Happy Easter!
What are you eating today? Never too late to get baking. This is a wonderful adaptation of a Dorie Greenspan recipe from O Magazine that I tested and can be seen below or online in the O Magazine article, “Bonding Through Baking: A Community Connects Over Dorie Greenspan’s Cookbook.”
I also tested several other recipes in this series and will be featuring them whenever I feel the blog community needs something a little sweet.
Check out my latest recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Costini, on Chic Galleria. The easiest most delicious appetizer, side dish or light lunch.
I was never a fan of roast beef for deli sandwiches. I was a turkey girl. The fact that I even use the term “deli sandwich” is very unique to New Jersey and New York. Come to think of it, I spent four years in North Carolina and never found a “deli” – sandwich shops, yes, but a deli with real Jewish rye? No way. The South lacks a few things; fast walking people, good Italian food, and delis. I’m lumping bagels into the term “deli” because all bread is well … soft, tasteless, and supermarket made.
I’m sure every cast member of the Jersey Shore would agree with me. Delis are Jersey.
Ironically it wasn’t until I was a senior in college – in the South, mind you – that I fell in love with roast beef. It wasn’t on a sandwich but the idea trigger the act of making my own roast beef for a sandwich.
Here’s an adapted recipe from Food and Wine Magazine for homemade roast beef from Patricia Well’s latest cookbook, Salad as a Meal. It is so easy, don’t be intimidated by the unique cut of meat, the mass of it, and the amount of fresh herbs, it’s well worth it.
Rare Roast Beef
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Generally coat a 1 1/2 lb. beef eye of round roast with finely chopped rosemary, thyme, and mint. Then generously season with salt and pepper – I mean generously aka restaurant style. In a large oven proof skillet (one without a plastic or rubber handle) heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until glimmering and hot. Add the roast and sear each side, about 3 minutes per side, even sear the sides. Remove roast and wipe down pan. Return meat to it and put in the oven. Roast until meat reads 110 degrees on a meat thermometer – about 25 minutes. Cover with foil and let rest for about 20 minutes. Thinly slice and serve.
I’ve spent a number of long nights in the kitchen over the past week and often during these times I go without dinner. After nights like this I love to treat myself to a nice big breakfast the next morning. Breakfast is a funny meal, I find that people either don’t eat it or are creatures of habit; eating the same thing day after day. I’m the latter. So it’s a splurge for me to make something extra-special for breakfast.
Growing up we had an old fashion waffle maker. It sat on the stove, didn’t have to be plugged in, didn’t have a light that told you it was “ready,” and it made the world’s greatest waffles. Since, my mom has searched high and low for similar models and finally found one. I have one.
Which leads me to my next thought … Waffle Wednesdays. It just so happens that many time I have Wednesday mornings to lounge a bit after a late Tuesday night working. This morning I used Pioneer Woman’s “Whole Spelt Waffles” because I had extra spelt flour on hand I wanted to use up. Spelt is a flour similar in look to whole wheat but nuttier and heartier due to higher amounts of protein – one of my favorites!
Here’s the recipe – I’ve made a few changes, feel free to substitute things with whatever you have on hand. This recipe has no sugar and you won’t miss it for a second – the perfect balance of naughty and nice on hump day …
Spelt Waffles
1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
2 whole Eggs
1 cup Milk (I used Whole Milk but use whatever you have on hand)
¾ cups Water
¼ cups Vegetable Oil
Heat waffle iron over the stove, or by plugging in. Mix all ingredients together and let sit on counter for about 5 minutes. Drop appropriate amount into waffle iron, taking note that when the top closes the waffle will ooze (aka don’t add too much!) and allow to cook for 3 or 4 minutes a side.
Serve with maple syrup, yogurt, peanut butter, and/or fresh fruit.
Coming from a chocolate fanatic, that says something …
Vanilla can be the most banal ingredient or the sexiest, right? It goes in everything, adding that little bit of flavor that every baked good need. On the flip side, vanilla plays a role in things like musky perfume or Valentine’s Day.
I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. I’m also not a huge fan of February (ugh, the dregs of winter), so it’s not surprising I set my sights high and towards the spring. I do like dessert though, and there’s nothing sexier for Valentine’s Day desserts than vanilla. Chocolate is old hat, you can eat chocolate anytime. Who uses vanilla as the main ingredient year round?
Take this part-time player off the bench this week and whip up your honey (or yourself, in my case) a Vanilla-centric dessert, you won’t regret it.
French Vanilla Coffee Cake with Creme Anglaise
Compliments of O Magazine
Servings: Serves 6
Ingredients:
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 1 (8″ x 4″) loaf pan; set aside. Combine coffee, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add 1 cup sugar until blended, scraping down the sides. Increase to high, and beat for 2 minutes. Reduce to low, and add eggs one at a time, then beat in 2 tablespoons vanilla extract.
With mixer on low, alternately add coffee-flour mixture and sour cream to bowl in several parts (ending with dry mixture) until smooth and blended.
Spoon into prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around edges to loosen cake and invert onto a plate. Cool completely.
Make crème anglaise by whisking 1/4 cup sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl until combined. Prepare an ice bath by placing a medium bowl in a shallow bowl of ice water; set aside. Split vanilla bean and scrape out seeds; add seeds and pod to a saucepan with half-and-half. Cook on low until small bubbles form around rim, 3 to 5 minutes.
Whisk half of hot half-and-half into sugar-egg mixture in a thin stream, then pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately strain sauce into bowl of prepared ice bath to stop the cooking (discard pod). Add 1 teaspoon extract; stir to combine. Serve right away or refrigerate until chilled.
Cut cake into thick slices or cubes. Pour crème anglaise on top, or pass it around in a bowl as a dipping sauce.
Compliments of O Magazine
Pizza is my comfort food, obviously you get that drift from MYOP night and my obsession with making pizza dough when I’m stressed. One of my favorite pizzas is a sauteed onion, pear, gorgonzola, and balsamic pizza. After tweeting about it all afternoon, I was begged for pictures, so here are the picture and the recipe. I used whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s, not the best … mine is better, but hell for 99 cents what’s the harm?
Sauteed Onion, Pear, Gorgonzola and Balsamic Pizza
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a pizza stone if you have one, if you don’t (I don’t!) no worries.
Thinly slice onion and saute in olive oil (or butter, because that’s all I had on hand) on low heat until onion is translucent and has shrunken. Salt and pepper onion. Meanwhile shape your pizza into whatever shape you choose and thinly slice pear. Shape dough and layer with onions, pears, and cheese.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbling. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and top with arugula before serving.
Mangia, mangia!
January is a pretty bleak month. The slush, the cold, and the feeling that Spring is far away. The most refreshing thing about January is the chance for new beginnings and fresh starts … the world is at your fingertips.
Have you been putting something off that you want to do? Do you dislike your job? The way you look? Your outlook on life? Change it. Take some simple steps to make a change. It’s powerful and possible. Whether it’s running a little more at the gym, teaching yourself a new recipe, or taking a much needed vacation, everyone can improve their lives, that’s the power of “resolutions.”
Because this is a cooking, living, laughing, and eating blog I’m going to give you a few resolutions I hope to tackle this bright year of 2011.
To kick off the new year, here’s a wonderful soup recipe that allows you to savor the sweetness of winter, while watching your waistline.
Pear and Roquefort Cheese Soup
2 TB Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, diced
2 Pears, cored and chopped
1 15 oz. can of Vegetable Stock
1/2 t. Nutmeg
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper
Roquefort Cheese (more for topping)
Heat oil in a pan, sweat onion until translucent. Add pears and broth and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients and heat until cheese is melted. Depending on the pungency of the Roquefort cheese, taste as you add. Salt and pepper as needed. Roquefort is a naturally salty cheese, so less is more. Puree using a blender or a hand mixer. Strain through a sieve and return to the stove. Warm and ladle into bowls. Top with additional chopped pears or cheese.
Check out my resolution ideas from last year …
When I was little one of my favorite foods to eat was cinnamon raisin bread. My favorite toast and bagel flavor, what can I say, I had a sweet-tooth from a young age. I mean is there really any toast better than cinnamon raisin toast? Probably not.
Now that my tastes have changed a bit, and a slice of great brioche, challah, or focaccia does the trick, that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten an old favorite, and you shouldn’t either.
When it’s dreary, rainy, and cold such as the last day or so has been in New York, this might be the perfect time to try out a new recipe and prove to yourself that you can make homemade bread. Just like I taught a bunch of willing students a few weeks ago.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) – just warm enough to touch, NOT HOT
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup raisins
8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and raisins. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Brush with butter for an extra glisten and put back in oven to golden. Remove loaves from pans, and brush with melted butter or margarine. Let cool before slicing.
Best served toast with (if you’re naughty) butter and cinnamon sugar.
Here is a piece I did for Chic Galleria on holiday cookies. These are the worlds best Gingersnap Cookies. This is an adaptation and translation from a recipe we used at The French Culinary Institute.
Feels like snow, so snuggle up, make your house smell fabulous and indulge.
These are the best gingersnap cookies I have ever made of tasted in my life. It’s an adaptation from The French Culinary Institute’s version (where I went to school) and thrills people every time I make them. They warm the house with the best smell possible during the holidays and (if you can imagine) taste even better.
Gingersnap Cookies
Ingredients:
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
160 milliliters of molasses
20 milliliters of vinegar
4 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. With a mixer cream the butter and sugar, scrape down the sides frequently, and allow to mixture to become light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. Add molasses and vinegar slowly to avoid the mixture from separating.
4. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed butter mixture just until combined.
5. Wrap dough in a flat rectangle or a log, and chill.
6. If working with a rectangle, roll out balls using your hands, if using a log, cut cookies.
7. Dip or roll in granulated sugar.
8. Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes.
Eat and enjoy!
If you know me, you know my two bad qualities:
1. Tendency to bouts of bitchiness due to low blood sugar.
2. The inability to adapt to change.
Luckily those are my only two faults …
But bottom line, I’m not good with change.
Even the transition into fall leaves me dieting on tomatoes and ice cream alone, while I should be embracing pumpkins, apples, and squash. Instead, I’m craving my grill, glasses of sauvignon blanc, and finding myself teary eyed every time I leave the shore. I’m not kidding, I’m a drama queen, over-reactor, and and full on change-a-phobe.
So in these last weeks of summer, while I nurse my tan and continue to eat every ear of corn in sight, I’ve embraced one of my favorite summer time meals full-on: the grilled pizza.
If you’ve never had grilled pizza you’re missing out. A grilled pizza has an almost raw-dough taste contrasting from the crispness a oven brings. Sounds bad, but I assure you this revelation will change your life. Boys, save your steaks for another day and grab some dough, this is the summer meal.
Here’s my version of roasted red pepper, tomato, fresh ricotta, and basil grilled pizza (I also topped with one with arugula). Any substitutions can be made, but this is my favorite classic. I like to dice all the toppings in the same manner to provide a good mouth feel.
Grease the grill and place dough down. Flip over and top with olive oil and toppings. Close the lid and let the cheese melt. The pizza’s cheese will not fully melt, but that’s the point. Then sprinkle with fleur de sel and basil.
It’s not fall yet ladies and gents, but don’t worry (when I no longer have choice) I’ll be into fall full-swing.
