8 posts tagged “baking”

The rumor goes that the first President of the United States chopped down a cherry tree when he was a child, so it only makes sense to me that cherry desserts belong at the July 4^th table. -- My mother will probably think I'm insane, but I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy the result.

Fresh Cherry Clafoutis

+ / - 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 cup milk, room temp
2 tbsp cream, room temp
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Liberally butter a six-cup baking dish OR six 1-cup ramekins liberally (although oven-proof custard cups or the like would work too, or a six-cup serving dish could certainly work): If using the ramekins, place them on a baking sheets.

Preheat the baking dish(es) in the oven 5 min before filling.

Wash the cherries, cut in half to pit them if you haven't already, and drop the halved pieces on the well-buttered bottom of the dishes. (It's okay to steal a cherry or two for luck and made sure the cherries are mostly even in distribution.)

Combine the eggs, milk, granulated sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and flour, either in a mixer, food processor, or by hand. If using a mixer or blender, leave it on low until the batter looks smooth: When you have the smooth consistency, pour the batter approximately even over the cherries to about a quarter inch from the rim of your baking dish(es). The clafoutis will rise while cooking. Don't fill to the brim!

Put the clafoutis into the oven and leave it alone for at least 20 minutes: Don't peek earlier because you will lose necessary heat. The ramekins will need to bake about 23 to 25 minutes: A full baking dish will run closer to 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven when the center is set. Best if served warm.

When I first made these, I let them cool slightly, and then ate one right off the baking tray with a spoon while it was still just a little too warm. Perfection.

Also note, you can add about a tbsp or two of kirsch or other cherry cordial to the batter while mixing -- I opted out, but I've heard it adds some lovely depth to the dish.

Okay, I take back most of the nasty things I've said about summer, because figs have arrived at my local farmer's market this past weekend. I did a happy little boogie and dragged my poor mother over to the booth so I could examine them closely, and I ended up leaving with a basket of black and green figs in hand  and considerably happier than I'd been walking in.

(And that's already pretty happy, since I love our local Saturday morning farmer's market.)

Of course, the poor figs have been languishing in my mini-fridge since then while I indecisively thumbed through my file of fig recipes. Due to problems with the big fridge, the college mini-fridge has once again become my main refrigerator-- Which means I don't have crème fraîche, and I lost the Salem blue cheese that I ordinarily love to broil figs with in the toaster oven, and so on, and so on...

And then, thanks to my recent obsession with Serious Eats, I found just what I was looking for on the site's new source for food porn feature, Photograzing.

Oh, yes. That's JUST what I needed for inspiration.

.. These herbed frommage blanc fritters are definitely next on the list to make, once I have a fridge with enough room for all my beloved types of cheese.

Fig & Prosciutto Pizza

1 12-14" pizza stone or tin
cornmeal for scattering

1 TJ's garlic and herb fresh pizza dough

White sauce:

1/4 cup olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2-3 tbsp fresh shredded Parmesan
1 tsp balsamic vinegar, preferably white

Toppings:

1 pint black figs, de-stemmed and sliced thin
2-3 oz. prosciutto
4 handfuls quattro formaggio cheese mix
1 handful fresh shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 500 deg F with your pizza stone / metal pizza tin inside. Let the dough rest and rise for about 20 minutes while the oven's getting warm.

While things are heating, make the sauce: Put the four cloves garlic and one tbsp of the oil into a small blender, mortar and pestle, or other hand-chopper and go to town 'til it forms a small, thick amount of paste. Drizzle in more oil and add in your desired amount of Parmesan: Repeat. Drizzle in the last tablespoon and the balsamic vinegar and stir until combined -- This will make enough to thinly paint your pizza dough. Scale up as you feel necessary, but the cheese will more than make up for any perceived dryness.

Carefully remove the pan / stone from the hot oven with heat-protectors of choice: Scatter lightly with cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking too much. Stretch the dough out roughly 12" with your fingertips and do your best to center it on the hot round: It WILL stick the moment you put it down, with the dough starting to cook. This is good, it'll prevent the dough from slipping away while you put the toppings on. Roll or pat the dough out further, taking care not to burn yourself.

Paint with the white sauce, and sprinkle with about a handful of the quattro formaggio. Lie down strips of prosciutto, cut to your desired size. (I went for long, thin strips, draped around in a spiral.) Sprinkle with another handful and a half of cheese. Top evenly with the thin-sliced figs, and sprinkle evenly with the desired amount of the remaining quattro formaggio and Parmesan.

Pop it in the oven and reduce to 450 F. Check it after ten minutes, and every 2-3 minutes thereafter: My thin-crust pie was perfect after 15 minutes. Enjoy!

I loved how the sweet of the figs paired with the salty of the prosciutto, and the savory of the cheese and garlic 'sauce.' I have to remember to make this one again the next time I get my hands on a pint of figs -- though how can you go wrong with figs + thin slices of cured ham + cheese?

And in case you don't want or happen to have access to pre-made quattro formaggio, here's the proportions:

1 cup (4 oz) shaved provolone cheese
1 cup (4 oz)  mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shaved Asiago cheese
1/4 cup (1 oz) freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

One really, really good thing about taking part in a weekly food challenge?
...Well, aside from guaranteeing that I'm going to eat at least one home-cooked meal a week, or getting motivated to cook more frequently...

I love that I'm near always looking for new things to do, and taking inspiration from existing recipes. After all, I took one look at the Epicurious recipe for a fresh fig tart with rosemary cornmeal crust, and then wondered how it would taste with something less sweet.

The answer? Pretty darned good.
Now, if only I could improve my "photography skills."

Fresh Tomato Tart with Cornmeal-Thyme Crust
Yield: About 3-4 servings

Crust:

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
1½ tsp sugar
pinch to 1/8 tsp salt
¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ tbsps finely chopped fresh thyme
2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

3-4 small to medium tomatoes, washed and sliced 1/6-inch thick
½ tsp fine-grain sea salt
2½ - 3 tbsp crème fraîche
½ cup mascarpone cheese (4 oz)
1 tbsp sugar

Glaze: (opt)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
fresh thyme leaves, to taste

Pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and thyme and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse until just incorporated.
Gently squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, ½ tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition and continuing to test.

Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan(s) with floured fingers. Smooth dough with a small spatula or the back of a spoon (floured if necessary), and roll a rolling pin over top of pan to trim dough flush with the edge (if necessary). Prick the crust bottom with a fork. Chill until it's firm, about 30 minutes or so.

While waiting on the crust to chill, prep your tomatoes: To avoid a soggy mess later on, you'll want to rid the tomatoes of some of their water. Clear a space on your counter and put down a double layer of absorbent paper towels. Slice the tomatoes into eighths or so, making very fine, thin wedges: Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the paper towels and sprinkle them with about 1 tsp (+/- accordingly) fine-grain sea salt. Cover the tomatoes with another layer of paper towels, press gently. Let them sit until you're ready to use them.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake crust in middle of oven until center and edges are golden, 20 to 30 minutes.

Whisk together sour cream, mascarpone, sugar, and salt in a bowl until well combined and slightly stiff. (I found that while the mascarpone and the creme fraiche were fairly stand-up on their own, they liquefied slightly when combined -- probably the addition of the salt and sugar.) Refrigerate until ready to use.

Let the crust cool to room temperature before filling: Heat balsamic, honey and thyme (if desired) in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, whisking about 4 minutes, then cool glaze slightly. Take care not to breathe in over the pan, as the scent can be a little overwhelming for the sinuses, but the results are stunning.

Remove tart shell(s) from the pan(s) and spread mascarpone cream in shell. Pat dry the tomato slices and arrange decoratively over cream. Drizzle with honey-balsamic glaze and serve.

The tart is really ridiculously good on its own -- I honestly think mascarpone and creme fraiche are now my favorite mixture of flavors ever, and even better than sweet cream ice cream  -- but a drizzled teaspoon or so of the balsamic glaze makes it to die for. Wow.

I've begun to suspect I'm insane.
Reasoning: I've got plenty to do this evening, between making up some homemade pizza (and I've decided to use a long pan instead of the usual hole-bottomed pizza pan, as I haven't been happy with its results lately) and getting the house ready for an imminent termite inspection, so what do I do?

Pick up my size 2 double-point needles and start two socks at once.
Barking mad, probably.
But, the idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to cast on: I'm currently working in complimentary shades of TLC Essentials -- which I don't particularly like the feel of, but it's part of my early stash and needs using -- in a burnt orange and their Falling Leaves ombre.
Never knit a sock in my life (though crocheting is a different story -- and I've several pairs, thank you!), and then I get the wild hair to do two at once.
I'm also planning on trading off the colors at cuff, heel, and toe, as if I weren't already confusing myself as it is.
Should be some pretty sweet socks if I can do it right, though, and I won't be afraid to wreck them through wear.

Note to self: I want this in Wild Wild West. Just one skein, but I've got a sock pattern in mind that I'd love to try.
... Well, maybe Blue Bayou, too.

Anyhow. Tonight, pizza.
The fiance and I picked up another of Trader Joe's pre-made pizza doughs in the garlic and herbed crust variety, and I'm currently contemplating whether I want to use a tomato sauce as the base or just go with garlic and olive oil as a pseudo-white sauce... I mean, olive oil and garlic. Good stuff, especially when you consider I've got mozzarella and roughly shredded parmesan to put on top, and then cover with prosciutto, salami, and capocollo. I'm also debating whether or not to add sun-dried tomatoes to the list or not: Alas, though I can see the tomatoes getting bigger by the day, there are still none ready for eating on my tomato plants.

... Don't think that I'm not looking up how to make sun-dried tomatoes for when that crop finally comes.

It does sound like a good, if meat-heavy pizza... And since it's going to be a pan pizza, that means it's going to be a bit more square than usual. (Alas, I can't guarantee thicker... Though I have rolled the dough out and I'm leaving it to rise some more, so. If I'm lucky.)
I suppose I do have some bell pepper strips in the freezer, and can also go that route. The fiance's kinda meh on the topic of olives, though, and tempting as it is to go viciously harvest the sneaky mushrooms in my yard... Probably not advisably edible, and since I haven't any criminis in the fridge, that means no mushrooms for the pizza.
That's life: Ought to get to making that pizza, or at least gathering the ingredients.

I have things cooking in my head again: I'm in a making mood, probably partly at fault from my recent (compulsive knitting / dye experiments / interest in spinning / gardening).

Every once in a while, I forget that I honestly love to cook.
Starting a vegetable garden has reminded me, though. I don't have anything save ten (count 'em, ten!!) tomato blossoms at the moment (one of which has clearly pollinated and is in process of changing from flower to fruit), but I'm already gleefully bouncing on my toes and waiting for the moments the first round, green fruits begin to show: My Cherokee Purple heirloom plant is new and still getting used to its pot, so its main purpose at the moment is to just get up and grow.

I honestly cannot wait for that heirloom to blossom and produce tomatoes. Cannot wait. I want to try them and come up with even more weird-color food, since if I'm honest, I enjoy cooking more when the colors don't match the expected. I am utterly in love with blue potatoes, and since I've found that my local Whole Foods does indeed carry them at cheaper per pound than the variety mix at Trader Joe's, I'm revving up to hit the produce bins for scalloped purple-blue potatoes. (And yes, it's going to look weird, royal blue potatoes peeking up from inside orange cheddary sauce, but I love doing that sort of thing. Weird colored food rules!) So. Rose-purple tomatoes to go with my purple-tinged blue potatoes? I cackle with glee.
And contemplate all sorts of summery tomato-based meals. I stopped at 101Cookbooks.com to check out the 1000 Layer Lasagne that went up Thursday morning, and while looking at her homemade ricotta recipe, I hovered the mouse over the image at top and found the next recipe was an heirloom tomato tart. And then I went hunting for anything involving specifically heirloom tomatoes, and found her cheesy heirloom paninis.

Wow. If I wasn't hungry before...
I anticipate a lot of homemade foccacia, caprese, and tomato-based recipes this summer. I think I may even delve into things like making tomato sauce and stewing tomatoes from scratch if the plants produce enough... After all, we know the hazards of gardens: You end up with more than you know what to do with, and your friends and family will only take so many. ;)
Seriously. Found the best foccacia I've had in ages at the Whole Foods of Doom, and it was not only crisp and garlic-parmesan-y, but had quarter inch tomato rounds pressed into its top and sprinkled with basil and oregano...
Which means I can do that, easy.
Also, the idea of making my bagels, slicing them in half, and making it into a cheese and tomato sandwich and then sticking it in the toaster oven for a little bit.... Sounds like heaven to me!

So, yes. I've been poking thoughtfully around the comments in the 101Cookbooks.com recipes and it's led to some interesting sites: The one holding my interest at the moment is a page on making cheese -- and while I'm honestly contemplating dragging my little college fridge out of storage to set up as a cheese making fridge for the blue cheese recipe, the one that really has me grinning like a fool is the recipe for fresh mozzarella from a gallon of milk.

Home grown tomatoes. Fresh mozzarella. My friends are right, I do need to start growing my own basil: I'll have myself a caprese garden at this rate. And there's just something satisfying about knowing where the things came from, as opposed to buying things from the store.
I'm still gleefully hunting up tomato recipes online: I really ought to hunt through my vegetarian and four-ingredient cookbooks for more ideas -- after all, the four-ingredient cookbook is where I picked up a favorite puff pastry tomato 'pizza' recipe, and that's pretty delish.
At that, I have a cookbook called Tomato. I think that just might be a good resource for tomato recipes. Who knew?

Also: It's Saturday, which means to bagel, or not to bagel, that is the question...
So I went to make some bagels. I made my last batch of bagels with King Arthur's white whole wheat flour, and it wasn't bad, but they were a little more dense in flavor than I'd have liked. No problem, but I decided to go half and half with the all purpose and wheat if you're going that route again, see if that resolved the issue.
I think I used too much water or something this time around -- the problem with attempting to do recipes from memory, honestly -- because the dough was sticky like mad. I ended up pulling it out of the bread machine and adding more flour by hand: It still doesn't feel right for bagels, though, and the proportions were probably close enough to pull off a foccacia instead... So I went crazy, kneaded in about half a tablespoon of dried 'italian herbs' (as the bottle proclaimed -- probably a mix of basil, oregano, parsley, possibly more). It's currently rising on a silpat, and I'll be sure to pat it out into my baking pan and start doing the olive oil / garlic topping.
Fresh bread. Nothing really like it, even if it wasn't the first thing I'd intended.

A friend of mine made the mistake of mentioning she'd been looking for a bagel recipe that didn't involve malt syrup.
Personally, I've never heard of bagels needing malt syrup, so either I search for recipes in a completely different place (which isn't true, since I know we both cruise Epicurious.com and Epicurean.com) or I'm looking for the wrong thing.

Still... I found a couple likely recipes, and through experimentation (and poking at the recipes that seemed way off in their proportions of stuff -- not to mention the occasionally weird ingredient) I found my bagel recipe.

Sun Dried Tomato Bagels
Yield: 10-12 bagels

1¼ cup hot water (~110 F)
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3½ cups bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1¼ tbsp salt
1 package / ¾ tsp active dry yeast

Using a Bread Machine:
Put the ingredients in the bread pan in the order listed, and then put the bread pan into the bread machine. Select the dough setting, as you won't be baking this in the machine. When the dough sequence completes, stop the machine and remove the dough.

Mixing By Hand:
In a mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups of the flour and the yeast. Combine water, sugar, and salt; pour over flour mixture. Add  the tomatoes and beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds to a minute, scraping bowl a few times. Stir in as much flour as you can mix with a spoon. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Cover with a clean towel and let rest 10 minutes.

For Both:
Cut into 10-12 equal portions; shape each portion into a smooth ball. Punch a hole in the center of each ball and pull gently to make a 1½ inch hole in the center. Arrange the rounds on a greased cookie sheet (or better yet, a Silpat) and cover with a clean towel. Put the cookie sheet into a warm place and allow it to rise undisturbed, 45-60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 F at this time. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to boil over medium heat. Carefully drop the dough rounds into the water one at a time and boil each bagel about 5 minutes, or until visibly enlarged. Remove the bagels from the water and transfer to a greased cookie sheet again. (SILPAT = BETTER.) Bake at 400 F until lightly browned, about 20 min.

Note: I figure you can do almost anything with the base recipe just by changing the type of oil/shortening and the flavor ingredient. Berry bagel? ¼+ cup (blue/rasp/straw)berries in place of the tomatoes and 2 tbsp butter (instead of olive oil). Garlic? Keep the olive oil or substitute garlic infused and drop a head's worth of peeled cloves into the mix. Want the garlic more whole in the end result? Drop them in during the last stir sequence (or, if by hand, when you've almost completed kneading). Egg bagel, toss in yolks. Herb bagel? Rosemary, thyme, perhaps cheddar into the mix. The possibilities are endless.

I'm having a really good day, and I'm just rolling in Yuletide spirit at the moment. ;)
I'll need to get a tree stand and some lights on the way home, most likely from Target: I'm also intending on stopping and nabbing some more ornaments from Michael's, since I was planning on another little tree for Christmas.
Long story short is, we have a seven foot noble fir for a Christmas tree, sitting in the front yard. (I took a picture this morning, just because -- and it was too dark last night.)

Honestly, though: I don't know what intuition made me do it, but I'd just gotten home from battling through Michael's for gift boxes and had finished putting things away when I turned to the fiance and said, "Sweetie? Let's go get a tree, yeah?"
Every lot in a 5-10 mile radius was closed down. It was horrifying.
I clearly owe the YMCA a lovely donation of either food, presents, or time this year.
These statements are not entirely non-sequiturs. ;)

I got up really early this morning -- practice for the next five workdays, since I'm working the 5am - 2pm shift through New Year's -- and got cracking with the gingerbread dough. The first of my gingerbread houses is baked, cooled, and currently sitting on the cutting board at home, waiting for me to get home and make the royal icing.
A few notes: I followed the gingerbread recipe I linked to the other day exactly this time, and oh my goodness. The gingerbread rises like mad! It's absolutely perfect for gingerbread men, but when it comes to houses... I think I'll make a note for myself on the 'mistaken' recipe where I substituted baking powder for the baking soda, and call that my construction gingerbread: It's strong, edible, (even tasty,) and does not swell up as much as the actual recipe, so will largely stay in the tolerances set by the house template. Woo!

Bansidhe's Mistake: Edible Construction Gingerbread
(Originally from Heidi Swanson's Gingerbread recipe on 101cookbooks.com)

4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
11 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup dark natural cane sugar OR dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup unsulfured molasses (blackstrap)

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl by hand (or with an electric mixer) cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix again until light and creamy. Blend in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses. Add the flour mixture in two additions by hand. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each in plastic and chill for at least an hour, and up to overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F, racks in the middle, and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper, wax paper, or Silpats. Set aside.

Roll the dough out roughly 1/8-inch thick between two pieces of wax paper (easy cleanup, with little to no sticking) and cut using your gingerbread house template of choice. Transfer to baking sheets and arrange the pieces at least a half inch apart on the sheet. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes (for 3 to 4-inch pieces, less for smaller cookies, more for larger). Set aside, let
cool until touchable but still warm, and trim to fit the templates (if necessary) with a serrated bread knife. Let cool completely, and then assemble house.

I'm going to let you in on a secret.
I have such a thing for baking mix. I blame my mother, dear woman that she is: She always had a couple boxes of SOMETHING in the house, and it was usually the Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines white or yellow cakes, since you could always add food coloring to those mixes and get some pretty nifty effects. My personal favorite baking mix that I sadly no longer allow in my house is Bisquick: Too much in the partially hydrogenated oils dependence for consistency, and I'm trying to cut down (if not entirely eliminate) partially hydrogenated oils and fats.

Segue aside, I still love baking mixes. Organic ones are better, if only in the space of my tragically yuppie imagination. Alas.
But. My fixation for the evening is Trader Joe's green tea baking mix.

I know, I know. I keep shouting 'Trader Joe's! Trader Joe's!' -- I'm sorry, they're my daily market now. They're also closer to where I live -- three of them, no less, including the one that's easily reachable from work for lunch, and I really do save money versus larger markets like Ralphs and whatnot. Well. The eggs, milk, and yuppie cheese are less expensive: The other stuff, I rarely find in other markets.
I also blame Trader Joe's for my vanilla gelato fixation, but that's neither here nor there.

So. It's been a long time since I've properly indulged my inner child by licking the cake bowl, and I felt like baking something for dessert tonight. I've already discovered that for a proper cake texture, I need to deviate from the baking mix's instructions.
It calls for:

- One full package of green tea baking mix.
- 2/3 cup water.
- 1/2 stick of melted butter.
- 2 large eggs.

Instructions say, preheat oven to 350 and put dry ingredients in medium-large bowl and stir in the wet ingredients until smooth. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 8x8x2 pan. Pour the batter into the pan, filling the corners and leveling the top: Bake for cake time stated below or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I've found the '2/3 cup of water' batter to be a little more dough-like than batter-like: It's definitely geared for the 'muffin' instructions on the box, so I've upped it to a full cup of water with nice results. I also tend to mix up the instructions a little: Muffin instructions call for 20 minutes at 400 F, and cake calls for 35-45 minutes at 350. I usually preheat the hell out of the oven to 350, make sure the rack is in the topmost position, and use my mini-bundt cake pan. Six mini cakes vs. a full sheet, I think the muffin timing wins: I check on them about 20-25 minutes, and they're usually perfect about then.

I wish I could say where to find the pan: I love it, the mini cakes have been nothing but fabulous... And my mother bought it for me two Christmases ago. Alas.

Tonight's green tea cakes will probably be served with the aforementioned vanilla gelato. Mmm, cakes a la mode.

It was another journal I'd originally brought this up in, but I've been thinking about what kind of glaze to use on said green tea cakes: I want to do something that preserves the Asian bent to the dish, so clearly, things like chocolate fudge and store-bought icings are right out.
I'm toying with the idea of mincing up candied ginger and mixing it into a powdered sugar and water glaze: That could work, but I wonder if it isn't all going to be too sweet at that point. Perhaps substitute a light citrus juice or something for the water, but then the ginger might be overkill. Eh, it bears more thought.

Now, I'm off to lick my cake bowl.
Don't follow my example: Raw eggs, salmonella, health warning, kitchen safety warning, grr, argh, do as I say, not as I do.
I'm going to go indulge my inner child now, thanks. ;)