What a red letter weekend: my 34th birthday! I woke up to coffee and red roses and eggs benedict made by KP. Lately we have been sprinkling Pereg Hawai’j spice in our coffee, which adds a wintery warm spice flavor of cardamom, clove and ginger.
Then I had a spa day at the Ritz downtown.
Dinner at Compere Lapin, my favorite restaurant of all time.
The most unusual cocktail, the Red Witch, had madeira, pinot noir, scotch, bourbon and an ice cube infused with pink peppercorns. Strange and perfect. I ordered it because it went well with my outfit.Black truffle pork stuffed tortellini Pork adobo with charred okra and some sort of delicious sauce.An unexpected dessert treat! Pralines among other sweets.
Cake and wine after that at the Wine Institute of New
Orleans, with chocolate doberge cake from the Bakery Bar. And I got to eat the
candle! Brilliant innovation by Let
Them Eat Candles. Thank you for the birthday treat!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For crust, place 30 cookies
in a food processor; cover and process until fine. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and
butter; process until combined. Press mixture into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches
up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
For filling, in a large bowl beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup
sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and flour with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat
in 1/2 cup cider just until combined. Stir in eggs, candied ginger, and fresh
ginger. Pour into crust-lined pan. Arrange gingersnap cookies over top. Place
on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until edges puff and
center appears nearly set.
Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a knife to
loosen sides of cheesecake from sides of pan. Cool 30 minutes more. Remove
sides of pan. Cool completely. Cover and chill 3 to 4 hours before serving.
For glaze, place remaining cider, cranberries, and remaining
1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve
sugar; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until syrupy.
Cool. Spoon over top of cheesecake and garnish with sage.
I didn’t pick a very deep pan, so I ended up having to make
another batch of crust, and I made a bunch of little personalized tart pan
cheesecakes, which were a hit!
Or the edible candles could go in these Sugar Bowl Bakery Brownie Bites (perfect portion-control size for a lunch time treat, individually wrapped).
My other recent obsession are these Quinoa Krunch treats—reminds me of the cereal I used to eat when I was a kid, back when it seemed everyone gave children candy for breakfast. These are dessert, but a pretty righteous dessert. They are slathered in dark chocolate, and are vegan, and gluten free.
We continue to sort through our favorites from the 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show. Dazzling task!
Thank you, Runamok Maple
Syrup for aging your maple syrup in whiskey barrels, making it the perfect
match for the slightly bitter flavors of the humble and much maligned brussel sprout.
Maple-Glazed Brussel Sprouts
Recipe by Andie Ellis
1 pound of brussel sprouts, core trimmed and halved
Kosher salt
Runamok Maple Syrup, 3 Tablespoons (so many delicious flavors, my favorite is the Cinnamon and Vanilla-infused)
Balsamic Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spread the brussel sprouts on a
sheet pan, sprinkle with kosher salt and olive oil. Toss and roast for 25
minutes. Then toss the sprouts again after evenly sprinkling with balsamic and
the maple syrup. Roast another 15
minutes until the sprouts are caramelized and tender.
Delicious! One of the
secrets to eating more veggies is simply to have them around and ready. We have taken to doubling recipes, cooking on
sheet pans and having them in the fridge to put in your bento box or lunch container. Try this technique using walnut instead of
olive oil, so good! Or try this on carrots or cauliflower.
After you’ve eaten several of bushels of brussels in the
name of dinner a few nights a week, perhaps you’ve earned a little indulgence,
say, a maple and bacon infused popover for breakfast? Basically this tastes
like French Toast in a muffin.
Maple-Bacon Popovers
Adapted from Food and Wine
Makes 10-12 popovers, depending on the size of your popover
pan
1 cup finely chopped thick-cut bacon slices
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/4 cup Runamok Maple Syrup plus more for brushing
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 425°F with oven rack in lower third of oven.
Cook chopped bacon in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high, stirring
occasionally, until crisp and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer
to a plate lined with paper towels. Allow drippings to cool slightly in
skillet, about 5 minutes; pour into a small heatproof bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons melted butter to drippings; stir to
combine. Spoon 1 teaspoon drippings mixture into each cup of a 12-cup popover
pan or large muffin pan. (Discard any remaining drippings mixture.) Place pan
in oven to heat.
Fastest metabolism in the West.
Among other things, loved the On the Go Edamame Tropical Fusion snack with dried fruit. Crunchy,, organic, and satisfying. Make sure you have a couple of these in your purse if ever you take my mother for a 1-2 hour outing. #humangasguzzler. And maybe a few Vital Farms eggs.
Vital Farms had virtual reality views of their gorgeous free range farmed chickens– they looked so happy!
Recycle-able and delicious pour over coffee!
Have a coffee snob in your office? Oh, surprise, is it you? At the Winter Fancy Food Fest we loved stumbling on the Copper Cow portable pour-over, an ingenious way to avoid the capsule coffee makers decorating everyone’s break room. The disposable (and recyclable) filter comes loaded with delicious Vietnamese coffee, all you need is a mug and boiling water. No mess. These are a few of our favorite thiiiiiings!
We had a blast at our first Fancy Food Show in San Francisco
last weekend! Among the celebrities, it was a thrill to meet our purveyor of
fine brie, Christel from La Fromagerie Henri Hutin!
We continue to find ways to enjoy our brie—in our Portland kitchen, Andie made brie bites!
These delicious bites were delicious paired with a glass of pinot noir, but could also be brunch-ified with Mimosas, eggs and good espresso. The combinations of the crunchy phyllo surrounding a bit of salty ham and sweet honeyed pear, topped with the brie hot and melty and a sprinkle of the oat crumble. Oh my gosh, let the holiday season just start over, risk accepted! Thank you, Belletoile, for extending the holiday!
Sweet and Savory Brie
Bites
20 sheets phyllo dough thawed
6 tablespoons butter melted
12 slices thinly cut mordello ham
or proscuitto
1/3 cup honey
2 pears thinly sliced OR diced
apples
3/4 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup raw walnuts roughly
chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon whiskey
4
2 ounce wheels French brie cut each into 16 equal wedges
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly grease two (12-cup) muffin/cupcake tins.
Take a sheet of phyllo and brush
with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and repeat until you have five
phyllo sheets stacked up. Cut the sheets into 6 equal squares and push into the
prepared cupcake tins, fitting the phyllo snugly into the tin. Repeat with the
remaining sheets of phyllo dough.
Now take the prosciutto and cut
each piece in half lengthwise. Fit the prosciutto in a single layer inside the
cups.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until
golden just set. Watch carefully and don’t let them burn. Remove the cups from
the molds and place on a baking sheet.
Meanwhile, add the honey to a skillet
with sides and bring to a boil, boil 3-5 minutes or until the honey just starts
to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the pear slices. Turn off heat and add
the whiskey. Let the pears sit in the syrup for a few minutes, but no longer.
You don’t want the pears to become too soft to work with. Remove the pears from
the honey.
In a bowl, combine the oats,
walnuts, brown sugar and flour. Use your hands to mix in the butter until the
mixture is moist and crumbly.
Place a few pears inside each
phyllo cup. Add 1 wedge of brie and top with a tablespoon of the walnut-oat
mixture.
Place back in the oven and bake
for 15 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Remove from the oven and
transfer to a serving plate.
Always nice to pair cheese with something green. I used Al Dente spinach farfalletti pasta with red onions and collard greens cooked down with some garlic and red chili flakes. Finished with olive oil. Literally a 15-20 minute dinner, and delicious. This brand of small batch noodles cooks so very quickly, and had a nice texture and taste. I like that they say the noodles are made in small batches by real people, I think I can taste that difference.
Collard Green Spinach Farfalletti Pasta
1 package Al Dente spinach farfalletti pasta
½ red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
2 bunches collard greens, chopped
1 TB Paleo Powder spice
½ TB red chili flakes
Cook down onion with olive oil in cast iron pan until translucent
and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic in last minute and saute one
minute until fragrant. Add collard greens and cook down until soft, about 10
more minutes. Add Paleo powder and chili flakes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in
boiling water per package instructions (really does only take about 5 minutes,
so fast!) After water strained out from noodles, toss with a finishing olive
oil (about 1-2 TB) and add the collards mixture. So green and delicious! A
Vitamin K and Omega-3 bomb.
And then, shout out to the Swedish Sugar Buster sparkling water drink Good Idea, which has the added bonus of amino acids and chromium. Way more flavor than La Croix, and the Swedish Flag on the can which pleases KP.
We learned so much in San Francisco and can’t wait to share some of the new trends of fancy food for the coming year! 2019 promises tastiness and health!
Heading to San Francisco this weekend with the Bake This Day team to enjoy the Winter Fancy Food Fest. Don’t worry, I’m bringing a king cake as my boarding pass.
On the advent of this gargantuan Specialty Food Association extravaganza, I’ve been contemplating “What is fancy food?” Must it come from an exotic place? Must it be rare or precious or expensive? I’m not so sure that’s true. I marvel when cooks can make simple ingredients taste fancy. The perfect roasted vegetable. Let’s consider a broccoli. Humble little cruciferous, appetizing as a tree.
First time growing broccoli in the garden! The first head!
But roast it in some olive oil until the green edges turn to
caramel fond? Now that is fancy. The broccoli is coming up in my bathtub garden,
and I’m drooling at the thought of garlicked up like this:
Caramelized Broccoli
with Garlic, Plain and Simple
2 heads of broccoli (1 1/4 pounds total), stems peeled and
heads halved lengthwise
1/2 cup water 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
Add the broccoli, cut side down, cover and cook over moderate heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 8 minutes. Add the water, cover and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the water has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the garlic and the crushed red pepper and cook uncovered until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Season the broccoli with salt and black pepper, drizzle with the lemon juice and serve.
I like to serve this over rice, or with a juicy chicken main
course. Or honestly, sometimes I just eat this broccoli for dinner all by
itself because it is so delicious.
Another fancy treat is a spicy sweet potato soup in the winter time. This Burmese soup is fancy because it essentially requires every single spice on your rack to make an appearance in the soup pot. I dedicate this dish to Pereg who I can’t wait to meet at the Fancy Food Fest, I have been a longtime fan of their gluten-free flours and tasty spices.
Burmese Samusa Soup
Adapted from Food and Wine
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
3 to 4 small chiles de árbol or other dried chiles
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped garlic (about 12 garlic cloves)
1/2 cup tamarind water (basically just tamarind paste soaked in 1 cup
hot water, then strained)
1/2 cup dried yellow lentils
1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped
2 red Thai chiles or 1/2 jalapeño, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Chopped fresh mint, thinly sliced cabbage, fresh cilantro leaves,
thinly sliced red Thai chiles, and lime wedges, for serving
Toast cumin and mustard seeds in a large, dry saucepan over
medium, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and
grind into a coarse powder. Add oil to pan, and heat over medium-high. Add
cumin mixture, chiles de árbol, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring constantly,
until fragrant, about 25 seconds. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in onion.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 15 minutes. Stir in
garlic, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in
salt, paprika, and turmeric.
Whisk together 1/2 cup water and chickpea flour in a small
bowl until well combined. Add chickpea flour mixture, broth, tamarind water,
lentils, and potato to pan. Stir to combine, and bring a boil over medium-high.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until lentils and potato are tender,
about 20 minutes. Stir in Thai chiles and garam masala.
Garnish servings with chopped mint, sliced cabbage, cilantro
leaves, sliced Thai chiles, and lime wedges.
In the airport now and enjoying these delicious and Omega-3
rich crackers by Partners. They
couple well with a wedge of La
Fromagerie Henri Hutin brie I managed to sneak into my carry-on.
In the next few weeks I’ll be recapping what I learned at
the Fancy Food Fest, recommendations for new products coming out this year,
food trends. Bake This Day was thrilled to be invited and have packed our
tennis shoes for the several football-fields-expanse of food excitement we are
sure to encounter at the Moscone Center!
Life is a dream. I’ve decided every Friday from here forward is Fromage Friday, to commemorate what happened the first Friday of the year. Or perhaps 2019 should be dubbed The Year of Cheese. Two pizza-sized brie wheels arrived for sampling from La Fromagerie Henri Hutin with Brie Couronne and Belletoile Triple Cream.
Good heavens, mon amie, a French existential reverie! Jean-Paul
Sartre famously said something like Freedom is what you do with what’s been
done to you. Well, cheese happened to me. To throw in some more wise adages, To
whom much [cheese] has been given, much will be required.
Brie Courrone is my favoriteAlive and Well make probiotic olives with Mother Brine which can be used again after the olives are eaten to make salad dressings!
I’ve been experimenting with pairing the cheeses with Alive and Well probiotic olives,
with pepper jams, serrano chili sauce. Under poached eggs on crispy Yukon gold
potatoes… we are in brie for days.
Potato Eggs Benedict
with Kimchi Hollandaise
Adapted from Food and Wine
2 teaspoons white vinegar
8 large eggs
32 Crispy Potato Rounds (below!)
1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Kimchi Hollandaise
½ inch cuts of brie cheese
Fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. Fill a large,
deep skillet with water; add vinegar, and bring to a simmer over medium. Crack
each egg into a separate small bowl or custard cup, and gently slip eggs into
simmering water. Poach over medium, maintaining a simmer, until whites are set
and yolks are still runny, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer
poached eggs to ice water bath to cool. (The eggs can be refrigerated in the
ice water bath for up to 24 hours.)
Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a simmer over
medium. Reduce heat to medium-low. Using a slotted spoon, return poached eggs
to simmering water, and poach just until eggs are warmed through, exactly 1
minute. Using slotted spoon, remove each egg, and place on top of 4 Crispy
Potato Rounds. But first! Layer onto each potato round cluster a slice or two
of brie cheese. Sprinkle with hot smoked paprika and flaky sea salt. Serve
immediately with Hollandaise.
Crispy Potato Rounds
4 medium (5-ounces) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, and cut
into ¾- to 1-inch disks (32 disks total)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Place potato disks in a medium saucepan, and add water to
cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons salt,
reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are just tender but not
falling apart, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well, and pat dry.
Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high,
and cook until butter is melted. Add potato disks, and cook until browned and
crusty, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, and season with pepper
and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Kimchi Hollandaise
Sauce
Adapted from Food and Wine
1 cup unsalted butter (8 ounces)
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons kimchi
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium. Place egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender; process until smooth. With blender running, gradually drizzle in hot melted butter until sauce is thickened, about 1 minute. Scrape butter mixture into a bowl; stir in kimchi. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
We are looking forward to seeing these companies at the Winter Fancy Food Fest next week in San Francisco. The drooling has already begun!
Who is ready to toast tonight!? I’m procrastinating from writing my New Year’s resolution and speech, instead have been using the remaining shard of vacation to binge-marathon-watch Harry Potter, and also I have been futzing around in the kitchen whipping together butter and sugar and cinnamon and espresso liqueur and finding all the sequin-bedazzled clothing items in my possession to don to the Midcity Ball tonight!
I’ve been enjoying Southern Living’s Party Cookbook by Elizabeth Heiskell which is a remake of a 1970s classic. There are tips for how to toast, which are appreciated this New Year’s Eve. I’m particularly excited about hacking their She-Crab Soup recipe. The photography in the cookbook is gorgeous.
Always a good idea for party planners to be mindful of guests who may have allergies and food intolerances!
For those with dairy allergies, I’ve discovered a delicious ice cream to suit your lactose-intolerant fancy! Reveri is plant-based vegan ice cream that actually tastes good! I prefer the chocolate, myself. Such a righteous way to start the new year!
Another title on the shelf I’d been meaning to enjoy is The Cheesecake Bible Second Edition by George Geary, with recipes for three hundred different types of cheesecakes. For tonight, for extra pep to get us to midnight, an espresso delight.
Make the crust by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a cheesecake pan (9 inch) or a springform pan with 3-inch sides. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
To make the filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until very smooth, about 3 min. Mix in salt and sour cream, then add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in liqueur and melted butter. Pour into frozen crust, smooth out to the sides of the pan. Bake until top is light brown and center has only a slight jiggle, about 40-50 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
*For the cookie crumbs, you could use any store-bought cookie, but here is a recipe if you want to make your own. (Note, these are not great for-eating cookies.) This recipe makes about 3 cups (which is about two crusts worth).
Cappuccino Cookie Crumbs
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 tbsp espresso powder
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt.
In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add egg, and espresso powder. Then cocoa powder, flour, salt and mix until combined. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350, roll into balls and smoosh flat with the palms of your hand on parchment paper. Bake 18-20 minutes, let cool completely on baking sheets for 10 min, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Make into crumbs by putting in food processor.
**Coffee Flavored Syrup
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup coffee flavored liqueur
In saucepan bring sugar and water to rapid boil. Boil until sugar is dissolved, 5-8 min. Remove from heat and stir in liqueur. Let cool, drizzle over cheese cake! I also used chocolate covered coffee beans.
1 cup salted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces and softened
1 1/3 cups finely chopped pecans
Hot pepper jelly PRN
Pulse the flour, cheese and butter in a food processor until dough forms. Shape tablespoons of dough into 1 inch balls and roll each in chopped pecans.
Place the balls on baking sheets lined with parchment. Press a thumb in the center of each to make an indentation.
Chill for 30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake in batches for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. I had to recreate the indentations when they came out of the oven. Cool on wire racks for 30 minutes, and spoon about a tsp of jelly into each indentation.
We had such a wonderful and meaningful New Year’s celebration in the neighborhood. We made toasts to tradition, bearing in mind the wisdom of Harriet Monroe who in 1913 cautioned “tradition ceases to be of use the moment its walls are strong enough to break a butterfly’s wing.” Beware walls, my friends. And have a sparkling New Year.
The holiday season is always a little more metallic here in New Orleans. Also, it is the end of the NOLA Tricentennial!
Last week KP and I had Swamp Solstice, a charity bicycle ride, and this time our theme was Queen “I Want to Ride My Bicycle!” We had toasts, Freddie Mercury impersonations, dance-offs, bratwurst and pretzels and so much more.
One of my favorite activities of the year. Our charity supported was ISLA- Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, and with our t-shirt sales we raised nearly $500! Please donate if you feel so inspired. Don’t stop me now!
I’m not sure how I lived before my InstaPot—our latest kitchen appliance which has allowed me to trash both my rice cooker and my slow cooker. What a fabulous device, especially for legume fans like me who really want to use dry beans, but usually can’t remember to soak them within an hour of making a plan to cook a bean dish. Here is a great Monday night special for all my New Orleanians.
So many great recipes in this cookbook, and I MARVEL at how simple and fast they are! I am a pressure cooker convert!
RICE
1 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
chopped parsley for garnish
RED BEANS & SAUSAGE
1 cup dried red beans
1 pound cooked andouille sausage sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 medium green bell pepper seeded and diced
1/2 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Rice: Add the rice, salt, and 1 1/2 cups water to the Instant Pot inner pot and stir. Secure the lid, ensuring the valve is turned to the Sealing position. Select the Rice button. The timer will self-calculate.
Once cooking is complete, turn the valve to the Venting position to release the pressure. When all the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork. Transfer the rice to a large bowl, garnish with parsley, and set aside. Wash and dry the inner pot.
Red Beans & Sausage: Add all the remaining ingredients plus 3 cups water to the inner pot and stir well. Secure the lid, ensuring the valve is turned to the Sealing position. Press the Pressure Cook button and set the time to 45 minutes. I made a double batch for a larger party and found that needed 60 minutes.
Once cooking is complete, allow the appliance to natural release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the valve to the Venting position to release the pressure.
When all the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid and stir well. Serve the bean/sausage mixture and rice either separately or combined.
Hey, this is a snazzy gadget, the Hungry Fan 3 in 1 Portable Slow Cooker—keeps your food cold or hot for hours, also can get your food started, and set it to slow cook inside this little sleeping bag for cast iron! I kept my rice warm in this until my guest arrived, three hours after I made it, and it was steaming hot! Amazing! Really hoping I’ll get to use it for an upcoming Saints Play-Off game!
This goes great with a roast chicken, and in particular, I think this chicken is a holiday show stopper.
Juicy Garlic Chicken
Adapted from Food and Wine
BRINE AND CHICKEN
8 cups water
1 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 garlic head, halved horizontally
1 lemon, thinly sliced
5 chili peppers (I use dedos de moca, a Brazilian type), diced, with seeds if you want really spicy!
6 thyme sprigs
3 rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
10 cups ice
1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded or reserved for another use – I used two Cornish hens with this recipe, and it was plenty of garlic rub and only about 10 minutes less cook time. Very juicy, indeed!
GARLIC RUB
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
BOARD DRESSING
Roasted chicken drippings
Olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest plus 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Make the brine and chicken
Combine 8 cups water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, garlic, lemon, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, and bay leaves in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Add ice, and whisk until ice melts. Add chicken. Place a plate upside down on top of chicken to submerge completely. Cover and chill 12 hours.
Meanwhile, make the garlic rub
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut top from garlic head to just expose cloves (about 1/2 inch). Drizzle exposed top with oil. Wrap garlic head in aluminum foil. Place directly on rack in preheated oven, and roast until cloves are tender and creamy, about 40 minutes. Carefully open foil packet, and let cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Squeeze out garlic pulp, and place in a medium bowl. Add vinegar, rosemary, mustard, salt, and lemon zest, and stir until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to use. I will be using this recipe for other things.
Remove chicken from brine. Discard brine. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Spread garlic rub evenly over chicken breasts and legs. Place chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, and chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
Remove from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Tie legs of chicken with kitchen twine, and tuck wing tips underneath. Roast chicken until a thermometer inserted in thigh registers 165°F, about 1 hour and 30 minutes, loosely tenting chicken with foil halfway through roasting.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board with a juice groove or to a flat cutting board set inside a rimmed baking sheet to catch juices. Let stand 10 minutes. Carve chicken, and transfer to a platter.
Make the board dressing: Scrape carving juices and pan drippings into a measuring cup, and add enough olive oil to equal 1/3 cup. Add shallot, parsley, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, and pepper; stir to combine. Serve dressing with chicken.
Merry Christmas and Happy Everything to all– don’t forget to keep exercising, even if it means getting your friends to all dress up like Santa to make it interesting. Holiday Love from Bake This Day.
It’s the Mooooosssstt Wonderful Tiiiiiimmme of the year! All I want to wear is velvet and roses.
New Orleans is full of gorgeous glittered and trimmed pine boughs, giant gingerbread houses and the smell of magnolia.
This recipe is for beef short ribs, but I have discovered this marinade tastes pretty good on practically any sort of meat you apply it to, or vegetable!
Kalbi Marinade for Corn and Whatever else
Adapted from Food and Wine
3/4 cup malt vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sambal oelek
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 garlic cloves
4 pounds flanken-style beef short ribs (sliced 1/3 inch thick across the bones)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 ears of corn, shucked and cut crosswise into thirds
Salt
Charred Okra Relish, for serving
In a food processor, puree the vinegar with the olive oil, sambal, fish sauce and garlic. Transfer 1/2 cup of the kalbi marinade to a bowl. On a large baking sheet, brush the ribs with the remaining marinade and let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in the processor, pulse the butter until smooth. With the machine on, gradually add the reserved 1/2 cup of kalbi marinade. Scrape the kalbi butter into the bowl.
Light a grill. Brush the corn with kalbi butter and grill over moderately high heat, turning and brushing with more butter, until lightly charred, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a large platter.
Season the ribs lightly with salt and grill over high heat, turning once, until nearly cooked through and lightly charred, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to the platter and serve with the okra relish.
Normandie Spritz
Adapted from Food and Wine
1 ounce dry vermouth, preferably Dolin
1 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce grapefruit liqueur
1/4 ounce blanco tequila
Ice
2 1/2 ounces chilled club soda
1/2 grapefruit wheel, for garnish
In a cocktail shaker, combine the vermouth, St-Germain, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, grapefruit liqueur, tequila. Fill the shaker with ice and shake for 5 seconds. Strain into a chilled, ice-filled collins glass. Stir in the club soda and garnish with the grapefruit wheel.
After some late nights at the Roosevelt and at holiday parties, sometimes you just need a little frozen pizza as a nightcap at 3AM. May I recommend this delicious and slightly less sinful Caulipower Pizza—gluten free! Really hits the spot.
And in the AM, when you awaken like a rotten pumpkin smashed by a glass slipper, put Paleo Powder Pink seasoning on your eggs and collard greens. Oh flavors, deck the dining halls.
Cookie season! It doesn’t feel like the holidays until I’ve made my first batch of gingerbread cookies, which was yesterday. I used A Cookie To Celebrate by Jana Douglass, and went crazy with edible glitter and a new recipe for royal icing. This book teaches about piping and flooding (verbs I had no idea had anything to do with frosting cookies until now). Lots of beautiful pictures for inspiration!
Royal Icing Recipe
4 lb powdered sugar
1 cup powdered egg whites
¾ cup water
4 TB vanilla
Mix ingredients together slowly in mixer with paddle attachment. Can take up to 10 minutes, watch very closely for the development of gloss and peaks. I underdid my first batch, too dry and paste-like, almost unpipe-able, but then I added water and we were all good. I won’t pretend I have any gorgeous food calligraphy skills, but I do sincerely love all the ladies who came to brunch, listed by cookie name-tags below.
What an extroverted time of year. The houses are loud with lights, trees are glittered up and strung with metallic bulbs and florals. The craving to wear more and more velvet.
As the holiday train starts to pick up steam, perhaps you are feeling a bit peaked and wan? Too much holiday boozing already?I’ve been testing out various supplements, which, I will say I am trying as a regular human and not recommending as my doctor self (consult your own doc before dabbling in supplements!) BUT, a little B vitamin and N-Acetyl Cysteine always seems like a good idea to me when trying to mitigate the damage to the liver during the holidays, and Purple Tree has put together just such a remedy. I’ve tried these and can report that I did not turn into a violet or have any sort of wild toxicity that I know of yet. And maybe I metabolized alcohol a little more swiftly.
Then there is Synergy’s line of organic supplements, blue-green algae for your chlorophyll and buku vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids, Cell Protector packed with superfoods and microgreens.
Zatik has Black Seed Oil which has some evidence in lowering blood pressure and in making your cholesterol numbers look better on paper. I like those little nigella seeds on my home-made naan, happy to hear that the seed oils have some added benefits.
And then who doesn’t love to eat gummies after a long day of feeling pressured to eat kale and walnuts? These gummies from Vitamin Friends are fun and probiotic. Tasty too! With Vitamin C and echinacea for a little immune boost.
You know, if you’re going to overdo it a bit this holiday season with cookies and cocktails, maybe you should think about overdoing it a little bit in the vitamin department too. Or just alternate fistfuls of broccoli sprouts and salmon and buckwheat groats with each cookie. I know you’ll make good choices. Listen to your body. Stay in touch with your primary care provider. And move, as much as possible. Join a parade, perhaps. If you can’t find one, come to NOLA.
Our sweet bulldog is now half-blind. In a Shakespearean twist, her eyeball had to come out last Tuesday. She is adjusting like a champ. We are resorting to pirate costumes to adjust ourselves, but she is in much less pain now without the tumor that had invaded the eye, and so we are grateful. She got a few extra servings of turkey in consolation. Didn’t we all?
The holidays can be hard to keep healthy because of how often we eat out at parties and family dinners and in settings where we can’t control our options. Ever more important to make sure the meals you can control are packed with veggies and the good stuff—and for this, vegan cookbooks are where it’s at for me. This weekend, post-Thanksgiving bloat, I made this spicy squash soup and enjoyed it with pieces of whole wheat flax toast—the texture is as though it has cream added…but it doesn’t.
2-3 small sweet potatoes, peeled, cut1/ into chunks
1 small onion, chopped
2 yellow beets, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
5 dedo de moca chili peppers, chopped (any medium spicy peppers will work)
2 tsp Penzeys The Now Curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp dried thyme
32 oz vegetable stock
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 400. Cut squash in half and remove seeds and soft center. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and 1 chopped garlic clove and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, skin side up. Roast for 25 minutes, until skin is soft and pliable and punctures easily when pressed. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
To a soup pot, add onion, potatoes, and beets with a drizzle of olive oil and heat until onions are translucent. Eventually add garlic and hot peppers, let saute for another 2 minutes. Then finally add spices and herbs and stir to coat.
Add the stock to deglaze and simmer to soften the potatoes, another 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the squash from the skin and chop. Add to the soup and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes. Finally, ladle soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Apparently you can substitute any kind of squash or pumpkin for the kuri squash—so I used butternut because I have four of them leaning on one another in the fridge.
Everything But the Bagel Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Another healthy snack I love is pumpkin seeds roasted in olive oil with Everything But the Bagel spice. I used about 2 TB olive oil to 2 cups of pumpkins seeds and 1-2 TB spice. Roast the seeds at 350 for 10 minutes to dry out, and then coat with oil and spice and return to the oven to roast for another 10 minutes. Also sprinkle in some chia seeds (on everything, btw).
Pereg has so many great spices. Another, Zahtar, I recently experimented with in my Squash Gratin recipe. Delicious, add just 2 tsp.
And then, we have our desserts. This Gingerbread Bundt Cake was my contribution to Thanksgiving. Delicious.
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Adapted from Nielsen-Massey’s recipe
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
⅓ cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
4 large whole eggs
Brown Sugar Glaze
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
3 heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon orange extract
Gingerbread Bundt Cake Batter
Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Place a cooling rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly coat a 10-cup Bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt together into a bowl and whisk to remove any lumps. Set aside until ready to use. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, molasses, vanilla and orange extracts. Set aside until ready to use.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add half of the dry ingredients, and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides of bowl, add half of the sour cream mixture, and mix until perfectly smooth. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the remaining sour cream mixture.
Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt cake pan. Bake until deep golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Set the cake on a cooling rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto the prepared cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before glazing.
Brown Sugar Glaze
Sift the confectioners’ sugar and set aside until ready to use.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Add more liquid for a more glaze-able consistency, as desired.
Slowly pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake, allowing the excess to drip down the sides. If the glaze is too thick, add milk one tablespoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin, add sifted confectioners’ sugar one tablespoon at a time. Let the glaze set for about 15 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. Serve immediately or store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
