ☺ So you will notice that the maple cream pictured has not only the consistency, but also the color of peanut butter. It's still awesome, but I will use the Grade A in future for color and authenticity. Also, the Grade A has the total sugar solids that will work the best for creaming as the recipe is written. I did have to cook the B a bit more and stir longer to get it to cream properly. All things considered though, I have made the maple sugar candy before and while it is really tasty, this delicious spread is a much easier undertaking, B or A. More forgiving on timing. And it still has that super creamy melt in mouth consistency of the commercial maple butters I have tried.

So if you are unfamiliar with maple butter or maple cream, it is basically a confection/spread. Pure, 100% maple syrup is what you get in the stores though I add a wee bit of butter to prevent too much foaming. This is optional or replaceable with coconut oil or another vegetable oil if you need it to be dairy free. All it takes is a saucepan, a candy thermometer (calibrated), and a little time. And of course the syrup. So what do we use it for? A spread for toast, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, doughnuts, cupcakes and crepes; eaten straight out of the jar; a topping for sweet potatoes or baked squash; an inclusion in fruit pies; sweetener for coffee and tea; whatever other uses you can imagine! If you love maple bars from the bakery, you will love this stuff. I also understand there is a cinnamon maple cream - just add cinnamon - which I imagine would yield a phenomenal cinnamon toast! Remember if you try this out that hot sugar syrup of any kind has the potential to cause serious burns. Please be careful and keep the kids out of the kitchen for this one.

Homemade Maple Cream

makes about 1 lb

2 cups Grade A Light or Medium Amber pure maple syrup (for best, most consistent results, stick with Grade A)

¼ tsp butter (or cream or milk or oil)

Before you start, fill the sink or a large pan with cold water and a few ice cubes. Next fill a 2 Qt saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil to determine the boiling point for your candy thermometer. Empty out the water and put in the syrup and butter. Boil over medium high heat without stirring, until the temperature reaches 24º over your water boiling point. Watch closely at the end, the temperature can move fast then. Immediately remove from heat and place in the pan or sink of cold water. Leave the thermometer in. Do not stir or disturb the syrup while it is cooling or cystals may form prematurely. When the syrup is nearly at room temperature, remove from the water bath. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon until the syrup loses its gloss and starts to turn opaque. This can take up to 15 minutes. Go slowly, you don't want to whip air into it. The consistency of peanut butter is the aim here. When it is nice and thick and your arm is ready to fall off, spoon it into clean glass jars and store in the refrigerator.

BBB - Vienna bread and Kaiser rolls

2011-08-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been taking advantage of a little lull in the sunshine to have the oven on and do some school prep baking. I like to have at least one loaf in the freezer for sandwiches. I was also out of burger buns yet again. And I even made some for last month's BBBuddy-ness. So I was quite pleased to read this recipe; it looked good, I like Peter Reinhart and I even had the barley malt syrup in the cupboard. I love what it adds to homemade bread. (Can't use the diastatic malt powder because it has dextrose [corn] in it, at least from the company I know carries it. I should look around to see if I can't find a corn free brand.) The things I really like about using a preferment are the added flavor and the extended shelf life. I used half whole grain spelt in the pâte fermentée and regular AP flour for all the rest. That was the only change I made. The bread turned out light, soft and just slightly chewy with a hint of tang. Very nice, it will make excellent sandwiches and toast. Bet it would make abfab french toast as well. Very nice dough to work with too, not super soft, but springy and fun. And evidently I will have to make more buns next time because my four year old absconded with one right off the cooling rack and demolished it plain, crust and all. She can tend to be picky about crusts so that is a good endorsement right there! Here is the recipe as detailed on Astrid's post, the host kitchen for the BBB this month.

9-25-11 Have made this a few more times and my kids absolutely love it for sandwiches. Have even added more whole grains - part whole emmer flour in the final dough; daughter loved it. Now trying all light spelt and emmer for the final dough and the only white flour as half the preferment.

Vienna Bread or Kaiser Rolls

Pâte Fermentée

makes 16-17 oz

1 1/8 cups (5 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/8 cups (5 oz) unbleached bread flour
¾ teaspoon (.19 oz) salt
½ teaspoon (.55 oz) instant yeast
¾ cup (+ 2 tbsp) (6-7 oz) water, room temperature

Method:

Stir together salt, yeast and flours. Add ¾ water mix on low speed with paddle attachment until everything comes together. The dough should be neither too sticky nor too stiff. When touched with finger it should stick to finger but be easily released (better stay on the stickier side than to be too stiff!)
Transfer dough on counter sprinkled with some flour. Knead until dough is soft and pliable (tacky, not sticky!) Knead for 4-6 minutes.
Oil your bowl and transfer dough to the bowl coating it with oil all around! Cover with plastic foil and let ferment until 1½ swelled in size (about 1 hour).
Degas dough trough kneading lightly and return to bowl again to go to sleep in the fridge over night. I like to use an airtight plastic bag. You can store it up to 3 days in you fridge now.

Peter Reinhart says:
"You can also use this on the same day you make it, if you ferment it at room temperature for 2 hours instead of refrigerating it. Flavor enhances through the night in the refrigerator though,... "

Vienna Bread
makes two 1 pound loaves or 9-12 pistolets

2 1/3 cups (13 oz) pâte fermentée
2 2/3 cups (12 oz) unbleached bread flour
1 tbsp (.5 oz) granulated sugar
1 tsp (.25 oz) diastatic barley malt powder
or 1 tbsp (.75) barley malt syrup
1 tsp (.25 oz) salt
1 tsp (.11 oz) instant yeast
1 large (1.65 oz) egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp (.5 oz) unsalted butter or shortening at room temp, melted
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (6-7 oz) water, lukewarm
semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Method:

1 hour before starting to make the bread: remove pâte fermentée from fridge. Cut into 10 pieces. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap.
Flour, sugar, malt powder, salt and yeast go into the mixing bowl. Add pâte fermentée pieces, egg, butter and ¾ cups of water. Stir together until you have a nice ball. If your dough is rather firm or stiff, use a little more water, we want the dough to be soft at this stage.
Knead for about 10 minutes on floured counter or on your machine with dough hook on medium speed for 6 minutes. Add flour if needed to achieve a firm but elastic dough (tacky not sticky).
Peter Reinhard says: "the dough should pass the windowpane test" - honestly I've never done this and it worked for me without this test... dough temp should range between 77° and 81°F.
Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Ferment at room temp for two hours or until doubled in size.
When doubled in size, punch it down and return to bowl until dough doubles again.
Remove dough from bowl to counter and divide into 2 equal pieces for loaves. Or into 3 to 4 ounce pieces for pistolets (French split rolls). Shape larger pieces into boules (balls) and smaller ones into rolls. Mist the dough lightly with oil and cover loosely with plastic.
Leave to proof at room temp 60-90 minutes or until they have risen to approx. 1 3/4 of their original size.
Preheat your oven to 450°F and place an empty steam pan in your oven.
Just before baking mist the loaves or rolls with water and dust lightly with flour. Score loves and rolls down the center.
Slide loaves or rolls onto baking stone or baking tray. pour 1 cup water into your steam pan quickly close oven door. After 30 seconds open oven door and spray oven walls with water, close again. Repeat twice in 30 sec intervals. After final spray lower heat to 400°F for 10 minutes. Rotate breads 180° for even baking. Continue baking until breads are golden brown.
Remove breads or rolls from oven and let cool on cooling rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving (if you can!)

(I think that's the hardest part for my kiddos - waiting until it is cool before slicing...)
This post will go up for yeastspotting!

Email evidently got lost, so I nicked the badge. ;)

Tomato, Bacon and Red Lentil Soup

2011-08-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

This was my girls' first exposure to lentils. A definite win. They loved it the first time I made it and every time since. Growing up, my mom always liked those "cup o' lentil" soups but I was never big on them. I certainly like these red lentils though. They are tiny, cute even, and better still take half the time to cook as brown lentils.

If you are afraid of lentils, this is a great starter recipe. Of course if you love them it would be a great addition to your favorites too. It's comforting, really tasty and very filling. The soup actually comes together pretty quickly too. You can use chicken or beef stock, they are both tasty and really enrich the flavor of the dish. Homemade is always best but in a pinch, canned or boxed will do. I do like the Pacific brand of chicken stock because it is allergen free for my daughter. And you can use two to four cups of stock and just make up the difference with water or top up with water to make the soup go a little farther. Tonight since we had company, I doubled most of the ingredients except the bay leaves and used just two cups of frozen chicken stock and the rest water. I don't recommend adding more bay as it is a very strong ingredient. (But wow, if you have lime thyme in your garden, try it!) Requests for seconds from my girls are a pretty good indicator that dinner was well received. Actually, my eldest raved over the soup the entire meal and drained two bowls of it. She's very good for my cooking ego. ☺

Tomato, Bacon and Red Lentil Soup

Serves 4-6

6 slices good, thick bacon (or more...)

2 small onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 large stalk celery, diced

½ cup red lentils

2 cans (14½ oz) diced tomatoes

1 quart chicken or beef stock (or 2 cups stock and 2 cups water)

1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced (or 1 tsp dried)

2 bay leaves

sea salt to taste

1/8 tsp lemon pepper

fresh ground black pepper

4 dashes tabasco

Saute bacon in a soup pot until slightly crisp. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Drain off all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat. Saute the celery, onions and garlic until soft. Add stock/water, cooked bacon, lentils, tomatoes, thyme and bay and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt, peppers and tabasco. Reduce heat and keep at a simmer or slow boil for about 30 minutes, removing the bay leaves after about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally until lentils are tender. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Sourdough or nice chewy baguettes work great for dipping!

Adapted from towards sustainability
Check out Monday Mania at Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

2011-08-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

We have large tomato plants right now but no tomatoes yet. Here's hoping we get enough summer to set some decent fruit. My eldest has been requesting spaghetti lately, and while I don't mind store bought sauce and can still find brands that are okay on ingredients for her, we never actually use up a whole jar. It sits in the fridge until it molds, waiting hopefully for me to find something in which to use it up. Yeah, that not being a good planner thing I keep suffering. But I almost always have canned tomatoes on hand and right now the herb garden is in full bloom. ☺ So I have been making a nice tomato sauce that feeds about four adults or leaves just a little leftover if you have smaller kids. I think this is the one I will stick with because it is easy, tasty and versatile. And personally, I think it tastes better than store bought. I think I will use the extra ½ cup from tonight's batch for pizza sauce this week. That's a rare treat for us!

Oh! My new favorite way to mince and chop - the blender method. Well, Vitamix method, but I think a blender would mince as well, just not chop. (I finally broke down and got one for Mother's day after years and years of talking myself out of one.) You whirl the ingredients in water in the Vitamix and after draining through a sieve you are left with perfect mince, or chop if you have the low speed of the Vitamix.

If you are fortunate enough to have lots of tomatoes in the garden, a long, low simmer will temper the acidity of the fresh produce.

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

makes about 2½ - 2¾ cups

2 tbsp olive oil (garlic infused if you can get it)

½ large onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, minced

1 small stalk of celery, well minced

2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

pinch of fennel seeds (or two - depends on your taste and the size of the pinch)

2-3 tbsp water

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes including juice (or 1¾ lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped if you are blessed with a garden tomato bounty)

1 teaspoon tomato paste (the double concentrated in the tube is the best if you can get it)

2 dashes of tabasco

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced carrot, celery and parsley, fennel seed and the chopped onion. Stir for a couple minutes, then add a few tablespoons of water and reduce heat to medium low. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened and cooked through. Add the minced garlic and increase heat to medium high. Add the tomatoes, undrained, and the tomato paste, basil and tabasco. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 15 minutes. At this point, you have a choice: if you like really chunky tomato sauce, you can leave it as it and serve over whatever pasta you choose or however you like.

Or, you can push the sauce through a food mill or blend it with an immersion blender to give it a smooth consistency. A regular blender would work too, just be careful with the hot sauce.

Personally, I like to take about 2/3 of the sauce and puree it with the immersion blender, then mix it back in for just a mildly chunky sauce. Very homemade consistency. Then you can just let the sauce simmer and mellow as you boil up some pasta and meatballs or sausage. We cooked up a really good local italian sausage to go with our sauce tonight. Hopefully you have a cleaner stove than mine. But hey, what's the name of the blog?

This post will participate in Monday Mania at Healthy Home Economist

Adapted from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/basic_tomato_sauce

A great reason to practice Pie crusts - Pie Cookies!

2011-08-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

These were such a treat growing up, the more so because there usually weren't that many. I think many people have their own version of pie cookies, some leave them flat but we pinwheeled ours. And they are a delicious way to use up the scraps of pie making. Occasionally, when there was a real hankering for pie cookies, mom would whip up a batch of pie dough just for the purpose. I don't know whether it was the weather or psychological, but the few cookies you get out of scraps always seemed better than just a full batch of them. Not that we ever complained! You can make these delicious little gems out of just about any pie dough that you can blind bake. Just tailor the amount of sprinkling sugar to any sugar in the dough. It's not exactly a recipe, but great that way because the kids can help with no fear of messing anything up. Plus it shows them not to fear pie crust!

Pie Cookies

makes as much as the dough will provide...

Pie dough scraps (or a practice batch of pie or tart dough)

softened butter

sugar (white or brown is fine)

cinnamon

Roll out dough as for pie in a squarish shape. Dock all over with a fork and spread thinly with the softened butter. Make sure you fill all the docking holes and just a little scraping over all. Not too much or it will bake out into a puddle. (Odd baker's admission: I've always loved the little crackly popping sound the butter makes as it fills the holes.)

Now you are ready to sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon. If it is a plain pie crust, be generous with the sugar, it's the only thing sweetening the cookies. Brown sugar is harder to sprinkle evenly but has great caramel/butterscotch flavor. I made these with Dorie's tart crust once and they were out of this world. That is a sweet crust and didn't need but a light sprinkling of sugar. Sure made my daughter a pie cookie convert though! Once you have the sugar evenly sprinkled, follow with the cinnamon. Be generous. I could have used a little bit more here.

Now roll the dough up just like you would for cinnamon rolls. Cut them into spirals about an inch thick. Maybe ¾" - just eyeball it as to how big you would like the cookies. Then place them cut side up on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Now we would usually bake these at whatever temperature the oven was after the pie came out, until they were done. For the purposes of guidelines, let's say about 375ºF for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and "sizzling". They will "talk" just like a regular pie does when it's done if that's the kind of crust you use. The cookies will be super flaky straight out of the oven, let them cool a bit before digging in. Nothing burns your tongue like hot pie crust. A lesson deeply ingrained since childhood...

They freeze fine though they never last long enough to go in the freezer. Store at room temperature in an airtight bag or on a plate under plastic wrap. Now, go forth and make pie crust!

Vanilla Marshmallows with Lyle's Golden Syrup (Corn Free)

2011-07-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

I really love Lyle's. Funny, I don't remember having it when I visited England about 20 years ago. But it's become my go to corn syrup replacement and I love that golden syrup is more widely available now right here in the US than it was even a couple years ago. I can find it in just about all our local grocery stores now. Usually in with the pancake and corn syrups. It is cane sugar derived and has a unique caramely flavor like a light hint of brown sugar. Now I've mentioned the book Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats before many times. It's my single most favorite cookbook over the past two years. It solved my corn syrup dilemma for marshmallows for my kiddo. And I used the homemade invert syrup in the book for other confections in the place of corn syrup as well. It gives a wonderful clean flavor that really is just whatever flavor you want the confection to be because it has no flavor of its own. But sometimes I ~~get lazy~~ don't really need the special quality of the syrup or don't have time for the extra step of making it. Like needing marshmallows for a special camping trip with the grandparents. It was one of many specialty items I needed to send with them to have safe food options for R. So with a week of baking and special trips to the store for the best hotdogs ever* (one of only two brands that are corn free), among other sundry items, it was nice to be able to take just a half hour to throw together some marshmallows instead of one and a half for the two steps otherwise required. Really, less than half an hour. Maybe five minutes to measure out ingredients and prepare the pan, ten or less to boil and reach temperature. Ten to twelve minutes to beat the batter to good marshmallow stiffness and another couple to spread it in the pan. Yes, they must cure for a few hours or overnight before cutting, but getting them to the pan takes less than 30 minutes. This batch was made for camping s'mores. R enjoyed helping coat them the next morning and put in the bag for the trip. These marshmallows have a slightly richer flavor from the caramel notes of the Lyle's. I'll bet they would work fabulously for the dulce de leche variation! (Pour out half batter, drizzle softened dulce on top, swirl with knife, pour other half batter, drizzle, swirl.)

Marshmallows freeze wonderfully by the way. Just be generous with the coating so they don't get sticky while thawing. They will last for months in the freezer and thaw just as good as new. Or just take a few out at a time for hot cocoa!

Remember to calibrate your thermometer!

Recipe may be halved.

Vanilla Marshmallows with Lyle's Golden Syrup

adapted from Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats

makes a 9x13" pan of candy

For the bloom:

½ cup + 2 tbsp water

1½ tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp unflavored gelatin

For the base:

¾ cup water

1¼ cups Lyle's Golden Syrup

pinch salt

1½ cups granulated cane sugar

Coating mixture**

Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and wipe it lightly with a paper towel, leaving only a thin film of oil. Set up a stand mixer with whisk attachment in place.

Make the bloom: Measure the cold water into a measuring cup and add the vanilla. Place the gelatin into a small bowl and pour the water mixture over it, stirring until there are no lumps. Set the bowl near the stove.

Make the base: Place the ¾ cup water, the golden syrup, salt, and sugar, in that order, into a 4-quart pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to boil for 2 minutes to wash down the sugar crystals on the sides.

Remove the lid, place a candy thermometer in the pan, and continue boiling until the syrup is 250ºF. Once the lid is removed, do not stir the mixture! Remove the thermometer and gently stir in the bloomed gelatin.

Pour the batter into the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat it on high for 10 to 12 minutes. At first the batter will look very watery, but as it beats, it will become thick, white and glossy and will increase in volume by two- or threefold.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and spread the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Let the pan sit uncovered at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight.

**For the coating: Sift together ¾ cups powdered sugar (Whole Foods carries powdered sugar made with tapioca starch instead of cornstarch if corn is an issue) and ¼ cup arrowroot or tapioca starch. Lightly sprinkle a work surface with the mixture. Ease the marshmallows away from the sides of the pan and flip the pan over, releasing the marshmallows onto the cutting surface. (Flip again - it is easier to get clean lines while cutting if cutting down through the outer cured side first.) Cut the marshmallows into squares, or use cookie cutters to cut fancy shapes. Toss the cut marshmallows in the powdered sugar mixture, shaking off any excess.

Place the coated marshmallows in an airtight container, with waxed paper between the layers, and leave a corner of the lid slightly ajar. They will keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They will also freeze for months.

* If you are fortunate enough to live in Washington or a couple parts of Oregon and Idaho, you can find Hempler's products. Their bacon is the absolute best. And their Uncured franks are totally awesome and corn free. Only the uncured ones though, the cured have corn syrup in them. They are huge, fat, ballpark sized dogs and seriously tasty. Nana remarked that she had never had hotdogs that good before and happily absconded with the extra package I had hidden in the freezer. (They live in Oregon not near a distributor.)

BBB - bring on the buns

2011-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Nothing compares to homemade hamburger buns. And, despite the inclement weather, it is summer and by golly we will grill burgers! Sara at i like to cook chose a Williams Sonoma hamburger bun recipe for this month's BBB challenge. I just sent the last two homemade buns from the freezer with my daughter for a camping trip with the folks. Good time to Buddy up and replenish the supplies. This recipe is more enriched than my old favorite and yields a bun that is closer to the soft pillowy storebought kind, especially if you use all white flour. I choose to use part white whole wheat in mine. And yeah, I was a wet blanket and made them the standard round shape instead of the cool squares. It's a matter of don't change too many things at once or the kids will rebel. We don't have White Castle around here, so they have no exposure to the cute little sliders. But most kids love mini stuff, right? Maybe next time. ☺ I added my changes/opinions in italics. Go out and make yourself some buns however you like them!

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Williams-Sonoma

1½ cups (375 ml) milk (bring to scald for better flavor and rise)
8 Tbsp (1 stick/125 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (I use salted butter, but also add less salt)
4½ tsp active dry yeast (I use ~3 tsp)
4 cups (625 g) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I use slightly less since I use part whole wheat)

5 Tbsp sugar (I use less)
1 Tbsp kosher salt (I use about half that - sea salt)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water (for egg wash - optional)

sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105-155ºF (40 to 46ºC). Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups of flour, the sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10 x 7½" (25 x 19 cm) rectangle. Using a ruler as a guide, cut the dough into 2½" (6 cm) squares. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the buns evenly apart, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake until the buns are golden and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers 190ºF (88ºC), 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut in half and use as hamburger buns.

Makes 12 hamburger buns.

For slider buns: Follow the instructions above but roll out the dough into a 9" (23 cm) square. Cut into 1½ inch (4cm) squares and place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Position one rack in the upper third of an oven and one rack in the lower third and preheat to 400ºF (200ºC). Brush the tops with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and 180 degrees halfway through baking.

Makes 36 slider buns.

My backseat baker notes: Do let them cool completely before trying to slice. They will be much easier to slice and hold up better under the filling with ample cooling time.

One thing I love about homemade buns is that they freeze AND thaw great. Just don't slice them before freezing. I know my standby recipe freezes well. With these more highly enriched buns, I would freeze on a sheet before storing in a food bag so as to ensure they keep their shape. Standard store bought buns, well they turn into shriveled little freezer burned hockey pucks. Go homemade!

Too good not to share Tiramisu Ice Cream

2011-07-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that it has been an abysmally wet and cool summer so far, (raining and 57º F today), we have still been doing lots of ice cream. I clicked over to this delectable recipe via foodgawker and just had to make it. Especially since I had an extra tub of mascarpone and leftover lady fingers from the tiramisu I made for my birthday last month. I could tell even before it was done churning and I had finished adding in the coffee/chocolate and lady fingers that it was a super winner. I could practically have eaten half a batch straight out of the bucket. The fact that it is a no cook, no egg base makes it even easier. This is great with the ladyfingers crunchy as well as softened (after curing). If you have enough, you may wish to keep some crumbled for garnish. Remember to get the Italian Lady Fingers - they are a hard little biscuit about the thickness of your thumb and not the soft ones found in the refrigerator case. The Italian ones keep for a very long time so you may want to stock up if you can find a grocery store that carries them. I am fortunate enough to have two fairly nearby. If you love tiramisu, you owe it to yourself to try this out! ☺

Tiramisu Ice Cream

adapted from Diethood

makes 1.5 quarts

1 tub (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese

1 cup whole milk

2 tbsp amaretto

1 tbsp chocolate liqueur (such as Godiva)

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

½ cup espresso

1 square (1 oz.) semi-sweet baker's chocolate (I used half unsweetened baker's chocolate for an authentic flavor and contrast to the sweetness)

4 ladyfingers, chopped + more for serving (optional)

With a mixer, blend sugar and mascarpone until smooth, then blend in the milk, amaretto, chocolate liqueur and salt. You can also just dump all those ingredients in a blender or food processor and let her go until smooth and blended. Chill for an hour. Pour into canister of ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

While the mixture is chilling, prepare espresso and finely chop the chocolate. (I admit to using dried espresso powder and hot water.) Stir chocolate into espresso until melted. Get this done early enough so that it is cooled down by the time you are ready to incorporate it into the frozen mixture. When the ice cream has almost finished, and while still churning, start pouring in the chocolate mixture a teaspoon at a time. It will loosen up the mixture, but just go gradually. When the ice cream is finished, remove the dasher and quickly fold in the chopped lady fingers if using. Transfer what you haven't eaten already to a freezer container and freeze for at least 4 hours until firm.

Top with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings and garnish with a lady finger or ladyfinger crumbs when serving.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

2011-07-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite summertime pies. Lemon actually ranks right up in the top 5 flavors (so I hear) for desserts and is pushing #1 for me. I adore just about all things lemon. The nice thing about this pie is that it only requires the oven to be on long enough to bake the crust. Now I do love a good lemon meringue pie with that silky tart curd and (if done correctly) billowing mounds of creamy meringue perfectly melded to it. But let's face it, that one is a lot harder. I haven't actually attempted one myself. And I may not anytime soon because this is so much easier and just as good in its own right. You do make a lemon custard and you do whip up a meringue of sorts; but folded together they make an exceptionally light, modestly tart, and simply ethereal pie filling.

Now I have seen these done with a graham cracker crust and I don't recommend it. I tried it once to save time and it was not nearly as good as a real pie crust. Too sweet. The one exception I might consider is a crumb crust made with oatmeal snack crackers. They are not nearly as sweet and would have a better contrast to the filling. I do love these with a standard pie crust though. Do try to make this with fresh lemon juice, it's just not as good otherwise, plus you need the zest. Lemons are cheap and usually available. Even the organic ones are inexpensive and much safer considering how highly sprayed the citrus crops usually are in conventional farming. So yes, I do recommend organic if you can get it. Otherwise wash and scrub the lemons very thoroughly before zesting. Oh, and zest before you juice. Seems like common sense but even I've forgotten on occasion. ☺

Lemon Chiffon Pie

makes one 9" pie

For the crust:

1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour (~4.5 oz)

6 tbsp butter (3 oz)

2 tbsp + 2 tsp Non-hydrogenated shortening (~1.4 oz)

½ tsp celtic sea salt (use about half that if using salted butter)

¼ cup ice water

Chill butter and shortening (separately) in the refrigerator. Cut into small pieces just before using. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture is somewhat mealy. Some larger chunks are okay. Add shortening and pulse another 3 or 4 times. Sprinkle a couple/few tablespoons of the ice water all over the mixture and pulse twice. Sprinkle on another tablespoon and pulse once or twice. Add another tablespoon if necessary, stop just when the dough is starting to form clumps. Dump out the mixture into large ziploc bag, squeeze it together and press into a rounded disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two days.

Preheat oven to 400º F. Roll out dough into a 10 or 11" circle (it helps to whack it flatter with your pin first). Slide pie plate under and ease the crust into position. Fold under the edges and crimp as you like. Use any longer edges to fill in shorter gaps for an even thickness on the edge. (There won't be any leftovers.) Dock the crust all over with a fork and stick in the freezer for 15 minutes. Place a large piece of parchment paper over the crust and fill with pie weights/pie chain/dried beans. Gently even out the weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and weights and continue baking for another 5-8 minutes until golden brown. (Now is when you would add a pie shield if you have one.) Remove and place on cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.

For the filling:

½ cup sugar

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

4 eggs, separated (or 4 egg yolks and the equivalent of 4 powdered whites, reconstituted)

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup lemon juice (I actually prefer the tartness of one extra tbsp lemon juice and one less of water)

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

½ tsp cream of tartar

½ cup sugar

Stir together ½ cup sugar and gelatin in a small saucepan. Blend egg yolks, water and lemon juice together and then stir into sugar mixture. (If you pour the juice mixture through a fine mesh sieve first, you won't have to worry about any curdled egg whites in your custard.) Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest. Chill in the refrigerator or an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. (The refrigerator option is the more forgiving time option.)

Beat egg whites (or reconstituted dried egg whites) and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in second ½ cup of sugar, a couple tbsp at a time until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat or your filling will deflate when you combine it. Fold lemon mixture into meringue. Pile into cooled, baked pie shell. (I sometimes will give the filling a few minutes in the fridge to firm up a little bit so it really piles well, but you have to watch it like a hawk so it doesn't set too much.) Chill at least three hours until set. Try not to eat it all in one sitting.

☺

* My backseat baker notes: The egg whites are not cooked, so unless you have access to fresh farm pastured eggs, I do not recommend using the fresh whites. Store eggs are just not safe that way. I do use the dried whites when I make this for company.

Please don't use crisco in the crust. Throw it out if you have any. That stuff is SO bad for you: fully and partially hydrogenated oils, soybean oil - a GMO ingredient; it really is a heart attack in a can. If you can't find the non-hydrogenated Spectrum or Jungle brand shortenings, you'd do better to try an all butter crust. It will be more flaky and less tender than shortening but still delicious. I grew up with crisco crusts, but I can tell you that the spectrum works just as well. The ratio is slightly different but once you figure it out with your own recipe you will have the same result as with the blue bucket.

Gotta share chocolate cupcakes

2011-07-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

We have two months of mega birthdays in our family. Four birthdays in June (three in this household) and five birthdays in September. I have done cakes in the past but our most recent round of birthdays spawned a request for chocolate cupcakes. And I found my most favorite ever chocolate cupcake recipe. The recipe easily halves so you can get just six cupcakes for a small family celebration, or the standard dozen for a small party. My daughter's seventh birthday was the first round of these beauties and I would say that 90% of the cupcakes were eaten down to the wrapper. I did have some vanilla too, but 8 out of 9 kids chose the chocolate. I was very pleased with the results as I tend to see lots of picked at plates of cake at most parties. These are so great, they bake up with perfect little domes, are wonderfully moist and last very well. They are also firm enough to stand up to frosting with a knife. Oh yes, no mixer required. These come together with just a whisk.

This last round for my youngest was the fourth time I've made them now. This is practically a no fail recipe. I threw it together before dinner and frosted afterward for our birthday song. Big sister talked little sis into yellow icing and I managed to find a box of natural vegetable based food colors - $19. OUCH. They are subtle and take more liquid to color but the result was a pleasing pale yellow. The same company makes the natural dyed sugar sprinkles too. India Tree. Ruddy expensive though. I am putting my colors in the fridge for longer keeping now. I absolutely adore Brown Eyed Baker's super easy recipe for vanilla bean buttercream. It is so fluffy and silky and will not form a crust even when left out for 12 or more hours. But depending on the frosting, these little cakes can be dairy free if you wish. The cupcake recipe is a simplified version of a Cook's Illustrated recipe for chocolate ganache cupcakes. Which I'm sure must be out of this world since the plain ones turn out so stellar.

Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
makes one dozen standard cupcakes

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I know they say to use the best chocolate, but I use Enjoy life soy free mini chips with great results and no chopping necessary)
1/3 cup (1 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa (I use natural, there are only a few recipes where it really matters)
¾ cup hot coffee (instant coffee or espresso with hot water works as well)
¾ cup (4 1/8 oz) all purpose flour
¾ cup (5¼ oz) evaporated cane sugar
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp baking soda
6 tbsp sunflower oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar as white vinegar is derived from corn)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a standard-sized muffin pan with cupcake papers. Place chocolate (or mini chips) and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee over mixture and let sit for a few minutes to allow chocolate to melt. (Yes, you can omit the coffee and just use hot water if you desire, but really it just enhances the chocolate and you don't taste coffee unless you have a palate that is very sensitive to a certain flavor component of coffee.) Whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until cupcakes are set and just firm to touch, about 17 to 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack to cool completely - about an hour. Frost as desired.

These are so good, I could eat them with just a dusting of powdered sugar. But they are delicious with the buttercream too. ☺ Now if only I could find a vanilla recipe I liked as well...

Coffee Gelato Ice Cream - Hide it if you don't want to share.

2011-06-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

I should never have let my daughter try this ice cream. Now I have to share. Fortunately it's just us two in the house that like coffee flavor. Well, the youngest hasn't tried but always chooses vanilla anyway. We're going to keep it that way too. Since the recipe only makes a generous pint, I'd rather not have to split it any more ways. Kids don't need the caffeine anyway. I used to have a penchant for Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream. I liked the little single serve cups because otherwise I could eat a whole pint in one day. I don't think I will ever have to buy it again now because this is just as good. It manages to be frosty and ridiculously creamy at the same time. I am having to bury it deep in the freezer to make it last more than two days. Maybe the pint batch is good portion control after all. ☺ This is a very simple recipe that does not require cooking and is therefore ready to freeze right away, hooray! Now fair warning, this does contain raw egg yolks so I would suggest pasteurized eggs if regular grocery store eggs are all that are available to you. I have access to fresh pastured eggs which I know are safe to use raw. For this batch I actually used fresh duck eggs which are amazing for baking and ice cream. (Just not a chiffon or a sponge unless you have a recipe tested for duck eggs, it can be a tricky thing.) This batch yields maybe half a cup more than a pint, but with a little, uh... quality control, it will fit nicely in the pint container... ☺ I love those round ziploc containers with the screw tops, they are perfect for a pint batch of ice cream.

Coffee Gelato Ice Cream

makes a generous pint

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tsp espresso powder

2/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

Dissolve the espresso powder in the cold milk and mix well. In a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until light in color and stiff. Continue whipping and slowly add the milk and coffee and the cream a few drops at a time. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. The ice cream will be ready in about 20-25 minutes.

I have made this with a hand mixer and with a stick blender. I think the hand mixer does a slightly better job of incorporating the sugar since there is more room for the mixture to move. It's actually a bit stiff for the stick blender. You can probably use a hand whisk but you will have popeye arms when you are done. Worth it though. And now, I'm off to pick up another couple dozen eggs because I'm out and we need more ice cream!

Adapted from DeLonghi

Strawberry Gelato Ice cream, fresh and frosty

2011-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's finally the season to start experimenting with the ice cream maker! So far we've done a fresh mint chip with a blend of peppermint, spearmint and swiss ricola mint. That was really good, almost reminiscent of a mojito without the lime of course. Then the good old fashioned chocolate. Both of those were french ice creams (custard based) and went over very well with the fam. Yesterday we took advantage of the sun and made fresh strawberry gelato while a bunch of girls slip n slided and danced in a sprinkler in the back yard. Wow, talk about a fluffy, refreshing fruit ice cream. Yum! This one is just milk, cream, sugar and berries with a dash of vanilla. Even so, it did not freeze hard as a rock and I was easily able to scoop light, frosty scoops out the next day. (Granted, that was a refrigerator freezer and not the chest freezer.) Now, I do love a french ice cream but this is so quick and easy, I just had to share. This is most similar to Breyers Strawberry Ice cream for a store bought comparison. The recipe makes only about a pint for my small capacity ice cream freezer. I'm sure you can double unless you like the portion control of a smaller batch. ☺

Strawberry Gelato Ice Cream

makes a generous pint

1½ cups cleaned strawberries (get organic if possible - strawberries are a heavily sprayed crop)

½ cup whole milk

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup evaporated cane sugar

dash of vanilla extract

Blend strawberries with half the sugar. Add the milk, cream and remaining sugar. Mix well to dissolve all the sugar. I used my stick blender and its 2+ cup container to make the whole batch. Flavor with vanilla. Chill if necessary. All my ingredients were quite cold so I didn't have to chill. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Mine only took about 15-20 minutes but this small capacity freezer takes less time. I'd say 25-30 minutes or more for a standard leave in the freezer canister style ice cream maker, especially with a double batch. (If you like larger pieces of berry in your ice cream, I would suggest chopping up a couple berries to your desired size and adding them to the mix when you put it in the ice cream freezer.)

The neighbor girls loved their ice cream cones, eaten still slightly soft serve style. This stuff was so deliciously fluffy, I can't decide whether I like it fresh or cured better!

Adapted from DeLonghi

Salmon chowder - for when the weather still won't make up its mind...

2011-06-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was gorgeous. Beautiful, warm and sunny, pushing the 80's or lounging happily in the 70's depending on the day. It was perfect birthday party weather for a group of 7 year old girls and I was thankful to be able to send them outside for most of the time. The next day we had Nana and Papa over for more birthday celebration and a little "Papa's a great handyman so can he fix everything while he's visiting..." They brought three gorgeous salmon filets fresh caught from friends in Alaska and we barbequed them all up for dinner. Well, even after pigging out on them, four adults and two kids could only finish two. The rest of this week has ranged from downright cold (low 50's) and having to turn on the heat, to drizzly and gray but slightly muggy. Today was mildly chilly with some solar gain through the clouds in the afternoon. I figured it was a good time to use up the leftover salmon somehow and chowder seemed to fit the bill. My daughter adores Manhattan style clam chowder and loved the salmon so I figured this would go over pretty well. I was wrong. It went over more than well. It replaced the clam chowder. I was slightly surprised but very pleased with the constant and effusive praise coming from her during the entire dinner. I'm sure I will be hearing requests for this one again soon if we have more stints of Mother Nature's mid-season neurosis.

Salmon Chowder

Serves 4-6

5 strips good bacon, diced (I recommend Hempler's if you are in the NW)

1 yellow onion, chopped

4-5 stalks celery, chopped (around ½-¾ cup)

4 small or 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (I used lovely little organic ones but the huge ones in the bulk section will do as well)

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups chicken stock (homemade if you have it)

1½ cups half and half (if you want to cut calories and richness, use 1 cup half and half, and 1 cup water)

½ cup water

1½-2 cups leftover cooked salmon, chunked and picked over for bones

½ red pepper, diced

1½ tbsp freeze dried parsley

¾ tsp dried dill

sea salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste

couple dashes tabasco

½ tsp maple syrup (optional)

minced fresh chives for garnish

Fry the bacon in a heavy soup pot until crispy. Take out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Saute the onion and celery in the bacon fat until the onion is translucent. Add potatoes and saute and stir a few more minutes. Add carrots, stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes until veggies are tender.

Add half and half, bell pepper, parsely, dill, tabasco and maple syrup. Simmer 5 minutes. Add salmon and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat until steamy but not boiling. Serve in bowls and garnish with the reserved crispy bacon and fresh chives. Enjoy with crackers, crostini or fresh bread.

Check out Monday Mania - real food at the Healthy Home Economist and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Adapted from Whole Foods

Fabulous Homemade Marshmallow Fluff in under an hour

2011-06-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, which one did you grow up with? We had the Kraft Jet puffed marshmallow creme.

And here is the rather unappetizing ingredient list: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Egg Whites, Artificial Flavor, Cream of Tartar, Xanthan Gum, Artificial Color (Contains Blue 1).

I can't believe I ever loved that stuff. I mean seriously, blue food coloring? It's WHITE. (You know they put that in their marshmallows too...) And if you read this blog on a regular basis, you know how I feel about corn and my poor daughter's allergy. At least it's not high fructose corn syrup. But it is a fluffy whipped concoction of sugar and chemicals.

Now the fluff brand, I've never actually tried.

I'll give them credit, the ingredient list is admirably short and sweet: Corn Syrup, Sugar Syrup, Dried Egg Whites And Vanillin.

But, corn syrup aside, I can't go for the vanillin. Usually synthetic as well as often a corn derivative.

So what's the shelf life on those guys and how long do they sit there? Or in your own pantry for that matter? I saw a great looking fruit dip the other day that calls for the standard 7 oz. jar of fluff. Well guess what... I happen to have a great recipe for fluff from Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats by Eileen Talanian. Best book ever, buy it, buy it, buy it! I didn't have any of the marshmallow syrup made up that her fabulous recipes use instead of corn syrup. (I usually only make it up when I need it.) But I do keep Lyle's Golden Syrup on hand. This past winter holiday season I discovered that it stands in beautifully for confections that are usually made with corn syrup. And I just love the way it tastes. It's made from cane sugar and has a unique and wonderful caramely flavor. Now the consistency of the syrup in the bottles tends to be thinner than that of the tins and some people prefer the thicker viscosity for applications like pancake syrup. But one 11oz. bottle happens to be almost the exact amount needed for a full batch of fluff and is easier to measure out. If it matters to you, be my guest and get the tin.

This fluff will not be glaring white but a creamy very light caramel color. It tastes heavenly. My daughters go gaga for it, AND it freezes wonderfully! Well here, take a look for yourself:

It really is gorgeous stuff. If you want it really white go ahead and make the marshmallow syrup (get the book.) Or you could use light corn syrup but for goodness sakes seek out an organic brand that isn't high fructose and genetically programmed to be its own pesticide. Yeah, I want that in my body. Not. I have found that almost all the grocery stores are carrying Lyle's now. It will be in the pancake syrup section usually - look for the green and gold label or tin. I can whip up a batch in around half an hour, though usually I make a half batch. The full is the equivalent of about three jars of fluff. It may freeze well, but I don't need that much around. ☺

(I did actually use 7 oz. of this homemade fluff in the fruit dip recipe posted by Brown Eyed Baker today and it turned out fabulous - folks were asking what was in it because it was so good.)

I usually make a half batch for our small family needs. The full batch pretty much fills up my kitchenaid. I did make a full batch this time because I needed it for a recipe and wanted enough to save in the freezer for super special treats for the girls. You know they have never had a fluffernutter? We will have to remedy that situation.

Remember to calibrate your thermometer!

Vanilla Caramel Marshmallow Fluff
adapted from Marshmallows: Homemade Gourmet Treats
(makes about as much as 3 jars of store bought)

For the base:
½ cup water
1¼ cups Lyle's Golden Syrup
1½ cups evaporated cane sugar

For the egg foam:
4 large egg whites at room temperature,
or equivalent reconstituted dried egg whites (I use the dried - works great)
1/8 tsp salt

Additional Flavoring:
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Place the base ingredients into a heavy 2 qt saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Cover and boil for 2 minutes. Remove cover, insert candy thermometer and boil to 240º F. Do not stir the mixture once the lid has been removed. Remove the pan from heat and set it aside to cool for 3 or 4 minutes.

When the temperature of the base reaches 220ºF, (for me, that's right after the 2 minute lidded boil) place the whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until thick, fluffy and opaque. (Soft peak is fine, just don't let it get to stiff and curdled.) Once the base has reached 240º and cooled for a couple minutes, slowly stream it down the side of the mixer bowl with the beater on medium speed, taking care not to let the base get into the beater so it doesn't splash. Drizzle in the vanilla.

Turn the speed up to high and beat for 7 minutes. Transfer the fluff to a plastic container, cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months. (Honestly, I trust the powdered egg whites chilled to two weeks but fresh I would want to use up in one week - another reason I usually do half batches.)

And lest you think vanilla and strawberry are the only options... Cinnamon, chocolate speckle, lemon, blackberry, espresso, butterscotch, cherry, mint, banana, honey-star anise, wine, frozen pumpkin and green tea-5 spice are only some of the other options.

The only challenge may be keeping little spoons out of the bowl...

Strawberry Almond Bakewell Tart

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

This was my first time making and tasting a bakewell tart. It won't be the last. I have been SO deprived. It's like eating almond horn filling with fresh jam in pie/tart form. Actually, I could just eat the almond filling straight! It's almost exactly like the filling I used to use for almond horns in high school. Yeah, one of those "way back machine" moments. At any rate, this rivals lemon chiffon pie as one of my favorite desserts now. Some recipes call for a can of almond filling. I used to love those. Now I find them artificial, gummy and overly sweet. And bloody expensive. Since I always have blanched almond flour on hand for specialty, low carb, and gluten free baking stints, I have found that I love the homemade almond paste option. Just a few ingredients and you have a great alternative with truer, more delicate flavor and yielding a lighter result in my baked goods.

On the left, canned almond paste. On the right, homemade. They have similar consistencies and both are quite firm when chilled. But the homemade is lighter and more naturally almond flavored. The canned stuff has that waft of artificial almond that knocks you on your tuckus when you open the lid. I really prefer the homemade now. I think I already said that. It bears repeating. With food sensitivities in the house, the less processed ingredients I use, the better. If you've never had a Bakewell, try it out! You can use your favorite preserves, I used my homemade strawberry peach jam that I made last month. Of course I could just make a batch of the filling and bake it up as muffin with a dollop of jam in the middle and be happy as a clam. ☺

Strawberry Almond Bakewell Tart
One 9½" tart

Tart Dough (Dorie's):

1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

9 tbsp (4½ oz) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 extra large egg

Almond Paste:

4 oz blanched almond flour (you could substitute an equal weight of blanched almonds and simply process into fine meal)

4 oz powdered sugar

1 egg white (or powdered egg white, reconstituted)

1 tsp almond extract

pinch sea salt

Filling:

8 tbsp (4 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature

(Almond Paste)

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 extra large eggs, room temperature

1 rounded tsp finely grated lemon zest

pinch sea salt

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup strawberry preserves (be generous)

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Tart dough:

In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt; pulse until combined. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Add the egg and process in long pulses, about 5-7 seconds until the dough has just started to clump. It's okay if it is still slightly crumbly. Don't overwork or it will shrink when you bake it. Dump out the dough onto plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap and your hands, gently press the dough into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If chilled overnight, let it rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a 12" circle. Flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Roll up the dough on the rolling pin and gently unroll it over a 9½" tart pan with removable bottom. Gently fit the dough into the edge of the pan. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the pan to remove the excess dough. Save the scraps for tartlets or let the kids have fun. Dock the dough with a fork and place shell in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Line the tart pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and paper/foil and bake for another 3-5 minutes. Place on a rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350º F. (You can also bake the shell a day ahead.)

Almond Paste:

Place almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor; cover and process until well blended. Add the egg white, extract and salt; cover and process until smooth. (Can be refrigerated for a few weeks or frozen for 3 months.)

Filling:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with paddle attachment until smooth. Add almond paste, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and salt. Stir in the flour until completely combined.

Assemble:

Spread the preserves evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Place spoonfuls of the filling over the preserves and gently spread to completely cover the preserves and seal the edges. Sprinkle top of the tart with the sliced almonds.

Bake until filling is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 35-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the side of the tart pan and slide the tart onto a serving platter.

Enjoy!

Oh yes, this tart freezes well. I had a craving after writing this up and had to go break into the leftovers. So yes, this picture is straight out of the freezer and it still tastes fabulous!

BBB rolls out Stromboli

2011-05-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

I ate way too many pizza pockets as a high school student. And even though that was years and years ago, I still turned toward pizza like fillings for this month's BBB Stromboli challenge. Pepperoni, italian sausage, basil, mozzerella and pimientos, though next time I would add some sun dried tomatoes. My hubby says it would be fabulous with marinara dipping sauce too. ☺ Yeah, I agree with the assessment that this is man food. Surprisingly, the girls decided they prefer their pizza flat. They did eat it though and I think they would again especially with the dipping sauce. The day I was going to make it I started a bit too late and ended up having to stick the dough in the fridge. It was tough holding that dough back though! I had to degas it a couple times before bed and stick a heavy bowl on top. Fortunately it didn't overflow all over the fridge, just peeked out from the edges of the bowl. I recommend that the dough definitely be at room temp before filling and rolling. And don't use an airbake baking sheet to bake it or you may end up with an underdone bottom/inside. I should know better by now, but I just flipped it over and baked a few more minutes. ☺

Yeah, I forgot to skewer it too. Oh well. I did end up with a small eruption on the bottom, but it was a very tasty one. The brilliant thing about this particular dish is that you can use whatever fillings suit your taste. The original recipe calls for smoked swiss cheese, garlic, Prosciutto, pepperoni, and fresh basil.

Stromboli
adapted from Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno

Ingredients:
2 tsp. dry yeast (7 grams)
1¼ c. water (268 grams)
3½ c. unbleached flour (470 grams)
1½ tsp. salt (11 grams)
3 Tbs. olive oil (38 grams)

For the filling and topping:
8 oz. smoked swiss cheese (226 grams)
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. Prosciutto, sliced thin (226 grams)
4 oz. pepperoni, sliced thin (113 grams)
Handful of fresh basil leaves
~1 tsp. coarse salt
3 sprigs rosemary, stems removed
~1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle yeast into 1 c. of the water, in small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes to then stir to dissolve.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in dissolved yeast and the oil. Mix in flour from sides of well. Stir in reserved water, as needed, to form a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, silky, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Pour dough in a clean, oiled bowl and cover with clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 hours.

Punch down and chafe* for 5 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes.

Shape into a 14" x 8" rectangle. Cover w/ clean towel and let rest another 10 minutes.

Spread your cheeses, meats, garlic and basil evenly over dough. (You can use your own combination of meats and cheeses, or roasted veggies and garlic or whatever you like for filling.) Roll up the dough like a swiss roll, starting at one of the shorter sides, but without rolling too tightly.

Place on oiled baking sheet. Use a skewer or a carving fork to pierce several holes through the dough to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. of olive oil, salt, rosemary and pepper.

Bake in preheated (400 degrees F) oven for 1 hour, until golden. Drizzle remaining olive oil over top. Slice and serve.

*This is the process of forming the dough into a ball by cupping your hands gently around it. Apply a light downward pressure to the sides, while at the same time rotating the dough continuously in a steady, non-stop clockwise motion. Keep doing this until the dough is formed into a smooth and even round shape.

This will go up for this week's Yeastspotting!