01.27.10
Posted in Baby Food, Chocolate, Cookies & Candies, Dessert, Foodblog Events, Snacks at 1:28 pm by julie
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca. I’d never actually eaten a nanaimo bar before, but I was familiar with them from the Willamette University Bistro’s offerings, so I was very curious to see what they were like. I make simple graham crackers all the time for my son, and have actually made the Nancy Silverton grahams before as well, so those weren’t new to me.
The graham cracker recipe used for this recipe is definitely sweeter than my basic one, but it also has more flavor (not that my son minds one way or the other). Since we don’t have dietary restrictions at our house, I just used some flour I already had on hand: 1 C AP flour, 1 C whole wheat flour, and as a nod to gluten-free baking flours, 1/2 C oat flour ground from rolled oats and 2 T buckwheat flour. I made the full batch of crackers so as to have extras for snacking.
My dough came out quite sticky, but I’m told that was pretty common, and some flour on the board and rolling pin made it perfectly workable. My crackers took a few minutes longer than the suggested time to bake, but maybe that was because of my choice of flours.
As you can see, my taste tester approves! They are especially good for teething 2-year molars.
The crust for these cookies is a bit unusual, cooked briefly on the stovetop, then patted into the pan. It stays soft and chewy, and the nuts and coconut give it some crunch. I used a 9″ pan instead of the 8″ called for, so my bars came out a little thinner than intended.
I didn’t have access to custard powder, so I flavored the middle layer, essentially an American buttercream, with vanilla paste. I had some trouble getting my chocolate melted and cooled to a good consistency for spreading over the buttercream, so it wasn’t as smooth or shiny as I might have liked, but it served its purpose well. The finished bars were incredibly sweet, but we ate them all in about two days, so apparently we didn’t mind a bit. 
There were enough graham crackers not only for snacking, but for several pies with graham cracker crusts, so I also made a coconut cream pie (it did not cut neatly enough for photos!).
All in all, this month’s challenge was interesting and very tasty, but not so much what I would term “daring.” That doesn’t mean I won’t be making nanaimo bars again; in fact, I’m fully planning on taking inspiration from all the amazing variations that our Daring Bakers came up with. Maybe one day I’ll even come across some custard powder and try the real thing.
Nanaimo Bars
Bottom Layer
1/2 C (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 C granulated sugar
5 T unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 C almonds, finely chopped
1 C coconut, shredded (sweetened or unsweetened)
Middle Layer
1/2 C (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2 T plus 2 tsp heavy cream
2 T vanilla custard powder (such as Bird’s), or other flavoring (vanilla, coconut, mint, peanut butter, fruit—sky’s the limit)
2 C powdered sugar
Top Layer
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 T unsalted butter
For bottom layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
For middle layer: Cream butter, cream, flavoring, and powdered sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer, and chill.
For top layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and allow to set.
I am a member of the Theta Class of Daring Bakers, inducted in July 2007. Below is a list of previous challenges:
Strawberry Mirror Cake – July 2007
Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart – August 2007
Cinnamon Rolls and Sticky Buns – September 2007
Bostini Cream Pies – October 2007
Tender Potato Bread – November 2007
Traditional Buche de Noel – December 2007
Lemon Meringue Pie – January 2008
French Bread – February 2008
Perfect Party Cake – March 2008
Opéra Cake – May 2008
Danish Braid – June 2008
Filbert Gateau – July 2008
Chocolate Éclairs – August 2008
Lavash Crackers and Dip – September 2008
French Yule Log – December 2008
Tuiles – January 2009
Chocolate Valentino and Ice Cream – February 2009
Lasagne of Emilia-Romana – March 2009
Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake – April 2009
Apple Strudel – May 2009
Bakewell Tart and Homemade Jam – June 2009
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies – July 2009
Dobos Torte – August 2009
Vols-au-Vent – September 2009
Macarons – October 2009
Cannoli – November 2009
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06.02.09
Posted in Baby Food, Cookies & Candies, Dessert, Snacks at 11:48 am by julie
Nolan is teething something fierce right now. His first set of molars should be emerging at any moment—or at least I hope they will, because his gums are incredibly swollen and he has a scary-looking purple hemotoma on one side. Fortunately, he is a little trooper and tolerates the discomfort with very little fussing, but it really helps to have something to chew on. What does all this have to with my food blog? I’ve started making homemade teething biscuits of a sort for Nolan.
It all started back in April when we bought a box of graham crackers for my Daring Bakers cheesecake. I gave Nolan some to snack on while I was working, and he loved them. But after using some for the crust (and giving half the box to Jeremy for snacking at work), there weren’t many crackers leftover for Nolan. And anyway, store-bought graham crackers, for some reason, are full of hydrogenated fat and high fructose corn syrup, ironic since their inventor, Sylvester Graham, was firmly against the use of additives and highly refined ingredients. I’ve made homemade graham crackers once before, but they were more a grown-up cookie, for making into s’mores, ice cream sandwiches, or other desserts, and I wanted more of an everyday snack cracker, so I turned to The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler
, one of my few “baby food” cookbooks, which contains a very simple graham cracker recipe. It turns out crackers that are pretty darn bland by grown-up standards, but Nolan seems to love them, and they are great for those swollen gums. Baby biscotti is next on the list to try out!
Greatest Graham Crackers
I adapted this recipe for the food processor, and added some cinnamon for flavor. I use all sorts of small cookie cutter shapes to make these a little more fun, and have seriously considered adding a sprinkle of sucanat or turbinado sugar to the tops for a little more interest (but I know it would just drop off and get everywhere as Nolan eats them).
1 C AP flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C unsalted butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C whole milk
Preheat oven to 400F. In a food processor, combine the flours, cinnamon and baking powder, and pulse once to blend. Add butter, cut into chunks, and pulse until it disappears. Add the honey and pulse until incorporated; dough will be damp. Finally, add the milk and pulse just until dough forms a ball. (Alternatively, you could cut the butter in by hand and just stir the dough together with a spoon.)
Flour your work surface and roll out the dough as thin as you like, 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick. Cut into squares or use cookie cutters to shape dough, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Prick with a fork if desired and brush with a little extra milk. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes if 1/8″ thick, or 12-15 minutes if 1/4″ thick, until cookies are set and golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
Source: Adapted from The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler, by Lisa Barnes.
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04.18.09
Posted in American, Baby Food, Cuisines, Dinner, Meats, Pastas, Poultry, Quick Breads, Sausage at 1:17 pm by julie
I obviously do way more cooking than I have time or inclination to write about here. Many posts get put on the back burner so many times that they are out of season before I have a chance to come back to them; others were pretty good meals that I just can’t muster up pithy comments for. So I’ve decided to institute a new periodic series: Leftover Night, my way of cleaning out the virtual fridge from time to time.
Our first Leftover Night dish was nothing really innovative, just a pretty tasty pasta dish that made way more food than we could eat. I raided the freezer for the Italian sausage I had leftover from making last month’s lasagna, and paired it up with some tomatoes, cream and bowties. My only adjustment to the original recipe was deglazing the sausage, onions and garlic with a little white wine to hit some of the alcohol-soluble flavors in the tomato. I cut this recipe down a little in size and we still had two days worth of leftovers, but it reheated pretty well with a splash of cream to freshen it up.
I was looking for something really quick to make with chicken that wasn’t dead boring, and ended up making a Rachael Ray recipe, for heaven’s sake. It’s spinach-ricotta stuffed chicken (sans mushrooms); I simplified the sauce and just did a quick white wine reduction. I can’t look at the picture without recalling that the mashed potatoes, which had a few carrots and some garlic thrown in for interest, were practically a salt lick because my hand slipped while I was seasoning them. It made me wish I’d cooked extra chicken, which turned out well: I wilted baby spinach with the onions for the stuffing, seared off the stuffed breasts, and popped the skillet in the oven at 400F to finish cooking for a few minutes while I was busy hypersalinating the potatoes.
These sweet potato biscuits were the biggest success of the bunch. I had most of a can of organic mashed sweet potatoes open from Nolan’s lunch, and hybridized a Good Enough to Eat recipe with my standard buttermilk biscuit recipe to accompany some roasted cauliflower soup.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
2 C AP flour, plus an additional cup for shaping
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 T Sucanat
1 stick butter, cold
1 can mashed sweet potatoes
1/4 C buttermilk
Combine all dry ingredients from 2 C flour to Sucanat in a food processor, and pulse to blend. Cut 7 T of the butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients; pulse until butter resembles small peas. Add sweet potatoes and buttermilk; pulse again just until dough forms.
Butter a 9″ round cake pan and preheat oven to 350F. Pour about a cup into a shallow baking dish and scoop dough by quarter-cupfuls into the flour (I use a dough/ice cream scoop to make this easier); roll to coat in flour and pat gently to brush off the excess. You should end up with 12 floured biscuits in the cake pan; melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush their tops liberally. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Turn out onto a cooling rack, separate gently, and allow to cool for several minutes before consuming, preferably with butter and honey.
Source: Heavily adapted from The Good Enough to Eat Breakfast Cookbook.
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04.15.09
Posted in Baby Food, Breakfast, Dinner at 10:05 am by julie
I’ve got a few good pancake recipes to work with now: praline ricotta, sweet potato, banana with hazelnut mascarpone cream, to name a few. They taste great, but those recipes all require special ingredients or extra steps, and sometimes I just want to get the food on the table without the fuss. Here are my two basic pancake recipes for those occasions.
First up is a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion; yes, the same book I was complaining about just the other day. But my gripe is with the inconsistency of the recipes: some need much more baking time, some need adjustments to their ingredients, and some are perfect just as they are. This pancake recipe is the very first one in the book, and it’s a keeper, especially if you have a stand mixer. It makes gorgeous, fluffy pancakes with the most basic pantry ingredients. One day I’ll remember to put some malted milk powder in the cart and try that version.
The Simple But Perfect Pancake
2 large eggs
1 1/4 C milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 T butter, melted
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 T sugar or 1/4 cup malted milk powder (for diner-style pancakes)
Beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in butter.
Whisk the dry ingredients together, and gently but quickly stir into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter relax while the griddle is heating (or overnight in refrigerator). The batter will thicken slightly while resting.
Grease and preheat griddle. Drop ¼ cupfuls of batter on the lightly greased griddle, and cook on one side until bubbles begin to form and break (this is the time to add anything like berries, chocolate chips, etc), then turn the pancakes and cook the other side until brown (turning only once).
Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.
My other pancake recipe is a more recent addition to the hit parade, even though I first tried it out several years ago. It comes from the Good Enough to Eat Cookbook, so of course I made a batch almost as soon as we came back from New York—with limited success. They really just didn’t taste anything like the ones at the actual restaurant, which was a big disappointment for us. A few months ago, however, I got tired of making the perfect pancakes above, and decided to take another stab at the 4-grain pancakes. This time I subbed buckwheat flour in for the cornmeal, knowing Jeremy’s aversion to the latter. Well, I can’t say that they taste like the ones in New York City, but the buckwheat made a huge difference in taste for us, and the fact that they are multi-grain gives us one more excuse to eat breakfast for dinner. We usually have some extras to keep in the fridge, and Nolan likes them smeared with peanut butter and jelly.
Good Enough to Eat 4-Grain Pancakes
1 1/2 C AP flour
2 heaping T old-fashioned oats
2 heaping T toasted wheat germ
2 T buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C buttermilk or soured milk (or 3/4 C each milk and plain yogurt)
1/4 C whole milk
4 T melted butter
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and buttermilk in a large measuring cup, add the eggs and whisk thoroughly. Quickly stir the liquids into the dry ingredients, then the melted butter, stirring just until combined. Allow the batter to rest while you heat up the griddle, slice fruit, chop nuts, start some bacon cooking, etc. I use a quarter-cup scoop for our pancakes and sometimes press thin slices of apple or banana into the batter on the griddle. This time I used bananas and added some walnuts too.
Source: The Good Enough to Eat Breakfast Cookbook.
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04.14.09
Posted in Baby Food, Cuisines, Dinner, Leftovers, Meats, Mexican, Pork and Ham, Sides, Veggies at 3:11 pm by julie
I owe Molly Stevens big-time. Not only did she write a great book about braising, which is one of my very favorite ways to deal with meat, but the woman knows how to make cooked carrots taste great. I myself am no friend of cooked carrots: they get mushy and overly sweet with that same flavor that I dislike in sweet potatoes and squash. The thought of carrots cooked with brown sugar or ginger gives me the shivers, just a little bit. But I trust Molly with carrots because the glazed ones that accompany her Zinfandel-braised pot roast were a revelation to me: very savory with only a trace of sweetness, cooked to the perfect degree of doneness between crunch and mush. So I decided to break into a fresh jar of ground ancho from Penzey’s, and give this recipe a try. It came together quickly, even though I used full-sized carrots split down to baby carrot size, and the honey and spices hit just the right balance with the natural sweetness of the carrots. I do admit that I left out the jalapeño, and my tongue thanks me.
To go along with this vaguely Tex-mex recipe, I decided a batch of scallion-sour cream corn muffins was in order. Turned out I didn’t have quite enough sour cream, so I snuck some of Nolan’s cream-top plain yogurt in to make up the difference. These were pretty good basic muffins, though I personally prefer to slather my warm cornbread with butter and honey, and couldn’t bring myself to do it thanks to the green onions. Nolan was a big fan of the entire meal, but he particularly liked the muffins. The next day I started breaking one up into bite-sized pieces for him at lunchtime and had to run out of the room for a moment to help Jeremy; when I came back not 30 seconds later, Nolan had ditched the little bites and was happily noshing on the entire muffin like a big boy, buried in crumbs. Now I just break them into halves or quarters for him instead.
We also got some pretty fantastic leftovers out of the pork, which was good because there was just over a whole tenderloin left. I made my homemade tortillas, upping the quantity slightly because we go through them pretty quickly; sauteed some peppers and onions; and added thin slices of pork just to heat it through. Add some cheese, sour cream, what have you, and you’ve got some darn good pork fajitas. I should also note that Penzey’s is really onto something with those little samples they send along with their online orders. It can be a little hard to imagine how a particular spice blend will smell and taste over the internet, and those samples really help. I find myself reaching for the sample jar of southwestern spices almost every time I make Mexican food now, and I strongly suspect that when I run out, I will be adding it to the next order.
Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Carrots
Please note that I adjusted the cooking method on the carrots here, due to timing and a few cautionary reviews about mushy carrots.
1 pound carrots, peeled, halved or quartered, cut into 5″ sections
2 T water
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T butter, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
2 1-to 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloins
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
For carrots: Arrange carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet. Whisk water and all remaining ingredients in small bowl; pour over carrots and toss to coat. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Toss to coat before continuing.
For pork: Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast carrot mixture for about 10 minutes while cooking off the pork. Meanwhile, stir oregano, cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt in small bowl; rub mixture all over tenderloins. Heat oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to skillet and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
Remove tray from oven and place pork with the carrots in a single layer around it. Roast uncovered until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145°F, stirring carrots occasionally if beginning to caramelize, about 18 minutes. Remove pork from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes; meanwhile, check carrots for doneness and return to the oven while the meat rests if not yet tender.
Transfer pork to work surface. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange carrots on platter. Top with pork slices, drizzling any pan juices over.
Source: Slightly adapted from Epicurious.
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04.13.09
Posted in Baby Food, Breakfast, Dinner, Lamb, Meats, Quick Breads, Sides, Veggies at 7:46 pm by julie
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter yesterday. Ours was pretty low-key, since the little man is not yet of an age to appreciate Easter egg hunts and jelly beans. Instead, I kept busy cooking while Jeremy watched a baseball game with Nolan.
First things first: I wanted to make some sort of Easter bread this year, but I decided to go the easy route and make a quick muffin version of hot cross buns rather than the yeasted sort. I chose the recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookbook, and afterwards noticed that their website shows a different recipe for hot cross muffins that actually does incorporate yeast. It would be interesting to try that out sometime to compare and contrast. In any case, I made a few adjustments to the recipe I used, substituting blood orange juice for rum and dried cranberries and cherries in place of the more traditional golden raisins and candied citron; I also added about a tablespoon of blood orange zest to the batter, and used the juice instead of milk in my glaze, which gave it a lovely pink color. The muffins came out alright: Jeremy and Nolan seemed to think they were pretty good, but I found them to be kind of dense and dull, never mind my distaste for dried fruit in baked goods. I noticed the same quality in the doughnut muffins I made from the same cookbook, and after a number of other mixed results, this is definitely not my go-to baking book, much as I would like it to be.
For dinner, you know we had to have lamb. I’ve been braising most of our legs these past few months, so I mixed it up this time and did a roast. We get the boneless ones from Costco, so I smeared the inside with rosemary and garlic mixed with a little olive oil, tied it up, and slathered the outside with a mixture of softened butter (3 T), Dijon mustard (1 T), and rosemary (1 T); then it went in the oven at 450F for almost an hour and a half. Seems like our poor little oven always takes longer cooking big cuts of meat than the resources suggest. While it rested, I made a quick jus by deglazing the de-fatted pan drippings with white wine and a bit more Dijon, and threw on some potato pancakes to go with the meat. The idea was that the shredded potatoes were reminiscent of nests (or Easter grass, or whatever), in an abstract sort of way, at least. To save myself some dishewashing from another side dish, I sliced up and blanched a fistful of asparagus spears, chilled them in an ice bath, and mixed them into my potatoes. It worked out well, and the asparagus got nicely caramelized where it touched the cast iron. Next time, my only adjustment will be to slice the asparagus on a steeper bias, because the little chunks I cut sometimes escaped while shaping and flipping the pancakes. Nolan liked the lamb and loved the potato pancakes, last night and maybe even more today, as leftovers.
Potato-Asparagus Pancakes
2 eggs, beaten
4 medium russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled and shredded using the largest holes of a hand grater (yikes—or in the food processor!)
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C grated onion (pop it in the food processor with the potatoes)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
about 8-10 spears of asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut on the bias about 1/2″ wide
1/4 C olive oil
Boil a small pot of salted water and cook the asparagus just until they are tender when stabbed with a fork, 2-3 minutes. Remove to an ice bath, chill, and drain.
Combine the eggs, flour, salt, and pepper, stirring to blend. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the potatoes and onions. (You can just use your hands, or, as I do, load some shredded potato into your ricer with the smallest holes and squeeze. Once you’re done, you can poke at the potato starch that settles at the bottom of the liquid–entertaining!) Add the potatoes and cooled asparagus to the egg mixture, mixing well; hands work well here.
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat some of the oil over medium-high heat. Spoon the batter by quarter-cupfuls onto the hot skillet, flattening them with the back of the spoon. Fry until the bottom of the pancakes are nicely browned – between 3 and 5 minutes; flip the pancakes and cook for about 3 minutes longer. Repeat for the remaining pancakes, adding oil to the skillet as needed.
Drain on paper towels, salt while hot, and serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from Bette’s Oceanview Diner.
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04.07.09
Posted in Appetizers, Baby Food, Bread, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Dips & Spreads, Nuts, Grains & Legumes at 6:41 pm by julie
Amazing as it may seem (well, to me at least), our little boy turned one year old near the end of March. My mom flew out for the celebration, which was a small family affair combining Nolan’s birthday party with his dedication. I was mostly busy straightening up the house for company, but I made several savory hors d’oeuvres for our guests to snack on.
This is my homemade grissini with whipped spinach and chickpea hummus. The grissini was a recipe from the King Arthur cookbook, and made enough breadsticks for a week’s worth of snacking. I seasoned them variously with za’atar, smoked paprika, sesame seeds, and Parmesan cheese, and Nolan loved them, with or without a dip in the hummus. I also stuffed some split baby bell peppers with a mixture of feta and ricotta, but those were all eaten up before I remembered to get a photo.
Of course, the highlight of Nolan’s birthday party had to be his cake. Knowing that Nolan is already a big chocolate fan but not wanting the mess of chocolate frosting, I went with the devil’s food white-out cake in Baking: From My Home to Yours. It made the perfect baby birthday cake: moist and chocolatey, but not too big or fussy, and with that crumb coat, it just begged to be eaten with chubby little fingers.
Nolan had never eaten sweets more than a pinch at a time, so we weren’t sure how he would react to a whole slice of cake. But he dove right in without the slightest hesitation and proceeded to eat the entire thing. He didn’t even make all that big a mess, considering. My husband also posted a little video of Nolan chowing down on our main website if anyone is interested.
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03.28.09
Posted in Baby Food, Beef, Cuisines, Dinner, Foodblog Events, Italian, Meats, Pastas, Pork and Ham, Sausage at 10:27 pm by julie
I’m a bit late in posting the March 2009 Daring Bakers challenge. I made it with plenty of time to spare, but have been very busy with company this week (more about that in the days to come) and haven’t had a chance to write up a post until now. The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
I was a little surprised by this choice of recipes, as it didn’t feel so much like a baking challenge as a cooking one to me, but maybe it is connected with the upcoming launch of the Daring Cooks. I’m not complaining—I will take any excuse to make good Italian food, and for that matter, the cannelloni I made last month for Valentine’s Day had a very similar construction. I actually have some leftover ragu bolognese in the freezer from that meal that I had been planning to turn into lasagne with homemade spinach pasta, oddly enough, but in the spirit of the challenge, I made up a fresh batch following the recipe provided.
The first step for making the ragu was tracking down the meats called for. I had to make a few compromises in this department due to availability: I purchased a small chuck pot roast, some veal scalloppine, and a mild Italian sausage, plus prosciutto and sliced pancetta. The chuck, veal and prosciutto went through my trusty grinder while the pancetta and mirepoix sauteed, and soon enough I had a pot of ragu percolating slowly on the stove.
When the ragu was nearly done, I set to work on the pasta. I make quite a bit of fresh pasta, but with several hours already invested into this meal, I decided against kneading and rolling out this pasta by hand. I used fresh baby spinach and chopped it up in my food processor before mixing into the dough. With two extra-large eggs, the dough was much too dry to come together, so I added a third egg and had to compensate with quite a bit of extra flour as well. I mixed it up in my stand mixer, but did a bit of hand-kneading near the end to ensure the correct consistency. The color was astonishingly beautiful, perfect for early spring.
Once the dough had an opportunity to rest, I divided it up and ran it through my pasta roller—over and over again. I rolled it as thinly as possible, which turned out to be setting 5 of 8, as it tended to tear when I went up to a 6. I think the little bits of spinach in the dough were to blame there. Whenever I make pasta, I wish I had a drying rack or even more counter-space for draping the rolled sheets.
I rolled pasta and boiled it all at once to save a bit of time, but it makes for quite the juggling act. I cooked a few sheets at a time, with a colander set in a large bowl next to the stove. While they cook, I roll out the next batch; then I scoop out the cooked pasta into the bowl-nested colander with a spider, quickly fill the bowl with cold water at the sink, drop the next batch of pasta in the hot water, drain the cooked pasta and lay it out on towels, and roll the next few noodles. I tried having an ice bath ready and leaving the noodles in it for a longer time while rolling and cooking more, but I found that the water warmed up too much from the heat of the pasta, and I ended up with squishy noodles that tore if I just breathed too hard on them.
I think I got at least 6 or 7 layers into my casserole dish. It took much more Parmesan than the recipe called for, but I used all the bechamel and had a cup or two of ragu leftover. And I had a ton of extra pasta, which may have in part been because of the additional egg and flour I ended up using. I cooked off all the pasta and used it a few days later to make another dish, which I’ll post about soon.
The finished lasagna was absolutely delicious. We’re so used to lasagnas that are laden down with ricotta and gooey mozzarella cheese—you eat a piece and as tasty as it might be, it sits like a lump in your stomach. This lasagna felt so light in comparison, but it packed a big punch of flavor. It took most of the day to make, but I was lucky enough to have my mom visiting us and she patiently kept the baby entertained while I worked. If not for her, I would definitely have had to split this recipe up over two days to save my sanity. I won’t be making it again anytime soon, but I’m very glad to have tried it, so many thanks to our hosts for their unusual choice. Be sure to look through the Daring Bakers blogroll to see all the other lovingly crafted lasagnas out there.
I am a member of the Theta Class of Daring Bakers, inducted in July 2007. Below is a list of previous challenges:
Strawberry Mirror Cake – July 2007
Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart – August 2007
Cinnamon Rolls and Sticky Buns – September 2007
Bostini Cream Pies – October 2007
Tender Potato Bread – November 2007
Traditional Buche de Noel – December 2007
Lemon Meringue Pie – January 2008
French Bread – February 2008
Perfect Party Cake – March 2008
Opéra Cake – May 2008
Danish Braid – June 2008
Filbert Gateau – July 2008
Chocolate Éclairs – August 2008
Lavash Crackers and Dip – September 2008
French Yule Log – December 2008
Tuiles – January 2009
Chocolate Valentino and Ice Cream – February 2009
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03.13.09
Posted in Baby Food, Cuisines, Dinner, Fish, Italian, Leftovers, Pastas, Seafood, Soups at 10:16 pm by julie
It is pretty much a given that, living in the Pacific Northwest, we eat a lot of salmon. Even this time of year, when there isn’t anything available in the stores except farm-raised, color-added salmon, we can only go so long before giving in and buying some, usually in enormous fillet form from Costco. Nolan loves salmon, and for the most part it makes for a quick-fix dinner, both marks in the plus column for us. So this post is a melange of salmon recipes we’ve made in the past month or two, with a big finale to keep you tuned in.
This was an easy miso-glazed salmon, based on this recipe from Cooking Light. It was tasty, but quite a bit sweeter than I had anticipated, so if I make it again, I will definitely hold back on the brown sugar, or maybe add a balancing acidic component.
The next recipe, for poached salmon with a creamy mustard sauce, was a greater success, although it might not be as pretty to look at. I adapted the easy sauce to my ingredients with great success: shallots for green onions, and a good dose of dried dill added in because it sounded good to me.
I used the remaining salmon the next day to make a chowder that was, frankly, so good I’m tempted to make the poached salmon again just for the leftovers. It was completely improvised, but here is the gist of what I did: I chopped and sauteed two handfuls of onions with some garlic, and then added 1/4 C white wine and 2 cups of water mixed with a teaspoon each of Better Than Bouillon chicken and clam base (mostly because I was running out of the chicken base). I chunked up some red potato and boiled that in the broth for 10 minutes or so, until it was tender, and used a masher to smush them a little and thicken the sauce while still leaving lots of chunks for texture. I wanted to underline the flavors of the original meal, so I added a cup of cream, threw in some dill, a teaspoon or two of mustard, and then broke up the leftover salmon into the chowder, sauce and all. It was fantastic, and stretched the salmon out for an extra day or two.
This was a smoky salmon bisque I made last week when I had about 3/4 lb of salmon scraps leftover from another meal. I wanted to try something new, so I adapted a recipe for smoked salmon bisque. I had to leave out the cilantro and leek and use rehydrated wild mushrooms; I used homemade shrimp stock and only fresh salmon, injecting a smoky flavor with smoked salt and a bit of smoked Spanish paprika instead. It turned out alright, but I think the main problem is just that I don’t actually care for seafood bisques all that much, no matter how much I tell myself otherwise. There is something about pureeing fish that just doesn’t sit right with me. I left my bisque on the chunky side, but the texture still bothered me because it seemed gritty. It did taste good, though, and I served it with homemade Parmesan focaccia, which made Jeremy’s day.
The focaccia used an olive oil dough recipe from Artisan Bread Baking in 5 Minutes a Day. I topped it with fleur de sel, coarse pepper, sprinkles of thyme and garlic powder, and freshly grated Parmesan, plus a generous drizzle of olive oil. I was able to make two focaccias and a large pizza with the dough over several days, all of which were very tasty and prompted me to immediately make another batch of dough.
You may be picking up on the pattern here: I tend to pick out really easy salmon recipes with just a few ingredients, and use any leftovers for some sort of chowder. It fits the bill on most occasions, but I wanted to make something more interesting this time. I started looking into Italian recipes to marry with the focaccia, and a unique recipe for salmon cannelloni in a lemon cream sauce. Rather than using fresh pasta wrapped around ground meat, this recipe calls for homemade crespelle (Italian crepes, essentially) wrapped around narrow strips of salmon fillet. I was a little skeptical, but it suited my needs, and I had nearly all the ingredients for it on hand, so I gave it a shot.
I’ve made crepes before and they don’t pose too much of a problem. For these, I used dried dill instead of the tarragon called for, purely from personal preference: we aren’t big on licorice-y flavors. The recipe called for a 10″ nonstick skillet, though, and I have just 8″ and 12″ ones, so I slightly adapted the method of spreading the batter. Rather than pouring in too much, swirling the pan, and pouring off the excess, I used my 12″ skillet, poured batter into a 1/4 C measuring cup then into the hot skillet, and gently used the back of the cup to spread the batter, using the lightest touch I could and stopping the moment I felt it start to set up. I was quite pleased with the size and thickness of the resulting crespelle. Nolan thought they weren’t half-bad, and the little one I made for him and tore up into bite-sized pieces kept him occupied while I continued working.
I made some minor adjustments to the lemon cream sauce, and in place of the shallot butter, I took advantage of a lone leek, sautéing it with a little butter and garlic. It ended up being a bit skimpy for me, so I’ve adjusted the recipe to call for 2 leeks instead. Nolan did great watching me run around the kitchen working…until I had to stand still and wrap up the cannellonis, then he decided he was dome being patient. I had just enough time to grate some fresh Parmesan over the dish and shove it in the oven before his tantrum picked up steam.
These were delicious, and one of the most impressive looking meals I’ve made in quite some time—it would be a good one to make for guests.
Salmon Cannelloni with Dill Crespelle and Lemon Cream
For crespelle:
2 large eggs
2/3 C water
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried dill
3 T unsalted butter, melted
For sauce:
2 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 T all-purpose flour
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
1/6 C water
1/6 C lemon juice
1/3 C heavy cream
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For salmon cannelloni:
1 T unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, rinsed and chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 pieces salmon fillet (about 1×1x8), skin and little bones discarded
Parmesan cheese
Blend together eggs, water, flour, dill and salt in a blender until smooth. Lightly brush a 10- or 12-inch nonstick skillet with a film of melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom, or use the back of the measuring cup to very gently spread batter. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crespella.) Cook until just set and underside is lightly browned, about 30 seconds, then invert crespella onto a clean kitchen towel in one layer to cool. (It will be cooked on one side only.) Make 5 more crespelle with remaining batter in same manner, brushing skillet with butter as needed and transferring to towel as cooked, arranging them in one layer.
Heat butter in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat until foam subsides. Add flour and cook, whisking, 2 minutes. Add clam juice, water and lemon juice in a slow stream, whisking, then bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in cream, zest, and pepper, then remove from heat.
In a small skillet over medium heat, melt 1 T butter and saute leek and garlic until softened. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch or other 3-quart glass or ceramic baking dish and spread half of sauce in dish.
Put 1 crespella, pale side down, on a work surface. Spread a layer of leek in a line across the center of the crespella, cover it with a salmon fillet, season fish lightly with salt and pepper, and fold crespella around salmon, leaving ends open. Transfer to baking dish, arranging, seam side down, in sauce. Make 5 more cannelloni with remaining salmon and crespelle in same manner, arranging in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over cannelloni. Grate a light layer of Parmesan cheese over the surface of the crespelle.
Bake until salmon is just cooked through, sauce is bubbling, and Parmesan is beginning to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to settle for several minutes before serving.
Source: Adapted from Epicurious.
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12.02.08
Posted in American, Baby Food, Cuisines, Dinner, Meats, Poultry, Sides, Veggies at 11:19 am by julie
We had a pretty low-key Thanksgiving this year, just the three of us. Because of the baby, I didn’t push myself too hard in planning and executing the menu, picking out just a few new items but for the most part sticking with the tried and true.
Jeremy chose the turkey this year: He brought home an 18-pounder, not seeming to realize that it was far and away the biggest turkey we’ve ever had, particularly compared to last year’s 8-lb free range turkey. To put it another way, it was literally bigger than our petite Nolan, who is still under 16 lbs. As a result, I decided to save my arms and delegate the turkey prep to Jeremy. We did a salted turkey a la Bon Appetit, and it came out with beautifully crisp, mahogany skin, as promised. We didn’t find it salty at all, thanks to a thorough rinse before roasting, but the meat wasn’t especially moist either. I used fresh herbs and completely forgot at the end to make the dijon-shallot gravy variation as I had planned. We will be eating leftover turkey forever.
As for the remaining fixings, I mostly stuck with the tried and true: mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, vanilla sweet potato puree, my slow cooker stuffing (this year I added chopped chestnuts for a nice touch), and fresh cranberry sauce. I also tried out a cauliflower-Brussels sprout gratin from Bon Appetit that was very tasty (but it should be, consisting mostly of cream and Parmesan). I left out the pine nuts because we aren’t fans, and left the vegetables unblanched before baking upon numerous recommendations to avoid mushiness. They came out of the oven just right, very slightly al dente.
I also made two pies on Wednesday, but didn’t photograph them because you’ve seen them before: Dorie’s caramel pumpkin pie from earlier this month, and the poifect apple pie I first made last year. They were both delicious, but that apple is really spectacular. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Nolan thought the sweet potatoes were alright, but he loved the pies: we gave him tastes of the pumpkin filling and cooked apple, sans crust and crumb. He remains underwhelmed with mashed potatoes.
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