Cook Like Mad

picture from BBC Good Food

Thanks to S for the suggestion to share recipes that use up your summer bounty (comment found in my last post). I’ve selected my top 5 summer produce picks and selected a favorite recipe for each ingredient. I’ve also posted my favorite summer squash recipe, inspired by my trips with D to the South. Whether your garden is overflowing or you over-bought at the farmer’s market, these recipes are tasty, easy, and trusted. Enjoy!

Asparagus

Saveur’s Pasta Primavera

Baby Greens

Summer Salad with Apricots, Pistachios, and Almond Soft-Fried Eggs

Rasberries

Raspberry Ripple Pavlova

Tomatoes

Mark Bittman’s Tomato Paella

Summer Squash

Michel Bras’ Stuffed Zucchini

And finally, a recipe of my own:

My Yellow Squash Casserole

Ingredients:

3 medium yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch thick disks
3 c. whole milk
2 tbsp butter, plus extra to coat casserole dish
salt, to taste
1/3 c. Bread crumbs (I prefer the italian seasoned ones here)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided into 1/4 c. and 1/4 c. portions

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a medium-sized pot on the stove, add the milk, a pinch of salt and sliced squash to it, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer 5 minutes until squash are tender. While squash simmers, butter a small- to medium-sized casserole dish.

2. Turn off heat under pot, drain most of the milk (let’s say, leave 1/2 cup milk in the pot- this isn’t an exact science though), stir in 1/4 cup parmesan and transfer entire mixture into the casserole dish.

3. Top the mixture with the bread crumbs, then with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan. Dot the top with the 2 tbsp butter and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If the top begins to get too brown, cover it with foil and continue cooking for the remaining time. Enjoy!

-M

Bear with me, please. I know this does not look like Opera Cake, and in my opinion, it is not. Essential ingredients in Opera Cake are coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache, both of which are absent here. If it had been my choice, I would have made the original version, with the flavors that made Opera Cake famous. Alas, the Daring Bakers pleaded that we use only “light-colored” ingredients and flavorings, preferably in the yellow realm, like lemon, vanilla, and chamomile, so the original flavors got a swift kick in the butt.

What we’re left with is a layer cake by most people’s definitions, albeit a fancy one. Perhaps to be funny I should have made a beer flavored cake. That’s pretty yellow, no? Mmm…Sam Adams Summer Ale “Opera” Cake… Enough of it and you’ll be singing Gilbert and Sullivan tunes (”I’ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral…“).

Just kidding.

Anyway, in trying to make the best of what I consider a “situation” (I really like the combination of coffee and chocolate if you were wondering), I decided upon the summer-y flavor combination of Rose and Pistachio. It wouldn’t be yellow but it sure would be tasty. The only problem is, I really can’t force myself to call this ‘Opera Cake.’ How about The Most Delightfully Sweet and Texturally Divine Summertime Layer Cake? Let’s call it Divine Summertime Cake for short. Eat it and weep, my friends.

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake (a.k.a Divine Summertime Cake)

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

Yield: 10-12 servings.

For the joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

•2 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
•a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
•parchment paper
•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
•two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (I used ground pistachios- which you’ll have to grind on your own by pulsing them in a food processor)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1.Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

2.Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

3.Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5.If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6.Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

7.Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8.Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

9.Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

10.Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the syrup

(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of your choice (i.e., vanilla extract, almond extract, cognac, limoncello, coconut cream, honey etc.- I used rose extract, which you can find at specialty stores and many middle eastern grocers)

1.Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2.Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream

(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a candy or instant-read thermometer
•a stand mixer or handheld mixer
•a bowl and a whisk attachment
•rubber spatula

Ingredients:

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) water
seeds of one vanilla bean (split a vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the seeds) or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract (Note: If you are flavouring your buttercream and do not want to use the vanilla, you do not have to. Vanilla will often enhance other flavours but if you want an intense, one-flavoured buttercream, then by all means leave it out!)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
flavouring of your choice (a tablespoon of an extract, I used rose again)

1.Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

2.Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255◦F (124◦C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225◦F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

3.While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

4.When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

5.Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

6.While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

7.With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

8.At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

9.Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

For the white chocolate ganache/mousse (this step is optional – please see Assembling the Opéra Cake below)

(Note: The mousse can be made ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of your choice, optional (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

1.Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2.Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
3.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
4.Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
5.If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
6.If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

For the glaze
(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:

14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream (35% cream)

1.Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.
2.Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.
3.Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake

(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

Step A (if using buttercream only and not making the ganache/mousse):

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about one-third of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread another third of the buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde. Spread the remaining buttercream on top of the final layer of joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 20 servings.

Step B (if making the ganache/mousse):

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled.

Enjoy!

-M : )

I don’t know when or where I ate my first molasses cookie, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved them. I am forever on the quest for that perfect recipe which yields the chewy, moist, intense cookies I’ve come to crave. Most recipes I’ve tried call for either very little molasses, too much sugar, or too fluffy a batter, yielding hard, dry, and cloying cookies, but this one is the best I’ve found yet. I still believe there is a chewier recipe out there (I have this love for very chewy foods…taffy, caramel, bagels (especially Murray’s near Union Square!)…you name it), but this one has a great balance between depth of flavor and delicateness that makes you crave them more, rather than giving you a stomachache after one.

There was a recommendation on allrecipes.com, where this recipe originated, to dunk these in pumpkin dip, a recipe also found on that site. I’m guessing you don’t really need a recipe for that though, since it’s probably just a combination of pumpkin mash and marshmallow fluff, but search around if you want precise measurements. To me, the combination sounds scrumptious, and is eerily reminiscent of this recipe I posted a while back. No wonder it sounds good to me! Anyway, if you’re as big a fan as I am of these treats, you’ll be delighted to find such a foolproof, fast, and satisfying recipe as the one I’ve posted below. Feel free to experiment with oil instead of butter, all molasses instead of part molasses and part sugar, and a different combination of spices. All I ask is that if it turns out well, you let me know the changes you made so I can continue on my quest for the perfect recipe. Enjoy!

Note: I love these cookies with chocolate chunks, nuts, and other add-ins incorporated to the cookie dough. In this batch alone I was able to try out white chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and coarse sugar for rolling them in, and each turned out great, with it’s own unique personality. All I’m saying is, go wild; these cookies can handle the challenge as they accept a wide variety of additional flavors very well.

Molasses Cookies (adapted from this allrecipes.com recipe)

Makes 60 small cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, such as canola
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup white sugar, for rolling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.

2. Combine butter, oil, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and using beaters, a whisk or a stand mixer, mix ingredients for 5 minutes, until mixture lightens in color.

3. Add egg, mix until combined, then add molasses. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a separate small bowl and add slowly to wet mixture until fully incorporated. Place mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

4. Place 1/2 cup white sugar in a small shallow bowl and using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, gather about a tablespoon of dough in your hands, roll in a ball, and toss in the sugar to coat. Place on lined baking sheet, and repeat with the rest of the dough. Place cookies about 1 inch apar, as they spread quite a bit. Press down on cookies with a flat bottomed drinking glass, so they are about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 6-8 minutes until slightly firmer but still a little soft. There should be little change in their color, so you don’t really want them to brown. Store in an airtight container for 1 week or in the freezer, up to 3 months. Enjoy!

-M : )

Scallop Ceviche

Now that D and I are back from our trip down south, we are taking a break from heavy foods by dining on salads, soups, and sandwiches for dinner. We had our fill of yeast rolls and sweet potatoes at Mary Mac’s in Atlanta, cheddar biscuits and fried chicken at The Lady & Sons in Savannah, and whole hog pork barbecue and banana pudding at Sweatman’s, about a hour north of Charleston. Most of the food we had was incredible, but also incredibly heavy. All I wanted once we got back to D.C. was a big salad and some broiled fish. While a lot of the food we had down south was simple, country food, it didn’t feel pure, if you know what I mean. Sure the green beans, butter beans, black eyed peas, and sweet potatoes were cooked with few ingredients, but food that’s cooked for hours on the stove rarely tastes as fresh and healthy as it does in its raw state. Not to mention it all looks brown to me after a while, which is less than appetizing.

So since our meals have been “pure” (read: less than exciting) the past few days (for example, nicoise salads are the most complicated thing I have made since coming home), I am sharing some of my catering recipes I promised not too long ago, instead. The blue cheese and pecan crackers have a delicate, shortbread biscuit-like texture and are wonderful eaten on their own. The scallop ceviche in cucumber cups is always chic, impressive, and easy to make ahead. Both of these recipes will be among your new favorites in your entertaining arsenal. Enjoy!

Blue Cheese and Pecan Crackers (from Garde Manger, by the Culinary Institute of America)

Makes 3 dozen

1/2 cup butter, diced, cold

8 oz crumbled blue cheese (or block blue cheese, like Valdeon)

1 cup flour, plus more for dusting

1 tsp salt

2 oz pecans, finely chopped

Method

1. Add salt to flour. Cut butter into flour with your hands or a pastry cutter, then incorporate blue cheese. Stir in pecans. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set in fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. Roll chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to no more than 1/4 inch, and no less than 1/8 inch, thickness. Cut with a 2 inch round cookie cutter, or in another desired small shape and place shapes an inch apart on the lined baking sheets. Re-roll scraps from cutting and cut out more shapes. Repeat until dough is used up. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden and slightly firm. Remove from baking sheets and cool on parchment paper. Store in a tightly-sealed container for up to 1 month. Enjoy!

Scallop Ceviche in Cucumber Cups

Makes about 60 pieces

4 large english cucumbers, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch slices, crosswise

10 large scallops

1 large firm tomato, seeded and diced finely

2 bell peppers, in different colors, diced finely (I like orange and red, since the cucumbers are green)

2 jalapenos, seeds removed, diced finely

3 limes, juiced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped finely

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt, to taste (you can add pepper, but I just don’t like to see the black specs in my ceviche)

Method

1. Remove tough muscle on the side of the scallops. Slice scallops across so you get three discs each, then slice into strips. Cut strips into small dice so pieces are about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch. Place diced scallops into a large bowl and add lime juice, tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, olive oil, and salt. Mix well, cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and set in the fridge overnight.

2. The next day, before serving, use a small melon baller to make the “cup” in one side of the cucumber slices. Make sure not to punch all the way through! When it’s time to serve, spoon 1/2 tsp of ceviche into each cup. Enjoy!

-M : )

When I think of icebox pies, I think of those super sweet, cool-whip(or pudding) based, high rise pies often seen in diners and old country cookbooks. In one of my favorite southern cookbooks, A Taste of Louisiana, by the Louisiana Federation of Women’s Clubs, among the many pie recipes, there is a recipe for Peanut Butter Pie that calls for chunky peanut butter, raisins, vanilla pudding mix, whipped topping, and salted peanuts, all set up in a graham cracker crust. Now I haven’t made this pie, but it did give me an idea to make the one below, modified from this epicurious.com recipe.

The epicurious recipe uses creamy rather than chunky peanut butter, whipped cream rather than pudding mix, and swaps the raisins for a layer of chocolate ganache. I like the fact that epicurious keeps the graham cracker crust, but I thought the pie recipe needed to be (forgive me) “kicked-up a notch.” So I made raspberry preserves to spread over the chocolate ganache to revive the fruit component established in the first version by the raisins. The raspberry preserves give a much-needed tartness to the rich and creamy pie, without adding “chew,” which no doubt was an effect of adding raisins to a chilled pie. The chocolate ganache is made from 60% cocoa-content chocolate chips, adding to the complexity of the pie’s flavors. This is not your average refrigerator pie, it is a pie for adults, in addition to children, and speaking of children, it’s a great recipe to make with them. If you prefer to use store-bought raspberry preserves, just make sure you stir it up a bit before spreading it over the chocolate layer, so it’s loose and easy to manipulate. Also, feel free to make this pie in 8 of those individual graham cracker crust molds you can buy in the store- that way there’s no worrying about cutting perfect slices and each guest will feel particularly royal : ) So give this old-school pie a try. It’s a perfect, comfy winter dessert and it’s easy to boot. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pb & J Mousse Pie

Adapted from this Epicurious.com recipe

Makes 8 Servings

1 bag frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
7 whole graham crackers, finely crushed into crumbs (the food processor works best here)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 1/3 cups (about 8 oz) 60% bittersweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup plus 1 3/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

1 cup (about 6 oz) peanut butter chips
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Bittersweet chocolate chips, melted, to serve
Roasted, lightly salted peanuts, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If making raspberry preserves from scratch, dump bag of frozen raspberries in a small pot with 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil Lower to medium heat, stir occasionally, and add 2 tbsp sugar. Stir frequently for another 10 minutes and then turn off heat, transfer to a bowl, and let cool. Meanwhile, make other pie components.

2. Spray 9-inch pie dish lightly with vegetable oil spray. Mix graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 melted butter and 2 tbsp sugar with a fork until it comes together and spread out evenly in the bottom of the pie dish, making sure, to patch up any holes, as you work the mixture up the sides of the dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until just lightly golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool on the counter.

2. Mix chocolate chips, 2/3 cup whipping cream, 2 tbsp corn syrup and 1 tsp vanilla in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on half power for 2 minutes. Let sit for 30 seconds, and stir, until fully incorporated. At first the mixture will look like it won’t combine, but be patient, it will become quite thick and dark with a little stirring. Pour overcooled crust and set pie dish in the freezer for 20 minutes.

3. Mix peanut butter chips, 3/4 cup whipping cream, 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter, and 1 tsp vanilla in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on half power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir the same way as the chocolate chip mixture. Let cool in the freezer for 10 minutes.

4. Once chocolate mixture has cooled in the crust, spread cooled raspberry preserves over chocolate layer, ensuring to create an even layer, as it will be pretty thin. I like to use the back of a tablespoon for this if there is no offset spatula available.

5. Chill 10 minutes in the fridge. After this point, the peanut butter mixture will be cool, so whip 1 cup whipping cream with 2 tbsp sugar until it is thickened but has not reached soft peaks. It is very important to not whip the cream to soft peaks or beyond, to keep the mixture creamy. Fold in the peanut mixture to the whipped cream in thirds, trying to keep the volume you created. Dump this peanut mousse in the middle of the raspberry preserves layer and spread to the outer edges of the pie crust. It will look as if there is too much mousse mixture, but it is exactly the right amount, so don’t skimp. Place the pie in the fridge for at least one hour, but up to overnight, to allow it to set. Do not cut the pie until the pie has chilled for 1 hour. To serve, drizzle with melted chocolate and roasted, lightly salted peanuts. Enjoy!

-M : )

I told D before we moved in together that we were going to have to make room for my enormous cookbook collection in our new apartment, but it wasn’t until I started piling the books against the wall last month for lack of bookshelf space, that he quite understood what I meant. Thankfully we “inherited” a second bookshelf from a past roommate, giving my collection a proper home, as well as freeing up some floor space…

This recipe for Garlic and Parsley Hearthbread comes from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook, How to be a Domestic Goddess. Nigella has a talent for making baked goods, both rustic and refined, seem utterly simplistic, and leads you through recipes as a friend would, with gentle nudgings in the right direction. One thing I particularly love about Nigella’s writing is the unparalleled way she describes a treat’s deliciousness. She says of dream bars, “on top is a sticky mixture of nuts and coconut bound by a tender, toffeelike chewy gunge,” and of chocolate macaroons, “Though description is irrelevant: the utter gorgeousness of just one mouthful of these chocolate macaroons…reveals the rank inadequacy of language.” For someone who describes her chocolate loaf cake as having “damp, heady aromatic denseness” and her cream cheese brownies as “rich, sweet, sharp, palate-cleaving,” its quite the complement to a dessert that it is beyond her ability to describe its lusciousness. Then again, if you’ve ever watched Nigella on TV, you are already aware that her words hold no flame to the look on her face when she takes a bite of her creation. Nothing makes you want to cook more than watching her hedonistic smile as she licks chocolate brownie batter off a wooden spoon. If you’re a guy, maybe you’re not thinking so much about cooking…However, if you’re attracted to men, then most likely you’re thinking about making those brownies to see the same smile on your guests faces as they delight in another fabulous Nigella recipe.

Back to the hearthbread (sorry guys…). All you need is your hands, a baking sheet, and a hot oven. Sure you can use the dough hook on your stand mixer to knead the dough, but for me, the whole point of baking bread from scratch is feeling the dough elasticize and strengthen in your palms. Nigella describes this hearthbread as “something between garlic naan and herby focaccia: dimpled, doughy, and headily pungent.” As usual, she gives an honest and accurate description of what will come from your oven. Enjoy!

Garlic and Parsley Hearthbreads (adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be a Domestic Goddess)

Makes 2 6” x 10” breads, but you can shape them into rolls or rounds as you wish.

3 1/2 cups white bread flour (secretly, I used all purpose, and they turned out great! Don’t waste money on buying special flour if you don’t want to)

1 package (1/4 oz) rapid-rise yeast

1 tbsp salt

1 1/3 cup warm water

5 tbsp olive oil, plus 3 tbsp for garlic parley mixture, and more for greasing

1 large head fresh garlic, top sliced, drizzled with oil, roasted in the oven in foil at 375 for 45 minutes, until golden and soft

1/2 cup flat leaf parsely, minced

salt, for sprinkling

1 large or 2 small baking sheets, lightly oiled

Method (I’m being brief to avoid copyright issues, ok?)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine warm water and 5 tbsp olive oil in a measuring cup and flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stir wet mixture into the dry one, combine and dump on your cutting board. Knead 15 minutes, or until dough is stiff and elastic and smooth. Clean your large bowl, lightly oil it and place the bread inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (on top of your stove, while the oven is heating is nice) for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, mince together your roasted garlic (which you’ve extracted from its bulb) and parsley and place in a small bowl. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and stir to combine.

3. After your bread has risen for one hour (it should be about double in size), punch down dough and dump onto your clean counter. Form into desired shapes and set on greased baking sheet(s). With your finger tips, take a pinch of the garlic and parsley mixture and press it into the top of the bread, creating green and golden flecked dimples on the top of your dough. Repeat until the mixture is gone and your bread is covered. Let rest for 20 minutes on the baking sheet(s) under a damp paper towel (or two).

4. Once the dough is rested, place in the oven on the baking sheets, and bake for 20 minutes, until the top is golden, and totally firm to the touch. You can tap the bottoms of the breads and if it sounds hollow, they’re done. Let cool for at least 20 minutes, to allow the crumb to set and dry. Enjoy!

-M : )

Some people like crunchy cookies, other likes soft, chewy cookies- I like both, but today I’m standing up for cakey cookies. Perhaps these would be better named as cake bites, since the dough is looser than normal cookie dough and the resulting texture is more like a cakey pumpkin blondie than a cookie, but the shape and size beckon me to continue to refer to them as cookies. The fact is, in order to make the cookies taste enough like pumpkin to merit their title, you have to moisten the batter with so much pumpkin puree that there’s no way this cookie could come out chewy, let alone crunchy.

pumpkin cookie innards

Since the recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin puree and most cans are over 14 oz, use the extra for mini pie fillings, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, or freeze it in a ziplock bag to defrost when you want to make these cookies again- it won’t be long. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake Bites (Soft Pumpkin Cookies)

Makes 40 small cookies

• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white or milk chocolate chips (or both)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat or lightly grease it.

2. Mix first seven ingredients (the dry ingredients) in a small bowl and set aside. Combine butter and sugar in another bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy and lightened in color, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat in egg, then stir in pumpkin puree. Add dry ingredient mixture all at once and stir until just combined. At this point you can fold in white or milk chocolate chips if you;re making drop cookies, or if you;re piping the cookies, add the cookie dough to a pastry bag fitted with a tip at least 1/2” wide. Drop or pipe cookies onto baking sheet and if you piped the cookies, place one chip, white or milk, in the center of each cookie.

4. Bake in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be fairly firm to the touch, but not dry, and they should only be barely browned on the top and bottom. Move to a rack, cool, and enjoy! Cookies keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

-M : )

Just look at that photo- do I even need to say anything to encourage you to make this pot pie? Feel free to bake this in individual ramekins so you can serve them in their baking dishes. With this rustic dish, that would be a beautiful presentation. Interestingly enough, this dough is very similar to the dough I created to make those Chinese five spice pinwheels. If you find yourself with leftover dough, you can always bake up a few of these cookies while you wait for the chicken to cook through. Dinner and dessert in one recipe! What’s better than that? Enjoy : )

Chicken Pot Pie

Makes 3 Servings

2 1/2 cups chicken stock (broth is fine)

2 large chicken breasts

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

6 tbsp beurre manie (3 tbsp flour mixed with 3 tbsp oil or melted butter)

vegetable oil, as needed

1 egg, mixed with 1 tbsp water

salt and pepper, to season

1 sheet Frozen puff pastry or use the recipe below:

Easiest Pastry Recipe:

1. Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with 1/4 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cut in 6 tbsp diced cold butter. Mix in 4 tbsp water until dough just comes together, wrap in plastic and set in fridge. Roll out to 10” circle when you’re ready to cover your pie.)

uncooked pastry crust, with a decorative topping made from extra crust

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish that has a diameter of about 9” (I prefer a cast iron dish, but any baking dish will work). Bring chicken stock to a boil in a 4 qt pot, turn down heat, and keep hot over medium heat, covered.
2. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat with 1 tbsp oil in it, and add carrots, celery, onion and a pinch of salt.

3. Meanwhile, set up another pan (that has a fitting lid) with 2 inches of water and heat on high. Place chicken breasts in pan, cover, and once the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and shallow poach the chicken breasts for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. When cooked, remove from water to a clean cutting board and let cool slightly. Once cool, shread or cut into large dice.

4. Add vegetables to chicken stock once golden brown and slightly soft. Add chicken also, then whip in beurre manie. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes, then pour into baking dish. (Note, you can stop here and refrigerate mixture, if you want to serve the dish tomorrow.)

5. Place round of pastry crust (or puff pastry) on top of baking dish, ensuring that the pastry overlaps the side of the dish slightly, so you can crimp the sides shut. Brush top of pastry crust with egg mixed with 1 tbsp water and bake in oven on a sheet tray (to catch drips) for 20 minutes, or until top is golden and cooked through. Serve in shallow bowls and enjoy!

-M : )

pretty pecan pinwheels!

As I continue with my baking kick, my mind turns to cost. What ingredients can I cut out and still have a great cookie? Butter? No way. Sugar? Not in a million. Flour? Fat chance. Eggs? Hmm….And that’s where we begin.

In nearly every traditional cookie recipe, eggs lend texture, flavor, rise, and even sheen. But what if you’re secure in the ability of butter, sugar, and flour to add texture, pecans and warm spices to add flavor, and the layers created by the careful combining of butter and flour to create rise? Then you’ve got yourself a great cookie recipe. These Chinese Five Spice Cookies are not only fun and easy to make, but also resourceful. Change the filling to cinnamon, sugar, and currants, or fig jam and chopped almonds-any way you make these, they’re flaky and delicious.

Eggless Chinese Five Spice Cookies

Makes 25 cookies

Dough:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup butter, in small cubes, chilled

3-4 tbsp cold water

1/8 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp chinese five spice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet or use a silpat to line one.

2. Mix the salt into the flour. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, quickly incorporate the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the butter is still cold. If butter begins to warm, place mixture in the freezer for 5 minutes and begin again. Add just enough cold water to make a rough dough that stays together. You should be able to see butter streaks in the dough. Wrap in plastic and set in the fridge for 10 minutes to relax the gluten you may have developed in mixing and to allow the butter to cool.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

4. Unwrap dough, lightly flour a flat surface, and roll out dough to a rectangle (about 12” x 8”), making sure it’s 1/4” to no less than 1/8” thick.

5. Sprinkle filling on top of the dough to make a thin, even layer and roll lengthwise until you’ve created a log. Place in the freezer to firm up for 10 minutes.

6. Slice the log into 1/4” to 1/2” slices, depending on how big you’d like the cookies, using a sharp knife. Place cookies flat on the baking sheet and into the oven, for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a rack and enjoy!

-M : )

Ok, so I guess I’m on a baking kick. Its just that D and I have a few friends coming over to watch football tonight and tomorrow night, and I couldn’t help but bake some goodies to munch on during the game. I made both palmiers (recipe in part deux) and chocolate-dipped pecan meringues (recipe below). I am particularly fond of cookies that are easy, cheap, and can be made small, and these two recipes match all the criteria.

Not only do smaller cookies take less time to bake, they are also a wiser bet for satisfying your guests and making sure that your baking doesn’t go to waste (and frankly, your feelings don’t get hurt). Bigger cookies require the guest to contemplate the size of their appetite, normally an evaluation that takes place after a meal. If you want your baking to be put to good use (i.e. chomped and digested) then make those cookies smaller! Smaller cookies means more cookies to enjoy, and fewer people saying no to trying one. No one’s going to need to consult their diet commandments to eat one. All the pleasure in a couple fewer bites, that’s all. You can even feel good having seconds. And trust me, you’ll want more than one.

What I love about these cookies is not only that they’re easy and liked by all, but also that they have a certain adult quality about them. Its that almost-burnt flavor, that caramelized, brown sugar taste that deepens and balances the sweetness. They are crunchy, light, and even great without being dipped in chocolate, white or dark. Serve a few in a bowl with some raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries, add a little whipped cream or ice cream, and you have a more formal dessert. Whether you share them with friends while watching football or enjoy them crushed into ice cream, cuddled up with a good book, enjoy!

Chocolate-Dipped Pecan Meringues

Makes 25-30 1 1/2” cookies

1/2 cup pecans

2 egg whites

pinch salt

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/8 cup white chocolate chips

1/8 cup dark or milk chocolate chips (your choice)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees and lightly grease baking sheet, or better yet, use a silpat baking mat on top of the baking sheet.

2. Pulse pecans in a food processor (preferably a small one) until coarsely ground. Take care not to over pulse, or else oils will release and coarse texture will be lost.

3. Whip eggs whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form and add sugar slowly, while continuing to beat whites. Beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Immediately fold in pecans, taking care not to deflate the egg whites (the sugar does help to stabilize them, though).

5. Drop or pipe about a tablespoonful of batter onto baking sheet or mat, and leave 1” of room between cookies. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 285 degrees. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden all over. Cookies will still be slightly soft to the touch, but they will harden as they cool out of the oven, yielding a crunchy texture.

6. While cookies cool, melt the chocolates in separate dishes in the microwave. Dip bottoms of the cookies in melted chocolate once completely cool and firm and place them on wax paper, then in the fridge, so the chocolate can harden.

Note: white chocolate-dipped cookies will not need to be refrigerated to harden, but the milk or dark chocolate-dipped ones probably will.

Enjoy!

-M : )

There are some no-brainer food combinations that come to mind when I think of things to make for dessert: chocolate and mint, chocolate and cherry, chocolate and coconut, chocolate and almond, chocolate and peanut butter, white chocolate and berries, hmm…chocolate, white, milk, or dark, seems to compliment an inexhaustible list of flavors, huh? However, chocolate desserts, even when they contain fruit, can be quite heavy. The solution? Use the chocolate as a background flavor, as I’ve done in this take on a napoleon, using pate a choux (cream puff) disks in place of the traditional puff pastry rectangles, and pumpkin white chocolate puree in place of the heavy pastry cream filling. The result is a light, texturally interesting, and visually impressive dessert. And, of course, it’s delish- would I post the recipe if it wasn’t? Be assured, its a winner. Enjoy! : )

Pumpkin White Chocolate Pate a Choux “Napoleon”

Pate a Choux Dough (adapted from Nick Malgieri’s “How to Bake“)

Makes 30 3” rounds

1 cup water

6 tablespoons butter (I actually prefer salted butter, here)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 large eggs

2/3 cup coarse white sugar, for sprinkling (coarse brown sugar is a fine substitute- look for demerara sugar)

pastry bag with 1/4 inch round tip

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet, or place a spat mat on the baking sheet. Arrange racks so that they are in the center of the oven.

2. Combine water, butter, and salt in a medium size saucepan or pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. When mixture boils, turn off heat, add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated and mixture leaves the sides of the pot cleanly.

3. Transfer paste to a bowl and spread the paste up the sides of the bowl to quicken cooling process. Let cool for 1 minute, then add eggs, one at a time, stirring until each is absorbed before adding the next.

4. Spoon mixture into pastry bag fitted with 1/4 inch wide round tip and pipe 3” pinwheels onto the baking sheet, keeping 1” between each puff. Pipe pinwheels by starting in the center first and coiling the dough around the center. When you’ve made a 3” pinwheel, release pressure on the bag and pull the tip away to the side (don’t pull the tip up) in a quick motion. Sprinkle tops of pinwheels liberally with coarse sugar. Don’t worry about shaking excess sugar off the baking sheet or mat, it will just caramelize in the oven and add extra crunch to the pinwheels.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and fully cooked through. Puffs should retain their shape out of the oven. If they collapse on themselves, bake for an extra minute or two.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Puree

Makes enough for 4 Napoleons

1 small can pumpkin puree

1/4 cup real maple syrup

2 tsp molasses

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1 cup white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave

Method:

1. Mix 1/2 pumpkin puree (1 of the two parts) with the rest of the ingredients, except for the white chocolate, together in a bowl. Divide in half. Add melted white chocolate chips to one of the halves, mix and set both bowls aside.

Construction of the “Napoleon”

Pate a Choux Pinwheels

Pumpkin Puree

White Chocolate Pumpkin Puree

white chocolate chips, about 1/8 cup per person

1. Place a pinwheel cream puff in the center of a plate. Spoon or pipe about 1 tbsp of the non-white chocolate pumpkin puree onto the pinwheel and repeat layering process until you have used 3 pinwheels. Repeat with other plates.

2. Drizzle white chocolate pumpkin puree over each stack and sprinkle with white chocolate chips so your guests know the components of the dessert. Enjoy!

-M : )

Healthy and decadent are two words that seldom appear in the same sentence, but this breakfast is entitled to both descriptions. While winter doesn’t offer as plentiful a bounty as the other seasons, there is no excuse to exclude fruit from your breakfast. When its cold outside and snow covers the ground, all we can think about is heavy food- stews, braised meats, and tummy-warming baked goods- but in reality, these foods take our bodies out of balance. Sure these foods are nourishing, but often, they are more comforting to our inner child than beneficial to our physical selves. What I mean is, the foods we eat during winter time weigh us down; they make us lethargic, sleepy, and slow. They require so much energy to digest that we feel drained after such heavy meals. So many casseroles, meats, sausages, and potatoes, and too little veggies and fruits- why do we put our bodies through this?

Perhaps I am more sensitive than many, but these foods truly wreak havoc on my body and after a winter of heavy eating, I spend all of spring just getting my energy back. Is that large breakfast worth the bloating you’ll suffer through an hour later? Try this oatmeal and baked pear breakfast combo and you’ll soon realize that satisfying (there’s 10 grams of fiber per serving!) and heavy don’t have to be synonymous. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Oatmeal with Baked Pears

Serves 6

Oatmeal:

1 small slow cooker

1 cup steel cut oat groats (these can be found in most health food or natural food stores)

4 cups water

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp chinese five spice powder (optional)

Method:

1. Dump ingredients into a small slow cooker, stir to combine, and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours. In the last hour of cooking, open top and stir in cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup and five spice powder, if using. Place top back on and finish cooking.

2. Place cooked oatmeal in a large container, cool, and score top of oatmeal with a knife to mark six even sections.

Baked Pears:

6 bartlett pears, ripe but not mushy

3/4 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup dried cranberries (the higher the quality the better)

2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp brown sugar

cooking spray

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Halve and core pears. Place cut side up in baking dish. Soak raisins and cranberries in 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes.

3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a small dish and sprinkle over cut sides of pears. Drain raisins and cranberries, but save the liquid, and place in the holes in the pears where the core used to be. Pour soaking liquid from dried fruit into the bottom of the baking dish.

4. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 35-45 minutes, or until pears are soft and a knife pierced into a pear faces no resistance.

Pears soft and juicy after a long, hot bath in the oven!

Final preparation:

1. Place 1/6th of oatmeal in 6 separate bowls and add 1/4 cup of water (a little less if you like really thick oatmeal) to each bowl. Microwave each bowl on high for 2 minutes (approx) and top each with two stuffed pear halves. Enjoy!

-M : )

I used to work at this company where a few of my friends who like to cook would get together every Wednesday and one person would make lunch for the rest of the group. People in the group called it the “lunch club”, while people who wished they were in the group called it the “finer things club” because it reminded them of the club by the same name in The Office. While we didn’t sit around reading poetry and sipping tea from fine china the way they do in The Office, we were very lucky to have incredibly good food one day a week. Needless to say, while they were excited to have a culinary school grad a part of their club, I felt honored to be included. To shake things up for the holidays, we decided to have a potluck last week instead of burdening one person with cooking an entire holiday meal.

Now I choose to bring dessert for one reason and one reason only- it was an excuse to make my mom’s chocolate bourbon walnut pie. Now I know what you’re thinking- that’s not the title of the post! You promised Chocolate Pecan Pie and who said anything about Bourbon?? Well, us girls on a budget can’t buy bourbon just to add 1/4 cup in a pie, and we also can’t go searching around town for walnuts when there aren’t any at the supermarket. Thankfully, pecans are a great subsitute, and despite being non-alcoholic, its still going to be your new favorite Chocolate Pecan Pie. And if you don’t have an old favorite, you’re really in for a treat!

Now before I go into the recipe, I’ve got to say, corn syrup is not my favorite ingredient. It has no nutritional value, it spikes your blood sugar, and it can be substituted with honey when an invert sugar is called for in a recipe (such as in fudge making). However, I have found that in pecan pie, corn syrup lends the perfect texture to the finished product; the pie remains moist, the nuts distribute evenly, and there’s never a grainy feel in your mouth from crystallized sugar. So if you’re opposed to nutritionally devoid ingredients like corn syrup, feel free to substitute honey here, but if you’re willing to loosen the reigns this once, use corn syrup.

Mmm..don’t you love it when the top gets golden and caramelized?

Your New Favorite Chocolate Pecan Pie

Serves 8

• 1 (9 inch) pie shell
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a bowl over simmering water, combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Stir over medium-low heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and cool slightly.

3. While the sugar mixture cools, sprinkle chocolate chips over the pie shell.

4. In a large bowl combine eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour sugar mixture into egg mixture. Stir in pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell, over the chocolate chips.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is just set and the top is golden. The pie is great warm, but I prefer it at room temperature, once the texture has fully set. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or even creme fraiche, which counters its sweetness. Enjoy!

-M : )

Of all four seasons, autumn has the best food. Its like Goldilocks and the three (well, four..) bears: Winter’s food is too heavy, Summer (and Spring) food is too light, and Autumn’s just right. Vegetables and Fruits get the attention they deserve, and the spices are warm without being heavy, simultaneously sweet and savory. It is often a time of indulgence, as people are eager to make desserts with the apples, pears, pumpkins, and even sweet potatoes that crowd the market shelves, but our bodies are pushed back into balance by the amount of nutrients in the available food: brussel sprouts, winter squash, leeks, green beans, and broccoli, are a few that come to mind (in addition to those mentioned above, of course).

Using fruits and vegetables in desserts has always been an interest of mine. I much prefer zucchini breads, banana muffins, sweet potato pies and berry cobblers to cheesecakes, pecan pies, and other (in my opinion) more cloying treats. Produce in desserts adds depth of flavor, texture, color, and boosted nutrition. Its also a great way to help introduce kids to unfamiliar and perhaps intimidating foods.

This recipe for Pumpkin Ginger Bars is special then, in two ways: it’s in tune with the season and it includes some healthy ingredients (like molasses, cinnamon, and pumpkin). It’s also the most addictive baked good I’ve ever made. The lightness of the filling combined with the chewy, crunchy base provides a textural contrast that most desserts lack. For me, when I have pumpkin pie, I find the crust to be superfluous, unnecessary, almost a dilution of the filling’s flavor. Not so with these; the crust is made with ginger snaps, and then covered in a thin layer of caramel, pairing perfectly with the homemade pumpkin filling. The filling is incredible on its own, but you’ll never leave tasteless crust behind when you eat these. So take a little time this afternoon to appreciate and share autumn’s bounty with these Pumpkin Ginger Bars. With two of these warm from the oven, a cup of mulled cider and a good book, you’ll be fully equipped for a cozy afternoon : )

Pumpkin Ginger Bars
Makes 28 bars

For Crust:
30 2″ gingersnap cookies (I like Sweetzels brand), crushed in a food processor
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/8 cup brown sugar

For Caramel layer:
2 bags Werther’s classic chewy caramels
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp butter

For Pumpkin filling:
1 15oz. can pumpkin puree
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 cup molasses

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 in. pan (glass works especially well).

2. Combine the cookie crumbs, butter, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Dump the mixture into the greased pan and distribute evenly over the bottom. The mixture will be very crumbly but don’t worry. Press it down lightly with your hands and make sure the crust extends to the edges of the pan.

3. Bake the crust blind for 10 minutes in the 425 degree oven to help it firm up. Don’t let it get too brown!

4. Unwrap caramels and place in a bowl over a pot of simmering water to melt. Add 1/2 cup milk and 3 tbsp butter to the bowl. Once caramels have melted, stir the mixture until it is fully incorporated and keep it over the double boiler to remain warm.

5. When the crust is ready, pour the caramel mixture over the crust and spread delicately to distribute it evenly over the crust’s surface. It will be thin, but there is exactly enough.

6. Combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the caramel, again distributing the filling evenly.

E. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 then lower oven to 350 and finish cooking for 35 more minutes. Bars are done when the top feels firm and the filling no longer jiggles in the center.

Note: I recommend letting these cool to room temp before slicing them, and when you do slice them, make sure you use a sharp knife and press down firmly- the bottom crust is very dense. Additionally, I would refridgerate these, or they will be incredibly chewy. The fridge makes the crust crunchy rather than chewy and I tend to find them even better this way.

Enjoy!

-M : )

Newton’s third law states that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” so it comes as no surprise that the fast food industry is currently being attacked by a stronger-than-ever coalition of extremely vocal and well-supported food alarmists. Now don’t get upset, I’m no fast food junkie. However, I do believe in a consumer’s right to choose and that birthday parties should involve cake, Halloween should involve kids collecting candy, and schools should have the ability to offer students a dessert option with their lunch.

In this time of feuding non-profits, where organizations like the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Center for Consumer Freedom are butting heads over “issues” like if a child should be allowed to bring birthday cupcakes into school to share (!), or whether non-chain restaurants should disclose the nutritional information of their menus, I find myself inclined to back away from this battle and get back to the basics. I say ignore the food-focused fear-mongering and rely on a little personal responsibility. All you need to know to be healthy is what you already know, intrinsically:

1. Fruits and vegetables are good for you. Eat a lot of them. Period.
2. For proteins such as poultry, fish, and meat, a portion size is closer to the size of your fist than the size of your plate.

3. Carbohydrates are easy access energy for your body, since they are more easily broken down into elements your body can use than protein is, for example. Whole grains contain more fiber and nutrients than refined grains, but white bread isn’t evil. Neither are cupcakes. Moderation is key.

4. A little fat in the diet does the body good. Some nutrients are only fat-soluble, meaning that without the presence of fat in the body, we can’t break these vitamins and minerals down for our bodies to use. Also, our brain is made mostly of fat. Think about that! The unsaturated varieties are preferable, but when it comes to saturated fats, Coconut Oil is a good example of a healthy one. This doesn’t mean you should eat it by the spoonful, but try substituting it for canola oil once in a while.

5. Sugar, refined or not, is still just a carbohydrate and a little candy, chocolate, or cake should be a source of pleasure not anxiety.

So with that said, I have a great banana muffin recipe to share. Yes, it calls for refined all-purpose flour, real butter, and white sugar, but you can modify the recipe if that suits you.

A couple notes:

*For a more substantial muffin, try dropping peanut butter into the centers, or add jam also and make them pb&j muffins. Apple butter, or other fruit butters also make delicious additions, as does chopped fruit, such as apples or pears.

*To add a center to your muffin, fill up the muffin tin halfway with batter, drop in a teaspoonful of your filling, and cover with a thin layer of batter so the filling is hidden. I also love to crumble two of these into an ovensafe bowl, crack two eggs over it, and bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Sprinkle salt on the eggs and eat from the dish- the sweet muffins with the salty eggs is a great combination! Either way you choose to serve them, enjoy. And see…without even trying you’re getting a little of everything you need here: carbs, fiber, protein and a little fat, as well as added vitamins and minerals from the bananas. Here’s to not over-thinking our food.

Fool-Proof Banana Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large very ripe bananas (or 4 small), mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (oil can be substituted)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat muffin tins with liners or cooking spray.

2. Mix all ingredients together except for the flour in a large bowl and carefully stir in flour at the end just until incorporated. Don’t over mix or your muffins will be tough.

3. Fill muffin tin 3/4 way full and place tin in hot oven. Bake 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of your muffin tin, until a cake tester comes out clean. Rotate tins halfway through cooking if the heat of your oven is uneven.

Enjoy!

-M : )

Smart Bran Whole Wheat Raisin Cookies

Photo from Nature’s Path

Let’s face it, many of us cooks pride ourselves on knowing how to make something healthy taste good, even if we’re not super health-conscious eaters. After all, its much easier to make something with loads of fat and sugar taste good, since as we know by now, “fat is flavor!”, than it is to make something with brown rice and kale taste good (at least to most people’s palates). Maybe its a pride thing, maybe its a desire to at least know how to make something healthy for that stray vegan friend who might happen to drop by, but I always like to have a few healthy food tricks up my sleeve. The thing is, all of my healthy recipes are savory, never sweet. For some reason, every recipe I have tried for vegan, low-fat, or low-sugar desserts has disappointed and I refuse to subject my friends to foods I wouldn’t eat myself.

So when I met up with Lorna Sass last Friday for a recipe testing session, and she told me we were baking vegan cookies and muffins, I was thrilled. For her most recent book, “Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way,” Lorna won a 2007 James Beard Award in the Healthy Focus category. Additionally, it was chosen as 1 of the 20 best cookbooks published in 2006 by Leite’s Culinaria and named as a notable cookbook of 2006 by the New York Times. Clearly, if anyone could teach me how to make nutritious baked goods taste great, it was her. And so I left there armed with two new recipes that are guaranteed to please vegans and die-hard butter lovers alike. Enjoy!

Note: The cookies and muffins we baked both use Smart Bran cereal (by Nature’s Path) as a primary ingredient, but honestly, since the cereal in the recipe becomes very soft once soaked in the apple juice, I would suggest playing around and substituting your favorite high fiber cereals here, such as Go Lean or Optimum (two of my faves, for sure). The muffins, I can assure you, were impossibly moist and teeming with dried cranberries. As for the Smart Bran cookies, they were soft, chewy, and full of macadamia nuts and raisins. These trump those ubiquitous oatmeal raisin’s by far. Neither are cloying, but both the cookies and the muffins will satisfy the sweet tooths of the health-conscious and the not. : )

Smart Bran Whole Wheat Raisin Cookies

By Lorna Sass, for Nature’s Path

Yield: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1/2 c. vegetable oil, plus 1 tsp. for preparing cookie sheets
2 c. SmartBran® Cereal
1 -1/4 c. apple juice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. whole wheat flour (spelt flour also works nicely here)
1/3 to1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
2 -1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 c. raisins
3/4 c. chopped walnuts

1. Brush two cookie sheets lightly with oil. Place racks in center and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine the cereal, apple juice, and vanilla. Set aside to soften for 15 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

4. Stir the oil into the cereal mixture. Pour the cereal mixture on top of the dry ingredients. Add the raisins and walnuts. Stir to combine. Taste batter. Stir in more sugar, if you wish.

5. Using your hands, shape bits of dough into balls about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place about an inch apart on the 2 oiled cookie sheets. (If dough is moist and sticky, drop heaping table spoons directly onto sheets.) With your fingers or the back of a spoon, flatten dough into rough circles with a 2-inch diameter.

6. Bake for 9 minutes. Rotate the pans back to front and bottom shelf to top. Continue baking until the bottoms are golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. When cool, store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 4 months.

Smart Bran Fruit & Flax Muffins

photo from Nature’s Path

Smart Bran Fruit & Flax Muffins

By Lorna Sass, for Nature’s Path

Yield: 12 Muffins

1 1/4 c. SmartBran™ cereal
1 3/4 c. unsweetened apple juice
5 tbs. Nature’s Path Flax Plus™ Flaxseed Meal** (or substitute: freshly ground whole flax seeds)
1 c. wholewheat flour (again, 2 cups of spelt flour works well as a substitute for both flours) 1 c. unbleached white flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice or cardamom
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 c. vegetable oil (plus more for greasing muffin tins)
1/3 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. dried cranberries, blueberries or raisins (I used dried cranberries with great success)

1. Set rack in center and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, stir SmartBran™ into 1 cup juice and set aside for 15 minutes to soften.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.

4. Grease 12 standard muffin tins with oil.

5. In a medium bowl, beat flax meal with remaining 3/4 cup apple juice for 1 minute. Blend in oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. SmartBran™ with unabsorbed juice and beat for 30 seconds. Pour liquid into dry ingredients. Add cranberries. Stir until just blended; do not over mix.

6. Divide batter among muffins tins. Bake for 7 minutes. Rotate muffins tins front to back. Continue baking until muffins spring back to a gentle touch and a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 8 to 10 minutes longer.

7. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edges and unmold. When cool, store in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 4 months.