Pumpkin Butter

Much better than the doughnuts was my first batch of Pumpkin Butter! It not only dressed up/salvaged the doughnuts but it also tastes great on its own, spread on bread or stirred into yogurt for breakfast. Plus it is full of that pumpkin pie spice everyone craves this time of year.

I started from Sarah's recipe using the white pumpkin I picked up during a girl's weekend in the Catskills. I hadn't seen a white pumpkin before but I found its flesh to taste the same as an orange one though it had more of a brown tinge. My changes to her process were substituting maple syrup for white sugar, amping up the cinnamon and cloves and cooking the butter for a mere hour or so over on low on the stove instead of for 8 hours in a slow cooking. The result was lightly sweetened, super smooth bliss. No question this project is worth the time it takes!

When you scoop out the pumpkin's insides be sure to save and roast the seeds for a salty, crunchy and, somehow, healthy snack that will have you wishing you ate whole pumpkins and squash more often. I used Mama Pea's recipe this time and found the addition of vinegar to the usual mix of olive oil and salt to be a good one. 

Pumpkin Butter
Slight adapted from Sarah at All Our Fingers in the Pie

1 Pumpkin
Maple Syrup
Cinnamon
Cloves
Ginger
Nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Cut the pumpkin in half and use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and pith inside. If you want to roast the pumpkin seeds, save them.
3. Place the pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet and roast until soft, approximately 30 minutes.
4. Scoop the cooked pumpkin flesh into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add flavorings to taste.  I went with 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/8 teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger for each cup of pumpkin. 
5. Transfer the seasoned puree to a large pot and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for an hour (or until it reaches the desired texture).

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts

Happy Halloween! Now on to the belated October Daring Baker's Challenge...

Oh dear. Doughnuts are tough. I grew up loving the sight and meaning of the HOT Krispy Kreme sign in Richmond...fresh glazed doughnuts. Now that I made my own I have a whole new appreciation for doughnuts I can purchase. Leslie compared my chocolate doughnuts to burnt marshmallows, which is a compliment, uh, if you like those. For me it just confirmed the fact that I had a bit of a doughnut disaster for the October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge, which was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up.

Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts (obviously) and she made beautiful doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious. I made the Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cake Doughnuts (page 4) substituting 1/2 cup of flour for cocoa.

They took much longer than the recipe advised - perhaps because I was a novice? Regardless somehow 37 minutes turned into 2 hours. So should you tackle this, leave plenty of time and keep in mind that the dough is VERY, VERY sticky... Only after I added enough flour to make it look like muddy elephant skin did the doughnut holes not stick to the cooking cutter and/or table.

My biggest challenge was regulating the frying oil's temperature. I used 1.5" of canola oil rather than 3," so perhaps that made it more complicated? Either way I have to admit it was fun to watch the dough dip down, bounce up and flip flop all over the place while the holes fried! Somehow in spite of temperature regulation issues the doughnuts weren't greasy though some had doughy centers. 

I can see where these would be delicious and, if you can ignore the slight burnt flavor, mine were rather delicious but in the future I suspect I'll stick to eating other people's fried treats. Frying is messy and wasting all that oil just kills me. The pictured Pumpkin Butter though? I'll take that anytime...more on that later.

 

Nothing I make will ever compare to Funfetti? Why is it so, so good?!

Not Miso Soup and My 29th Birthday

I tried to ignore turning 29, not because I was worried about it but, because I was worried in advance about turning 30, nothing could have lived up to Spain, I wanted to save my energy with weekends of work ahead of me and every other reason I could throw out. My tendency to get ahead of myself knows no boundaries though I hope to work on taming it, among other things, this year.

Luckily my friends and family refused to ignore the day leaving me feeling special thanks to cards, calls, texts, e-mails, facebook posts and even flowers and sweets from co-workers. Meg's insistence that I not spend it alone resulted in a low key night watching Boardwalk Empire (gorgeous!) while eating good food, which was further improved when Leslie joined us spontaneously.

Meg made a refined version of her Chilean Sea Bass and I threw together this Not Miso Soup loosely based on Cathy of Not Eating Out in NY's Celeriac Miso Soup. Meg also surprised me with chocolate cake and stout for a finishing touch. It was a delicious evening relaxing with good company and I don't think it could have been better...except if I hadn't gotten sick the next day.

I promise it wasn't the rich soup with hints of the salty sea below that caused the illness though it was a great comfort in making me feel better. It's like potato-leek soup with an oceanic twist and I like that it doesn't require anything other than Miso paste to make the broth (as I'm often too lazy to make it yet don't like buying it). Plus Miso paste seems to keep forever in the fridge so it is easy to have on hand.

Not Miso Soup
(4-6 Servings)

6 cups Water
3 tbsp Miso Paste
8 trimmed bunches of Shanghai Bok Choy
3 Scallions, greens only
1/3 cup Hijiki, rehydrated
5 Baby Potatoes, diced (the first time I didn't include these and we decided it needed more heft - tofu, white beans or chicken could also add texture)
Salt to taste

1. Put the dehydrated Hijiki in cold water to rehydrate. Rinse scallions, bok choy and the potatoes' exteriors. In a large pot, whisk together 6 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of miso. Heat over medium high until bubbling a bit.
2. Chop scallions, greens only, into 1/8-1/4" rings. Set aside. Trim ends off of bok choy, contemplate that the wasted bits look like rosettes. Peel potatoes and dice them into small to medium cubes.
3. Add potatoes to the miso/water mixture. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Drain Hijiki and rinse it well.
4. When the timer goes off add half the scallions, bok choy and some salt. Let the mixture cook for approximately 5 additional minutes until bok choy wilts and becomes tender. Potatoes should yield easily to a bite but still have texture. Taste. Add more salt if needed.
5. Remove the soup from the stove and stir in the Hijiki. Add remaining scallions. Serve.

Birthday Night Version

  Trial 2 (same week, to make sure this didn't make me sick)

Meg's Delicious Dish

Grape Focaccia with Rosemary

On September 19, I impulsively bought New York State Concord Grapes thinking I'd try Deb at Smitten Kitchen's Grape Foccacia with Rosemary. While I threw them into sauce for sauteed pork then, I didn't attempt the recipe until last weekend and that only happened because the grapes were showing signs of shrivel! This was my second attempt at a Foccacia-style bread and while it went better than my first where the dough ended up like dinosaur skin it just didn't live up to Luca of the Cavatappo Empire's.

The focaccia's flavor is delicious and the unexpected combination of grapes and rosemary satisfies your desire for sweet and salty in one bite, but it's lack of levity made me think of pizza dough. At first I thought it the density might have come from my mistakes following the recipe -- adding 6 tablespoons of oil to the dough instead of 2 due to poor reading and leaving it in the fridge to rise for almost 14 hours -- but Deb's pictures while much more stunning than mine reveal the same height.

I want my focaccia to be thick and fluffy, so I'll have to keep trying other recipes. Plus halving and seeding all those grapes was too tedious for my taste. It was more fun to be less lady-like and to enjoy them by popping them in my mouth and spitting out the seeds.

Homemade Baguettes: Attempts 1 and 2

My current infatuation is attempting to make artisan bread, which all started with baguettes. Back in June Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny chose pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge. Swamped with moving I skipped it but the thought of making baguettes at home stayed with me and now I've made them twice using their suggested recipe.

Perfecting baguettes is a work in progress but even my imperfect results were pleasing with their crispy exterior and chewy interior with the requisite pockets from air bubbles. This is the perfect project for a long weekend. There's a 50/50 chance of happening again this weekend for me (SO excited to have the extra day off!) and I'd recommend that you try making baguettes too as the bread's delicious - though it goes away all too quickly.

While the recipe can't be halved I have discovered that you can bake the loaves about 5 minutes short of being done, let them cool to room temperature, wrap 'em up and freeze them to finish at a later date. It's the fast way to have baguettes handy and the amazing smell of homemade bread in a short amount of time. Otherwise plan to time out the 19 hour recipe very carefully. My only other note so far is that the second rise can take place for 4-6 hours in the fridge; for me this method resulted in the bread holding its shape better and it let me go out to play.

Almost the full Gossip Girl Season Premiere Spread -- I made everything but the cheese myself! The only thing missing is the improvised cake mentioned here (without instructions as it needs refining).

I suspect my serrated knife isn't as sharp as it needs to be since cutting the slits into the loaves 

distorts them even more than my initial handling!

Thomas Keller's Confit Byaldi

Last summer Leslie made Thomas Keller's Confit Byaldi when we viewed Ratatouille and in my frenzy to host the aforementioned Gossip Girl Season Premiere party I decided its deliciousness was the perfect way to incorporate peak seasonal produce and stay in theme. She warned me it took HOURS to prepare but as usual my denial about how long cooking projects will take caused me to think I was superhuman and could create this dish in a mere afternoon. Ha! I was wrong again.

The piperade, chopping and arranging alone took the afternoon... By the time I was ready to cook it at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 2.5 hours (after which point I could hold it according to the recipe) I was already late leaving for Vika and Rafe's to watch True Blood's season finale. Into the fridge it went, instructions be damned. After I came home I cooked it overnight using my alarm clock at the appropriate intervals. My only change to the recipe was using my dutch oven instead of foil and a dish with lower sides. In the end, it came together and was as sweet and rich as I remembered, but I think Leslie's version was better. I blame my timing in combination with the dutch oven being too large to squeeze under the broiler.

To be honest, I probably won't make this again as I was perfectly content with Smitten Kitchen's simpler version last summer and/or any improvised ratatouille (adding things like radishes, peppers and whatever else might be in the fridge) I've put together since without writing about it. In this case, less time for a great taste wins for me. But if you make it...invite me over to enjoy it please!

Decorated Sugar Cookies

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking and themed September. September means many things to me -- my birthday, work deadlines and the arrival of Fall -- but I decided, perhaps predictably, to focus on TV shows as my theme. While I often mention TV here I follow just a few shows, usually with friends, and our informal viewing "parties" are perfect for distributing eats.

Earlier this month True Blood came to a close (what a bad ending!) and Gossip Girl began in Paris, so I made two sets of themed cookies. The Royal Icing was meant to be a just bitten red only somehow almost a full bottle of red food coloring left it merely mauve and at 2 a.m. I had had enough fooling around with it. The icing was too thick for flooding (oops) but worked well for piping; even if my illustration skills are weak I think the concepts for both are clear! And, yes, there is a cookie that states "Tights are not pants." It is a rule to live by people.

If you need (or want) to decorate sugar cookies, I'd recommend the linked recipes. The cookies are easy to make with a very almond flavor and a nice crunch that somehow turned back into a delicious dough-y texture in the fridge, over a few weeks of post-viewing storage and slowed consumption, and the frosting wasn't bad to put together either. Just recognize when you start the project that there is chilling time for the dough, cooling time the cookies and setting time for the frosting, so starting at 8 p.m. the night before you want to serve them...while also making baguettes, making and canning applebutter (two other never before done projects) and watching Can't Buy Me Love...is not wise.

Posts on the other French-themed food for Gossip Girls' Season Premiere will follow later this week!

Okra Fries

Lara's easy guide to Fried Okra, which I've never attempted to make though I love it, reminded me that I haven't mentioned my favorite way to eat okra of late. Kath of Kath Eats Real Food posts about Okra Fries sometimes and the idea imprinted on my brain. Once I saw okra arrive at the Greenmarket ($4/pound here in New York City), I had to make them right away and have made them once a week for a while now. Kath eats them with ketchup but I find the "fries" more than enough on their own.

This is a very simple way to enjoy okra's crunchy, slightly slippery texture. Since there isn't any tearing involved, these are even simpler than Kale Chips though the process is similar.

Three notes --
1) Red okra will turn green when you cook it (sad).
2) Be careful handling okra because it has prickly hairs on the outside that can get under your skin and cause minor discomfort.
3) I don't eat the stems; I'm all about fiber but that is a bit much for me.

Okra Fries
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit Rinse the okra and pat it dry.
2. Spritz or rub it down with oil, sprinkle with Salt.
3. Roast for approximately 20 minutes in the oven until it begins to brown and shrink a bit in size.
4. Savor as best you can because they will go quick if you're anything like me.

 Jeff sweet talked me into making dinner Sunday night. I served okra fries, sauteed potatoes with persillade (that didn't stay crisp) and sauteed pork chops with a rustic* blackberry-concord grape and shallot sauce.

For dessert we ate leftover Almond-Yogurt Cake with Raspberry Sauce and Candied Ginger Pieces. It was baked in a loaf pan but the texture allowed me to use my cookie cutter to pretty up the presentation. My plate had leftover bits and pieces, which tasted just as good.

*Meaning I didn't strain the sauce to make it smooth! I felt lazy and all my "washable cheesecloth" was waiting for laundry to happen thanks to the raspberry sauce and gazpacho.

Lime-Vanilla Cupcakes with Cucumber Buttercream

Lime-Vanilla Cupcakes with Cucumber Buttercream sound strange, right? But I promise the only thing they are is strangely delicious. The cupcakes are very light, the cucumber buttercream is refreshing and you'll want to eat them all immediately. Gale and Kimberly said they were the best cupcakes I had ever baked and Kimberly asked that I forward the recipe to her Mom. This one is a keeper.

Almost as exciting as enjoying cupcakes was the fact that I successfully managed to halve a recipe. Perhaps relearning math is working! My only tweaks beyond halving the recipe were increasing the vanilla extract to its 1 teaspoon level and using a mixture of plain soymilk and heavy cream in lieu of regular milk as I didn't have any on hand.

On an separate note, I won the contest Cathy at Not Eating Out in New York hosted a few weeks ago and will be attending Just Food's Let Us Eat Local event tonight. My recipe also will be published in Just Foods' Veggie Tipsheets. I couldn't believe it but I'm very thankful. Best wishes to the other three people who entered the competition, which Cathy recapped here.

September 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge: Applebutter Canned!

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

This challenge was very intimidating! Canning has been an idea that interests me but also one I've found a reason to avoid. John's challenge left me with no excuse but to face my fear and his meticulous instructions must have left no room for error because I'm the proud owner of a pint of canned apple butter.

My biggest struggle was how to extract the canned applebutter, keeping it level, from my stockpot after the boiling and cooling... I'm very lucky it sealed as I dropped it on its side several times back in the water before realizing I needed to carefully use both the tongs and the spatula, which barely worked. Water creates a lot of drag. Any tips on how to get canned goods out of the water?

In retrospect, I should have purchased two 3 pound bags of apples if I was going to go through the whole process but even having one successfully canned item is exciting. Nevermind that I never want to open the jar as staring at it makes me so happy. Fortunately, I saved the other half of the applebutter and am enjoying it homemade baguette slices, plain yogurt and/or by the spoonful. It's a delicious, cinnamon spiced fruit spread that is perfect for Fall without any added sugar. Even if you don't want to can it, you should make some applebutter to celebrate the new season.

Seared Scallops with Sesame Panko Eggplant and Plum Salsa

I had already started drooling over Just Food's Let Us Eat Local tasting line-up next Thursday, September 16 when I saw Cathy at Not Eating Out in New York post a contest where an amateur cook could win a ticket and have their recipe published Just Food’s upcoming Veggie Tipsheets book. The idea of tasting food from restaurants I have tried and loved as well as many on my restaurant wish list in one night lured me into creating the recipe below, which I attempted to document with more meticulousness than usual.

What started as a Plum Salsa turned into a fairly seasonal festive tower that packs a lot of punch. The salsa mixes sweet and savory thanks to juicy plums, silky sesame oil and bright mint in addition to the usual salsa ingredients. Its soft texture contrasts pleasantly with the Scallops’ caramelized exterior and the crispy Sesame Panko Eggplant rounds. This dish melted in my mouth.

If you don’t enjoys Scallops or want to be frugal, this still tastes great without them. I had plenty of the Sesame Panko Eggplant topped only with Plum Salsa and can tell you with confidence that Scallops aren’t required to make this dish enjoyable though they certainly take the appearance and taste up a notch.

Plum Salsa
3/4 cup plums (approximately 4)
1/3 cup tomato (approximately 1 medium; I used yellow for color and the low acidity)
1 teaspoon mint
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 tsp jalapeño
1/4 cup white onion
1/4 tsp sesame oil
salt to taste

1. Rinse plums, then cut in half, remove pits and chop roughly into small dice. Place 3/4 cup of plums into a small bowl.
2. Rinse tomato, cut across the equator and remove seeds with your finger. Cut out the inner walls (which still taste great so eat them as you go) and then chop the outer skin into small dice. Add roughly 1/3 cup to the bowl.
3. Rinse mint and remove leaves from stem. Lay leaves on top of each other and chop it finely until you have 1 teaspoon. Repeat this step with cilantro until you have 2 tablespoons. Add both to the bowl.
4. Rinse the jalapeño, cut in half and remove stem and seeds. Mince enough for 1 teaspoon and add to the bowl.
5. Remove skin from outside of onion, cut in half through the root end. Dice half of the onion or enough to fill 1/4 cup and add to the bowl.
6. Measure out ¼ teaspoon sesame oil and add it the bowl. Stir everything together gently. Salt to taste. Put in the refrigerator to chill and develop the flavor.

Panko Sesame Eggplant
(based on Chef Richard Ruben’s methodology for baked, crispy eggplant)
1 eggplant

1 cup Panko (or bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
salt to taste

2 egg whites
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheight and cover a baking sheet in foil.
2. Peel eggplant and cut into 1/2 inch rounds, discarding ends. Salt and place in a colander for 15 minutes.
3. While eggplant sits, combine Panko, black sesame seeds and salt on a small plate or in a shallow bowl.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together egg whites and olive oil.
5. Rinse eggplant and pat dry. Dip eggplant in egg white and olive oil mixture until coated. Then dip in the panko mixture. Place on prepared baking sheet.
6. Once all eggplant is resting on the baking sheet, place it in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. (For me the top never browned though unbeknownst to me the bottom did.)
7. Remove from oven and set to the side.

Seared Scallops
Olive Oil
Salt
Scallops (I defrosted New England Scallops from Trader Joe’s)

1. Pat scallops dry and salt them.
2. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil. When the olive oil becomes fluid enough to spread through the pan, add scallops to it.
3. Cook 2-4 minutes on each side. The scallops are done on one side when they move easily when touched by the spatula.
4. Remove caramelized scallops to paper towel to drain.

To Assemble the final dish…
1. Place a scallop on the eggplant, then top with plum salsa.
2. Enjoy

*I actually tried a few ideas but this was my biggest success. One was so awful that I couldn’t even make myself eat the leftovers. Major fail.

Tropical Granola

Ever ambitious I attempted two different granola bar recipes for my family vacation to Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton International Peace Park in Alberta, Canada last month. My adapted version of Nicole at Baking Bite's Coconut, Almond Cranberry Granola Bars resulted in granola instead of granola bars. Oops. While granola isn't the most portable, this was a tasty mistake and is a recipe I'll revisit. Maybe one day I'll even make the original version following all the instructions!

This granola tastes like a beach vacation thanks to the dried pineapple, papaya, mango and coconut. It's lightly sweet with occasional taste-bud sparking touches of salt and I've been very happy eating it, slowly to make it last as long as possible. The use of Buckwheat, which adds a bit of crunch, was inspired by Kath Eats Real Food.

Tropical Granola
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup buckwheat (for some crunch)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt (mine was large, kosher flakes which made the salt really pop out)
3/4 cup chopped, dried pineapple, mango and papaya (used no sugar added where possible)

Line a 9×9″ square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, lightly greased.
In a large bowl, combine oats, buckwheat, almond meal, ground flaxseed and coconut.
In a small saucepan, combine agave syrup, brown sugar and vegetable oil. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Pour into oat mixture and stir until dry ingredients are evenly moistened. At this point it should look something like unbaked granola. Stir in dried pineapple, mango and papaya.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and press down into an even layer. Let it cool, crumble it out eating bites and then store the remainder to enjoy during the week (or longer if you refrigerate it).

This lovely little baggie of granola was enjoyed at Crypt Lake in Waterton International Peace Park. After taking a ferry, my brother, myself and the rest of the passengers trekked past 4 waterfalls, climbed a small ladder, crawled through a tunnel and crept along a ledge holding a wire to reach an elevation of 2,200 feet and the aforementioned lake. On the way back we took an extension to see Hellroaring Falls, which were noisy but a bit weak as it was August. This was the hardest hike I've done to date - we conquered the approximately 11.2 miles in approximately 6.5 hours. :)

10 Downing

Since making Chef Fish Lydon's Butterscotch Pudding I had wanted to visit 10 Downing. Thanks to Meg's amazing organizational skills I was able to do so during Restaurant Week in July with her, Holly and Laurie. When I looked up the menu I saw they were only offering a Coffee Butterscotch Pot de Creme, so I knew my dessert dream would go unfilled but I figured what the heck.10 Downing is an open space with outdoor seating, eclectic decor, and a very high ceiling, which causes it to be quite loud. Its service was erratic but not so much so that I'd attribute it to anything beyond Restaurant Week's frenzy.

To start we devoured the complimentary slightly grainy White Bean Hummus (?) accompanied by toothsome Ciabatta Bread and then savored the Chilled Tomato Soup with Watercress and Micro Basil, a refreshing and creamy soup with a cooling cucumber flavor. Our table ordered two of each entree: Pan-Roasted Diver Scallops with Sauteed Clams, Sweet Corn and Tarragon and Grilled Spiced Rubbed Tri-Tip with Radicchio, Farro and Bone Marrow Jus. Obviously I had the "sea marshmallows," which were expertly cooked. I couldn't stop scooping up the silky scallops with their crispy, caramelized exterior and the creamy, sweet corn. The Tri-Tip wasn't as good: the meat was a little tough and the sweet, charred Radicchio caused conflicted feelings. Was it addictive or off putting?

For dessert, I chose the Humbolt Fog Goat Cheese with Tomato Jam, Toast and Candied Walnuts to be  contrarian; everyone else had the ButterMilk Panna Cotta with Roasted Peaches in Balsamic Syrup, which was the better choice. The Panna Cotta was smooth and slightly sweet with an unlisted hint of citrus; the peaches in syrup were surprisingly sour but I assume this was intentional as it encouraged me to savor the whole dish rather than consume the pieces. My dessert's highlight was the crunchy, buttery, salty and sweet candied walnuts. I would have been to happy to have a cup of them alone!

Now we come to the part of dinner where 10 Downing KILLED me. Their in restaurant menu had Butterscotch Pot de Creme listed with no mention of coffee. I squealed and immediately ordered it while my friends waited patiently. You can imagine what happens next. It arrives, I gaze lovingly at it and spoon in to find the flavor to be coffee. I was crushed and after encouragement from my friends explained the disappointment to the server and it was kindly removed from the bill - very nice of them.

Overall, our consensus was that we really wanted to like 10 Downing but were disappointed with the food for their price point. Their menu descriptions were somewhat misleading and while enjoyable the food was a touch oversalted. That said I'm glad I went and wouldn't tell anyone NOT to go though I don't have grand and glorious plans to go back (irregardless of the Butterscotch Pot de Creme's menu status).

Location: 10 Downing Street (at Sixth Avenue just south of Bleecker Street)
Hours: Lunch Tuesday - Friday 12-3 p.m.; Dinner Daily 5:30-12 a.m.; Brunch Saturday & Sunday 10-4 p.m. 
Cost: $$$ 

 

Sauteed Zucchini with Dill, Garlic and Almonds

Are you suffering from excess zucchini as summer races to its close? If so, or really even if not, Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has an amazing, simple solution: Sauteed Zucchini. This dish has tons of texture and is irresistible.

Browning the garlic, shallots, almonds and zucchini makes a rich base that is brightened by the unexpected dill. You can sprinkle the dish with goat cheese to make it creamier, but it isn't necessary and next time I'll skip it to save the calories for something else...probably a sweet knowing me.

My initial plan was to eat this in some puff pastry cups I've been meaning to use up, but it never got there. I couldn't stop eating it out of the pan and packed up the remainder for a decadent lunch. Perhaps it will make it into those cups another day or I'll just keep eating it just the way it is.

Fudgy, Cocoa Brownies

If you are a fan of Whole Foods' Brownie Bites, then you will love Deb at Smitten Kitchen's Best Cocoa Brownies. They are dense, fudgey and only create two dishes to wash, which make them a perfect anytime sweet. Their cocoa flavor holds it own against the sugar, which makes them something to savor instead of just shoving them in your mouth as quickly as possible though you may still want to do that.

I'm sure dutch process cocoa would enhance them but I used bulk unsweetened cocoa that I purchased at Sahadi's and was perfectly happy with my results. I also used the microwave for the second step of combining the butter, cocoa and sugar rather than a double boiler. It took a mere two minutes rather than waiting for water to boil and standing over the heat stirring and, in my case since I don't own a double boiler, struggling to hold two random pots at just the right angle.

I highly recommend this recipe. If you want to mix things up heating up a brownie and serving it with mint chocolate chip ice cream or crumbling an aged brownie into ricotta cheese with some almonds.




By the way, I'm experiencing the great outdoors in Big Sky Country i.e. Montana and Canada 8/13 to 8/24, so any responses will come when I return. Thank you for your patience and wish me luck seeing a moose with a rack.

Nectarine Brown Butter Popovers

A few weekends ago I adapted The Way It Crumbles' Apple Popover recipe into Nectarine Brown Butter Popovers. Nectarines were on sale and I had brown butter leftover from a previous project, but I think any combination of fruit and butter would work well.

Popovers make a delicious breakfast (and afternoon snack) with their slight sweetness. This version serves them with the portion that touched the bottom of the muffin tin facing up, which provides the cup for the additional fruit and anything else you drizzle on top.

Their texture reminds me of a lighter German pancake or clafoutis, two of my favorite breakfast dishes. I can see these becoming a go to treat thanks to their simplicity and relatively healthy profile for a recipe on the sweet side. The six were gone in no time!


Nectarine Brown Butter Popovers
Makes 6

Sauteed Nectarines
3 ripe nectarines, cut into slices
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp browned butter

Cut nectarines in half, remove pit. Slice thinly. Melt butter in a pan, add brown sugar and nectarines and allow to soften. Set aside to cool slightly.

Popovers
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup milk (I used soymilk)
pinch of salt
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
melted butter to grease muffin tray

Let all ingredients come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat six hollows of a muffin tin with melted butter. Once oven is preheated, place muffin pan in for about 5 minutes to heat up.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined and frothy. Sift flour into liquid. Whisk batter until smooth.

Take muffin pan out of the hot oven carefully and spoon about 1/2 tbsp of the fruit mixture into the tin's compartments. Top with evenly divided batter and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan for even cooking, and reduce heat to 350 degrees, cooking for approximately 10 more minutes or until golden and crispy.

Remove from oven and pan, set on rack to cool.

By the way, I'm experiencing the great outdoors in Big Sky Country i.e. Montana and Canada 8/13 to 8/24, so any responses will come when I return. Thank you for your patience and wish me luck seeing a moose with a rack.

Homemade Pierogi's

Seeing how I'm due to fly out from JFK in, oh, less than six hours this will be the shortest Daring Cooks write-up to date. This month's challenge was versatile, affordable and tasty -- my favorite traits in a challenge. Thank you to Liz and Anula for hosting it. Now for the required text - the August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

My pierogi's won't win any beauty contests but they were delicious, especially when browned in olive oil for added flavor. They take some time to make but are well worth the effort. In the future I'm going to skip "simple" wonton ravioli's and make peroigi dough instead as it doesn't waste my time with egg wash or create a disasterous explosion of insides when you skip the said egg wash. Not that I've done that.

I chose to follow the Russian Style Pierogi dough recipe provided, free forming them by hand and filling them with the Heidi at 101 Cookbooks' fresh, light and lemony Plump Pea Dumpling filling. When my pierogi's wouldn't accept more than a half teaspoon of filling I made up for it by heating a bit of cream and adding the filling to it to create a simple sauce. On the side I mixed corn cut fresh off the cob, minced dill and lemon juice for a simple salad.

It was a great summer dish that reheated splendidly for work. If you don't like dill, don't mingle the pierogis with the simple salad as the dill takes over. Personally I liked the mingling as it added texture to the overall dish and an additional kick of flavor.

By the way, I'm experiencing the great outdoors in Big Sky Country i.e. Montana and Canada 8/13 to 8/24, so any responses will come when I return. Thank you for your patience and wish me luck seeing a moose with a rack.

Sampling Doc April's Delicious Dishes

In July I went on a whirlwind weekend visit to Arlington, Virginia/DC to celebrate Rachel's birthday and engagement. While I can never see everyone when I return I try to maximize my time. This trip managed to fit in watching the first two episodes Mad Men Season 1 (Matthew - hurry up and finish so I can borrow them!), Rocket Bar, wine tasting, the pool and the culinary highlight - tasting some of Doc April's Delicious Dishes.

I hadn't seen April since meeting her at our mutual very good friend Vika's Bahamian wedding celebration last year. I was excited to see her again and experience her adventurous cooking firsthand as she's a daredevil in the kitchen always improvising and creating something new. My big request was that we make spaetzle as I fell in love with it at B Bar and knew she had experience. I was shocked by its simplicity and hopefully will make its slightly salty dough goodness again soon.

In addition to parsley-tinged spaetzle, she concocted a wonderful barbeque sauce that her boyfriend Mike used on a slow cooked brisket and used his beef drippings to make another sauce based on Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon. Oh and there was perfectly caramelized grilled corn, which always hits the spot for me, followed by a simple satisfying dessert of fresh cherries and amaretto. The flavorful meal was an excellent end to an exciting weekend.

Many thanks to her, Mike, Rachel, Peter and Laura for hosting me over the weekend. May our paths cross again sooner rather than later. Same goes for the new friends that were made!

Matt, Laura, Peter and Rachel

From 2010_07_24

GaGa's Chocolate Sherbetter on a Stick

I haven't highlight a product before but GaGa's Chocolate Sherbetter on a Stick is so unique and delicious that I feel compelled to doing a little free, unrequested advertising for them. They advertise the popsicles as a cross between sherbert and ice cream, which is an accurate description.

They are super soft and smooth with a real cocoa flavor. The popsicles also area mere 100 calories a pop and don't contain refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. As with most foods from small family business using high quality ingredients, they aren't inexpensive but they aren't ridiculously overpriced either. My box of 5 cost less than $5.00, which I felt comfortable justifying.

It's also worth mentioning that I stuck to eating just one a day -- rare for me with sweets - so they must be really satisfying. ;) Personally they could be a touch less sweet, but I will definitely be purchasing them again as long as our heat wave keeps up.

Watermelon Sweets for a Jazz Age Lawn Party Picnic

Sunday I crossed off a MUST activity for my "While I live in NYC List:" the Jazz Age Lawn Party. I've wanted to attend this event since I first moved here 4 years ago, so my expectations were very high going into it and I'm pleased to say they were met 100%.

Meg, Leslie and I were transported into another time thanks to the Governors Island's sun-dappled peaceful atmosphere, enthralling period costumes, the enchanting music of Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra, Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society and Michael Cumella, phonograph DJ and the dancing. It was the best $7 I've spent in a long time and Meg and I already hope to go back in August in costume. Leslie's the only one who managed to dress in keeping with the theme this time.

In addition to taking everything in, we had a lovely picnic. Leslie brought a great quiche made with tomatoes, squash and basil from her CSA(!) and goat cheese. Meg brought pita chips, a yummy Brooklyn made hummus, prosciutto and melon. I brought the Cupcake Project's watermelon soda and watermelon butter, which I highly recommend making.

The watermelon syrup and butter are incredibly easy to make; you just need 6-8 hours at home to simmer the pureed watermelon over medium-low heat to remove the water and concentrate the its flavor. I used a seedless watermelon that I carried home in my tote bag, which likely weighed between 8-10 pounds, and ended up with a cup of watermelon butter and 2 cups of syrup.

Both items are very sweet, without added sugar!, so a little goes a long way. I diluted one cup of syrup with 2 cups of water (some carbonated) and found the result refreshing, though ice would have helped in the 90+ degree heat. We used the watermelon butter as a spread on pita chips and sprinkled it with goat cheese. The salty chips and cheese contrasted nicely with the sweet. My initial thought was to use the spread on a baguette but as Meg suspected the salt and crunch of the chips made a perfect appetizer.

All Leslie's photos can be seen here. A slideshow of my slots is below.

Experiments with Nut Butter

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online. This was a unique and affordable challenge - two traits I always appreciate. Thank you Margie and Natashya for hostessing.

The required challenge specifically was to use nut butter in a savory preparation and the optional challenge was to use it in a sweet preparation. Having skipped all last month's challenges and moved relatively close to the amazing Sahadi's I decided to go all out and do something savory and something sweet.

Per their extensive research  "making nut butter is a simple process of pouring nuts in the food processor and grinding them until they become a paste or butter.The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes (assuming a starting volume of 1 to 2 cups nuts). The yield of nut butter is about half the original volume of nuts." 

These instructions are probably true if you have a full size, high powered food processor but in my mini-prep processor getting to the Play-Doh stage was an act of sheer will that took much longer than 1 to 5 minutes. My cashew butter and pistachio butter both were halted at this stage as the machine was overheating. The results still were tasty but until I have a high powered processing device I plan to continue buying my nut butter rather than making it. 

I made a variation on the provided Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing recipe for my savory dish. I halved the amount of cashew dressing (I want to eat the rest of the cashew dough by itself!), skipped the red bell pepper, substituted soba noodles and added a bag of broccoli slaw from Trader Joe's and 3/4 cup of julienned carrots. The resulting salad was rich and was incredibly filling.

I loved the crunch of all the veggies in contrast to the soba noodles and shrimp's smoothness but the highlight is the thick dressing with its creamy, sharp flavor. Between it and the onions this is definitely a dish you'll want to brush your teeth after eating! That said I'm sure I'll make it again. It will be a quick meal to put together with pre-prepared nut butter. This recipe and the full challenge instructions can be found here.

My dessert was Pistachio Oatmeal Lace Cookie Towers with Honey Macerated Cherries. I alternated Katy at Sugarlaw's Oatmeal Lace Cookies and a Pistachio Nut Cream (made by mixing greek yogurt and the pistachio butter to taste) to create the towers and served cherries macerated in buckwheat honey on top and to the side. Katy's cookies are nutty, chewy, crispy and are the real star of the dessert. They are delicious on their own but the unsweetened filling is a pleasant contrast to the quite sweet cookies.

My only substitution to her recipe was using dark corn syrup as I had it on hand. Be sure to use parchment paper so they don't stick to the pan and watch the time as they brown quickly. Don't assemble this in advance the cookies disintegrate losing their pleasant contrast to an otherwise soft dessert. I'd be happy to eat this again too. Yum.

It looks similar to kiwi sorbet!

Gorgeous!

Roasted Vegetable and Bean Salad

Life felt crazy last month - two major events at work, preparing for the move from the Upper East Side to Fort Greene, Brooklyn and simply dealing with summer's heat in the 4th story walk-up and life's random surprises. With so much going on, I had to step away from eating at home, from putting my eating into words and just focus on getting things done and trying to decrease my clutter. Besides I didn't have internet at home for 3 weeks of the month (that was SO hard...I'm an addict!).

I have plenty more to go through (years of magazine clippings to organize for example) but it felt really good to get rid of so much prior to being here where I have one roommate, not two, my room has bright SUNLIGHT rather than dim light from an air shaft and I am not haunted by squawking pigeons daily. I walk up a mere flight of stairs to my place. My commute is longer but that just means I can read more while in transit and I'm beside most of the train lines. There even is a suburb-size grocery store 3 blocks away.

Life is good, home feels more peaceful and I'm excited to settle into this new adventure. Since I'm just starting to stretch out and greet summer and the new changes I kept it simple when I prepared my first meal here without my parents, who generously helped me move.

This simple roasted vegetable and bean salad was satisfying, savory and aromatic. I really loved the bright bursts of tomato juice and the velvety roasted garlic with the roasted vegetables' richness. This meal requires very little attention and time, which never hurts, and reheats well.

Roasted Vegetable and Bean Salad
2 servings as a main course*


1/4 lb. Green Beans
1/2 Pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 Broccoli Crown
5 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil, if you want easy clean-up.

Rinse the green beans, broccoli crown and cherry tomatoes. If desired, swirl them all in a salad spinner to remove excess water. Snap the ends off of the green beans, cut the broccoli into smaller sections and add all the veggies to a medium bowl. Add the 5 garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the mixture with your hands or tongs.

Wrap the garlic in foil and then put it and everything else on the baking sheet in the oven for 25-40 minutes. When your green beans are shriveling and the broccoli is browning on the edges the veggies are done. If desired, flip the veggies and turn the pan around midway for even roasting.

While the veggies cook open the can of beans and rinse them in a colander. Put them in the medium bowl from prepping the veggies.

Once the veggies are done roasting remove them from the oven, opening the foil packet of garlic, and let them cool briefly. When you can handle the garlic remove its skin. Add the green beans, broccoli, tomatoes and garlic to the beans and toss everything together. If desired add salt and pepper to taste. Then enjoy!


*You could make this go further by adding a grain, like Quinoa which I was too lazy to make, or eating it with bread.