That Bread Everyone's Always Talking About/Already Blogged About

I know, I know. Everyone and their blind grandma already made this bread. Well, so did I and it's just so attractive that I couldn't help but put it up on the old Staff Meal blerg. Look at that loose crumb! And that distinctively french looking crust! You're probably saying to yourself or to the dog sitting on your lap, "That loaf is so picturesque- it must be her tenth or eleventh attempt!" You can go ahead tell your dog that it's my first try and I'm not usually a natural at things so this has to be a really easy recipe. Being the lazy, no, efficient, broad that I am, I won't bother copying down the recipe for you. After all, Smitten Kitchen already did it, the New York Times is hot for it, Wednesday Chef was all over it, and heck, even Martha wanted a piece of the action. Of course, the original  comes from Jim Lahey (not from the Trailer Park Boys, sadly) over at Sullivan Street Bakery. Which I have never been to, but if anyone wants to fly me there for a tour I would probably go. 

All you need for this recipe is some flour, yeast, salt, water and a dutch oven. Go fourth and bake bread! Oh yeah and plan ahead because the dough has to ferment for 17 long hours.

Rhubarb is Happening

When Kevin and I were invited over to our friends house last week, I was glad to have a reason to try out a recipe that has been stuck in my mind since rhubarb season ended last year. 

Not that I really need a reason to bake. This recipe is from Orangette, and it its a rhubarb meringue tart. 

First you cook the rhubarb without any sugar. It's pink and beautiful. Then you make a creamy egg yolk custard, and finally you make a soft white meringue. 

It was tart, sweet, and buttery.

We ate it slightly warm after dinner, and then room temperature for breakfast. I can't wait to make it again. 

Rhubarb Meringue Tart
from Orangette
½ recipe Martha Stewart’s pâte brisée
2 lbs rhubarb, trimmed and chopped into roughly ½-inch chunks
Juice of an orange
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup plus ½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
¼ tsp cream of tartar


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out dough and line a 9 inch removable bottom tart pan with it. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (I use dried beans). Pre-bake for 20 minutes, then remove lining and weights and let shell cool. Meanwhile, cook the rhubarb with the orange juice just until the rhubarb starts to soften and fall apart. The desire to add sugar will be strong, but trust me. It's going to work out. Remove from heat. Separate egg whites and yolks into two bowls and whisk yolks with a fork. In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, flour and melted butter together, then add the yolks. Put a sieve over this bowl and pour rhubarb into the sieve, letting it drip its juices into the yolks. Stir together. 
Next pour the rhubarb into the tart shell and spread evenly. Then pour the egg yolk mixture over the top of that and bake for 20 minutes until set. 
In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy and then add cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form, then add in remaining sugar. Continue to beat until the whites are shiny ribbons. Spoon the meringue over the tart and form some pretty, soft swirls, then bake for 15 minutes or until the meringue is toasty. Allow to cool a bit and enjoy!

Cooking for People without Teeth

Having my wisdom teeth out really sucked. It hurt, it made me grumpy, but worst of all it dramatically limited my options food-wise. At first I could only have ice cream and creamy soup which might sound like the best time ever, but actually it got old really quickly. Yogurt, smoothies and kefir, which are all the same thing, came next. By friday I was feeling ready to upgrade something excitingly mushy. I consulted the Chez Panisse "Vegetables" cookbook and found a recipe for Panade. Call me sheltered, but I had never heard of such a thing. I read the recipe and couldn't imagine what it was getting at so I asked my friend Holly for a description. Her eyes rolled back and she sighed, "It's like brothy bread pudding with a cheese crust! Every time you pull a spoonful out, cheese stretches with it... There are silky bites, and crunchy bites... and so much cheese." Now that I had such a clear visual of what this dish was I knew I could make it, and also eat it.

It was a huge success. It tasted like something I would make even if I had a fully functioning jaw. And that is a big compliment, Alice Waters.

Onion Panade
adapted from "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters

6 sweet onions
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup madeira
1 1/2 quarts beef stock
3 springs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste
12 slices stale or toasted country bread
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1 cup grated gruyere

I used a large dutch oven for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice onions into rainbows and caramelize with olive oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan frequently, and when the onions have taken on plenty of  color deglaze the pan with 1 cup of madeira. Separate remove the onions from the pan and set half aside in a bowl, and in another pan add the other half to the beef stock and let simmer. Break the bread slices into pieces and make one layer in the bottom of the dutch oven. Then layer on some of the reserved onions, then the parmesan, then one of the sprigs of thyme. Repeat this layering 3 times, and then ladle the beef and onion broth over the whole thing. The broth should come up an inch from the top of the last layer. Sprinkle the top with gruyere. Cover the pan and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the top and bake for another 45 until the cheese is toasty brown.

Perfect Potatoes

In case you didn't know, I love potatoes. I have just had my wisdom teeth out this weekend which has been horrible aside from the fact that Kevin made me a big batch of whipped mashed potatoes, so full of sour cream and butter that they are practically a soup. That's the upside.
Last week, before the tooth pain, I was able to eat potatoes however I liked. I bought a little bag of charlie boys in order to make my most favorite home fries, and look what I found inside. A heart shaped charlie boy to commemorate my passion for potatoes! Obviously, I didn't cook that one, I carried it around with me and cooed to it.

Home fries are easy to make and don't really call for a recipe, but here is mine in case you want some inspiration. Something that I think is important about home fries is that there are plenty of onions. This recipe is an approximation of ingredients- I never measure home fries.

Charlie Boy Home Fries

One bag of charlie boys (the tiniest of potatoes)
1 large sweet onion
a big glug of olive oil
1/3 stick of butter
1 teaspoon ground new mexico chile
salt and pepper to taste
1 spring onion for garnish

Cut large and medium charlie boys in half- only the tiniest tinies can remain whole. Boil for ten or so minutes, until they are cooked but still quite firm. Meanwhile, heat up cast iron skillet with olive oil and butter. Transfer potatoes (not the water!) into pan. Let them sit for a bit- you want crisp, brown, fried sides. Toss around until nice and brown, then add chopped onions. I like my onions chopped large, but you can do it however you see fit. When the onions have softened and browned a bit, sprinkle the whole pan with chile, salt and pepper. I like lots of salt. Dice a spring onion and sprinkle on each serving. I ate this with two sauces- tatziki which I loved, and catsup, which I am addicted to.

Spring Gnocchi

Before we ripped out the old raised beds to put in the new ones, I had to harvest our winter crop of onions and leeks. They were so tiny and perfect! We had some pre-made gnocchi (the horror!) in our refrigerator, so for a lovely lunch I chopped up the leeks and baby onions and sauteed them with gnocchi in brown butter. I sprinkled some fresh basil on top with pecorino, and lunch was born. I was surprised with how good the store bought gnocchi was and will not be afraid to buy it again.

PS The chicks are getting HUGE. We are planning a farm blog- stay tuned...

Word of Mouth Meatballs

Last night, to go along with the most perfect tomato sauce ever, I decided to make meatballs. The last time I made them was for Adult Spaghetti-O night, and those were tiny. This time I wanted to have some fun with them, aka stuff them with cheese. I asked around and everyone instructed me to use ground pork and beef, chopped garlic, and breadcrumbs. Some suggested onions, some suggested grated cheese, but I skipped those and put a little nugget of fresh whole milk mozzarella in the middle.
Also, my new best friend Charlie the bulldog came over. It's love.

Word of Mouth Meatballs

3/4 lb ground beef (not too lean mind you)
1/2 lb ground pork
3 gloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
pinch of oregano
salt and pepper
1 ball of fresh mozz, cubed

Gently combine meats, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and oregano. Don't over work the mix. Form balls the size of a small lime or so. Stick a cube of the cheese into the center, and then pinch shut. Heat up a cast iron skillet with lots of olive oil. Sear the meatballs so that they have a nice brown exterior, then transfer them with a slotted spoon over to the hot and ready tomato sauce. Finish cooking them in the sauce. Serve over spaghetti.

Pistachio Glass

I recently made another version of panna cotta. This time it was yogurt based, and I swirled it with caramel pudding- like whoa. As a garnish I made a pistachio brittle of sorts. Not the kind that is like a toffee style brittle with butter and corn syrup, but more of a glass candy style. It was absurdly simple and made a beautiful garnish.

Pistachio Glass
adapted from Bon Appetit

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup unsalted pistachios
1/2 teaspoon salt

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray or grease with a bit of vegetable oil. Combine sugar, salt and water in a sauce pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Do not stir the sugar while it comes to a boil, and allow it to turn a deep amber color (12 minutes or so). It transitions to amber quickly- make sure you are keeping a close eye on it so it does not burn. You do want to let it go as long and dark as you can stand though, because the flavor base comes from the caramelization of the sugar. When it gets to the perfect deep gold, pull the pan off the heat and stir in the nuts quickly. Immediately pour the mixture onto the pan and spread the edges out by pulling them with the tip of a knife. Allow to cool completely before breaking it into pieces. I sprinkled it with salt one last time for the thrill of it.

Plain Cookies

I wanted a cookie on Sunday. Something honest to go along next to that crazy panna cotta. I thought a whisp of cinnamon might work, but not much else.I decided to make up my own damn recipe after having little luck finding something as simple as I wanted it to be. Here is what I came up with:

Plain Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 T. mascarpone
1/2 cup bakers sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. vanilla (if I had a vanilla bean on hand I would have used it)
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for dusting

Beat butter, mascarpone and sugar together until light and whipped. Add vanilla, then slowly mix in the flour, salt and cinnamon. Form dough into a tube, wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. (This dough can be frozen this way too, and then you can bake off the cookies as you wish.) Slice off cookies about 3/8ths of an inch thick, and space evenly on a baking sheet or silpat. Bake until golden, about 9 minutes.


This cookie is buttery with little diamonds of salt here and there. It is not too sweet and highlights the cinnamon in a very comforting and pleasing way. I had two for breakfast yesterday and plan on having the last one right now.







PS. I would like to direct your attention here for information on how to help people in Haiti today.

Back to Cookies.

I posted this photo earlier but I never gave the recipe for the cookie! And it's really good, so it needs posting.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 lb dark, semisweet chocolate (chopped)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
5 1.4 oz chocolate covered toffee bars (I used Heath)
1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts
sea salt for a final sprinkling.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter in a large double boiler. Once melted, remove the bowl from the double boiler and allow to cool down to room temp.
In a standing mixer, beat eggs and brown sugar for 5 minutes, until they are smooth and thick. Slowly add in chocolate and vanilla. Next, sift in flour mixture, chopped toffee and nuts. Chill batter for 45 minutes. It is really thin before chilling, but it firms right up in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper, and drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart on the pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes- they are really good underdone. They should have a crackled appearance on top.

Scones

I made these earlier this fall and have not stopped thinking about them. They are so simple. Comforting and flakey.

Pecan Ginger Scones
adapted from Molly Wizenberg

2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter (chilled)
3 Tb sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup crystalized ginger, diced

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Dice butter into small cubes, and then add them into the dry bowl. Pinch the butter into the flour until all the large lumps are gone. Add in the ginger and the pecans. I don't actually remember the measurement of pecans I used, but a half cup sounds safe. In a small bowl beat the egg and the milk. Pour this over the dry mix and stir briefly. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead with your hands 12 times (Molly says this is the perfect number of kneads, and I listen to her when she gives out numbers). Form the dough into a flat circle and then cut it into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake them on a baking sheet for 10 minutes or until they look golden and done. I served mine with salt sprinkled butter and marscarpone.

Black Pepper Spice Cookies with Glaze

I wanted to make Tartine's glazed gingerbread when I woke up last Sunday morning. It was cold and rainy (shockingly) and I knew I needed to make a treat for teatime at a friends. The problem was that I didn't have ginger or cloves- two of the most important ingredients! So instead of gingerbread, I made black pepper spice cookies with plenty of salt and a light glaze. They were amazingly soft and satisfyingly spicy, salty and sweet. I burned the hell out of one batch and we are still can't stop ourselves from eating them. But then, we are pigs.

Make the dough one day in advance for best results, or bake it right away and it's still great.

Black Pepper Spice Cookies with Glaze

3 3/4 cups AP flour
1 T cocoa powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp cardamom
1 1/2 tsp Jamaican allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
2 T honey

Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 T water

Beat butter until creamy, and then add sugar and mix until smooth. Scrape bowl with a spatula and then add the egg. Next in, molasses and honey. Mix until blended, and scrape down the bowl again. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, spices, cocoa and baking soda. Slowly add this into the wet mix. Beat on low until a ball forms. At this point, you can either refrigerate the dough overnight or chill it for 20 minutes like I did. I'm sure its better if you let it sit overnight (it makes a world of difference with chocolate chip cookies).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flour your work surface and roll out dough to about 1/3 inch thick in the shape of a rectangle. You may now cut out cookies as I did, or gently roll over the whole thing with a patterned rolling pin. And if you have a patterned rolling pin, send it to me immediately and never expect to see it again! Cut the pattered dough into tiles that are 3" by 4", or whatever size you prefer. I made both teardrop cookies and circle cookies, and then I rolled over them with a fake ear of corn for texture. You can roll whatever textured items you may have laying around the house over the dough! This comes into play when you glaze the cookies and the glaze nestles into the pattern quite beautifully.
Place a sheet of parchment paper over your cookie sheet, and bake the cookies for about 7 minutes. I did one batch for 10 minutes and the bottoms were burned. The next batch I baked for a mere 7 minutes and they were slightly underdone. When they cooled down, they were perfect.
While the cookies bake, whisk together confectioners sugar and water for the glaze. After you take the cookies out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes and then brush the glaze over the cookies. Do not freeze these, though I don't know why you would even try.

Serve with coffee, or on the rim of a Guiness float with vanilla ice cream!

I can't wait to make them again.

Pudding River

Last night Kevin and I went to a dinner party where we did not really know anyone. I knew one of hostesses, but otherwise it was all very new to us. I wanted to bring a dessert, and I guessed correctly that other people would probably be bringing pie-like things. I decided to make tapioca pudding. I had never made real pudding before, let alone the tapioca variety. But it was a cold and windy night and pudding sounded cozy.

It was fun to make and everyone loved it, unless they were just being polite 'cause we were strangers.

Anyway, I changed the recipe I was following it quite a bit. Here is my version.

Hot Toddy Tapioca Pudding

3/4 cup small tapioca pearls (not instant)
5 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup brandy
zest of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Put tapioca and cream in heavy bottomed pot. I used a dutch oven. Bring up heat until the milk starts steaming a bit, and then cut the heat and cover the pot. Let sit for an hour as a quick soak. After an hour, turn the stove back on at medium heat and whisk in the yolks, salt, sugar, cinnamon and milk.Split the vanilla pod along the seam and scrape the beans into the pot. You can throw the whole pod while the pudding cooks for extra flavor. Slowly bring up to a boil, stirring constantly. This should take about 15 minutes. You do not want to scorch the milk, so take your time. The moment it reaches a boil, lower the heat down to a simmer. At this point add the brandy and the lemon zest. Continue stirring and let simmer for 20 minutes or until tapioca pearls are nearly translucent and the custard has thickened.The pudding thickens more and more as it cools.

Serves 10-12 easily. Recipe can be halved.

Fish Herders Stew

My family is full of cooks and their remarkable recipes. My grandmother Oma had an eggnog recipe that I have experimented with but plan on perfecting this winter. My mother has guided me in making her eggplant parmesan and butter cookie recipes. My dad is a lot like me in that he has no recipes, just strong instincts and a love for meat.

My grandmother Mamie, who I speak of often on this blog, holds a few of my most favorite recipes. There are three things that she most often serves when I go to her house: lobster (I am very, very spoiled), country supper (more on this later), and fish herders stew. You'll have to pardon the absurd name- that's my father's doing. It is dish sort of similar to shepherds pie, but also totally different.
The photo, again, does not do it justice. Just trust me and make it right now.

Fish Herders Stew
Recipe from Julie Cook (Mamie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 pounds cod, halibut, talapia or other white fish
1 cup dry vermouth
2 cups water
4 cups mashed potatoes (make them creamy delightful, packed with butter)
2 small leeks
a shit load of sharp, white cheddar, shredded (her instructions- I used a whole block)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 stick of butter

Melt butter in dutch oven. Put fish in and cover with water and vermouth. Gently cook fish and remove from liquid with slotted spoon. Bring liquid to a boil and whisk in flour quickly. Add cheddar, whisking the whole time. This should create a thick, cheese sauce. In a separate pan, saute leeks briefly. It's nice for them to have some nice crunch because the rest of the dish is very soft. Pour the leeks over the fish. Top with mashed potatoes and pop in the oven for 15 minutes or so, until the top is lightly browned (you'll notice mine got black spots rather than an even tan, so please try to do it better than I did. This might be due to the fact that our potatoes were more heavy cream than potato.)

Serves 6, with leftovers too!

Dinner- What It Is

Last night we roasted some sunchokes and yams and then whirled them around in the cuisinart until they were silky and light. We also roasted shrimp with broccoli, a recipe I have been admiring on the Wednesday Chef for months and months and finally did it.
Sometimes I think photos of food are kind of unappetizing. The photo of the final plate really doesn't do this dinner justice. But it was really, really good, and I recommend making the yam puree for Thanksgiving, Y'all. It has warm wintery spice, and the sunchokes add a wonderfully sweet and earthy note to the dish.

Sunchoke and Yam Puree

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 Yams, diced
6 small sunchokes, peeled and diced
2 cippolini onions, diced
1 teaspoon of cinnnamon
2 tablespoons brandy
glug of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon brown sugar
s+p to taste

Toss diced yams, onions and sunchokes with olive oil and spices. Roast for twenty minutes, and then pour brandy over the vegetables. Roast for twenty to thirty more minutes, until fork tender. Remove pan from oven and put vegetables into cuisinart bowl. Add butter, cream, agave and sugar. Blend until light and fluffy. Serves 4-6.

Busy Day Cake

This is before I dropped it and found out it was raw in the middle. But don't worry, I just put it back in the oven in smashed pieces and let it cook a little more. Then I served it with plain whole milk yogurt and it was just delightful. From failure to dessert! No problem.

Busy Day Cake
adapted from Edna Lewis, via Orangette, tinkered with by me.

1 stick of butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or almond extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of cardamom
1/2 cup cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, and then add the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Alternately add flour mix and cream to the sugar and butter mix. Don't over mix. Spoon batter into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 35 minutes or so.
I served it, broken, with Nancy's whole milk honey yogurt and that was my favorite part. This cake is easy and you probably have the ingredients at your house to make it right now. Go do it!

Yogurt: A Success

I tried again, this time with raw goats milk and with only 2 tablespoons of starter. This batch is a bit thin, but very delicious. It is silky and bright tasting, with a tiny cream top. I am going to try again with the suggested spoonful of powdered milk (even though that seems weird and I don't want to do it) and then again using greek or icelandic yogurt as a starter to see if thick starter makes thick yogurt. Any suggestions?

Yogurt: A Failure

I tried to make yogurt, and I fucked it up big time. It came out curdled and watery. I think I added too much starter to the milk, and I don't have a thermometer to get exact temperatures. Heres how I did it:

1 quart whole milk, 1/2 cup plain yogurt. I heated the milk until it nearly boiled, let it cool down until it was just a little warm. Then I added the yogurt (it was too much- I'm sure of it now) and put it in the yogurt maker. 8 hours later- watery. 12 hours later, watery. 20 hours later, watery. 24 hours later, I'm trying again. This time I'm only adding 2 tablespoons of yogurt as a starter, and I brought the milk very briefly to a boil.

We'll see.