Farmhouse Foodie

Cream Cheese and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

2010-04-10T11:53:00.001-04:00

Nothing can set the mood for a great day off better than a delicious breakfast. This morning I decided to make stuffed french toast. I added a layer of fresh strawberries to lighten things up a bit (and to make a dent in the 5 lb supply I impulsively bought this week). This recipe comes together in a snap but has enough sophistication to be a great choice for Mother's Day brunch. The filling is sweet enough that no syrup is necessary, but a sprinkle of powdered sugar really sets the whole thing off.

You'll Need:

8 slices of bread (I used homemade white sandwich bread)
Butter

Cream Cheese Filling
6 oz. cream cheese
2 Tb. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Strawberry Filling
1 cup strawberries
1 tsp. sugar

Batter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Getting Started:

Hull and slice strawberries and toss with 1 tsp. sugar in a small bowl. Let sit at least 5 minutes.

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix together egg, milk, flour, sugar, and vanilla in a shallow dish (I used a pie plate).

Now You're Cookin':

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over 4 slices of bread.

Put a single layer of strawberries over the cream cheese mixture.

Top each sandwich half with another slice of bread.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 Tb. butter to melt.

Dip two sandwiches on both sides in the egg mixture.

When pan is ready cook sandwiches on each side for about 2-3 minutes. They should be golden brown and slightly crisp.

Add more butter to the pan. Dip and cook the remaining two sandwiches.

Serve with a little powdered sugar or syrup.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2010-04-08T08:13:00.001-04:00

Spring was imitating summer this week with temperatures in the 90's. When people started showing up to court and daisy dukes I knew it was officially OK to make my favorite summer fruit pie. Strawberry Rhubarb pie is a perfect blend of sweet and tart. It's nearly criminal not to enjoy your first slice hot, messy, and topped with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream which is exactly what we did last night. It doesn't hurt that the filling is the exact vibrant pink color my inner 7 year old wants to wear every day. The best part of all is that the filling is so darn simple you'll be putting the pie in the oven in no time flat.

You'll Need:

Pie crust for 2-crust 9" pie

1 lb. fresh strawberries
3 large stalks of fresh rhubarb
1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tb. butter (cold)

Getting Started:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Hull and slice strawberries in about 1/4" slices.

Cut rhubarb into 1/2" slices removing the stringy exterior.

Cut cold butter into 8 pieces.

Now You're Cookin':

Mix strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.

Roll out one pie crust to a 12" diameter circle and press into the bottom of the pie plate.

Pour the fruit filling into the pie crust.

Dot the filling with pieces of butter.

Roll our second pie crust to a 12" diameter circle and arrange over the fruit filling.

Trim pie crusts to 1/2" beyond the rim of the pie plate. Tuck ends under so that they are flush with the edge of the pie plate.

Use a fork or your fingers to create a decorative edge, if desired.

Cut 4 or 5 slits into the top of the pie to vent.

Sprinkle sugar on top of the crust (optional).

If your kitchen is really warm and your pie crust is really soft like mine was last night, toss the pie in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm it up.

Put pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 30-40 minutes. The crust should be golden-brown.

Cloverleaf Rolls

2010-04-07T07:51:00.002-04:00

There's nothing quite like a soft yeasty roll straight from the oven to remind you that sometimes the simple pleasures are the best. Our hectic schedules rarely allow most of us to enjoy bread straight from the oven more than a couple times a year. When you do decide the occasion warrants fresh rolls, it'd be a real pity not to give these a chance. These rolls are easy to put together (though it's a bit time consuming to measure out 72 little balls of dough) and freeze wonderfully. They're a perfect complement to any holiday meal or any non-holiday meal you'd like to make feel a little special.

You'll Need:

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Additional butter, melted for topping

Getting Started:

Soften butter.

Heat milk to about 110 degrees F.

Grease 2 12-cup muffin tins.
Now You're Cookin':

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk.

Add the butter, egg, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and into 72 pieces and shape into balls.

Place three balls in each greased muffin cup.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Brush with melted butter.

Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Easter Deviled Eggs

2010-04-04T14:29:00.001-04:00

Growing up my family wasn't very religious but we always made sure to celebrate Easter. On the Saturday before Easter my mom and I would decorate what felt like dozens of eggs. A few eggs wound up in our Easter baskets, but most ended up being used for the deviled eggs we would eat at Easter dinner. Though I've (mostly) outgrown any interest in decorating eggs, deviled eggs still haven't lost their luster.

If you do a google search for deviled eggs you'll quickly find out that people have put nearly everything from sweet relish to jalapenos in the filling. While I don't doubt that many of them are quite delicious, they're not what I think of when I think of deviled eggs. These deviled eggs are like the ones my mom (and I have reason to suspect, your mom) made. The filling is a smooth and creamy mix of mustard, vinegar, mayo and yolk.. just the way I like 'em.

You'll Need:

12 large eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tb dijon mustard
1 Tb white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
paprika

Getting Started:

Hard boil 12 eggs.* Let eggs cool to room temperature and peel.

*When I hard boil eggs I put them in the bottom of a wide pot with a lid and put in just enough water to cover the tops of the eggs. I turn the heat up to high and once the water has come to a boil I let them boil for 1 minute. Once the eggs have boiled for 1 minute I turn off the heat and put the lid on the pot. I let them sit for 15 minutes and then drain the hot water and run cool water over the eggs until they're cool enough to handle.

Now You're Cookin':

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop the yolks into a small bowl.

Arrange egg halves cut side up on a large plate.

Mash yolks with a fork until they're fully crumbled and free of large lumps.

Add mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and cayenne and stir to combine.

With a piping bag or a spoon fill the recess left by the yolks with the yolk mixture.

Sprinkle the deviled eggs with paprika and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Brioche Buns, Barbeque, and Birthdays

2010-04-02T07:29:00.003-04:00

Today is the 35th anniversary of the man of the house's birth. In honor of the occasion, his brother and sister-in-law are coming up to the farmhouse from NC for the weekend. In celebration of his birthday and his brother's visit, the man of the house is smoking a pork shoulder for pulled pork tonight. When we were at the store getting supplies for the weekend I, ambitiously, suggested that rather than buying the buns I would make them at home.

Last summer I read this article and saw this post but at the time I had never made a loaf of bread and didn't see myself starting anytime soon. When I got into making bread I avoided brioche doughs fearing their slack, sticky texture and lamenting my lack of stand mixer with dough hook attachment. Now that I've made them I realize what a sissy I was and I can't believe it took me until now to make them. The buns are light, chewy, and perfectly plump unlike the flat, limp burger buns you get so often at the supermarket. Whatever you do, don't make the same mistake I did and wait nearly a year to make these buns.

You'll Need:

3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Sesame seeds (optional)

Getting Started:

Soften butter.

Heat milk and water on the stove or in the microwave to approximately 110 degrees F and combine with the yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes.

Beat one egg.

Now You're Cookin':

In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt.

Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers until small crumbs form.

Stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.

Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. The dough ball will retain some stickiness.

Shape dough into a ball and place in a large, well-oiled bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide dough into 8 equal parts (about 4 oz. each).

Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet.*

Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

*When I shaped my buns I rolled them into tight round balls. If I were making these for hamburgers, though, I would have shaped them into discs rather than balls so that the burger would be something I could actually take a bite of without dislocating my jaw.

Pasta Carbonara

2010-04-01T09:06:00.002-04:00

I had a trial yesterday that ran into the evening and by the time the man of the house and I finally got home and got around to attending to dinner we were both famished. Though we had plenty of staples on hand there wasn't much other than a frozen pizza that could be ready in under half an hour. There also wasn't a whole lot of energy left to come up with a creative dinner. When I looked into the fridge I saw Parmesan cheese, bacon and eggs and finally it dawned on me to prepare a simple and hearty Pasta Carbonara. From idea to the first bite barely 20 minutes elapsed.

I used Emeril's recipe and halved it because there were only two of us for dinner, but this could easily be scaled up or down to feed a few or a crowd. The recipe posted below will serve four (or more) hungry adults.

You'll Need:

1/2 pound bacon
1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 large eggs
salt and pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

Getting Started:

Fill a large pot with water and set to boil.

Mince garlic, chop parsley and grate cheese.

Cut bacon into 1/2" wide strips.

Now You're Cookin':

Put spaghetti into the boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large saute pan until crisp.

Drain the bacon on a papertowel and drain off all but 3 Tb of the bacon grease.

When pasta is fully cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain pasta.

Add minced garlic to the saute pan and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add bacon and pasta to the pan and turn off the heat.

Crack eggs over the pasta and stir constantly to combine.

Add grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

If the mixture is dry and hard to mix add the pasta water a tablespoon at a time until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

Split pasta into bowls, top with parsley and serve.

Flank Steak Tacos with Guacamole

2010-03-30T11:40:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago spring fever hit our household hard and the next thing we knew we were buying lawn chairs, firing up the grill, and mixing margaritas for friends who stopped by the farm for the evening. Unfortunately, after a couple margaritas we'd devoured the guacamole and found ourselves out of daylight before the steak came off the grill. Though the tacos were delicious, I wasn't able to get a decent photo. Last night after work we called a do-over. The recipe I used was Bobby Flay's Flank Steak Taco and Guacamole recipe. The only modification I made was to grill up some onions and red peppers to serve with the tacos. The grilled veggies and guacamole perfectly complement the charred flank steak. This is one we'll be making for summers to come.

You'll Need:

Steak/Marinade
1 (2 to 3-pound) flank steak
1/2 cup tequila
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
kosher salt and black pepper

Grilled Peppers and Onions
1 large red bell pepper
1 onion
olive oil

To Serve
Guacamole
tortillas*

*Bobby Flay likes corn tortillas, but in my neck of the woods a good flour tortilla is much easier to find. Use what you like.

Getting Started:

Put the steak in a nonreactive dish and pour over the tequila, lime juice and olive oil. Turn to coat. Add the chili powder, and use your hands to work it into the meat. Let stand about 1 hour.

Prepare a medium-hot fire in your grill. We're charcoal grillers. If you use a gas grill Bobby Flay says to turn it on to high.

Slice onion into 1/2" thick rounds and cut the bell pepper into quarters. (I made a double batch because I love having grilled veggies around for pizzas, sandwiches, eggs, potatoes, etc.) Toss peppers and onions with about a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.

Now You're Cookin':

Remove the steak from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.

Take pictures of your yard while the man of the house grills the steak and veggies. For medium rare cook the steak about 6-7 minutes.

Remove the steak from the grill and rest 5 to 10 minutes. Slice across the grain.

Grill the tortillas to soften.

Cut the grilled peppers into strips.

Fill the tortillas with steak, guacamole, grilled veggies and any other toppings you like (I like sour cream and spicy salsa).

Bagels

2010-03-29T15:09:00.002-04:00

When I lived in Pittsburgh, PA my favorite breakfast spot was a place called The Bagel Factory which was located in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood called Squirrel Hill. The bagels were chewy and dense without being heavy and dry. The outside was smooth and shiny and the everything bagels had kosher salt and no sunflower seeds (the perfect blend). I graduated from law school in 2006 and moved back home to Virginia to start my career.

Alas, finding a good bagel in rural Virginia is like looking for a needle in a haystack.. a haystack that doesn't have any needles in it. An hour in the car will get you a serviceable bagel from Panera and nothing more. Last weekend I set out to make homemade bagels and found success. These bagels are probably not the same as you'd get in an authentic NY deli but, in my humble opinion, they're pretty darn good. Certainly better than any of the round breads they call bagels at the grocery store.

You'll Need:

4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 TB barley malt syrup or powder

1 1/4 cup water (110 degrees)

Getting Started:

Day 1

In a small bowl combine 1 1/4 cups warm (approximately 110 degrees) water and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine 3 cups of bread flour and salt.

If using barley malt syrup, dissolve 1 TB barley malt syrup into the yeast and water mixture. If using barley malt powder add it to the dry ingredients.

Now You're Cookin':

Once the yeast has bloomed, add yeast mixture to dry ingredients and stir together until it forms a scrappy ball.

Add the remaining cup of bread flour 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture can no longer be mixed with a spoon and then knead in the remaining flour.

Knead dough for 8-10 minutes until all flour is incorporated and the dough ball is smooth and stiff.*

Split dough into 8 equal balls (about 4 oz. each by weight) and let rest for 5 minutes.

Once dough has rested for 5 minutes form bagels by rolling the dough out to 11-12" lengths and pressing the last 1" of the ends together to form a ring. If necessary use a little water to bind the two ends together.

Place the shaped bagels onto the prepared baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 12 (but not more than about 18) hours.

Getting Started:

Day 2

Before boiling and baking your bagels remove them from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Fill a large pot with 3" of water and set it on the stove to boil.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Now You're Cookin':

When the water has come to a boil and the oven is up to temperature boil the bagels for about 30 seconds in two batches. The bagels will be slightly puffy.

Place the bagels on the parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 13-16 minutes. The bagels will be golden and shiny.

Place the bagels on a wire rack to cool (or act like a savage and cut one open while it's still steaming and slather it with cream cheese).

*This is not an easy dough to knead. It takes a little muscle and a little patience but if you stick with it it will ultimately turn into a smooth, stiff dough that's easy to shape.

Cheddar-Chive Risotto

2010-03-25T22:07:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that I love risotto. The preparation is involving without being challenging and the result is always pure comfort food. This recipe from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express is the slightly more sophisticated cousin of macaroni and cheese. I enjoyed this on a rainy night home alone with a glass of white wine and a Lifetime movie.

You'll Need:

1 Tb butter
1 Tb vegetable oil
2 large scallions
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 cups hot vegetable stock
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Getting Started:

Thinly slice scallions.

Put vegetable broth in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Now You're Cookin':

Melt the butter and oil in a medium-sized pan and cook the scallions until softened.

Add the arborio rice and stir until the rice is fully coated with the butter mixture.

Turn up the heat and add the wine and mustard, stirring until the wine is absorbed.

Start ladling in the hot stock, letting each ladleful become absorbed as you stir before adding the next one.

Stir and ladle until the rice is al dente, about 18 minutes, then add the cheese, stirring it into the rice until it melts.

Take the pan straight off the heat, still stirring as you do, and then spoon into warmed dishes, sprinkling with some of the chopped chives.

Potato Pizza

2010-03-24T07:51:00.002-04:00

The very first time I used yeast was to make a pizza dough back in 2006. Up to that point I had cooked pretty frequently but had never endeavored to bake anything requiring yeast/kneading/waiting. I didn't know that dough sometimes needed to rest a while to keep the gluten from causing the dough to seize up when you tried to work with it. The first time I made a pizza dough I nearly quit in frustration when the harder I tried to form the dough into a perfect round, the harder it fought to remain in a ball. Though I've certainly gotten back on the horse and made many a yeast dough since that first disastrous pizza dough, I haven't made many pizzas.

Pizza is one of those things that can be made as many different ways as their are people who make it. I tend to like a thin and crispy crust with a moderate amount of spicy tomato sauce, a light layer of fresh mozzarella, and some combination of mushrooms, onions and pepperoni.

A few weeks back the man of the house and I caught an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" in which the guests described the most delicious pizzas they had ever eaten. Alex Guarnaschelli cited the Yukon Gold Potato Pizza from Five Points as her number one pick. When we decided to have pizza for dinner last night I left the pepperoni and fresh mozzarella in my fridge and decided to put together a potato pizza of my own. I topped my pizza with olive oil, thyme, russet potato slices and garlic. The flavor was very delicate and I could easily see how a drizzle of truffle oil just before serving would be an excellent topper. When I make this again I think I'll add a little goat cheese and Parmesan to the top of the pizza in the last few minutes of baking.
You'll Need:

1 pizza crust suitable for a 12-14" pizza*

1 large russet potato
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh thyme
olive oil
salt
pepper

*I used the recipe for a standard pizza crust from The New Best Recipe cookbook.

Getting Started:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice potato into 1/8" rounds using a mandoline slicer or sharp knife.

Slice garlic into thin slices.

Now You're Cookin':

Oil a pizza pan or baking sheet and press pizza dough into a thin round (or rectangle). If the dough springs back when you try to shape it let the dough rest a few minutes and come back to it.

Brush a thin coating of olive oil onto the crust and evenly distribute the garlic slices.

Place potato slices in an overlapping layer on the pizza crust.

Sprinkle pizza with thyme, salt and pepper.

Drizzle pizza with olive oil.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the potatoes should be cooked through and browned on the edges.

Flourless Chocolate Cake: Take Two

2010-03-23T08:09:00.001-04:00

The last time I made a flourless chocolate cake I accidentally forgot to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and the cake stuck like crazy. The two slices I photographed were the only two I was able to pry off of the base of the pan intact. The rest of the cake crumbled into pieces. Though the cake was delicious, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. The cake was dark, moist and heavy. It was like a slab of decadent chocolate mousse. Delicious, but not cakelike. Having had such good results with Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Guinness Cake I looked again to her recipe collection for her take on a flourless chocolate cake. The following recipe is an adaptation of her Chocolate Cloud Cake. This cake is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the flourless chocolate cake I made the last time. The exterior is crater-like and cracked to reveal a moist but light interior. The whipped cream topping is barely sweet and is a perfect counter point to the cocolatey cake. This recipe is going into the keep file.

You'll Need:

For the Cake
9 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 stick butter
6 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 Tb sugar
1 Tb orange liqueur

For the Topping
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tb. orange liqueur
1 tsp vanilla

cocoa powder

Getting Started:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9" spring form pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper.

Soften butter.

Dig the double boiler out of the back of your cupboard or assemble one using a medium saucepan and large bowl. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan and set the water on the stove to heat.

Chop chocolate into small chunks.

Separate 4 eggs.

Now You're Cookin':

Put chocolate chunks into the top of the double boiler (or large bowl) and melt stirring frequently.

When the chocolate has melted add the butter to the warm chocolate and stir until melted and fully incorporated.

Add the orange liqueur.

Whisk together two whole eggs, the egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar.

Add a large spoonful of the warm chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture and stir to combine.

Add the egg and sugar mixture to the chocolate and stir to combine.

Whisk the egg whites until white and frothy.

Slowly add 1/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites and beat until the whites form soft peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in two additions. Stir to incorporate fully.

Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. When cake is done the top will have risen cracking the top of the cake and revealing a firm center.

Cool the cake completely in the pan.

Beat together the whipping cream, orange liqueur and vanilla until the mixture holds its shape but is not stiff.

Spoon the whipped cream over the top of the cake and dust with cocoa powder.

Skillet Fries

2010-03-22T07:57:00.001-04:00

Though neither the man of the house nor I could be described as rabid environmentalists, we do try to do our part when it comes to using resources wisely. We watch our energy consumption and, most relevant to this blog, do everything we can to avoid wasting a lot of food. Often, since ours is a two person household, I end up halving or even quartering recipes. Other times I prepare a full batch of something and then freeze part of the batch partially-prepared for leftovers (there are raw meatballs and mushroom ravioli tucked into my freezer as we speak) rather than cooking the entire batch and then eating the same thing for days on end.

The last time we grilled out we ended up with some leftover grilled onion and red peppers. Not wanting all of that delicious flavor to go to waste, we cooked up some absolutely delicious skillet home fries and served them with bacon and a fried egg for breakfast. The potatoes would also be really tasty as part of the filling for a breakfast burrito, etc. The potatoes came together easily and they were much tastier than the soggy mess you often get on the side of your plate at a restaurant. Though you could certainly cut up some fresh red peppers and onions and cook them along with the potatoes, using the leftovers made the preparation of the potatoes a little simpler and the smokiness from the grill added wonderful flavor.

You'll Need:

1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, sliced and grilled until tender
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced and grilled until tender
1 tsp. paprika
salt
pepper

Getting Started:

Cut potatoes into 1/2" pieces.

Mince garlic.

Now You're Cookin':

In a medium skillet heat 2 Tb. vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot but not to the point of smoking add the garlic. Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes.

Add the potatoes (and the raw peppers and onions if you don't have pre-cooked peppers and onions available) paprika, salt and pepper to taste and stir to coat.

Cover the potatoes and let cook until nearly cooked through. A fork should be easy to insert into the potato pieces but they should still be firm. This took my potatoes about 12 minutes.

Add the roasted veggies and stir to combine.

Let the potatoes cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to add a little color and crispness.

Adjust salt and pepper if necessary and serve.

Guacamole

2010-03-21T11:06:00.001-04:00

Last night we had a couple guests over for flank steak tacos, margaritas and guacamole. The tacos were great (and will be posted once I get some photos of the finished product) but it was the guacamole I woke up this morning wishing I had more of. The recipe is extremely simple and can be modified to suit anyone's taste, though I'll confess I wouldn't make it any differently. The blend I chose was moderately spicy. If you are serving this to children (or adults with sensitivity to spicy foods) you may want to seed or omit the Serrano chili pepper. I served this exactly as written below and it was finished in no time.

You'll Need:

3-4 very ripe avocados
1 small red onion
1/2 cup cilantro
1 Serrano chile
3 Tb lime juice

Now You're Cookin':

Cut avocados in half and scoop the flesh into a small mixing bowl.

Mince the onion, chile and cilantro.

Add chopped onion, chile and cilantro to the avocados and mash together with a fork.

Add 3 Tb lime juice and salt to taste. The flavors will mellow as the dip rests. If you're putting this in the fridge for an hour (recommended) you'll want the guacamole to be a little overly spicy, lime-y, and salty when it goes into the fridge.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

2010-03-18T22:41:00.001-04:00

I was thumbing through Nigella Lawson's Feast recently and slowed down when I hit the Chocolate Guinness Cake. I figured what better time to try Chocolate Guinness Cake than right before St. Patrick's day. I'm not a beer drinker, I am pretty sure this is the first Guinness that's ever passed my lips. While I can't say I'll change my drinking habits any time soon I can certainly say there's certainly going to be more of this cake in my future. The batter comes together in a snap. Once baked the cake is dense without being heavy and moist without being fudgy. The icing helps add some sweetness that is missing in the cake but is otherwise slightly disappointing. I love cream cheese frosting but I don't think it complements the chocolate cake (the contrast also makes the cake extremely difficult to photograph with my iPhone) beyond adding sweetness which helps balance the slight bitterness of the cocoa in the cake. When I make this again I am going to top the cake with chocolate ganache instead.

You'll Need:

Cake
1 cup Guinness stout
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Icing

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream

Getting Started:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Now You're Cookin':

In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter and heat over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat.

Add cocoa and sugar, and whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Mix well then add to the Guinness mixture.

Add flour and baking soda to the Guinness mixture and whisk until smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour.

Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan. Once cake is cooled, prepare the frosting by combining confectioners' sugar, cream cheese and heavy cream with an electric mixer until fully combined, smooth and flexible.

Remove cake from pan and ice the top of the cake.

Lime Bars

2010-03-16T23:17:00.002-04:00

This weekend, though the weather outside wasn't giving any indication of spring's impending arrival, I went through some of my old cookbooks, magazines, etc. looking for ideas for new spring recipes. I was immediately drawn to the Key Lime Bars in the American Classics 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated. In my little look around the internet it appears it has been published in previous, and possibly subsequent, issues of the magazine. The crust employs animal cracker crumbs where many recipes use graham cracker crumbs and the result is surprisingly perfect. The filling is sweet but the lime stands front and center and the toasted coconut is really an excellent counter-point to the tartness of the filling.

I used freshly squeezed Persian (standard) Limes rather than Key Limes. In the past I have juiced and attempted to zest a million tiny limes and, in my hunble (though backed up by the folks who write the Cook's Illustrated magazines and cookbooks) opinion the flavor difference, if not entirely imperceptible, doesn't justify the additional expense and hassle.

You'll Need:

Crust
5 ounces animal crackers (about 1 1/4 C crumbs)
3 tbs light or dark brown sugar packed
pinch salt
4 tbsp butter melted and cooled slightly

Filling
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp grated lime zest
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup lime juice

Garnish
1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut toasted until crisp and golden

Getting Started:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut about 12-inch length extra-wide heavy duty foil; fold cut edges back to form 7 1/2-inch width. With folded sides facing down, fit foil securely into bottom and up sides of 8-inch square baking pan, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Put coconut into a shallow baking dish and set aside.

In the workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses.

Process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds.

Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, ten to twelve 1-second pulses.

Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses.

Pour crumbs into the prepared baking pan and press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan with the bottom of a measuring cup, glass, etc.

Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Add coconut for last 10-12 minutes of baking shaking to stir every 2-5 minutes.

Cool pans on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy and thoroughly combined.

Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain.

Whisk in egg yolk.

Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula.

Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled at least 2 hours.

Loosen edges with pairing knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions.

Cut bars into 16 squares, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve.

Challah French Toast

2010-03-14T10:33:00.000-04:00

A while back I decided that I should make Challah bread. I had only tasted Challah bread as french toast but figured anything that heavenly should become part of my repertoire. I made two large loaves of Challah about 2 months ago. After smearing a little butter on the first piece sliced off of the freshly baked loaf and determining, to my horror, that I didn't really like Challah that hadn't been turned into french toast, I put the loaves in an extra thick wrapping of aluminum foil and tossed 'em in my freezer. The first loaf was made into french toast and bread pudding in pretty short order. The second loaf has languished in the freezer where it was nearly forgotten. On Friday night I was thinking about what I could make for breakfast this weekend without having to make a trip to the grocery store first. I took the Challah out of the freezer and tucked it into the fridge overnight and on Saturday morning I whipped up some pretty fine french toast. The exterior was lightly crisp and the interior was soft without turning into a puddle of milky crumbs. It's clear to me that french toast was made for Challah and Challah was made for french toast. There's a lid to every pot. I halved the recipe because there were only two of us for breakfast but this recipe can be easily scaled to feed a few or a crowd.

You'll Need:

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons good honey
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large loaf challah
unsalted butter
vegetable oil

Getting Started:

Slice Challah into 3/4" slices. Two slices per person should probably get the job done.

Mix together in a shallow dish (a pie or cake pan is perfect for this) the eggs, half and half, vanilla, honey, and salt.

If you're making more french toast than you can make in a single batch, preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. You can put the french toast on a plate in the oven to keep it warm while the other pieces cook.

Now You're Cookin':

Melt equal parts butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet or on a griddle turned to medium heat.

Dunk each piece of Challah in the egg mixture for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per side. If you want really well saturated bread you can let it sit in the mixture for up to 5 minutes total but you might find your slices begin to break apart around the 4 minute mark. All bread is a little different. 4 minutes was the sweet spot for my bread.

Place the french toast in the pan and cook on each side until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side).

Serve with warmed maple syrup, powdered sugar, etc.

Original German Chocolate Cake

2010-03-13T09:44:00.000-05:00

The man of the house will tell you that there are three desserts that he really likes; thin and chewy chocolate chip cookies, pecan pie and German Chocolate Cake. The German Chocolate Cake he grew up with is the original recipe printed on Baker's brand German Chocolate bars. Apparently this is the cake he requested for all of his childhood birthdays and I didn't want to go messin' with a good thing when I made this German Chocolate Cake last weekend. I was honestly surprised at the complexity of the cake recipe found inside the box. I figured this recipe would be one step removed from the boxed, add water, eggs and oil variety, but soon found out that I would be whipping egg whites into stiff little peaks and stirring constantly at my stovetop to make the gooey coconut-pecan filling that elevates German Chocolate Cake to crave-worthy status. The chocolate cake layers are light and are not overwhelmingly chocolate-y. They are a perfect counterpoint to the sinfully rich and decadent coconut pecan filling.

You'll Need

For the Filling
4 egg yolks
1can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 pkg. (7 oz.) sweetened shredded coconut (about 2-2/3 cups)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

For the Cake

1 pkg. (4 oz.) Baker's brand German's Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

Now You're Cookin':

I would recommend making the filling first and then making the cake layers. The filling takes longer to cool than the cakes and I'm afraid my layers suffered a bit from having still warm filling added. If you have patience and time to spare make the cake in any order you'd like but wait until both are cooled to room temperature before assembling the cake.

Filling:

In a large saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended.

Add sugar and butter. Cook on medium heat 12 minutes or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat.

Add coconut and pecans and mix until thoroughly combined.

Set aside until cooled to room temperature.

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cover bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease sides of pans and the top of the parchment paper.

Microwave chocolate and water in medium microwaveable bowl on full power 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Blend in melted chocolate and the vanilla.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating additions, beating until well blended after each addition. The original recipe didn't specify how many additions to use. I did 6.

In a small metal or glass bowl beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Gently stir into batter.

Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

Immediately run small metal spatula around cake layers in pans.

Cool in pans 15 minutes then remove layers from pans and place on wire racks.

Remove and discard parchment paper.

Cool cake layers completely.

Spread Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting between cake layers and onto top of cake.

Mushroom Ravioli

2010-03-11T07:36:00.001-05:00

Having gotten the hang of our new pasta machine, I was excited to try homemade ravioli. We had some friends over this weekend and I thought mushroom ravioli would be an inexpensive way to serve a special dinner to friends. This recipe isn't especially difficult but it is a little time consuming. The results are well worth it, though. The mushroom filling is delicious with homemade and would work equally well with fresh lasagna noodles. I served this with a Marsala cream sauce (recipe follows).

You'll Need:

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced Spanish onion
Pinch fresh thyme
3 medium cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds button mushrooms
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon Marsala wine
1/3 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces aged Asiago cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to top ravioli

Getting Started:

Make pasta dough (if preparing yourself) and make cream sauce. Set aside.

Dice onion.

Grate cheese.

Mince garlic.

Slice mushrooms. If you have an egg slicer this is the perfect tool for the job.

Now You're Cookin':

In large, heavy-bottomed skillet or pot, melt butter. I used a dutch oven since the mushrooms take up a lot of space and I didn't want any going overboard.

Add onion and saute over medium heat until golden brown.

Add thyme and garlic and saute without browning.

Add mushrooms, wine, cream, salt and pepper.

Reduce until almost dry, stirring regularly.

Turn off heat and add cheese, mixing well.

Correct seasonings with salt and pepper.

Puree into pulp using food processor.

Let filling cool.

Meanwhile, cut pasta to desired shape and size. I used a 2.5" round biscuit cutter to excellent results.

Brush beaten egg around edges of both top and bottom pasta pieces.

Fill each ravioli with a portion of mushroom mixture. Don't be skimpy with the filling. The pasta dough will stretch to cover the filling. I used 1 tablespoon of mushroom filling per ravioli.

Press with a fork to seal. You should have about 30 ravioli.

Bring large pot of salted water to full boil.

With wide, slotted spoon, drop ravioli into water and cook 2 minutes after water returns to boil and ravioli float to top.

When done, remove from pot and drain.

Put drained ravioli in a slightly overlapping single layer in a glass or ceramic casserole dish and pour cream sauce over the ravioli. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the tops of the ravioli.

Broil until the Parmesan cheese begins to brown, or, if you're me, until the top of the whole darn thing is browned and slightly crisp. I like my baked cheese well done.

Marsala Cream Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 cup diced Spanish onions (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch of fresh thyme
1 small bay leaf
1/4 cup Marsala wine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups whipping cream

In heavy-bottomed pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and saute until onions are translucent. Do not let them brown.

Add wine, salt and pepper. Reduce wine until almost dry.

Add cream, bring to low simmer and reduce until slightly thickened, stirring regularly, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Strain through fine mesh strainer and keep warm until ready to use.

Chocolate Silk Pie

2010-03-07T22:40:00.001-05:00

This pie recipe is nearly identical to the coconut cream pie recipe I posted a few weeks ago and is a testament to the versatility of a good basic recipe. Rather than adding toasted coconut to the finished pudding you simply add in semisweet chocolate pieces. The resulting filling is thick, creamy and decadent without being overly sweet.

I again made the pre-baked pie crust from the New Best Recipe cookbook and again ended up with a shrunken, bubbled and misshapen (though tasty) final product. Hopefully I'll be able to post a winning pre-baked pie crust recipe in the future.

In the meanwhile, use whatever pie crust works for you and enjoy this extremely easy and delicious chocolate silk pie recipe.

You'll Need:

1 fully baked and completely cooled pie crust

Filling
1/4 cup corn starch
2 Tb. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks lightly beaten
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 Tb butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

Whipped Cream Topping
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Now You're Cookin':

In a medium saucepan whisk together sugar, corn starch, cocoa powder and salt.

Mix in egg yolks until fully incorporated then add milk and evaporated milk.

Turn heat on to medium and whisk constantly until mixture begins to boil (approximately 8 minutes) and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one more minute.

Take thickened pudding mixture off of the heat and add in butter, vanilla extract and semisweet chocolate pieces.

Spoon hot pudding into a spare pie pan, cake pan, or other similarly sized shallow vessel. Press plastic wrap into the top of the pudding and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Once the pudding has cooled for 20 minutes, spoon pudding into the prepared pie crust. Press plastic wrap into the top of the pudding and put in fridge for at least 2 hours.

An hour before you would like to serve the pie, put the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream has tripled in volume and will hold an almost stiff peak.

Spread whipped cream over the top of the pie

Return pie to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Honey-Lemon Pound Cake

2010-03-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

Lately there has been a slight change in the air. I'm no longer worried about another snow storm. It's sunny when I drive to work. As the appearance of spring inches closer, my wintry desire to cozy up into something warm, rich, and heavy is beginning to melt away along with the snow I'm afraid will still be around in July.

Last night I wanted something sweet, but not something overly rich or creamy and I didn't have a lot of energy to begin a baking project at 9 p.m. I decided to make a pound cake flavored with vanilla, honey and lemon. Pound cakes are simple to make, the ingredients are found in most kitchens, and the basic batter can support many variations.

A little over an hour later I was well rewarded for my selection. The cake was moist and delicious. The flavors of the honey and lemon don't announce themselves loudly, but lend a hint of their flavor. If you want to dial up the lemon flavor a lemon glaze would be perfect. This would also be excellent topped with a little fresh whipped cream and some berries once they come into season. In any event, this is a wonderful little pound cake to serve this upcoming spring (or now if you can't wait).

You'll Need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tb honey
2 Tb lemon juice
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Getting Started:

Remove butter and eggs from the refrigerator and let sit until they reach room temperature.

Sift flour into a medium bowl and mix in the salt and the baking powder.

Butter a standard loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Now You're Cookin':

In a large bowl use a mixer to cream together the sugar and butter. Beat until fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, combining thoroughly before each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Add vanilla, honey and lemon juice. Mix until evenly incorporated.

Add flour mixture in three additions and mix until just fully incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the batter with a rubber spatula.

Bake cake for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden and the center has set.

Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Dress up with a glaze or some fruit or simply slice and serve.

Sun Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Risotto

2010-03-04T07:58:00.000-05:00

When we went grocery shopping last weekend a new box of arborio rice was on my list because I had great plans to make Nigella Lawson's Cheddar Cheese Risotto (I expect to post that within the next week). On Monday after work I broke out my new box of arborio rice but settled on a concoction that involved no cheddar cheese or chives and, instead, was studded with delicious bits of sun dried tomatoes and cubes of melty fresh mozzarella cheese.

Risotto gets a bad rap for its perceived labor intensiveness. Sure, you can't put it on the stove or in the oven with a lid on it and expect it to come out properly, but the "stir constantly" part of the recipe, though necessary to release the starch that creates its creamy texture, is really not that taxing. For one, risotto is wet so if one stirs somewhat less frequently than constantly it's not going to scorch or stick right away. For another, risotto isn't dense or heavy so it doesn't take a lot of effort to stir. Many recipes that want you to stir something constantly want you to do so to avoid a burnt product or to turn unmanageable dough into manageable dough. Risotto isn't that high maintenance and the creamy (without cream in many instances) results are worth it.

You'll Need:

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
1/2 cup fresh Mozzarella
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 Tb Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley

Getting Started:

Place chicken stock in a small pot over medium heat and cook until simmering. Turn heat to low and leave on the stove.

Finely chop parsley and set aside.

Chop sun dried tomatoes into 1/2" pieces and set aside.

Dice Mozzarella into 1/2" cubes and set aside.

Finely dice onion.

Now You're Cookin':

Heat a medium saute pan over medium-high heat and put 1 Tb of olive oil in the pan. I like to use the oil from the sun dried tomatoes to infuse the rice with the tomato flavor.

Add onions to the saute pan and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent.

Add arborio rice and stir to coat with the olive oil.

Add a ladle of the chicken broth to the rice and stir constantly until liquid is almost fully absorbed. Add chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly after each addition until liquid is almost fully absorbed, until the rice is tender but still firm.

Add tomatoes, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to the pan. Stir to combine.

Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in parsley.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2010-03-03T07:14:00.000-05:00

I got a pasta machine this weekend and have been waiting to break it out ever since. We plan to have some friends over this weekend and my menu plan includes sun dried tomato ravioli made using our newest kitchen addition. I figured I shouldn't break out the pasta machine for the first time with company over for dinner and, underestimating the time required to make one's first batch of homemade pasta, I arrived home from work and embarked upon creating my own thin spaghetti noodles to eat with homemade meatballs and marinara sauce.

My first attempt at putting together the pasta dough went horribly awry and I found myself on the verge of a tantrum as a wave of unbeaten egg took out the flour retaining wall and sent the whole thing cascading off the cutting board, onto the counter and overboard onto the floor. When I finally got the dough together (in the safe confines of a mixing bowl) it was too wet for the pasta machine to cut. After several rounds of defeat, I produced homemade noodles. Alas, they're still a work in progress and I would be remiss to attempt to offer any instruction regarding their preparation. The sauce and meatballs, on the other hand, are excellent. A few bites into my dinner I all but forgot about the reasons dinner didn't hit the table until nearly ten.

You'll Need:

Meatballs
2 pounds ground beef (the "meatloaf" mix sold at many grocery stores is also good for this recipe)
1 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tb chopped flat leaf parsley (or 2 tsp dry parsley)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese*
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil

Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine**
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

*The Parmesan cheese is a large flavor component of these meatballs. The more flavorful the Parmesan cheese the more flavorful the meatballs will be.
**I don't believe in cooking with expensive wine, but I do believe in cooking with wine you'd be willing to drink.

Getting Started:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl lightly beat egg with a fork.

In a large mixing bowl combine all meatball ingredients except the olive oil and mix together using a large wooden spoon or your hands if you're feeling adventurous. Mix together until ingredients are evenly distributed but the mixture is not entirely homogeneous. Overmixing the ingredients will cause the meatballs to be tough.

Using a light touch, press mixture together into 1 1/2" balls and set on the prepared baking sheet.

Now You're Cookin':

In a large pot or dutch oven heat 1/2" of olive oil over medium-high heat until oil begins to shimmer.

Place meatballs in the pan. Meatballs can be close together but must be in a single-layer.

Cook meatballs for about 10 minutes turning 3 times (approximately every 3 minutes) to ensure even browning.

Remove meatballs from the dutch oven and set on paper towels to drain.

Drain the oil from the pan (but do not scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan) and return pan to the stove.

Add 1 Tb olive oil to the pan.

Once the oil has heated up add the onions and cook until translucent stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.

Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, partially cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with spaghetti and Parmesan cheese.

Overnight Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns

2010-03-02T07:24:00.000-05:00

This is an adaptation of the Cinnamon Buns recipe I posted here. For this recipe you will prepare the dough the same way as you would for the Cinnamon Buns but the filling and topping are different. Prior to rolling out the dough you will toast some pecans and create a caramel sauce for the buns to bake on top of. The resulting sticky buns are ooey-gooey and sinfully delicious.

You'll Need:

1 Cinnamon Bun dough, risen, punched down and rolled into a 12"x16" rectangle.

Caramel Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 Tb (1/2 stick) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 Tb corn syrup
2 cups whole pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

Filling
4 Tb (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

The Night Before

Getting Started:

Mix filling ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.

Butter a 9"x13" baking pan (or two 8"x8" baking pans).

Coarsely chop pecans and heat in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Remove from pan immediately as they will quickly burn.

Spread filling evenly over the prepared dough and roll tightly, pinching the seam closed.

Cut dough into 12 even pieces and set aside.

Now You're Cookin':

Combine sugar and water in a 2-quart saucepan. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

Once the mixture is boiling, uncover and continue to boil about 7 minutes. The syrup should be thick, straw-colored and register 300 degrees F on a (reliable) candy thermometer.

Reduce the heat to medium and continue boiling for 1-3 minutes. The syrup will be thick and golden. Take off heat immediately.

While the syrup is boiling, combine cream, salt, vanilla, and butter in a small saucepan bring to a simmer over high heat. Once the cream mixture has reached a simmer take it off heat and set aside.

When both syrup and cream are at the proper stage, pour 1/4 of the cream mixture into the sugar syrup and stir constantly until combined.

Once bubbling has subsided, add the remainder of the cream mixture and whisk together until fully combined.

Pour caramel mixture while still warm into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle nuts evenly over the caramel mixture.

Arrange dough pieces with the more attractive side down over the caramel/pecan mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours).

The Next Morning

Getting Started:

Remove Caramel Pecan Buns from the refrigerator and let sit on counter for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Now You're Cookin':

Bake buns for 25-30 minutes. The tops will be golden brown and the buns will have expanded to fill the pan.

Let buns cool for 5 minutes and then invert onto a large serving dish*. Use a rubber spatula to release the caramel/pecan mixture from the pan if necessary.

*I used two 8"x8" pans for ease of removal.

Overnight Cinnamon Buns

2010-03-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

A favorite breakfast treat here at the farmhouse is cinnamon buns. The sad fact of the matter, however, is that we rarely get to enjoy them before lunchtime due to the lengthy rises required. I decided I would make the dough and assemble the rolls the night before and put them in the refrigerator overnight for their second rise. In the morning they were plump and ready for the oven. No fuss no muss. The aroma of the buns filled the entire house and worked a lot better than the alarm clock to get sleepy bodies out of bed. The buns were excellent. Perfectly sweet, tender and gooey.

The following recipe is adapted from the Best Recipe Baking book.

You'll Need:

Dough
1/2 cup milk
8 Tb. (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 envelope)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 yolks
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Icing
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tb. corn syrup
2 Tb. heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt

Filling
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tb. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

The Night Before

Getting Started:

Put yeast into a large bowl with warm water. Let stand 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Melt butter and milk together. Set aside until mixture is warm but not hot.

Now You're Cookin':

Add sugar and eggs to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.

Add milk and butter mixture to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.

Add 4 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time, to the combined wet ingredients and stir to combine after each addition.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Add up to 1/4 cup flour if necessary.

Put dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Combine all filling ingredients for the filling of your choosing in a small bowl until the mixture is homogenous.

Butter a 9"x13" baking dish (or 2 8"x8" baking pans).

Punch down dough and roll out into a 12"x16" rectangle with the long side facing you.

Sprinkle filling over the dough and and roll up tightly. Press the end to seal.

Cut dough into 12 even pieces and arrange in the prepared baking pan(s).

Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rise overnight (at least 8 hours).

The Next Morning

Getting Started:

Remove cinnamon buns and cream cheese from the refrigerator and let sit ar room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Now You're Cookin':

Combine all icing ingredients and whisk together with a fork until thoroughly combined with no lumps remaining.

Bake cinnamon buns for 25-30 minutes. The tops will be golden and the buns will have expanded to fill the pan.

Let cinnamon buns cool for 5 minutes then spread icing over the top of the buns with a spoon.

A Tale of Two Pretzels - Epilogue - PretzelPups

2010-02-28T14:08:00.000-05:00

When I was assembling the Sigmund pretzels it occurred to me that pretzels and hot dogs go pretty well together. I found an opened pack of hot dogs with three remaining and decided to give it a whirl. The PretzelPups were awesome dunked in mustard. So awesome, in fact, I forgot to take a picture of them until mine was nearly entirely devoured.

Punch a few holes into each hot dog and microwave, wrapped in a paper towel, for about 30 seconds.

Cut one of the lengths of pretzel dough into three equal pieces and roll them out to about 15" long.

Spiral the dough around the hot dog and boil each "pup" in the beer mixture for 30 seconds and sprinkle them with a little bit of kosher salt.

Bake the PretzelPups on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 450 degree F oven for about 8 minutes (rolling them over to expose their white sides after 5 minutes of baking).

A Tale of Two Pretzels - Part 2 - We Have a Winner

2010-02-28T13:58:00.000-05:00

Second Up - Sigmund Pretzels

You'll Need:

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
2 Tb active dry yeast
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
6 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
4 tablespoons coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Getting Started:

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups warm water and yeast. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar; let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour and coarse salt using your hands.

Add butter and continue to mix with your hands until mixture is crumbly.

Add yeast mixture and, using your hands, mix until a shaggy dough is formed and water is absorbed.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is tight, elastic, and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.

Clean mixing bowl and return dough to the bowl.* Cover dough with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator; let chill at least 8 hours and up to overnight.

*The original recipe didn't specify whether or not the bowl should be oiled.

Day 2:

You'll Need:

Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup pale ale-style beer
Pretzel salt

Getting Started:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Roll dough out into a 14-by-12-inch rectangle. My dough came out of the refrigerator in a hulking, heavy, air-filled mass. Press into the dough with the rolling pin and it'll get moving. Mine ended up very pliable and stretchy after rolling.

Cut dough into one dozen 12-inch-long strips, each about 1-inch wide.

Transfer to a large baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Place in the refrigerator and let chill for 15 minutes.

Now You're Cookin':

Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out each piece with your hands into a 36-inch-long rope (about 3/4-inch thick), starting from the center and working toward the ends.

Hold up each end to make a "U" shape with the rope and cross the ends over, pinching at the bottom of the "U" to form a pretzel.

Return to baking sheet and repeat process with remaining dough.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, combine 8 cups water, baking soda, beer, and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Bring the beer mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Simmer pretzels, one at a time, until pretzel floats, about 30 seconds.

Put pretzels on the prepared baking sheet using a spatula making sure to drain off as much excess liquid as possible.

Sprinkle pretzels with pretzel salt - I used kosher.

Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Rotate baking sheet and continue baking until pretzels turn a chestnut brown color, 4 to 6 minutes more.

Remove from baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with butter or mustard.

The Verdict:

In spite of the stiffness of the dough when kneading, the Sigmund pretzel dough was much more smooth, stretchy, pliable, and easy to roll to the desired length than the Alton Brown pretzels. When shaping the pretzels it was nearly impossible for them to look anything less than perfect because the dough was so uniform and beautiful. The Sigmund pretzels came out of the oven puffy and chestnut brown but lacked some of the chewiness of the Alton Brown pretzels. What these pretzels may have lacked in a chewy exterior, they more than made up with in flavor. Ultimately, the Sigmund pretzels barely edged out the Alton Brown pretzels justifying their lengthier preparation schedule.

A Tale of Two Pretzels - Part 1

2010-02-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

I was in Norfolk, VA this week for two days and got to do something I never get to do... watch daytime TV. Martha Stewart's show was on and I watched a segment where a guest, Lina Kulchinski, founder of Sigmund Pretzels, shared her recipe for soft pretzels. The dough looked gorgeous that I haven't been able to get them off my mind since. I knew as soon as I could get myself into the kitchen I would be making these pretzels.

Prior to making the Sigmund pretzels I went over to the Food Network's website to see what Alton Brown had to say about the subject. The same Alton Brown who has you roast your own peanuts and then pulverize them into homemade peanut butter before turning them into a decadent peanut butter pie makes a one-day pretzel with much less rigamarole. I wondered which pretzel recipe would produce a superior result and decided to try the pretzels head-to-head to see if the beer, brown sugar, and overnight nap really created a better pretzel.

Both original recipes call for the kneading to be done by machine. Both recipes re-produced on this website call for hand-kneading. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment links are provided to both original recipes.

First Up - Alton Brown

You'll Need:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt*

*I used kosher salt for the pretzel topping as we couldn't find pretzel salt in our local supermarket.

Getting Started:

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.

Weigh and melt butter.

Weigh flour.

Now You're Cookin':

Add the flour and butter to the yeast mixture and mix until well combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.

Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope with your hands.

Make a "U" shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel.

Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds.

Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula and return boiled pretzels to the half sheet pan.

Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.

Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Verdict:

These pretzels were awesome. Crisp and chewy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside. Delicious with mustard and darn good looking. The Sigmund pretzel dough resting in the refrigerator has a lot to live up to.

Simple Pork Tenderloin

2010-02-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

We tend to exhaust most of our creative energy at mealtime into the side dishes, breads and desserts we serve with and after our meals. That said, the protein in our meals is typically simply prepared with ingredients that complement the flavor profile of our sides. A frequent dinner protein in our farmhouse is pork tenderloin. It's low in fat and calories, versatile, easy to prepare, and very tasty. You can pair this simple preparation with just about anything and the pan drippings are the perfect base to any pan sauce your heart desires.

You'll Need:

1 pork tenderloin (approximately 1 1/2 lbs.)
salt
pepper
olive oil

Getting Started:

Trim excess fat and silver skin off of the pork tenderloin with a sharp knife.

Salt and pepper the exterior of the pork tenderloin to your desired level of spice.

Rub tenderloin with olive oil.

Now You're Cookin':

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.

Sear all sides of the pork tenderloin for 2 minutes per side. Do not move the pork around more often than every 2 minutes as it will inhibit browning.

Place entire pan in the preheated oven and cook an additional 8-10 minutes. 8 minutes will leave a slightly pink center throughout.

Let pork rest 5-10 minutes to re-distribute the juices.

Slice into medallions.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2010-02-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

I am way late to the party, but this was actually my first time making a flourless chocolate cake. I attempted to make a flourless chocolate waffle like the ones featured in the Great American restaurants a few years back, but that turned out to be more of a flourless chocolate omelet.

As I've mentioned before, my boss has a serious sweet tooth and, in the interest of office harmony and future raises, I try to bring him a little treat here and there. This week he chose a flourless chocolate cake after I denied his first request for the, impossible to duplicate, flourless chocolate waffle. I ultimately selected the following recipe at random after realizing no two cooks makes the ubiquitous dessert the same way and all of the reviews for all of the variations were entirely positive. The preparation for this recipe is simple and quick. The cake.. worth savoring. Because this recipe requires that the cake be refrigerated overnight it's a perfect make-ahead dessert for events where you won't have a free oven until long after dinner is over.

You'll Need:

1 lb semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 1/2 tablespoon
1/4 cup Kahlua**
8 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder, for garnish

*Some folks will tell you things like "unless you're making chocolate chip cookies don't use chocolate chips." In my humble, five-dollar-saving opinion, chocolate chips work just fine in this recipe.
**A small "airplane" bottle of Kahlua will work just fine and save you another couple dollars.

Now You're Cookin':

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Using 1/2 tablespoon butter grease a 9-inch springform pan and cover bottom with a sheet of parchment paper. The parchment paper is 100% necessary as this is a fudgy cake that will stick to the pan.

Cover the underside and along the sides of the pan with foil and set in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil.

Combine the chocolate, butter, and Kahlua in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water or in the top of a double boiler.

Melt the mixture, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until frothy and almost doubled in volume, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Fold 1/3 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula.

Repeat this process 2 more times – until all of egg mixture has been folded into chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and place in the roasting pan.

Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides.

Bake until cake has risen slightly and edges are just beginning to set, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove cake from roasting pan and cool on wire rack to room temperature.

Remove foil, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Next Day:

Remove cake from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.

Remove springform pan sides, invert cake onto a large plate.

Reinvert cake on another large plate or serving platter and garnish with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder immediately before serving.

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

2010-02-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

We love roasted potatoes and eat them frequently with our dinners. We also have no fewer than five different kinds of mustard in our refrigerator (down from an absurd eight a month ago). When I stumbled upon Ina Garten's recipe for mustard roasted potatoes I knew they'd be a hit at our household. I also knew, despite not having been to the grocery store in a few weeks, we had all the necessary ingredients in our pantry.

You'll Need:
2.5 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Now You're Cookin':

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut potatoes into 1.5" wedges.

Cut onions into 1/4" thick half-rounds.

In a large bowl whisk together olive oil, mustard, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and pepper.

Add potatoes and onions to the mustard mixture and toss until potatoes and onions are evenly coated.

Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until potatoes are lightly browned turning potatoes every 20 minutes during baking so they brown evenly.

Sprinkle hot potatoes with parsley and more salt to taste, and serve.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Honey Tart

2010-02-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

We picked up some beautiful apples the other day and I have been trying to figure out exactly what I would like to do with them. I initially thought of a dutch baby with sauteed apples but then remembered a recipe I had bookmarked about a year ago. The original recipe was a little fussy for just the two of us for dessert. I wanted something a little less complicated, a little more rustic, and a little sweeter. I decided to keep the frozen puff pastry sheet in the freezer and used Ina Garten's pastry recipe instead. Though not a true puff pastry, the dough is a snap to put together and provides a much more supple result. Unless you're looking for the height and flakiness that only a laminated dough will provide this is a good base for any fruit tart.

You'll Need:

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tb) butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
4 oz. goat cheese
1/3 cup plus 1 Tb honey
1 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb butter
2 medium Granny Smith (or other tart variety) apples

Getting Started:

Cut butter into 1/2" dice.

Prepare 1/2 cup ice water.

Put flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Add butter.

Pulse flour mixture and butter 10-12 times (approximately 1 second per pulse) until the butter and flour resemble coarse meal and the largest butter pieces are no larger than peas.

With motor running add ice water and pulse until the mixture begins to look like dough.

Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly press into a ball.

Wrap dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Now You're Cookin':

Once your dough has chilled at least one hour take it out of the refrigerator and roll into a roughly 11"x15" rectangle.

Cut the dough into either one 10"x14" rectangle or two 5"x7" rectangles.

Place pastry rectangle(s) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel, core and slice apples into 1/8" slices.

In a small bowl mix goat cheese, sugar and 1/2 cup honey.

Take pastry out of the refrigerator and spread a thin layer of the goat cheese mixture on the pastry leaving a 1/2" border on all sides.

Next place apple slices in slightly overlapping layers over the goat cheese.

Combine 1 Tb honey and lemon juice.

Dice butter.

Sprinkle apples lightly with cinnamon.

Brush honey mixture over apple slices. Dot with butter.

Bake 45 minutes.

Potato-Leek Galette

2010-02-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

I tried this recipe for the first time a few years ago in a tiny apartment kitchen. I served it with rack of lamb. Though the rack of lamb was excellent, it's these potatoes that have been requested over and over again by the man of the house. The potatoes are crisp, the cheese is creamy, and the leeks give just enough flavor to keep things interesting. A mandoline slicer makes quick work of the potatoes but, as demonstrated below, they can also be cut by hand to excellent results. Martha Stewart gets all the thanks for this one.

You'll Need:

6 Tb butter, melted
3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled
salt
pepper
1 leek, white and light-green parts, thinly sliced crosswise, well washed
6 ounces Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Getting Started:

Line bottom of a 9" cake pan with a round of parchment paper. Do not use a springform pan unless you want to clean your oven after dinner.

Wash leek of any visible dirt and slice thinly. Put leek slices into a bowl of cold water and break up rings with your fingertips. Set aside. The leeks will float to the surface and the dirt will say behind.

Melt butter and pour into a large bowl. Or, if you're the chef AND the dishwasher in your house, do what I do and microwave your butter until melted in a large Pyrex bowl.

Peel potatoes and slice to 1/8" thickness with either a mandoline or your favorite knife. Add potato slices to bowl with butter. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

Grate Cheese

Now You're Cookin':

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In prepared pan, layer 1/3 of the potatoes. You can place the potatoes into the pan in an even layer or, like me, arrange them into concentric overlapping circles. It depends on your level of OCD. When it comes to potato slices mine is high.

Sprinkle with half the leek and half the cheese; season with salt and pepper.

Repeat with another layer of potatoes and remaining leek and cheese; season with salt and pepper.

Top with remaining potatoes.

Using a spatula, press galette down firmly.

Bake until potatoes are tender, 70 to 80 minutes, pressing down firmly twice with a spatula during cooking. Run knife around edge of pan. Carefully invert galette onto a plate, remove parchment, and reinvert onto serving plate. I know all of this inverting of the galette is making you think that a springform pan is the way to go. It isn't.

Cut into wedges, and serve.

White Sandwich Bread

2010-02-21T16:29:00.000-05:00

Even if I hadn't purchased a 25 pound sack of flour and a bulk package of yeast at Costco I would like to think I would still make homemade bread. This recipe is for a simple, all-American, white sandwich bread. The type of bread that stands up to a thick slather of mustard and a pile of ham and cheese. Not the kind of white bread that you can smush into a 1/2" cube between your fingers. Enjoy it with your favorite sandwich fixins or, like we do, warm and slathered with butter and drizzled with honey. It's unbelievably good.

You'll Need:

1/3 cup water
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tb honey
2 Tb butter

Getting Started:

Heat water to about 110 degrees F (warm but not hot to the touch) and stir in yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes. Yeast will be foamy.

Melt butter.

Heat milk to 110 degrees F.

Now You're Cookin':

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add in milk, butter, honey and yeast mixture and stir with a spoon until the dough comes together into a ball.

Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead for 10 minutes adding only as much additional flour as is necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands and the kneading surface.

Roll dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn dough over to coat with oil.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, lightly oil a loaf pan.

Punch down dough and dump out onto a lightly floured surface.

Press dough into a roughly 1" thick rectangle.

Roll into a cylinder shape. Pinch seam together and place loaf seam-side down. Try to make your dough roll the same width as the loaf pan. If longer than the loaf pan tuck ends under.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil 2 cups of water.

Once oven is preheated and water is boiling put an empty loaf pan, cake pan, or other medium sized baking dish on the lower oven rack and pour in boiling water. The steam will help the bread develop a nice crust.

Place bread on upper rack (in the middle of the oven).

Bake 40-50 minutes. Crust should be browned and firm and the interior of the loaf should register 190 degrees F.

Chocolate Eclairs

2010-02-16T00:41:00.000-05:00

My boss is a man who doesn't mess around when it comes to desserts. He's a guy who, in the summer months, will close our office so we can go get ice cream cones. When he asked for Chocolate Eclairs last week I knew I should oblige. I used Gale Gand's recipe with few modifications and wound up with delicious, though somewhat enormous, eclairs. Perhaps I am less familiar with jumbo size hot dogs than I thought, but my 5" lengths of dough transformed into submarine sandwich sized eclairs. For more manageable portions pipe dough into 3 - 3 1/2" lengths.

You'll Need:

Filling:
2 cups whole milk
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tb cold unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Pastry:
1 cup water
1 stick (8 Tb) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, plus 1 extra, if needed

Egg Wash
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons water

Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Now You're Cookin':

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.

Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour pudding into a shallow dish (a pie plate works well) and press plastic wrap into the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least two hours. Remove from refrigerator an hour before using.

For the pastry:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.

Scrape the mixture into a bowl and add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but not stiff.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe fat lengths of dough (about the size and shape of a jumbo hot dog) onto the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between them. You should have 8 to 10 lengths.

Egg Wash:

In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together.

Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash.

Bake 15 minutes at 425.

Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more.

Let cool on the baking sheet.

Once cooled, fit a medium-size plain pastry tip over your index finger and use it to make a hole in the end of each eclair (or just use your fingertip).

Using a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't stuff them full).

Glaze:

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl with a wide enough base that you can dip your eclairs easily.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils.

Immediately turn off the heat.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.

Dip the tops of the eclairs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan.

Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze.

Serve chilled.

Garlic-Rosemary Crusted Pork Loin Roast

2010-02-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

Here at the farmhouse, I do lots of baking and daily meal preparation but when it comes to large cuts of meat the man of the house is pressed into action. Typically he likes to take his meat outside where it is either grilled or barbecued. Given the epic snowfall we've had this winter grilling and smoking are out of the question until we can get into the yard without waders (who knew fly fishing equipment would ever come in so handy?). This recipe was adapted from Giada diLaurentiis's Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast.

You'll Need:

8 large garlic cloves
1 Tb fresh rosemary leaves (or 1 tsp dried rosemary), finely minced
1 Tb olive oil
4 pound tied boneless pork loin roast*
salt
pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 lb bacon

We ended up with a monster 6 pound roast from Costco and upped our garlic, rosemary, and olive oil 50%.

Getting Started:

Blend the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and oil in a small food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the garlic is minced. A mortar and pestle will also do the trick if you mince the garlic beforehand and sprinkle a little salt in to get things moving.

Sprinkle the pork roast generously with salt and pepper (don't forget the ends). Spread garlic mixture evenly over the tied pork roast.

Drape uncooked bacon over the roast with slices slightly overlapping.

Place the pork in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Now You're Cookin':

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix together broth and lemon juice and pour about 1/2 cup of broth mixture into the roasting pan.

Add more broth and wine to the pan juices every 20 minutes. Roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 hour.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the pan drippings into a glass measuring cup and spoon off any fat that rises to the top.

Using a large sharp carving knife, cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with the pan juices.

Buttermilk Cluster Rolls

2010-02-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

These rolls have been to the end of the internet and back this month. It's rare to have dozens of reviews for a bread recipe. Despite the generally positive comments, I was a little worried about making these rolls because of the many reviews indicating difficulty with the recipe and the photographic evidence of varied results. Taking into account some of the most common complaints with the recipe, I ultimately ended up with beautifully browned, soft, towering (but not too gargantuan) rolls that I will be making over and over again. You can read more about these rolls here, here, here, here, and here and approximately 31,695 other places on the web.

You'll Need:

1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
750 grams all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups lukewarm buttermilk
1 Tb honey

Egg Wash:

1 egg
1 tsp water

Springform pan

Getting Started:

Mix yeast with water and set aside for 10 minutes to bloom.

Heat buttermilk until lukewarm.

Now You're Cooking:

In a large bowl measure out 750 grams of flour. Add salt, buttermilk, honey and yeast mixture. Stir until you have a slightly sticky but cohesive dough. If the dough is too wet add flour 1 Tb at a time. If the dough is too dry and there is more than a skim of flour on the bowl add water 1 Tb at a time until the flour is incorporated.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking to your work surface and hands. You should end up with a very smooth and elastic ball of dough.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled (about an hour and a half).

Once dough has risen, divide into 3.5 oz. portions. Mine made 14 rolls with a small amount of dough leftover. Roll each portion into a ball and arrange snugly in a springform pan.

Cover rolls with plastic wrap and let rise another hour.

Once rolls have risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Beat egg and water together and brush over the tops of the rolls.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the rolls are browned and firm. If rolls brown too quickly tent with foil for last 15 minutes of cooking.

Coconut Cream Pie

2010-02-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

Coconut Cream Pie is one of my dad's favorite desserts so, in honor of his visit to the farm tonight, I whipped one up. I have to admit that pie crust eludes me and, as a result, I never make homemade crust for a single crust pie. Today I bucked the trend and made my own crust to tasty if not beautiful results. Both the crust and the pie filling were adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook.

You'll Need:

1 fully baked and completely cooled pie crust

1 1/4 sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks lightly beaten
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 Tb butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Whipped Cream Topping
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Put coconut into a 9" cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until coconut begins to turn golden brown. Stir occasionally during the last 10 minutes of baking for even browning.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat whisk together sugar, corn starch and salt.

Mix in egg yolks until fully incorporated then add milk and evaporated milk. Whisk constantly until mixture begins to boil (approximately 8 minutes) and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one more minute.

Take thickened pudding mixture off of the heat and add in butter, vanilla extract and 1 cup of the toasted coconut.

Spoon hot pudding into a spare pie pan, cake pan, or other similarly sized shallow vessel. Press plastic wrap into the top of the pudding and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Once the pudding has cooled for 20 minutes, spoon pudding into the prepared pie crust. Press plastic wrap into the top of the pudding and put in fridge for at least 2 hours.

An hour before you would like to serve the pie, put the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream has tripled in volume and will hold an almost stiff peak.

Spread whipped cream over the top of the pie and sprinkle with the reserved coconut.

Return pie to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Crumpets

2010-02-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

They say that crumpets are butter's best friend and any friend of butter is a friend of mine. I've long been known to toast an english muffin into oblivion only to load it up with butter and a kiss of jam. This morning I decided to make crumpets and see how they stacked up to my long-time breakfast favorite. The results were... delicious. This recipe is a slight adaptation of the recipe found on the King Arthur Flour blog.

You'll Need:

3 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
2 Tb butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

*You don't HAVE to use an english muffin/pancake/egg ring to make crumpets but they will turn out much more uniform if you do. Some folks say you can use thoroughly cleaned tuna cans. Whatever floats your boat.

Getting Started:

Heat water until it is approximately 110 degrees F. Stir in yeast and set aside for approximately 5 minutes. The yeast will be foamy.

Melt butter and set aside.

Heat milk until it is lukewarm.

Now You're Cookin':

Grab a large bowl and dump in flour, salt and baking powder and stir to combine.

Add milk, yeast mixture and melted butter and beat until fully combined and dough resembles slightly thick pancake batter.

Cover the dough with a dishcloth and let rise for approximately an hour. If you follow my lead you'll select your rattiest dishcloth.

When the dough has risen for an hour break out a large skillet or electric griddle and heat to approximately 325 degrees F.

Once your cooking surface is hot, place crumpet molds onto the cooking surface and lightly spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Spoon crumpet dough into the rings (I used an under-filled 1/4 cup measure) filling just under halfway.

Cook crumpets until bubbles erupt on the top surface and then unmold and flip to brown the other side.

We enjoyed our crumpets with butter and jam.

Quick and Easy Marinara

2010-02-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

A quick homemade sauce can elevate even plain noodles and sauce into a praise-worthy dish. I love making homemade meatballs, lasagna, and chicken parmigiana and love that this sauce is tasty, flavorful, and ready in under an hour.

You'll Need:

olive oil
yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 Tb honey (or sugar)
1 can tomato paste
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1 Tb dried)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 bay leaves
2 Tb butter (optional but recommended)

Getting Started:

Dice your onion.

Press or mince your garlic.

Chop parsley if using fresh.

Open the cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.

Now You're Cookin':

Start by putting approximately 1 Tb olive oil in a large saute pan.

Heat oil over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the diced onions and saute until translucent (approximately 3-5 minutes).

Add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add 1 Tb honey to the pan and stir to incorporate.

Add the can of tomato paste the to pan and stir to incorporate.

Add both cans of crushed tomatoes, water, bay leaves, parsley, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to incorporate.

Simmer for as long as you have (ideally at least 30 minutes) and then swirl in butter to finish.

Cinnamon and Chocolate Bread Pudding

2010-02-10T16:56:00.000-05:00

I have been baking lots of bread lately and had a ton of stale bread in my freezer just waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. Finally, I decided upon bread pudding since most of the leftover bread was either challah, french, or a lightly sweet molasses loaf. I'm not a huge fan of raisins in baked goods so I opted for chocolate chips. The results were excellent. The base recipe was adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook.

You'll need:

4 cups of bread cut into roughly 1" chunks
1 1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
2 eggs + 1 yolk
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tb vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Topping:
1 Tb unsalted butter (melted)
1 Tb sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

8" x8" or 1.5 quart baking dish, buttered

Getting Started:

The first thing you will need to do is cut your bread into roughly 4 cups of 1" cubes.

Butter your baking dish.

Now you're cookin':

Whisk together the eggs and the 1/3 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add the milk, cream, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.

Stir in 3 cups of bread chunks and stir to coat. The remaining cup of bread chunks will be used to top the bread pudding before baking.

Let sit for 20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and butter your baking dish.

Mix together 1 Tb sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and set aside.

Melt 1 Tb butter.

Stir 2/3 cup chocolate chips in with bread mixture.

Pour bread mixture into prepared baking dish.

Place reserved bread chunks on top of the bread mixture and brush the exposed sides with melted butter.

Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the bread pudding.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Once removed from the oven let bread pudding sit for another 45 minutes to set up.

Chicken Parmigiana

2010-02-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

Nothing hits the spot when you're holed up waiting for spring more than something warm, hearty, cheesy, and well paired with a glass of wine.

We settled on Chicken Parmigiana for dinner last night and were well rewarded for our efforts.

You'll need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded thin and seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides)
Flour (in a shallow dish - for dredging)
3 eggs + 2 Tb water + salt + pepper (beaten, in a shallow dish - for dipping)
Panko bread crumbs (in a shallow dish - for dredging)

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella - thinly sliced
4 Tb grated parmesan

Marinara Sauce

1 box Spaghetti or other pasta

Getting Started:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and place cooling racks over the foil.

Put marinara sauce in a medium pot over medium-low heat to simmer.

Unless you have a sous chef who is willing to slice your mozzarella while you cook the chicken, now would be a good time to cut the mozzarella cheese into thin slices.

Now would also be a good time to put your pasta water on to boil. I salt my pasta water. It, allegedly, seasons the pasta.

Heat a large skillet (I use cast iron) with 1/4" of olive oil over medium high heat. Don't be skimpy with the oil. The chicken won't absorb it all, but unless there is sufficient oil in the pan the panko will not cook properly.

Now you're cookin':

Once chicken breasts have been pounded thin and seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, dredge each breast in flour, dip each breast in the egg wash, then dredge each breast in the panko crumbs.

When the surface of the oil shimmers in the pan and the oil immediately bubbles around the outside of a panko crumb dropped into the pan it is time to start cooking the chicken.

Cook each breast for approximately 2 minutes on each side until the panko coating is crisp and golden.

Place the chicken on the racks and top with a ladle of sauce, a few slices of mozzarella cheese, and 1 Tb of parmesan cheese.

Put the chicken in the oven for 7 minutes to ensure the chicken is cooked through and to melt the cheese.

Once the chicken is in the oven, add your pasta to the boiling water. Most spaghetti noodles cook in about 7 minutes so your pasta will be done at the same time as your chicken.

Dress your plates with one chicken breast and as much pasta, sauce, and grated parmesan cheese as your heart desires.

Pain au Chocolate

2010-02-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

Having been stranded at the farm with feet of snow piling up around us, I decided to try my hand at Chocolate Croissants, aka Pain au Chocolate. I selected Jacques Torres' recipe and proceeded with a few minor tweaks.

You will need:

3 Tb Melted Butter (room temperature)
1.5 Tb Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup warm (around 110 degrees)
3 1/3 Flour (Jacques recommends Bread Flour - I used All Purpose and had no complaints)
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk

2 sticks unsalted butter (softened but not melted)

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 cup whole milk

Patience.

This is not a quick recipe that can be pulled together on a couple of hours notice. This is an all-day affair. That said, it's an all-day affair that really only takes about an hour of active preparation.

Getting Started:

Melt 3 Tb butter in either the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. Let the melted butter cool while you bloom 1.5 Tb Active Dry Yeast in 1/2 cup warm water for 5 minutes.

Now You're Cookin':

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Then add the water and yeast mixture, milk, and melted butter and stir until fully combined. If your dough is too wet (the dough won't make a ball shape) add more flour 1 Tb at a time. If your dough is too dry (there is more than a skim of flour on the sides of the bowl that hasn't been incorporated) add cold water 1 Tb at a time until the flour is all incorporated.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead (approximately 30 seconds) just until the dough forms a smooth ball.

Place your ball of dough on a lightly floured cookie sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Once the dough has rested at room temperature for 30 minutes, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to an 8 by 15-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.

Wrap the rectangle in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap the rectangle, and place it with a long side facing you on a lightly floured work surface. Spread the softened butter evenly over the right two thirds of the dough. Incorporate the butter by folding the (butterless) left third of the dough over the center, Then fold the right third of the dough to the left, to resemble a folded letter. Roll this out into another 10 by 30-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Fold each short end of the dough to the middle so they meet but do not overlap. Then fold one half over the other half and, if necessary, rotate the dough so that the seam is on your right. Wrap the folded dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a 10 by 30-inch rectangle and turn it so a long side faces you. Give the dough a single fold by folding the left third of the dough over the center, then fold the right third of the dough to the left. Now the dough should resemble a folded letter. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Now would be a great time to chop up that chocolate.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough into a 10 by 36-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Keep the thickness even and (try to keep) the edges straight.

With a sharp chef's knife, cut the dough into 18 rectangles. Three across and six wide.

Lay each rectangle on a lightly floured work surface, with a long side facing you, and place about 1/2 tablespoon of the chopped chocolate in the upper third of each one. Fold that third of the dough over the chocolate. Place about another 1/2 tablespoon of the chocolate along one seam of the folded dough. Fold the bottom third of the dough over the chocolate. The croissants will resemble the letter B.

If you're not going to consume 18 chocolate croissants within the next 12-24 hours, wrap up the extras is plastic wrap and freeze. The chocolate croissants will keep in the freezer for up to a week and can be baked later by thawing the croissants on a parchment covered baking sheet overnight in the refrigerator and then following the next steps.

Place the croissants seam-side down on a parchment covered baking sheet; spaced about 2 inches apart. Loosely cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow the pain au chocolat to proof at room temperature about 1 1/2 to 3 hours. The dough will puff up around the chocolate but the overall size will not change dramatically.

Spend this rise time patting yourself on the back and drinking a glass of red wine (as it is now, undoubtedly, happy hour).

When your chocolate croissants have risen, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Make an egg wash by whisking together the egg yolks, whole egg, and milk in a small bowl until well combined.

With a pastry brush, very gently coat the pastries completely with egg wash. Bake until golden brown. Jacques says it will take about 10 minutes. Mine took closer to 17. Keep an eye on them. You want a deep golden color and a tender but slightly crisp exterior.

If you have any, leftovers can be stored in the freezer if well wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 2 weeks. Thaw at room temperature and warm in the oven before serving.