Need help getting in the holiday spirit? Head over to Lottie + Doof for 12 Days of Cookies. The photos and recipes will have you swooning. Yum, yum, double yum!
Pictured: Lebkuchen, Apricot Bow Ties, Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies, Linzer Sablés.
Archive for the 'food' Category
We’re in Tennessee for the next few days, but I wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. And a happy week/weekend to those of you outside of the U.S. I hope you get to spend some time with the ones you love, and reflect on all the things you’re thankful for.
My brother and I are in charge of dessert tomorrow. We couldn’t make up our minds, so we’re making four pies: Chocolate S’more Pie, Rum Raisin Apple Pie, Oatmeal Pecan Pie, and Pumpkin Pie. Don’t be jealous. ;)
{photo by Romulo Yanes for Gourmet}
I’ll admit that I have a tendency to overuse superlatives. But I swear in this case I’m justified, because these are absolutely, positively, without a doubt the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. So good, in fact, that I made them twice last week.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Ashley Rodriguez, Not Without Salt
8 oz butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb good-quality chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks
sea salt
Preheat the oven to 360°.
Cream the butter and the sugars. Add eggs, one at time, then vanilla. Mix well, then scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
Before baking, sprinkle with a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are lightly golden on the outside and a bit gooey on the inside (they will continue to cook as they cool).
yield: 3 dozen cookies
I attempted to make macarons last night. The first batch deflated when I removed them from the oven, stuck to the parchment, and fell apart when I tried to remove them. The second batch was only slightly more successful. So instead of two dozen macarons, I ended up with 16. Only three of which looked good enough to take a picture. Ha. On the bright side, they tasted pretty good (thanks to a rich ganache filling). Have any of you made macarons before? Got a good recipe or helpful tips/tricks for success? It would be much appreciated! :)
And while I’m on the topic of sweets, check out this adorable cupcake my friend Ryan made for Halloween. (Cell phone photo, excuse the quality.)
This is my favorite recipe for homemade granola. It is quick and simple to make, and can be easily adapted to your liking: add wheat germ, flax, or coconut – just keep the dry-to-syrup ratio equal; or toss in some dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries) after baking. Seriously, the possibilities are endless. But I like it best as-is, served with yogurt and fresh fruit.
Homemade Granola
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds)
Preheat oven to 275. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a microwave-proof bowl, combine brown sugar and water. Microwave 4 minutes, or until sugar is completely dissolved. Add salt and vanilla extract.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, nuts, and syrup until thoroughly mixed. Spread granola onto the baking sheet and bake 45 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.
yield: 6 cups (about 12 servings)
Oh my my… Another weekend, another winner from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life. This time it was her Winning-Hearts-and-Minds Cake, and it certainly lived up to its name. This cake is oh-so-rich and utterly gorgeous, and begs for homemade whipped cream. I can hardly believe the leftovers made it through the weekend. :)
Winning-Hearts-and-Minds Chocolate Cake
from Molly Wizenberg’s “A Homemade Life”
7 ounces (200 grams) best-quality dark chocolate
7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted European-style butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/3 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 T flour
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and butter an 8-inch round cake pan.
Finely chop the chocolate and melt it gently with the butter in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring regularly to combine. Add the sugar to the chocolate-butter mixture, stirring well, and set aside to cool for a few moments. Add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition, and then add the flour. The batter should be smooth, dark, and utterly gorgeous.
Pour batter into the buttered cake pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the center of the cake looks set and the top is shiny and a bit crackly-looking. (You’ll know it’s done when it jiggles only slightly, if at all.) Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and revert it, so that the crackly side is facing upward. Allow to cool completely.
Serve at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!
I recently read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (of Orangette fame) and found myself bookmarking so many of the recipes that I don’t know if I’ll ever have the time to try them all. So this weekend we were invited to a cook-out at our friends’ apartment, and I jumped at the chance to make Molly’s French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon. This cake is responsible for introducing Molly to her husband Brandon, so I knew it had to be good. The cake was perfectly moist and the icing was lemon-y and sweet (but not too sweet). We were running late and I didn’t have time for a proper photo shoot, but I snapped this quick pic in the car on my iPhone. Yummm!
Here’s the recipe as it appears in the book (which differs slightly from the blog):
French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon
from Molly Wizenberg’s “A Homemade Life”
for the cake:
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
pinch of salt
2 t grated lemon zest
1/2 c well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (NOT low or non-fat)
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
for the syrup:
1/4 c powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 c lemon juice
for the icing:
1 c powdered sugar, sifted
3 T lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. (I used an 8-inch round cake pan, and spooned the leftover batter into a ramekin to make a mini-cake.)
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir to just combine. Add the oil and mix until you have a smooth pale yellow patter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. (I was a little too careful, as you can see from the slight indentation in the middle. Hehe.) Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a wide, flat plate or pan, then invert the cake back onto the rack so it sits upright, with the shinier, slightly domed side facing up. Set the rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk together syrup ingredients. Spoon syrup slowly atop the warm cake. Some of the syrup will run down the sides and onto the baking sheet, don’t worry. Cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar completely. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake. Serve, and enjoy!
I needed to use up a bunch of basil from my little overgrown plant yesterday, so I decided to whip up some pesto and make a pizza. It was super easy to make, and so so delicious. Possibly my new favorite pizza.
Pesto Pizza with Mushroom, Jalapeno and Feta
pizza dough (I use this Joy of Cooking recipe, halved)
pesto (recipe below)
mozzarella
mushrooms, portobello and/or button
jalapeno*
feta cheese
*Nolan wants me to warn you that the jalapenos make this spicy! You can knock off some seeds if you prefer your pizza a bit more mild.
Pesto
1 c basil leaves
3 T pine nuts, toasted
1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c parmesan
salt and pepper
Pulse basil and pine nuts in food processor. Add garlic, pulse. Slowly add olive oil while the food processor is on. Scrape down sides, add parmesan, pulse again. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes 1/2 cup.
A few food blogs I’ve been enjoying lately… Proceed with caution if you are hungry! These are sure to make your mouth water.
