Warm Butter Review

Cauliflower, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Gratin

2007-03-11T08:31:00.000-04:00

Early on in my career as a child, I remember going through a big time bratty phase, the apex of which was one week when I was about six or seven. During this week, the object of my ire was my poor mother, who, in reaction to my brattiness, was forced to wash my mouth out with soap not once, but twice.

Like any typical child, I hated vegetables (of course, now as an adult I love them and eat them in abundance). However, during this bratty week, smarting from the humiliation of still being able to taste the soap that was so forcefully stuffed into my mouth, I decided over dinner to challenge my mother over asparagus.

"No. I won' t eat them," I proclaimed, crossing my arms and sitting solidly in my chair.

"Yes, you will," my mother replied, trying to ignore the beginnings of yet another bratty meltdown.

This was the sentiment that was volleyed back and forth between us for most of meal. My brothers and my father kept their heads down, desperately trying to ignore us as they finished dinner.

Then I decided to take things further. "If I eat them, I'll throw up!" I cried.

My mother got a look of inspiration on her face, went to the kitchen and came back with the trash can. She sat back down, put it between us, and said, "Go ahead. Throw up." So not to be showed up in any way, I ate a piece of asparagus and pretended to vomit.

After that, I decided to not be so bratty. My mother showed me that she'd win no matter what, and I put the majority of my bratty phase behind me.

However, I'm still not in love with asparagus.

Another vegetable that I used to cringe at was cauliflower. But over the years, as I've started to love broccoli, I've started to like cauliflower. I searched far and wide to find a veggie recipe that even kids would like. And this is it, adapted from Martha Stewart.

Cauliflower, Prosciutto, and Goat Cheese Gratin
Serves 6 to 8

Unsalted butter, for baking dish
2 small heads cauliflower (about 3 pounds total), cut into 1-inch florets
12 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (1 orange)
1/4 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock, or water
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto (about 5 slices) coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole or an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower; cook until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain.

2. Whisk together 8 ounces goat cheese, the orange juice, stock, thyme, flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Toss in cauliflower and prosciutto. Spoon into buttered dish. Top with remaining 4 ounces goat cheese.

3. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until bubbling and just golden, about 30 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.

Double-Chocolate Brownies

2007-02-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

The Husband and I have never really see eye to eye on brownies. His mother, who is a very good cook, would surprisingly use box mixes--such as Duncan Hines--for her brownies. My mother, Queen of All Things Made From Scratch, would always make her own brownies. As pointed out by the Husband while were still dating, his mother's brownies--despite the box nature of them--were perfectly undercooked. Unfortunately, for my mother, hers were not.

Of course, I didn't know any better. My mother's were delicious, albeit a little hard. Herein, lie the big debate of our marriage--which is better: homemade and dry, or box and moist?

So, in the early years of our 13+ years of marriage, I dutifully tried baking from the dreaded Duncan Hines box. But, I could just taste the chemicals and preservatives, so I stopped. However, I feared making brownies from scratch and not having them underbaked to the Husband's preference.

I tried brownie after brownie recipe, to see if I could change the Husband's mind about the virtues of homemade vs. box brownies. Finally, I found this recipe. The first time I made them was two years ago for the Husband's birthday. He still talks about them using God-like adjectives. Perfection. Supreme. Unrivaled.

So on the eve of his 39th birthday, I'd like to share this recipe with you all, as a thanks for waiting for me to get my blog up and running again. Oh, an don't forget to underbake them. You won't be sorry! As a side note, I'm having 16 4-ounce brownies delivered to his office tomorrow from The Fat Witch Bakery, which luckily, is just downstairs from his office.

Double-Chocolate Brownies

Makes 8

Vegetable oil cooking spray

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/4 cup best-quality unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line and 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Coat with cooking spray; set aside.

2. Melt together butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (I know that it's a no-no, but I usually use the microwave for this). Remove from heat. Stir until smooth; let cool slightly.

3. Whisk together four, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Put eggs, sugar, and vanilla into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until pale, about 4 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture; beat until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

4. Transfer batter to prepared pan, an smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownie between edge and center comes out with a few crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. (Do not overbake--I start testing at 25 minutes.) Let cool 15 minutes; left out of pan, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. Cut into 8 rectangles. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Provencal Tomatoes

2006-03-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

Things have been busy here for the past couple of weeks. The Husband and I have been having some medical stuff going on and I'm amazed at how quickly your time can get sucked away (along with your money) when dealing with this community on a regular basis. Anyway, our health is completely fine, and for this we are grateful!

Someone's whose health has not been fine is my 17+ year old cat, Chiquita. I adopted her as an 8 week-old kitten when I was in college and she's been with me ever since. We had to put her down a couple of weeks ago. Poor baby only weighed four pounds by the end, and we were beginning to feel very selfish keeping her alive when she obviously very miserable. The Husband took this picture of one of her more favorite pastimes about a month ago:

In the meantime, I've had a few dinner parties, and done various cooking experiments for the Husband. At a dinner we recently had when our Vermont friends were in town, I made the recipe I post here tonight: Provencal Tomatoes. I served it as a side dish to pasta with my homemade pesto sauce (which has both toasted pine nut and walnuts). I'm not sure if everyone can get tomatoes this time of year in other parts of the country, but here in the NYC area, we've got plenty. Because it's a baked dish, I like to serve it when the weather is still a little cold, and because it's tomatoes, I feel that it is a reminder to the diners at my table that warmer weather is on the horizon.

Provencal Tomatoes
Serves 8

6 ripe tomatoes (2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible. Cut them in half crosswise and, with your fingers, remove the seeds and juice. Place the tomato halves in a baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, scallions, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the tomato halves generously with salt and pepper. With your hands, fill the cavities and cover the tops of the tomatoes with the bread crumbs mixture. Bake the tomatoes for 25 minutes, or until they're tender. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 30 seconds more. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Note: to make fresh bread crumbs, remove the crusts of Pepperidge Farm sandwich white bread or other fine-grained white bread. Cut the bread in cubes and pulse in a food processor until finely minced.

You can prepare the tomatoes and filling and refrigerate them. Bake just before serving.

Baked Chicken with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions

2006-02-19T17:28:00.000-05:00

Was my last post really in early January? I'm so sorry, my dear readers and friends, that I have let my blog stagnate for so long. Yet again, work has gotten in the way. However, this time it was a freelance project that I've been slaving at for the past two years. It has finally come to a conclusion and the Husband and I have agreed that I will not be taking on any freelance work for a while, so I can be focus more on my various hobbies--which really help to keep me sane.

I've still been cooking away, but not so much during the week. Tonight, I bought salmon stuffed with crab meat, and I will smash some new potatoes, saute some spinach and call it a night. Tomorrow is the Husband's birthday, and he has requested lasagna. I've decided to make a new brownie recipe instead of cake (it's just the two of us tomorrow night--we've already celebrated with various friends at dinner all weekend long). The Husband loves brownies, and these promise to be very "fudgie".

In other developments, I've just gotten my first writing gig for a new local start up magazine. The entire issue will be about urban gardening (a favorite topic of mine), and I'll be assigned the task of writing about community gardening. I won't be paid anything, but I'm looking forward to having my first byline. Here's a picture of two of my window boxes from the spring:

Here in the northeast, the weather has suddenly become bitterly cold. Last weekend the Husband and I were stuck in the blizzard that dumped over two feet of snow in Central Park. We were driving back from a skiing weekend and saw a lot of frightening driving and accidents on the New York State Thruway. Irony of it all was that there wasn't enough snow upstate that weekend for us to go skiing, so we just ate a drank in the cabin. The Baked Chicken recipe below would be perfect if you were stuck away in a cabin for the weekend with friends. It's very easy to make, and all you have to do is throw everything together in a big pot and put it in the oven. A word of caution: it takes about twice as long in the oven to bake as the recipe states, so keep on checking the chicken to make sure it's cooked all the way through. It's okay to err on the overcooked side with this recipe--the chicken stays moist no matter what!

Baked Chicken with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions
Serves 4

One 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into 1/2 inch dice
12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
16 pearl onions, peeled
24 white mushrooms, trimmed
1 cup dry white wine
15 sprigs assorted herbs (such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and sage)
1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Wash the chicken pieces under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil and bacon over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Cook until the bacon has browned and rendered enough fat to coat the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, leaving as much fat as possible in the pot.

3. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and brown all over in the bacon fat, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (You may need to do this in batches.) Return the bacon to the pan, along with the garlic, onions, mushrooms, wine, and herb sprigs. Cover the post and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 20 minutes.

4. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and vegetables from he pot to a warm platter. As you do, discard the herb sprigs. Skim any grease from the surface of the sauce, and then whisk in the flour or cornstarch to thicken it, if desired.

Variations:
Baked Chicken with Red Wine, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions:
Make this with red wine instead of white wine and add 5 chopped, seasoned plum tomatoes before adding the chicken to the pot in Step 3.

Game Bird with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pearl Onions:
You can substitute pheasant or guinea hen for the chicken, but bear in mind that they're leaner and therefore cook in a slightly shorter amount of time. For a more pronounced mushroom flavor, add 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (do not reconstitute them first) along with the bacon in Step 3.

This recipe is adapted from Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals, which I bought on the sale table, at The Strand.

Buttermilk Onion Pull-Apart Rolls

2006-01-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

I made these rolls specifically for my father on Christmas Eve night. He loves onions. Actually, so does my brother Tom, who was also in attendance with his wife and three daughters. Rumor has is that when Tom as a toddler, my mother found him on the kitchen floor, eating an onion like an apple! He was quite the peculiar child. He, of course, takes after my father--Onion Man.

When I was a child, I observed other kid's dads sit in front of the TV and eat normal dad food: potato chips, nuts, cookies, etc. Not my dad. If he wasn't munching on pigs knuckles or chicken livers, he was eating slices of raw onion. Last summer when I took care of him for a couple of weeks after his hip surgery, I had to make him a plate of sliced raw onion to go along with his lunch and/or dinner. I guess some things never change.

And finally, for tshsmom in particular, please find the recipe for...

Buttermilk Onion Pull-Apart Rolls
Makes about 1 dozen

A note first: Too much onions. I followed this recipe to the T and even weighed the sliced and chopped onions. I think you could easily adjust this recipe for a pound or pound and a half and still have enough. See my picture below.

My suggestion is that you could spread about half as much on to the dough and it would work out better. Although the taste was great, having this many onions made rolling the dough and cutting the log very difficult.

The basic concept to the recipe is to spread the onion filling onto the rectangle of dough, which is rolled and then sliced. The rounds are then fit into a baking pan, and they puff up together with the second rise.

11 tablespoons (1 3/8 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for bowl, plus 5 tablespoons melted
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons warm water (105 to 110 degrees)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and rolling pin
2 teaspoons salt
2 pounds sweet onions, such as Rio (1 1/2 pounds cut into 1/4-inch slices, 1/2 pound finely chopped)
1/8 teaspoon freshly gated nutmeg

1. Butter a 9-inch cake pan (I used 2 8-inch pans--all was fine) using 1 tablespoon softened butter. Butter a large bowl; set aside. Stir together yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl; let mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir until dissolved. Stir in buttermilk and egg.

2. Mix 2 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Make a well in the center. Pour in buttermilk mixture; mix to combine. Add 6 tablespoons softened butter; mix on medium-high speed until a soft dough forms, about 10 minutes.

3. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured work surface; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to buttered bowl. Cover dough with clean kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

4. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons softened butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions; raise heat to high, and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let cool.

5. Punch down dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 17-by-10-inch rectangle, and brush with 3 tablespoons melted butter. Spread onions evenly over dough. Starting on 1 long side, roll dough into a log. Press seam to seal. Cut into about 12 slices, about 1 1/4 inches thick each. Arrange slices, cut sides up, in a buttered pan, and brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 50 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Immediately invert and unmold rolls onto a wire rack. Serve warm.

Crown Roast of Pork

2005-12-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

I love pork. Ham, bacon, pork chops, sausage, you name it, and I love it. It tastes great, and it's easy to make. A pork roast is an excellent entree to make when you have guests, because you can prepare it a few hours before their arrival, throw it in the oven, clean up, and seem totally in control by the time they walk through the door. And this was the case for me on Christmas Eve.

Because my parents and my brother's family attend Christmas Eve mass before coming to my house for dinner, I usually expect them to arrive around 7:30-8:00. Everyone arrives hungry, so I usually plan to serve dinner around 8:30. I ended up getting distracted and started the stuffing and pork a little bit later than I had planned. Once I realized this, all hell broke loose in my kitchen. The Husband turned into sous chef extraordinaire (complete with me acting as diva chef, yelling orders out in curt directives). However, once the stuffing was made, the roast was seasoned and stuffed, and then finally put into the oven, I felt human. A glass of wine could be enjoyed, while I finished up last details and waited for my family to arrive.

This is the third crown roast recipe that I've tried, and it is the best. The one from the Gourmet Cookbook was good (particularly since you wrap the roast in bacon), but I found the stuffing flat. This is from Martha Stewart, and I highly recommend it.

Crown Roast of Pork
Serves 12 to 14

1 large loaf dense rustic bread, trimmed of crust and torn into small pieces (8 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups coarsely chopped onions (about 2 medium onions)
1/4 cup minced garlic
12 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-by-1/2-inch strips
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped prunes
1 1/2 cups pine nuts, toasted
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary plus rosemary sprigs optional fo rgarnish
1 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 crown roast of pork (8 to 10 pounds), frenched
Seckel pears and lady apples, roasted (optional, and I didn't do it), for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread out break pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 25 minutes. Let bread pieces cool completely. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

2. While bread toasts, melt butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add pancetta. Raise heat to medium-high; cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in prunes, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Transfer to a large bowl. Let cool completely.

3. Stir reserve bread, the stock, and wine into onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

4. Rub pork inside and out with salt, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons rosemary. Transfer to a roasting pan. Loosely fill cavity with stuffing. Transfer remaining stuffing to a 9-by-13 inch baking pan, set aside. Cover pork with foil. Roast until and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest park of pork (avoiding bone)registers 160 degrees F, about 2 hours. While pork roasts, bake received stuffing in pan, uncovered, until heated through and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let pork stand 20 minutes before cutting into chops and serving with stuffing. Garnish with pears, apples, and rosemary, if desired.

Note: my butcher gave me an 11 pound roast, and it took about 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to 163 degrees F. It had an extremely faint hint of barely slight pink at the inner edge, which slightly worried me. However, it was PERFECTLY done. Juicy and white all of the way through, it's now safe to have a faint show of pink. If I did longer it could have been dried out!

6:30 Christmas Eve

2005-12-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

I've been cooking for about 10 hours so far, and my crown roast is still in the oven!

On the menu for tonight:
Smoked salmon pinwheels for an appetizer
Crown pork roast
Stuffing, featuring rustic bread, onions, garlic, prunes, pines nuts, pancetta
Buttermilk onion pull-apart rolls
Gravy
Salad, with crumbled gorgonzola
Steamed brocolli with garlic
Cheesecake
MarieBelle chocolates

Recipes to be posted next week. I've been off from work since the 23rd, and don't go back until January 9th. Ahhhhh.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Three Appetizers

2005-12-11T19:15:00.000-05:00

Party, party, party. So far this holiday season has been filled with a lot of parties for me and the Husband. We've been out almost every night (we even had a party today--Sunday), and I'm really starting to get tired!

In the midst of all of these festivities, I've been Christmas shopping (everthing's done!), writing out Christmas cards, wrapping presents, dog sitting for a friend's dog, dealing with snow, bracing myself for upcoming niece Nutcracker performances, extra freelance work, my regular crazy job stuff, extra dinner plans with friends, AND, OF COURSE trying to plan my own little party for Christmas Eve. Every Christmas Eve, I make a big formal sit down dinner for my parents, one of my brothers, his wife, and their three kids. So far, here's the menu, which of course is still evolving:

Crown roast of pork, with prune and rustic bread stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Cauliflower with goat cheese and prosciutto
Salad
Pull-apart onion rolls
Baked apples with vanilla ice cream

For an appetizer, I'm considering Smoked Salmon Pinwheels (see photo above), which were very popular at an engagement party that we threw for two friends a couple of months back. So, consider making any of the three appetizers listed here for your holiday bash, or to bring to one.

Oh, and before I give you the Pinwheel recipe, a note from my inner guilt: this recipe uses refrigerator dough. Yes, it's true. The daughter of Queen of All Things Made From Scratch (me) has "stooped" to using pre-made Pillsbury dough for a recipe. But, truthfully, I've made many, many variations on this recipe and people absolutely rave about them. So, there. Now that I have confessed, I wish you the best in making them.

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels
Makes 16 appetizers

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
2 oz smoked salmon, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1. Heat onion to 350 degrees. Unroll dough and separate into 2 long rectangles; press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.

2. In a small bowl, mix mustard and honey, spread over each rectangle. Top each with salmon, onion and chopped dill.

3. Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Cherry Tomatoes Filled with Goat Cheese
Serves 4

24 cherry tomatoes, a mixture of red and yellow
1/4 lb. fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the top off each cherry tomato. Using a small spoon, scoop out the pulp to make a hollow yet sturdy shell. Drain off any juice that accumulates in the shells.

2. In a bowl, combine the cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Mix with a fork until well blended.

3. Using the small spoon, fill each tomato with about 1 tsp. of the cheese mixture. Arrange the filled tomatoes on a platter to serve.

And, of course, let's not forget a good plate, filled with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, basil, and prosciutto, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Thanks for my friend Mark, for actually putting the plate in the photo together!

Turkey and Cornbread Stuffing

2005-11-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

While you all have turkey on the brain, I thought that I'd post a recipe for turkey and stuffing that I tried out last year. If you weren't happy with your turkey this year, or if you'd like to make a turkey for another family meal this holiday, I highly recommend this recipe.

Actually, I didn't do much cooking for Thanksgiving this year. We went to my brother's house for dinner in northern New Jersey. My sister-in-law cooked for over 20 people and she did an excellent job. She always makes a rice and sausage stuffing, which is good, but I always think that a turkey stuffing should be from a base of some sort of bread (see cornbread stuffing below). I like rice stuffing for duck or goose--not so much for turkey.

Otherwise, our third pair of house guests are set to arrive at 1:00 or so. The Husband and I are a little wiped out, so when my friend Chris told me that he and his partner Stephan want to eat at Red Lobster in Times Square tonight for dinner, I was more than happy to hear it! The Husband and I get to eat left over Moroccan B'Steeya that I made on Friday night for our friends who live in Vermont. One comment, though: Chris and Stephan live in Paris, and Stephan is French. He comes to New York, and only wants to eat at Red Lobster. Go figure!

Brined and Roasted Turkey

1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey
Brine, recipe follows
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 large orange, cut into 8ths
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or turkey stock, for basting

Turkey Broth:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Reserved turkey neck and giblets
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 small bay leaf
3 cups turkey stock, chicken stock, or canned low-salt chicken broth
3 cups water

Gravy:
4 cups turkey broth
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and reserve for the gravy. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water. Soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Place breast side down in a large, heavy roasting pan, and rub on all sides with the butter. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the turkey with the onion, orange, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and thyme. Loosely tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

For the turkey broth: Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add the turkey neck, heart, and gizzard to the pan and saute until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Pour the stock and 3 cups of water into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the stock is reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour, adding the chopped liver to the pan during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Strain the stock into a clean pot or large measuring cup. Pull the meat off the neck, chop the neck meat and giblets, and set aside.

Roast the turkey, uncovered, breast side down for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, turn, and baste with 1/2 cup stock. Continue roasting with the breast side up until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the largest section of thigh (avoiding the bone), about 2 3/4 to 3 hours total cooking time. Baste the turkey once every hour with 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock.
Remove from the oven and place on a platter. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

For the pan gravy: Pour the reserved turkey pan juices into a glass-measuring cup and skim off the fat. Place the roasting pan on 2 stovetop burners over medium heat add the pan juice and 1 cup turkey broth and the white wine to the pan, and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining 3 cup of broth and bring to a simmer, then transfer to a measuring cup.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, to make a light roux. Add the hot stock, whisking constantly, then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the reserved neck meat and giblets to the pan and adjust seasoning, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour into a gravy boat and serve.

Brine:
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary

To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 gallons of cold water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket or large stockpot, or a clean, heavy-duty, plastic garbage bag.) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.
Note: if you have a big turkey and need more brine than this, use 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for every gallon of water.

Sausage, Cranberry, and Corn Bread Stuffing
Makes 12 cups

1 1/2 loaves Corn Bread (see recipe below)
2 cups pecans
7 leeks (about 1 pound; white and pale green parts only)
3 celery ribs
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (about 3 links)
2 cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves
2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325° F.
Cut corn bread into 1/2-inch cubes and in 2 large shallow baking pans bake in middle of oven until just dry, about 20 minutes. Transfer corn bread from 1 pan to a large bowl and in pan toast pecans in oven until insides are golden, 10 to 20 minutes.

Halve leeks lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. In a bowl of cold water wash leeks well and lift from water into a sieve to drain. Chop celery. In a 12-inch skillet cook leeks and celery in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat, stirring, until leeks are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove sausage from casings and break into small pieces. Add sausage to leek mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through.

In a small heavy saucepan cook cranberries with sugar over moderately high heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until some begin to burst. Chop parsley.

To bowl of corn bread add remaining corn bread cubes, pecans, sausage mixture, cranberries, parsley, broth, and salt and pepper to taste and toss together. Cool stuffing completely. Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.

For cooking stuffing inside poultry:
Any frozen poultry destined for stuffing should be completely thawed, and the stuffing itself brought to room temperature before it's put into the turkey. Do not stuff your bird the night before you cook it; such a seeming time-saver can have dangerous results. Instead, it is best to loosely fill the bird's neck and body cavities immediately before roasting. And always use a meat or instant-read thermometer: The meat is done when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bones) reaches 180°F.; the stuffing baked inside the bird is done at 160°-165°F. After roasting, let your stuffed poultry stand 15 to 20 minutes, a double assurance that the requisite temperatures for food safety have been reached.

For cooking all or part of stuffing outside poultry:
In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325° F. oven 1 hour (for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover halfway through baking time).

Corn Bread
Makes 2 loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 400° F. and butter two 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pans.

Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk in cornmeal and sugar until combined well. In a bowl whisk together milk and eggs until just combined. Add butter to flour mixture and with an electric mixer beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat in egg mixture until just combined (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into pans and bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool corn bread in pans on a rack 10 minutes and turn out onto rack to cool completely. Corn bread may be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in a cool, dry place 2 days or frozen 2 weeks.

Cherry Tomato, Bocconcini, and Zucchini Pie

2005-11-15T12:53:00.000-05:00

Alright, alright. The big work project is done and my life is slowly starting to get back to normal. When we last left off, I had a free moment to post this Cherry Tomato, Bocconcini, and Zucchini Pie. As you will see, it's a rather long recipe, so it took me a while type up and refine. Then, when I'm about to preview--*poof*! My post disappears into thin air. It's taken me a while to get over this disappointment. But, I'm going to start back into the blogging world by posting this recipe.

I made this about a month or two ago when the Husband and I visited his parents. They were a little confused at how to handle the vine that was left on the cherry tomatoes, but as I reassured them, they are just for decoration and be easily removed. My only real criticism is that the pie tasted too lemony. I didn't measure the grated lemon zest--I just zested and threw it in when it looked like enough, so I think I went overboard. So my suggestion to you is to go light on the lemon zest, maybe even half of what they ask for here. If you really like lemon, then go for it. Use the full teaspoon.

So, without delay...

Cherry Tomato, Bocconcini, and Zucchini Pie
Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 small zucchini (7.5 oz), halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick half-moons
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, plus cherry tomatoes on the vine for garnish
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces bocconcini
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose four, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Cheese Short Crust made with Parmesan cheese (recipe to follow)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 large egg yolk

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium skillet over medium heat. All shallot; cooks, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden and liquid has been release, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

2. Halve one-third of the tomatoes. Stir halved and whole tomatoes, cheeses, basil, lemon zest, flour, an sugar into shallot-zucchini mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a 13-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Make seven 3-inch-long cuts around edge of dough, evenly spacing. Trim to make 7 rounded flaps. Transfer to a 10-inch pie plate. Drizzle crust with remaining tablespoon oil. Spread with filling. Fold in flaps of crust, slightly overlapping. Put tomatoes on the vine in center. Refrigerate until cold, about 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk cream and egg yolk in a small bow. Brush crust with egg wash. Bake pie on a rimmed baking sheet until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes.

Cheese Short Crust
Makes enough for eight 4-inch double-crust pies or one 10-inch pie

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated manchego or Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Pulse flour, cheese, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk; pulse to combine. With processor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup water until dough just comes together. (If dough is still crumbly, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not process for more than 20 seconds. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Today I Hate Blogger.com

2005-10-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

As everyone knows, I've been really busy over the past three months with a particular project at work. It has taken over my life. The only thing that's been getting me through is the thought that after next week it will be over and I can get back to seeing friends more, cooking, knitting, swimming, and of course--blogging.

I have to travel for the next few days, and I thought that I would squeeze in a post because my travel plans have been delayed for the next few hours.

And guess what happens? I finished uploading my picture, I finish typing my blog (which as rather long, since I have long recipe to post), and as I start to run spell check--poof! Gone. My post is gone, I can't load Blogger, and I've lost about an hour of writing.

Grrrr.

Moroccan B'Steeya

2005-10-16T21:08:00.000-04:00

This is the first of two savory pies that I've made in the past week, and wow, was it GREAT. When I took it out of the oven, the Husband and our Guest thought that it was a dessert--probably because I sprinkled it with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. So despite a little bit of sugar here and there, the phyllo dough, and the sugared almonds, this is indeed a savory, not a sweet pie. Although I didn't find it too hard to make, it's a time commitment. It was also my first time working with phyllo dough, which started out fine, but by the end, the pieces were starting to harden up a bit and stick together. Truthfully, if this happens to you, everything will be just fine. Now that it's fall, try this fabulously unique dish!

Moroccan B'Steeya
Serves 6 to 8

Season the chicken a day ahead so it has time to absorb the flavors. Note: I didn't have time to do this, and only did the seasoning 6 hours ahead. Still yummy regardless.

1 whole roaster chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
Coarse salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus 1/2 cup melted (1 1/2 sticks total)
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
1 3/4 cups blanched whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped (Note: I used slivered blanched almonds because even in the middle of downtown Manhattan, that was all I could find. There must have been a run on whole almonds!)
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup orange-flower water (Note: didn't get this either. I just used water and flavored it very slightly with lemon juice)
1 package (17 ounces) store-bought phyllo dough

1. Put chicken and 1/3 cup salt in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat to dry. Mix chicken, onion, garlic, saffron, ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup parsley, and 1/4 cup cilantro in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

2. Transfer chicken mixture to a medium heavy pot. Add enough water to cover (about 4 cups). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Add 1/4 cup butter; cover, and simmer until chicken is falling off the bone, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding water to cover if necessary. Transfer chicken to a plate; let cool. Reserve poaching liquid. Remove meat from bones and shred; discard skin and bones. Set chicken aside.

3. Bring reserved poaching liquid to a boil over high heat; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup. Reduce heat to medium high. Slowly add eggs, whisk constantly until mixture is almost set, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup parsley, 1/4 cup cilantro, add the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

4. Stir together almonds, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 13-inch paella or pizza pan with 2 tablespoons melted butter. (Note: I just used my biggest, deepest skillet. All was fine.) Stir together remaining melted butter and the orange-flower water in a small bowl. Assemble b'steeya: Brush a sheet of phyllo with butter mixture. Put in pan, leaving a 4-inch overhang. Repeat, adding an buttering 7 more sheets of phyllo, overlapping layers and fanning out around pan. (Keep unbuttered phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel.)

6. Arrange chicken mixture over dough. Pour in egg mixture. Top with 5 layers phyllo brushed with butter mixture. Sprinkle with almond mixture.

Fold up edges of phyllo to enclose. Top with 5 layers phyllo brushed with butter mixture; tuck edges inside pan. Slightly crinkle 2 unbuttered phyllo over top. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

P.S. I originally planned to make this for the Parents, who were coming down to visit me for my birthday. Because of the horrible rains we had here last week, they cancelled. Luckily, we had a friend who was able to come over and enjoy it with us!

Thanks!

2005-10-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone for wishing me a happy birthday. The Husband took me and some friends to see U2 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, and after we got home during the wee hours of the morning, I had discovered that he had left me a dozen long stemmed red roses. What a sweetie!

By the way, The Parents had to cancel because of the horrible rains we've been experiencing here in the Northeast. So, I made my special Moroccan B'Steeya for The Husband and a friend.

And, it was fabulous! It was so delicious, The Husband proposed to me all over again! I got home too late from work tonight (yes, this same project kept me late AGAIN) for a full recipe post, but I will do so this weekend.

Oh, and this weekend I'm trying out Macadamia nut brownies, and a tomato, zucchini, and mozzarella tart. We have a couple of dinner parties to get to, so why not make something blogworthy?

On the Menu for this Weekend

2005-10-06T22:37:00.000-04:00

My parents retired upstate (upstate New York, that is), about two hours north of the city. Ever since this happened, my life has been filled with guilt about not getting up there enough to see them and help them out with things. I think their hope was my brothers and I would come and visit every weekend. Of course, this cannot be the case. My brothers and I work. They all have children (we have the dogs!), and my parents take over our lives whenever we plan a visit, which makes extended stays rather difficult, particularly if you have your spouse in attendance.

Because of our car accident, we have no car to get up there, so they're coming to me this weekend to celebrate my birthday a few days early. They'll be staying over on Saturday night, and will take us to brunch on Sunday morning. Of course, this means that I must make dinner for them on Saturday night. I thought about ordering in Chinese and just avoiding the whole "why am I the one cooking on my birthday" thing, but it just wouldn't work. I was planning on making this new recipe this weekend anyway, so why no try it out on the folks?

Because I'll be cooking for Queen of All Things Made from Scratch, this is what I'll be making: Moroccan B'Steeya, garlic bread, spinach salad, and chocholate souffle. Happy birthday to me.

Post to come. After I get through the weekend.

Beef and Sausage Lasagne

2005-10-02T20:39:00.000-04:00

In contrast to my Vegetable Chili recipe posted last week, I offer Beef and Sausage Lasagne. Lasagne has always been a treat in my family. My mother, an Italian-American, would make it on special occasions: birthday, Christmas, a meatless version during Lent. My mother based her sauce on her mother's, which was made with fresh tomatoes. My mother adapted hers to canned whole tomatoes, since she was running around after five children (yes, I am the youngest of five children--I have four older brothers). I promise that one day I will post her tomato sauce and lasagne recipe, but right now I'd like to share this other great lasagne recipe. It's excellent, and perfect now that the weather is getting cooler. So far, I've made this about five times, and each time it's excellent. My mother's tomato sauce and lasagne takes pretty much all day, and this one takes about two hours start to finish, so it's perfect for Sunday dinner with leftovers for the week.

Several years ago, we had dinner at a friend's house and she made a lasagne with "no-bake lasagne noodles" and I crinkled my nose up at the thought of it (After all, Queen of All Things Made from Scratch is my mother. By the way, I think she always felt guilty about using canned tomatoes for her sauce vs. real, fresh tomatoes). I was, however, pleasantly surprised. It had a nice taste and texture. The pasta baked perfectly al dente. I, of course, considered it an anomaly. However, after making Ruth Reichl's lasagne recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook, I've been slowly changing my mind.

Does this mean that I've given up dreams of making my own pasta every week? Well, no. It just means that I can serve a delicious lasagne to friends and only invest about an hour of hands-on time. This is what I give to you, dear readers: a great lasagne recipe, guaranteed to be loved by all at your next dinner party.

Beef and Sausage Lasagne
Serves 10 as a main course
Active time: 45 minutes; Start to finish: 2 hours

The flavor of the beef, the binding qualities of veal, and the succulence of pork sausage, combine to make this meaty lasagne light and juicy. Don't be tempted to substitute the ground beef chuck with something lean. The amount of fat in the beef affects the moisture as well as the texture of the cooked dish.

For sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing discarded
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground veal
2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice, drained (juice reserved) and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For filling:
1 pound fresh ricotta or supermarket-style ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

For assembling:
16 oven-ready (no boil) lasagne noodles (two 9-oz packages)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, coarsely grates.

Make the sauce: Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot buy not smoking. Add onion and cook, stirring, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in sausage, beef, and veal and cook, stirring and breaking up larger pieces, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, with their juice, salt, and pepper, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.

Make the filling: Stir together ricotta, egg, Parmesan, parley, salt, pepper,and nutmeg in a bowl until combined. Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Oil. a 13-by-9 inch baking dish.

Assemble the Lasagne: Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in baking dish. Arrange 4 lasagne noodles, slightly overlapping, over sauce, then spread one third of ricotta mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over ricotta, the spread 1 1/4 cup sauce over Parmesan. Top with 4 more noodles and spread with another one third of ricotta mixture and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with 4 more noodles, remaining ricotta mixture, and 1 1/4 cups sauce. Top with remaining noodles, then spread with remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.

Cover lasagne with buttered foil an bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is bubbling and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Vegetable Chili

2005-09-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, you're all saying "Vegetable chili?! Is she crazy? Chili should have meat. Lots and lots of meat!" I'm not saying that I disagree, but this chili tastes great and is good for you. The Husband (who likes his meat) loves it, so trust me and try it out.

On another note: thanks to everyone for your well wishes in regards to our accident. Head on collisions suck and when you can walk away, you feel blessed. The insurance companies are still working everything out, but the police report was written in our favor, so our hope is that everything will be fine. Luckily, we don't need a car to exist (thank you Fresh Direct!).

So, without further ado, Vegetable Chili:

Serves 6 to 8

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper (I usually use green for the color)
2 celery ribs, diced
1 (14.5 oz) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chili powder (adjust to taste--I usually use 1.5 T)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
1 (16-oz) bag frozen corn kernels
2 (16-oz) cans red kidney beans
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons cayenne
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 (16-oz) container sour cream

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil and cook onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, and celery. Cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes longer.

2. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, basil, mushrooms, zucchini and carrots. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 25 minutes.

3. Add corn, kidney beans with their liquid, salt, and cayenne. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream.

A Car Accident

2005-09-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

So, on Sunday night, the Husband and I were driving home from my niece's ninth birthday party. It was at a very nice Japanese restaurant along the Hudson River in one of the more northern suburbs of NYC. It's an expensive meal, and my brother paid for dinner for everyone (!!!) On our way home, we were in a head on collision.

Firstly, we're okay, and so was the driver of the other car.

To make a long story short, we were going straight and were hit by a driver making a left turn who was trying to cut us off. The Husband didn't see him in time, and, well, let's just say that there were airbags involved.

So all of this has foiled my attempts to get back to my blog. However, I'm trying to get back on track and my apologies to one and all for my crazy month. Work has been overwhelming and now this.

Ugh! I'd ask what else could go wrong, but I'm sure that I'd be jinxing myself, so I won't ask.

Sorry for the Delay

2005-09-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry, but I've been so swamped at work, I haven't been able to cook much, let alone post new recipes (although I do have some that I've been storing up!). Most of the time, I keep relatively normal hours, but lately things have gone bizerk, and I'm finding that we're ordering in from the corner cafe a little bit too often. Queen of All Things Made from Scratch (my mother) would be very disappointed! Shhh! Please no one tell her.

On a related food note, I've been ordering through Fresh Direct and having all of my organic produce and other assorted foodstuffs delivered directly to my house. Sorry to all of my friends outside of the NYC metro area. Maybe they'll go national? Anyway, I'm thrilled because it means that I don't have to schlep all of the to Whole Foods and back again.

I'm hoping to make my vegetable chili recipe on Sunday and post it then. You'll like it.

Praline Cookies

2005-08-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to find my Sour Cream Bacon Cold Potato Salad recipe to post before the weekend, so everyone can try it out for their BBQ, but it's nowhere to be found. Hmph. Perhaps I left out at our cabin. I will scour it this weekend to see if it's there.

Last week I bought a new cookbook, called Let the Flames Begin, by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. Of course, I found it at my favorite bookstore on Fourth Avenue in NYC. This bookshop has a great selection, but what I love about it most is that it has a great used cookbook section, filled with brand new cookbooks and half price with the jackets wrapped in protective cellophane book wrap. When I quizzed one of the sales people about how they came upon these cookbooks, they divulged that there was an elderly neighborhood man who was a former cookbook reviewer, who when strapped for cash, unloads parts of collection. There's a recipe for grilled fresh mozzarella and bread skewers with tomatoes, red onion, and pesto vinaigrette that I MUST try over Labor Day weekend.

But my potato salad and Fourth Avenue aside, today I came to post praline cookies--more specifically Aunt Mary Dillon's Praline Cookies. I will usually bake up a batch of these cookies when required at a family event of the Husband's in Queens or Long Island. The topping on these cookies is very sweet, so a cookie or two will usually do, but they are really fabulous, and I recommend them heartily.

Aunt Mary Dillon's Praline Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more if necessary
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and broken in to large pieces

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sit together four, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. In the brown of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups light-brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fully combined. Add dry ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Drop batter in rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until until and barely golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire racks.

4. In a small saucepan, combine remaining 1 cup light-brown sugar and the cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add confectioners' sugar, and whisk until smooth. (If frosting thickens, thin with cream.) Add pecans pieces. Place cookies on a cooling rack over a lined baking pan. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon praline mixture onto each cookie.

This recipe originated from Ellen Riordan, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Grilled Steak and Onion Salad

2005-08-14T19:02:00.000-04:00

Ugh. I've been a bad blogger, but I've still been cooking. I've made quite a few recipes over the past few weeks, so hopefully I'll put up more posts this week. I've just been so damn busy with work and friends and the usual running around. Plus it's been so hot in the house that we've been eating out much more than usual.

All of that aside, there's a local pub in my neighborhood that serves quite a bit of surprisingly good food. They have a warm steak salad that I love. It's got the steak and gorgonzola cheese, but it also had chopped portobello mushrooms and walnuts. All served over a bed of mixed greens. It's top with very thin steak frites. It's great with a glass of cabernet.

So, when I saw this recently, I was happy to make it. It was easy and tasted great. I usually serve it with grilled fresh sweet corn from the farmer's market. The way I do the corn is to husk it and rub it down with olive oil. Then I salt and pepper each ear and the Husband throws it on the grill for 10 or 15 minutes at medium high.

But I digress. Herewith,

Grilled Steak and Onion Salad
Serves 4

Note: Any salad mix, including baby spinach (which I used), can be used in place of the arugula.

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1 large red onion, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 boneless strip or rib-eye steaks, each 12 ounces and 1 1/2 inches thick
11 cups lightly packed stemmed arugula
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1. Whisk vinegar, garlic, and 3 tablespoons oil together in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Brush onion with remaining 1 tablespoons oil. Season onion and steaks with salt and pepper.

3. Grill over hot fire until steaks are well browned on both sides and internal temperature registers 125 degrees, 5 o 7 minutes per side, and onions are charred and soft, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and let steaks rest 5 minutes. Slice steaks thinly across grain.

4. Toss arugula with 1/4 cup dressing in large bowl and season with alt and pepper to taste. Divide arugula among 4 individual plates or place on one large platter (as I did). Arrange steak and onions on top. Drizzle remaining dressing over steak and onions and scatter cheese on top. Serve.

A note regarding additions and enhancements: I made the recipe as I found it, but when I make it again, I plan to add some toasted walnuts or pecans as well as grilled cherry tomatoes.

Blondies

2005-07-31T21:11:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't love a good brownie or their cosmic counterpart--the blondie. The Husband worships brownies with an all consuming fanaticism. After I made these blondies, I felt like he was cheating on my brownies (sorry for the poor quality pix). Men can be so fickle!

Be sure to under bake these blondies and make sure to start checking them a couple of minutes before you think they might be done. If they are overcooked, they'll just dry out and be hard little blocks. No fun at all. My biggest secret to all cookie/brownie/blondie baking: make sure to under bake them. Of course all ovens are different, but I've realized that if I take baked goodies out of the oven two minutes before the minimum bake time, it will be perfectly underdone!

Blondies
Makes 16

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces packed light brown sugar)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate chips (1 cup) or chopped bar, or 3 ounces each white chocolate and sensed chocolate chips (I usually do the latter)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on large rimmed baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer nuts to cutting board t cook; chop coarsely and set aside.

2. White nuts toast, cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking pan, pushing it into the corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet (if using extra-wide foil, fold second sheet lengthwise to 12-inch width). Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

4. Whisk melted butter and brown sugar together in medium bowl until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Using rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in chocolate and nuts and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula.

5. Bake until top is shiny, cracked, ad light golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not overbake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil overhang and transfer to cutting board. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve.

Congo Bars

After toasting nuts in step 1 of recipe for Blondies, toast 1 1/2 cups unsheathing*, shredded coconut on rimmed baking sheet, stirring 2 or 3 times, until light golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Follow recipe for Blondies, adding coconut with chocolate in step 4.

* Sweetened coconut is not a suitable substitute here because it will burn.

Too Hot to Cook. UGH!

2005-07-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

New York City is about to set itself on fire this week. It's 100+ degrees, and I don't have air conditioning (except for window units in the bedrooms), so cooking in the house is not an option. We've been ordering in from local restaurants all this week. Originally, I planned to make a fish dish, a quick chicken dish, and for the first time: Quesadillas (a new, blog-worthy recipe). However, everything is in the freezer waiting for the weather to break. I'm hoping to be able to make the Quesadillas on Thursday night, and I'll post that soon.

But my question is: who's sick joke is this weather?!

Spaghetti with Grape Tomatoes and Arugula

2005-07-24T21:49:00.000-04:00

There are so many great spaghetti recipes out there, and I'm sure my readership has quite a few that they rely on often. This is an easy recipe, perfect for a July weekday. The arugula in my local market looked very unhappy, so I substituted it with spinach and all was fine.

Eat well and stay cool!

Spaghetti with Grape Tomatoes and Arugula
Makes 4 servings

3/4 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon chile flakes
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 pinch of salt
1/2 bunch fresh arugula, shredded
1/2 bunch garlic chives
Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Cook pasta according to package instructions (I'll usually undercook it by a minute or two, since it will be cooked when mixed in skillet). Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on high for 2 to 3 minutes, until almost smoking. Add the garlic, pine nuts and chile flakes. Cook for 2 minutes on medium. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the arugula and chives and remove from heat. Add the drained pasta to the skillet with 1/2 cup water. Cook until water evaporates, stirring well. Remove and serve with cheese to taste.

Tamari Marinade (and meet the kids)

2005-07-17T21:47:00.000-04:00

There was a time in college when I was a vegetarian. This was really not by choice, but rather mostly because I couldn't really afford meat. I held onto my vegetarian-ness for a few years, occasionally eating chicken when offered. One day, I just started to eat red meat again. To this day, I don't eat it a lot--maybe a couple of times a month during BBQ season--but still, a vegan I will never be.

Here's a great marinade for your next BBQ this summer.

Tamari Marinade
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup Tamari
2 T Worcestershire sauce 2 T hoisin sauce
3 big shallots minced (cloves of garlic can be substituted)
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin

Mix together. Marinate steak (NY strip steak is in the picture above) for at least a couple of hours.

While the steak was grilling, guess who wanted to try some? Left to right: Tomba (our friend's B&B's dog), Ruby (ours), and Zuzu (ours, too).

Seared Cumin Sea Scallops with Cauliflower and Leeks

2005-07-13T21:22:00.000-04:00

There's so much to write about the good food I ate when spending the July 4th weekend in Vermont with our friends B&B. Both Bs are old friends of the Husbands from high school, and moved to Vermont about a year ago. It was our first visit up there since they moved (we were a little late getting our act together), and I couldn't wait to see what Vermont was like. It was gorgeous and serene and the whole area was filled with beautiful old farm houses. And, of course, the food was great. We were spoiled rotten by the delicious food cooked by the Bs. Although she made the dinners, he did make us yummy pancakes one morning with local blueberries and maple syrup.

I have a couple of recipes worth posting on Warm Butter Review from our Vermont vacation, but I'll start with this one:

Seared Cumin Sea Scallops with Cauliflower and Leeks
Serves 4
Active Time: 30 mins
Start to Finish: 30 mins

2 leeks cut crosswise into 1/2 in. slices
1 1/4 lb sea scallops, halved horizontally and patted dry
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 T olive oil
1/2 med head cauliflower, cut into 1.5 in. florets
3 T dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T fresh lemon juice

Soak leeks in lg bowl of water. Agitate occasionally to dislodge any sand. Drain leeks and pat dry.

Toss scallops with cumin seeds and salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 tsp oil in a 12-in nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Sear scallops until golden, about 2 mins per side. Use tongs to transfer to a bowl.

Heat remaining T of oil in skillet (do not clean) until hot but not smoking. Saute cauliflower and leeks with salt to taste, stirring until golden. Add wine and water and simmer, covered, until vegetables are almost tender, 5-7 mins. Add cream and scallops with juices in bowl. Simmer, uncovered, until liquid is slightly thickened, about 3 mins. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Dessert was this delish strawberry rhubarb pie (baked locally), served with vanilla ice cream (even this was a local Vermont brand--no, it was not Ben & Gerry's).

I definitely plan to visit for a fall tour of local artisan cheeses!

A Warm Butter Vacation

2005-07-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

I had the best of intentions and tried to post some great recipes from our weekend trip to Vermont. However, I couldn't get the new blogger photo feature to work, and the Husband had already thrown Hello (the program that I had been using to post pictures to my blog) off the computer. And now, we're off on vacation for a few days, not to return until next week.

Anyway, here are some upcoming recipes that will be posted on Warm Butter Review in the next few weeks:

Seared Cumin Sea Scallops with Cauliflower and Leeks
Beef and Sausage Lasagna
Blondies
Spaghetti with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts
Corn Salad
Some Comments on Grilling
And Even More Comments on Yogurt Making

My best to you all, and I'll see you when we get back!

Chocolate Cookies

2005-06-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

The Warm Butter Review will be in Vermont for a few days, so in honor of the long July 4th weekend, I'm posting a great cookie recipe to bring to your next weekend BBQ. I've made these cookies many, many times and they are great. The recipe says that it makes 100 cookies, but because I love to eat the chilled dough, I almost never get anywhere near that quantity. They look very simple, but after you try them you will see why they won a cookie contest about five years ago or so.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 100 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour. Note: this is also the best time to eat some of the dough!

3. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: For some reason I can't always get dutch-processed cocoa (which is finer in texture than regular cocoa). I've used regular cocoa and it still turns out great.

Five Points, NYC

2005-06-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

The interior.

Last night the Husband and I met friends at Five Points, a trendy downtown restaurant on Great Jones Street. I had been there several times for happy hour, which boasts $1 Washington State oysters (normally $3 a piece), and half price martinis (I wish I was a martini drinker. I usually stick with the full price red wine.) It's filled with young urban crawlers, who sit outside at tables in front of the restaurant, admiring the cobblestones street, and the local firemen from the firehouse a few buildings down.

There was a plate of oysters at each table.

The Husband and I ordered the fava bean hummus, served with grilled flat bread and a sweet tasting dollop of sour cream. I had a light dinner of a market green salad and wood oven-baked goat cheese, served with aged balsamic vinegar and black olive crouton. The Husband got the Wood Oven Pizzette (hoping, mistakenly, that it would be light since he had a HUGE soul food lunch of collared greens, pepper steak, and mashed potatoes at Junior's on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn), which had Sonoma Teleme Cheese, thin-sliced Yukon Gold potatoes and Truffle Oil. I really liked everything. It was light, not too expensive and had a great range of flavor. Our friends ordered the Washington State Oysters for an appetizer. She had the Slow Cooked Duck Leg Confit, with grilled scallions, hazelnut picada and fire charred plums. Wow! He had the Pan Seared Day Boat Halibut, served with cucumber gazpacho, and chopped tomato salsa.

All in all, I give it good marks. It's beautiful inside, and has a nice outdoor seating area. Luckily the street isn't too traveled by cars, although I wish the FDNY would put on the sirens when they were a little further down the block. The food wasn't tremendously expensive and the service was attentive. The crowd was a little too self-conscious for my liking, but all in all Five Points is recommended by Warm Butter Review.

Yogurt, etc.

2005-06-22T21:09:00.000-04:00

I read this, and then bought this. A new obsession has been born. Luckily, the Husband is extremely interested in eating homemade yogurt. Now I know why he proclaims almost daily (usually around dinner time) that he's a lucky man.

About a year ago, I also made my own granola, which was excellent (but also a lot of work). Because I was raised in the household ran by Queen of All Things Made from Scratch, I now have a desire to make more things from scratch than even she did. For example, some time ago I read an article on making your own organic puréed baby food. Do I have a child? No. Would Gerber be good, too? I'm sure. However, now that the Husband and I are interested in having a baby, my first thoughts return to that article. Okay, so let's see now: work, care for two dogs and two cats, blog, manage house, deal with crazy parents and siblings, pay bills, raise child, have happy marriage, and oh, yes--don't forget--make my own baby food.

The girl needs help!

(disclaimer: above list not necessarily in order of priority!)

Pork Chops With Peppers (Bistecca Di Maiale Con Peperonata)

2005-06-19T17:41:00.000-04:00

A pork chop, served with peppers.

I usually don't like to let a week go by without a post, but the reality of my situation was that New York City had an awful heat wave last week, usually reserved for the depths of August. This included oppressive humidity, 95+ degree temperatures, and a lot of flared tempers--including my own. We don't have air conditioning in our house, and I was pissed. I'm not one of those people who can graciously pretend that the heat isn't getting to me. I get incredibly cranky. Therefore, I couldn't stand to be in our spare bedroom, roasting in front of my computer adding posts to my blog. I needed to keep what little sanity I had left in tact.

After a few years of marriage the Husband came to his senses and finally put a window air conditioner in our bedroom. Over the years, we have discovered that this seems to cut my crabby levels to something that is livable for both of us. However, this year, after he installed the air conditioner, we realized that it wasn't working--even after he did all of the necessary work required to clean filters and the like. Therefore, until the heat broke recently, I was a mess.

In the midst of all of this, I decided to make a new, rather complicated recipe. It took two hours to make, and I had the broiler on as well as two burners on the stove. It was so hot in my kitchen, I almost threw everything out and ordered a salad from the corner cafe. But cooler minds prevailed, and I found this recipe to be great. The pork was juicy (even for leftovers the next day), and the chops were worth it in the long run.

In terms of my air conditioning situation, it seems that we've worked out something that we both can live with. Oh, and my office didn't have air conditioning during the same period that our house didn't. As you can imagine, my nickname went from GrannyAnny to CrankyAnny.

Pork Chops With Peppers (Bistecca Di Maiale Con Peperonata)Serves 8

6 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, or a mix, which I did), halved lengthwise, stems, ribs, and seeds removed
3 tablespoons drained capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more, if needed, for skillet
7 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage, plus 2 sprigs
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
8 center-cut bone-in pork chops (each 1 inch thick)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1. Preheat broiler. Broil bell peppers, skin sides up, until blackened. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Let stand for 10 minutes. Peel peppers, discard skins. Slice flesh lengthwise into thick strips.

2. Put capers in a small bowl with vinegar; set aside. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 4 garlic cloves and the onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion turns golden, about 4 minutes. Add chopped sage, red pepper flakes, capers and vinegar, and the bell peppers to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes. Transfer bell pepper mixture to a platter; cover to keep warm. Remove garlic cloves before serving, if desired.

3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Add pork chops, remaining garlic cloves, and the sage sprigs to the skillet. Cook pork chops, flipping once, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 9 minutes per side. Transfer pork chops to another platter; cover to keep warm. Cook the remaining pork chops, adding more oil to the skillet if needed. Add pork chops to the platter. Discard garlic cloves, sage, and oil.

4. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add wine. Cook, stirring often to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet, until wine has reduced slightly. Drizzle wine sauce over pork chops. Serve with bell pepper mixture. Garnish with parsley.

My Grandmother's Chocolate Fudge Frosting

2005-06-12T22:28:00.000-04:00

My maternal grandmother died when I was in fifth grade of complications from Parkinson's Disease, so I don't have many memories of her physically healthy and moving about. My mother has told me that my grandmother (Mildred) was diagnosed around the time I was born. She went to the doctor after not feeling like she could properly hold me--a newborn. The shaking had started.

I do remember her in a wheel chair and in bed. Her mind was just fine until the last year or so. Whenever she saw me she made a real effort to fuss over me, and show that she was happy to see me. And I loved her so. She was sweet, calm, and attentive.

My mother refers to Mildred in these kinds of terms: "I'm not as good a housekeeper as she was" "She was a better cook than I am", etc., etc. Luckily, I'm not hung up on comparisons like that, but my grandmother's cleanliness and organizational skills were legendary. Born in 1899, she was one of the first women to graduate from the teachers college that she attended. She grew up in the Bronx, a child of Italian immigrants, the oldest of nine children.

On the day of my bridal shower, my great aunt Claire (Mildred's younger sister) gave me some of Mildred's cookbooks. It was by far the best gift I received. When she told me who originally owned the well-worned books, I was overcome with emotion.

This recipe is not from these cookbooks, but rather from my mother, who has always called it "Your Grandmother's Chocolate Icing". I've wondered if I should blog it or not, but ultimately, why not? Why not give this elegant, smart, stylish, and loving woman a little immortality?

My Grandmother's Chocolate Fudge Frosting

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a double boiler, combine chocolate, milk, salt, water. Cook over rapidly boiling water, stirring often until thickened--about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool. Add extract. Fills and frosts 2-8" cake layers, or frosts a 9" x 9" x 2" cake.

Truthfully, my dad requested that she double the recipe for the double layer cake. You might want to consider doing the same!

Beef with Onions, Ham and Chicken Rolls, with Sweet and Sour Carrots

2005-06-05T21:41:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was my brother Tom's birthday. As is tradition in my family, the birthday child (even though we're not children anymore), can request whatever meal their little heart desires. I would always pick lasagna with cheesecake for dessert. No veggies or salad, please. My mother (otherwise referred to in this blogs as Queen of All Things from Scratch) would grit her normally well-balanced-meal-obsessed teeth and oblige. In keeping with this family tradition, my brother asked for his favorite meal: Beef with Onions (served with rice), Sweet and Sour Carrots, Ham and Chicken Rolls, with Chocolate Cake smothered in my maternal grandmother's ancient recipe for Chocolate Icing (I'll post this one later in the week). Yes, there is a reason my brother weighs over 200 pounds! Thankfully, I do not.

In the 1970s, my mother took a Chinese cooking class. I don't know how authentic it was, since I know that the instructor was not Chinese, but my mother started using a wok, and began stir-frying. This was right around the time we were forced to eat things with soy beans in them and drink only skim milk. The Beef with Onions definitely came out of this class. The others came from other sources she found along the way, but all are completely yummy.

Beef With Onions

Note: I think it's easy to tell that she wrote this up for me. She gave me this recipe when I was 25, so she made it idiot-proof.

1 1/2 lbs beef
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons oil
7 tablespoons oil, total
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, sliced
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Cut slightly frozen beef into slices 2" long by 1" wide by 1/4" thick. In a medium bowl toss beef slices with soda and let stand 15 minutes. Mix soy sauce, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl.

Toss beef with his mixture and marinate 10 minutes more. Set marinated beef by stove with all other ingredients, measured and prepared, along with a slotted spoon and a small bowl.

2. Set wok over high heat for 30 seconds, swirl in 1 tablespoon oil, add salt, count to 30. Add onion and stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove onion with slotted spoon to bowl. Add 4 tablespoons oil to the wok, count to 30, add meat and pepper and stir-fry until gray. Mix onion with beef.

Serve with rice, Chinese vegetables, and/or noodles.

Sweet and Sour Carrots

1 tablespoon oil
10 to 12 cups thin carrots, cut on diagonal (you will see in the picture that you als use baby carrots)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vinegar
salt to taste

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, water, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl.

2. Heat wok, add oil, heat 20 seconds, add carrots, and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Add water, cover, simmer 5 minutes, until carrots are tender but not soft. When you hear sizzling, remove lid and test for readiness. A little liquid should remain in the wok when carrots are ready. Push carrots to one side, pour corn starch mixture down side of wok, stir until it thickens and clears. Stir in carrots.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ham and Chicken Rolls

The Ham and Chicken Rolls cut up and ready to go. You can serve them an individual rolls, too.

4 chicken cutlets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pepper
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4 slices cooked ham
1 egg beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup flour
4 spring roll or egg roll wrappers
3 cups vegetable oil

1. Pound cutlets until very thin.

2. Combine salt, pepper, five-spice powder, and garlic powder. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of the mixture evenly over each chicken piece.

3. Tightly roll up each ham piece and place on of of a chicken piece. Roll chicken around ham, tucking in ends.

Here's my mom preparing to put the Ham and Chicken Rolls together.

4. Combine egg and milk in shallow dish. Coat each rolled chicken piece lightly with flour, then dip into egg-milk mixture. Place each piece diagonally onto a spring roll wrapper. Roll up securely, folding in the ends. Brush the end corner with egg mixture and brush to seal.

5. Heat oil in wok oil or frying pan until very hot. If you have a thermometer, if should read 375 degrees. Fry 3 or 4 rolls at a time until golden and chicken is completely cooked, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Ham and Chicken Rolls, cookin' up nice!

Can be kept warm in oven.

Mango Chicken Salad

2005-05-31T22:19:00.000-04:00

It was a good picture until my shadow got in the way!

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I've been a mango virgin. Oh, I've eaten plenty of it, but I've never cooked with it--until now, that is. This recipe took all of a half an hour to make, and is perfect now that the weather is getting warmer.

The recipe calls for 1 cooked chicken, and to make my life easier, I bought a rotisserie chicken at the local A&P. Would my mother (Queen of All Things Made from Scratch) be pleased? Probably not. But even she would admit that on a hot summer day, it's best not to turn on the oven!

I was wondering if toasted pecans might not work in this, too, but I think that if that was desired, I would drop the coconut. Perhaps this could be a variation for people who don't like coconut--although I still find it strange that people like this exist in the world!

Mango Chicken Salad
Serves 4

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons Major Grey's mango chutney
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cooked chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), shredded (about 4 cups)
1 mango, peeled, seeded, and diced
10 ounces baby spinach

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes; cool.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, chutney, mustard, turmeric, and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken and mango; toss. Serve on spinach, sprinkled with toasted coconut.

Per serving: 420 calories; 10.4 grams fat; 48.5 grams protein; 33.6 grams carbohydrates; 5.1 grams fiber.

Lazy Annie

2005-05-26T21:10:00.001-04:00

Shhhh. Don't tell my mother that I'm cheating.

Because I had a flurry of cooking activity last week and the dinner party and all of that, I decided to take things easy this week. I have two entree tricks up my sleeve when I see a bad week for cooking coming on.

Trick #1: Flounder Stuffed with Seafood

Stuffed Flounder with Spinach.

Trick #2: Chicken Thighs Stuffed with Spinach and Feta Cheese

The finished chicken dish.

Both entrees were purchased from Whole Foods, and then cooked up the night they were needed. All I did was make fresh veggies and/or a side dish.

On Flounder night, I took two bunches of spinach, sauteed the leaves in olive oil and two cloves of sliced garlic, and added toasted pine nuts, which were left over from my dinner party. I felt like it didn't need a side dish, since the stuffing (they say that it's "All Natural Seafood Stuffing", but I know it's primarily bread and butter) served that purpose.

For the chicken, I made Rosemary Potatoes as a side dish (I needed to finish up some of those potatoes from the week before anyway), and steamed broccoli (seasoned with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper).

And, there you go. Dinner for the Husband and I for two nights this week. We have demanding jobs and with two dogs and two cats to care for, sometimes one needs help with shortcuts here and there, and ordering in Chinese every night just ain't gonna cut it. I feel some slight guilt about it because my mother, Queen of All That is From Scratch, would most surely disapprove of the head start that a semi-prepared entree provides.

Surely I can't be the only one who cheats once in a while. What does everyone else do when they only have time to cook halfway?

A Dinner Party (with Asparagus)

2005-05-24T21:41:00.000-04:00

The finished table.

I bought a few new cookbooks recently, and spent time reading Cook's Illustrated's Restaurant Favorites at Home, and quickly realized why the book was half price. It had some nice recipes, and I was close to making the Frisee Salad with Cranberry-Bacon Vinaigrette and Blue Cheese Pastries, but didn't want to spend a tremendous amount of time fussing over the pastries. There are times of the year (such as Christmas) when I like to fuss over such little delights, and other times when a simple green salad will do.

On the theme of keeping it simple, I reached deep into the back of my freezer and served spinach in phylo dough from Trader Joe's. I will usually keep something like this in the freezer, in case of an unexpected guest. This happens surprisingly often in my life. Once pulled from the oven, I served them on a bed of Boston lettuce, alongside red grapes. There's a similar hors d'oeuves that I make from scratch that usually stop people dead in their tracks, but again, I was trying to keep my life simple for this weekend. This was the Husband and my first weekend free from family affairs (Easter, Mother's Day, three first communions!) in about six weeks, and we were completely exhausted.

I also decided for a simple entree. Because I like to spend time with my guests when they arrive, I've made for other dinner parties a lasagna or some other baked pasta meal that I can pull out bubbly and delicious from the oven. However, I found this simple pasta recipe and decided to throw it together when everyone showed up.

Riccia. Too thick and clumsy for this recipe. Stick with fettucine.

A comment on the pasta: the recipe calls for fettucine or other similar thick-stranded pasta. For some reason, there was a rush on fettucine at my local Whole Foods, and I couldn't find a strand of it anywhere. Of course there was fresh fettucine, but because I feared getting wrapped up in a boiled heap of sticky fresh pasta with all of my guests looking on in horror, I decided to purchase the Riccia, which was dried. Riccia is a flat ribbon pasta that is very similar to lasagnette. It was approximately 1/2 inch wide and had a rippled edge on both sides. It is sometimes referred to as mafaldine. It was a mistake. Too big, and a little hard to cook, which is probably the reason that I overcooked it by about a minute.

Mixing the pasta with the asparagus.

I doubled the recipe since we were having six, and had enough left over for two lunches for the Husband and myself.

Creamy Fettucine with Asparagus
Serves 4; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toss 1/4 cup pine nuts, stirring often until golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 3/4 pound fettucine (or other thick-stranded pasta) until al dente, according to package instructions, adding 2 bunches of asparagus (trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into thirds) during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain.

3. Return pasta, asparagus, and reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss with 4 ounces creamy goat cheese log (broken into pieces), 2 tablespoons grainy mustard, 2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill leaves, and toasted pine nuts. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Per serving: 496 calories; 13.3 grams fat; 24.5 grams protein; 75.1 grams carbohydrates; 7.7 grams fiber.

The pasta was accompanied by this:

Lemon-Herb Bread right out of the oven.

Lemon-Herb Bread
Serves 4

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, combine 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; heat on stove or in microwave (I chose the microwave) until butter melts.

2. Without cutting all the way through, slice an 8-ounce baguette in 1-inch intervals; brush butter mixture between slices. Wrap in foil; bake until hot, about 15 minutes.

My comment on this is that most baguettes come in 12oz sizes, not 8oz. I used 3 tablespoons of butter to compensate for this. 4 tablespoons would have worked, too.

The salad was an organic mescaline salad with yellow peppers and halved cherry tomatoes. I used this (I tried this out earlier in the week) for the dressing:

Dijon Vinaigrette

1. In medium bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and a pinch of ground pepper until combined.

2. Whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup olive oil in a steady stream; whisk until thickened an creamy (or shake all ingredients in a small jar).

One couple not only brought their lovely 11-month old son, but some great wine as well. The other couple made an incredible hot chocolate for dessert, using 10 oz of Scharffen Berger 70% Bittersweet chocolate, milk, and cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and some other spices that were quite a treat. I served it with a Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie from the Little Pie Company and vanilla ice cream.

I'm still trying to lose the 1.5 pounds I put on because of this meal! However, it was worth it. It was great to catch with everyone.

Day 4: Zucchini Frittata with Tomato-Garlic Spaghetti

2005-05-22T11:48:00.000-04:00

See? I'm not a granny!

The Husband has taught me how to work the whole digital camera thing with his dorky PC and here's my first posted picture, taken by the Husband himself while I was putting together the pasta entree for a dinner party I hosted last night. I'm finally getting into the swing of this whole blogging thing. I've even registered www.warmbutterreview.com for when I finally get into designing my own site and the such.

Meantime, in the world of reality...

Day 4 of Everyday Food's Make Five Meals (But Shop Only Once) is Zucchini Frittata with Tomato-Garlic Spaghetti. The four cups of veggies from the previous night--Roasted Zucchini, Onion, and Peppers--are reserved for the Zucchini Frittata. The Frittata baked up nice and high, and the whole thing was very light and airy. I also really liked the spaghetti recipe. Either would have been great on their own. Timing for both recipes are accurate. It indeed does take 15 minutes to slice up 6 garlic cloves and 6 plum tomatoes.

Zucchini Frittata
Serves 4; Prep time: 10 minutes; Total time: 55 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate (this is the one that I used) with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Drain any liquid from leftover Roasted Zucchini, Onion, and Peppers; place in pie plate.

2. In a large bowl, beat 10 large eggs with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper; pour over vegetables.

3. Bake until top is golden and center is set, 35 to 40 minutes; cool 5 minutes before serving.

Per serving 328 calories; 19.3 grams fat; 22.9 grams protein; 17.5 grams carbohydrates; 4.4 grams fiber.

Tomato-Garlic Spaghetti
Serves 4; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes.

Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, slivered
6 plum tomatoes, diced

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente, according to package instruction; drain. Rinse with cool water.

2. Transfer 2 cups pasta to a medium bowl, and toss with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside for Tofu Stir Fry with Noodles (sorry, but I put the pasta aside, and so far have been able to get to making this recipe). Pasta can be kept covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

3. Wipe pasta pot dry; heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until soft, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are saucy 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Return remaining pasta to pot; cook, tossing occasionally, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Day 3: Honey-Glazed Chicken with Roasted Zucchini, Onion, and Peppers

2005-05-20T20:28:00.000-04:00

Alright, alright. This weekend, I'm insisting that the Husband teach me how to transfer pictures off of our digital camera and onto his damn PC. I'm a Mac person, but for blogging at home, I have to stumble around on his clunky PC. Oh, how I miss my fab G5 when I'm at home. How do people work on these damn things anyway?

So, moving forward with Everyday Food's Make Five Meals, but Shop Only Once, Day 3 of my experiment was Honey-Glazed Chicken with Roasted Zucchini, Onion, and Peppers. The chicken turned out great. Tasty and juicy. We were both very happy. The chicken didn't even dry out when we both took the leftovers to work the following day. The zucchini in roasted veggies turned out much too soggy for my taste. The picture shown in the magazine shows them browned and dry and perfectly roasted. Reality was not such. I lined the rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, so maybe that was a factor? Regardless, they still tasted good, and now I'm planning to do more veggie roasting (I tend to steam vegetables or sautee with garlic and such).

That said, the chicken took more like 40 minutes to cook (not 30 as the magazine stated), and the prep time was 10 minutes, not 5. The roasted veggie timing was accurate.

Honey-Glazed Chicken
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes (a lie)

1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried thyme
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (about 3 pounds)

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a small bowl (or glass measuring cup), whisk together honey, vinegar, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2. Place chicken pieces on prepared pan; brush with honey glaze to coat. Roast, brushing twice with glaze (do no baste during last 5 minutes of cooking), until chicken is deep brown on he outside and opaque throughout, 20 to 25 minutes.

Roasted Zucchini, Onion, and Peppers
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes; Total time: 45 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut 3 pounds (7 to 8 medium) zucchini into 1-inch thick rounds. Remove ribs and seeds from 2 yellow or red bell peppers (I used yellow); cut peppers into 1-inch squares. Cut 1 medium red onion into 1/2 inch wedges.

2. Combine vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with 2 teaspoons coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper. Toss to coat.

3. Roast until vegetables are tender and browned in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Set aside 4 cups roasted vegetables for Zucchini Frittata (to be posted). Serve remaining vegetables with chicken.

Per serving: 86 calories; 5 grams fat; 2.8 grams protein; 10.1 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber.

Note: Before starting the chicken, put the vegetables in the oven. Then cook the chicken alongside.

Day 2: Salmon Nicoise Salad with Lemon-Herb Bread

2005-05-18T21:08:00.001-04:00

I'm a couple of days behind on my posting, but not on my cooking. Sunday night I made Steaks with Balsamic-Mustard Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, and Steamed Green Beans. Moving along with the Everyday Food's "Make Five Meals (But Shop Only Once), on Monday night, I made Salmon Nicoise Salad and Lemon-Herb Bread. Because I don't like olives (I know, I know), I dropped them from the final dish. I wanted to try out the Lemon-Herb Bread because I'm having a dinner party on Saturday (more on this later), and I wanted to see if this was worth making for my friends.

All in all, it was good. The Husband particularly raved about the bread, and the bread heated up well the next day when we each brought the leftovers for lunch. A woman in my office seemed somewhat obsessed with my salad. She was amazed that I had salmon AND a salad. Ultimately, I don't think she knew what a Nicoise Salad was. Go figure. Oh, and by the way, the salad and the salmon kept very well for lunch the next day. I bought Alaskan Salmon from Whole Foods, which cost a fortune, but ultimately worth it since it was fresh, fresh, fresh, and fed the Husband and I for dinner and lunch.

Salmon Nicoise Salad
Serves 4. Prep time: 30 minutes. Total time: 45 minutes

Use left overs saved from Rosemary Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. If not using these leftovers, steam twelve ounces (four to five) new potatoes an eight ounces green beans according to instructions from this post.

2 skinless salmon fillets (about 8 ounces each)
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 heads Boston lettuce
leftover Rosemary Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans
4 plum tomatoes (Truthfully, 4 seemed like too much. Two would be just fine.)
3 large eggs, hard-cooked
1 medium red onion (I forgot to use this!)
1 jar or tin (2.8 ounces) anchovy fillets, drained (optional--yes, VERY optional. I didn't use them at all, and I didn't miss them.)
1/4 cup Kalmata (or black) olives (again, I didn't use them)
Dijon vinaigrette (listed below)
Lemon-Herb Bread (listed below)

1. Fill a deep skillet with 1/4 inch water. Season salmon on both sides with sal and pepper; place in skillet. Bring water to a gentle simmer; cover, and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate; flake with a fork, and let cool.

2. While salmon is cooking, tear lettuce into pieces, quarter potatoes and tomatoes, peel and quarter eggs (I made these the night before), and thinly slice onion.

3. On a large platter (or four serving plates), arrange lettuce, salmon, green beans, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, onion, achovies (if using), an olives.

Dijon Vinaigrette

1. In medium bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and a pinch of ground pepper until combined.

2. Whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup olive oil in a steady stream; whisk until thickened an creamy (or shake all ingredients in a small jar).

Lemon-Herb Bread
Serves 4

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, combine 2 tablespoons butter, finely grated zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; heat on stove or in microwave (I chose the microwave) until butter melts).

2. Without cutting all the way through, slice an 8-ounce baguette in 1-inch intervals; brush butter mixture between slices. Wrap in foil; bake until hot, about 15 minutes.

My comment on this is that most baguettes come in 12oz sizes, not 8oz. I didn't increase the measurements listed below, and I didn't have to, except for the butter. For my dinner party, I will double (yes, double) the amount of butter to four tablespoons. Everything else will be fine.

Tomorrow night I have a pot-luck dinner party to attend, and will be bringing a pie from Citarella. Seems like I can only be bothered to make homemade meals for the Husband this week!

Dinner for the Week

2005-05-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

I have a subscription to Everyday Food, and some months I open it up and have no interest in making anything that's contained within. Then there will be an issue that I return to over and over again, and make some of the recipes constantly. The recent May 2005 issue seemed to have quite a few interesting recipes, so I decided to make one of their "Make Five Meals (But Shop Only Once)" suggestions. I just finished making the second night of dinners.

The first night was Steaks with Balsamic-Mustard Sauce with Rosemary Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans.

I overcooked the steak, and undercooked the green beans. I have a fear of green beans. For some reason, my mother only served green beans from either the can or from a frozen bag, and I hated them. Really. Hated. Them. Compared to real, fresh green beans, they were about one inch long, too fat, and were the color of an army trench coat. Not appealing to a child with underdeveloped taste buds. Other than my missteps, this was an easy meal to throw together.

Steaks with Balsamic-Mustard Sauce
Serves 4; Prep time: 15 minutes; Total time: 15 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 strip steaks (each 6 to 8 ounces and about 3/4 inch thick)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper; place in skillet. Cook, turning once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate; cover with foil.

2. Add vinegar to skillet; boil until syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in mustard and any accumulated juices from steaks. Serve sauce with steaks.

Per serving: 521 calories; 35.5 grams fat; 42 grams protein; 6.3 grams carbohydrates; 0.2 gram fiber

Rosemary Potatoes
Serves 4

1. In a 5-quart pot, bring 1/2 inch of water to a boil; add coarse salt and 2 1/2 pounds of red new potatoes. Cover; cook, turning occasionally, until tender 14 to 16 minutes.

2. With a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a bowl. (Reserve pot of water for Steamed Green Beans.) Rinse 1/4 of the potatoes under cool water; set aside for Salmon Nicoise Salad.

3. Sprinkle remaining potatoes with 1 teaspoon dried rosemary and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and ground pepper. Break up potatoes with a fork or spoon, tossing to coat; cover to keep warm.

Per serving: 166 calories; 3.6 grams fat; 4.3 grams protein; 27.2 grams carbohydrates; 3.6 gram fiber

Steamed Green Beans
Serves 4

1. Trim 1 1/2 pounds of green beans; add to reserved pot of boiling water (from Rosemary Potatoes; add more water if necessary). Cover; cook, turning occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

2. Rinse 1/3 of the beans under cool water; set aside for Salmon Nicoise Salad. Transfer remaining beans to a serving platter; season with coarse salad and ground pepper.

Per serving: 35 calories; 0.1 grams fat; 2.1 grams protein; 8.1 grams carbohydrates; 3.9 gram fiber

Truthfully, I didn't even follow the green bean recipe. I just trimmed the green beans, put them in a bowl with about two inches of water and microwaved on high for 3 or 4 minutes. Then I followed step 2 and was done.

So far, so good.

44 & X, NYC

2005-05-15T20:52:00.000-04:00

The bar at 44 & X. Don't get a table near it.

As I said in my last post, I've been running around the City, experiencing some new restaurants. I had dinner with a couple of friends on Wednesday night at 44 & X, in Hell's Kitchen. Their tag line is "Reinvented American Classics." It was recommended by my friend Jill. We were about to go see Wicked with my old college friend Chris, who was in from Paris. He's been living there for the past fourteen years or so, and now I realize that he's officially become a tourist (shhh, don't tell him that I've said this about him), because he bought the Husband and I tickets to Broadway. I've seen plenty of Broadway musicals in my life, but honestly, because I work and live here, they just seem like events that tourists attend. Plus, who wants to go north of 14th Street? The Husband could not attend, so Jill took the ticket.

I got a great vibe off the place the minute I entered. It's very stylish, painted white, with a great curing wall, tiled with 1" white tile. It has huge picture windows--all the better to look at the cabs hurrying people to their destinations. Of course, it's great to look in, too, since all of the male waiters are beautiful. And why not? One of the restaurant's owners is the producer of Wicked, and I'm sure is surrounded by cute actors all of the time.

Anyway, I very much enjoyed my dinner at 44 & X on Wednesday night. I had the Mediterranean Chopped Salad, which had hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes, red cabbage, chick peas, bacon, and lettuce along with the Roast Chicken Quesadilla (considered an appetizer). Both were excellent, particularly the Quesadilla, which was, well... creamy. I don't know how to say it in any other way. The whole thing, chicken and all, melted in my mouth. Jill had the exact same thing (great minds think alike), and Chris had the Sauteed Breast of Duck, cooked medium rare, and was soundly well received. What I found very charming was that when I was waiting for my friends to arrive (reservations recommended), I was seated at my table and when asked what I wanted to drink, I said "something red." Shortly thereafter, the waiter returned with a glass of Francis Coppola, California 2003, Shiraz. He and I were playing with each other and I appreciated the selection he brought me.

Since Jill recommended the brunch so highly, I decided to make reservations for 1:00pm today for members of the Husband's family. Although the food was good, the service was appalling. Not only was our table for eight given away to another group without reservations right before my eyes, the host (a man) was a bitch when I rejected the table that he put together for us right next to the bar. We finally worked out another solution that we were all happy with, but I have NO DOUBT that the bitch host told our waitress to slow down our brunch orders after we ordered. I would say that it took us about 45 minutes to finally get our meals. Since we were there with some out-of-towners who were enjoying the view of Tenth Avenue, I hope it wasn't noticed too much. We were out of there in two hours, and although pleasant, the service was horrible. Our waitress even managed to get my sister-in-laws order wrong. Grrrr. The waitress blamed it on the kitchen not reading the fine print, but my special order of omitting the mushrooms from the Spinach, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Omelete was adhered to just fine.

The service was overwhelmed at brunch but sterling at dinner. Food was consistently good at both meals, and considering the trendy location and beautiful restaurant design--it was not too expensive. That's what being boiled down for 44 & X at the Warm Butter Review.

The Girl is Busy

2005-05-13T07:10:00.000-04:00

The problem with going out a lot and gathering new material to blog is that I don't have time to post. However, I've been to two new restaurants and one old favorite this week, so I plan to spend some time this weekend catching up.

The big issue in my life this week is the fact that a former boss of mine (from a previous crazy job I once had) was "reorg-ed" out of her job. In New York speak, this means "fired". It's all so unfair and wrong, and I've been thinking a lot about it.

Things are never dull in the big city.

Otto, NYC

2005-05-09T21:25:00.000-04:00

Back on the menu: food writing. Sorry for the absence.

Last week I had dinner at a favorite restaurant--Otto ("eight" in Italian). Located on 8th Street in the Village, it is close to me and is really a great (relatively) cheap place to meet some friends for dinner and drinks. The menu is primarily individual thin crust pizzas, which as broken into two groups, Otto and Classica. Otto for those who want toppings that are more on the adventurous side (shaved fennel, porcini mushrooms, and uber-smelly Taleggio cheese). Classica, obviously, has the classics like marinara and pepperoni. From the Classica menu, I usually order the prosciutto arugula pizza. You will find an excellent and extensive selection of accompanying wines.

Mario Batali's pizza restaurant was one of the first restaurants I went to after Bloomberg put the smoking ban into place. I would go with coworkers for wine after work and the only other people there were parents with their children. For a year and half I talked to therapist about being brought as a child to bars with my father, but here, hip, young parents felt free to expose their fragile offspring to a bar because is was smoke free. My, how times have changed.

Since these early days, Otto has really caught on and has even refined it's menu to accommodate pasta dishes. I met friends there the other night, and by the time we left (9:30--very early!) it was packed--bar and restaurant. It was a Thursday night and it seemed more like a Friday night. The hostess even asked if we had reservations--something they never required before. Good for Mario.

Speaking of Mario, I see him frequently in the neighborhood. He is usually a mess: stringy, thinning strawberry blonde hair--plastered to his pink, sweaty face. He's usually wearing a chef's outfit and bright orange hi-tops. I don't remember seeing the bright orange clogs. I think he just wears them when he's cooking. One time I saw him lurking around one of his other neighborhood restaurants, Babbo. Most of the time, I usually see him dragging two small children around at about 8:45 in the morning. He usually looks exhausted. Of course, I've also seen him attending to all things in his excellent restaurant, Otto.

For the price, it's highly recommended by Warm Butter. The bartenders are probably the best that I've ever had, and the service is excellent, considering that the average cost for an entree is about $12. All of the service wear crisp white button down shirts, and blue jeans. Excellent. The room is large and loud, and if you want to meet friends at a fun place for the night, I would recommend Otto.

Bravo.

Some Things Never Go Away

2005-05-04T21:49:00.000-04:00

This evening on my walk to the subway, I noticed a large German shepherd (accompanied by a police officer) sniffing around, obviously following a scent. I spent some time stealing glances at the dog and the officer, mostly out of fascination for the work they were doing. I have two dogs, and as sweet and smart as they are, they are not police dog material. They are more apt to love a criminal to death than get involved in any way with their arrest.

My admiration turned into curiosity as I realized that the dog continued working the scent and followed it down the steps into the subway station--right behind me. At first, I found it compelling that the dog was so well trained that it was trailing something. Then, as I descended the stairs, I became slightly more alarmed. Suppose there is a missing person they're trying to find? Could the dog be following a scent left someone who is about to board my train with a bomb? Then the old feeling came back. The feeling that never goes away. It's a tight feeling of high strung emotion that has been known to take up residence in the back of my stomach and crawl up my throat. It's a feeling I know intimately from living through September 11th.

Everyone's got a story about it, and truthfully, I've lost interest in hearing other people's monologues about that day. I don't mean to sound unkind when I say that if you saw it unfold live on television, it's nothin' compared to watching it unfold live from Mercer and Houston Streets. I have at least five friends who were a block or two away from the Towers and lived. I never tire of hearing their stories. Honestly, my story is similar to what everyone else has to say (shock, horror, disbelief, fear), so I won't bore you with the details. I will, however, tell you two details that seem to not have been reported at extreme length on CNN during the months proceeding the tragedy:

1. I felt like a refugee in my own city, which is probably why I gave a ton of money to the Tsunami victims. My life and home weren't swept away, but on that day I had no idea who was alive or who was dead. I also had to rely on the kindness and charity of strangers so I could get home, and try to move on with my life. On the flip side, I didn't give money to the 911 families. I watched the U2 telethon like everyone else, but I couldn't bring myself to pick up the phone. I've considered this at length and I think my paralysis was because I felt like a victim myself. Thank God, we only indirectly know people who died--a neighbor's fiance, a firefighter that was a childhood acquaintance of the Husband's, the former president of a local neighborhood group, etc.

2. The smell. I can't describe it, but it was so horrifying that it made your throat burn, your eyes water, and your stomach clench. I both live and work within a mile of "Ground Zero", so this smell invaded any open window and tapped on your shoulder when you thought you were able to finally forget about it for the night and said "Hello, I'm back." The last time I smelt it in my back yard was Thanksgiving morning, over two months after 9/11. I opened the back door to my garden and there it was. Lingering. Still burning.

So, here I am, trying to go home on a normal beautiful May evening in Greenwich Village. It happened over three and a half years ago, and since I stopped crying about it every morning about two years ago, I think I'm doing okay. If I'm really doing okay, then why were tears streaming down my cheeks by the time I got to the turnstile--dog and officer close behind me? There was a second police officer near the turnstile holding a bag that contained the scent that the dog was supposed to track. It was a drill. I was safe. I got home easily enough and slipped back into my life like I was a normal person who didn't live through this life altering event.

However, I was surprised how quick the fear and sick came back to me.

Some things never go away.

I Feel Like a Frog (rip, rip, rip)

2005-05-02T21:03:00.000-04:00

Although I've been obsessively pouring over a new cookbook, trying to decide which recipe I should make for a dinner party I'm having on May 21st, I'm going to write about knitting tonight.

Yes, knitting.

The Warm Butter Review will be making a comment on knitting for the first time since the inception of this blog. It's historic. It's monumental. It's really just still the same old Ann, but wrapped up in a pretty supermerino yarn bow for the evening. Or should I say, poorly knit supermerino yarn bow?

About three weeks ago, I discovered Art Yarns. I fell in love with what saw on the website, and obsessed over the scarf patterns that I found. They looked complicated, but after spending time my last two Colinette afghan patterns, I needed some K1Inc1 time, if you know what I mean.

So, at lunch one day I ran to Downtown Yarns, my new favorite yarn shop. I ordered the patterns and picked out the yarn needed for three scarfs for three of my nieces. I have another pattern for my little nephew, but I haven't gotten the yarn yet. I wanted to get everything I needed so I would be fully stocked for the five hour flight to Vegas from New York.

I've ripped it out about five times. This last time (tonight) was particularly frustrating because I had gotten very far, and the pattern was coming out great. I was even impressing myself. I thought that I had to rip out just a few rows, but ultimately I got lost, and couldn't figure out which row started where. I think that I need to block out a full day and I can finish this scarf right up.

However, right now I've decided to wait until next week, when I don't seem to have a lot going on after work and commit two hours a night to getting it done. This is the easiest of the four patterns I bought. I fear that I'm in a lot of trouble! I wonder how many times I'm going to have to rip out the other patterns!

Paska

2005-05-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

I'm Ukrainian on my father's side, and since things are never easy for me, we celebrate two Christmases and two Easters. One for regular Roman Catholic Easter (my mom's Italian), and one for the Eastern or Byzantine Rite of the Catholic church, of which my father belongs. The Eastern Rite celebrates Christmas and Eastern on the same day that Greek or Russian Orthodox do. My father would say that I was being remiss if I didn't emphasize that my dad is still considered Catholic (under the Pope). There are 30 some odd rites that are under the Pope--the Roman Rite being the largest.

So, in honor of being raised Catholic (x2), I am posting my mother's recipe for Paska (yes, the Italian mother learned to make Paska). Paska is a traditional Ukrainian Easter bread. It's great spread with butter or farmers cheese. I also found this link to what seems to be a very similar recipe that looked great, too.

One thing of note that got me somewhat irritated with my mother's directions: she states to let the dough rise until it comes to 1/4 inch of the top of the mold/pan. She neglected to tell me that this event could take two to three hours. Thanks, mom. Worried that there was a problem, I only let it rise for 45 minutes (it was barely rising), and although a little dense, it rose more in the oven and was completely fine. I fixed this oversight in the recipe below.

Here's the family Paska recipe. Keep in mind that it creates something closer to a batter than something that resembles dough.

1 package yeast, active dry or compressed
1/4 cup warm water (lukewarm for compressed yeast)
3/4 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm--add saffron to it
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
4 cups regular all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
1 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins
1 pkg saffron

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water, add cooled milk, and stir until blended (if using saffron strands, strain them. If using powdered saffron, you don't have to).

In large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light; add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the yeast mixture and beat until well blended. Sift flour again with salt into mixing bowl. Beat at medium to low speed until batter is smooth. Stir in raisins.

Butter a large kugelhopf mold (or a 10-cup mold). Turn the batter into the mold and let rise in a warm place until batter comes to within 1/4 inch of the top of the mold. This could take 2 or 3 hours. Before placing in oven, brush batter with a lightly beaten egg yolk. If using a kugelhopf mold or another 10-cup mold with a tube center, then bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes. If you use a 10-cup tubeless mold, bake at 350 degrees for 65 to 70 minutes. Bake until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan; turn out.

Of note: I ran out of white flour, and had to use one cup of whole wheat. The color wasn't as yellow as it usually was, but it turned out great nonetheless.

Le Cirque Tasting Menu

2005-04-30T19:44:00.000-04:00

The Husband found the list Le Cirque gave him for his "Le Cirque Degustation Menu". He also got the wine tasting. For anyone interested, here's the list of food and the accompanying wine.

Lobster Salad "Le Cirque"
Sancerre, Chateau de Fontaine-Audon, Loire Valley 2003

Sauteed Foie Gras with Rhubarb and Ice Age Spinach
Takaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos, Royal Tokaji Company, Hungary 1999

Rock Shrimp Risotto with Zucchini Flowers, Champagne and Parmesan
Chardonnay, Forman, Napa Valley 2003

Sea Scallops, Leek Fondue and Morels
Chambolle Musigny, Domaine Lignier Michelot, 1999

Lamb Saddle with Coco Beans and Natural Jus
White Hall Land, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2001

Spring Dessert Fantasy (he got the chocolate souffle instead)
Fonseca, 20 Year Old Tawny Port

Was It Worth It?

2005-04-25T18:43:00.000-04:00

Well, no. Not really.

The Husband and I are fresh back (as of 2 am this morning) from a Las Vegas and California vacation tagged on to a business trip to Vegas. Because I am who I am, I decided that I needed to stay my one and only night in Las Vegas at The Bellagio, with dinner at Le Cirque.

Firstly, I had an absolutely great time in Vegas, and didn't even gamble--perhaps a first for Vegas. I was so happy to be going to Le Cirque for dinner. We've never tried out the Manhattan original, so I thought it would be fun to test it out in Vegas.

The ambiance was great. The service was excellent, although I felt somewhat rushed. I felt the pressure of getting us out before the 9:45 seating. And, all in all, the food was great. I enjoyed it thoroughly. For an appetizer, I had a warm white asparagus with goat cheese. Although I'm not an asparagus person, I am a goat cheese person, so I thought I'd try it. I found the asparagus slightly too mushy, but overall it was a good appetizer. For dinner, I had Filet de Loup de Mer en Ecailles de Pomme de Terre, Endives caramelis é es, Réduction de Pinot Noir (Potato Shingled Imported French Bass with Caramelized Endive and Pinot Noir Reduction). I thoroughly enjoyed it. The "shingle" was crispy, the bass perfectly cooked, and a great amount of butter was to be had all around. My dessert was chocolate souffle. The waiter made a big deal about cutting a hole in the middle, and pouring a sweet white sauce down the hole. I couldn't finish it, and it did seem somewhat dry. I was glad for the sauce.

The Husband ordered the tasting menu, with each course paired with a different wine. He was very happy, and loved the wine pairing. He enjoyed the foie gras so much that he tried to make me try some. I don't eat foie gras for ethical reasons. I know, I know, I should stop eating all meat if I want to be consistent, but there's something about the nature of force feeding a caged goose that I find utterly upsetting, and so completely uncalled for, that I've been carrying on my little protest ever since I was told about the technique.

So. Here we are. Lovely atmosphere. Great food. Responsive and helpful service. Was it worth $450 for the Husband and myself? NO! A RESOUNDING NO. NO. NO. NO.

My favorite restaurant is Manhattan's five star Bouley. It is perfection in every way, shape, matter, and form. The Husband usually gets the same kind of meal--a tasting menu and wine paring. I usually have a three course meal of some sort. We spend around $300 to $350. And this, may I remind you, is for perfection. Completely, utterly perfect service--attentive, gracious, knowledgeable, timely without rushing, etc., etc. Stunningly prepared food. And wonderful bread, brought to your table in a basket, with several wonderful choices vs. Le Cirque's bland, obviously baked off premise, Wonderbread version of French bread.

My opinion is to save your rent check and stay away from Vegas Le Cirque. We ultimately had better and more inspired food for the buck at the bed and breakfast we stayed while visiting Joshua Tree National Park. Thank you to Sandy of the Rosebud Ruby Star Ranch. And, although Le Cirque's restaurant design was beautiful, nothing could beat the view that Sandy's B&B offered us every morning. What a way to enjoy her well-crafted breakfasts. Our first morning, we were served sliced bananas and strawberries, arranged in a rose shape, served in a cup of strawberry yogurt, and sprinkled with confectioners sugar. She also served a small cup of potato au gratin (Parmesan baked over shredded potato), and finally a large pancake with butter and maple syrup, with thick bacon broken on top. Plenty of fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. The next morning was even more inspired, with a similar fruit cup (with berries added), a veggie omelet with tomatoes and zucchini, and finishing up with a spoonbread spread with sweet butter and fruit. Sandy told me that the spoonbread was from a Kentucky recipe (I don't know how she got the recipe), and was sweetened with creamed corn. Absolutely wonderful!

So, pick and choose your food decisions wisely, my friends, family, and readers. Little can take you far, and too much can bring you down. Oh, and my final bit of advice: stay away from airline food, if at all possible. It will take me at least a week to detox from it.

Vegas, baby!

2005-04-19T22:18:00.000-04:00

I'm off for my trip out west: Vegas, Joshua Tree, and then San Diego. New York is beautiful this time of year, and I will miss seeing the trees bloom. I will, however, take copious notes while I'm away and fill you in on all food out west. Should be fun.

See you in a couple of weeks.

The New York Black and White Cookie

2005-04-16T22:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, I love Black and Whites. If you either grew up within the five boroughs of New York City or within spitting distance of them--as I did--you are fully aware of the wonderful magic these cookies hold. My mother seemed to never like bakeries. My sense was that she felt that if something wasn't baked at home, it wasn't very good, and Black and Whites were one of those cookies one could buy only in a bakery or Italian deli. If I ever got near a bakery window, I would look at those wonderfully huge, graphically decorated cookies. Ah, icing! Of course, in more recent popular culture, Jerry Seinfeld immortalized the cookie in one of his episodes, called The Dinner Party.

Tonight I went to my old friend Alex's 40th birthday party (my dear, you don't look a day over 32!), and he was served miniature Black and Whites. I would say that they were about 2 inches in diameter as opposed to the usual 6 inches. When I praised Alex for his choice of cookie, he responded, "Thank God for Costco."

So in honor of Alex's birthday, I publish an excellent recipe for Black and White cookies from The All American Cookie Book, by Nancy Baggett, which I bought on sale at The Strand a couple of years ago. I bought it primarily because of the picture of the Black and Whites on the cover.

It's a long one, but here it is: an excellent adaptation of the classic New York Black and White Cookie.

3 cups all-purpose white flour
Scant 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup (1 stick plus 2 2/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Scant 3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup sour cream

Quick Vanilla and Chocolate Fondants:
1/4 cup light corn syrup
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted after measuring, plus more if needed
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugar, butter, and shortening until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, corn syrup, and lemon extract and beat until evenly incorporated. Beat in half of the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. On low speed, beat in the sour cream. Beat or stir in the remaining flour mixture, just until well blended and smooth. Let the dough stand to firm up for about 5 minutes.

Using a scan 1/4-cup measure of dough, shape into balls with lightly greased hands. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 3 1/2 inches apart. Using your hand, press and pat the balls to about 3 1/4 inches in diameter.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle o the oven for 10 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges and the tops just spring back when lightly pressed in he centers. Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Use a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.

For the Fondants:
In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water and the corn syrup just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until completely smooth. Place the chocolate in a small, deep bowl. Pour 2/3 cup of the hot vanilla fondant over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is partially melted. Pour another 1/2 cup of the vanilla fondant over the chocolate. Stirring constantly, thin the chocolate fondant to a fluid but not runny consistency by adding 3 to 4 teaspoons of hot water, a little at a time. Stir until the chocolate melts completely and the water is thoroughly incorporated.

Set the wire racks with the cookies over wax paper to catch drips. Using a small, wide-bladed spatula, spreader, or table knife, immediately ice half of each cookies with the chocolate fondant. (if the fondant stiffens as you work, thin it by thoroughly stirring in a few drops of hot water. If the fondant cools completely, rewarm it over low heat, stirring).

In necessary, adjust the consistency of the vanilla fondant by stirring in additional powdered sugar or hot water until fluid by not runny. Ice the second half of each cookies with the vanilla fondant. Let the cookies stand until the icing set, at least 2 hours and preferably 4 hours.

Store the cookies in a sing layer or layered between wax paper in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

TIP:
For a tidy diving line between the black and white icings, put a small amount of chocolate fondant in a paper cone or pastry bag fitted with a fine writing tip. Pipe a straight chocolate line across the cookies, so they are divided in half. Ice one side up to the line with chocolate and the other side with vanilla.

It's Done

2005-04-16T10:02:00.000-04:00

As the Husband was running around the house like a headless chicken this morning, desperately trying to pack for a work trip to Las Vegas, I refined the name of my blog to Warm Butter Review. Even in his hysteria, he agreed that this final refinement is perfect. It came to me as I was ironing shorts for his trip.

I'm looking forward to meeting him out there on Wednesday, when his convention is over. We're staying a the Bellagio, and having dinner at Le Cirque. I thought it would be fun, and of course, I will be taking notes to blog. Then we leave the next day and go to Joshua Tree National Park, for a few days, and off to San Diego to meet my new niece.

I'll post some good recipes before I go, to make up for my time away. I might be able to do some remote blogging, but truthfully, I'm looking forward to being away from a computer screen for a while.

Just Bear With Me

2005-04-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

I'm trying out a couple of different names for my blog after I discovered Chocolate and Zucchini, a food blog that I now realized is probably the most read blog on the face of the planet. Of course, I'm embarrassed that I hadn't really noticed it sooner--I've been very much wrapped up in knitting blogs. I didn't want the world of food blog readers to think I scammed my name from the C&Z writer, so I've been on the prowl for another name.

There's one name that I keep on coming back to: Warm Butter. To me that phrase conjures up a whole bunch of experiences. Warm butter is comforting. It's smooth. It tastes good. If you put warmed butter on anything, it will automatically make it taste great--sweet or savory.

There seems to be a split in opinion between Warm Butter Chronicles vs. Warm Butter Stories (thanks to Dana for the "Stories" suggestion). I'm going to try Warm Butter Stories and see if it fits. It reminds me of Kipling's Just So Stories--one of my favorite childhood books.

Girl's Night

2005-04-13T18:38:00.000-04:00

Last night I had dinner and drinks with five other over-achieving women. We're all in our mid-to-late thirties. We're all married. We've all become successful in our various careers. Two even have children.

Imagine my surprise when the issue of baking bread came up. I say that I was surprised because we usually spend our time together talking about our careers and the purchase of real estate. Even the two women with children really don't spend the whole time dotting on their absent children.

Last weekend, my friend Martha asked me if I had any idea why her bread wasn't rising. She's tried to bake bread three different times, and it's been a disaster each time.

"The yeast," I immediately proclaimed. "It must be old."

"No," Martha explained. "They were all newly bought."

"Did you buy it at that horrid C-Town?"

"Nope. Whole Foods. Good expiration date and everything."

Well, it HAS to be something she was doing with the yeast in some way. I thought maybe it was the temperature of her kitchen--too cold? Was she doing something wrong in the proofing?

So, last night, the issue came up again. In the middle of very important conversations about very important jobs and children and husbands, three of us stopped to discuss the lack of yeast rising.

Samantha was there. Very reasonably, she said, "You're killing the yeast somehow. You're probably making the water too hot when you proof it. Besides, don't start with whole wheat bread. If you're just learning how to bake bread for the first time, always start with a simple white loaf."

There was quite a bit of wisdom in this statement.

Now, there was very little wisdom in the restaurant we attended last night. It was The Half King, in Chelsea. I know that Chelsea is this great, hot neighborhood right now, but honestly--the idea of schlepping myself in heels all the way over to Tenth Avenue was not something I was looking forward to. In preparation, I wisely chose clogs to wear that day.

The Half King is a bar. It has readings. As a matter of fact, I've had quite a few friends who have had readings there, and I appreciate that they provide this. The place is basically a bar with some over priced greasy food that accompanies the drinking. I ordered a special from their "Light Menu". It was pizza with grilled veggies and goat cheese. Sounded good to me. In reality, it was toasted pita with some goat cheese and grilled eggplant, drowning in olive oil. Hey, when you say grilled veggies, I would like some variety, please. Anything. Red peppers? No. Squash? No. Broccoli? No. Spinach? No. Eggplant? Yes. And when I said drowning in olive oil, I really mean drowning.

So the food was bad, and the bar still has a faint cigarette odor even though smoking has been banned in Manhattan bars for quite some time now. And, the bathrooms were taken care of in similar fashion. However, we had two nice comfy sofas to sit on, we were not rushed, and the waiter was a very sweet and attentive man. He saw "Girl's Night" written all over our faces and gave us space, and appropriately swooned in when the drinks needed replenishing.

Oh, and one more thing of note: they have an outdoor seating area. There at one of the tables was the actor Richard Schiff, who portrays Toby Ziegler on the West Wing. I thought it was strange that he was sitting at a table at a place where he obviously didn't fit. He didn't look comfortable. It seemed like he was dad and he was crashing the frat party.

The Zucchini Chronicles

2005-04-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

I've been spending time thinking about a better, more encompassing name for my blog. Although I want to write primarily about cooking, I would like to add some commentary about knitting, and perhaps other events in my life if they seem appropriate.

On my way to where I needed to be this morning, I strolled the streets of the West Village, and thought of these names: The Granny Rant, The Granny Dialogues, The Annie Monologues, The GrannyAnny Monologues, Views from the Hudson, Verso: Views from the Left, and finally, Comments from 7th Street. I was in the process of brainstorming names having to do with brunettes, when The Zucchini Chronicles came to me. It seemed to fit.

I just registered the domain name, and I'm researching Movable Type, so I can do my own blog. I know that technically it's all too advanced for me right now, but I think I like the idea of having more control. I am a graphic designer after all!

So, for those of you who have added a link from your site, please change from "The GrannyAnny CookBlog" to "The Zucchini Chronicles." As of now, the web address is still the same.

Thanks.

How Long Can Potatoes Soak?

2005-04-10T21:09:00.000-04:00

This just in: I recently read that you can peel and cut your potatoes (for a mashed potato recipe) and then store them in the refrigerator in a covered bowl filled with water for up to 12 hours before using them--without affecting the taste or texture of the finished dish. I don't know what happens if you use the same technique for french fries or potato salad.

The one dish the Husband will make without complaint is mashed potatoes. Should I tell him about this or let him suffer through the timing on the next batch?

Hmmmmm.

Questioning

2005-04-09T08:09:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about changing the direction of my blog and adding in commentary on my knitting projects. I spend all of my time reading knitting blogs anyway (I'm ready to move to Canada), that I think I might need to expand the nature of my blog. I think that I'll still keep my swim blog separate for now and feel it out. Opinions, anyone?

Dishing

2005-04-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

I listen to NPR (WNYC to be exact) all day and night. Talk all day; classical music all night. I was listening to Leonard Lopate, and he had on Liz Smith, the gossip columnist. Until I realized that it was her, she sounded exactly like Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, before she lost to that bad man.

Anyway, she made an interesting comment about cookbooks. Her observation (and this is coming from a person who does not cook, but knows the good restaurants to eat and be seen at) is that many people own many cookbooks, but few actually cook. She thinks that most people (she was really talking specifically about women) just like to read cookbooks, not actually make the recipes contained in them. Hmmmm. Luckily, Lenny was on the ball and commented that a lot of celebrities have been publishing cookbooks. And, of course, that's what she was there to do--promote the publication of her book, Dishing.

From the WNYC website:
Gossip columnist Liz Smith shares stories of food intriguefrom the favorite fare of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, to what makes chicken fried steak such an irresistible guilty pleasure--in Dishing.

Recipe from Dishing (LS's book):

Elvis Fried Potato Sandwich

1/2 pound bacon
2 small russet potatoes (about 3 ounces each), peeled and thinly sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 small yellow onions (about 2 ounces each), peeled and thinly sliced into rings
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large slices country-style white bread
Mustard to taste

1. Fry the bacon in a heavy cast-iron skillet to desired doneness and drain on paper towels. Heat the bacon drippings over medium heat, add the potatoes and onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry until the potatoes are browned and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside and the onions are tender, too. Do not turn the potatoes until they are crisp. Taste for seasoning.

2. Grill or broil the bread until it is toasted on one side. Smear the un-toasted sides generously with mustard and layer on the bacon and the potatoes and onions on top of one mustard side. Cover with the remaining bread, mustard side down.

YIELD: 1 SANDWICH

Whoa! Do you think this recipe is REALLY from Elvis? My dad made plenty of peanut butter and bacon sandwiches for us to take to school, and it wasn't until I was an adult did I realize what a heart attack on a bun those sandwiches were! I'm glad he didn't make us these Elvis sandwiches, or otherwise I'd be dead by now.

NOT a Good Night

2005-04-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

I completely screwed up on what was going on tonight. Last night, I put frozen pork chops in the refrigerator in preparation for dinner tonight (marinated chops, with sauteed spinach and garlic, and a baked potato for the Husband). Then I get to work this morning, look at my schedule without the weekend haze fogging it, and realize that I'm supposed to go bowling with a bunch of people from the office after work. We've had this set for at least two weeks, and I have to go.

The flip side is that the Husband walked the dogs this morning so I can go to the gym. We both think I'll be home nice and early to walk the dogs and for me to make dinner. Well, surprise: the Husband has to work late and I have to deal with this work thing. Luckily, we have two cafes a block away that we can order from for dinner. I'm ashamed to admit how often they come in handy (chicken quesidillas and these completely amazing chocolate chip cookies were ordered tonight).

In my somewhat buzzed state (did anyone say wine?), I took my dogs and went to the corner to order dinner for the Husband and myself. Then, as the order was being made, I took my kids (dogs) to the park. While there, I lost Dog #1's leash. So I went around two times to see if I could find it again. It was too dark, so I tell myself to look in the morning.

I pick up dinner, walking Dog #1 off leash (thank God for a good trainer many years ago) all the way home. Dog #2 never got the training that Dog #1 got, so she has to stay on leash. We get to my corner, and Dogs #1 and #2's favorite person is there, hanging out by the liquor store: Poppy. Poppy is this old guy, who barely speaks English, buys those little bottles of booze that are normally sold on airplanes, and hangs in front of the liquor store all day. He's very short and seems to not have a job and lives alone. His one few joys in life appears to be to stuff his dirty pockets with dog treats to give to my girls when they come by. And they love him. A lot.

So here we come, Dog #2 on leash, and Dog #1 off leash. I tell Dog #1 to sit at the corner, and not run across the street at the sight of Poppy. She slows down, looks over her shoulder at me, and bolts across the street anyway. I run after her, grab her by the collar, determined to not let Poppy reward her with treats for disobeying me. He looks at me as if I'm the horrible dog mom that I am, and I get to drag Dog #1 home, while trying to navigate bag full of dinner and Dog #2 on leash.

By the time we're home, I feed the cats, the dogs, and myself, and it's close to 10:30. Whew! Too much, and I'm exhausted. The only good news of the night it that I didn't suck too much in bowling. I just sucked a little bit.

A Great Restaurant Review

2005-04-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

Since I've started writing about restaurants and recipes critically for my blog, I've been more interested in reading more restaurant reviews. I usually read The New Yorker's Tables for Two blurb, and the April 4th issue is one of the best they've had. I love it's brutal honesty.

So, of course, I'm reprinting it here, without permission:

V STEAKHOUSE
10 Columbus Circle (212-823-9500)—Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s latest establishment might just be Manhattan’s first embarrassing piece of Vegas backwash, complete with a Cirque du Soleil-style soundtrack, red velvet upholstered chairs, and gilded fake trees. The diners are expensively dressed, in an out-of-town way: one evening a woman in furry après-ski boots climbed into the lap of her date for an after-dinner make-out session, and the same night, during Christo’s spectacle in Central Park, a family dined in matching orange tops. (Although the restaurant claims to provide a view of the Park, most tables actually look into a physical therapist’s office across Sixtieth Street.)

Vongerichten’s idea of updating the classic American steak house is to simply ignore its conventions—including the quaint notion that the steak should be especially good. Recently, a rare order came out medium, while a medium rare came out medium gray. You won’t even want to send it back, since by this point in the meal you’ll already be looking forward to leaving. The single-serving, sixty-six-dollar porterhouse, nearly twenty dollars more expensive than the priciest steaks at the best steak houses in town, is depressing. There’s no crunch to the exterior, no juice to the interior, and no flavor at all. The Niman Ranch New York Strip steak is even odder, with the smooth texture of tofu. Other cuts of meat, such as the filet mignon and the veal-rib chop, are less offensive, but they still lack character. Among the many accompaniments offered—Vongerichten has maintained the traditional side-order shakedown—are something called Fripps, a bland tempura-battered slice of potato that the servers push with suspicious enthusiasm.

There’s little consolation in other areas of the menu. An egg-roll-like pork appetizer arrived lumped in the bottom of an empty rocks glass. The exorbitantly priced shellfish plate recently featured desiccated oysters and lacklustre crab claws. And the gimmicky deconstructed lemon-meringue pie required more effort to eat than it was worth. If nothing else, diners will have the pleasure of knowing that their next meal, however humble or exalted, will taste terrific and seem like a bargain. (Open daily for lunch and dinner. Entrées $19-$88.)

By Owen Philips

Thanks to J.

2005-04-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

My coworker and friend J surprised me and gave me a copy of A Piece of Cake, by Susan G. Purdy. It's published in 1989, but supposedly this a great cake cookbook. I can't wait to try it out!

How Did This Happen?!

2005-03-31T20:14:00.000-05:00

I know when it happened, but how did it happen? Almost daily, I ask myself this question, arms crossed, chin in hand, while shaking my head. How did the Husband, a brilliant, gifted, well-read, sensitive, independent, handsome man become utterly hopeless in the kitchen? It baffles me. When we first starting dating in 1988, he was capable of making himself three square meals a day. He even had his own battered copy of "The A+P Cookbook"--obviously something his mother sent with him to college. He could make a few dishes. Nothing fancy, but they worked.

As a matter of fact, he did most of the cooking early in our relationship. The only dish other than pasta I really made was steak. I remember going to D'Agistino's on University Place and East 9th Street and buying steaks and marinating them in soy sauce, garlic, and scallions. He would mash the potatoes. I can't remember what I did about vegetables back then, but I think I served ears of corn (a typical college student "vegetable"). Regardless of this occasional dip into the world of cooking, I pretty much lived on toasted bagels with cream cheese, Snickers bars, coffee, cigarettes, and mozzarella cheese. I now realize that this was my way of rebelling against my mother's cooking, which was always from scratch and always excellent, and as I look back upon it, very nutritious. My family was a family of cooks, which meant that the minute I possibly could, I ran in the other direction and stuffed as many Twinkies (abolished from my house) into my mouth as possible. Fluff, anyone?

So as I was quietly gaining 60 pounds, the Husband (then the Boyfriend), was making good meals for himself. When I think back upon that time, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. When I think back upon that time, I also wonder where the hell that guy went. He's been replaced by a man that will wait at home, with his hands folded, frightened to turn on the stove, waiting patiently until I come home. Of course, I only have myself to blame for this. What started as a renewed interest in cooking as an adult, has now turned into the very thing that has enabled the Husband in becoming a helpless man.

He hasn't cooked in years. In his defense, he can and will make himself eggs in the morning, although even that is becoming more and more infrequent (I've been noticing a preference for cold cereal). He will also make sandwiches. And, he will make the dogs their food. Otherwise that's it. Really. I'm not kidding. Honest.

Tonight I'm feeling sick and he has to work late, which means I have walk the dogs and feed them and the cats. By the time this is said and done, it's 8:00. Too late for me to start with the pork chops and sauteed spinach I was planning to make. So I ordered in.

In the Husband's defense, I know that I've made him this way. And, of course, he's excellent at a lot of things that I'm not. For example, I've never taken the garbage out to the curb on collection days. I actually don't even know what the collection days are. I've never done anything with the car, and drive it so infrequently, that I don't know how to pump my own gas. Once, stranded in Connecticut, I had to ask a guy pumping his gas next to me to show me how to do it. That was about four years ago, and I've forgotten how to do it.

Shoveling. I don't do that either.

So I guess we end up doing the things that we prefer to do. After thinking about all of the crap he does that I never do, I realize that doing all of the food shopping and cooking during the week isn't really that much to ask. Please don't ask me to keep track of trash days vs. recycle days. Please don't ask me to get something fixed on the car. Hungry? Do you want me to roast a chicken, and whip up dessert? Then you've come to the right place.

Mac n' Cheese vs. Baked Four-Cheese and Pasta Casserole

2005-03-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've been spending time thinking about this one, and it's been a hard choice. Martha Stewart's tried and true Macaroni and Cheese, is excellent. It's creamy, lush, and the chunky buttered bread crumbs are a wonderful addition. I've made it for friends many times--David Zaza, being the first. It's always a success, and the Husband and I gorge ourselves on the leftovers. My favorite part about the leftovers is that we almost have to use a chisel to cut a piece from the cold tray. After the mac and cheese gets cold in the fridge, it becomes a wonderful block of cheese, that we cut into brick blocks and clunk into bowls for nuking. When the microwave is finished, the former block of cheese has melted back into it's wonderful gooey state that originated when I first took it out of the oven the previous night. If you haven't made this recipe, you must run--not walk--and do so before spring sets in.

However, I received an issue recently of Cook's Illustrated, that had a recipe for Baked Four-Cheese and Pasta Casserole. Hmmm, I thought to myself, this sounds suspiciously like Macaroni and Cheese. And, of course, it is. Their tagline was, "Tired of greasy, heavy pasta casseroles with stringy cheese and mushy noodles? We set out to make a creamy casserole with great flavor, properly cooked pasta, and a crisp bread crumb topping." I was amused that the editors couldn't bring themselves to use the beloved term that children from every corner of American life call, "Macaroni and Cheese". Feeling a challenge, I had to try it.

As much as I love the infamous Martha recipe, this is indeed better. Martha's isn't stringy or greasy, but it can be mushy, and in comparison, the Cook's Illustrated recipe tastes like Macaroni and Cheese, but for adults. Although it has a ton of great cheese, I wasn't overwhelmed by it, and yes, the pasta does not get overcooked. I added a drained 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes to the pasta along with the cream mixture, and stirred in 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped basil just before transferring the whole delicious mix to a baking dish. Another variant would be prosciutto and peas (omit salt from cream mixture and add 4 oz of chopped prosciutto, and 1 cup of frozen peas to pasta along with cream mixture), but the tomatoes and basil was excellent.

But you can be the judge. Below is the recipe for Cook's Illustrated's Four-Cheese and Pasta Casserole (which they also refer to as Creamy Baked Four-Cheese Pasta). Write in and let me know which one you prefer.

Serves 4 to 6 as a main course, 6 to 8 as a side dish.

Bread Crumb Topping:
3-4 slices white sandwich bread with crusts, torn into quarters (I used Pepperidge Farm for this)
1/4 cup (1/2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pasta and Cheese:
4 ounces Italian Fontina cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)--note: I couldn't fine Italian Fontina cheese, but was able to locate Dutch Fontina cheese. All turned out just fine.
3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup (1 ounce) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound penne
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. For the topping: Pulse bread in food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). Transfer to small bowl; stir in Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Set mixture aside.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees (wow, hot!).

3. For the pasta: Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in stockpot. Combine cheeses in large bowl; set aside. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water; stir to separate pasta. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk flour into butter until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in cream, increase heat to medium, and bring to boil, stirring occasionally; (In Martha's recipe, you whisk and whisk and whisk until your arm is about to fall off. This is more humane.) reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute to ensure that flour cooks. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; cover cream mixture to keep hot and set aside. When pasta is very al dente (when bitten into pasta should be opaque and slightly underdone at very center), drain about 5 seconds, leaving pasta slightly wet. Add pasta to bowl with cheeses; immediately pour cream mixture over, and then cover bowl with foil or large plate ad let stand 3 minutes. Uncover bowl and stir with rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl, until cheeses are melted and mixture is thoroughly combined.

4. Transfer pasta to 13 by 9-inch baking dish, then sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs, pressing down lightly. Bake until topping is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately.

After typing up this recipe, I'm now starting to wonder if using Martha's handling of bread crumbs might not work as well if not better than Cook's way for this recipe. Cook's crumbs were good, but I love Martha's.

The Cold Cut Cult

2005-03-22T17:37:00.000-05:00

On Sunday mornings, I can usually be found at a grocery store, shopping for food for the week. During the week, I'll read various foodie magazines and decide what looks good, and then make a list and pick stuff up for the Husband and I when the weekend rolls around.

I've tried numerous grocery stores in my part of the world: a local A+P, Whole Foods, etc. After being disgusted with the local A+P (Yes, I got into a fight with the produce manager: "What, you call this kale?! I'm leaving!!!"), I switched to Whole Foods, which we affectionately refer to as Whole Paycheck. When my weekly bill finally climbed to over $200, I looked around for an alternative.

This alternative is ShopRite. There is a ShopRite closer to my house, but it's a disaster. The produce is rotten, the service is appalling, and truthfully, the clientele makes me so angry and irritated, I worry about my mental health. However, there is another ShopRite nearby (unfortunately, I have to drive about ten minutes to get there, when the one in my neighborhood is within walking distance) that's not too bad. For a mainstream grocery store chain, it has a pretty good cheese section, nice produce, and a whole aisle for organic food. And now I've realized that the deli counter is good, too. They sell homemade mozzarella, bruchetta, and olives (can you tell it's in an Italian neighborhood?).

The problem with the deli counter is that even at 8:30 in the morning on Sunday, it's packed with people waiting to get cold cuts. This past Sunday, I was number 4, and it took me 20 minutes to get served. Yes, there was a line before they even started taking numbers, and there were four people working behind the counter. I never realized how much people love their cold cuts, but in this neighborhood, the deli counter clerks are treated like royalty. One time near Christmas, the Husband waited on line while I did our entire shopping for the week. Yep. Took him about 45 minutes to get served. It's not that they're slow, they just have an enormous amount of people that they have to serve. Plus, they always give you a slice to taste first. All of this fussing takes a lot of time.

One morning, there was an old man chit-chatting with the clerk waiting on him. They were talking about one of the other cold cut clerks, discussing how he was in a bad mood the week before. The customer wanted to know what was going on. The customer was obviously trying to kiss up to the cold cut guy, and try and show off that he knew the other deli clerk. I was amazed that they were discussing the mood of someone from a week ago.

So at this particular ShopRight, the Cult of the Cold Cuts lives strong, and the clerks are treated like movie stars. I wish I had that much clout in my own life!

Why I Rarely Eat Out North of 14th Street

2005-03-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

It's just so damn crowded!

The Husband and I went out last night with some friends from work. We went to see Sonic Vision at the Museum of Natural History. We had a good time, but it's far away from our Greenwich Village offices, which also means it's far from home for me and the Husband. As a matter of fact, it was far away from our friends, too: one lives in Long Island City, another in Park Slope, and the third lives in the east 20s. We got out of the show around 8:15 or so, and I just knew that it would be impossible to get a table for 4 at this hour, even though the neighborhood was teeming with restaurants. And, of course, I was right. We walked from restaurant to restaurant, looking for a four top. Nope. It was all, "fifteen minute wait", which I immediately translated to "half an hour wait."

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a city person. I love everything about it. Well, I should say that I love everything about it south of 14th Street. It's just too damn crowded when you get too far uptown. Because I know downtown like the back of my hand, I guess I know which restaurants I could slip into with a few friends at 8:30. Plus, things start later downtown, and 8:30 on a Friday is when people are still having pre-dinner drinks. 8:30 on a Friday night on the Upper West Side, and people were about a half hour into their meals.

Regardless, the Husband and I bailed, and decided to go home to our favorite local pub. All was good with the world after that.

Blue Mill Tavern, NYC

2005-03-16T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight the Husband and I went to dinner at the Blue Mill Tavern, until recently, a restaurant called the Grange Hall. I loved coming to the Grange Hall. Dark, wood lined booths, with rich, well done homey comfort food. Excellent. I have memories of good meals with friends there.

In the past year or so, the Grange Hall changed hands and it is now, the Blue Mill Tavern. I read the review on the site linked here, and thought, sounds good, let's go. I was going to recommend having dinner tonight with friends here, but after the couple canceled on us for the third time (ahem, I think I'm getting the message), the Husband and I decided to go it alone. After all, we already had arranged for dog walker to come and take the girls out and it was too late to cancel.

We arrived early--6:00. We didn't want to be out until midnight. Everything
was going along great. We liked out waiter, the ambiance was lovely and charming and cozy, and all those things you want when you're having dinner on Commerce Street. For those who don't know, Commerce Street is in West Greenwich Village, lined with brick townhouses that are at least 100 years old. It's one block long, and does a magnificient curve, that eventually leads you to Barrow Street. Any street that curves in Manhattan is charming, and if it's in the West Village--even better. Blue Mill Tavern is in the crook of this curve. In all honesty, you really can't find a more charming location.

I was enjoying everything about this newly refurbished old-time restaurant: the blue and white table cloths and matching napkins, the super big utensils, the lovely lamp on our table. I was however, distracted by our neighbors trying to find the light switch for their lamp. They never found it. I think the bulb had blown.

The food was acceptable. We ordered cheese fondue for an appetizer. I enjoyed it, but the cheese tasted a bit watered down. I don't know how to describe it other than that. I feel like it should have had more taste and should have been thicker. Plus, there wasn't enough bread served with it. That aside, our main courses arrived. The Husband ordered Meat Loaf, and I ordered Roasted Chicken. I was surprised to see that both entrees were served with the same sides: whipped mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. The Husband said his sides were too salty, and I thought mine needed more salt, which is surprising, since he is usually the one who adds salt to everything. I was disappointed that we were served pretty much the same dish, except for the difference in meat. It made me feel like I was at a cheap wedding on Long Island where you can pick from roast beef, chicken, or fish--all served with roast potatoes and over-boiled veggies.

They had a choice of four desserts: some sort of coconut cake (sorry, can't remember more details than that), chocolate layer cake, chocolate mousse, or butterscotch pudding. Nothing seemed appealing, so we decided to leave. The cheque (the Husband ordered one mixed drink, and I ordered two glasses of cabernet) was almost $75, tip not included.

Okay. But this is not the kicker.

There was a blonde hostess, who sometimes served food, who looked a lot like Tara Reid. She had a bit of a belly and some fat hanging over her jeans, but even that wasn't the problem. The problem was that when I was in the bathroom, she came in to pee, and LEFT WITHOUT WASHING HER HANDS.

Yup, it's true. That sign in every NYC bathroom that says "Employees Must Wash Hands, NY State Law" doesn't really apply to her. I'm thrilled to know that after she whiped herself, she then went to hand out plates of food to restaurant patrons. Luckily, she wasn't working my table.

So, sadly enough, after all of that good atmosphere, and great memories, I have to give Blue Mill Tavern, two thumbs down. Save your $75.

From a Reader

2005-03-15T20:40:00.000-05:00

I hope she liked it!

A few weeks ago, I published a recipe for Spinach and Orzo. A friend was kind enough to email the link of my blog to a friend in Chicago. She (or he?) made the dish, and here's the picture.

Bravo!

I think I'll make it again next week.

Cherry Tomato Crisp

2005-03-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

Please visit first.

Yummy and good for brunch:

Serves 4.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor (don't cha just love these things?), combine 2 slices of white sandwich bread (don't waste your time with anything other than Pepperidge Farm or Arnold--if you get anything else, even Wonder Bread, you'll probably be sorry), 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, 1 tablespoon olive oil (which I forgot to put in, but drizzled on later before it went into the oven), and 1 chopped garlic clove; season with course salt and ground pepper. Pulse until bread is very coarsely chopped, 4 to 6 times.

In an 8-inch square baking dish (I'm such a rebel; I used a very pretty 9" round pie plate that I love), arrange 1.5 pounds cherry tomatoes (about 5 cups) in a single layer; sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake until crust is browned and tomatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

From Everyday Food.

The Apple Crumb Pie

2005-03-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

It was a good, but a hell of a lot of work for something that I could have bought for under $20 at The Little Pie Company. They have a Sour Cream Apple Walnut Pie that is honestly the best thing I've ever tasted on the subject. Period.

However, I did like the Apple Crumb Pie recipe from a 1997 edition of The New York Times. My father, a diabetic, had a large slice (730 calories, 40 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol), but refused the Cherry Tomato Crisp that I made because he has to cut down on his potassium. Go figure.

I cooked the apples too long or at too high heat, which made them too mushy for my taste. Otherwise, the crust was exceptionally flaky. I have a fear of over working dough, and I'm glad I do (a blog is forthcoming on learning how to make a crust with my Ukrainian grandmother). In all honesty, one should barely touch the dough that they're trying to make, and all will turn out fine. I am blessed, however, with a VERY cold kitchen (thanks to The Cheap Husband), which means freezing marble counter tops. Therefore, baking that requires cold butter, cold flour, and the like, usually turns out well.

I also wish that the pie contained something crunchy, such as walnuts. I made it because my other sister-in-law (have I mentioned that I have SIX sister-in-laws?!) hates nuts, which means that her three children don't like them either. So, I try hard to find recipes that they will like, too. This means NO NUTS.

If anyone out there is particularly interested, please comment on this post and I will publish this recipe. Otherwise, if you live within striking distance of Manhattan, might I recommend The Little Pie Company? Actually, if you go to their website, I believe that you can order it and they'll even ship it to you, even if you life across the country.

Gotta love FedEx.

Mom's Birthday

2005-03-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

We're celebrating my mother's birthday tomorrow (a day early), and my sister-in-law is throwing a brunch. I've decided to make an Apple Crumb Pie. I found the recipe in one of my recipe binders. It's xeroxed from a 1997 Michael Romano article in The New York Times. Looks like it will take about 2 hours to make. I have the dough already chilling, and I will make the crumb topping and refrigerate. I'm not sure if I'll have time to bake the dough before we leave tonight for dinner with the Banana Bread couple, but if not, I'll bake it tomorrow. What's brilliant about the recipe is that you bake the crust, and put in the filling (which is cooked as well), and bake. Then you add the crumb topping and finish baking. You can make all three parts at different times and then assemble and finish baking when you're ready.

Since the Husband and I will be swimming tomorrow morning (see The GrannyAnny SwimBlog), I'll have to get up at 5 to finish the rest of the pie, but at least the crust and the topping will be the fridge waiting for me. I'll publish the recipe tomorrow, if I like how it turned out.

I will also be bringing a fruit salad. I learned a long time ago that fruit salad is best when you buy it already done by your grocer. This way, you can buy as much as you want any not worry about cutting up everything and wasting any left over fruit.

Tomorrow morning I will also make (see why I have to get up at 5:00?) the Cherry Tomato Crisp from the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food. Just got it the mail a week or so ago. Their recipes are looking better. There was a time there when I couldn't imagine making anything from them. It all seemed like the same three recipes recycled over and over again.

And, of course, Sunday afternoon, before my Stitch N Bitch knitting group gets together, I will make the Cook's Illustrated Four-Cheese Pasta (aka Mac and Cheese) and compare it to Martha Stewart's famous recipe.

In honor of my mother's birthday on the 14th, I will publish the recipe she made for us as kids for Mac and Cheese. I never really loved it as a child, but it does seem to have quite less fat that Martha's and Cook's recipes.

My trick: just have a little.

Hey, MarQ and King of the World, I can link, I can link! I finally figured out what the link button was. Duh.

Macaroni and Cheese

2005-03-10T16:08:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a blog re: the use of "macaroni" vs. "pasta", but that's for another post.

I just got my latest issue of Cook's Illustrated, and they have a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese that they claim is the best recipe ever for this beloved dish. Hmmm. We'll see about that. I've made Martha Stewart's (welcome home, dear!) recipe for Mac and Cheese (http://marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1573&search=true&resultNo=5), which we all agree is fantastic.

I'm planning on making Cook's Illustrated's version of this classic, and I'll report back.

My mom made a good Mac and Cheese, and I have the recipe. Will post later...

Sweet Sixteen

2005-03-06T21:01:00.000-05:00

Sixteen days without a TV and I'm doing things like making meatballs in advance and freezing them for later use. I'm starting to discover that I have a lot more time in the day. After I make the meatballs in a recipe I'll blog the recipe because even raw they smelt and looked great.

The Husband and I and our Banana Bread friends went to a new restaurant in our neighborhood this afternoon called Melt. It's all grilled cheese combos on Balthazar bread. You could combine up to three different cheeses and add a jam or chutney (surprisingly good). Or you could add bacon or ham. I had the tomato cheddar soup and was happy. Also had Jaques Torres hot chocolate, which was gone in about 10 seconds. They also have waffles. Our friend had the blueberry waffles and the whole restaurant smelt of it when they were making them.

The Husband had something called the Ugly American. It was bananas, choice of cheese, and peanut butter on bread. It was ugly, but surprisingly good. It reminded me of one of the things I liked most as a kid and that was peanut butter and honey on toast. I haven't had that in years, but if I did, I bet I'd be addicted to it again and put on my 60 pounds of lost weight!

Banana Bread

2005-03-05T07:57:00.000-05:00

Last night the Husband and I had dinner with two close friends at a favorite local eatery. The husband half of the couple arrived first, apologizing that his wife was late because she had to pick up bananas. We were all gathering last night in support of a very important visit to their house later this morning. She wanted to make banana bread--presumably to offer an appropriate bite to eat to their visitor, but also to create good smells and a warm and fuzzy atmosphere of domesticity. I brilliant idea!

In honor of my friends' important day, I publish my recipe for Banana Bread. I was given this recipe as a gift from my friend Linn (linnmeyers.com--sorry, still trying to figure out this whole html link thing), after I designed her resume many moons ago. I usually make it on the weekend when I have leftover bananas from the previous week.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 T oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
1/4 cup of milk (I never have whole milk in the house, so nonfat is just fine)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour (1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white)
1/2 cup or so of chopped walnuts (Linn's original recipe didn't call for nuts, but I put them in. Be prepared to add a little more baking time if you add them.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 6 ingredients. Beat well. Add baking soda and powder. Blend in flour. I put the whole thing together with a big fork. Pour into loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

My two cents on pretty much everything in life: don't over bake! It's great out of the oven, moist, with butter melting on top.

And to our dear friends on this very important day: baking banana bread is a great idea, but you don't need to. You guys are the best, and she knows it.

Please Put Down the Right Time

2005-02-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

I made the fabulous Chicken Soup with Buttermilk Dumplings and damn, it was good. My only pet peeve: the recipe says that it only takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to make. It really takes at least two hours. It's fine with me that it takes two hours. Just tell me the truth.

FoodBlog?

2005-02-27T17:03:00.000-05:00

I'm considering changing the name of this blog from "The GrannyAnny CookBlog" to "The GrannyAnny FoodBlog". Any opinions? I orginally thought "CookBlog" was best because it was a play on "cook book". However, I want to write some restaurant reviews and I'm not sure if "CookBlog" is too limiting a term.

Making Chicken Soup with Buttermilk Dumplings for dinner tonight. I saw it on Sara Moulton's show on Food Network. I made it once, and the Husband said that it was "vastly superior" to any other chicken soup he's ever had. Of course, we all know that it's vastly superior because of the half cup of heavy cream added towards the end.

We're hooking up the TV tonight because of the Oscars. Haven't watched TV in 9 days!

Goodbye, Emeril

2005-02-22T19:51:00.000-05:00

I've never been a huge Emeril fan, but when I first started watching the Food Network (regularly about three years ago), I got caught up in the whole Emeril thing. At first it was a novelty. Then the whole BAM thing started to get old. Then, I realized that I wasn't interested in cooking anything that he had on the show. Everything felt too over the top, with too much cheese or pork fat. In the beginning, the Husband even bought me "Emeril's TV Dinners", which unfortunately, contains no recipes that I find appealing (it's the thought that counts).

Yesterday, while searching through my favorite used book store--the one that has the great, unused, cook books at almost half price--I saw two brand new Emeril cookbooks. I didn't even open them up. Instead, I bought a book by another Food TV star, Tyler Florence, named "Real Kitchen". I bought this mostly because I like the way the book is designed. And, it's got a ton of photographs, which I really appreciate. So, I turned my nose up on the Emeril books and left them for someone else.

However, I would like to say something in support of Emeril: he will occasionally have a really great dish. Recently I made his brined turkey, and let me tell you--it was the best turkey I had ever made, and quite possibly the best I had ever eaten--even at a Thanksgiving dinner. Here's the link (sorry, but I haven't figured how to link text yet): http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17081,00.html

This turkey recipe is really amazing. I brined the turkey overnight (1 cup salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 oranges, quartered, 2 lemons, quartered, 6 sprigs thyme,
4 sprigs rosemary), and when I opened the bag in the morning, the turkey had a citrus/herb smell that smelt very clean and very fresh. When I read the recipe, I knew it was good, but it was excellent all the way down to the gravy. I also made his brussel sprouts with walnuts, and people were practically standing on the table, giving me an ovation. So, as you can imagine, I started to look at him differently.

Up until this point I had only made one recipe from his show, and that was a stuffed flounder with a red pepper piquant sauce. That was good, too. The problem with his recipes is that I feel like I need to either be living in Alabama, or weigh 300 pounds in order to make them. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but it just seems like the food isn't catered to 145 pound women from New York who aren't making chili and cheese stuffed corn bread for a college football team.

My thoughts on Emeril aside (my mom doesn't like him either, but mostly because she hates the whole BAM thing, too), the reason I'm saying goodbye to him has nothing to do with him or his show. Actually, I like sitting down and just watching cooking, so I actually really enjoy watching his show. I may not cook his recipes often, and I may think that he's a bit of jerk, but they give me ideas for creations of my own. The real reason I can't watch Emeril anymore is because the Husband and I have gotten rid of the TV.

Horror of horrors!

Yes, after years of complaining that we watch too much TV (today I figured out that during the week I watch on average of two hours of TV a day), we finally decided to unplug the TV set, and move it--cable box and all--into the back of the kitchen and see how I do for this week. The Husband works for a TV station, and can't stand having more TV talk at him when he gets home, so he finally asked for peace and quiet and no more TV. So we'll see how this goes.

I'm behind on my reading anyway...

...and my blogging.

A Success

2005-02-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

The Husband's birthday long weekend birthday celebrations were successful and I'm tired and ready for a long sleep. Saturday night, serving five adults and two children was successful. Along with several bottles of wine, our guests were fed hummus, crackers, grape tomatoes, and red grapes for an appetizer. Dinner was the now infamous chicken cacciatore (made with shitake mushrooms), steamed broccoli, and a mesculin salad with a dijon mustard vinaigrette (3 tbs olive oil, 3 tbs red wine vinegar, 1 tb dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste), blue cheese, and chopped walnuts. I made a birthday cake from "Chocolate American Style" by Lora broad, clerking Potter publishers, bought from my favorite used bookseller on Fourth Avenue. The icing was a white cream cheese icing, made with a ton of confectioners sugar.

Then the birthday brunch for his family--parents, sister and husband plus three children, and brother and wife with three more children. All turned out great. Made my egg pie, which was devoured immediately. Bagels, muffins, fruit salad, etc.

All in all, it was successful. The Husband feels loved, and at 37, he still looks as good as 18 when we first met. I love you, Gerry. I'm so happy you were born. As I said at dinner tonight, if you weren't born, I'd be like Mary in "It's a Wonderful Life" (my favorite movie--yes, one of my dogs is named Zuzu!). If I hadn't met you, I'd be a spinster librarian with bushy eyebrows.

Too Much Cooking!

2005-02-18T12:03:00.000-05:00

I've been neglectful to you, dear CookBlog, writing more for my SwimBlog, but I have been working a few new drafts. Today I just want to write about the enormous amount of cooking I need to attend to over the weekend. It's the Huband's birthday this weekend, and I'm making dinner for six adults and two children on Saturday night. Sunday, his parents, siblings, their spouses and six children will be rolling through from 10am onward.

Geesh.

For the dinner I will make some sort of warm appetizer (tbd) or maybe a cheese plate, served along with red grapes. Dinner will be Chicken Cacciatore, with pasta (blog on pasta forthcoming), steamed broccoli, salad, and bread. The cake will be chocolate layer cake with vanilla icing. Of course, the cake will be topped with M&Ms. This was the cake his mother always made for him as a child. Of course, mine will be from scratch. Her's was from Duncan Hines. Sorry, don't mean to come off like a bitch. I'm just stating fact.

Brunch will be easier, since I'll just buy bagels and muffins, and I will also make my mother's egg pie, which is always a crowd pleaser when there are children involved. You take dozen and a half eggs, scramble (but still keep somewhat wet, since it will cook more in the oven), toss in some bacon or diced ham, cheese (cheddar, american, whatever), put into 9x12 baking dish, and cover with flat sheets of raw Pillsbury Crescent dough. Bake until dough is golden--about 12 or 15 minutes, and voila! An egg dish that children will actually eat. I'm planning to make a fancy dessert, though, but haven't decided yet. I have a sour cream granny smith apple receipe that I like a lot, but I just saw a good recipe for a sour cream coffee cake, so we'll see.

Because they're all coming so early on Sunday, I have to buy everything for both events on Saturday morning, as well as our regular food shopping. Ugh. I hope it doesn't go over $250!

Margarine, Soy Beans, and Mowing Lawns

2005-02-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

My four older brothers put themselves through college by mowing lawns in the suburban community where we grew up. They had a good thing going. During the summers, they would mow up to ten lawns in a day. And these were large lawns--not your typical postage stamp kind of variety. They were able to charge a pretty penny.

Needless to say, they would come home at the end of the day, sweaty, smelly, and hungry. My mother, a house wife, was a great cook. She made EVERYTHING from scratch--including baking her own bread. My mother's bread was wonderful, but I was too young to really understand why her bread was considered better than Wonder Bread. All I wanted was the wonder of Wonder. I wanted to be able to take that fluffy goodness, poke out the middle of the slice, and roll it up into a bread ball like every other normal red-blooded American kid. You couldn't have that kind of fun with real, homemade baked bread.

I grew up during the 70s and during this time, "health food" made it's way into society. My mother made only skim milk. I say "made" skim milk, because (going back to the whole scratch thing) she would mix powdered milk with water to make what we all affectionately called "fuzzy milk." We called it fuzzy, because after shaking the dry milk together with the water, it created a foam on the top of the liquid. Now, for my mother I'm not really sure if this fuzzy milk thing was really about making everything from scratch, or if it was some sort of deep-rooted hold over from growing up during World War II. However, getting back on topic, she never bought milk--particularly not whole milk. My brothers and I never experienced that great film of fat that would cling to the side of a glass filled with whole milk. Instead she raised her five children on evaporated skim milk.

The other new kind of healthy cooking she started to experiment with was soy beans. Today everyone knows the importance of soy in a diet. However, during the 70s, my mom was really a pioneer in our small suburban town. I have no idea where she learned about soy, or where she got her now infamous recipe for Soy Bean casserole, but as you can imagine, when my four sweaty, stinky, gross brothers finally slid into the house from a long August day of lawn mowing, there were more interested in her lasagna. Or a steak. Or even chicken, for Christ's Sake. Oh, the look on their collective faces when the casserole was proudly put on the table. My father didn't want to contradict my mother in front of his children, so he maintained a straight face through the whole thing. Wow, he must have really loved her.

I remember my grass and gasoline smelling siblings whining for more substantial and less weird food. The health value was explained, and they were told to eat. She made it a few more times that summer, but I think she eventually gave up, and decided that the abuse that was heaped upon her was really not worth it. I guess I can't blame her, but I can remember that I liked the casserole. My brothers, however, even to this day go on at length about the family fiasco that was soybean casserole. Maybe I'll ask her for the recipe and publish it here, so other parents can dutifully upset their hungry children at the dinner table.

Once a year at Easter, we were allowed a treat: butter. Real sweet butter. As part of the whole healthy 70s living thing, I was raised on margarine. Manmade, synthetic margarine. I never knew that butter was something that you could buy at the grocery store year round. For some reason, my family was only allowed to buy real butter once a year and spread it on the various Easter breads that would be baked and served for the occasion.

For my brothers, it's still about the soybean casserole. For me it's about the damn dried milk and the fake vegetable spread. I hate margarine and everything it represents. I've even cornered my now 73 year old mother in her kitchen recently, and asked her why she still buys margarine when everyone knows that ultimately, it's better to consume butter--for health as well as for taste. She stated that it's just a habit that she can't get out of.

So, it all comes circle, because this weekend the Husband and I went up to my parent's house, where three of my brothers and their respective families were all going to be. I was asked to bring my buttermilk biscuits (from The Gourmet Cookbook), since a smoked ham was going to be served. I obliged, and spent a good part of Saturday morning, baking three batches of biscuits (24 total) to bring to the festivities.

After arriving, my mother insisted that I warm up the biscuits. After doing that, we sat down for dinner, where it was announced that my parents had run out of butter, and there would be no butter for the biscuits. Of course, what they really meant to say was that there was no more margarine for the biscuits, but even they couldn't bring themselves to use the "m" word around their adult children, all of which have turned their backs on margarine and are devoted consumers of butter.

So, ultimately, I guess you do the best you can for your children and they end up doing exactly the opposite when they're adults. Girl raised on margarine, now only allows butter into the house. Girl who hated home baked bread as a child because it made her different, now obsesses over baking her own bread. And my brothers... Well, now that they're all successful men with successful lives and careers... I know how to turn them back into gangly teenage boys again. All I have to mention is my mother's soybean casserole.

Easy Thursday Night

2005-02-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

Every cook has their bag of tricks. The particular trick I'm talking about tonight is that kind of easy dish that you can rely on when it's the end of the week and you're tired, or sick of ordering in or eating out or whatever.

I used to have that kind of dish. It was also the dish I made when my husband and I were poor. It was also the dish that helped to contribute to a 60+ pound weight gain during my college years and early 20s. We would make pasta (I've always preferred a thin spaghetti), chop up Polly-O mozzarella into small cubes, and mix the whole thing with jarred tomato sauce of our choosing. Yum, yum. The mozzarella would melt with along with the hot pasta and sauce, and you're ready to go. Add some beer (wine was out of the question during these days), and you're on your way to packing on some serious weight.

To my shock and amazement, I discovered that I have a friend that used to make the same dish. Of course, this was when he too was a starving artist living on the lower east side of Manhattan during the late 80s and early 90s. Here I thought I was the only person who figured out how to make a completely satisfying, cheap meal from ingredients you could pick up from any Korean deli, day or night. And as unappealing as this mess of goo seems now, being able to discuss this kind of desperate cooking with someone who understands has been a comfort.

Now that I've lost the 60 pounds and have a different way of viewing food (well, most of the time anyway), I have changed my Thursday night stand in meal. I have to say that I've made this recipe or a variation of it about twice a month, and it feeds both The Husband and I for dinner, and one of us for lunch (my husband will usually eat two servings in a seating).

I take about half a box of orzo, bring to a boil, and cook about one minute short of instructions. I then throw in two 10 oz. packages of spinach (I've tried bunches of spinach, too, but honestly, I can never get all of the dirt out and I'm too tired on Thursday nights to really give a shit) into the boiling water with orzo and cook for another minute or two until spinach is wilted. After draining, I mix the orzo and spinach with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of low-fat crumbled feta cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Pine nuts are a good addition. So are sun dried tomatoes. This is a variation from Everyday Food. Martha's recipe also includes about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint.

Whole thing takes about 12 minutes after you get the water boiling. Low fat, tons of spinach, and yummy.

Happy. Glass of wine, and I'm ready for the week to end.

Some Early Thoughts on "The Gourmet Cookbook"

2005-01-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is the best cookbook I have ever used. Ever.

When WNYC (our local NPR station) was doing their fundraising drive, I renewed my membership, mostly because Lenny Lopate was interviewing Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet magazine. They were giving away this great cookbook as part of the fundraising promotion.

I agree with the editorial review on amazon.com, and, as much as I hate to agree with any average person about their opinion of graphic design, the yellow titles are hard to read, and almost unusable. Too bad. Next time, the publisher should consult me!

Regardless, I've had the book for about two months now, and I've made quite a few recipes from it. After I received it, I thought, "Wow, I'm never going to buy another cookbook again." Of course, I've bought some more since then, but I do go back to Gourmet when I need just the right recipe.

I have discovered a wonderful used bookstore in my work neighborhood (I won't tell you where, or else you will buy me out of cookbooks!) that sells brand new cookbooks, wrapped in mylar protective jacket sleeves. They're all pretty much half price, and I've bought quite a few good books there over the past six months. One of the latest was Julia Child's, "Baking With Julia", which looks stunning and has a ton of great stuff, with a lot of excellent instruction.

However, when I wanted to use up the buttermilk left over in my fridge, I looked in Julia's book, the "Bread Bible", a few of the collected Martha Stewart Living yearly cookbooks, and where did I find the delicious and perfect recipe that I was looking for? The Gourmet Cookbook.

It's that kind of book. If you can't find what you want in another cookbook, just pull this tomb off the shelf, and it will most likely have it.

More on this later. I've tried a handful of recipes from this book at this point, so I'll give more critical commentary later, when I'm home and able to review it.

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

2005-01-31T16:54:00.000-05:00

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
Originally uploaded by grannyanny.

About 5 years ago, Martha Stewart (pre-jail time) ran a cookie contest. The winner was Grammy's Chocolate Cookies. They are incredibly simple, tons of butter, sugar, with dutch processes cocoa. The chilled dough is even better than the baked cookie. It's truly one of my favorite cookies.

I made a plate of these for my office holiday party this year. It got the usual raves. When searching Martha's site for this recipe to give to a friend, I found a recipe with the picture shown here.

I had to make it. That night, on my way home, I ran into Gourmet Garage on 7th Avenue South, and bought the bittersweet chocolate needed. However, because they were out of bars, I bought chips. But, who cares? Once it's all melted, it's all the same anyway. I thought I was going to make it that night for the hubby, but I fell asleep on the couch at 9:30.

Still obsessing over the receipe for the rest of the week, I pretty much planned a dinner party so I could make these cookies. I invited 8 people over (I've had as much as 18 for dinner before, so 8 was manageable). I made quite a bit of food, which I'll write about in another entry, but overall, I was happy with how these turned out.

Here's the recipe:

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

Makes 2 dozen; Prep time: 20 minutes; Total time: 45 minutes

Do not bake the cookies to a crisp; they are meant to be soft and chewy. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

1.  Preheat oven to 350°. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.

3.  Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

Note: Don’t worry if the batter seems thin. It should look more like brownie batter than cookie dough.

Copyright marthastewart.com (I put this on, so I'm not sued--but can anyone sue a weblogger?)

Here's the reality of this recipe:
It DOES make two dozen. I was shocked at this, as like most recipes, I was expecting it to make much less than it says it would. The timing was pretty accurate. Again, I find this is usually underestimated--particularly in prep time for anything that needs to be baked.

And, their note about overbaking is true. I put them in for 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. I think I would try this again with baking them for 10 minutes. Also, shape does matter. Their picture of the cookies is absolutely stunning. Stunning. You really need to shape the cookies in order the get them round like the picture. My first dozen weren't too round. I thought that maybe they would shape evenly in the oven, but for the subsequent dozen I rolled them up into a ball first. All of those chunks really get in the way of a good shape.

It was all pretty yummy in the end. Those delicious looking cracks on the top of the cookies do happen in reality, and one of my guests actually asked me how I got that to happen. I don't know. I'm not sure even which ingredient or ingredient combinations makes this happen, but it works.

I recommend this recipe.