Clams with Black Bean Sauce (and Fresh Basil)

I've seen this dish served up both ways, with fresh basil and without. It tastes pretty good either way when clams are in season. In this region, Manilla clams are both farm grown and local to the Puget Sound. These clams come from the Hama Hama river delta. Wash the clams in cold water and scrub the shells with a stiff brush before using. This helps to release any dirt in and on the clams.

Clams with Black Bean Sauce and Fresh Basil

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large whole scallion, chopped
1 tbsp fermented black beans, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry (or Shaoxing rice cooking wine)
1/4 c fresh basil, sliced into 1/4" thin strips
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 c water
1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in water.

Directions

1. In a small prep bowl, combine garlic, ginger and scallions. In a separate prep bowl, have lightly chopped fermented black beans. In a third prep bowl, combine soy sauce, sherry, and sugar. In the fourth prep bowl, combine cornstarch with enough water to dissolve the powder. Set aside until ready to cook.

2. Heat a wok or large heavy skillet (with a lid) over high heat until hot; add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in the garlic, ginger, scallions and black beans; stir rapidly so the garlic does not burn. Add the clams and stir for about a minute. Sprinkle in soy sauce sherry, and sugar mixture; then pour in the water. Cover and let the clams cook for five minutes, until all the clams have opened.

3. Uncover the wok and pour in the cornstarch water. Stir the sauce around and the sauce will thicken. Last, add in the fresh basil and give it a stir. Scoop the clams and the sauce into a serving dish.

(Mock) Rosemary Sourdough Bread

Is it possible to circumvent the slow feeding cycle of a sourdough starter? This recipe method attempts a possibility by substituting some of the water in the dough with plain yogurt to give it a sour taste. Don't know if it'll actually work. So far, the dough hasn't risen nor doubled in bulk in the usual amount of time allotted to the first rise. 

To make a true sourdough bread with a sourdough starter today, I could either buy a premade starter or make one from scratch several days in advance. While milled, unbleached flour is still inexpensive (< $5 for 10#), it seems like a waste to toss half the starter after the first day. Each time the starter is fed, half is thrown out. I suppose you could also just start other starters and that would require more math and patience than I have time for this particular experiment.

I am baking this using a Dutch oven pot in an oven. This baking method seems to work well with getting a moist inside with a hard, crispy crust (without having to spray the bread with water during is baking cycle). The ingredient ratio comes from a few sources. This is my third attempt at a Dutch oven-baked bread; the first two simply did not taste salty enough. I have added a sprinkling of additional kosher salt to the part of the recipe where you roll the dough in flour before baking. In the previous loaf of rosemary bread, I couldn't taste the rosemary, so this one has a full 1/4 cup of fresh whole and chopped rosemary.

Ingredients

1 tbsp active dry yeast + 1/2 c warm water
2-4 c all-purpose unbleached flour, separated
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 tbsp raw honey
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 c fresh rosemary leaves, mostly whole and partially chopped
2 c plain whole milk yogurt

Directions

1. Prep the yeast. Add yeast to 1/2 c warm water (110 degrees F) and let bloom for 10 minutes before adding to the flour.

2. Prep the dough. Combine 2 c flour, salt, honey, and yeast-water in a bowl and mix until well combined. Knead using a stand mixer for 8-10 minutes, or by hand, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic; incorporate up to two more cups of flour so that the dough is less runny.

3. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough once so that all the sides of the dough become oiled. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1.5-2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

4. Sprinkle some flour and some kosher salt onto a large plate. Empty the dough out onto the plate and gently roll around until the dough is lightly covered with flour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Let Dutch oven pot warm up as the oven heat up.

5. Remove pot from oven and place dough inside. Using a sharp knife or edge of a spatula, make decorative marks across the dough. Replace lid on Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes covered. Then remove lid and bake for an additional 12 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Tibetan Butter Tea ("po cha")

After landing at the small airport in Lhasa, Tibet in 2001, one of the first beverages consumed was butter tea; graciously offered to us by the hotel our group stayed at. A truly authentic butter tea would be made from yak milk, yak butter, and a special black tea that has been compressed into a brick. In the US, however, yaks are pretty hard to come by and zoos aren't about to give up their yak milk for this recipe. The taste aspect that you lose from using dairy cow milk is the pungent and strong aftertaste from traditional butter tea. You could substitute cow milk for goat milk, I suppose.

2001, Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet
You could say that I am standing on the roof of the "Roof of the World". 

This recipe ratio comes from Lobsang Wangdu, Tibetan cookbook author of "Tibetan Home Cooking".

Serves: 2

Ingredients

4 c water

2 heaping teaspoons of good quality black tea

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted or salted butter

1/3 c half 'n' half or whole milk

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Add tea and let steep for a few minutes. Add salt and stir. Then strain out the loose tea, unless using a mesh tea ball or teabags. Add milk. Remove pot from heat.

2. With an immersion blender (or stand blender), mix the tea liquid with butter and churn (or shake in a lidded container) for 2-3 minutes.

Tea is best served when it is very hot.

Crockpot Dark Chocolate Brownies

This recipe is a little bit more hands-on and labor intensive than baking up a batch of the same in an oven. With just over two and a half hours of "baking" to go, the kitchen smells really good right now.. like freshly baked brownies. The brownies cook most of the time with the heat of the ceramic base of the slow cooker and also by steam. The final half hour is done with the lid off the cooker. Hopefully it'll be ready in time for tonight's "slow cooked foods potluck".

Ingredients

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c organic sweet ground cocoa

1/2 c organic granulated sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon chunks

9 oz dark chocolate, chopped into 1/2" chunks

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. In a heatproof bowl, microwave butter and dark chocolate together in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until the chocolate is melted. About 1.5 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs together with sugar.

3. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add melted butter/chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add egg mixture and stir to combine.

4. Lightly butter the center of some parchment paper and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the brownie mixture and use a spatula to smooth the top.

5. Cover and set cooker on "low" for 4 hours. Cook with lid on for 3.5 hours, and then with the lid off for another half hour.

6.  Remove brownies from crockpot and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before cutting into.

Dutch Oven No-Knead Bread

If ever there was a bread dough that had a minimal amount of effort, this one is up there. The dough is a little bit harder to work with because it is very sticky. But, after an hour in the oven, I have this beautiful, rustic-looking boule. A minute in the microwave is enough to heat 1.5 cups of water to just under 110 degrees F in a Pyrex glass measuring cup. I started the dough at night and baked the bread in the morning. Makes a 1 lb 10 oz loaf.

Ingredients

3 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp Vital-wheat gluten
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c warm water

Directions

1. In a 5-quart mixing bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, wheat gluten and salt. Gradually pour in water and stir to combine. Be sure to get all the flour incorporated, but don't overmix. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or put a plate on top of the opening. Let sit for 12 hours, or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place cast iron pot (the dutch oven) with its lid into the oven and let the pot heat up for 20-30 minutes.

3. On a heavily floured surface (~ 1/4 c flour), turn out risen dough onto some flour and shape into a rounded mass, like a boule. Carefully add the dough to the hot pot and replace the lid. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

4. Carefully remove bread from pot and let cool on a wire rack. The bread should make a hollow sound when tapped.

Nut and Seed Bread (no sugar, no flour)

This comes out looking and tasting like a very dense, protein-rich bread. It is held together by the emulsion power of the ground flax seeds and eggs in the dough. With a food processor and seed grinder, this "bread" is really easy to prepare. You don't even need a special seed grinder to mill the flax into a flour, just use an electric coffee bean grinder. A decent one will run you about $15.

This recipe ratio comes from a Croatian food blog called Istine i laži o hrani (Google translates this as "The truth and lies about food"), which I found referenced to three generation links from its original source. I don't know what oat bran does for this recipe, but seeing how it only called for 2 tablespoons of it, I didn't see the need to make a special trip to the grocery store for it. Also, while all the seeds and nuts should be raw to start with, this batch used roasted sunflower seeds that were leftover from another meal, and sweetened shredded coconut because that's all I could find at the store.

Ingredients

1 c raw or roasted sunflower seeds
1 c raw almonds
1/2 c flax seeds, ground
1/2 c shredded unsweetened or sweetened coconut
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs, lightly beaten
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.

1. In a food processor, combine sunflower seeds, flax seeds, coconut, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Pulse until fine crumbs form. It's okay if the almonds don't grind all the way.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine mix wet ingredients together, then add dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

3. On a baking tray lined with a Silpat or lightly buttered parchment paper, pour out batter onto tray and gently form into a boule or oblong shape with your hands.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. When done, let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Coronation Chicken for Salad or Sandwiches

Made this dish for an afternoon tea party I hosted on Saturday. It can be served by itself as a chicken salad or with bread as a chicken salad sandwich. The recipe comes from Brian Yarvin's The Ploughman's Lunch and Miser's Feast cookbook. The origin of this dish, according to the author, is that it was one of the dishes served on the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It looked like there was too much mayonnaise in it. I made adjustments after the fact and the updated recipe is below. 

Ingredients

3 c (1.5 lb) cooked chicken meat, chopped into small pieces
1 c apricot preserves
1/2 c dried apricots, finely chopped
3/4 c organic mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red wine
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 bay leaf

Directions

1. In a small pot, cook onion in olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add curry powder, tomato paste, lemon juice, a bay leaf and red wine. Stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture forms a paste-like consistency. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine onion mixture with the diced chicken, mayonnaise, cream, apricot preserves and chopped dried apricots. Season with salt and ground white pepper.

3. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Apricot Shortbread Cookies

These cookies came out softer instead of hard and crisp like typical shortbread, probably due to the moisture in the preserved apricots. I had to use a lot more flour for dusting to roll these out. Since the dough is going to go into the refrigerator after mixing, it's better to use chilled butter than room temperature butter.

apricot shortbread cookies, a perfect complement to tea

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c dried apricots, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse briefly until combined. Add butter by the tablespoon and pulse into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Add vanilla extract and pulse to combine.

2. Take dough out and put it into a re-sealable container. Let dough chill in the refrigerator for an hour, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

3. Lightly flour a sheet of parchment paper and roll out half the dough until it is 1/4" thick. Cut into shapes. Prick each shape with the tines of a fork.

These cookies will not expand much, so laying out the cookies half an inch apart will suffice.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are browned and the tops are lightly browned.

5. Let finished cookies cool on a baking rack before eating or storing.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

If you see strawberries at the supermarket, they are probably from California or Mexico, because there they are in season. Our Pacific Northwest strawberries usually don't become sweet until we see a lot of sunlight, and that can come as late as June. This nice light salad with fruity tones.

The Salad

The estimate to serve four adults is one bunch of spinach (approx 1 lb); likewise for eight adults, use two bunches of spinach.

In a large salad serving bowl, combine baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Toss with vinaigrette and top with toasted sesame seeds.

The Dressing

1/4 c organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (pomegranate flavored)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then whisk in paprika and olive oil. 

Parmesan-Thyme Pizza Dough

Pizza dough is pretty easy to put together. This one has grated cheese and thyme in it. Hopefully there is enough of each to taste it in the pizza crust.

Ingredients

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tbsp freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese
2 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil, separated
1 tsp each dried oregano, dried thyme, and dried basil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c water, room temperature
1 c water + 1 tsp organic granulated sugar + 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in one cup of water (110 degrees F) and sugar. After 10 minutes the yeast should be foamy at the top.

2. In a 7-cup food prep, add flour, 1/2 cup water, olive oil, spices, salt and grated cheese. Pulse until combined. Add yeast water and pulse on "dough" setting until the dough comes together into a ball.

3. Pour 1 tsp into a resealable container. Add dough and seal container. Let rest in a warm spot until doubled in bulk.

Almond-Flax Pizza Crust (wheat-free)

This nut/seed crust came out better tasting than the yeast-free, gluten-free pizza crust. Made this version for a pizza night dinner. It is a pre-baked crust where toppings and fresh cheese are added later and then briefly baked again. It might have helped to have these ready beforehand on a pie plate lined with parchment paper. The crust stuck to the bottom of the pie plates that I had cooked them in, making the pizzas hard to remove. This recipe ratio comes from A Gourmet Girl Cooks blog.

Crusts came out darker using brown flax seeds

Also, all I had on hand were brown flax seeds. This made the dough come out dark colored. Golden flax seeds can be substituted. I doubt there is much difference in taste.

Makes: two 10-inch round pizzas

Ingredients

1/2 c almond flour (can also grind raw almonds into flour with a food processor)
1/2 c flax seeds, ground
1 1/3 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp each: dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried oregano, and dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch of cayenne powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix well. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

2. Spread dough onto an oiled cookie sheet or oiled pie plates. Place a ball of dough in the center and press the dough outward with an oiled spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through and it feels dry to the touch.

If there are other pizzas in the oven and the temperature is already set to 450 degrees F, reduce the cook time so the crust does not burn. For two crusts on pie plates, I let these bake for 10-12 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven and add pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

Ras-el-Hanout Dry Spice Rub

For the pork butt recipe, I used a Moroccan spice blend called Ras-el-Hanout; which, according to the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen means "head of the shop" in Arabic, or a shop's best house blend. It can also be used as a spice marinade for lamb or chicken.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (can substitute ground coriander)

3/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

Directions

If using all ground spices, simply combine them together in a small bowl. If using whole spices, lightly toast the seeds before grinding into a powder in a spice grinder.

Braised Boneless Pork Butt

Despite the name of the cut, pork butt does not come from the rear of the pig; instead it is the upper part of the shoulder. The companion cut, called a pork picnic, is the lower part of the shoulder. Either cut can be used as BBQ meat. Tonight's dish will be braised, meaning the meat gets seared on med-high heat on the stove, then slow cooked in broth in a Dutch oven (an oven-proof heavy-bottomed pot with a lid). 

Ingredients

3.25 lbs boneless pork butt

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tbsp of a spice rub (this recipe uses ras el hanout)

some dry white wine (optional)

chicken or vegetable broth or water

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 bay leaf

2 organic carrots, sliced

2 organic celery ribs, sliced

1/2 medium onion, sliced

Directions

This recipe has a long prep and cook time, so it is best planned for in advance. 

1. Wash and pat dry the pork butt. Set onto a plate. Using a sharp knife, make slits into the meat and insert a garlic slice. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of kosher salt on all sides of the pork butt, followed by some freshly ground black pepper. With your fingers, apply the spices to the pork on all sides. Gently slip the pork butt into a sealable plastic bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (or 300 degrees F if using a convection oven)

2. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pork butt (fatty side up) and sear for five minutes. Flip the meat over and sear for five minutes. Add the onions to the sides of the meat. Then, add the carrots, celery and bay leaf.

3.  Fill the pot with water or broth until two-thirds of the meat is submersed. Cover the pot with its lid and place in the oven for 1.5 hours.

Internal temperature should read 165 degrees F using a meat thermometer. There may be thicker parts of the roast that measure 160 degrees F. This is okay. The pork should rest for 30 minutes before slicing or shredding.

Szechuan Stirfry Chicken

I thought I would post this one too. It came out tasting average. Decent enough for home cooking, not good enough to serve at a potluck or hosted dinner party. Good thing I only used a pair of chicken breasts for it. 

Also known as Sichuan pepper, Szechwan pepper, Szechuan pepper, or huajiao these are the dried berries of the prickly ash plant. It is not related to either the chili pepper plant or the black/red/pink/white pepper trees. The spice was banned from US imports from 1968-2005 due to a plant-based disease the raw, dried peppercorns carried that could potentially spread to citrus crops. In 2005, the USDA and FDA lifted the ban (source: NY Times) if the peppercorns were heated prior to import. This is one of the five spices that make up Chinese five spice powder, by the way.

I have not noticed the "numbing" sensation that this spices gives to the spicy-hot dishes it is often served with. Maybe my problem was that there weren't any spicy chilies in the dish.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, skin removed and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 c broccoli florets, cooked or blanched
1/2 c dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
2 green onions (scallions), diagonally sliced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1-2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, whole (will grind later)
kosher salt, to taste
hot chili paste (optional)
1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water (optional, for sauce thickening)

Directions

1. Remove the skin from the chicken breasts, slice into small pieces and set aside. Cut the chicken into 1/2" pieces and set aside. 

2a. Heat skillet, wok, or frying pan until hot. Add Szechuan peppercorns and toast, gently shaking the pan so that the spice does not burn. If the spice burns, toss it out and try again. Remove peppercorns to a mortar and pestle and grind until it is a powder.

2b. In a small bowl, mix the ground peppercorns with chili paste (optional), soy sauce, and wine. Set aside.

3. In the skillet, add olive oil and heat until it is hot. Add garlic, ginger, green onions, and stir fry for about a minute. Add chicken pieces and chicken skin (if using) and fry until the chicken  has turned white and no longer shows pink, about five minutes. Next, add the shitake mushrooms and broccoli.

4. Add the peppercorn sauce (in step 2b) and stir into the chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms. Remove from heat. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Spinach with Sumac

I've always wondered about sumac and how it is used, and now I have a better understanding of its flavoring properties. Sumac spice is made from the berry of an edible sumac shrub. It is commonly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. It can be found in grocery stores as a ground powder, coarsely ground spice, or as a whole dried berry. The most common application is as a coarsely ground spice, with hummus, vegetables, or as part of a spice rub for meat. It has a tart, sour taste. 

In retrospect, this vegetable dish wasn't that great. Heck, it wasn't that good. I am blogging about it as a reminder to never make it again. It was a recipe experiment where I could have stopped at just the olive oil, spinach, and garlic and had a fine dish. Anyhow. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped into 1" pieces
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
up to 1 tbsp coarsely ground sumac spice
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pine nuts, lightly toasted and chopped (optional)

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil until hot. Add the garlic and half the sumac spice. Stir until fragrant, until the garlic is lightly browned.

2. Add the spinach and lemon juice. Saute until the leaves wilt and turn a dark green color. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

3. Remove from heat and serve spinach on a plate. Sprinkle the remaining ground sumac on top of the spinach. Serve hot.

Ingredient Sourcing: Fat Tuesday

This was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Most of the recipes of the dishes we had planned to make for Mardi Gras were readily available. The only two ingredients that were somewhat harder to acquire, but not really, were frozen okra and andouille sausage. Both of these ingredients I found at Fred Meyer, though the latter was more of a fluke and I managed to snag the last package of Aidell's Andouille Style Sausage.

Because we were also cooking for toddlers (in addition to the adults), really spicy foods are frowned upon because young digestive systems simply cannot handle it. Gives 'em diaper rash. Anyhow. I substituted a smoked turkey sausage I found at Trader Joe's for the andouille. By breaking out the missing ingredients by recipe, it was easy to create a shopping list.

For example:

New Orleans rice & beans:
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 lb red kidney beans (2-3 cans)
celery ribs
1/2 lb Andouille sausage / smoked sausage

bread pudding:
1/2 gallon organic milk (4 c for the bread pudding)
1 qt heavy cream (2 c for the bread pudding, 2 c for the whiskey sauce)
day old French or white bread

langostino etouffe:
1-2 lb langostino
4 c chopped onions (if using Emeril's recipe), so roughly 2-3 onions

I did have to look up a conversion for the beans, from dried to cooked. Because we simply lacked the time, I opted for canned red beans instead of the slow cooker method.

Also, all the recipes called for Creole seasoning, which excluding the salt, I had just taken out all the traditional Creole seasoning spices and set them on the kitchen counter. Then we could just flavor by approximation.

Besides salt, black pepper, and onions, the Creole seasonings used for Fat Tuesday's dinner were: cayenne powder, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and thyme.

New Orleans Style Beignets

When I researched recipes to make this deep fried doughnut/fritter, I came across two distinct recipe ratios. One looked far more unhealthy than the other and included ingredients such as evaporated milk and vegetable shortening. Sure, evaporated milk isn't that unhealthy but it is a far cry from being fresh. And shortening? Ugh. Perhaps the locals to New Orleans see it differently during Mardi Gras. I'm speculating that the shortening (versus butter) would make the dough a little bit more airy in texture. My only comparative taste sample were the ones I had at Toulouse Petit in Seattle. 

The recipe ratio comes from a Los Angeles Times recipe by chef Bryan Gilmore of the Creole Creamery in New Orleans.

Making Fat Tuesday fatter with fresh beignets

Ingredients


1 teaspoon plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups flour, divided
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, at room temperature
powdered sugar, for dusting

Peanut oil and/or vegetable oil for frying, heated to 370 degrees F.


Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 c warm water (110 degrees F) and 1 tsp sugar. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes. If the yeast is alive, it should be foamy and/or poofy looking.

2. In a stand mixer, whisk together remaining sugar, 3 cups of flour, and salt.

3. In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter. Gently heat until butter is melted. Pour warmed mixture into the flour and mix using a dough hook in the mixer. Add the egg, yeast mixture, and remaining cup of flour. Mix until a soft dough forms. Cover with another bowl or plate or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

4. Divide dough into thirds and roll out until it is 1/4" thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 2" wide strips, and cut the strips into squares. 

5. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven until the temperature reaches about 370 degrees F. Gently drop in 2-3 pieces of dough at a time. Use a metal slotted spoon to turn beignets over when browned on one side. Should take no more than 1 minute per side.

6. Remove fried beignets to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

New Orleans Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

Bam! Emeril really knows how to kick a dish up several notches. I made a 9x13 bread pudding with a half batch of the whiskey sauce and there are no leftovers. Devoured. *poof* In one evening party. Strangely enough, despite Trader Joes having a lot of different types of freshly made bread, it is all sourdough based. I wanted just a general "white" bread that didn't scream, I'm a white bread. You know? 

Ideally day-old French or Italian bread would have done it, so I picked up a loaf of shepherd's bread. Trader Joes either changed their supplier or the recipe ratio for their private label shepherd's bread. It's no longer one of those rustic-looking, mop-up-the-stew loaves of bread. It looks -and tastes- like it was mass manufactured. Anyhow. It did the trick for this bread pudding.

This recipe ratio comes from the cookbook: Emeril's Potluck (HarperCollins, 2004). The whiskey used for the sauce was Makers Mark; though, I suppose any whiskey could do or bourbon.

Already hacked into before I could photograph it.

Ingredients

3/4 loaf shepherds bread (originally 24 oz), sliced into cubes (about 14 cups)

2 c (1 pint) organic heavy cream

4 c organic whole milk

6 large eggs

1 1/2 c brown sugar

4 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 c raisins

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Place bread in a large bowl. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with unsalted butter.

2. In another large bowl, combine cream, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, salt, and raisins. Whisk to mix. Pour this into the bread bowl. Stir to combine. You can let this sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until you're ready to bake.

3. Transfer bread mixture to baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the center has set.

4. Pour some of the whiskey sauce (see below) over the top of the bread pudding. Reserve the rest in a small bowl so that guests may add more sauce if they like.

Vermont Cornbread

The ingredients that go into a state or region's traditional cornbread recipe are what sets it apart from everywhere else. In the America the Beautiful Cookbook, the Vermont version of the classic cornbread recipe includes ingredients such as buttermilk, warm bacon lard, drippings, and maple syrup. I suspect it will be a far more moist, buttery tasting cornbread than the other cornbread I typically make as a turkey stuffing component.

As far as looks goes, it looks like cornbread; though the batch I took out of the oven today is of a paler yellow than traditional cornbread and that is because I used a combination of fine white cornmeal and a medium grind yellow cornmeal to make the bread. I fried some bacon for this and let the oil cool to about 130 degrees F before adding it to the batter.

A 9" cast iron skillet can be used instead of a baking dish.

Bacon makes everything taste better, including cornbread.

Ingredients

1 c fine white cornmeal
1/2 c medium-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp bacon drippings, warmed

Directions

In a bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Drizzle in maple syrup, one lightly beaten egg, and bacon drippings. Mix until well combined.

Pour into a greased 8" x 8" baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Cornbread should be lightly browned on top and shouldn't jiggle in the center. If it does, simply turn the oven off and let the cornbread sit in the cooling oven for an additional five minutes.

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

If you enjoy the salty-sweet taste of kettle corn at the farmers market, you'll definitely enjoy these cookies. The savory cookie is a more adult version of the cookie genre. Something that you'd probably not nibble on over tea, but would go down pretty well with a glass of wine. All of my bakeware is in storage, so I'll have to improvise and borrow the toy cutters from my nephew's toy bake set. Hehehe. This ingredient ratio comes from Gourmet Magazine.

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/3 c confectioners (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp raw mild honey, clover or wildflower
1 tbsp organic granulated cane sugar
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

1. Whirl together dry ingredients in a food processor. Add in butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Empty contents into a container with a lid. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

2. Roll out cookie dough to 1/4" thickness and cut out with cookie cutters. Place unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. Let cookies cook on a wire rack.

Alternative Flavorings:

Savory Thyme Cookies: substitute with fresh thyme