Vanilla Roasted Pears

This recipe was just posted on Smitten Kitchen, and I tried it out for dessert last night. I used more lemon (perhaps twice as much) as the recipe calls for and only four medium-sized pears, but it was beautiful! The only additional thing I would do next time is turn the juices more "caramelly" by boiling them on the stove after the pears come out of the oven, but even as-is, this was a fantastic dessert (made all the more fancy by butterscotch sauce, also from SK, and Purity French Vanilla ice cream).

Smitten Kitchen's Vanilla Roasted Pears
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/2 pounds slightly-under-ripe, fragrant, medium pears, peeled if desired, halved though the stem and cored (I used Bosc but will be giving this recipe a spin with Bartlets later today; Schneider says all varieites work)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the sugar in a small bowl. With a thin, sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds. Stir the seeds into the sugar.

Arrange the pears in a large baking dish, cut-side up. Drizzle the lemon juice evenly over the fruit, then sprinkle with the sugar. Nestle the vanilla pod among the fruit (I first slit my halves lengthwise into quarters). Pour the water into the dish. Dot each pear with some butter.

Roast the pears 30 minutes brushing them occasionally with the pan juices. Turn the pears over and continue roasting, basting once or twice, until tender and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes longer (if the pears are small, test for doneness after 35 or 40 minutes of cooking; a paring knife poked into the thickest part of one should meet with no resistance).

Fall Compote

My first post-baby blog (finally)!

Awhile ago I posted a note about our favourite winter dessert: Fage yogurt topped with compote and Howland's creamed honey. Every time I go looking for my preferred compote recipe, though, I can't find it! So, here it is, adapted from Gourmet.

Bring 2 c. apple juice, 1/2 c. sugar, 4 strips of lemon zest, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 10 cracked black peppercorns to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer 5 minutes. Add 1 tbsp. butter and a total of 1 to 1 1/2 c. dried fruit (I use prunes, apricots, figs, sometimes apples or cherries) and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until fruit is plump. (Optional: pour liquid through a sieve into another saucepan and boil until reduced to 1 cup.) Pour liquid back over fruit and stir in 2 tbsp. Calvados (I usually use a gloop of rum) and 1 tbsp. lemon juice.

Sri Lankan Fish Curry

D & G hit the fish truck on Friday morning, so we prepared a fabulous haddock curry for dinner. It was rich, lemongrassy, turmeric-bright and perfectly flaky with the freshest fish. Here's the recipe, adapted from Homestyle Southeast Asian Cooking by Rani King and Chandra Khan.

Coconut Fish Curry

Mix 1/2 tsp. cayenne (for a fairly mild version) with 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 3 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 tsp salt and 2 onions (chopped). Toss gently with 1 lb. haddock (or other firm curry fish) cubed into 1" pieces with the spice mix and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly fry 2-3 bay leaves (or 5 curry leaves) and 3" strips of lemongrass from one stalk in oil until fragrant; add the fish to the pan and gently fry until brown.

Add the remaining spice mixture to the pan along with 3/4 c. coconut milk; serve on rice.

Adventures in Baking

As little D's arrival approaches, big D and I did some baking. In our first Sunday New York Times (Magazine, 13/09) we discovered a recipe for a "Huguenot Torte," a 1965 dessert based on something called Ozark Pudding, which we had never tasted.

Since it is apple season, we thought we'd try it nonetheless, and it was VERY GOOD! I'd never had anything like it: a butter-tart-like filling of floury and sugary pecans and apples topped with a crisp meringue-type topping. But easily made in a single bowl (we used our Kitchen Aid, otherwise known as the Albatross, and I think this may have been key to the fluffy result).

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325F.
Beat 2 eggs and 1/2 tsp. salt until fluffy; gradually beat in 1 1/2 c. sugar.
Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla, 4 tbsp. flour and 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder.
Fold in 1 c. peeled and chopped tart apples along with 1 c. coarsely chopped pecans.
Pour into deep (at least 2") 9 x 9 pan; bake for 45 minutes until puffed up and then sunken.
Serve warm either plain, with whipped cream, crème fraiche or sour cream.

We think this would be divine with maple syrup instead of sugar.

A day later, P and I had an afternoon date during which we decided to make cookies. Since we'd just polished off 9 dozen (yes, we shared) chocolate chip cookies made for the hospital but finished well before we got there, we thought we'd better make something new, so chose the Spiced Ginger Mound recipe from my old Purity cookbook. It makes (I quote from my notes on the book's page) "Extremely tasty, lovely, gently-gingered cookies. EXCELLENT."

Here, then, is the recipe for what we now consider our house gingersnapchew:

Preheat oven to 325F.
Cream together 3/4 c. shortening (we use Becel), 1 c. sugar; add one egg and 1/4 c. molasses.
Add the following dry ingredients, pre-mixed: 2 c. all purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. ginger and 1/4 tsp. salt.
Mix well, then shape into small balls (1-2" depending on desired cookie size).
Roll balls in sugar, place on greased or non-stick baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes (chewy) to 15 minutes (snappy).
Try not to eat them all in the first 10 minutes out of the oven.

Raspberry Jam Teacakes

At a recent party, we asked a few select guests to bring cupcakes as dessert, and J., as usual, outdid herself.

This will be the first time ever that I've posted a recipe that I've not only never made, I've never actually sampled (a kid at the party told everyone that J.'s cupcakes were "the best thing that have ever happened to me in my whole life!!!" and presto, they were gone). But, I trust J. so implicitly, and I saw so many happy jammy faces at the party, that I know they'll be superb.

I'll report back when I get around to making them, hopefully sooner rather than later. . .

Raspberry Jam Teacakes

1 c. soft unsalted butter
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. orange zest
4 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1 c. raspberry jam

Citrus Glaze:
1 1/2 C confectioner's Sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp finely grated citrus zest
3 Tbs citrus juice

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush standard muffin tins w/ butter & dust w/ flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder & salt.
2. Cream butter, sugar & zest 'til pale & fluffy. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating 'til incorporated fully. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three batches, alternating w/ 2 additions of milk & beating 'til just combined after each.
3. In separate bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold in batter. Spoon 2 tbsp. batter into each prepared cup. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill w/ 1 tbsp. jam (and fresh raspberries if available). Top w/ additional 2 tbsp. batter, covering jam totally.
4. Bake, rotating tins halfway through 'til cake skewer inserted in middle of cakes comes out clean, about 30mins. Remove from oven. Run a small offset spatula around edges & turn out cakes onto wire racks to cool.
5. Whisk together glaze ingredients 'til smooth; thicken with more sugar if needed.
Drizzle cakes evenly w/ glaze & let set about 30mins. Glazed cupcakes can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days at room temp.

Peggy's Hummus

We've been in Hamilton twice in the past month, being entertained for a night each way before and after flights out of Toronto, and the culinary highlight of our time there was this hummus recipe, which is adapted from Anne Lindsay.

Combine:
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 tsp cumin or more to taste
1/2 tsp salt
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 scant tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp hot water

Puree the above mixture with:
1 19oz can chick peas
fresh parsley

Eat with carrots or crackers (rice crackers are good)

E.'s Lemon Curd

The best, easiest and fastest lemon curd ever. Really. Thanks, E.

Cook together over low heat, whisking constantly, until the custard sticks to the back of a spoon:
2 lemons (juice & rind)
1/4c. butter
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar

Eat and swoon.

Pizza Dough (by request)

K. just asked for our old pizza dough recipe, so I thought I'd put it up here, even though we are not pizza experts and I am a bit embarrassed to post this in view of our recently acquired pizza-finicky-ness. I'm not sure this recipe will hold up under scrutiny by those in the know, but we have made some fine pizzas with it nonetheless.

The below is adapted from Pino Luogo's Simply Tuscan; my edition is inscribed: "To A., On the occasion of her graduation - June, 2000. In admiration of brave dreams artfully achieved. With all our love, Mom & Dad." This is why I love this book.

Pizza Dough
4 c. all purpose flour, plus extra for coating work surface
1 1/2 c. warm water
7 tsp. fresh yeast
2 tsp. salt
1/4c. olive oil, plus extra to grease the pans

Put the flour on a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Dissolve the yeast in a bowl with half the water. Place the salt, yeast and oil in the well, and use a fork to incorporate the flour into them. Add more water as needed to make a dough that is homogenous and elastic.

Put the dough in a bowl dusted with flour, cover and let rise in a warm place to proof until doubled in bulk (about 2 hours). Once proofed, turn the dough out and knead it on a flour-covered surface until very smooth.

This recipe recommends dividing into two, rolling each half to 1/4 inch, but we like our pizza thinner, so tend to make 3 or 4 smaller crusts.

Once topped with desired tasty things, bake in 12-inch pans greased with oil at 500 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

A week or two ago we made and froze about a gallon each of chicken and pork stocks - we had a ton of chicken carcasses and old pork bones in the freezer. Surprisingly, most people we talked to had never heard of pork stock (!) and had no ideas on recipes, so we took a look in James Peterson's Splendid Soups, which has a simple recipe for "Chinese Pork Noodle Soup." Here is our adaptation, which was easy to make and tasted superb.

Marinate 1/2 lb. of pork meat, thinly sliced (we used a loin from the Piggery), in 1 tbsp. dry sherry, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 4 tsp. soy sauce, 1/2. tsp. sesame oil and some freshly ground pepper for at least an hour. Finely chop a few handfuls of scallions and/or chives (we used about 1/4 c. of each).

In one pot, bring enough lightly-salted water to the boil for two-three healthy helpings of thin Chinese egg noodles; cook the noodles until no longer chewy. In a second pot, bring about a litre of stock (we mixed pork with chicken for a slightly lighter broth) to the boil.

Just before serving, add the pork in its marinade to the boiling broth for 1 to 2 minutes, or until just cooked; add the scallions and chives as well as salt and pepper to taste. Place a scoop or two of noodles in eating bowls, top with several slices of pork and two-three ladles of broth.

The two of us had generous helpings last night and there is one left, so this would likely easily serve four as an appetizer.

Pasta with Peas Two Ways, and Piggery Ham

We were at the Farmers' Market yesterday and picked up some "ham ends" from the Piggery. I was hoping to make an Epicurious-based recipe for pasta with prosciutto and asparagus, but instead wound up doing something totally different. According to our dinner guests and P., my improvisation was successful, and the dish was (here I quote our guest), "excellent, and absolutely made by the ham." We agree.

Here's the simple recipe:

Put on the pasta to boil in lots of salted water - I used 1 lb. of medium shells - and then fry a handful or two of finely-chopped ham ends (I imagine this would work brilliantly with Piggery bacon too) in their own fat, with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, diced garlic scallions (6 small, white parts only) and shallot (1 medium). Add a cup total of chicken broth mixed with white wine (I used about half and half). Boil the ham & wine mixture until almost all the liquid is absorbed. At this point the ham can rest in the pan for awhile, if necessary.

Just before serving, add 1-2 cups of snap peas; after a minute or so (just long enough to warm the snaps to a bright green deliciousness) add a bundle of pea shoots along with several spoonfuls of pasta water. Cover briefly to steam the pea shoots gently, then stir them into the sauce; add some pasta water (just a spoon at a time - the glutens in the water will help with getting the right saucey texture, as wet or dry as you like) and sprinkles of salt and pepper to taste. Drain the pasta when al dente and toss with the ham & peas. Top with grated parmigiano.

We recommend this particular pasta very much, either as an appetizer for six or as a light main for four.

Note: we had some ham ends left over, so two days later we chopped them up, browned them in a pan, added some slivered almonds (to toast lightly), served them on top of fresh spinach from Stick & Stone with toasted sourdough (richly buttered) from Fat Boy Bakery and some little chunks of aged gruyère. Fabulous!

Cakes from Cornerstone: Never Fail Cake

In 1999 this was the Cornerstone "house favourite," I am informed by "Recipes to Remember," our wedding collection of tasty things to eat. I don't think "Never Fail" has slipped below house favourite in the last 10 years, and I think it is gaining similar status at The View, if our last experiment is any indication.

New friends from the building, S, M and I came for tea the other day, and Patrick has been begging for a white cake for weeks, so I thought I'd make the famous Never Fail. Although I often make it in a rectangular pan and ice it with butter frosting, I was too late to frost it properly, so made it in a bundt pan and glazed it with a lemon and icing sugar drizzle with lots of zest.

The cake was actually yellow (rather than its traditional white) from our beautiful local Kingbird Farm eggs and it was truly divine: moist and perfect. Everyone had at least two pieces (!) and we only had enough left for a piece each the next day, so I am making it again tonight for our other new friends, K & Sh.

In any case, it has been far too long that I have gone without posting this fabulous recipe.

Never Fail Cake

1. Cream 1 1/2c. white sugar, 3 eggs, a glop of vanilla and 3/4 c. Becel (or butter).

2. Add, alternating in 3-4 batches (mixing after each), 1 c. milk and 2 c. white flour mixed with 2 heaping tsp. baking powder.

3. Bake in 350 degree oven for at least 30 minutes (use a toothpick - when clean, the cake is done).

Simple and fabulous. I'm starting to think I should always have this cake around!

Picadillo

Now that things are slowly getting back to normal, we are determined to do more cooking of the original and interesting variety. So, last night we went grocery shopping and picked up materials for a lovely Italian tuna salad (greens, tomato, cucumber, basil), makings for picadillo and the necessary ingredients for the Rebar huevos rancheros (tomorrow's dinner).

Tonight, P made his famous pico de gallo (tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, lime and salt), and I made picadillo (adapted from Jane Milton's Mexican Kitchen) to eat with tortillas:

Brown a pound of ground beef in a pan; add a few cloves of finely chopped garlic and a finely chopped red pepper. Mix in 1/4 c. sherry, a dollop of tomato paste, black pepper, cloves, cumin and cinnamon to taste. Add a few sprinkles of toasted almond slivers and raisins. Sour cream would have topped off our little soft tacos delightfully - next time!

The Best Corn Chowder Ever

We decided to make some chowder this week, so I came to Dúnedain to get the recipe and, wonder of wonders, it wasn't here! I am remedying the situation immediately, since this is a superb corn chowder recipe, adapted from Gourmet.

Ingredients
2 oz. (about 2 thick slices) diced bacon, quality crucial (we used to use Applewood smoked from the Bowl in Berkeley)
1 diced large sweet yellow onion
2 large carrots, diced (all veggies should be diced to 1/4 inch)
1 celery rib, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet potato (1 medium), peeled and diced
5 cups good chicken broth (40 fl oz)
2 fresh thyme sprigs
3 cups corn (from about 6 ears)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I often start with just 1/2 c. and add more to taste)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
Cook bacon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then add onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper to bacon fat and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add all potatoes, broth, and thyme and simmer, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add corn and cream and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add sea salt and pepper, then stir in bacon.

Makes 8 servings.

Super Salmon

E. came for a collaborative dinner last night and made us beautiful wild-caught salmon. Here's the simple and delicious recipe:

Take four salmon fillets and slice them lengthwise into two thin halves (i.e. so that they can be stuffed). Spread half of each fillet with a mixture of sour cream and chives, top with sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and with the other half of the fillet. Season as desired (I imagine a little squeeze of lemon would be nice). Put each salmon "sandwich" in its own foil packet and bake at 360 for about 20 minutes.

We had one packet left over, so we flaked it up and tossed it with butter and campanelle and had salmon pasta. It was very, very good.

Antje's Beef

Well, I posted Enrico's recipe, so I'll post Antje's as well. It is very, very simple, and excruciatingly delicious. Here goes. . .

Take a thin cut of beef (1-2 lbs.) and pound it even thinner (to about 1/8" - 1/4"). Spread it thoroughly with good mustard and roll it up into a beef "jelly roll." Put the rolled up meat into a large pan on medium heat with a little bit of water in the bottom. Cook, covered, for hours and hours, adding just a bit of water as the pan dries out, and turning the meat, until there is a beautiful, thick brown gravy at the bottom of the pan and the meat is tender.

I would serve this with boiled potatoes and vinegar, though I think on the day in question, we ate strozzapreti!

Strangolapreti

Way back in 2001, right after we moved to Berkeley, we met two international students, Enrico and Antje, with whom we enjoyed a few round-the-world dinners before they left after only a semester. Enrico's recipe was for strangolapreti (or strozzapreti, priest-chokers), lovely bready dumplings served in sage butter. We served them for the first time in years last night, and they were a great success.

Put on a large pot of water with salt to boil; put on a small pan of butter (about a stick) to melt. Defrost or blanch 300g. spinach; squeeze out all the water and chop finely, if desired. Crumb 2 panini worth (about 3 cups) of firm, slightly old white bread and wet it slightly with milk. Add two eggs, 2 tbsp. flour and a tsp. of salt to the bread crumbs and mix well. Add the spinach, mix well, and form the mixture firmly into 2" balls (about the size of a walnut). Add a dozen sage leaves or so to the melted butter, and fry them gently. Gently boil the strozzapreti, a few at a time, in the salted water until the dumplings rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl coated with butter. When all the dumplings are done, pour the sage butter over top. Eat topped with grated parmesan.

Ful Medames

Way back in the fall of 2007, when I was speaking at my first "big" conference, P and I had dinner at a North-African restaurant just up the street from our hotel in Minneapolis.

Our (enormous) appetizer was a place of what they called "Fool Madame," and what I have more recently discovered is usually referred to as "ful medames." A few months ago, when we had our Moroccan chicken, I served this as an appetizer, and the guests scarfed it.

Since I've had requests for it since, here is my version, adapted from what we had in Minneapolis plus several on-line recipes.

Ful Medames

Soak 1.5 cups of dried beans (I use a mix of cranberry/borlotti and rosa) in water for a few hours or overnight. Pick over, drain and thoroughly rinse the beans until the water runs clear. Boil, just covered, until firm and mashable but not mushy. While the beans are cooking, mash a few cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle with salt. Mix the garlic and salt with the juice of one or two lemons, 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. cumin or zataar.

Once the beans are cooked, gently crush 2/3 of them to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining beans and the garlic mixture. Add more oil, salt and lemon juice for taste and texture; garnish with (I actually stir these next items in) finely chopped fresh tomatoes, white onions, scallions, mint and cilantro (these last three are optional, but lovely when possible).

This makes for an excellent, nutritious and hearty dip, which we serve with pita. Yum!