Wednesday, September 05, 2012

New project.

A good friend has asked me to help come up with healthy sweets to incorporate into catered kids lunches. Today, I give you some no baked treats.. Or, as I described them to my kids, "cookie balls!"

Sunbutter, oats, wheat germ, honey, raisins, vanilla and a little cinnamon..



- Posted from bed using blog press for iPhone..

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Blackberry Polenta Crostata with Phili style Vanilla Ice Cream

We are nearing the end of summer and I finally did it. I made a fruit crostata. Kind of waited until the last minute here, but I think I figured out why that is.
I hate to even say it.
I don't really like fruit desserts.
I mean dessert is dessert is dessert, right?
I don't know, I just have never been a fruit dessert ordering type. I tend to order Creme Brulee. Chocolate. A big fat cookie on a plate with ice cream. but, for some reason, I typically scan over the fruit option.
yet, I have made so many crostatas and tarts over the years and I love making them.

Down the street from our house in the city is a wild patch of Blackberries. The other night at dusk, after the kids were tucked in, I grabbed a pail and told my husband that I was going to pick some blackberries. For a minute I felt like I could have been anywhere else. I even pictured living on a farm and heading out into the pasture to pick fruit. There was this smell to the air too, like  warm hay. I was transported, even just for a little bit. And, after a full day with crazy kids, it was just what I needed. quiet, fresh air and doing something with the intention of baking something. Baking is something that I am having a hard time getting back into my life post kids. I keep trying, thinking that I am making strides and then I seem to go backwards.
(have you seen the date of my last post?--great example)

anyway, after I came home with a decent amount of berries, I thought of this polenta crust that I used to make. And, then I thought of Ice Cream. A fruit dessert is just a fruit dessert, but offered with a scoop of  Ice Cream, for me, is what catapults it to the next level.
Now, I might just order that.


 
Blackberry Crostata with Polenta Crust.
 
7 Tabl cornmeal (i used coarse)
1 cup flour
1/4 teas salt
1 yolk
1 1/2 Tabl cream
1/2 teas vanilla
6 Tabl butter, soft
3 T sugar
1 teas lemon zest
 
combine dry ingredients in bowl. in a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. using your fingers, work the butter into the dry mixture until crumbly. then, add the wet mixture and work the dough lightly, until it comes together.
divide into 2 small disks.
Chill 1 hour.
while chilling, toss the blackberries (I used about 3/4 cup for each small crostata) with a little sugar and a little orange zest.
Preheat oven to 400.
After the dough has chilled, roll it into 2 circles, or one larger if you prefer. Transfer them to a silpat on a tray.
place the berries in the center and crease the sides, folding them towards the center.


Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Philadelphia Style Vanilla Ice Cream
(adapted from the perfect scoop, David Lebovitz)
(ie, easy peasy.)
2 cups cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 teas vanilla extract (or a bean if you have)

Heat the milk and cream with the sugar and salt to dissolve, and if you have a bean, scrape and add that as well. bring to just under a boil and then turn off the heat and let it sit. let it cool completely and then add it to your ice cream maker. easy!







 

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Herbed Cottage Cheese Bread.

I keep buying cottage cheese. For some reason, over the last few weeks, I forget to look in the fridge to see if we actually need it, and I buy another. So now, we have about a gallon. I am serious. So, I started looking to recipes to provide some relief. I found one. It is a bread that was really delicious. It may sound strange, to combine cottage cheese with flour, dill and honey, but it was really good. super tender and soft, slightly chewy crust. It really reminded me of this potato dill bread I used to make years ago, but without potato.

 I also needed to knead this week. after a week and a half of sick and teething kiddos, I needed a little bread therapy.

And, this was the perfect thing, slathered with some sweet butter.



Herbed Cottage Cheese Bread.
adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

2 1/4 teas dry yeast
1/2 cup water
2 Tabl honey
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 egg
1 cup cottage cheese, I used large curd lowfat
2 Tabl fresh mixed herbs. I used a mixture of fresh chives and dill.
3 cups Flour
1 teas salt

In a bowl, combine yeast with warm water and honey. let sit while you chop the onion and herbs. To the yeast, add the cottage cheese, egg, onion and herbs and whisk to combine.
then, add the flour, 1 cup at a time until you have a soft dough that can be kneaded by hand. after the 2nd cup is added, add your salt and mix. dust your counter with some of the remaining flour and knead the dough, adding flour to make a dough that is soft and just slightly tacky. (it is a soft dough, but nature, but it should be firm enough to handle, yet a little wet.) knead for about 5 minutes and then let rest in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic, for 1 hour.
Punch down after an hour and knead on the counter, shaping the loaf in a ball. let rest 5 minutes.
At this point, I used a floured bread basket (which gives the lined appearance and held the shape of the dough for the second rise.) If you dont have something like this, use a loaf pan. shape the loaf into a football and let rise for an hour in a greased pan.
preheat oven to 375 and when the dough has risen an hour and is quite airy, bake it for about 40 minutes until dark golden.




Monday, May 21, 2012

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies.



Today was just one of those days. Both kids woke up sick, one stayed home from school, the other didn't nap well. It was raining. We didn't leave the house, both kids grumpy and stealing toys from each other. Somehow I kept my cool. But, it was really hard. At 3:30, I found myself debating whether to crack the wine or make more coffee. Did I want to pep myself up for the remainder of the day or mellow out? I decided to wait a half hour, until 4, and then I did crack that wine. But, in the meantime, I decided to do us all a favor and made some cookies. I took an existing recipe and made a wee bit healthier and better, I think. I cut back a little on the sugar, used whole wheat flour and tada...every little bit counts, right?


Whole Wheat Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies


1/2 cup soft butter
3/4 cup peanut butter, I like chunky myself, but either works
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teas vanilla
3/4 teas baking soda
1/4 teas salt
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Nutella or TJ's equivalent (Cocoa Almond Spread, which I used)


Pour a glass of wine and preheat oven to 350.
Cream together butter, pb, sugars, egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine. The dough shouldn't be too dry but it takes a little to combine. And, I am too lazy these days to get my mixers out, so I usually whisk the butter etc and then use a wooden spoon and a little muscle when combining the two. When mixed, add the Nutella and stir in only until it is marbled throughout.

On a silpat or parchment, roll out balls about 1 1/2 inches across, then press them down with a fork in a criss cross. I baked most of the dough tonight, but not all and my guess is that you get about 2 dozen in total.
Bake for 12 minutes or so, until dry on top. 

gobble. 

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Strawberry Ice Cream

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you that summer has arrived in the Pacific NW, would you? Well, I don't really believe it myself, but we have been treated really nicely this May. Maybe it is to make up for last years horrid June? I am crossing my fingers that June doesn't show up like a lion again this year. But, back to summer. I am jumping the gun, but can we still declare the beginning to Ice Cream Season?
OK
Good.

Yesterday, I got out my old (meaning 1990's) Donvier crank maker, froze the core, made some Ice Cream custard base and macerated some berries. OK, maybe that took me a few days.
but, when I finally got it all together, I recruited my 3 year old to turn the crank for 20 minutes and look what he made? He was so proud. I see a lot of homemade ice cream in our future.




 And, here it is, just before I poured the Magic Shell over the top.
I know, I know. How could I?
it was pretty easy, actually.





Strawberry Ice Cream.

3 cups cream
1 cup sugar
6 yolks
pinch salt
4 cups Strawberries mashed with 1/4 cup sugar.

I mashed the berries and sugar and let it sit overnight.

Heat the Cream to a simmer with 1/2 cup sugar and salt. While heating, whisk the other 1/2 c sugar with the egg yolks in a separate bowl. when the cream is hot, pour it into the bowl WHILE WHISKING the eggs and sugar, when mixed, add back to the pot and stir constantly with a spatula until the mixture thickens slightly. (finger test, just about as hot as you can handle) don't let it boil.
pour the mixture into a clean bowl and try to cool it quickly to stop it from over cooking. Use a larger bowl with ice water to prop the bowl containing the mixture in. let cool completely. preferably overnight as well.

when ready to churn, strain the custard base just in case you got some eggy bits, then stir in the berry mixture. pour into the maker and churn per the instructions.

For my batch, I actually halved the recipe and it churned in about 15 minutes. it made just shy of 4 cups. And, another note, depending on the sweetness factor of your berries, you can cut back a little on the sugar. I wouldn't cut it to more than a 1/2 cup though.

Enjoy!




Monday, April 30, 2012

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti.

Before there was anything else, there were these. In the early days, post college graduation, before I discovered my true calling and passion for baking, I made these. And they were really good. So good that I kept getting requests for them from my family members.
Conversations went something like this and still do, by the way.
"what do you want for your birthday?"
"just send some biscotti!"

"what about for Christmas?"
"how about some biscotti?"

These were the originals, the cookie from which my passion was fueled. And, yet, after 7 years and some 200 posts, I still haven't paid homage to this little guy.

Well, that all changed last week. After 4 years and nearly 0 care packages sent to my family members,
(can I blame the kids, you guys?)
my parents lost a beloved friend of 13 years. My second thought after hearing the news was, maybe I should send them some biscotti.
Doesn't biscotti make everything feel a little bit better?
Here's hoping it will. xo























Again, so sorry for the terrible pic quality...


Best Biscotti.

4 oz butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 T vanilla
1 T squeezed orange
3 1/3 c flour
3/4 teas baking powder
1/8 teas salt
1/2 teas cinnamon
4 oz shelled salted pistachios
4 oz dried cranberries


cream together butter and sugar.
 add the eggs and beat until creamy.
add the vanilla and orange, mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
add to wet mix and mix to combine. try not to over mix.
then, add the nuts and fruit. feel free to improvise! I have used chocolate and pecans with good results too.

roll into 2 logs. 3in  wide by about 15 in long.
bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until the cookies are baked and just slightly golden.
let cool, cut into cookies about 1 inch wide, and re bake, abotu 15 minutes until golden and dry.

I love you guys. The package is in the mail.





Posted from bed using blog press for iPhone..

Friday, April 27, 2012

Chocolate Babka Rolls

(After just posting my last entry, I had to trudge ahead and post a follow up with a good ending.
I learned with my previous post that I needed to trust my gut and not the celebrity pastry chef. In this case, I trusted my gut again but following through on this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and I was so so happy I did. It was pretty labor intensive but so worth it.)
Read On.

Recently, I made these for a cookbook club meeting. With 2 active kiddos, they took me a couple days to complete. They were so worth the wait. I was able to make the chocolate filling and dough in stages and then retard the dough in the freezer, pulling it out several hours ahead of time to proof and bake. I made these rolls below and a huge loaf to share with my cookbook club.
With these rolls below, just roll the dough as you would in step 7 below. then, instead of twisting it or adding the strusel, just cut the rolls from the log using a serrated knife.



Chocolate Babka (from Smitten Kitchen, via Martha Stewart)
When shaping the babka, twist dough evenly throughout the length of the roll a full 5 to 6 turns.

*(I made these rolls and a large loaf, which I froze after step 8 for a couple nights, pulled it out and thawed for about 7 hours before baking.)

1 1/2 cups warm milk, 110 degrees
2 (1/4 ounce each) packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups plus a pinch of sugar
3 whole large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
2 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped*
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Streusel topping (below)

1. Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Place chocolate, remaining cup sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter until well combined; set filling aside.
6. Generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans; line them with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cream; set egg wash aside. Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.
7. Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of the reserved chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Refresh egg wash if needed. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half. Fold ends under, and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.
8. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of streusel topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve. Babkas freeze well for up to 1 month.
* After chopping the chocolate into moderately sized chunks, I used the food processor to pulse the rest of the chocolate in two batches to small bits. It saved a lot of time!
Streusel Topping
Makes 3 3/4 cups.
1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.


*I didnt use the topping on the rolls and they tasted delish nonetheless.


Kouign Amann, take 1.

This is a classic example of one of those, trust your gut lessons. And, in this case, don't always trust the celebrity chef.

I have had this recipe for Kouign Amann bookmarked on my computer ever since I tasted it for the first time at Honore Bakery in Seattle. It was quite possibly the best pastry I had ever eaten, and this includes all 100,000 chocolate croissants that I have consumed. I haven't had a lot of free time over the last 4 years, but I am starting to reclaim it slowly and surely. Yippee. So, the other day on a whim, while one kiddo slept and the other was at school, I clicked on the bookmarked tab and started mixing dough. As I looked at the recipe, I had my hesitations, but it was a blog written by David Lebovitz, a well known pastry chef, so I plunged forth. My hesitation was this: the Kouign Amann I had tasted was a flaky, chewy, crispy piece of buttery sugary heaven with a touch of sea salt. My guess was that they use some sort of laminated dough. Not sure what this is? think croissant. lots of layers of butter and dough, delicately folded and rolled over and over again. this creates pockets, flakes in the crust. The David Lebovitz recipe was like, throw some butter and sugar on the dough, fold it some, roll it a little. At one point he even states that if it falls apart to just push the dough back together. I found myself thinking that my Chef teachers at the CIA would laugh if I had done this with a delicate and lovely croissant dough. This was no delicate and lovely croissant dough. This was like lazy man's croissant dough. (not trying to be elitist here. croissant dough is just way more labor intensive, with good reason!) So, I guess I wasn't surprised at the result. But, as I was trudging ahead, I kept thinking, 'well, it is a David Lebovitz recipe...so it has got to be good, right?'


Um, wrong.

just wrong.

I don't know, maybe this is the real Kouign Amann and the version I had was an improvised version (and much superior, I might add)
So, if you are looking for a lovely, light, layered, flaky, buttery, sugary and crispy pastry, this is not it.

On the other hand, if you want something that is heavy, crispy on top with some decent caramelization, super doughy, butter leached out of the dough and into the bnottom of pie pan.. eek. barf.
I will say that this was edible, sort of. I mean, when is sugar, butter and dough not edible, right? Well, this was on its way to hitting the dirty diapers in the garbage when my husband came in the kitchen to tell me that he actually liked it.

Tomorrow, I may have to introduce him to the real thing.



The Dough before layering.




The finished product. doesn't look too bad. Looks can be deceiving.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Carrot Cookies.

I ended up with a lot of carrots last week. We don't have a horse, but my son does love them. but, still, that is a lot of carrots. So, I started pinning on Pinterest. Carrot Pancakes, Carrot Cake.. I even looked at some cookies. But, nothing I saw was what I had in mind when I started to envision a carrot cookie. I didnt want frosting on it. I didnt want it to taste like cake. If I want cake, I will make cake. I like my cookies chewy.
So, I took a recipe that I have used and tweaked it. I used all whole wheat flour. I cut back on the sugars, eliminated the raisins, added some chocolate chips and some carrots, and voila, this cookie was baked. And, they turned out good. not too cakey, but, just a touch raised. and, chewy. I also really liked the flavor of the whole wheat and the carrots. This one is a keeper.


Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip & Carrot Cookies.

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teas vanilla
1 c oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 teas baking powder
1/2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas cinnamon
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 cup carrot, grated thin.

cream butter and sugars, add egg and vanilla. whip to combine.
in a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
add this to the wet mixture. stir to combine. (the batter might seem a little dry, but the added carrots shouls alleviate this. )
add the carrots and the chocolate chips.

preheat oven to 350. line pan with silpat or parchment.
spoon hefty Tablespoon of dough. (I got about 18)
Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly golden and dry to the touch.


Thursday, April 12, 2012

Meyer Lemon Whole Wheat Honey Bread.

This bread started out as sweet Portuguese buns for Easter. But, I had some lemon infused milk and a lemon sweet bread was born. Then, I ran out of regular flour and a whole wheat bread was born. then, I ran out of time chasing the kids and threw the dough in the freezer.

This is how is goes these days.

A couple days later, I pulled the bread out and thawed it. I proofed it and baked it, and a lovely lemon honey whole wheat bread was born.

Since having kids, I am amazed at how many times I have bagged a recipe. I put things off. I run out of time. But, I am trying to bake a loaf of bread a week, in the very least. This recipe, or my new version of it, yields just the right amount of dough for 2 loaves. If you choose or have no choice, throw half in the freezer, and pull it out next week. You will be glad you did.



Meyer Lemon Whole Wheat Honey Bread.
(say that three times, fast)


Sponge:

1 1/2 Tablespoons dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk, steeped with Meyer Lemon Zest of 2 lemons.
(I let it sit overnight, but I imagine 30 minutes would do. bring 1 1/4 c milk and zest to a simmer, then let it sit.)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour

mix ingredients until smooth, then let sit for an hour at room temp, covered.

Dough:

1 stick butter, room temp, in pieces.
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs, at room temp.
3 cups or so Whole Wheat Flour

*Stir down sponge and add butter, honey, salt, eggs and 1 cup flour. stir. continue to add flour, little by little until you have a soft dough that comes together. any flour left? use it to flour your surface for hand kneading. knead for a few minutes until springy, then let rise in a covered bowl for 1.5 hours.

(at this point, if you run out of time, you may retard the dough in the fridge or freezer and pull it out later. if you do this, be sure to allow a few hours for the dough the thaw, if frozen, or to come to room temp, if in the fridge. when thawed, proceed with the instructions below..)

divide the dough into 2 portions and grease 2 loaf pans. (9 by 5 by 3 or similar)
form each portion into a elongated football shape and place in pans.
let rise for 45 minutes or until just puffy near the top of the pan, yet slightly springy to the touch.

bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown on all sides.
let cool, then eat.








Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Orange Raisin Bread with Walnut Glaze.



I cant believe that I am actually writing a blog post. In my quest to get back on the wagon of baking and blogging, I decided to start with this bread. I think that my family: myself, husband and my 2 young sons go through at least 3 loaves of bread per week. Instead of spending money, why not just bake them myself? so, that is my goal. for today, just to make sure I still could do it, I started with just one loaf.

This bread was a great way to get back into the rhythm. and, now, I cant wait to bake more.














 
 
Orange Raisin Bread.
 
adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Bread.
 
2.5 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
3/4 cups water
1/4 cups milk
zest of one orange
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teas salt
1 egg
3/4 c raisins
 
Glaze:
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 teas butter, softened
1/4 c finely chopped walnuts
3 Tablespoons Orange Juice
 
In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the yeast.
over heat, in a saucepan, heat the water, milk, orange zest, butter, sugar and salt until butter melts and mix is warm but not hot to the touch. (around 115 degrees)
pour over the flour and mix to partially combine, and then add egg and mix to combine.
add the flour, little by little until you get a dough that comes together.
dust a counter surface with a little flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is no longer tacky, but take care to add only a little flour at a time to avoid over drying the dough.
place in bowl and let rise for 90 minutes.
punch down, shape into a round and let sit for 20 minutes on the counter, below a cover.
then, shape into a log and place into greased loaf pan.
let rise around 60 minutes.
preheat oven to 375.
bake for 40-50 minutes until the loaf is nicely browned.
while the loaf is baking, mix the glaze ingredients to a slightly runny consistency.
when loaf emerges from the oven, glaze using a pastry brush.
 
cool, then devour.
 
 

- Posted from bed using blog press for iPhone..

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Holy crap.

time flies when you are having fun! has it really been 7 months? man, well, I am slowly starting to get my groove back, here. (2 kids later..) I hope to be posting more really soon. and by soon I mean, in less than 7 more months. I have had to take a little hiatus. having kids is keeping me really busy and when I do find downtime, you will find me with my wine, propped on the couch, or sleeping. I hope to be back soon!