meltdowns

Guys, I know: this blog is dead. Lame! But good news! I made another one. Or, rather, a whole new...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:47:10 -0600

Guys, I know: this blog is dead. Lame!

But good news! I made another one. Or, rather, a whole new site, with a dot-com and everything!

I’m still going to write plenty about food, so don’t worry. Other stuff too! Check it out, subscribe if you’d like, and do keep in touch. Me, I’m going to get a snack.

Among the Great Revelations you can have in college, one of my personal favorites is that soup...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:52:37 -0600

Among the Great Revelations you can have in college, one of my personal favorites is that soup doesn’t have to come from a can.

Also, only wash colors in cold water. Just in case you were wondering.

Anyway, it’s cold out and soup is what you want. Chilis, stews, and so forth are all great, but for lunches I’m a big fan of puréed soups. They’re also ridiculously easy, which is a plus. The basic methodology is something like cook an onion, add spices and/or garlic, throw in some cubed vegetables and enough stock to cover, simmer, purée. Voilà: soup.

I found this recipe browsing online and happened to have all (well, most of) the ingredients. Since I’m the sort of person that apparently doesn’t mind taking an hour to make lunch, I came home, thawed some homemade stock, and did battle with an acorn squash. Half an hour or so later: soup. Again, voilà.

And this soup is crazily good. Sometimes puréed soups are flat and taste like liquid mashed potatoes, but this as turmeric and ginger and sweetness from the apple and yet it still goes well with sharp cheddar on toast (because what is soup without a sandwich?)

The photos don’t do it justice. You’ll just have to make it and see.

Winter Squash and Apple Soup
adapted from Saveur
serves 4 or so

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ginger, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 acorn squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat the oil and cook the onion until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add spices, salt and pepper to taste, apples, squash, and stock. Bring to a boil; cook, covered, on medium heat, until squash and apples are tender, about 15 minutes.

Purée with an immersion blender or (carefully) in batches in a standard blender.

(If you find it hard to peel the acorn squash, cut it into sections following its natural curves, then peel each section individually).

Rituals are important, especially about food. Doing the same thing over and over again is how you...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:00:05 -0600

Rituals are important, especially about food. Doing the same thing over and over again is how you learn to get better.

Case in point: making bread. I didn’t know how to make bread when I first showed up for a Shabbat dinner at my friends’ house, which showed in my blobby and pale no-knead loaf. But I practiced from then on, every Friday. Loaf after loaf after loaf. I bought more flours, bulk yeast, cookbooks, and a baking stone. I’ve done pitas andpain de campagne and whole-wheat flax and red wine and cheese. A lot sucked. A lot were good.

I’m not Jewish, and even though one of my hostesses is, the religiosity of the event is more symbolic than anything (we do sing the prayer, when we remember). The three girls cook a variety of meals—elaborate to simple, but always delicious—we drink (too much) wine, and I bring bread. It’s simple, but in its own oddball way, it’s kind of sacred too—like any ritual worth doing.

Enough schmaltz. The bread! Challah is a sweet, eggy loaf traditionally served on Fridays, dipped in a little salt. It’s soft and delicious and makes wonderful French toast the day after. I’ve made various permutations of it (no-knead, whole-grain, raisin-studded and turban-shaped) but I think this is my favorite recipe so far. I used honey instead of the sugar in the recipe, because…I was out of sugar. But I like the taste of honey better anyway, so there. The secret to the dark crust is two egg washes: one before the final rest, and one right before baking.

My braiding skills leave much to be desired, but like I said…practice, practice, practice.

Challah Bread
adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice
makes two loaves

18 oz (4 cups) bread flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/3 tsp. instant yeast
3/4 c. room temperature water
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 egg whites, whisked until frothy, for egg wash
Sesame or poppy seeds (or both!) for sprinkling

Whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. In a separate bowl, mix together water, eggs, yolks, honey, and oil. Stir wet ingredients into dry until they form a ball, adding a little extra water if needed.

Turn the ball onto a clean counter and knead for 10 minutes, until dough is springy (alternatively, knead in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for 6 minutes on medium-low speed). Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, turn it on all sides to get it coated with oil, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let ferment on the counter for 1 hour.

After one hour, remove the dough and knead it lightly for 2 minutes to degas. Shape into a ball, return to the bowl, cover, and let rise for another hour, or until doubled in size.

Remove dough from bowl and, using a dough scraper, divide into six equal portions (a scale is handy for this). Shape each into a ball, and let rest on the counter, covered by a clean dishtowel, for 10 minutes.

Roll each ball into a long strand. Braid three strands into a loaf, starting in the middle and pinching the ends closed. Repeat with remaining strands. Transfer loaves to a parchment (or silpat) lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour (or slightly longer) until about 1 1/2 times original size.

Preheat oven to 350º. Brush loaves with egg wash again, and sprinkle with seeds, if using. Bake for 20 minutes on middle rack, then rotate sheet for even baking. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until richly golden brown. Remove from sheets to cool on rack for at least an hour before slicing and eating.

Shabbat shaloam!

There are two things in your kitchen you’re probably not using enough: your broiler...

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:28 -0600

There are two things in your kitchen you’re probably not using enough: your broiler (we’ll get back to this one) and your freezer. If all you’re doing is keeping vegetables and pizzas and ice cubes in there, you’re missing out. For one thing, you can freeze tons of little odds and ends to reuse later (ex: tomato paste and chilis en adobo, because who ever uses a whole can?) in plastic bags. You can make double batches of things (applesauce, bolognese) and have fallback plans for weeknight dinners.

I’ll stop before I get too weird and hints-from-Heloise-y and cut to the chase: not only can you make your freezer into a frozen treasure trove of bakeable-to-order desserts, but you absolutely should.

Flash-freezing is a dead simple technique. Put unbaked things on baking sheet, freeze until firm. Pop into plastic bag, squeeze out most of the air, and save for when the need strikes. Baked goods I have successfully frozen thus far include scones, biscuits, hand pies (recipe forthcoming), and, of course, cookies. When the time comes to bake them, just follow the recipe, possibly adding a little baking time to account for dechilling.

These particular cookies were from a huuuuuge double batch I made for a choir snack a few weeks ago. After baking four full sheets, I decided the rest were destined for cryogenics and froze them. Since then, homemade cookies have never been more than 10 minutes away, especially when I use my ultimate cheater’s method: baking in the toaster oven.

One last word of advice: underbake these guys. They’re really the best when they don’t get too hard.

Molasses Spice Cookies
adapted from The Best Recipe
makes ~20 cookies

2 1/4 c. AP flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. unsulphured molasses

Preheat oven to 375º. Whisk together flour, salt, and spices. In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy, around 3 minutes or so. Scrape down bowl with a rubber spatula and beat in egg, vanilla, and molasses. Scrape bowl again.

Add dry ingredients and beat (carefully!) on low speed until just combined. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking time, and cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing to racks. To freeze, place cookie sheet in freezer until dough has hardened, then remove dough balls to plastic bag. Bake as before, right from the freezer, possibly adding a minute or two to baking time if needed.

I want to brag about this chicken soup so much. It is the from-scratchiest soup I have ever made. I...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:49:00 -0600

I want to brag about this chicken soup so much. It is the from-scratchiest soup I have ever made. I simmered my own stock, I repurposed a home roasted chicken, I scrubbed every last little potato more or less free of dirt. Everything in this bowl grew up in this state, too (except, okay, the onion), and I for one think that makes the process a little more alchemical and craftsmanlike.

I won’t try to bore you as a quote-unquote locavore, but I will tell you that the more you do from scratch, the better your soup will taste. I’m pretty sure that’s scientific fact.

I’ve long hoarded the bones of chicken dinners past and tops of carrots and ends of onions in a bag in the freezer, but this is the first time I actually dug it out, dumped some water in the crock pot, and made stock. Surprise: it’s not hard! Actual surprise: homemade stock really does taste better than canned, even without MSG. It’s magic. Homemade stock will change your life.

But enough hyperbole. Go make soup. You’ll see!

Simple Chicken Soup
serves 4

to make stock (optional):

1 chicken carcass, or an assortment of bones, preferably with a little meat left
1-2 onions, quartered
1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves (optional)

Place ingredients in a slow cooker and fill 3/4 of the way full with water. Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours. Strain stock through mesh strainer or cheese cloth, and discard bay leaves. Use immediately for soup or freeze for later (takeout containers are great for this).

to make soup:

1 shallot, minced
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
3-4 large carrots, cut into chunks
1 quart small potatoes, scrubbed (I think I had fingerlings, but I’m not sure. Alternatively, use quartered new potatoes)
2 cups, or so, cooked chicken meat, roughly chopped (I used half a roasted chicken left over from the week before)
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium meat. Add shallot and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and cook an additional five minutes, until carrots begin to soften, then add potatoes, chicken, stock, thyme, and Parmesan.

Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and let simmer, partially covered, for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Happy Halloweekend! Confession: although I count Halloween as my probably-favorite holiday, my...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:03:51 -0500

Happy Halloweekend!

Confession: although I count Halloween as my probably-favorite holiday, my feelings about the associated food are decidedly “meh.” I’m not a huge candy freak. Sugary stuff makes me jittery, and lots of chocolates “might contain” peanuts. And while I like a good cupcake or cake truffle as much as the next girl, I found myself wanting to do a savory Halloween.

Weird? Perhaps, but also tasty.

Traditional (if there is such a thing when it comes to Halloween) “witches’ fingers” are some kind of shortbread cookie (or, if you’re Martha Stewart, a fearsome yeasted-then-boiled dough to rival bagel-making in its complexity) with the crowning trompe-l’oeil of a blanched almond fingernail.

Sigh. The fingernails are key! And what other foods are fingernail-shaped, even?

I happened to have made pumpkin soup from a real pumpkin the other day (it’s almost as easy as opening a can, I swear!) and roasted the seeds, as you do, and, well, bingo.

The recipe I’ve cobbled together is kind of a spicy cheese straw/cracker with, ah, curry-roasted pumpkin seeds (I would have flavored them differently, had I thought ahead). Having sampled a few as they came out of the oven, I can say that for once, my baking improvisation was a success.

Novelty food or not, they’re good. And if all goes according to plan, I’ll have another neato spooky recipe to post soon…

Cheesy, Spicy, Nut-Free Witches’ Fingers
makes about two baking sheets’ worth

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 tbsp. butter, cubed and slightly cold
3/4 cup AP flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter, unless you’re a salt fiend)
1 tbsp. milk or half and half
Roasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350º.

Pulse cheese, butter, flour, pepper, and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and process until mixture forms a cohesive-ish ball. (Alternatively: cut in butter and cheese with pastry blender, knives, or fingers until mixture forms large crumbs, stir in milk with wooden spoon).

Dust countertop with flour and roll out half the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knive, cut into finger-sized strips. Transfer to parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Press seeds into one end of strips (mush the sides up over the seed, as it will puff right off otherwise) and taper into finger-shape. Using a sharp knife, cut three “knuckle” lines in the middle of each finger.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until just golden at the edges. Cool on sheet on a rack.

Oops. I packed my bags, came back to school and, despite loading my pantries and kicking into High...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:31:54 -0500

Oops. I packed my bags, came back to school and, despite loading my pantries and kicking into High Cooking Gear, I didn’t post anything. Fail me. The reason is part laziness and part (mostly) that I can’t take good pictures. It embarrasses me! They are all blown-out or too-dark and I feel like I’ve got to edit the bejeezus out of them to make them presentable.

But I’m over it. Or, rather, I’m going to work through it. Photography, like cooking, is a practice: you do it by doing it, and then you get better. Besides, I think my friends are getting tired of hearing me wax rhapsodic about fresh-picked apples and grass-fed stewing beef and the jar of lard (!) I picked up at the Farmers’ Market, and this can be my outlet for my weird, threefold need to create.

So, here we are again. This is a humble meal, and not one I intended to make, even. After spending Saturday and Sunday preparing a modest-but-hefty spread for brunch (mini quiches, roast potatoes, and pumpkin cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese frosting—oof!) I didn’t anticipate wanting to eat for, well, the rest of forever. But then 8 PM rolled around and, shockingly, I was hungry.

Polenta (aka cornmeal) makes a great base for a chunky tomato sauce. If you’re like me and never bother buying pasta (and always have cornmeal on hand for bread-baking), it’s perfect, and accommodates way more cheese and butter, besides. The meat is from my new CSA share, which means it was sold to me by a really friendly farmer and was delicious.

Okay, so cook this. Practice, practice, practice.

Polenta with Tomato-Sausage Sauce
adapted from The New Best Recipe
serves 4

For the sauce:

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
Splash of red wine (about 1/4 cup)
Red pepper flakes (optional)

For the polenta:

1 cup medium-grind cornmeal (don’t use the Quaker stuff; it’s too fine. Bob’s Red Mill makes a good one)
4 cups boiling water
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the sausage until no trace of pink remains. Add diced onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine, and pepper flakes, if using, and simmer until thickened, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the polenta. Whisk the cornmeal into the simmering water and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat, until thick, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce onto bowls of polenta and top with more cheese, if you want. Polenta keeps well in the fridge, so make enough for leftovers.

I really wanted to make something with apples, because in my mind it’s the middle of fall...

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:34:00 -0500

I really wanted to make something with apples, because in my mind it’s the middle of fall already. Did the fact that it was 75 and humid today stop me? OF COURSE NOT.

I was already making chili, which involves beer (if you’re doing it right) so with the leftover half-bottle I elected to make beer bread…muffins. With apples. Oh, and cheddar cheese. Because why do anything halfway?

I am not going to lie to you: these did not turn out the way I expected. As a poor craftsman, I’m going to blame not my tools but my materials, and also assure you that if you do things the right way everything will turn out buttery and delicious. So fear not.

First, don’t use a Tripel as your beer of choice. It’s just too bitter, especially with the whole wheat flour. Second, don’t just pick a random aged cheddar at the gourmet grocer because you think it will be good. Actively seek out a sharp one, age be damned. Third, make sure you’re not running low on butter, because this recipes needs you not to skimp.

And use some nice apples. But those are easy to find these days.

The final product needed sharper cheese and more butter, but they were certainly edible, and I highly recommend you make some. Beer bread is an awesomely simple thing and will literally find its way into any mealtime (just try not to eat it when you roll out of bed).

Apple-Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins
makes one dozen

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (or use all AP)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 (12 oz) bottle beer, preferably a Lager
3 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for topping
1 medium to large apple, cored and diced
3/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 375º and place rack in middle. Grease a muffin tin (or, alternatively, use a loaf pan).

Whisk together flours and baking powder, then mix in beer and butter until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Fold in apple pieces and cheese.

Portion batter into muffin tin (no liners needed!) or loaf pan and top with additional melted butter (about 1 tablespoon more). Bake for 25 minutes (for muffins) or 50-60 minutes (for loaf) until golden brown & a tester comes out clean.

Hello. I know. Oh God, it’s been forever. I’m one of those losers who creates things...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:09:00 -0500

Hello.

I know. Oh God, it’s been forever. I’m one of those losers who creates things and then abandons them. This is me asking for forgiveness.

I’ve been cooking more since I got home. Well, eating, mostly, but conventionally in polite society they make you fry the damn steak before scarfing it down. So. There’s been a little recipe experimentation here and there, some hits (discovery: roasted fruit with white meat is awesome), some misses (other discovery: we have working smoke detectors in this house!), but mostly, I’ve been learning stuff. I can finally make a hunk of meat in a pan (see above) and grill a pizza, and oven-bake ribs, and I made a peach pie with a crust so flaky I actually stopped to admire each bite as I pulled it apart with my fork.

But I didn’t feel like being a voyeur of my food, and it rained so much that there was hardly any daylight anyway, so no pictures were taken and nothing was written up. Yet now, in the waning days of summer, I return! With a recipe involving tomatoes! And biscuit topping! Are you intrigued yet? Good. Because it’s about thyme.

No joke. As I prodded the internet for tomato cobbler recipes, I discovered that what I really wanted in mine was 1. cheese and 2. thyme. Martha Stewart wanted me to caramelize onions (ugh, no time) and use Gruyère (ugh, no $$). Mark Bittman wanted a half-and-half mixture of flour and cornmeal (say wha?)

So I patched together my own creation. It’s got cheddar (I used some fancy local raw milk stuff which I highly recommend you do. It’s half the price of Gruyère but still awesome). It’s got butter and cream. It’s got these groovy little cherry tomatoes my dad’s coworker brought us. It’s hot and a little sweet and goes well with flank steak (but then, what doesn’t). And there’s thyme.

Bake one and watch summer melt into fall. It’s a process, but it’s graceful, I promise.

Tomato Cobbler
serves 4 generously

2 pints or so cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream (may need a tablespoon or two more)
3/4 cup grated cheddar or Gruyère
1-2 tbsp. fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 375º and butter a medium-sized baking dish or 8x8 pan. Toss tomatoes with cornstarch and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, two knives or forks, or your fingers (just rub it in) until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in cheese and thyme, then add heavy cream and mix with a fork until mixture comes together into a dough, adding extra cream if the mixture looks dry.

Pour tomato mixture into baking dish and spoon biscuit dough on top, leaving a little space in between blobs to let steam escape. Bake on middle rack for 45-50 minutes, or until tomatoes are bubbly and topping is golden brown. Let cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Way back when I worked on the farm (okay, a year ago), the best thing about the job was decidedly...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 06:00:06 -0500

Way back when I worked on the farm (okay, a year ago), the best thing about the job was decidedly the communal lunches. The farmers and interns took turns cooking, and damned if there wasn’t an awesome spread every single day. Having farm-fresh produce doesn’t hurt, of course, but farmers are also secretly very good cooks. Even with a few dietary restrictions (no nuts for me, no gluten for one of the farmers), they turned out some incredible things. Including my first experience with homemade onion rings.

These are as close as I could come a year later with storebought, rather than fresh, onions, and baking, rather than frying. But still. Delicious. You don’t get that sleeve-of-breading-and-slithery-little-onion effect as with deep fried guys—it’s more like a caramelized onion with a little batter on it. Perfection. You can make a batch while someone else (like your dad, ha ha!) grills some meat product and steal the show from the main course.

Or you can just make a snack. Either way.

Oven Baked Onion Rings
adapted from The Bitten Word
makes…a bunch

2 sweet (vidalia) onions, sliced and separated into rings
2 cups breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat, for whatever reason)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup AP flour
Salt and pepper
Dash cayenne
2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 450º. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, flour, and cayenne. Dip onions in batter mixture, then dredge in breadcrumbs. Keep onions on a plate while oven heats, and repeat until all slices are battered.

Pour oil onto rimmed baking sheet, place in oven for 2 minutes. Remove sheet and tilt to coat. Place onions on sheet and bake 8 minutes. Turn onions over and bake another 8 minutes or until golden brown and smelling awesome.

Everyone probably has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. My mother, who is a wonderful person...

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:07:02 -0500

Everyone probably has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. My mother, who is a wonderful person who hates to cook, is nevertheless very good at baking them. In our house, the Toll House Recipe is sacrosanct, and you are just going to have to agree.

Nestlé semi-sweet? Non-negotiable. Crisco? Always. The upgrade to silpat baking sheets instead of naked metal was a tricky transition to make, with much wringing of hands, but it turns out that it prevents them both from sticking too much and from getting too crispy on the bottom. She will make endless batches of them as hostess presents when we visit friends at their lake house, and every meal—including breakfast—will be accompanied by one or two “drive-by” cookies on the way through the kitchen.

Traditionally, they are made with walnuts, but—ahem—I leave those out in the interest of staying alive. If you want to go half-and-half, my advice is to make the nut-free batch first, like we do, and decorate the nutless cookies with colored sugar to make it very obvious which ones are safe for the allergic.

Toll House Cookies

2 1/4 c. AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. Crisco shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 375º. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together shortening, sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and beat well. Add flour mixture gradually, then stir in chips.

Bake on Silpat sheets on cookie sheets (if you have them) or ungreased cookie sheets if you don’t for 9-12 minutes. It will take a few batches. Pro-tip: cool your sheets in the fridge in between batches to prevent the later cookies from spreading too much.

Gin and tonics are the perfect summer drink, and really the only cocktail I enjoy (unless...

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:29:38 -0500

Gin and tonics are the perfect summer drink, and really the only cocktail I enjoy (unless Bailey’s and milk counts, which it doesn’t, and yes, I realize how gross that sounds), so I hope it’s understandable that in summertime, cocktail o’clock seems to roll in earlier and earlier. Must be something to do with the equinox.

My upbringing has taught me to be very no-frills with my G&Ts (bottom shelf gin, diet Brand-X tonic) but my classy collegiate friends have taught me that a little branching out in your boozing is always a good idea. Hence this refreshing combo. The cucumber is cool, as is its wont, while the rosemary lends it just a pine-y enough edge to bring in a little savory edge to all the crispness. Lime (not pictured) rounds the whole thing out.

Cuke-and-Rosemary Gin & Tonic
makes 1, scale up as necessary

5 slices cucumber
2 springs rosemary
1 lime wedge
2 oz. gin, divided
4 oz. tonic water
Ice

In a highball glass, combine 3 slices cucumber, 1 spring rosemary, juice of the lime wedge, and 1 ounce gin. Muddle with a spoon, and strain gin into a second glass. Mix in remaining gin and tonic water, and add ice. Garnish with two remaining slices and sprig of rosemary.

It would seem that delicious, mayonnaise-less cabbage salads can convert even die-hard slaw-haters....

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 08:02:09 -0500

It would seem that delicious, mayonnaise-less cabbage salads can convert even die-hard slaw-haters. I’m fairly impartial on mayo itself, but I must say that when it comes to summer side dishes, it can stay back. Keep to sandwiches!

This slaw is incredibly easy to throw together, especially if you’re as lazy as I am and choose to buy pre-shredded, pre-mixed coleslaw combos at Whole Foods (what, you enjoy shredding cabbage by hand?). The dressing is southwesterny, meaning it has cumin, meaning I loved it before I even tasted it, and the whole salad feels refreshing and crunchy rather than wilty and slimy like lots of coleslaws. Make it for a barbecue and win many friends to the pro-slaw camp.

Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw
adapted from Real Simple
serves 6-8

6 cups shredded carrots
3 cups shredded red cabbage
3 tbsp. lime juice (from about 1 whole lime)
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. minced shallot
2 tablespoons minced mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste

In a large salad bowl, combine carrots and cabbage. In a smaller vessel, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cumin, shallot, and mint. Taste, and add necessary amounts of salt and pepper. Toss vegetable mixture with dressing and adjust seasoning again as necessary.

Many apologies for sparse updates. Working and reading (which are the same thing, these days) and...

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:25:23 -0500

Many apologies for sparse updates. Working and reading (which are the same thing, these days) and just generally being in New York City have left me with little time or energy to cook. Or at least, to cook interesting things.

But! It’s the Fourth of July, tra la, and I’m home for a bit. So instead of making something mundane and expected for breakfast, I made…oatmeal. Which, okay, is kind of mundane and very expected of me. But this is baked oatmeal, which means it’s delicious enough to be almost like a coffee cake, but healthy enough that you can eat a quarter of the pan.

The recipe included melted butter, which means that I used browned butter. If you’ve never browned butter before, it basically just means cooking it in a saucepan until it gets all toasty and chestnut-colored and gets this wonderful caramelized flavor to it. You will not regret the extra time it takes. Besides, your oven takes a while to preheat. I know.

Blueberries are great because, well, they taste awesome when baked, but you could use any fruit you feel like, really. Bananas would be tasty, as would raspberries or (if you’re not me) some toasted walnuts or almonds. Go crazy! It’s breakfast!

Brown Butter Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
adapted from Joy the Baker
serves 4

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Dash salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Splash vanilla extract
Roughly 1/2 cup of blueberries, or to taste

Preheat your oven to 350º and butter your choice of 8x8, 9x9, or pie tin. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook it, watching carefully to prevent burning, until it is a mahogany color and smells nutty. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, sugar, spices, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold in using a rubber spatula. Mix in blueberries gently and pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until oatmeal no longer jiggles and smells wonderful. Serve with more berries, milk, and/or yogurt.

I’m home! For two days! Which means scrambling around to do things like doctor’s...

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:00:06 -0500

I’m home! For two days! Which means scrambling around to do things like doctor’s appointments and getting my hair cut and all of my laundry before I schlep up to New York for A Really Exciting Internship.

None of this precludes making cake, of course. My sister’s birthday was over a month ago, but even the flimsiest of reasons warrants cake, and so we are having a fakey birthday party / send-off for me / cakefest.

She, of course, requested chocolate. I, of course, wanted to make something lighter and…summerier. But this is a girl who doesn’t like lemon flavors in cake (I know. We can’t actually be related). A compromise was struck: a simple chocolate cake with homemade ice cream and raspberries. Kudos, once again, to Smitten Kitchen, for having just the kind of recipe I wanted.

I didn’t have Dutch cocoa, only the fair-trade unprocessed kind, (we’re hippies, la la la) but the recipe turned out nicely anyway. Plus, the oven only has to go to 325, and on 90-degree days of Philadelphia humidity, that is quite a plus.

Simple Chocolate Cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
serves 8-10

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325º and butter and flour a loaf pan. Cream butter with an electric mixer on medium until fluffy, then add sugars and beat together well. Add egg, mix until combined, then add buttermilk and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally as needed.

Sift together the dry ingredients and stir them in with a spoon until blended but not overmixed (my batter was still a bit lumpy). Pour into loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool, in pan, on a rack for 10 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Sometimes you just gotta make pancakes. Even when it’s 90 degrees outside at 8:30 AM. Okay,...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:00:00 -0500

Sometimes you just gotta make pancakes. Even when it’s 90 degrees outside at 8:30 AM.

Okay, so perhaps I’m crazy. But I’m about to leave for summer, there’s nothing but ingredients in the apartment, and we had buttermilk and bananas. So…this happened. I was winging it on the recipe a little, and they ended up needing almost twice as much liquid as I anticipated, but I blame the fact that I halved a recipe without halving the egg (because how do you halve an egg?) and added flax seed, which soaks up a good deal of liquid and gets jelly-y.

But yes, even on hot days, banana pancakes are what you want. The bananas get all melty and caramelized and almost marshmallow-y in texture, and the pancake-y part isn’t anything to sneeze at either. Way better than that boring old yogurt-and-granola nonsense.

Banana Pancakes for Two
serves…duh

2/3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. ground flax seed
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 tbsp. oil
1 banana, sliced medium-thin

Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat egg, buttermilk, and oil together in a separate bowl. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until just combined and no dry streaks remain (lumpy batter = fluffy pancakes. Trust me!).

When griddle/skillet is hot, add a touch of oil or butter to prevent sticking and dollop batter on in 1/4 cup doses (pancakes will be a bit thicker than regular pancakes). Press banana slices into the top. Cook until golden brown on the underside and bubbles have appeared on top, 2-4 minutes. Flip and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through. Leftovers keep in the fridge for a day and can be frozen for longer.

Yes, again with the rhubarb. What can I say? It’s tasty. I made a batch of rice pudding with...

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:00:00 -0500

Yes, again with the rhubarb. What can I say? It’s tasty.

I made a batch of rice pudding with the intention of keeping it in the fridge for breakfast all this week. Naturally, it didn’t last two days, so that plan was out. It’s delicious. It’s also great to make if you have 3 days before you fly 600-odd miles away for the summer and almost nothing but Ball jars full of bulk dry goods to whip up into dessert. Plus, brown rice is healthy (all that fiber!) and the milk & vanilla make this sweet enough to eat without sugar (a little honey would be great, too).

The rhubarb conserve is very…rhubarby. You may need to add more sugar if you want something less tart, but I personally am down with the whole puckering thing. Kinda the point of rhubarb, in my opinion.

Most rice pudding recipes I found started with cooked rice, but I didn’t have any ready and didn’t feel like draining the pan twice, so I just cooked my rice very slowly over medium-low heat and it turned out just fine. Not at all crunchy. It takes a while, but it’s worth monitoring a stove for an hour or two. Even in 80-something degree heat, I swear!

Brown Rice Pudding with Rhubarb Conserve
serves…let’s call it 4 and pretend it didn’t take me less than a day to finish

for the conserve:

3 cups chopped rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)
1/4 cup sugar
water as needed

for the pudding:

2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the conserve, combine rhubarb and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until rhubarb begins to break down, stirring occasionally. As consistency gets “jammier,” stir more frequently until broken down and thickened to your liking. Store extra in fridge or freeze in small containers.

For the pudding, combine rice and milk in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, about 1 hour. Bump the heat up to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until all milk is absorbed and rice is, well, pudding-y. If it looks like it’s scorching, reduce heat and continue stirring. Stir in vanilla and spices and eat hot, warm, room temperature, or straight out of the fridge with your finger.

Because I am a poor student, I tend to favor vegetarian meals. Meat is delicious, but it’s...

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:29:58 -0500

Because I am a poor student, I tend to favor vegetarian meals. Meat is delicious, but it’s also 1. expensive and 2. easy to ruin and thus waste. Besides, there are things like shakshuka, so meat is irrelevant.

I first had shakshuka at a friend’s house about two months ago and kind of freaked out over the simplicity. It’s just eggs poached in tomato sauce. So very few ingredients! Which means it’s cheap! And yet it’s tasty! There’s no jabbing with meat thermometers or deglazing or anything weird. Cook sauce, crack eggs, eat. It’s also great for your finals week, when you want to be able to whip up things fast without going shopping and then get back to work on your Renaissance Demonology final.

Best of all, eggs and tomatoes can become any meal. Breakfast? Lunch? Brunch? Boom. I had mine for dinner with a side of fakey-tabbouleh salad with quinoa and chickpeas, but pita is a traditional accompaniment, and I would say any kind of bread product would work well here.

Shakshuka
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. paprika
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
Salt to taste
6 eggs
Chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add onions when hot. Cook until soft, around 6 minutes, then add garlic and spices. Cook for another two minutes, without burning garlic, and add tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 15-20 minutes more. Add salt to taste.

Crack eggs into sauce and cover skillet. Cook until eggs are set, around 5-6 minutes. Uncover and baste egg whites with sauce using a spoon. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

Picnics are the best. With the exception of the occasional unwelcome insect, I can’t come up...

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:00:06 -0500

Picnics are the best. With the exception of the occasional unwelcome insect, I can’t come up with many downsides to eating (and, okay, drinking) outside. Al fresco dining, much like pasta salad, is as humble or glamorous as you make it.

You see what I did there? Well, I also did make pasta salad, and it’s kind of toeing the line between fancy and simple. My weekly dinner with friends is going potluck for our final round before summer break, and I had half a bag of pasta in the pantry that I needed to use up. From the ashes of former dinners rises the phoenix of…pasta salad!

Maybe I am making it into too big a deal. It’s really just thrown together. But this is not your mom’s pasta salad. Even though I’m not anti-mayonnaise, the thought of dumping it all over innocent pasta feels wrong, especially for a lighter dish. Instead, I made a creamy vinaigrette with shallots with my immersion blender and added goat cheese, which I think gets the desired effect across.

Roast your own red peppers, too: it’s really easy. Either pop them right on a gas flame on your stove, turning them with tongs as the skins blister, or stick em on a sheet in the oven at 400º for about half an hour to 45 minutes. Rinse under cold water, peel off the skins, and chop. If I had thought of it, half a chopped red onion wouldn’t be bad either (unless you’re one of those people who can’t stand them, to which I say wha?)

Early Summer Pasta Salad
serves six as a side

2/3 lb. short pasta, like penne or fusili
2 red peppers, roasted (see above)
A few big handfuls baby spinach
1 log (roughly) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 shallot, diced
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool in fridge. Meanwhile, combine olive oil and vinegar in a blender until a creamy emulsion forms. Add shallot and pulse to combine. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Combine chopped red peppers with cooled pasta and spinach. Toss with vinaigrette, add goat cheese. Enjoy outdoors.

Let me describe to you my morning yesterday: I sat on my sunroom couch, surrounded by the...

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0500

Let me describe to you my morning yesterday: I sat on my sunroom couch, surrounded by the oh-God-finally-Spring sunshine, and ate a scone with my coffee and yogurt. Way more Martha Stewart than I actually am. My hair was dripping wet, my coffee was way too watery, and I was already sticky from the humidity.

But the scone! My roommates’ cupcake-making frenzy of last Friday had left us with practically a cow’s worth of heavy cream, and the only thing I could think of was breakfast pastries. Since a load of sugar first thing in the morning will put me right back to sleep (even with coffee) I decided to go the savory route. Which means cheese.

Cheese scones are great. If you’ve never had one, you’re missing out. A sharp cheddar combined with some chopped scallions is a flavor pairing that’s well-suited to a muffin or a biscuit, so I figured a scone would be the next logical step. I used whole-wheat flour because, well, I am a hippie, and I used flaxseed and water instead of an egg (but only because I was saving an egg for a future lunch, and they came out a bit crumbly as a result. You, I think, should opt for the egg).

The best part is the convenience factor. Put them on a baking sheet, freeze them until they’re hard, and zip ‘em up in a baggie for frozen storage. Every morning, I can now get up, preheat the toaster oven, and have a warm and melty scone 25 minutes later, without making my kitchen swelter. Eat your heart out, Martha.

Cheese and Scallion Scones
makes 6 big or 8 medium scones
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups whole wheat or AP flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, cubed and cold
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/4 lb. sharp cheddar, cubed or grated
1 bunch scallions, rinsed and chopped

Preheat oven to 400º (unless freezing for later). Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it resembles a very coarse meal and the butter chunks are about the size of a pea.

In a separate bowl, whip the eggs together and add the cream. Fold into the dry mixture until almost incorporated, then add the cheese and scallions. Mix until everything comes together and no dry streaks remain (you may need to add a splash more cream if working with whole wheat flour; it’s dryer by nature).

Dump the dough onto a floured counter and pat it into a circle. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges, and bake on parchment-lined baking sheet for 25 minutes or until just lightly browned. If you’re flash-freezing, arrange scones on an unlined, ungreased sheet, and freeze until solid and no longer sticky, about an hour. Store in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Let come to room temperature before baking, then bake as above.