Food. Every. Day.
5/20/2012: Beer waffles (adapted from here) w/ raspberries and whipped cream. Sundays were made for fun breakfasts.
5/21/2012: Jasmine rice is my fave of all the rice.
5/22/2012: Roasted tomatoes will never get old.
5/23/2012: Pretty farmer’s market mint. I put it in a batch of iced tea!
5/24/2012: Raspberry snack.
5/25/2012: Perfecting my bun recipe. I think it may be just right this time!
5/26/2012: Sometimes Saturday is perfect for pasta making.
It’s been a fickle few days in my kitchen. I just can’t decide what to make/bake and when I finally land on something, I get too crazy with it. There were exploding pies, bits of yolk in custard, and tough crust. Le sigh. But! It ended well, my brain stopped being crazy and I went with a classic, in a smaller, hand-hold-able package.
These pies have a flaky, tender, buttery crust, and a syrupy, lightly spiced, blueberry filling. I opted to make these into little hand pies since I never seem to be able to slice a whole pie with any luck…and, individual pies are fun. You get yours, I get mine, and maybe we split another? Instead of the standard whipped cream, I softened a few ounces of goat cheese, mixed with a little honey, and folded it into unsweetened whipped cream. The goat cheese cream has a delicate flavor–slight tang, lush creaminess, sweet honey–it’s really good and pairs so nicely with the jammy pies.
Blueberry Hand Pies
Makes about 16 round, double crust, hand pies.
Crust from Martha Stewart
for the crust I used White Lily brand, a soft wheat flour, if you don’t have it in your area All-Purpose is totally fine. I have made many crusts using All-Purpose flour with excellent results.
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks (8ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
egg wash and cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
Filling:
1 pint blueberries, rinsed
juice of 1/2 lemon
4-6 tablespoons vanilla sugar OR plain sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 scant tablespoon cornstarch
a tiny pinch of cinnamon
Goat Cheese Cream:
2 ounces very soft goat cheese
2 teaspoons honey
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
for the crust:
Cut butter into cubes and freeze while you gather the remaining ingredients.
Fill a glass measurer with a few ice cubes and 1/2 cup water.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fngers or pastry blender, blend cold butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs–leaving some pea-sized chunks of butter in the mix. A few tablespoons at a time, begin incorporating the ice water–how much depends on how humid it is where you live–just until the crumbs begin to come together when pressed. Turn out dough, knead 1 or 2 times just to combine, divide dough, press into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
for filling and baking:
Preheat oven to 400*F. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
Make an egg wash with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk. Make cinnamon sugar, combining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Set both aside.
In a large bowl, combine blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Toss to combine.
On a clean, smooth surface dusted with flour, roll out 1 disc of dough at a time, keeping the other in the refrigerator, to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut rounds of dough using a biscuit cutter–try to get an even number as each pie will require a top and bottom crust. Spoon a small amount of filling into the center of a crust round, brush the edges with egg wash, top with another round, crimp the edges with a fork, brush the top with more wash, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and cut a vent in the top–repeat with remaining dough and filling and place on baking sheet with about 1 inch of space between each pie. Bake for 20 minutes until the bottoms and tops are golden brown, cool on a wire rack.
**Note: I like to keep one baking sheet of pies in the freezer while the other bakes. This ensures maximum crust-flaking.
for goat cheese cream:
In large bowl, whip cream to medium peaks. In another bowl, mix goat cheese with honey until combined. Mix in about 1/4 of the whipped cream, to lighten the consistency of the cheese. Fold in the remaining cream. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with warm or room temperature pies.
5/13/2012: Ancho Chile tea, for enchilada sauce-making.
5/14/2012: it’s pretty much sun-tea season.
5/15/2012: The last of the dandelion’s in the yard.
5/16/2012: Nails of the week, purple + gold flakes.
5/17/2012: Crafting and repairing.
5/18/2012: Withering roses, still pretty though.
5/19/2012: We paid a visit to the nursery and I brought home this little lemon balm plant. It smells AMAZING.
Sometimes there are things in life that seem to follow you around. Needling, restless things that haunt your brain.
Like, last week, I ran into the biggest spider I have ever seen in our bathtub. Normal sized spiders FREAK ME OUT, but this one was abnormal. It was the size of my palm and it’s legs stretched over the edges of the drain. It was a monster…and the memory of it is haunting me. I can’t stop thinking about it and I’m sure it’s friends are lurking somewhere in my home. Big sigh.
Pound cake is something else that has haunted me…for years! I have made pound cake after pound cake and none of them have turned out. Either they sink in the center, come out way to dense and wet, or just lack flavor. I want the perfect crumb and flavor–dense while still being light, buttery, and better after resting a day or two.
I found this pound cake recipe via Orangette. Not only is it the perfect texture, it comes with a heavy sprinkling of hazelnuts, my favorite–the original recipe call for pistachios, which I believe would make one special cake. So, even though I am still haunted by the spider encounter, I can get over my pound cake issue… finally.
Hazelnut Pound Cake
Adapted from Orangette
The original recipe calls for citrus zest, which I left out, but I think this version would be lovely with some orange zest.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
4 Tablespoons half & half or whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped coarsely
Preheat the oven to 325*F. Spray a 9x5x3 inch pan with cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving an overhang on two edges.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with electric beaters, beat butter until creamy and light, 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat to incorporate, 1-2 more minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, to incorporate well, scraping the bowl as needed. Add extracts and half&half and beat to combine. Fold in the flour mixture and 1/2 of the hazelnuts. Scrape batter into the prepared pan, smooth top and sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts. Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 1/2 hours (I started checking it at about 60 minutes). Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Can be kept, wrapped in plastic at room temperature, for a week.
5/6/2012: I love eggs…and, I have a hard time taking photos of things in my hand.
5/7/2012: Pink roses this time.
5/8/2012: Hazelnuts are my fave. I’ll be posting the recipe I used them in soon!
5/9/2012: Baby Italian Parsely, kitchen window garden.
5/10/2012: Sunning some dough for these buns.
5/11/2012: My favorite corner of our yard is Spring Crazy!
5/12/2012: Favorite grocery bag from the produce stand of my childhood. My mom and I still stop there anytime we’re in the area.
Though your hair and glasses may have lost some volume over the years, your generosity of spirit and capacity for love have not. Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful Mom. XO!
Let’s talk about these carrots.
I’ve always been lukewarm about carrots. Sure, I’ve eaten plenty of carrot sticks in my day..and inhaled little shreds of carrots into my lungs, sending myself into one of those ugly-coughing-fits, I hope I’m not the only one. Most of the cooked carrots I’ve had have been those little whittled dudes–aka baby carrots, aka NOT an actual baby carrot–or mushy coins taking up too much space on my plate. I never loved or hated carrots, I just didn’t really have any feelings for them.
You know?
I decided I needed to get over it. Mostly because I love those bunches of carrots with their frilly tops and spindly bodies. I wanted, so badly, to love to eat carrots as much as I liked to look at them. I went for roasting, a surefire way to prepare pretty much any vegetable. I liked the idea of sweet spices, a bit of heat, and a bit of acid. Cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne get whisked into honey thinned out with lemon, carrots get tossed with the mixture, drizzled with oil, and sprinkled with salt. It all gets tossed onto a baking sheet and hits a hot oven until the thin ends are crisp and caramelized, while the thick ends manage to be tender yet retain a bit of bite.
My carrot indifference has turned into carrot love. Love wins!
Spice Roasted Carrots
I have used maple syrup instead of honey for these carrots with great results. You can omit the ginger and cayenne if you want, but I think the cumin and cinnamon are a must. Also, I should have weighed my carrots to give you and exact amount, but this recipe is easily adaptable for any amount. It’s sort of a toss it into a bowl situation.
2 bunches of carrots, tops removed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
big pinch of salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tablespoon honey
oil for pan and drizzling (I have used both grape seed and olive with fine results)
Preheat oven to 425*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and drizzle the parchment with oil.
Scrub or peel carrots. In a large bowl whisk together honey, lemon, and spices. Toss carrots with the dressing. Put the dressing coated carrots onto the baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, toss, and roast an additional 10-15 minutes–depending on how large your carrots are and the doneness you would like.
These carrots are great with roasted or grilled pork loin, or with chicken.
So, I know that America’s favorite Mexican food and booze holiday has passed, but margaritas aren’t just appropriate for Cinco de Mayo…and I know it’s only Monday, but a girl can dream of the weekend, right?
Sean and I aren’t major party-people, we’re the stay-at-home type…but that doesn’t mean we’ll pass up any excuse to enjoy Mexican food (arguably one of our favorites) and cocktails. These margaritas are super simple–in both execution and ingredients. I mixed these up in a carafe so we had our cocktails ready to pour. One could easily double or even triple this recipe for a crowd. I’m not much of a blended drinks kind of gal–I like my margaritas on the rocks with a crunchy salted rim. I used flaky Maldon salt for these, to up the crunch factor…kosher salt is also a good choice, or that margarita salt sold in that sombrero shaped box.
There aren’t any fancy additives like bitters or top-notch tequila–though, I’m sure this cocktail would be elevated by either–just lime, water, honey, and booze. Fresh lime adds that tell-tale tang and cuts the sharpness of the tequila, while the honey brings it’s floral sweetness. Simple and refreshing.
Simplest Margarita
Makes plenty of cocktails for 2, just enough for 4.
This is more of a ratio situation that recipe. It’s a 2:2:2:1 sort of concoction, 2 parts each Lime/Water/Tequila to 1 part Honey–Agave would be an appropriate substitution for the honey. I have also made these with grapefruit, subbing half of the lime juice for grapefruit. Also, if you can stand it, use fresh squeezed juice.
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (6-7 limes)
1 cup silver tequila (I used Jose Cuervo)
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
salt for rims and lime wedges for garnish
In a glass measurer, dissolve honey in water. Pour lime, tequila, and honeyed water into a pitcher or carafe. Stir. Using a wedge of lime, moisten the edge of your glasses of choice and dip into a plate of salt to rim. Place ice cubes into the glasses and pour margaritas over the top. Toast and enjoy!
First thing…I totally dropped the ball on May 2nd…I didn’t even snap an Instagram that day. There was a forehead-slap moment on the morning of May 3rd, however. Jeez.
4/29/2012: Wine with dinner.
4/30/2012: Solo dinner, mac& cheese with jalapenos and roasted tomatoes.
5/1/2012: Pink Ranunculus in my blue Ball jar.
5/3/2012: Strawberries about to get churned into sorbet.
5/4/2012: Herbs.
5/5/2012: Fresh lime juice for margaritas!
Rhubarb is such a strange beauty and totally magical, too.
It’s the ultimate harbinger of spring and definitely an old-fashioned beauty–classic and maybe a little unexpected. Despite how many times I bake and eat rhubarb, it always makes me swoon. It’s celery-like stalks and vegetal looks belie an unexpected tartness. When baked until bubbly, the aroma is undeniably fruity–almost like tart berries–while the juices run a luscious hot pink.
When I bake with rhubarb it’s all about tart, juicy, fruitiness. I like to keep it simple and relatively unadorned–I don’t want the flavor to be masked or hidden. I love it paired with simple pastry or crumble. Pie is always a delicious option and it pairs beautifully with creamy custards as well, but possibly one of the simplest and most satisfying preparations would have to be a crumble. Browned butter is mixed with flour, oats, sugar, and a bit of salt, which takes a rest in the refrigerator while rhubarb is chopped, tossed with sugar, vanilla bean, and cornstarch into a baking dish. Finally, the rhubarb is topped with the chunky crumble topping and baked until brown and bubbly. This dessert is perfect served with a dollop of something cool and creamy–vanilla ice cream is always the best choice, but whipped cream or creme fraiche are lovely as well.
Brown Butter Rhubarb Crumble
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Rhubarb leaves are toxic, but are easily and safely removed by simply cutting off and discarding. I coarsely ground the oats in my mini-processor. You can leave them whole if you’d like. You can also sub 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract for the bean. I also like to err on the tart side, so up the sugar if you like a sweeter filling.
for the crumble:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 stick (4ounces) unsalted butter, browned
for the rhubarb filling:
2 pounds rhubarb, ends and toxic leaves removed
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeded
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon chilled, unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes
Heat oven to 375*F.
To brown the butter, melt in a skillet over medium-low until solids are browned and fragrant like nutty toffee. Remove from heat and set aside while you gather the remaining crumble ingredients. In a large bowl stir together flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Stir in the slightly cooled brown butter and set in the refrigerator or freezer while you prepare the filling.
Cut rhubarb into about 1-inch pieces–I like mine on a fairly sharp bias. In a large bowl rub vanilla seeds into sugar until combined and fragrant. Stir in salt and cornstarch, finally toss the rhubarb into the sugar mixture to coat well and scrape the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate or other desired baking dish. Sprinkle with cold, cubed butter, and top with chilled crumble mixture and bake for 45-60 minutes until top is golden browned and juices are bubbling. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature, with ice cream if desired.