Confessions of a Tart

Cold Weather Beef Stew

2011-12-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's really been a while, I know. I didn't mean to leave you guys for so long. But our days here have a different rhythm now, with nursery rhymes, playdates and little shoes, sticky kisses and bedtime stories and all the magic that a little cheeky monkey has brought to our little family. I haven't wanted to miss a second, and to be honest, cooking for us has taken a backseat. Instead of dreaming up new recipes, I've been dreaming up purple elephants, orange penguins, or just plain dreaming. Lately, though, with the weather inevitably turning frosty and the farmers' markets being denuded of their summertime produce, the kitchen has been calling me, pulling me like a magnet, urging me to fill the house with warmth and lovely smells. I first answered the call with this beef stew and once we mmmm-ed over it, I knew I had to come here and tell you about it.

Usually, I don't like recipes with "old-time" in the title because, well, it seems to promise so much, doesn't it? Like, here is a recipe that your grandmother probably made, that will connect you heart and soul to generations of the past, that won't overwhelm you with fancy ingredients or techniques, that will be simple, and hearty, and most of all, really really good. I'm happy to tell you that this recipe does not disappoint. It's exactly what it looks like on paper, but oh, oh the taste is so much more complex that you would expect by just looking at the ingredient list. Yes, there is the old time quality, and there is the beautiful simplicity, and there are layers of smells and flavors and textures. It's like a warm, comfortable sweater that you put on while sipping a glass of wine by the fireplace on a chilly night. I like that and I will be making this stew again throughout the winter months.

Old-Time Beef Stew
Paula Dean

2 pounds stew beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
1 lb potatoes (my own addition, but really good)
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, celery and potatoes chopped into chunks. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer (mine took another hour until the carrots and the potatoes were fully cooked through). To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Cream-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes With Strawberry Buttercream

2011-03-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

The flu hit our house like a ton of bricks this week and it hasn't been fun. Lily turned into a snot-machine (a cute snot machine, but still!) and all mama and daddy could do was pass each other some Kleenex and Theraflu and snuggle in bed all day long singing her favorite songs off-key.

Oh, and during those magic times when the drugs kicked in, we baked cupcakes. The cupcakes weren't actually for us, though. They went to a bridal shower for my sister's best friend, whom I've known since she was four years old. Sometimes, when I look at her, all grown up, engaged, almost married, I still see the four year old who helped me tease my sister mercilessly. (Well, she still does that. Good to know that some things don't change, huh!) So when I promised to bake her some cupcakes, I knew that these had to be special. I picked a simple Martha Stewart recipe for cupcakes, but then -- oh, then! -- I filled them with rich pastry cream and topped them with even richer strawberry buttercream made with fresh strawberries and the best butter I could find. Oh YEAH.

What can I tell you? These were really good! Actually, people at the bridal shower were asking my sister (I couldn't go - damn flu!) whether I had quit my job at the law firm to open a cupcake shop. Hehehe. The cupcakes had a nice, light crumb, and weren't too sweet - which is exactly what I was looking for. It's a great basic cupcake recipe that lets you play with fillings and toppings. I definitely recommend it!

Vanilla Cupcakes
(Makes 24 cupcakes) [made about 27 for me, but I didn't overfill]
(Martha Stewart)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk
Pastry Cream (I used the Tartine recipe for light pastry cream)
Strawberry Buttercream (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in 3 batches of flour mixture, alternating with 2 batches of milk. Raise speed to medium-high; mix until thoroughly blended, 10 to 20 seconds.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with batter. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tin on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tin and decorate.

If filling with cream, use a small spoon or the tip of a knife to make a small hole in the center of each cupcake, going about half way through the cupcake. Fill the hole with cream and then pipe buttercream on top.

Strawberry Buttercream
2 sticks (16 tbsp) of butter, room temperature
1 cup strawberries, pureed (I measured out the strawberries first and then pureed them)
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter in the mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. On slow speed, gradually add about 2 cups of powdered sugar and turn back up to high for a few minutes to really incorporate the sugar. Turn to slow speed again and fold in the strawberries. Add more sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Once all the sugar is incorporated, turn to medium-high for a few minutes to mix well.

Kahlua Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

2011-02-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that babies are kind of needy (who knew?!) and it took this mama a whole five and a half months to get back into the kitchen. I assure you, nothing less than the promise of alcohol and chocolate could have done it, both alcohol and chocolate being essential parts of the unofficial "Mommy Survival Pack." Earplugs and grandparents are also part of that pack, in case you were wondering. (haha, hi Mom and Dad!)

I have to warn you right off the bat - this cake uses *sounds of horror* the Dreaded Cake Mix of Dread. So, if you are a cake purist, avert your eyes now! Before I had a kid, I swore that I'd never use cake mix, but when your little helper insists on eating your utensils, it's either that or no cake at all, and believe me when I tell you that this cake is so worth it. The recipe comes courtesy of a fancy restaurant in LA which my mom and I went to on one of my "leave the baby ~~to fend for herself~~ with Daddy" excursions. I generally don't ask for recipes from chefs, especially at nice restaurants, because it feels somehow very personal, like asking to see someone's diary. Yet, this cake was so deliciously rich, with just the right undertones of coffee and liqueur enveloping your taste buds in moist, silky, slightly bitter chocolaty heaven, that I braved my own shyness and asked. The pastry chef actually came out to us and we chatted for a while, and she hand wrote this recipe for me. Frankly, I was amazed at her graciousness and warmth as she talked about the recipe, the restaurant and herself to two total strangers. I guess that experience adds a special richness to this cake, because being given something as a gift elevates it from a merely excellent cake to a lovely memory.

Kahlua Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
(makes 1 bundt cake, 2 9" round cakes or 24 cupcakes)

1 box Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake mix (or any other chocolate cake mix)
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup (8 oz) full fat sour cream
1 cup Kahlua
8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and butter a bundt cake pan really well.

In a large mixer bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and Kahlua. Mix on slow speed for 30 seconds and then on medium-fast for 2 minutes.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake for 45-60 min for bundt cake; 25-35 min for 9" cakes; 20-25 min for cupcakes. Check that a tester comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached. It's ok to slightly underbake this cake, but do not overbake.

5 months and a promise

2011-02-08T14:25:00.001-08:00

Hello, dear readers! Have you given up on me yet? If no, then thank you!

My little girl turns 5 months old today. These have been the roughest, busiest and most wonderful five months of my life, but then anyone who has kids could have told me that, right? We are becoming pretty good friends, and this weekend, I asked her to help me make a Kahlua chocolate Bundt cake for you all. She said "agugu," which I think means "Ok, as long as you feed me." HM.

But we're still going to make the chocolate cake, so look out for it next week!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

We hope your holidays are warm, bright and filled with joy and happiness!

Love,
Irene, Arkady & Lily.

In the pink

2010-11-13T21:49:00.001-08:00

As you can tell, I am a complete sucker for pink, bows and frills. I think she is too. :)

7 weeks!!!

2010-10-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Rookie Mistake

2010-09-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary,

Grandma incautiously left me without a diaper for 10 seconds yesterday. HAHAHA! Rookie mistake, Grandma!

Guess what I did... ;)

Love,
Lily

The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Baked

2010-09-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed how quiet it's been around these parts, and here is the small but very sweet reason. Lily arrived on Wednesday, September 8th at 12:24 pm, wide-eyed and screaming to announce her presence to the world.

I will get back to the kitchen, I promise, but not just yet. I want to take some time to enjoy our little Rosh Hashanah blessing.

In the meantime, lots of love to you all from me, A. and little L.

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-08-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

I think some of the best gifts I've ever gotten were food. Cocoa powder from Belgium, boxes of golden raisins, freshly baked bread. I love it all. And it's not because I consider myself a "foodie" or a connoisseur of the finer things in life. It's because I'm picky and also practical, and food is something I can always find use for and appreciate. In turn, I love giving food because I've seen people's faces light up at the sight of a chocolate tart or a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. There is something personal about food, something very primal that speaks to our inner humanity. It's no wonder that the first thing guests are offered in many cultures as soon as they cross the threshold is something to eat. Well, a martini is good too, but you get my point.

So when I'm asked to create party favors, I immediately think of food because hey, we can all use a cupcake once in a while, right? I was a tad skeptical about making chocolate cupcakes with only cocoa powder, but these turned out just lovely. Valhrona cocoa powder gives them a perfectly dark, indulgently chocolaty flavor, and the soft crumb and flat heads are just waiting to be topped with rich buttercream and devoured on the spot. Which is what we did with a few "test" cupcakes ("Oh, look, this one isn't perfect enough to go in the box - now, we have to eat it! Darn!"). Also, magic words: ONE BOWL. There's really no downside to these cupcakes and the biggest upside is that the guests truly loved them and almost everyone asked to take more than one so they could share with their spouses, kids and grandkids. It's the biggest compliment a cook/baker could get!

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
(from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)
Yields 24 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups dutch-process cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons
1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups warm water

Preheat oven to 350F and line or spray two standard 12-cup muffin pans.

Sift into the mixer bowl: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, yolk, milk, oil, vanilla and warm water.

Beat with a paddle attachment on low speed until smooth and combined, about 3 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups (my batter was pretty liquid, so I used a measuring cup to pour it out into the muffin cups).

Bake, rotating pans halfway through the baking time, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for a little bit and then transfer onto a wire rack or board to cool completely. Frost with swiss meringue buttercream!

Cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days (or frozen for a few months).

*I ordered the cupcake boxes from here.
*Labels: I adapted the sign and the labels from the amazingly creative and talented Amy from the Eat Drink Chic blog. I printed them out on full sheet shipping labels and cut them out. If anyone wants the template, send me an email and I can make it available.

Everyday Bread

2010-07-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

There is an undeniable mystique around bread baking. So many unfamiliar terms, so many techniques, starters, proportions, secrets that have been passed down through generations. It's intimidating, to say the least, and it kept me from baking bread until about a year ago.

Thankfully, there are lots of places to start for a yeast noob like me. Kind of like this bread, which is pretty much full proof (or fool proof). My friend Gabe, who is Italian, brought this over to a BBQ recently and we couldn't get enough, and when I got the recipe, I was floored by how easy it was to make. I couldn't help making one little change, though - I brushed the bread with a mix of olive oil, garlic and herbs, which gave it a crispy, garlicky crust that's impossible to resist. This is truly a bread you can make every day - and should make every day because it's dang good.

Gabe's Everyday Bread

400 g all purpose flour***
1 tsp salt
240 g water at 115F
1 tsp active yeast
1 tablespoon honey

For topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix

***Flour: using the right flour for bread-making really does matter. I know, because I started off using cheaper flour and when I switched to a better brand, I could really taste the difference. So, even though I generally avoid giving brand recommendations, I'm going to break my own rule here and tell you that for bread, I almost always use the King Arthur brand of flour.

Whisk flour and salt in a mixer bowl. Heat water to 115F and add yeast and honey.

Pour the water mixture into the flour and knead with the dough hook for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It shouldn't be very sticky - if it is, knead in a bit more flour until the dough is still soft and only very slightly sticky.

Rub or spray a large bowl with olive oil and put the dough inside, turning it to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubles in size (about an hour).

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and shape into a loaf (I made mine round).

Combine olive oil, crushed garlic and herbs, and brush the bread with about 3/4 of the mixture.

Place the loaf in a cast iron, a dutch oven or a baking sheet (I also put a layer of wax paper sprayed with olive oil under the bread) and bake for about 30 minutes. The crust should be a deep golden color and the bread should sound hollow when tapped from the side.

Immediately upon taking the bread out of the oven, brush again with the olive oil/garlic mixture and let cool to room temperature. Enjoy!

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts in an Herb Parmesan Crust

2010-07-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I have to give myself a budget at the farmer's market because I tend to go a little crazy there in the summer. It's all the smells, you see, and the colors that make me lose my head - the tiny red strawberries and the golden blush of peaches and apricots, side by side with boxes of fragrant basil, shiny yellow squash and sweet peppers. Everything calls out to me, the asparagus and the big white leeks, home-made hummus, local goat cheese and honeys, and humble cucumbers, not nearly as straight or perfect as at the supermarkets and therefore more beautiful. But the one thing that I can never pass by are tomatoes. Summer tomatoes, to be specific. They are a story onto themselves.

As soon as I saw these, I knew that they must be made into mini tarts for our lunch today. I could almost taste them, sweet and juicy and warm from the oven, encased in a buttery Parmesan and herb crust.

The crust is not difficult to make at all, do not be afraid of it. The whole wheat flour and the Parmesan take it to another level, and the smell of it as you are making it, and as it's coming out of the oven is kind of insane. I mean, you want to stop right there and just break off the crunchy, herby pieces that give off that unmistakable and irresistible scent of toasted cheese. But then you top them off with the goat cheese and the tomatoes, and add a bit of really good salt, and you'll be just so, so happy that you waited for the whole thing to come together. A nice glass of cold, crisp wine finishes these off perfectly, and though I was not able to enjoy them in exactly that way, it did not for one second detract from their deliciousness.

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts in an Herb Parmesan Crust
Makes one 9-10" tart or four 4" mini tarts

Pate Brisee
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, chilled or frozen
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tbsp dried Italian herbs (mine were a mix of oregano, basil and thyme)
2-4 tbsp ice water

Filling
4 oz goat cheese, softened
1/8-1/4 cup milk
1 lb (or thereabouts) of assorted tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped basil
salt and pepper

To make the crust:

Whisk flours, salt, Parmesan and herbs together in a large bowl. Cut butter into small squares and scatter on top of the dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter, quickly cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the biggest pieces are no larger than a small pea. Dribble in water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when pinched. Refrigerate for ten minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press together into a ball. [At this point, you can wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for an hour to let the flour absorb the water, but I didn't do this because I wanted a press in crust. If you like rolling out your crusts, refrigerate for an hour and then roll it out.]

If making mini tartlets, divide the dough into four pieces. If not, keep it in one piece. Spray or butter the tart pans and, working quickly so that the pieces of butter don't melt, press the crumbly dough into the pans. Refrigerate.

Heat the oven to 375F. Press parchment paper into the tart pans and fill with beans/rice/baking weights. Pierce the bottom of each crust several times with a fork. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the crusts are beginning to turn golden. Cool for 10 minutes.

While the crusts are baking, make the filling:

Put the goat cheese into a small bowl and add milk gradually until the mixture is roughly the consistency of sour cream. Slice the tomatoes and basil.

When the tart crusts are done, divide the goat cheese mixture between them and top with tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped basil. Bake for another 30 minutes.

I like these warm!

Small Batch Peach Jam

2010-06-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it only takes half an hour for magic to happen in the kitchen. It took only half an hour for these gorgeous, but sadly hum-drum tasting peaches to be transformed into the multi-layered, golden deliciousness of peach jam. If I hadn't prepared it myself, I would not have believed that such a transformation was possible, aided only by some lemon juice, sugar and a few drops of vanilla and almond extracts - but indeed, it happened, and I'm here to tell you that I've found the answer to all that sad, tasteless fruit that all of us come across but feel too guilty to throw away.

I have to admit that real jam-making isn't (yet) for me. The thought of buying up large quantities of fruit, simmering it in a large pot (which must feel a bit like a Macbeth witch, I'm imagining) and then *shudder* sterilizing the cans properly just really freaks me out. This, however - this is easy peasy. Let's say that, like me, the peaches you bought aren't all that you thought they would be. Or you found some strawberries in the back of the refrigerator that look like they've seen better days. You just take this neglected fruit, add some lemon juice, sugar and some extracts, simmer a bit on the stove and watch the magic happen. I promise you, it's a darn good show.

Small Batch Peach Jam
Adapted from David Leite

4-5 cups of thinly sliced peaches or other fruit
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet the fruit is
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Slice peaches thinly and, in a large bowl, combine with lemon juice, sugar and extracts. Stir to dissolve sugar and leave in the refrigerator to macerate overnight [I left mine in there for an hour].

Drain out all the juices into a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add half the fruit, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the juices are just thickened.

Cool it down for 10 minutes, then transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Transfer back to the pan and add the rest of the fruit. Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for another 15-20 minutes. To test if the jam is ready, drop a heaping teaspoonful onto a plate and slightly tilt the plate. The jam should not run off, but cling and slowly glide down. If the jam isn’t ready, put it back on the heat for a while.

Spoon the jam into small jars and refrigerate or spoon into resealable plastic containers and freeze. You need to keep it in the fridge and use it up fairly quickly [but I guarantee that this will not be a problem - it's DELICIOUS].

Quick Chocolate Buttercream

2010-05-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

I totally had birthday cake for breakfast this morning. You see, when you are the birthday girl, you are practically forced into doing that by the last errant slice of birthday cake that your mom tucked away in the fridge, knowing that you'd want it later on. I know, my mom is the best. Surprisingly, though, I'm not here to talk about cake. If you want a really fabulous dark chocolate cake, this one is my favorite, but you probably knew that already. What I'm going to tell you about is the buttercream.

Silky, smooth, luscious, lovely chocolate buttercream. Holy cow, this one is for the books! And it's the quick kind, meaning no heating up egg whites, no worrying whether they will whip up or not, no curdling and ensuing tears, and if you've ever made Swiss Meringue buttercream, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Forget all other quick buttercreams you've ever known, guys. Break up with them and never look back. This one is Mr. Right.

There is a reason it works, of course. First, you do a bit of whipping, and then you add unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar very very slowly, so that the butter has a chance to incorporate all that goodness. Then, you whip some more. Ta-daa! Lick-the-bowl good. Oh, yes, yes it is.

Quick Chocolate Buttercream
Frosts 24 cupcakes or a 2 layer 9" round/8" square cake
(I found the proportions online somewhere, but I don't remember where, sorry...)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature [I use very lightly salted butter; if you use unsalted, you can add a pinch of salt to bring out the chocolate flavor]
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder [My favorite is Valhrona dutch processed for a little bitterness]
1/2 cup whole milk
3-4 cups of powdered sugar (more or less to achieve desired consistency)

Whip the room-temperature butter on medium speed with the paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes. Shift to low and add cocoa powder slowly, one teaspoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Still on low, add in the powdered sugar (also one teaspoon at a time), alternating with the milk, to achieve desired consistency and taste. Then, beat on medium speed until very light and fluffy, another 3-5 minutes. Add in more sugar if consistency is too thin.

[tip: to make a clean cut in a cake, put it in the refrigerator for an hour to let the cake and frosting harden a little. Then slice with a very sharp cake or bread knife, wiping the knife with a damp paper towel after each cut.]

The Perfect Breakfast Muffin

2010-05-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

For some time now, I've been on a quest to discover the perfect breakfast muffin. Though I love the rich, buttery taste of a good cafe muffin as much as the next girl, and much more so with a good sprinkling of streusel and sparkly sugar on top, I don't want to eat this every day. Maybe I've grown up (oh, these dreaded words) and maybe I've just become more picky about what I put in my body and when, but for breakfast, I want something that's not only good, but also that's good for me.

People, oh, people. These are the proverbial IT. When I took the first hot muffin out of the oven, soft and sweet-smelling, deeply golden and flecked with dark, jewel-like nuggets of cranberries, and when I took that first bite, chasing it with a cool gulp of fresh milk, I had to sit down for a moment because I was a little overwhelmed by how much I loved these.

It's the whole package, the earthiness of whole-wheat flour, the complex not-too-sweet sweetness of brown sugar, and that smell - the homey, vanilla-y, spicy smell of a freshly baked muffin. It got to me. I'm sold. Bring it on. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I immediately ate three. These are addictive, especially when warm.)

The Perfect Breakfast Muffin
Hacked quite a bit from Gourmet, May 1998
Makes 18 muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups sugar (1/3 brown, 1/3 white)
1/4 pound carrots (about 2/2.5 cups, coarsely shredded)
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries or chopped dried apricots
3 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large apple (coarsely shredded) [I used Gala]

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter or line eighteen muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and then whisk in the sugars.

Coarsely shred the carrots and chop the pecans. Add the carrots, pecans and dried fruit to the flour mixture and toss well.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract. Peel and core the apple and coarsely shred. Stir the shredded apple into the egg mixture and then add to the flour mixture, stirring until batter is just combined well and there aren't any large dry spots.

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake until puffed and golden and the tester comes out clean, 15-20 minutes (I had to bake for 25).

Cool muffins in cups on racks 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely. Muffins keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days [I also flash freeze mine in a tray and then drop into a large freezer bag so I can take one out for breakfast every day].

Baked Frittata

2010-05-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

I feel guilty that I haven't told you about this frittata yet, not just because I make it all the time, but because it's so easy, so delicious and so infinitely adaptable, that everyone should have something like it in their bag of tricks. I pull this particular one out when I have ~~eight~~ ~~ten~~ twelve guests for brunch (even if one of them is a small itty bitty person) and I don't want to spend the whole day in the kitchen in preparation for the event. Don't get me wrong, I love my guests... but this weather - this warm, lovely, springy weather that brings hints of honeysuckle and strawberries in the air - is tempting me to spend time outside, and so something has to give. Fortunately, in the case of this frittata, it's definitely not taste.

There's really nothing to it - you break 12 eggs into a big bowl, add in some whole milk and a pinch of salt, pepper and whatever herbs you have lying around, and pour the whole thing over fresh-from-the-market vegetables (or not, I won't tell), sprinkle a handful of cheese on top, stick the whole thing in the oven and forget about it for an hour or so until the guests arrive. It bakes up tender and golden, warm and a little crusty on top and around the edges. It's also especially irresistible during a Sunday brunch, when the sun is pouring into the windows and Louis Armstrong is playing on the radio. Mimosas help too, but don't tell my mom I'm advising it.

Baked Frittata (with spinach, cheddar and cherry tomatoes)
serves 10-12

Needless to say, you can throw whatever herbs, vegetables and cheeses into the mix. Sundried tomatoes, asparagus and goat cheese might be nice, as would sauteed leeks and gruyere. A handful of chopped green onions would be really great too. I like to throw in a bit of chopped parseley and dill or sprinkle in some herbes de Provence for an added fragrance and freshness, but the whole point of this dish is that you should follow your own imagination and make it any way you want.

12 eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups whole milk
1 lb spinach, stems removed (or use organic frozen chopped spinach, defrosted)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
a large handful of grated cheese (cheddar, gruyere, mozarella, etc)
handful of chopped parseley and dill
1 teaspoon salt
pepper

Turn the oven to 400F. Butter a 9"x13" pan.

If using fresh spinach: melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, chop the spinach and sautee it with garlic for several minutes until wilted and soft. Squeeze out excess liquid. If using frozen: defrost and squeeze out excess liquid, then mix in the garlic.

Spread spinach in the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Halve the cherry tomatoes and scatter them on top of the spinach. Scatter the parseley and dill on top as well.

Break 12 eggs into a large bowl and whisk with the milk, the salt and the pepper until fully combined.

Pour over the vegetables. Some will float - that's ok - in fact, it's good. Grab a large handful of grated cheddar (or other cheese of your preference) and scatter on top of the eggs.

Set into the oven and bake until golden and completely set in the middle, about 60-70 minutes (jiggle to make sure - an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven won't kill it).

Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2010-04-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

There is a reason I come back to Dorie Greenspan's "Baking" again and again. It's not only because the recipes are simple, easy to understand, charming and delicious. On a basic level, I love this book because the recipes always work. After a disaster with [unnamed magazine]'s recipe for cookies which looked and tasted like cardboard, and chocolate ganache which was so sweet that I had to throw away the whole batch (throw away a batch of cookies! nooo!), I felt in need of some therapy, so I sidled up to "Baking," stroked the cover lovingly and opened it to the bundt cake page.

Now, there was no photo of this bund cake in the book. I think it was a deliberate ploy to give your imagination room to run free, because when I saw the name, "Nutty, chocolaty, swirly sour cream bundt cake," my mind kind of exploded into bliss and I had to take a moment to calm myself down before running to the kitchen to take the butter out of the refrigerator.

Holy bundt cake, GOOD LORD YES. This cake was everything I had dreamt of and more. I used to think that bundt cakes were dry and boring, in need of coffee or tea to choke them down. The error of my ways is clear to me now. Dry? Boring??? This cake is anything but. The smell alone is enough to drive anyone crazy, and the taste, with the orange and the sour cream and the chocolate and the pecans/raisins/cinnamon trifecta, and mmmmm..... so much happiness.

Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Dorie Greenspan's Baking

The Swirl
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (or 1/3 c. mini chocolate chips)
1/3 cup plump moist raisins (dark or golden, or may use dried currants)
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch
salt, a pinch

The Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 orange, zest of
8 ounces butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
powdered sugar, for dusting

Position oven rack in center; preheat oven to 350°; butter a 9- to 10-inch Bundt pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess; do not place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet.

Make the swirl: add all the ingredients to a bowl; stir to mix.

Make the cake: whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add in the butter; with the paddle or whisk attachment beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Add in eggs one at a time, beat for 1 minute after each egg goes inches. Beat in the vanilla; decrease mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream. Still on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix only until they disappear into the batter.

Give the batter a last stir or two with a rubber spatula, then scoop about 1/3 of the batter into the Bundt pan. Evenly sprinkle on half of the swirl mixture, then spoon in the rest of the batter. Make a shallow indentation with the back of a spoon in the center of the ring of batter and fill it with the remaining swirl mixture, then cover the mixture lightly with the batter on the sides of the indentation—the batter probably won’t cover the mixture completely and that is fine.

Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean.

Transfer pan to a rack and let the cake rest for 10 minutes before unmolding it onto the rack to cool to room temperature. Just before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Cornbread

2010-04-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have a small confession to make. *Deep breath* I don't really like traditional Texan cornbread. You know, the kind that's made entirely with cornmeal and has like one teaspoon of sugar, if that? The kind made in a cast iron pan with a healthy slather of bacon grease? Yeah, that kind. It turns out that I'm a California girl to the tips of my toes and I need the sweet cushioning of flour and sugar, and the thought of bacon grease scares me more than just a little. Look, we all have our faults, ok? Count this as one of mine. You still love me, right?

If you're like me, this cornbread is the recipe for you. It's soft, moist and yet sturdy enough to cut into squares - though I do advise you to make those squares larger rather than smaller; it's just "corny" enough, especially with the addition of sweet corn kernels; and its sweetness is there, but just hanging out in the background, making this cornbread a perfect vehicle to sweep up some tangy sauce at a summer BBQ.

Last but not least, this recipe's beguiling simplicity (a five minute mixing effort with a wooden spoon) creates a platform for ideas to run free. If you're a real Texan, you might want to turn away now, because I know this will hurt you. I dreamed of adding roasted and chopped poblano peppers to the batter, of spicing it up with jalapenos or throwing in little delicious salty nuggets of pancetta, and maybe, just maybe swirling in some softened goat cheese. I don't know what ideas I will come up with for a second rendition of this cornbread - all I know is that I'm making a double batch and not looking back.

Cathy Justice's Best of Show Blue Ribbon Cornbread
via Dorie Greenspan

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/16 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 tsp.)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sweet corn kernels

Heat oven to 425F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl (I used a measuring cup), whisk together all the wet ingredients until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or a spatula only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Batter will be lumpy, but that's ok. Gently stir in corn kernels.

Pour out into the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Strawberry Cream Cake, version 2

2010-04-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Let me tell it to you straight. I wasn't going to show you this cake because I didn't think the pictures turned out well. Stupid reason, right? For a whole month, my vanity held me back, but then I realized that every time I thought about this cake, my mouth watered and I gave a little contented sigh, which means that I have a DUTY to tell you about it. Simply put, this cake is an Oh-My-God-Where-Have-You-Been-All-My-Life kind of a cake. Three gorgeous layers of the fluffiest, the sweetest, the most delicious vanilla butter cake I've ever had, and it's soaked with a rum simple syrup and then filled with like two pounds of tart, juicy strawberries and lots and lots of pillowy, sweet whipped cream. You must, one day, make it. In fact, I think that day should be tomorrow.

When the whole thing comes together, it's pretty much the most awesome thing ever. It's tall and beautiful, it has sweetness from the cake and tartness from the strawberries, with the whipped cream cushioning all that lovely, fragrant, cakey goodness. And then there's the rum - it's kind of subtle, but with enough time for the flavors to meld, it gets into everything, strawberries, whipped cream and all, and it's just boozy enough to make it feel like dessert is the most important course of the entire meal (IT IS). I made this for my parent's 32nd anniversary (go Mom and Dad!!!) and my mom actually hid a giant slice in the refrigerator from her guests so she could have a piece all to herself. Sneaky, mom! But necessary, as it turned out, because all those guests who were all, "oh, no dessert for me, thank you, I'm on a diet," apparently decided to give their diets the night off. There was not a crumb or a smudge of whipped cream left.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake from Sky High Cakes
Makes three 8", 9" or 10" round layers or two 9x13" layers (I made mine 10" round, so I could build in a springform pan)
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 cups cake flour
2 cups sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 lb strawberries
2 cups of heavy cream + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup rum

Make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350C and butter the cake pans well.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and 1 cup of buttermilk and with the mixer on low, blend together to moisten the batter. Then, on medium speed, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and the egg yolks, the vanilla and 1/4 cup of buttermilk in a bowl and add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing only until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the batter between your pans. NOTE: The recipe anticipates that you will have the requisite number of cake pans (i.e., three round 8", 9" or 10" pans or two 9x13" pans). Having a 90 sq. ft. kitchen, I only own one cake pan of each size, so I had to bake each layer separately. The cake batter hung out on the counter while I did this and seemed to do just fine.

Bake the layers for 28-32 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. If the cake layers have domed, trim them with a sharp bread knife.

Prepare the strawberries:
Reserve 18 whole strawberries out of the 2 lbs. Chop the rest into small pieces. Out of the 18, take six and cut them in half with the green part still on. Hull and halve the other 12.

Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it holds stiff peaks (but do not overbeat because it will be hard to spread). Combine water and rum together.

Assemble the cake:
Line the sides of a cake ring or a springform pan with plastic, so there is some overhang. Put one cake layer inside and, with a spoon or a pastry brush, soak the cake layer with one third of the rum/water mixture. Set the halved strawberries around the sides of the cake, placing them cut side down and wide end pressed against the sides of the pan. Spread half the chopped strawberries inside. Spread a little less than half of the whipped cream on top of the strawberries.

Place the second layer on top and press gently to distribute the whipped cream evenly. Repeat the soaking/strawberries/whipped cream steps. Place the third layer on top of the second one and again press gently to distribute the filling. Soak with the remaining rum, frost the top with the remaining whipped cream and decorate with the halved strawberries that still have the tails on. This cake needs at least 4-5 hours for the flavors to meld.

Strawberries!

2010-03-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't make anything new for you today. I know that all you nice people will forgive me. It's been an interesting month to say the least, what with our never-ending roof leak, caved in ceiling, a mold problem that necessitated a week of removal and haz-mat like conditions in the house, and other things cooking that I would love to tell you about now (but can't... you'll have to wait and see!). I hope that my mom is not reading this, because these days, our dinners have consisted of roasted chicken, mac and cheese or "whatever is left in the fridge." Like I said, it's been an interesting month.

But yesterday (when I had two oranges and a yogurt for dinner), I decided that life was too beautiful to worry about roof leaks and all the other stuff. I mean, look outside, people, it's SPRING! It's March! And you know what this means in California? It means blue skies, tank tops and STRAWBERRIES. Oh good lord, California strawberries, they just take my breath away. Especially the ones sold at the Farmer's Market by this guy in the picture above. I think he's pretty dreamy when he talks about growing strawberries. So, in celebration of spring (I like to think of it as "spring!"), I dug into the archives for my favorite strawberry recipes. Trust me when I tell you that these are the bee's knees, the cat's meow and the like. These make me happy. And spring, it's here, and that makes me happy too.

Strawberry scones
Chocolate-dipped strawberries
Strawberry Bavarian cake (yum, btw)
Strawberry cream cake
Strawberry Frangelico tart
Fresh strawberry tart

Chocolate Pear Cake

2010-03-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

I know you were waiting for me to bring you Hamantashen... and I wanted to, I really did. I even bought all the ingredients for the cookies and then... I made chocolate pear cake instead. I don't know what happened to me, but somewhere between the store and my kitchen, cookies morphed into cake and let me tell you, I am so not sorry. Because this chocolate cake? It's the bomb. It's moist and intensely chocolaty, and at the same time so soft and light and faintly sweet, like a flourless chocolate cake that's been given an airlift and taken to places it's never dreamt of going. In fact, I feel so strongly about it that I'm telling you right now - whatever dessert you were planning to make next, scrap it for this cake. Eat it warm with some softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle a few raspberries on top. You will thank me later, I swear.

Chocolate Pear Cake
Elra's Baking

[Dairy-Free Note: I made this cake twice, once substituting a dairy-free Earth's Balance spread for the butter. This did not change the texture or the taste, but I did find that I had to bake it a bit longer, maybe an extra 10 min, with the substitution. So, if you need to make this dairy free, know that you can]

4 oz unsalted butter, softened (or unsalted non-dairy substitute)
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
4 oz dark chocolate, chopped (melted and cooled slightly)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal (finely ground almonds), or hazelnut meal, or combination of both
4 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, or Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
4 Bosc pears, poached (sometimes, I use poached pears from a jar to save time)

Poach the pears: peel, cut in half and core the pears. Combine 2-3 cups of water and half a cup of sugar in a sauce pan on medium-high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the pears (add more water if needed to cover the pears), bring to a low boil and cook for 20-25 min or until fork tender. Drain and set aside.

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Butter or spray a 9 or 10 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and set aside. [This can be done one of two ways: (1) In the microwave, on 20 second intervals or (2) in a bain marie - set a saucepan with about an inch of water over high heat; bring to a boil and turn down the heat; put the chopped chocolate in a shallow-ish, heatproof bowl; set the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the bottom does not touch the water; watch the cocolate melt.]

Sift together the flour, almond meal, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted chocolate, beat on a low speed until combined. Still on low speed, add the sifted flour mixture and beat for 1 minute, or until just combined.

Pour the batter into prepared cake pan. Arrange the sliced pears in a circle. Bake the cake for 30 to 40 minutes. Do not overbake. When a tester is inserted into the center of the cake, it should come out with a few moist crumbs attached. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I think caramel would be pretty awesome here too.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2010-02-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

One day, I went looking for a simple spinach artichoke dip recipe, and to my complete amazement, I didn't find one. You'd think that something so ubiquitous would be everywhere, and yet, all the recipes I encountered seemed either unnecessarily complicated or just downright strange. There were recipes with cream cheese and recipes with sour cream. There was even a recipe that used mayo, cream cheese AND sour cream all together. There was another that combined mayo, crème fraîche, Parmesan, Mascarpone and goat cheese. I mean, that's a bit of an overkill for a humble dish that should be a no-brainer, right? Ingredients like onions and breadcrumbs crept into the lists. Red pepper flakes. Jack cheese. Heavy cream. Eh?!

After half an hour of searching, I was done with all of that. I decided I would just trust my instincts and wing it. Like with my apple pie a while back, I put into the dip just what I thought should be there. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't believe in fancifying food just for the sake of making it "unique." I made half a recipe for a lunch party of 6, just to test the waters, so to speak. That was my only mistake - I should have doubled it. It was the most passed dish on the table, though it was by no means meant to be the star of the appetizer course. Seriously - this dip is straight up and no-nonsense, and I think because of it, it's pretty darn good. Give it a try for your next party and serve it up with sourdough baguette toasts or tangy olive bread - I promise, you're going to love it.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup finely chopped sauteed spinach (or 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus a pinch for the top
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
a good squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly grated pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking dish.

Chop the artichoke hearts roughly, but not into too large pieces. Combine half the chopped artichoke hearts, half the Parmesan and all the other ingredients except for the garlic in a food processor and process for a few 5 second pulses until fairly smooth (if you like really smooth dip, use all the ingredients - I like mine with a little bit of texture).

Stir in the rest of the artichoke hearts, the rest of the Parmesan cheese and the chopped garlic. Taste to adjust the seasoning. There shouldn't be any need for more salt, but I like to add pepper for a little bit of a bite. Also add more lemon juice if you like.

Transfer to the baking dish, top with a few pinches of Parmesan, and bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden. Serve hot, but make sure to save a bite for yourself (cook's privilege!) because this stuff goes quickly.

Challah

2010-02-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

What did I do this Saturday, you might ask? I took two naps and I baked the softest, sweetest, loveliest pull-apart challah I could have ever hoped for. As you can tell, I'm still a complete disaster at braiding it... In the throes of ambition, I tried a six-braided loaf, completely failed at it in the middle and made it a round one to hide the imperfections. Next time, I'll stick with three braids. Even I know my limitations! But the flavor, oh, and the texture - absolute perfection. Soft, warm, slightly sweet, with an eggy crust and crunchy poppy seeds on top... I love this bread, I really love it.

The recipe was recommended to me by the lovely Amy after my disappointment with Peter Reinhard's challah (by the way, I also discovered a later recipe of his that uses EIGHT egg yolks - ha!). It took me a while to try it, but now that I have, there's really no going back. The only tiny little qualm I have is that it's not yellow enough, so I might need an extra egg yolk in there, but it's such an easy and satisfying bread to make, and it looks so beautiful - all pale dimples and burnished gold curves - that I got over the color quickly enough. I have to portion it off to my family as quickly as possible because I can't seem to stop pulling off little sweet pieces to snack on.

Challah
Fine Cooking

2 tsp. instant yeast
16-3/4 oz. (3-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more as needed
1/4 cup warm water
3 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey (1/3 if you want a sweeter challah)
1-1/2 tsp. table salt
For the glaze:
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sesame or poppy seeds for sprinkling (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of the flour. Add the warm water, stir, and let this mixture, called a sponge, sit until it starts to puff up, 15-to 20-minutes. Add the eggs, oil, honey, and salt; stir until well combined. The sponge will remain lumpy—this is fine. Add the remaining flour and mix the dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes. The dough should feel very firm and will be hard to knead. If it’s soft and sticky, add more flour until it’s very firm [I ended up adding another 1/2 cup]. Transfer the dough to a large, clean container and cover it well. Let it rise until doubled in bulk and very soft to the touch, about 2 hours, depending on the room temperature. Line an insulated baking sheet with parchment or oiled foil. If you don’t have an insulated sheet, stack two sheets together (this keeps the bottom of the bread from overbrowning during baking).

To shape the dough (see diagram here):

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle a little more flour over it. Spread and flatten the dough a bit, but don’t worry about punching it down. Cut it into six equal pieces. Set aside the dough pieces, cover them lightly with plastic, and brush all the flour off the work surface. Have a small bowl of water handy. Using no flour, roll a piece of dough with a rolling pin into a very thin sheet, between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick (don’t worry about making a rectangle; an amoeba-type shape is fine). The dough may stick to the work surface; this is all right—just nudge it gently with a dough scraper. Tightly roll up the sheet like a carpet to form a strand. Roll the strand back and forth between your hands until it’s thin, very even, and 12 to 15 inches long. At the ends of the strand, angle the outer edge of your hands into the work surface as you’re rolling to make the ends pointy and the strand thicker in the middle (This will help you get a football-shaped loaf). The strand needs to grip the work surface slightly during this rolling; the “grab” will help as you roll. If the strand is too slick, very lightly dampen it with water to help it grip the work surface better. Repeat the rolling out, rolling up, and elongating steps with the remaining five pieces of dough, rolling them out to the same length. Lightly sprinkle all the strands with flour to prevent them from sticking to one another during proofing. Arrange the strands parallel to one another. At one end, gather and pinch the strands very tightly together. Weight the end with a heavy canister to keep the braid from moving and to leave your hands free, and braid closely, following the illustrations below. Lightly tap each end of the loaf with your palms to tuck it under the loaf.

Transfer the braid to the lined baking sheet and cover it loosely but thoroughly with plastic wrap. Let proof until doubled in bulk and the loaf remains indented when lightly pressed, about 2 hours, depending on room temperature. (If in doubt, let the dough proof more rather than less.)

To bake:

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Just before baking, brush the dough with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds, if using. With a thin wooden skewer, poke the bread deeply all over (the holes will prevent air pockets and help the bread keep its shape during baking) [Note: I did not do this and it turned out well]. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the challah 180 degrees and bake until the bread is a dark, burnished brown, about another 15 minutes [Note: mine baked for an extra 10 min on top of the 15]. (If the challah is browning too rapidly cover it loosely with foil and let it finish baking. Don’t remove the loaf too soon, as you’ll risk underbaking.) Let cool thoroughly on a rack.

Mixed-Berry Muffins and a Blog-a-birthday

2010-02-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that time has a sneaky way of moving forward? Like one day, it's Thanksgiving, and the next day, you wake up and it's the middle of February and your blog has turned two years old? No? Well, that just totally happened to me. And to celebrate, I decided to bake blueberry and raspberry muffins.

I'm not really strict about my breakfast being, well, breakfast. I don't mind a cinnamon bun or a leftover slice of cake with a glass of milk. Sure, I'd like to pretend that I eat healthy granola with skim milk as my first meal of the day, but most of the times, that just doesn't happen, so after a while of it not happening, I just embraced indulging myself a little in the mornings. I hear indulging yourself is the new black this season (and if it isn't... well, it SHOULD be!)

These muffins are a perfect little indulgence. They are delightfully soft, lightly sweet, and I can see them being a breakfast companion as well as taking center stage as mini-muffins for a brunch or a shower party. They are certainly pretty and festive, perfect slightly warm and with a tall glass of milk, and they make me smile in the mornings. Next week - next week I'll go back to yogurts and granolas and fruit - but for now, during my blog-a-birthday week, I can't think of a better way to start my day than a warm little nugget of cake studded with sweet berries and aromatic with vanilla.

Mixed-Berry Muffins
adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
makes 12-16 muffins

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or whole milk)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries and raspberries)

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 12-16 muffin cups.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Make a well in the center and stir in the wet ingredients until just combined (do not overmix). The batter will be lumpy, but that's ok.

Toss the berries with a little bit of flour, just to coat, and gently fold into the batter. Divide between the muffin cups and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the tops are very lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake

Madeira Chicken with Mushrooms

2010-02-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

Our Valentine's Days have always been fraught with disaster. The first one was great, but after that, it was like a curse descended onto our V-Day plans. One year, our reservations got lost. Another year, the restaurant had a fire in their kitchen and had to close down. There was a time that our car got a flat on the way to our destination, and I think by the fourth year of this, we just gave up on plans. We got the hint.

This year, I'm giving my Valentine some chicken. Because chocolates are nice, but let's get real, I know my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and a really good dinner always excites him much more than dessert. It sounds unromantic, I know, but you haven't tasted this chicken. It has an amazing flavor. It has mushrooms, it has onions, it has thyme, and it gets to braise in a magical mix of butter, Madeira and Worcestershire sauce until meltingly tender and fragrant with butter, wine and herbs. The skin gets re-crisped under the broiler, and when you cut into it, you'll want to have lots of crusty country bread on hand to sop up the dark, rich sauce, which might just be my favorite part. Oh, and it comes together with about 15 minutes of work and half an hour of braising, during which you and your Valentine can... well, I'll let you figure that part out. I'm just here for the food.

Madeira Chicken with Mushrooms
adapted from Williams-Sonoma
serves 6

6 chicken thighs, fat cut off
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 lb. wild and/or cultivated mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Madeira or dry sherry
1 1/2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large fry pan or saute pan with a lid, melt the butter on med-high heat and brown the chicken on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion into the pan juices and saute until barely softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until the juices are released, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Madeira and Worcestershire sauce.

Return the chicken to the pan, nestle it in between the mushrooms and onions, cover and braise on medium-low heat until cooked throughout, 20-25 minutes. About five minutes before the chicken is done, pre-heat the oven to broil. Once the chicken is done, put the pan into the oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes to re-crisp the skin. Adjust the seasoning in the sauce, stir in chopped thyme and serve immediately over rice or mashed potatoes with lots of bread to sop up the sauce.

Brown Sugar Almond Shortbread

2010-01-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

The cookie season is quite over, but my oven doesn't know that because I can't seem to let go of these wonderful cookies. You'd think that there aren't very many ways to play with such a humble cookie as shortbread - you would be very wrong, and Dorie, whose recipe this is, hits the jackpot as usual.

The substitution of brown sugar for regular sugar gives these cookies an extra layer of depth, a kind of subtle scent and sweetness that enhances the extra crunch created by the addition of ground nuts. Mmm... crumbly, buttery, delicious shortbread with layers of underlying flavor. Can you tell I'm slightly in love with this recipe? Not only did I include it in my gift boxes this holiday season, I've made it several times after and I've bored my friends to tears by waxing poetic about the sheer genius of this cookie. Unfortunately, I have a feeling they only listened to me because I kept up a constant supply of shortbread! :)

Brown Sugar Almond Shortbread
Adapted slightly from Baking, Dorie Greenspan

*A few notes: (1) The original recipe called for ground pecans, but as I had none at the time, I substituted ground almonds instead - it worked really well, but I'm dying to make these with pecans; and (2) The recipe calls for an 18-20 minute baking time - I found that this was way too long and the cookies browned too much and lost flavor. I baked mine for about 12-13 minutes, just until crunchy and pale golden.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cloves
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and cloves.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Add the almond and give the mixer a couple of turns, just to get the nuts into the dough.

Using a rubber spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9×10-1/2-inch rectangle that’s 1/4-inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets wiht parchment or silicone mats.

Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-1/2 inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet. [I would also freeze each sheet for about 15 minutes before baking to stop the cookies from spreading. I did that with mine and they hardly spread].

Bake for 18-20 minutes [my time was 12-13 minutes], rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale – they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Yield: 32 cookies

Haiti

2010-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

I know it's been quiet around here - very quiet. I've been focusing on other projects this month (as well as the birthday explosion... hey, January people, can you spread out your birthdays a little more? ;) ) and haven't been as creative in the kitchen as I generally like to be.

So for today, I don't have a recipe for you. But because of the earthquake in Haiti, the devastation of which we can unfortunately relate to all too well here in Los Angeles, I wanted to link to Chris Sacca's excellent post on how we can help the relief efforts. I feel lucky that A. and I are able to contribute and, though I am generally not the praying type of person, I would like to ask you for at least a small prayer for the victims of this terrible disaster and to keep hope in your heart for survivors.

Thanks for being here to listen.

Baked Brie

2010-01-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

This year, A. and I decided to do something unprecedented - we decided to stay home and throw ourselves a party. There was a menu, there were fancy clothes, there was an entire bottle of champagne, there were twinkle lights and presents and a whole lot of tipsiness... in other words, it was a totally awesome way to start the new year!

My dears - in this new year, I want to wish you all much health, happiness, luck, peace, love and prosperity. May our knives always be sharp and may our cuts heal quickly. Happy 2010!

Baked Brie

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted if frozen
1 standard sized triangle of brie
a little olive oil, for brushing

This is a ridiculously easy thing to make, and yet, this gets me the most accolades when I do make it. You take one sheet of defrosted puff pastry (I prefer to use all-butter puff pastry), you wrap it around a good-sized triangle of brie, you brush it with a little olive oil and you bake it at 425F for about 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is flaky and golden and the cheese is all melty and ooozy goodness. Ta-daa!

You can totally dress this up by cutting the cheese in half and layering it with a bit of brown sugar, raisins and sauteed apples. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right? But the beautiful thing is that you can serve it just simple-like - beautifully puffed pastry and a molten lava of cheese. It's the kind of marriage that needs no embellishments.

Cinnamon Walnut Rugelach

2009-12-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

Have you ever worked with cream cheese dough? If not, count yourself lucky, and if yes, you will understand when I say that cream cheese dough is a huge pain to work with and should only be attempted when you're home alone (so at least no one can hear you swearing like a sailor and throwing floured utensils at the wall).

I gotta be honest with you, this dough almost broke me. It was so soft, so sticky (even after proper chilling), so unwilling to do what I wanted it to do, that I almost gave up. My kitchen looked like a bag of flour exploded all over it and soft, sticky bits of dough snuck into every little crevice. I was so frustrated, I almost tossed dough, flour and all into the trash. Hoo boy, am I glad that I didn't!

Because, as it turns out, the best things in life are worth the effort, and these little rugelach definitely fall into that category. It's something of an epiphany when you first bite into this pastry that puffs up and is soft and delicate and crunchy at the same time, the sweetness of the filling perfectly balancing the tang of the cream cheese in the dough. It's addictive. If you can eat less than five, I take my hat off to you, because no one with whom I shared these could hold themselves back.

If you decide to make these, arm yourself with a lot of patience, a lot of flour and a good bench scraper. Flour the heck out of your surface, flour the heck out of your dough and flour the heck out of your rolling pin. Keep the dough cold and the cursing to a minimum. And trust me, it's all going to be worth it. This - this is what bliss tastes like with a cup of coffee.

Walnut and Cinnamon Rugelach
slightly adapted from Desserts from Chanterelle

(I added some chocolate to these, and though it tasted fantastic, the chocolate melted out of the filling and created a dark brown crust on the bottom of the cookies, making them look like they burned a little. In other words, I do not recommend this addition.)

Dough
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup flour, plus more for rolling dough
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon sugar (I increased to 2 tablespoons)

Filling
1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (2 ounces) currants (I omitted)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8-1/4 cup turbinado sugar, for topping

1 egg, for egg wash

Yields 32-36 cookies

Make the dough - using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy (5-8 min). Decrease speed to slow and add the dry ingredients, beating until thoroughly combined. Rev up the mixer to medium for 15 seconds. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic, pressing to shape it into a disc about 1 inch thick and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Make the filling - in a bowl, toss the sugar, chopped walnuts, currants if using and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Roll the dough - a.k.a. the tricky part:

Flour the heck out of your rolling surface and your rolling pin. Working with one batch of dough at a time (leave the second in the refrigerator while rolling the first), roll the dough into a 6 1/2 x 16 inch rectangle. Roll quickly, lifting the dough with a bench scraper as you are rolling and re-flouring underneath. Use a bench scraper or a pizza cutter to trim the dough into the desired dimensions.

Brush off excess flour and then brush the dough with some egg wash and spread half the walnut-cinnamon filling on top, leaving a 1-inch wide strip of dough clean on the long side (the 16" side). Starting with the edge opposite the clean one (the other 16" side), tightly roll the dough into one 16" long roll. When you reach the strip of dough without topping, apply a little pressure to seal the seam and roll it so the seam is on the bottom.

At this point, I would recommend to cut the dough in half (yielding two 8" rolls), wrap each roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min-1hr. Repeat with the other half of the dough. [The logs can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hrs or in the freezer for 1 week].

Baking - preheat the oven to 350F. Glaze each log with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle the top generously with turbinado sugar. Slice into 1 inch cross-sections and place on a cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden on top. Rotate the cookie sheet half-ways through the baking time to ensure even baking.

Happy holidays!

2009-12-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

Best wishes for the holidays, from our family to yours. Thanks for making this little corner of cyberspace so warm and inviting!

Perfect Eggnog

2009-12-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

In those dark days long ago, when I was still afraid of the kitchen, I avoided eggnog like the plague because it always seemed to come from a paper carton at the supermarket and tasted like... well... like you would need a whole lotta Bourbon to soften the blow. As you can imagine, that type of thing couldn't go on, so I got out there and tried a few recipes, and there emerged something so divine, so transcendent, so smooth and creamy and I've-died-and-gone-to-heaven good, that I look forward to the holidays every year just so I have a chance to make this eggnog again. Don't get me wrong - I *really* love getting together with my family, eating, laughing and exchanging presents; but in the back of my mind - in the very back, where chocolate and creme brulee and tarte tatins dwell, the thought of this eggnog gives me a warm glow until the time when I can rush to the stove and stir and stir and pour and then drink (ahhhh) and then I get a warm glow of an entirely different kind.

Happy Hanukah to my Jewish peeps! May the light and miracles of this holiday shine in your heart and in your family the whole year.

Perfect Eggnog
Williams-Sonoma recipe
(serves 6-8 small cups)

Note: Because everyone prefers a different bite to their eggnog (and some, like me, drink it without alcohol - I know, the shame!), I like to pour the eggnog into small cups and let each guest add his or her own choice of spirits. You can do this, or you can just mix in about a cup full of rum, brandy or Bourbon before serving.

Eggnog:
2 cups of milk, divided
6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar

Topping:
1 cup cold whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg

Mixers:
Brandy, Bourbon, dark rum

In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of sugar. Simmer on low for about 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining cup of milk and let cool. Pass cooled mixture through a fine-mesh sieve (to get rid of any errant cooked egg yolks).

Whip heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract to soft peaks.

If desired, stir in 1 cup of brandy, Bourbon or dark rum right before serving. Serve in small cups with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. Can be served very cold, but it's also really good when it's just slightly warm.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2009-12-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

Hello loyal readers! This is Irene's little sis, dropping by for a guest post. As you can imagine, having an incredibly talented sister who forces you to taste-test her mouth-watering creations is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it, right? In all honesty, I have always been amazed by my sister's ability to juggle being not only a lawyer, wife, sister and daughter but also history buff, chef and artist. She continues to inspire me to test my own limits, which of course extends into my most recent venture into the world of cooking! [Ed. note: in the interests of modesty, I wanted to take this part out, but... vanity prevailed :)]

Ok, enough gushing about Irene. Let's talk about what really matters: me...oh wait, I mean...food. As a future doctor and an avid runner, I am very passionate about health, but I also love yummy food. It turns out the two actually go hand in hand! A few weeks ago, I developed an all-consuming, wake-you-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night craving for banana bread, but resisted baking any because a) I was too lazy and b) I was a little worried about my restraint around a batch of freshly baked banana bread (I'm not a saint here people!). Enter my sister! After I confessed my unrelenting craving to Irene over the phone, she immediately invited me over to her house for a baking session, with a twist. Knowing me as well as she does, she suggested that we "healthify" our banana bread by modifying a recipe she found online.

And that is how our delectable, indulgent, guilt-free banana bread recipe was born! While my first impulse was to replace all of the tasty (aka unhealthy) ingredients with their healthier counterparts, my sister gently urged me to consider substituting only half of each ingredient. Having learned through many past experiences that the advice of my older, wiser sister will never steer me wrong, I quickly obliged and followed along with her suggestion. Best.Decision.Ever. If any baked good could solve our economic crisis or fix the health care system, it would be this banana bread. Ok, a little dramatic? Let's just say thoughts of banana bread are no longer waking me up in the middle of the night, but instead are gently lulling me to sleep and keeping me safe and warm at night. Still too dramatic? It's THAT good! I'll let my sister take over with the details because, let's face it, I mainly sat around eating chocolate chips and gossiping as she did the measuring, mixing and cleaning. [Ed. note: hehehe, I so totally made her do the dishes.]

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
adapted from http://gourmeted.com/2009/02/21/thesss-nanas-banana-bread/

As you can imagine, the original version of this bread is pretty darn good. Believe it or not, our alterations (less butter, less sugar, whole wheat flour, buttermilk instead of cream) didn't change the taste one little bit, except to make the texture even softer. How can something with so little butter taste so awesome? I have no idea, but it did. We were really good about making the substitutions, too... until, that is, we threw in the giant chocolate chips. :)

2.5 tbsp (34 g) butter
34g unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or Splenda for baking)
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup large bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

With a hand mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl with the apple sauce until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat well to incorporate. Add the egg, egg whites and vanilla and beat to blend.

Mash the bananas really well and add, beating for 30 seconds on high speed to blend.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl an add to the banana mixture, alternating with the buttermilk (add half of the dry ingredients, beat just to blend, add buttermilk, beat just to blend, add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat just to blend). Do not overmix. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until browned on top and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hr and 15 minutes (ours baked slightly longer than that, but start checking at the hour mark).

Cool completely and serve (the banana bread will be too soft to cut into when hot). The original recipe recommends that you give this bread a rest overnight, but I can't tell you if that's a good idea or not - our loaf didn't make it that far.

How Pumpkin Pie Is Made

2009-12-03T11:23:00.001-08:00

I just had to share!

Chocolate Pear Tart

2009-11-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hey there, how's Thanksgiving prep going? Is that pumpkin pie getting a bit bored and lonely on the dessert list? Well, look no further for its companion because this Chocolate Pear Tart is going to blow your socks off. Holy heck, is this thing good! Ripe Bosc pears tenderly poached in sugar and vanilla and then nestled in an ungoodly amount of deep, dark chocolate. Are you drooling yet? If not, let's take a look at the close-up:

And now say the words: Chocolate Pear Tart. Say them slowly, imagining the aroma that will fill your kitchen. Not bad, eh? Now, back to work! But don't panic, because even if something doesn't turn out *just so* (sacrebleu, what an idea!), this tart will make everything right again.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! A. and I wish you all a wonderful, happy and warm holiday full of family, friends, laughter and love.

Chocolate Pear Tart

This tart is from Once Upon A Tart, but I hacked it a little, using a different crust and twice as many pears. I know I keep repeating myself with this book, but it's just too darn good!

You can certainly use pears from a can or a jar, but, considering that it's so ridiculously easy to poach them yourself, why would you? There are all kinds of fancy pants ways you can poach your pears, and you should feel free to use whichever way you are comfortable with. The easiest is to do it with water and sugar, and I always like to add half a vanilla bean or a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the poaching liquid.

For the poached pears
4 ripe Bosc/D'Anjour/Bartlett pears (I used Bosc)
4-5 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds and pod, or 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the crust (lightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, very cold, cut into 16 pieces
1 cold egg, lightly beaten

For the custard (from Once Upon a Tart)
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Apricot jam to glaze (optional)

1. Make the crust. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. Scatter pieces of cold butter on top and cut in with a pastry cutter until the largest pieces are the size of peas and the mixture looks crumbly. Working quickly, drip the egg into the dough and toss with a fork until the dough sticks together when pinched. If the dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of iced water. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead a few times, just to incorporate the dry ingredients.

2. Butter or spray a 10-inch tart pan. Lightly press the dough into the tart pan. The dough should cover all the sides but not lose its crumbly texture (in other words, don't work with it too much or the pieces of butter will melt). Place the tart pan in the freezer for 1/2 hour.

3. Next, peel, halve and core the pears. Bring 4-5 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil in a large saucepan and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Scrape the vanilla seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean into the water and put the pod in as well, or just put in the teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir to combine. Gently place the pears in the water (add more water if needed to completely cover the pears), lower the heat, and cook at a low boil until the pears are just tender when pierced with a fork (but not mushy). For me, this was around the 10-15 minute mark. Drain the water and set the pears aside.

4. Whisk the egg and the egg yolk lightly in a medium-sized bowl. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine. In a double boiler (or a metal bowl set over an inch of gently simmering water so that the bowl bottom doesn't touch the water) melt the chocolate with the cream, stirring and folding with a heat-proof spatula to combine into a smooth and shiny ganache. Stir in the 1/4 cup sugar and cook a few minutes more, until the sugar has melted. Set aside to cool.

5. Remove the tart dough from the freezer and preheat the oven to 375F. Carefully transfer your pear halves to a cutting board and, holding each pear with one hand to keep it intact, carefully slice into thin slices. To fan out the pear slices, press the wide end of the pear gently towards the narrow end. Slide the knife under the fanned pears and arrange them in a circle inside the tart pan.

6. To make the custard, slowly dribble about 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. This warms the eggs, preventing them from cooking. Add the rest of the chocolate in a steady stream and stir to combine.

7. Pour the chocolate mixture into the tart pan, pouring as much as possible around the pears rather than on top of the pears. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the chocolate custard is puffed and set (it will be firm to the touch and slightly cracked around the edges). Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

8. Remove the tart from the tart pan and slide onto a plate. If desired, brush the pears with a little bit of melted apricot jam to glaze and then sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Serve warm with lightly-sweetened whipped cream.

Basic Sweet Yeast Dough

2009-11-19T23:58:00.000-08:00

I realized recently that the only place I've ever felt really at home was in Israel. Israel, with its amalgamation of cultures and flavors, with loud music and brash cabbies, with huddled market stalls and glowing Jerusalem stone, with complete strangers being all up in your business, with greenery where you least expect it and laughter that only underscores the strength of the spirit - it seems funny to think that a piece of me will always stay there, but it's the truth.

Being Jewish was kind of a dirty word where I grew up in Ukraine, and having been isolated by the Communist regime from any vestiges of religion, being Jewish was confusing here in the US. American Jews were free to be Jewish and to be proud of it, and to me, a novice, it seemed like they all spoke some different, secret language to the translation of which I was not privy. In Israel, however, I could be myself. Ironically, I felt the least religious in this Jewish state - I didn't attend services nor did we differentiate between Jews and Arabs in our weekly dinners at the Haifa Uni dorms - but it was here that I found a strong and lasting connection to my roots. Because there was no pressure to be anything or belong to any group and because the hills, the stones and the air itself are saturated with history, I discovered what it really means to have my heritage, to own who I am and make it part of myself. It's a testament to the beauty of that country and to the strength of its people that I could learn what I did and take it, carrying it with me for the rest of my life like a gift.

This recipe is a classic Jewish recipe. My grandmother makes something similar and her grandmother did too. The bread it produces is soft, moist and lightly sweet - the kind of dough you can use for almost anything, from pan dulce to challah to cinnamon buns to apple cakes like the one I baked. It made the house smell fantastic. When I bit into a piece, fresh out of the oven, I said "SHUT UP OMG" really loudly, even though I was completely alone in the house. It was that good.

Basic Yeast Sweet Dough
from sadly out of print, but wonderful The World of Jewish Desserts by Gil Marks

*1 (1/4-oz) package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast, or 1 (0.6 oz) cake fresh yeast
*1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees for dry yeast; 80 to 85 degrees for fresh yeast), or 1/4 cup warm water and 3/4 cup warm milk, or 1 cup warm water mixed with 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
*1/3 cup sugar
*1/3 cup vegetable oil, peanut oil or softened butter
*2 large eggs
*1 teaspoon salt
*About 4 cups high-gluten flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

For apple topping
5-7 medium baking apples (I used Gala), peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes (if your yeast isn't foaming, start all over with fresher yeast).

Add the remaining water (and/or milk), sugar, oil (or butter), eggs and salt and whisk to combine. With a wooden spoon, stir in 1 1/2 cups of flour and then continue stirring in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough forms into a ball and comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough into a well floured surface and knead, adding more flour to prevent sticking (I think I added another 1/2 cup), until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and satiny, but you don't want to knead too long as you don't want too much gluten to develop. You can use a machine to knead, but I really like to do it by hand.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly double in bulk, 1 1/2 - 2 hrs (or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight). To test if the dough is sufficiently risen, press two fingers 1 inch deep into the center; if the indentations remain, the dough is ready.

Punch down the dough. Fold over in three like a letter, give it a half turn and fold over like a letter again - this redistributes the yeast and its food. Let stand for 10 minutes to relax the dough.

While the dough is relaxing, peel, core and slice the apples, melt the butter and combine the sugar and cinnamon. Butter or spray a 9"x13" pan or two 9" round pans.

Arrange the dough in the prepared pan(s), stretching gently so that it touches all the sides and is more or less uniform in height. Arrange the apples on top, brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cover and let rise until nearly double in bulk, about 50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F (350F if using a glass pan). Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden (this cake has quite an oven spring!). Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then cool on the rack for 20 minutes (aha, good luck with that). I like this cake warm with a cup of coffee or tea.

This cake can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Reheat unthawed on 350F for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

2009-11-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

A's grandma made cookies for every family holiday. It was kind of "her thing," the dessert she was known for in the family. They were something of a cross between an oatmeal raisin cookie and a brick, but no one ever complained because dipped in tea, they were divine, and the leftovers had a multitude of uses (hammering nails, scaring squirrels out of the lettuce beds... kidding, kidding!). The point is, she always brought the cookies, and somehow, we always looked forward to them. Such is the magic of grandmas, I think, that whatever they make becomes an indelible part of the family lore.

This will be a year without the requisite plate of cookies on the Thanksgiving table, and our hearts are very heavy. I think because of that, I've been craving the flavor of these cookies and eating everything in sight that even slightly reminds me of them. I made this bread having very few expectations and no idea how it would turn out beyond that it would have cinnamon and raisins in it, and I have to say that the flavor is simply wonderful. Like other Peter Reinhart's breads, the texture was more like that of a hearty bread rather than a decadent dessert, which is exactly what I was looking for, and the crunch that comes from brushing the top with melted butter and sprinkling it with cinnamon sugar is OUT OF THIS WORLD good. Like, wow. When this came out of the oven, all tall and golden, we couldn't wait for it to cool and cut thick slices of it to have with a cold glass of milk. Even though this bread is nothing like cookies, it carried the same feelings of home, of a sturdy family tradition that tastes like it's made with love. I really think A.'s grandma would have approved.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread
The Bread Baker's Apprentice
recipe can be found here
Makes two 1 1/2 pound loaves

For the bread
3 1/2 cups (16 oz) unbleached bread flour
4 teaspoons (.66 oz) granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon (.31 oz) salt
2 teaspoons (.22 oz) instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp (.16 oz) ground cinnamon
1 large (1.65 oz) egg slightly beaten
2 tablespoons (1 oz) shortening, melted at room temp. (I used butter)
1/2 cup (4 oz) buttermilk or whole milk, at room temp.
3/4 cup (6 oz) water, at room temp.
1 1/2 cups (9 oz) raisins, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 oz) chopped walnuts (optional - I omitted)

Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

In a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cinnamon. Add the egg, shortening/butter, buttermilk and water and stir together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together in a ball. Adjust flour or water if the dough is too sticky or too dry/stiff.

Knead by hand for 10 minutes or with a stand mixer for 6-8 minutes on medium speed. The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. [My dough was very sticky, so if your dough is sticky, add more flour at this point.] Knead in the raisins and walnuts by hand to distribute evenly. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81F.

Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to cover lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest until the dough doubles in size, 1-2 hours (mine was ready in 1 hr).

Divide the dough in 2 equal pieces and lightly oil two standard size loaf pans. These are mine. Gently roll each piece of dough into a 5x8 rectangle. Whisk the 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon together and reserve about 2-3 tablespoons for the tops of the loaves. Sprinkle half of the remaining mixture on one rolled out piece of dough and sprinkle the other half on the other rolled out piece of dough.

Starting at the short end, roll each loaf tightly, pinching the ends together as you are rolling. The dough will expand in length as you are rolling. When finished, place the loaves seam side down into the loaf pans, spreading the dough gently so that it's touching all four sides of the pan. Mist the tops lightly with oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let proof at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, until the dough crests above the lips of the pans and is nearly doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack in the middle shelf. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans 180 degrees and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the breads register 190F in the middle. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

Remove bread from the pans onto a cooling rack. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, brush the tops of the loaves with butter and sprinkle with the reserved cinnamon sugar.

The instructions say to wait 1 hour before slicing or serving. I'm telling you now that, considering the way this bread looks and smells, it's not going to happen. I'd give it at least 10 minutes, though, just to make sure you don't burn your fingers while cutting the bread.

Crazy hard

2009-11-09T10:26:00.001-08:00

I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted and a bunch of you have written to ask what's going on. Thank you for your concern - it's lovely to be missed and I really do appreciate it. Sadly, these past few weeks have been very difficult for our family - A.'s dearly beloved grandma passed away, and though she lived a long, full and wonderful life, her passing was unexpected and shook us to the core. We've spent this time with our family, trying to accept the fact that at the next dinner, at the next birthday, she will only be watching us from above. It's crazy hard.

I haven't really felt like picking up my camera, but I saw something the other day that I know she would have really liked and I want to make it and share it with you. I hope it will be soon.

Amazing Spiced Pumpkin Bread

2009-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Guys, I've always been straight up with you, right? This thing we have here, you and you and you and me, it's a relationship based on trust, right? So trust me now when I tell you - this is the pumpkin bread dreams are made of.

I won't beat around the bush - if you're not fond of pumpkin-based sweets, try to fast forward yourself to about Christmas, when it's cold for real and chocolate is the only answer. But if you crave that subtle, golden sweetness that pumpkin brings to desserts, if you love the way it makes quickbreads taste undeniably - but not overwhelmingly - of fall and hearth, of gently falling leaves and crisp blue skies, this is the pumpkin bread for you.

I felt a bit like a witch mixing up this bread. It really doesn't take very long, but the spirit of Halloween was in me, with the orange batter and all, and I kind of prolonged the pleasure by singing "double double toil and trouble" while stirring. I also pretended that the toasted walnuts and dates were eye of newt and [unmentionable] part of frog... that got me some reeeeally weird looks from A. You would think he'd be used to it by now! Seriously, though, please please make this bread. It's soft, it's moist, it's fragrant and goes amazingly with a cup of tea or coffee. And, as an added bonus, it's dairy free. I mean, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread
adapted very lightly from Bon Appetit, Nov. 1995
(makes two loaves)

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
16 oz. pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted dates

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

Whisk the sugars and oil in large bowl to blend. Make sure to get at all the clumps of sugar. Whisk in eggs and then pumpkin puree until the batter is uniform and all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

In another bowl, whisk flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt to combine. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions, folding only until the flour disappears. Stir in chopped dates and walnuts.

Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes (this is an important step because the bread is too soft to cut right out of the oven and will break - ask me how I know). Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely. (You can eat one loaf and freeze the other - I generally slice the bread and then triple wrap in plastic wrap. That way, I can just toast the slices and it's ready to go).

Pumpkin-Cranberry Biscotti

2009-10-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Books are kind of like people, don't you think? You can tell right away if you're going to be friends with one or if you'll have a brief conversation and go your separate ways. So it was with this book - as soon as I picked it up,* I could tell that it was going to be one of my favorites. By the end, I felt like I had met Frank and Jerome and had sat with them in the kitchen of their New York cafe as they took out trays upon trays of delicious tarts, biscotti and Madeleines. I've made many recipes from this book, always with great ease and great success, encouraged by the warm tone and the friendly, quick humor on every page.

The recipes in this book are thoughtful, inventive and yet inviting and unpretentious. In fact, you get the feeling that the authors put together a list of their very favorite things to make at home and opened it to the rest of us. These pumpkin biscotti are no exception - they are simply wonderful - wonderful! If you like pumpkin desserts (and oh, I do), you will LOVE these, I promise. Crunchy, spicy, packed with golden raisins, cranberries and toasted pecans, oh goodness, I can't even really express how happy these made me. And the generous proportions of this recipe ensure that your family and friends will be very happy as well, should you choose to share (which, by the way, you totally should - these biscotti will make you many, many new friends!). Happy fall, everyone!

*Disclaimer because some people might misunderstand: I bought this book at a bookstore, just like everyone else. I was not asked nor paid to do a review of this book, but I wanted to share it with you because it has become one of my favorite books to reach for lately.

Pumpkin Cranberry Biscotti Recipe
Once Upon a Tart
Note: I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Note 2: This recipe requires a little more effort than the traditional biscotti, but I'm telling you, it's so totally worth it.
(Makes about 25 biscotti - I got a bit more)

4 1/2 cups flour (495g)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (120g)
3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar (230g)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, packed tightly (183g)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped (150g)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries (75g)
1/3 cup golden raisins (50g)
4 tbsp of turbinado sugar (my addition, optional)

Position one of your oven racks in the center. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form stiff peaks. With the mixer still on high, beat in about half the sugar until the egg whites are glossy. Transfer them to another bowl.

In the same bowl of the stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and the remaining half of the sugar on high speed until the eggs are pale and frothy and the sugar dissolves. Stir in pumpkin puree and vanilla to blend.

Gently fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Also gently, stir in the melted (and cooled) butter, nuts, cranberries and raisins.

Gradually stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the dough comes together into a sticky ball. For into two logs (flour your hands because the dough will be sticky) about 3" x 10". If you wet your fingers a little, you'll be able to smooth out the surface of the dough should you so wish to. Sprinkle each log with about two tablespoons of turbinado sugar, if using.

Bake for about 50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and feel firm to the touch. Cool on wire racks for at least 30 minutes (this is important - if you don't cool the biscotti, they will crumble like crazy). Place the logs on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 inch slices with a long and sharp serrated knife. Do not use a sawing motion, but make decisive downward strokes.

Line the slices on the baking sheet and bake for another 25-30 minutes, until they are crisp and golden brown throughout. Allow to cool completely before eating (this is kind of hard to do, with the amazing smell and all, but believe me, they do taste better that way).

Apple Pie, Straight Up

2009-10-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that apple pie is all about subtlety. There's a basic ratio of apples to sugar to spices to crust, but these simple numbers tell you nothing at all of the flavors, smells and textures you can create with just a flick of a measuring cup. For this - my first apple pie - I wanted the flavors to be mine, just the way I like them. I wanted the crust to be flaky, tender and interesting. I wanted the apples to have that perfect balance of tart and sweet. I wanted the filling to be a little spicy, fork-tender and just a little gooey. Most of all, I wanted that smell, the apple pie, autumn leaves, refuge from the chill, begging for some ice cream smell that I dreamt would float out of the windows and make us so so happy.

Oh, I was so excited when I took this pie out of the oven. "Look," I said to A., "it looks and smells just like real apple pie!" He laughed, but he knew what I meant. Not having grown up in this country, it's always been a struggle to accept the best parts of American culture while keeping our own identity intact. Being able to re-create a dish that is so intrinsic to this part of the world (that over the years has become our very beloved home) while putting my own personal touches to it gave me a wonderful sense of completeness, of finally merging my two worlds into one (deliciously warm and spicy) whole.

Apple Pie

Crust (one double-crust pie)
3 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks (8 oz) butter, very cold
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar*
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1-2 tablespoons turbinado sugar for topping

*Helene, who is a reader and a wonderful baker, tipped me off that adding cider vinegar helps relax the dough for the rolling

Filling (for a deep dish pie)
1.5 lb Granny Smith apples (for tartness)
1.5 lb Golden Delicious apples (for sweetness)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (to make it a little gooey - if you don't like that, use all granulated sugar)
3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of ground cloves
2 tbsp cold butter, cut into little pieces

People - do not be afraid of a pie crust. It's really not that bad. There's no secret to it - just be prepared and work quickly. Here's what I want you to do:

1. Take out the butter and cut each stick into 16 little cubes. Put them in the freezer for at least 5 minutes.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Take a glass, fill it with water and put some ice in there to make it extra cold.

3. Take out and get ready your pastry cutter, rolling pin, a pastry scraper and a tablespoon for the ice water.

4. Drop the butter pieces into the big bowl with the flour, and working quickly, cut the butter into the flour until there are large pieces and small pieces. The smallest pieces should be about the size of a pea and the largest the size of a pecan.

5. Dribble about 3 tablespoons of ice water and 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar into the flour mixture and toss it gently with your fingers until the dough stays together when pinched (there will still be dry patches, that's ok). Add more water if you need to, in 1 tbsp increments. Do this quickly so the butter doesn't get a chance to melt. Pop the bowl into the freezer for 5 minutes and take a coffee break.

6. Dump the contents of your bowl onto a large counter, flour your rolling pin and pass it back and forth over the barely-together dough. What this does is flatten out the butter and coat it with the flour so that you ensure flakiness and tenderness. Using a pastry scraper, turn over the mixture so you get to roll the butter that's on the bottom as well as what was on top.

7. Gather the dough into a ball, divide in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

8. Make the filling - peel and core the apples and slice into 1/4 inch slices (I like my slices pretty thin so they become very tender and don't slide out). In a large bowl, toss with the sugars, spices, vanilla, lemon juice and flour. Turn to coat and let stand for 15 minutes, mixing several times to soften the apples. When you're ready to fill the pie, drain about half of the juices.

9. Preheat the oven to 425F, arrange a rack in the bottom third of the oven, butter a pie plate.

10. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, let it rest for 5-10 minutes to become pliable and roll out each piece between two sheets of plastic or parchment paper (I can't tell you how HUGE a fan I am of this method - no sticking, no mess, ahhh). After rolling, I like to put the crusts into the freezer for 2-3 minutes so that they are easier to transfer. Transfer one of the crusts to a buttered pie plate and prick it a few times with a fork.

11. Fill the pie with the apple filling (below), dot with the two tablespoons of cold butter and cover with the second crust. Crimp the edges together. Cut a few steam vents and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

12. Bake on 425F for 30 minutes; then, slide a baking sheet under the pie pan to catch the juices, turn the heat down to 350F and bake for another 30-45 minutes until the crust has browned and the juices are bubbling (I found this method in Joy of Cooking and the combination of temperatures, as well as baking in the lower third of the oven, produces a perfectly baked, non-soggy crust).

Apple & Ricotta Tartlets

2009-10-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

My mom has been making homemade ricotta since I was a little girl. It evokes for me the scents of our small kitchen and the feel of her linen apron against my cheek as the soft, fresh whiteness of the cheese magically turned into tarts, fritters and other such delicacies that I adored. When I moved out on my own, I had this crazy idea that I should learn how to do it myself, but then I decided to take the easy way out and punted back to my mom, and she still makes ricotta for me any time I like. What can I say, I'm a spoiled kid!

To tell you the truth, what I love doing best is just eating it straight from the little glass bowl that I usually get in my goodie bag, but this time, mom outdid herself and the bowl was so large that I was practically forced to use it in other ways. There's only so much ricotta and honey on toast that a girl can take, you know.

I decided to create a little afternoon snack - to go with a cup of tea, perhaps - and since the cooler weather inevitably brings out my inner Brit, I wanted it to be a dainty confection, as fun to make as it is to eat. After I took these out of the oven, I thanked my lucky stars that I was afternoon-tea-ing by myself today because no way would I have shared any of these with anyone else. Ok, maybe I would have shared with my mom, but that's it! The tender, delicate apples cupped a custard-like nugget of sweet ricotta, and the smell of it all, of apple orchards and afternoons in my mom's kitchen, almost sent me into another world. Instead of life being like a bowl of cherries, I'd much rather that it be like these wonderful little tartlets - you know exactly what you're going to get, and it's going to be delicious.

Apple and Ricotta Tartlets
(makes about 8 servings)

8 oz fresh ricotta cheese
4 medium apples (I used Gala, but any firm variety will do)
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
butter for buttering muffin tin

Turn oven to 350F and butter well 8 cups in a standard-sized muffin tin. Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the stem and the core. Then, slice the apples into as thin slices as you can manage - the thinner, the better. If the slices are too thick, they won't bend and you'll end up with a bunch of broken pieces which, although delicious, isn't what you're aiming for here.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with the egg, sugar and vanilla extract until everything is well incorporated.

Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles inside the muffin cups. They will look like flowers with a large opening in the middle. Drop ricotta into the opening, doming it a little on the top.

Bake for about 30-35 min, until the apples are very tender and the filling is set and slightly puffed. Let cool for a few minutes and then gently remove with a fork or a small spatula. Serve warm.

Saffron Tomato Soup

2009-10-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

If I could change one thing about LA, it would be to give it more October. It's a golden month, a month of "mists and mellow fruitfulness," a brief but glorious respite between the oppresive heat of September and the November rains. It's a time of lacy shadows and leaves gently crunching underfoot, chilly nights, and mornings filled with the earthy smells of autumn. And soup - I always look forward to making soup during this month.

Like October, this soup is mellow and gentle, golden red and rich with vegetables and the fall, putting you in mind of curling up under cozy blankets and gathering wood for your fireplace. I make it all the time and use it as a base to build different flavors, depending on my mood. A. likes it with chicken, but I sometimes throw in black beans and corn for a southwestern flair; mussels seem particularly happy when snuggled together in this broth, and there have been several occasions when I've made it into a hacked version of a bouillabaisse. Most of the time, though, I like it just like I made it last night - simple, comforting, and filling my house with the warmth of autumn.

Saffron Tomato Soup

This is a very basic soup and sometimes, it feels kind of like cheating because it's so quick to make, but so very rich and flavorful. I don't buy canned food other than organic canned tomatoes, but if you don't want to use those, just dice 3-4 medium tomatoes and simmer in a little salted water until very soft, and use that instead. The combination of chicken and vegetable broths gives this soup an extra heartiness and saffron is the secret ingredient that adds a certain dimension, a goldenness and an aroma that's difficult to describe but noticeable if absent.

2 cups chicken broth (or 1 c. chicken broth, 1 c. white wine)
2 cups vegetable broth
32 oz can of organic, no-salt-added chopped tomatoes
1 large yellow onion, medium dice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
2 pinches of dried saffron
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (optional)
4-5 chicken drumsticks (optional)

If using chicken drumsticks, wash, dry and season with salt and pepper the night before.

In a medium-sized pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Dice the onion the way you like to eat it - I like mine medium diced for this soup, but some like it finely diced. Saute the onion for 3-5 minutes, until softened and translucent, but don't let it brown. Add crushed garlic and saute for another minute, until fragrant. (If using mushrooms, add them with garlic and saute just a little).

Add the chicken and vegetable broths (and wine, if using), and also add the tomatoes - I usually do not drain them. Pinch the dried saffron between your fingers, to break up the strains a little, and add to the soup. Toss in the dried thyme. If using chicken, also add it now.

Bring to a boil and then back down to a medium simmer, and simmer for about half an hour or until the chicken is tender and cooked all the way through. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.

Viennese Shortbread Cookies & Salzburg

2009-09-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

I realized, more than a year after my trip, that I still haven't told you about Salzburg. It was one of those places, like Buenos Aires or Santorini, that I've always wanted to visit just because I had the inescapable feeling that I would find a little magic among its old, winding streets. Everyone told us not to go; they said there was "nothing to do there" (how I hate that trite, useless phrase!). We went anyway, and we fell in love.

It's hard to describe all the charm, all the gentle loveliness of Salzburg. Beyond the Mozart chocolates and the bright, colorful bustle of its plazas and markets, we found that magic I always knew was there. We found it everywhere, just underneath the surface - in the call of a half-familiar song that always seemed just around the corner, the ancient fortress watching over the stately buildings, the quick splash of the fountains and the flowers in unexpected places.

The past rulers of Salzburg seemed like people after my own heart. They encouraged commerce; built a fortress which could hold and protect all the people in a pinch; one of their palaces has sparkly chandeliers and delicious nooks and crannies, and the other, just down the street, a most magnificent garden with flower-lined paths and mysterious, shaded corners. There was a torture tower where, so it is claimed, no one was ever tortured, and though I am not naive enough to believe that all was happy all the time, I'd like to think that bad times passed by quickly in this beautiful, charmed place.

There are many stories my sister and I took away from our time in Salzburg. Disproportionately many, really, when you consider the short time we spent there. It started from the very beginning, as if the city was trying to show up all those nay-sayers who tried to prevent us from coming here. We were wandering around the 1000-year old fortress that stands on a hill above Salzburg - a mini city in itself - when we heard chanting voices. Naturally, we followed the sound, we could not resist. It was the first of many times when we would follow the sound of music in Salzburg and discover something completely unexpected. We came to a low door with red and blue stained glass. We opened it a tiny chink. It was really like a scene out of a movie - a small stone chamber with an altar and about twenty or thirty men, kneeling and chanting a prayer we did not recognize. We snuck away quietly, and then watched the men - in business suits and with briefcases - emerge from the room and leave their separate ways. Was it a meeting of a secret society? A cult? Mysterious choir practice? We never found out; in fact, we never asked. It was part of the magic that we should continue guessing.

The one thing you cannot escape while in Salzburg (and why would you want to?) is chocolate. There is chocolate everywhere, dark and light, wrapped in the most enticing array of Christmas-colored wrappers; chocolate bars and chocolate liqueurs, chocolate truffles, tarts and macarons; and of course, we brought some back with us (though *ehem* not all of it actually made it back... sorry, mom). There was a whole aisle of chocolate at the supermarket - a whole aisle! - my sister had to stage an intervention to drag me away. And everywhere we went after Salzburg, my carefully-wrapped chocolate liqueurs were unwrapped, inspected, and put back into my suitcase most reluctantly. I believe that if they hadn't been exactly compliant with airplane policies, there would have been at least a few slightly squiffy Air France employees bumping into each other at the Charles de Gaulle airport.

For people who like to "do" things, I suppose I should tell you to make your travel plans in a different place because we didn't climb any mountains or do any special activities while there (unless one considers shopping and eating chocolate an acceptable form of special activity, in which case, hey, you found your spot). We sat on benches underneath overhanging flowers, ate ridiculously good pizza, chocolate and cookies, took long walks down streets that ended in small churches and listened to a piano player play Brahms' Hungarian dances in the main plaza. We lost our hearts to this city, absolutely and without reservations, because we found music there, just when we needed it most.

*And the winner of the giveaway is:* if you've stuck with this long post this far, you're probably wondering who won the book featured two posts ago. The random number generator picked no. 6, and I was very excited to learn that it is my very good friend, Brentwood Kitchen Shopper! She loves food and I just know she is going to love this book! Congrats, BK!

Viennese Lemon Cookies

Why Viennese, you ask, if this post is about Salzburg? Well - we ate cookies just like that while there - tender shortbread piped into shapes with a star tip and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Their elegant simplicity reminded me so much of the city that I wanted to share them with you. The recipe comes from the always beautiful blog Fragrante Delicia, and the only thing I would change next time is to swap the whole wheat flour for all purpose flour because I think shortbread should be as sinful as possible. I substituted orange zest for lemon zest because I had oranges on hand.

Viennese Shortbread Cookies
via Leonor at Flagrante Delicia

makes 12 [I got about 16]:

50 g powdered sugar
125 g butter, room temperature
1 g salt
Zest of 1/4 lemon [I used orange]
20 g egg white
150 g wheat flour [or all purpose flour]
Powdered sugar to sprinkle

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add lemon zest and salt and beat for another minute to incorporate. Add the egg whites and whip for a minute or two, until the egg whites are fully incorporated. Gently mix in the flour.

Fit a pastry bag with a star nozzle and, over a siplat or a lined baking sheet, pipe "W"s or "S"s, about 2 inch height. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden around the edges [it took me a little longer, about 15 minutes). Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. Best served the same day as made, but will keep in an airtight container for at least a few days.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

2009-09-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

Friends, let's talk cupcakes - dark, rich, chocolaty cupcakes; cupcakes with batter that practically begs you to lick the bowl; cupcakes which make you think, "Surely, I didn't say I'd bring all 12, right?" Draped in silky smooth strawberry buttercream, these will make you and everyone around you really happy. The beautiful thing about cupcakes is that you don't really need a reason to make them. A giant layered cake demands An Occasion, but cupcakes are your excuse to celebrate weekends, sunny days, getting-a-new-pair-of-shoes days and pretty much any day of the week that ends in "Y".

Oh, and did I mention the chocolate? And the pink strawberry buttercream? You'd better believe that these are good. I made them for my dear friend's baby shower and I wanted to tint the buttercream pink (because it's a girl!) without food coloring or any other artificial stuff. Strawberries frozen back in May came to the rescue and added just the right touch of flavor to balance the sweetness of the buttercream. Of course, strawberries and chocolate always play well together, and the girls loved them. Although, I'm pretty sure that - despite the ladylike pink color - even the most non-baby-shower-going manly man would also jump at one of these dark, rich beauties.

Chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream

Cupcakes (from Cake on the Brain via Cooks Illustrated)
(makes 12 - the instructions are not to double the recipe, just make a second batch if you need more)

These cupcakes are really easy to make - they only require a whisk and a few bowls. They are light and moist, and the chocolate flavor comes through beautifully. Also, these are wonderful to decorate because they bake up fairly flat. I was extremely pleased with them, as you can tell!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a standard-sized muffin pan.

In a double boiler or a heat-proof bowl set over barely simmering water (not touching the water), combine the butter, chocolate and cocoa. Heat until the butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs just to combine - then add the sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined.

Add the flour and sour cream in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Whisk only until each addition disappears into the batter. Don't overmix, but make sure the dry and wet ingredients are fully combined before proceeding.

Divide the batter evenly among 12 muffin cups and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then set on a rack to cool to room temperature before icing.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

[I've had great success with Martha Stewart's recipe and this time, I scaled it down a bit and added strawberry puree for some tartness and for that lovely pink color. I was a little light-handed with the frosting, so there was buttercream left over which you can save in the freezer for about 3 months - just bring it to room temperature and re-whip before using. Don't be afraid of Swiss Meringue buttercream - it's about patience and faith. Just trust me when I tell you - if you whip it enough, it will work out.]

4 egg whites
3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
8 oz (about 1 cup) strawberries, fresh or frozen (if using frozen, thaw)

Puree the strawberries and pass through a fine-mesh sieve; set aside.

Place the egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt into a heat-proof bowl set over barely simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water and that steam doesn't get out). Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are hot to the touch - when you rub the mixture between your fingers, it should be smooth, without granules of sugar.

Transfer to the bowl of a mixer, making sure no condensation from the other bowl gets into the egg whites. Whip with a whisk on high speed until the egg whites form stiff (but not dry) peaks and are glossy, about 10 minutes.

Cut the butter into 1 tbsp pieces and add it, one piece at a time, until it's completely incorporated. It's important that the butter is really at room temperature. Continue beating on high speed. The mixture will first look like curdled soup; then, it will look like curdled cream; then, just when you're ready to cry and give up in despair, it will magically transform into wonderfully smooth buttercream. Trust me, this will happen.

Switch to a paddle attachment and, with the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla. Beat for about a minute until incorporated. Then, still on low, gradually add the strawberry puree and beat for 3-4 minutes, until the strawberries are completely incorporated and all the air pockets are gone.

Decorate the cupcakes!

Martha says that you can make this up to 3 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator - just bring to room temperature and re-whip with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes. You can also store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Black Forest Cake, a.k.a. the Drunken Cherry Cake

2009-09-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm very late in sharing this cake with you, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is the best damn cake I've ever made. It's kind of a big statement, given some of my previous experiments - the Strawberry Cream Cake, the Nutella Chocolate Cake or the Tiramisu Cake (dubbed "Temptation" by the birthday girl) - but this, this cake topped them all. I'm a little lost for words to describe it, though, which is kind of embarrassing for a food bogger and a lawyer. Let's first start with the perfect combination of ingredients - soft, light as air chocolate sponge cake that's been soaked in kirsch; big, juicy, tart brandied cherries; perfectly sweet whipped cream cushioning said cherries; and cold, crunchy chocolate curls. I mean, it just doesn't get much better than this.

This cake was for my dear dad's birthday, so you can imagine the days I spent flipping through recipes to find something that reflects his strength, wisdom, kindness and overall mench-ness. It just so happened that at the same time, I was reading "Confections of a Closet Master Baker" that I told you about in the previous post, and as I was getting deeper into the book and the author's remembrances about her family and the kuchens her German mom and grandmother used to make, the idea for a Black Forest Cake took over my mind and didn't let go. It seemed the perfect cake for my dad - complex and dark, full of strong flavors, and also, totally and completely liquored up. It was an awesome cake, best cut and shared in big, dramatic, drunken slices.

Black Forest Cake
Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes
(makes 3 9-in layers)

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cake flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
7 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Brandied cherries (1 lb cherries, 1/2 cup kirsch [I used 1 cup])
Chilled chocolate curls, for decoration

The night before: Pit the cherries and halve them, reserving 9 or 10 whole cherries for decoration. Submerge the cherries in kirsch. I found that 1/2 cup was not enough and I used 1 cup (I figured, I could always drink the leftovers later). Leave in the refrigerator at least overnight. Prepare the chocolate curls and put them in the refrigerator to chill. (The authors also suggest you could use frozen cherries - thaw them and then combine the cherries and their juices with the kirsch)

The day of: Preheat the oven to 350F and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Do not grease pans.

Sift the cocoa powder and cake four together, set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium high for about a minute, to blend. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and beat on medium high for 3-5 minutes, until the eggs are a light yellow color and the stream of eggs, when the beater is lifted, leaves a thick ribbon.

Sift the cocoa powder and flour into the eggs in 3 additions, gently folding after each addition. Take care not to deflate the batter, but make sure that no large pockets of dry ingredients remain. This is kind of tricky, so just make sure to fold thoroughly and have a very light hand when folding.

Divide among 3 9-in round (or 8-in square) pans and bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The cake is very fragile, so you need to cool it in its pan for at least an hour before attempting to take it out. When cool, gently run a knife around the cake edge and (again, gently) flip over onto a cake board. Remove the parchment paper.

Make the whipped cream: in a chilled bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed for one minute, until frothy, and then, still beating, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract. Beat until hard peaks form and the cream is fairly stiff.

Drain the cherries and reserve the liquid.

Assemble the cake: Place one layer on a cake board or cake plate. With a teaspoon or a pastry brush, soak the layer with about 1/3 of your cherry brandy (for me, that was about 1/4 cup). Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on top of the layer. Then spread half of the cherries and cover with a little more whipped cream. Place the next layer on top and repeat. Place the third and final layer on top and soak it with the remaining cherry brandy. Now, frost the cake with the remaining whipped cream. The cake is really crumbly, but since you will be covering the sides with chocolate shavings, you do not need a crumb layer. Once frosted, decorate with chocolate shavings and the 9-10 whole cherries you set aside in the beginning. This cake is better left standing for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving so that the layers can really soak through and the flavors can meld.

Giveaway: Confections of a Closet Master Baker

2009-09-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Having this blog is rewarding in so many different ways. There are you guys, the best and most wonderful readers ever. You guys make me so happy! There's the way that I can just pull up some of my snappiest dinner ideas from myself... a little weird, but still happy. There's also the fact that I sometimes get books for free. Books! For free!!! I can imagine very few gifts better than that. Certainly, it was a fantastic gift to receive Confections of a Closet Master Baker for a virtual book club event hosted by the lovely Cath from A Blithe Palate.

I tore into my book impatiently and it was, indeed, a fun and lovely treat. Which is why I'm sharing it with you, the readers that make me so happy. See how it comes full circle there? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I will use a random number generator (or maybe the number of red chocolate M&Ms in my bag) to determine a winner, to whom I will send my copy of this book.

In lieu of a book review, we were all asked to bake something inspired by the book (very cool), and hooo boy, did I ever! I'll share that a few days from now, but meanwhile, the author of the book, Gesine Bullock-Prado, graciously consented to give a small interview about her book. I was thrilled to be able to "chat" with her. Thank you, Gesine, for letting us read your book and thank you, Cath, for including me in this great event!

Here's my interview with Gesine:

What inspired you to write about your transition from working as a Hollywood exec to opening your own bakery and cafe?

I moved to Vermont to write as much as bake. Once the shop opened and took every last vestige of energy I had, I stopped writing. But I missed that outlet, so much so that I nudged a customer/friend/fellow writer to start a writing group with me to force me back to the page. I'd also been asked through email, letter, phone calls and personal visits at the store the same question every day, many times a day: "How did you manage to start over and pursue your dream?" So when our small group met in the shop after hours, I'd have pages. I already had what I felt was a compelling story to tell, I just had to structure time to tell it.

I was particularly touched by your description of a baker as someone who brings out the little, impish kid in all of us and who makes the masks of adulthood melt away into the genuineness of a smile. I've definitely experienced that, on both sides of the table. What are some of the other things you find rewarding about baking for others?

Baking is a universal celebration. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. We share cake to mark these occasions. We break bread with our neighbors. We save room for dessert. We dodge traffic and break at least 9 state laws in pursuit of the Good Humour truck. Food memories linger. Being in charge of not only feeding someone but feeding someone a creation whose very purpose is to symbolize an event is huge. It's an honor and a burden both.

In the book, you talk a lot about your close relationship with your sister and your memories of your mom. I really enjoyed reading about it and I found myself chuckling over several scenarios and conversations that I could really see happen within my own family. When you think about your family, is there a certain food that you associate with them or are inspired to make? What food-related or food-inspired memories would you want to pass down to the next generation in your family?

There's something about ritual that stays with me. Those times when my mother would declare that we'd have kaffee und kuchen at 3pm was a rare treat. And often we'd go to the local patisserie and choose a few things to share. We weren't marking a specific occassion but that's what made it magical. We sat together sharing a few beautiful morsels, drinking fresh brewed coffee from the good china, and enjoying each other's company. Strangely, it's the coffee that plays the most prominent role in these memories. Fresh ground beans, carefully brewed and savored in bone china. That I'd happily pass along.

What is the one thing about your job that makes getting up in the morning worth it?

Baking.

When writing, it's always extremely difficult to skate that line between being personal and revealing too much - how did you decide which memories and which recipes to release into the wild?

I'm a private woman from a very private family. But there are universal truths that we all share and one of them is our common search for meaning and fulfillment. When an experience related to my journey, I wove it into the narrative. Originally, I wrote the book without recipes. When I was convinced to add them, I made sure to choose a concoction that was relevant to the chapter and to the story as a whole. I also thought about my customers who'd really dig getting their hands on, say, Starry Starry Nights or Golden Eggs.

What is your favorite dessert to eat? To bake?

Changes with my mood, my location and the season.

Do you come back to Los Angeles, and also now that you're out of the Hollywood microcosm, do you enjoy any other aspects of the city? And to follow up on that, what is your favorite city and why?

I genuinely like Los Angeles, I just don't like the Hollywood Industrial Complex. I'm in awe of the kind and stable souls who play well in it's confines without losing their minds. There are lovely people who work in the industry, enjoy it and don't let the pervasive douchebaggery get them down. I'm not made of that mettle, so I wasn't able to enjoy the great things the city had to offer because I was seething most of the time. I can visit now and enjoy the place. And whether I like it or not, I did a lot of growing up there and I'm inescapably part LA girl.

As for my favorite cities, honestly I'm a mountain and lakes sort. Give me a steep hill to climb with a body of water to fish and swim. As long as there's a beautiful boîte tucked away where I can have a beer and cake, I'm very happy. But if I had to choose a favorite city, Fez and Paris. Fez for magic of the souk and Paris for being Paris.

And finally, what is the one question you wish someone had asked you about the book, and how would you have answered it?

I'd hope that instead of having questions, people are compelled to bake something with love after reading the book. But you have to share.

Tomato and corn salad with basil

2009-08-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

I had big plans for you guys today, I really did. I was going to tell you about a cake, and also about a book - a book about cakes. And about my dad's birthday, which was where the whole cake idea started. But I got home, and it was [some insane number] of degrees outside and just the thought of talking about cake made me stick my head into a refrigerator for a good, long while.

So instead, I made you a salad. I know, it's not really a substitute for chocolate and whipped cream, but if there was an equivalent of chocolate and whipped cream in the vegetable world, this would be it. Despite the heat, I can feel summer waning, and this salad is just the right transition to carry us over into the next season. There is so much summer goodness in here - ripe tomatoes, at the peak of their season, sweet corn, cool, smooth avocado, a touch of red onions for the bit of bite and a good sprinkling of basil. And yet, instead of longing for summer to come back, it made me anticipate fall and the goodness that will come with the harvest.

Tomato and corn salad with basil
(serves 2)
2 large, ripe tomatoes
1 avocado
2 ears of corn, cooked
1/4 red onion (or more, to taste)
a handful of basil
salt
basil & olive oil

Cut the tomatoes into thinnish wedges and arrange on a platter. De-seed the avocado and slice it so that the pieces are not too large, but there's still a bite to it. Cut the kernels off the corn, break them up a little and scatter over the tomatoes and avocado. Slice the red onion thinly and also scatter over the salad. I like to chiffonade my basil, but you can chop it roughly or even leave the leaves whole. Sprinkle salt over the salad and dress with your favorite vinaigrette or a dash of olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar.

Look, Ma, I gots technology!

2009-08-28T15:33:00.001-07:00

Just a very quick note to tell you all that I'm now firmly in the 21st century and Confessions of a Tart has a Facebook page and a Twitter account (I know, I can't believe it either)! Search for "Confessions of a Tart" on Facebook and "TartConfessions" on Twitter.

So come on, don't be shy - let's be friends! You know, where you can actually talk back to me and not just in the comments. :)

I'll be back with a new recipe on Sunday, and whoa baby, you guys are gonna love it! I'll just say that it involves cake, chocolate, whipped cream and brandied cherries. You may now drool.

Penne with shrimp, salmon, asparagus and sundried tomatoes

2009-08-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Friends, I think I'm getting old. Yes, laugh all you want, but turning 30 did something to me, messed with some brain cells maybe, I don't know. Even when all the synapses are firing, it feels like the receptacles took a lunch break and then a coffee break and then went to happy hour for some carne asado and margaritas.

We had a dinner party this weekend. Nothing fancy, just good friends, good food, lots of wine and laughing until 2am. In other words, my favorite kind of party. One of the girls is lactose intolerant, so when I was brainstorming dairy-free main courses, I just knew that I had to make this pasta. It's something that I came up with on the fly a few months ago, but the deliciousness is insane. My favorite part is how the textures and flavors play off of each other, how the asparagus is crunchy and garlicky, the shrimp are succulent and juicy and the salmon (marinated in a little mayo and spicy sauce) is so soft and flaky with just an aftertaste of heat, that you don't even need anything other than a dash of good olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh basil to pull it all together. I mean, this is a winner, a dish to be brought out again and again.

But back to my misfiring synapses. So the night before the party, I went food shopping to the brand spanking new Trader Joe's that opened up right near my house. I was being really good, following my list and not stopping at the aisles with the colorful boxes that promised me easy spanakopita or mushroom turnovers. I was getting down to the last few items on my list, the very bottom, and then... then I walked by the wine aisle. Do I even need to tell you what happened next? I walked out with five bottles of wine, and when I got home and unloaded my bags, and I looked at my list, every item was crossed off except the one in the biggest letters. PASTA.

Ugh. Ok, I thought, I'll just get it tomorrow when I drive by the supermarket to raid their fantastic olive bar. All the way to the store, I chanted "pasta" in my head... And then I walked by the wine aisle again, and there was new rose from Provence, and out of the two items I had to get at the supermarket (1. olives, 2. PASTA), the olives and the rose made it home. Laughing histerically, A. ran back to the store to get the box of pasta. The moral of the story? Once you turn 30, your brain becomes more interested in wine than in pasta. That's a fact.

Penne with shrimp, salmon, asparagus and sundried tomatoes
Prep time: about half an hour
(serves about 8)
1 box (16 oz) penne pasta
1 lb shrimp
1 lb salmon (I used 2 fillets, 8 oz each)
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (I use the kind packed in olive oil)
4 cloves garlic
a large handful of fresh basil, chopped roughly
1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine
olive oil
salt & pepper, thyme or whatever else you like
fresh Parmesan for topping

For salmon marinade:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
a few dashes of any kind of hot sauce (Tabasco, Worcestershire, etc.)

Marinate the salmon at least 2 hrs before cooking (or overnight): combine mayo, mustard, soy sauce and hot sauce in a small, shallow container. Wash and pat dry the salmon and rub the marinade all over the fish. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hrs to overnight.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box, but subtract about 2 minutes from the cooking time. You want the pasta to be a little undercooked, so not quite al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, prepare your other ingredients: de-vein and peel the shrimp; wash the asparagus, dry it well, chop off the tough white ends and chop the stalks into about 2 inch pieces; chop the sundried tomatoes, if the pieces are too large to eat comfortably.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (I like to use olive oil infused with either garlic or some herbs). Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes until pink on all sides. Season with salt and pepper and add, along with the skillet oil, to the pasta.

Now, you should take the salmon out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven, set a rack in the top third of the oven, take the salmon out of the marinade and broil it for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

While the salmon is cooking, add another few tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan in which you cooked the shrimp. Crush all 4 garlic cloves into the skillet, stir for about 30 seconds and then add the asparagus. Here, it's really important not to overcook it (no one likes mushy asparagus), so I set my timer for 2 minutes exactly. Stirring often, cook the asparagus in olive oil and garlic for 2 minutes and add to the pot with the pasta and shrimp.

Return the pan to the heat, lower the heat a little, add the stock or wine to the pan and deglaze with a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon (when the stock/wine is added, it should sizzle a little and all the brown tasty bits will come loose under the gentle prodding of your spatula). Add the sundried tomatoes to the pan, heat for another minute, and pour the sauce into the pot with your other ingredients.

Set the pot over medium heat, throw in the chopped basil and stir everything for a few minutes until thoroughly heated through (this is why we undercooked the pasta, so it can finish cooking here and come out perfectly al dente). Season to taste. At this point, you can add a little more olive oil to help it come together. I like to add the olive oil that my sundried tomatoes were packed in to give it extra taste.

Your salmon should be pretty much ready just about now. Flake it gently with your fork into bite-sized pieces. Arrange the pasta on a platter and set the salmon on top. Serve immediately with fresh Parmesan, lots of garlic bread and wine.

Summer Sundried Tomato Pesto

2009-08-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

I have a question for all of you who have your own blogs - how do you feel about other people using your material? I get many requests to use my photos or recipes on other people's blogs, and usually, I'm pretty ok with that as long as I'm asked and as long as there is proper attribution. But recently, I found a website that reposted a copy of my feed from Google Reader IN FULL. They did link to Confessions of a Tart and attributed the content to me, but still, they had reposted everything, from all of my posts. This website apparently has no original content - all they do is publish other people's material. And, to make matters worse, they had ads all over the website, so they are also profiting from other people's creativity.

I got very, very angry. In fact, I think I had to take a few deep breaths to calm down before I did anything. Granted, I don't consider this blog a work of art or whatever, but it's my little corner of the world, my baby, even if I open it up for everyone to see. It's my words and my photos and sometimes, even my own recipes. It's something so very personal to me, and, having now been blogging for a year and a half, it's something that I'm pretty proud of.

I wrote an email to the website from my personal email address and asked them nicely to take down my content. They agreed. Two months later, they still kept posting the full feeds from my blog. Grr. I took it to the next level and wrote them a more detailed and much less nice email from my business account - you know, the one that says in small but scary letters that I'm an Esq. and that I'm not afraid to kick some ass (in legal terms) should I feel the need to do so. After that, they finally complied with my request and removed my content.

I guess this is going to happen (and I've already had to deal with this several times, so not the first and not the last), but what made me really sad was that I had to bring out the big guns for someone to do the right thing. Why did I have to take my time away from family, friends, work and this blog to write a two-page email, citing relevant law and threatening legal action, for someone to stop stealing my work for their own profit? I'm 30 years old, but the ways of the world still disappoint me sometimes.

Meanwhile, I made you pesto. Delicious, delicious pesto. I made it by hand, and I cannot even tell you how much better it is that the food processor version. I mean, worlds, WORLDS apart. Universes, even! That's how good it was. No, really, that's how good it was. In fact, I think it was the best pesto I've ever had, so go and make this while basil is still fragrant and garlic is fresh and pink and you can sit on the patio with a glass of very crisp, very cold white wine and dip your bread into this explosion of bright green flavors and just focus on the beautiful things in life.

Summer Sundried Tomato Pesto
(serves 4 for dipping or mixing into pasta)

2 bunches basil
1 bunch parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
scant 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (depending on how thick you want the pesto to be)
salt & pepper

There are two ways to make this - with a knife or with a mortar & pestle. Either way, crushing the basil and parsley is important because it really brings out the full flavor of the greens.

If using a mortar & pestle: Crush the garlic with about 1/4 tsp of salt and throw it into a large bowl. Then, very roughly chop the basil and parsley (some people use parsley stems, but I take them out) and crush, first the basil and then the parsley, rubbing the pestle against the sides of the mortar to bring out the flavor. You will know when you're doing well because the greens will look dark and bruised and the smell will be incredible. Sometimes, a small drizzle of olive oil helps get the process going. Add to the garlic in the big bowl.

Toast and crush the pine nuts and then chop the sundried tomatoes finely. Note: if using dry sundried tomatoes (as opposed to packed in oil), soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes first to make them nice and plump. Add to the bowl, throw in the parmesan, and mix with a fork, adding the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until you have achieved the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If not using a mortar & pestle: Roughly chop the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with about 1/4 tsp of salt and then crush with the back of a large knife until you have a paste. Throw the garlic past into a large bowl. Chop the basil and parsley finely. Then, put the chopped greens into a ziploc bag and gently hit them with the back of a large knife or the flatter side of a meat tenderizer until the greens darken in color and look bruised. I would do this one at a time (once for basil and once for parsley). Add to the large bowl with the garlic.

Toast and chop finely the pine nuts, then chop finely the sundried tomatoes. Note: if using dry sundried tomatoes (as opposed to packed in oil), soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes first to make them nice and plump. Add to the bowl, throw in the parmesan, and mix with a fork, adding the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until you have achieved the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with some crusty bread and a crisp glass of white wine!

Whole Wheat Pizza with Asparagus and Purple Potatoes

2009-08-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

What if I told you that you could make a decent pizza dough in less than half an hour? What if I told you that it would contain whole wheat flour and still retain that soft, bready quality that we all love about pizza? What if I told you that you could do all this from scratch and barely break a sweat while sipping on a glass of wine and nibbling on some cheese? You would laugh at me, right?

And yet, such a thing does exist. I know, because I made it last night and it was delicious. You see, I've always wanted to make pizza at home, but when I come home at 7pm from a full day at work and A. is hovering around me hungrily, I just can't wait for two hours for the pizza dough to rise. I have a maximum of forty minutes to put dinner on the table before the natives start getting restless and for the sake of marital felicity, I try to keep within that time limit.

This pizza has everything I really love about pizza - a thin, hearty crust that's sturdy enough to hold toppings and that has just the right bit of oven spring, a little bit of cheese that gets melty and toasted in the oven and fresh, flavorful toppings. Admittedly, this is not a gourmand's pizza, a pizza to compose sonnets about and to cherish as a secret recipe, but it's a "let's pop open a few beers after a hard day of work" pizza or "my boys just played two hours of soccer and are hungry" pizza, or really, just an easy and hassle-free meal that's versatile and very, very satisfying.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Asparagus and Purple Potatoes

1 whole wheat pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or half mozzarella, half gruyere)
half a bunch of asparagus (7-8 stalks)
about a cup of sliced potatoes (parboiled for 5 minutes)
1 tbsp rosemary

Quick whole wheat pizza dough
from Andrea's Recipes
[Note: this makes a thinnish crust pizza. If you want a thicker crust pizza, you do have to let this rise for an hour, gently let the air out, then rest on the counter for 20 minutes before rolling out]

1 scant cup whole-wheat flour (I put 1 cup minus 1 teaspoon)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 package quick-rising yeast
1 teaspoon salt (I used a little bit less)
½ teaspoon sugar
¾ cup hot water (approximately 115°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
coarse cornmeal, for sprinkling on the peel

In a large bowl, combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar, and whisk together. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup and pour slowly into the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a slightly shaggy, sticky ball. The dough will be soft and warm. If it seems dry, add 1-2 tbsp of warm water and if it's too sticky, add 1-2 tbsp of flour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and form into a ball, then knead for about five minutes until the dough is becoming smooth and elastic (it won't be completely smooth and elastic, but that's ok). Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with spray oil or cooking spray and cover the dough with it. Let the dough rest for 10-20 minutes before rolling.

Meanwhile, prep all your toppings, preheat the oven and prepare a pizza stone. I use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper on top of which I sprinkle some cornmeal.

Uncover the dough and lightly flour your surface and rolling pin. Flatten the dough with your palm and roll it out to the shape of your stone or baking sheet, rotating a quarter turn after every few rolls. Mine rolled out to about 1/4 inch thickness for a standard baking sheet and made a thinner crust pizza (but not completely thin crust). If you want a very thin crust pizza, divide the dough in half and make two.

Transfer to the pizza stone or baking sheet, sprinkle with cheese and then the toppings of your choice and set it in hot oven. Bake the way you usually bake pizza.

*Now, I know that the prevailing wisdom in pizza is to bake it at 500F for 10 minutes, but whether it's my technique or my oven, this never works for me. So, to get the soft crust and the crisp bottom that I love, I bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes and it works out well. You should bake the pizza the way you usually bake it.

White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake

2009-08-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

There are three things I want to tell you about this cake: (1) I overbaked the genoise - don't do that; (2) the white chocolate mousse was AMAZING; and (3) next time, I'm going to ditch the raspberry mousse and pair the white chocolate part with a Meyer lemon mousse and some bittersweet chocolate shavings, and we will all, ALL, be much happier.

So this cake was pretty good, but what I really want to talk about is the white chocolate mousse. Let me tell you - I don't even like white chocolate. I only bought a chunk of Callebaut because it was on sale and because melted white chocolate mixed with a little food coloring is a great way to write on cakes (I hate that gel stuff that's sold in the supermarket, yuk!). So this big hunk o' chocolate sat in my refrigerator for a while, just staring at me, until I guiltily found something to do with it. And boy, did this mousse show me! It was rich, it was creamy, it was all that white chocolate can ever aspire to be. I am definitely making it again, and I'm already seeing visions of cold, delicate white chocolate sweetness paired with something bitter or tart - anything, really - Meyer lemon mousse, tart cherry cheesecake, dark chocolate... I've gained some respect for white chocolate and I'm going to find a worthier use for the other half of my stash than cake decoration.

White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake
This cake is made of 3 components - a basic genoise cake recipe, raspberry mousse and white chocolate mousse. I didn't like the raspberry mousse recipe I used, so I'm not going to give it to you, but the cake and the white chocolate mousse were damn good.

Basic Genoise Cake by Flo Braker
Makes 1 9-inch cake (I halved the recipe to make a thin layer of cake)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted cake flour
*Framboise for brushing the cake layer

Position rack in lower third of oven; heat to 350°. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan; set aside.

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Pour into small mixing bowl; set
nearby. Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip egg mixture until it has tripled in volume, about 4 to 5 minutes.Fold flour into mixture, one third at a time, just until incorporated. Pour about 1 cup of batter into the melted butter, and fold just until combined. Return butter mixture to reserved batter, and again fold to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth batter evenly. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or
until top springs back slightly when lightly touched. Cool 10 minutes, then run a table knife blade around the outside edge of cake, freeing the sides and allowing air to get under the layer. Invert cake onto rack and allow to cool completely.

White Chocolae Mousse(Gourmet, April 1990)
*Note that this mousse consists of a batch of pastry cream (the first 6 ingredients), melted white chocolate and whipped cream. The pastry cream is meant to be divided in 2, half for the white chocolate mousse and half for the raspberry mousse. If you are only making the white chocolate mousse, halve the first 6 ingredients to make half a batch of pastry cream.

4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces fine-quality white chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Make the pastry cream: In a bowl whisk together well the yolks, the sugar, and a pinch of salt, add the cornstarch, sifted, and whisk the mixture until it is just combined. Bring the milk almost to a boil, then slowly drible about 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the eggs, whisking to prevent the yolks from cooking. When the yolks are thus tempered, you can add them to the rest of the hot milk. Boil the mixture, whisking, for 1 minute, or until it is very thick and smooth. Strain the pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl, stir a few times to release the steam, and then stir in vanilla and the butter (one tbsp at a time). Press plastic wrap to the surface of the pastry cream and chill until it's cooled completely. Divide the pastry cream in half (if you have made a full batch). Set aside one half for the white chocolate mousse (about 1 cup) and reserve the other half.

Add in white chocolate and whipped cream: In a heat-proof bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the white chocolate, stirring occasionally, and let it cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl whisk together the white chocolate and the 1 cup of the pastry cream, until the mixture is combined well. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the heavy cream until it holds soft peaks, whisk one fourth of it into the white chocolate mixture, and fold in the remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.

To assemble the cake: Line the sides of an oiled 9-inch springform pan (or a 9-inch cake ring) as smoothly as possible with pieces of plastic wrap (the plastic wrap prevents the filling from discoloring and makes unmolding the cake easier), letting the excess hang over the side.

If you've made the full recipe of the genoise, divide it in half. Fit one half on the bottom of your mold. Brush the cake with about 2 tablespoons of Framboise, and spread it evenly with the white chocolate mousse. If this is all you are making, cover the cake loosely with plastic and set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

If you are using a second type of mousse (i.e., lemon or raspberry), let the white chocolate mousse set in the refrigerator for an hour before spreading the second mousse on top. If you are using the second half of the genoise, set the second layer either between the mousse layers or on top of the cake. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Banana-Poppy Seed Muffins

2009-07-27T15:06:00.001-07:00

I want to share some wonderful news with you - last week, I became an aunt of a beautiful baby girl! She has ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes and is otherwise absolutely adorable, squeezable and kissable. And she already likes her auntie, which she demonstrated by not screaming her head off when I picked her up. That scored some big brownie points in my book.

My favorite thing to bring to new moms is food. I figure that by the time I get there, the baby clothes cuteness is wearing a bit thin and a hot dinner is more welcome than another pink onesie. Although, I do have to admit that the charm of pink onesies cannot be denied.

I looked through my cookbooks for just the right thing to make, and when I came across these muffins, I knew that this was "it." Everyone likes banana muffins, and the poppy seeds give them an interesting twist that keeps the bit of crunch without making me worry about nut allergies. The addition of whole wheat flour and four bananas keep them on the healthier side, hearty enough for breakfast or just a snack while still moist and delicious. Lastly, I was attracted to the fact that, if wrapped individually, these muffins can be thrown into the freezer - a quick reheat in the microwave or toaster oven and you have a freshly baked muffin anytime you want. I might just be tempted to make another dozen or two for myself!

Banana-Poppy Seed Muffins
from my favorite cookbook of the moment, Once Upon a Tart (it's wonderful, seriously)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup of sugar
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (the authors emphasize that the bananas must be very ripe, even black)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup cold milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400F and butter or spray 12 regular or 6 extra large muffin cups.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds together in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the mashed bananas and continue mixing on high until the bananas are blended in completely. Lower the speed to low and mix in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated (about a minute), and then mix in the milk and the vanilla.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients just until the flour disappears - do not overmix.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

To freeze, allow muffins to cool to room temperature. Then wrap each individually in two layers of plastic wrap. Alternatively, set the unwrapped muffins on a tray and freeze for an hour or so (flash freeze), and then store in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. As far as I can tell, they will keep for about 2 months.

Peter Reinhart's Challah

2009-07-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Friends, I am in a quandary. I need your help. See, for years, I have been traumatized by challah. No, I don't mean that I've been chased around by the Jewish Sabbath bread a la "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," or that challah haunts my nightmares, or anything like that. To be more precise, I've been traumatized by baking challah.

My first challah experiment came from a book (we will leave it nameless here) that purported to give you an "authentic" challah recipe. This was the first bread that I had ever attempted to bake and I was a little (a lot) unsure of myself. To make a very long story very short, I forgot to add the eggs to the dough. Yeah, now you know the shameful skeleton in my closet. I forgot to put eggs into egg bread. I made the recipe again, with the wind taken considerably out of my sails, but I might as well have not made it at all because it tasted nothing like the challah I knew.

Over the next eight years, I've shied away from challah, looking for that "perfect" recipe, not daring to try it again. Failure is not something I deal with well, as you can see. So when I saw Peter Reinhart's recipe, I thought, "bingo!" because, I mean, he's Peter Reinhart! Right? ... This story does not have a happy ending because, although the challah turned out very tasty indeed, it's still not the challah that I'm used to. It somehow wasn't eggy enough or sweet enough, or rich enough or something that's undetectable and yet you know it's there. It's a great bread and we've already gone through one of the two loaves, but... it's just not "the" challah.

Is it my technique? Is it the recipe? Is it that I'm cursed with forever making the wrong challah? Please help. If you have any, and I mean any advice (techniques, your favorite recipes, sob stories), please share them with me. I'm ready to try again, but I need inspiration. You can find the recipe for Peter Reinhart's challah here (in the Google preview of his "Baker's Apprentice").

My First Meme

2009-07-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

Recently, the delightful Danielle from Delightfully Sweet tagged me for a meme. Now, I'm usually the worst at keeping up with these things (abject apologies to anyone who tagged me and I totally forgot about it) and I never know what to write. I think my life is pretty exciting, but the details that make it so exciting for me would put all of you guys to sleep, so instead, I am going to take you on a short walk of my neighborhood. If you haven't figured it out yet, I live in sunny and beautiful Los Angeles. To be exact, I live in a sunny and beautiful urban suburb of Los Angeles called Santa Monica, which is pretty much the best place in the world and has the additional benefits of being right on the beach and having even milder weather than the rest of the city. What can I say, I'm one lucky girl! Without further ado, follow me!

I always feel strange in land-locked cities because I grew up practically smack dab up against the ocean. Santa Monica is a fun and vibrant community with lots to do and even more to see, but at some point, if you continue walking west, it just ends and there is this vast expanse of blue on blue and the sound of the breaking surf and the salty, tangy smell of the water. When I have a free hour, I like to bring a book here and sit on one of the benches overlooking the ocean, pretending to read, but really just lifting my face to the warm sun and thinking about how cool it is to actually live here.

It's always a point of contention between writers and poets whether the ocean makes one feel really small or really big. To tell you the truth, it doesn't make me feel either way, but it gifts me with peace. The water can be gray, azure, turquoise or indigo, or a multitude of other colors, but it washes away the dust of daily life and refocuses my mind when I most need it. It's a very Californian thing to say, I know. Then again, I am a Californian, and I dare you to try standing two feet away from the Pacific ocean and not feeling almost entirely happy.

After an hour of such fulfilling philosophical reflections, I felt a very natural need, as would almost any girl, to get a cup of coffee and look into Sur La Table. Thankfully, it was only a short walk from the ocean that I could satisfy both of these desires.

Two blocks away from the beach, there is a long street blocked off for pedestrians with colorful shops, cafes and street musicians. There are tourists and locals and high school kids with skate boards and tattoos sitting at Johnny Rockets next to families with lots of kids. I don't always come here because it gets quite busy, especially during the summer months, but sometimes, I just can't resist the magic of people watching from a Greek cafe and then browsing for new books at one of the big book stores. Are these grass dinosaur fountains, you ask? Why, yes, they surely are. :)

It was a wonderful day, the kind when the colors are bright and crisp, the breeze is gentle on your skin, and there seem to be people everywhere, walking and laughing and enjoying the perfect July weather. This guy tuned his guitar for a long time while the kids watched, sipping an iced coffee and making up his mind which songs he wanted to start with.

As usual, time had run away from me, and I had to walk back to my car and get on with my day, but on my way there, I allowed myself a last pleasure and peeked behind the wrought iron gate of the beautiful Fairmont-Miramar Hotel. My parents and I have gone there for dessert in the evenings ever since I can remember, to sit out on their patio under the fairy lights and crunch on the sugar sticks they serve with their coffee. The tinkling of the fountain brought my mind back to the very different sounds of the ocean and I knew that I wanted to share my day with you, my friends. Thank you for coming back to my little corner of the blogosphere and sharing your thoughts with me.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Gratin

2009-07-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

I used to think of myself as a spring/fall girl. At least, that's what I always told people. I feel like I come alive in April and October with its golden sunsets and apple pies has that certain ephemeral charm. But I think I might have been wrong. People, I think I am an undercover summer lover.

Maybe it's just that this particular summer has me bewitched. This summer's been simply glorious. I don't remember skies ever being quite this blue or the breeze being quite this gentle. The temperature hovers around a perfect 80F and the farmers' markets are bursting with plump, velvety cherries and red-cheeked nectarines. It all has my head spinning just a little.

This gratin was the product of my Saturday morning farmers' market loot and it just tastes like July and picnics in the park and lazy dinners on the porch. Unlike the hearty, cheesy potato gratins we all love when the thermometer dips, this is light and bright with flavors, the soft zucchini and summer squash getting a little zing from a sprinkling of feta and a dash of lemon juice. If, like me, summer has you firmly in its hold, this dish will hit just the right the spot.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Gratin
serves about 4-6

2 zucchini
2 summer squash
4 eggs
1 cup milk
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 teaspoons dried or fresh thyme
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Turn the oven to 350F and butter and 8x8 in. baking dish or 4 individual baking dishes. Slice the zucchini and the squash into thin slices, about 1/4 of an inch. Toss the vegetables with the lemon juice.

Make a layer of the slices on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping each piece. I made separate layers of zucchini and separate layers of squash, but it doesn't matter, you can mix it up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue until you have layered about half of the vegetables. Then, spread half of the feta on top. Continue layering until the vegetables reach just below the top of the baking dish. Sprinkle with some more salt and pepper. Depending on the size of the vegetables, you may have some slices left over; roast them and throw them into a pasta later.

Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour over the gratin. The liquid should almost cover the vegetables. Then, spread the rest of the feta on top and sprinkle with thyme. Bake until the vegetables are tender and the filling is set, about an hour (the filling will puff, but don't worry, it will settle down once you take it out of the oven).

Sweet Cherry Pie

2009-07-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

If there is another vehicle in the world as perfect for showcasing cherries as is a flaky, delicious pie crust, I dare you to find it and show it to me. Oh, sure, there are clafoutis and jams and cobblers and coffee cakes, but after making my first cherry pie (indeed, my first pie) this weekend, I am firmly convinced that all these other things are just filler in case there's no time to make pie.

I didn't grow up here and I didn't grow up with pie, but when I took the golden, flaky, bubbling, fragrant pie out of the oven, with the red droplets of cherry juice and sugar swirling on the hot baking sheet, I knew that I had missed out on something very important. If food can be poetry, this is it - a deceptively simple, charming, loving and brilliant ode to the American culture.

Since this was my first time making a pie crust, I had no idea what to expect. And, not having had home-made pies very often, I still have no idea whether I got it right. I think that I could have made my dough flakier by handling it less, and I'm sure my technique was totally off. I didn't think the lattice did a very good job of holding in all the filling, so next time, I'll just go with a simple double crust. I'm sure there were other shortfalls that would prevent this pie from winning a pie contest. And yet, I can tell you for sure that this pie was the bomb. For real. Go and make it, people. This is the BEST way to enjoy the cherry season other than just eating them straight.

Sweet Cherry Pie

Pie Crust - makes a double crust
(compiled from different recipes)
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) very cold or frozen unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-5 tablespoons of iced water

Cherry Filling
(Joy of Cooking)
5 cups pitted cherries (about 2 1/2 lbs unpitted)
3/4 cup sugar for sweet cherries or 1 1/4 cup for sour cherries
3 to 3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Make the crust: Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Quickly cut the cold butter into small pieces (I cut each stick into 16 pieces). Make sure to keep all ingredients cold, even if that means stopping and sticking things in the refrigerator for 5 minutes or so to cool off.

With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the largest piece of butter is no bigger than a pea. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of water on top and mix gently with a fork. If pieces of the dough stick when you pinch it between your fingers, it's good - if not, add more iced water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead briefly to incorporate the dry ingredients, if any. Divide in half and form each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and leave on the counter for at least 10 minutes to allow the dough to come to room temperature. Butter or spray a pie pan. On a well-floured surface or between two sheets of plastic wrap, roll out two rounds, about 12 inches each. Fit one of the rounds into the pie pan and cut away excess dough, leaving a little on the edges for crimping. Refrigerate both the pie pan with the bottom crust and the rolled out top crust.

Make the filling: While the crusts are refrigerating, pit all the cherries and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch over the cherries and then pour the water and lemon juice on top. If you wish, add the almond extract. Gently mix until no trace of sugar or cornstarch remains. Leave for 15 minutes and then drain the cherries of most of the liquid.

Assemble the pie: Pour the cherries and the remaining liquid into the prepared crust. Fit the second crust on top of the cherries and either prick it all over with a fork or cut several vents in it. Or, you can make a lattice by cutting the crust into thin strips and fitting the strips over the top crust in a lattice pattern (like so).*

Turn the oven to 425F and fit a rack to the lower third of the oven. Put the pie dish onto a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper (to catch the juices) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350F and bake for a further 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Cool on a rack for several hours and serve with ice cream.

*At this point, the pie can be frozen for up to several months (flash freeze and then wrap it very very well). To bake a frozen pie, turn the oven to 450F and bake the pie on the lower rack for 15-20 minutes, then turn down to 375F and bake it for a further 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the juices ar bubbling.

Honey Nectarine Pancakes

2009-07-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

As all Russian men, my dad is a disaster in the kitchen. And yet -- and yet! -- he can turn out a perfect breakfast on any given Sunday. No one knows what mysteries of the universe allow him to handle kitchen equipment with such agility on this particular day, when on the other six days of the week he can barely operate the toaster oven, but breakfasts are "his thing" on Sundays and growing up, I have to confess it was my favorite meal of the week.

My dad's pancakes are soft, fluffy and tender, but not as thick as the ones usually made here, and they always include a surprise - sauteed apples, diced peaches, maybe even strawberries with a bit of sugar. I haven't had dad's pancakes for a while and this morning, when I picked up some gorgeous nectarines at the market, I got nostalgic for them and had to make them for myself. After all, I'm a big girl now and I can't run to my daddy for every little thing, can I? (I can and I do, but at least I can give him a break on the pancakes once in a while). :)

Nectarines and honey are a combination made in heaven and they work beautifully together in these pancakes. I replaced a teaspoon of sugar in the recipe with a tablespoon of honey and I also drizzled a little honey over the top. The softened nectarines and the mild taste of the honey complement each other perfectly, but of course, feel free to replace the nectarines with apples, blueberries, bananas or whatever else is in season.

Happy Independence Day to all my American readers! (and happy "Day We Finally Got Rid Of Those Pesky Colonists" to the Brits!) Have a happy and safe weekend, everyone!

Honey Nectarine Pancakes
(makes about 12 medium sized cakes)

Dry Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/5 cup buttermilk (or milk, in a pinch)
1 tbsp honey

2 ripe nectarines

First, bring a pot of water to a rollicking boil. With a small paring knife, score the nectarines on the bottom (cut a little cross in the skin), and then drop the fruit into the boiling water for 2 minutes. Fish them out and rinse under cold water. Peel the skin off starting with the place where you scored the nectarines. If the nectarines are ripe, the skin should come off pretty easily. This also works with peaches. Core and dice the nectarines into bite sized squares.

Now, heat a little butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. In a different, largish bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until you can't see the flour anymore. Make sure to get to the bottom of the bowl because flour is tricky and likes to hide down there. The batter will be pretty lumpy, but that's ok.

With a small ladle, drop a little bit of batter onto the frying pan to make cakes about 3 inches in diameter (or whatever diameter you like them, really). Drop a few nectarine pieces on top of each pancake. When you see bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, flip them over for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Continue until you're out of batter (if you'll be making lots of pancakes, heat the oven to 100F and store the finished pancakes on a cookie sheet in the oven to keep them warm). Serve drizzled with honey.

The Lake

2009-06-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

Cherry Coffee Cake

2009-06-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

Before I go on a trip, I like to cook what I call "clean the refrigerator" meals. In my head, I pretend that I'm being inspired by my ingredients, but really, I'm just in a mad rush to use up everything because I hate seeing food go to waste. I've actually been pretty good about it this week, so today, the tally of perishables in my refrigerator was: half a bag of cherries, two eggs and some milk on the bottom of the carton. HMMMMMM.......... Can you guess what I made with it?

Tomorrow, we are leaving for a whole week to a place where I anticipate reading at least three big, fat books and not wearing real shoes. It may not be everyone's idea of a perfect vacation, but I can't wait. I made this coffee cake to take with us on the drive, but the smell was so divine, so golden sweet and promising with its subtle notes of vanilla and baked cherries, and the crumb was so fine and so light, that we kind of ate half of it right away, hardly waiting for it to cool. Oops. I'm not sorry, though -- it was totally worth it. Have a lovely week, everyone! If there's an internet connection, I promise to check in!

Cherry Coffee Cake
via A Series Of Kitchen Experiments (check it out - wonderful blog! I simplified the recipe a little, so if you want to do the original recipe, please follow the link!)

1 and 1/2 cup of fresh cherries, halved and pitted
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup of sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup of milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and spray or butter an 8x8 square baking pan.

Pit and halve the cherries and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time and beat briefly, just to to combine. Add in vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine.

Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together. With the mixer on low speed (or with a wooden spoon), add half the flour mixture and mix just to incorporate the flour. Do not over-mix the dough. Add milk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix just to incorporate all the ingredients together.

Carefully, fold in the cherries.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the edges are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Stuffed Eggplant

2009-06-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

I know that I promised you guys something that isn't a cake, and after sticking it through like twenty cakes with me, you definitely deserve it. So with that promise in mind, I walked into my local library this morning, hoping to run into a cookbook with something green on the cover, something that would make me want to sail full speed out to the farmer's market and buy out their supply of whatever is in season (not like I need an excuse to do that, but still).

The first thing I noticed was the abnormal number of babies. Seriously, there were babies everywhere - on the floor, on the counters, flipping through yesterday's copy of the London Times... It was like a "Where's Waldo?" game, only with ... babies. Ookay, weird. The librarian behind the counter looked at me strangely and said (in what I thought was an unnecessarily snooty voice), "Are you here for... story time?" She paused slightly and added for full effect "MA'AM," making me feel like I was all of a hundred, instead of a young'un of 30. All the babies and their mammas promptly turned their suspicious eyes towards me and I was stuck, looking like a deer in the headlights, to mumble meekly "oh, sorry" and beat a hasty retreat. It turns out that the library actually closes for two hours of 'story time,' and as I didn't have the required accessory to participate, I decided to nix the cookbook idea and make you my grandma's stuffed eggplant instead. It's really good, trust me, and considering that I braved a whole battalion of babies for you guys, I really think you should just make it. :)

It's been pretty busy here at Chez Irene lately. Summer is the season of birthdays in my family, which means a lot of celebrating, but between all those cousins, all that tequila and that pesky job thing that's been taking up more and more of my attention, there has been very little time for anything else. So please forgive me if I'm not as active here and and on your blogs as of late and don't get mad if I take a little longer to respond to your emails. I hope everyone's just as busy with their own cousins and tequila (a killer combination) to notice my brief absence.

My Grandma's Stuffed Eggplant
(serves 6)

3 Japanese (or Italian) eggplant
3/4 lb ground beef (or turkey)*
1 large tomato
1/2 of a yellow onion
6 oz mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
a handful of parsley leaves, chopped
shaved Parmesan to top
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

*If you wanted to make this a vegetarian dish, simply do not use beef and use 1 onion instead of 1/2 and 10 oz of mushrooms instead of 6 oz. You can also mix in some cubed feta and pine nuts, chopped olives, etc.

Wash the eggplants, cut off the tops and slice each eggplant in half. Using a small paring knife and a spoon, cut/scoop out the insides of each half. Do not cut through the skin and leave enough eggplant inside so that the halves can stand on their own (they will look like little boats). Sprinkle with salt and arrange in a baking dish.

Chop the scooped out part of the eggplant into small squares. Chop the onion, tomato and mushrooms as well. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes, until the onions are just translucent, then add the mushrooms. Saute for another minute, until the mushrooms give off liquid, and add the eggplant and the tomato. Saute for about 5-8 minutes, until the eggplant is soft and cooked through, then add salt and pepper to taste.

While the vegetables are sauteing, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in another pan and brown the ground beef. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Make sure the beef is cooked through completely. Add the beef to the vegetables, then stir in chopped parsley. Adjust the seasoning one last time.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Fill the eggplant boats with the beef/vegetable mixture and sprinkle the tops with shaved Parmesan. Pour a little bit of water into the baking pan, just to cover the bottom (this helps the skins of the eggplant to bake), drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Mango Mousse Cake With Lime-Hinted Whipped Cream

2009-06-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Tell me the truth, my dears, are you sick of cakes yet? Do you want to run into the warm, comforting arms of asparagus and dance the tango with some low-fat yogurt? Do you crave the cool kiss of a cucumber and dream of summer zucchini? Yeah, me too. But not before I make this cake.

Because, you see, it's my birthday. Not just "a" birthday, not some #2 or #7, but it's the birthday that heralds a whole new decade, with that pesky "3" as the first digit. Now, I'm not complaining, nor do I want to go back five years or anything. I have many, many blessings in my life (like my wonderful husband, my beautiful loving family, loyal friends who make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, our house, a job I actually like, Wüsthof knives and a shiny new yellow KitchenAid named Lucy - yes, it's true!) and I am the kind of person who likes to look forward, not back. But this whole being 30 thing... I just don't know if I'm exactly ready for it, if that makes any sense. It seems a little bit daunting, like maybe I have to start taking this life thing a little more seriously now, like I can't wear pink or flirt my way out of speeding tickets, like jello shooters aren't cool anymore and I can officially start saying things like "kids these days" while shaking my head at Lady Gaga. Brrr, snap me out of this, someone! Oh, wait, there's still a mango cake. Ahh... all is right with the world.

After making birthday cakes for everyone else, you know that I had to make one for myself as well, right? I used my favorite yellow cake recipe from (you guessed it) Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes, which has worked wonderfully for me before. Instead of a tall, triple-tiered 9" cake, I did a shorter double-tiered 9x13 cake, which I think was just perfect (I may be the only person in the world who is indifferent to gigantic cakes). I filled the cake with a thick layer of mango mousse, moistened the layers a little with simple syrup flavored with lime juice and rum, and topped it with lightly-sweetened whipped cream to which I added a little lime zest. It was a heavenly combination - substantial enough for such a substantial date, and yet, light, breezy and summery - just what this 30-year old afraid of growing up would want to eat.

Mango Mousse Cake With Lime-Hinted Whipped Cream
A big thank you to the lovely and talented Helen of Tartelette, who helped me with the ideas and flavors for this cake.

Assembly: Set the first layer of the cake inside a mold (or inside a 9x13 cake pan with straight sides). Brush the layer with half of the lime/rum syrup. Spread the mango mousse on top of the cake layer. Lay the second cake layer on top of the mango mousse. Gently press on the top to distribute the mousse evenly. Brush the top layer with the rest of the lime/rum syrup. Wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for two hours or overnight. Unwrap the cake and either unmold (if using a cake mold) or carefully turn it over onto a 10x14" cake board (if using the latter method, the bottom layer will be the top, but it doesn't matter at all). Prepare the whipped cream frosting and frost the cake. Decorate with chocolate shavings and allow to set for at least 3 hours.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake (Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes)
3 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 1/3 cup buttermilk
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and 1 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Mix on low speed briefly to blend; then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk until well blended. Pour one-third of the egg mixture into the cake batter at a time, folding it in completely after each addition. There will be 9 cups of batter.

Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the layers out onto wire racks by placing a rack on top of a pan, inverting it, and lifting off the pan. Peel off the paper liners and let cool completely. When the layers have cooled, place a cardboard cake board on top of a layer, invert again, and lift off the rack. To make the layers easier to handle, wrap them on their boards completely in plastic, so they don’t dry out, and refrigerate them.

Mango mousse (Tartelette)
3 teaspoons powdered gelatin, 3 tablespoon water
8 oz mango puree (I made my own from 2 large mangoes, but next time, I think I will buy it for more concentrated mango flavor)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy cream, cold

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it soften while you prepare the fruit. In a medium saucepan, bring the mango puree and sugar to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is completely melted. Transfer the fruit puree to a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the fruit puree to lighten it up (do not worry about losing air at this point). Carefully fold in the rest of the whipped cream. Use within one hour.

Rum/lime simple syrup
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon lime juice

In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, bring all the ingredients to a simmer until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temperature.

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting (Tartelette)
2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin dissolved in 3 Tb. cold water
grated zest of one lime

Rub the lime zest into the sugar to release the oils. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream with the sugar/lime zest until soft peaks. In the meantime, dissolve the gelatin in the microwave for 10 seconds. Or set the cup where the gelatin was in a large saucepan filled with a couple of inches of water, bringing the water to a simmer and waiting for the gelatin to melt. Slowly pour the gelatin in one steady stream over the whipped cream and continue to whip until firm. If you add your gelatin a little cooled and before the whipped cream is still at soft peaks stage, it should not clump on you. Decorate your cake with the whipped cream and return the cake to the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to serve it, at least 3 hours.

Strawberry Cream Cake

2009-05-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you something - I am not an impulsive person by nature. In fact, I am the complete opposite of that. I like to think and plan, to draw up lists (and lists of lists), to "talk things over" ... and over... and over until A. gives me that look and I know it's time to stop. And yet, I often do things on impulse because I just know that it's right and regrets are the worst things to end up with. Some of the best decisions I've ever made have been split-second-gut-feeling type of things and I've learned that trusting my intuition and letting go of control brings about the sweetest freedom.

I had this same feeling when I saw an email in my inbox from a person whose name I did not recognize. I read it, and I just knew. It was an email from a mother. She said that her son lives in Los Angeles while the rest of the family is in Brazil, and she said, "we would like to send him a strawberry cake with fresh whipped cream, for his birthday, because he loves it." She used to make this cake for his birthday all the time. She said that she and her mother looked through photos of cakes for an hour, and then, she saw a photo of my cake and said: "look, mom, this cakes look so good, and this strawberry cake looks like ours, it must be made by a jewish mother." It made me cry, and I am not the kind of person who cries easily at all, because I know that if I was far away, my mom would do the same thing, she would find a way to send me something familiar so that I know she is thinking about me and that she loves me. With a mother like that, no one can be alone, even in a strange country half the world away. I am not a mother yet, but this is the kind of mother I hope I will be. Of course, I had to make this cake. I was honored to do it.

Life is a strange and beautiful thing, my friends. How wonderful it was that she found me, me to do this lovely thing for her son. Happy birthday, dear S., and best wishes to your whole beautiful, loving family!

Strawberry Cream Cake
1 chiffon cake (recipe below)
2 lb strawberries
Whipped cream filling (recipe below)
Milk/rum mixture (below)
1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tbsp sugar for the topping

To Assemble
After the cake has cooled, slice it into three layers with a very sharp, serrated knife. Remove the stems from the strawberries. Set aside the best 20 and slice those in half. Chop the rest of the strawberries and set aside. Prepare the whipped cream filling. Also prepare the milk/rum mixture.

Line the sides (not the bottom) of a 10-inch springform pan with plastic so that there is enough overhang to cover the cake completely. Place the bottom layer of the cake inside the springform pan. Moisten it with one-third of the milk/rum mixture. Arrange a ring of strawberry halves, cut side down and ends facing out, around the perimeter of the cake layer.

Spread half of the chopped strawberries on top of the cake layer. Gently spread half of the whipped cream on top of the strawberries. Place the second layer on top. Moisten and repeat with strawberries and cream. Place the third layer on top and moisten with the rest of the milk/rum mixture. Wrap the top of the cake in plastic and press gently to distribute filling. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Whip half a cup of heavy cream and 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Frost the top of the cake and decorate with more strawberries.

Chiffon Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
6 large egg yolks (I used 5)
3/4 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated
10 large egg whites (I used 8)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom exactly. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups of sugar and add the salt, whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Make a well in the flour and add the yolk mixture, and then whisk thoroughly and quickly until very smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until the whites hold firm, shiny peaks.

With a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten and then gently fold the remaining whites until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula if necessary. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top springs back and the tested inserted into the center comes out clean (note: in my oven, this took an extra 30 minutes - I was checking every 10 min after the 50 minute mark). Let the cake cool in the springform pan (so the cake holds its shape) and then run a sharp knife around the edges and unmold.

Whipped Cream Filling
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Place the heavy cream in the bowl of a mixer with a pinch of salt. Whip on medium-high until frothy, then slowly add the granulated sugar and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form.

Milk/Rum Mixture
3/4 cup whole milk
2-4 tbsp rum (depending on how boozy you want it to be - optional)
1/4 cup of sugar

Place the milk and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on low-medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved (do not let the milk come to a boil). Take off the heat and add rum. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Assemble the cake and decorate! For the decorations, I melted about 4 oz of white chocolate in a double-boiler (well, my make-shift double boiler, which is a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of gently-simmering water - make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water and that steam does not get into the bowl). I drizzled some of the white chocolate over halved strawberries, left them in the refrigerator for an hour to set and then arranged them on top of the cake. I mixed the rest of the melted white chocolate with about 3 drops of yellow food coloring and piped the letters (as you can see, my calligraphy is atrocious... sigh... at least the white chocolate is tasty! I use Callebaut white chocolate and it melts like a dream).

Nutella Chocolate Cake

2009-05-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a cake is not just a cake. See, when you're friends with someone for fourteen years, when you've been through the ups and downs of life together, when you've cried and laughed and found life a little ridiculous and wonderful together, a 30th birthday cake is kind of like a summation of all those nights we stayed up until 3am propounding theories about the boy who went to Jamaica and discussing the relative merits of Bakery Boy 1 vs. Bakery Boys 2 & 3 (don't ask, you don't want to know). The trips to Palm Springs, the times we went shopping and bought the same outfit (and didn't even get mad at each other), the almost-being-pulled-over-by-the-cops-while-sort-of-kind-of-tipsy and the one jaywalking ticket we had to split between the two of us (as well as the Haagen-Dazs ice-creams we always shared). We were probably the only ones who voluntarily read Anna Karenina in high school (and loved it). Holding each other's hand through the loves that never were and celebrating birthdays, graduations, new jobs, and even a wedding (guess who watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding with me the night before I got married and peeled the petals off of 10 dozen roses? And guess who laughed at me the entire time?). So many memories, so much love, and I tried to fit it all into one cake.

Oh, but it was, it was a cake. Two thick, chocolaty layers filled and frosted with the most luscious, sweetest Nutella Swiss buttercream that you can imagine, and even a double layer of prime California strawberries in between. Because that's just what this girl likes, you see, and if a friend like that likes things like these, well, it's just a match made in heaven, isn't it? This cake could only go one way, and hoooo boy, did it ever.

Happy birthday, my dear friend, and here's to many, many more birthdays and memories to be shared!

For the chocolate cake, I used one of my favorite birthday cake recipes from "Sky High," one of my favorite (probably the favorite) cake books. The cake is super moist and chocolaty and the coffee gives it an extra depth of flavor that I really enjoyed (you can use decaf if you don't drink coffee). The Nutella buttercream? I just winged that. All you need to know is that I used almost a cup of Nutella - I highly recommend it. Don't be intimidated by Swiss buttercream - once you know what to expect (and I'll tell you exactly what that is), it's really very easy to make and tastes way way better than the "simple" buttercreams that only use butter and powdered sugar.

To frost and fill the cake (mine was a 9x13 two-layer cake), arrange the first cake layer on a cake board. Spread a layer of buttercream about 1/2-3/4 inch thick on the layer. With a large round piping tip, pipe a border of buttercream along the outer perimeter of the cake. Hull and slice the strawberries (I use about 1 lb), and arrange them in two layers on top of the buttercream. Reserve a few as decoration for the top of the cake, if you'd like. Place the second cake layer carefully on top. Coat the top and sides with a thin layer of buttercream (that'll be your crumb coat) and refrigerate for at least an hour or until the buttercream is very firm. Then, decorate with the rest of the buttercream. I used Nutella to pipe the letters - bad idea, it pipes horribly (as you can tell from the picture) so next time, I will probably just melt a little bit of dark chocolate and use that for piping the letters.

Chocolate Butter Cake
Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

A few notes about the cake:
(1) The recipe makes a three-layered 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake. However, I made mine a two-layered 9x13" cake and I thought that turned out really well. The layers were thick, but there wasn't *too* much cake, if you know what I mean. The size fed about 30-40 people (depending on how thickly you slice it) and seemed perfect for a birthday cake. However, I'd love to make the tall tall tall 9 or 8-inch version one of these days!
(2) This cake is pretty sturdy and yet, I had trouble (because of the size) lifting the second layer to fit on top of the first layer. Hence, I would really recommend wrapping the cake in plastic (3 layers) and freezing for a few hours or until the cake is firm. Then, it won't break when you're maneuvering the layers.
(3) Remember that as a butter cake, it will be dense if you eat it straight out of the refrigerator. Make sure to leave it out for at least a half hour to an hour before serving so you get maximum fluffiness. The buttercream holds up very well to all kinds of weather, so you can leave it out even if it's fairly hot.

3 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly brewed coffee (or decaf - I use instant coffee), cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or spray your cake pans (or pan, if you, like me, only have one 9x13 cake pan and can bake one layer at a time) and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to size. Butter or spray the paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and buttermilk and blend on low until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, please make sure to scrape the bowl very very often because the little deposits of flour, sugar and cocoa can really sneak up on you.

Whisk the eggs and coffee together, and add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition. In the end, stir carefully, bringing up the batter from the bottom of the bowl to make sure all the batter is at an even consistency. Divide the batter among the prepared pans (if you are using 9-inch round or 8-inch square pans, each pan will take about 3 1/4 cups of batter; if you are only using two 9x13-inch pans, well, you can do the math, right? And if not, just eyeball it like I do).

Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully turn the cake layers out onto wire racks and allow to cool completely. Remove the paper liners only when they are cool. (to frost, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for a few hours).

Nutella Swiss Buttercream (also called Swiss Meringue Buttercream)
Nutella added to my favorite Swiss Buttercream recipe from (who else?) Martha Stewart

Note: because of the Nutella addition, I found this buttercream to be not as stiff as if I had made it without Nutella, so while you probably won't be able to pipe chocolate roses with it, it still holds up extremely well to simple piped decorations and I was very pleased with it.

5 large egg whites
1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
4 sticks (1 lb) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella, at room temperature

Place a medium sized pan with about 3 inches of water over medium heat and allow water to come to a gentle simmer. Put the egg whites and sugar in a large heat-proof bowl and set over the simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk egg whites and sugar together constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved (when you rub the egg whites between your fingers, you should not be able to feel granules of sugar). This usually takes about 5 minutes.

Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure to wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl which you've just taken off the heat because if water gets into the egg whites during transfer, they won't whip up properly). Whip on medium-high speed until the whites hold firm peaks and are cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, cut the softened butter into 1 tbsp chunks (8 chunks per stick of butter) and once the egg whites hold firm peaks, lower the speed to medium and add the butter one chunk at a time, allowing it to incorporate into the egg mixture for about 20 seconds before adding the next one. Continue to add until all the butter is incorporated.

Here's the thing with buttercream: you need patience and faith. At first, the mixture will look soupy and you will a little skeptical. Then, as more butter is incorporated, it's going to look soupy and curdled, and then you will be afraid that it's never going to come together. Then, it's going to look really curdled and disgusting, and you will want to cry and throw it out. Don't, just keep mixing. I promise that just when you think it's reached its most curdled and disgusting point, it's going to magically turn into smooth, beautiful, thick buttercream.

When the buttercream is smooth, add the Nutella and mix slowly to combine, scraping down the bowl if necessary.

Baked French Toast

2009-05-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

Here's something you've probably figured out about me: I like to throw parties. I love to see my friends and family all dressed up and ready to relax, tell jokes and eat some good food. I love seeing my dad tease my sister, my mom dashing around the kitchen with a glass of champagne, and all the other familiar patterns that always emerge when we all get together.

I'll tell you something else - I have a hostess apron. A real, cute, frilled hostess apron that makes me feel like I want to twirl my skirt (and sometimes, I really do, kind of like a 5 yr old). Generally, I cook in an old ratty t-shirt that I'm not afraid to splatter with flour and butter, but a half hour before the guests are supposed to come over, I'll leave the kitchen and pretty myself, and then I will put on my hostess apron and make everyone believe that I've been standing in the kitchen for hours (when in fact, 90% of the work was done the night before and the day of, I pretty much frosted the cake and mixed up a green salad. I might have put things on platters, too, but I was eating scraps of cake so my brain is a little hazy on that point).

This baked french toast (ok, it's more like a bread pudding) lets me get out of the kitchen that precious half an hour earlier. You do all the prep work the night before (there isn't much of it) and then about an hour before the guests arrive, you pop this baby into the oven and voila, out comes a perfect, fluffy, sweet treat that everyone will love. Minimal effort + maximum taste = pretty darn awesome. Oh, and just in the interest of full disclosure, I drizzled Nutella over my portion. I'd tell you how good it was, but it's a little x-rated, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Baked French Toast
adopted from Gail Gand's Brunch

I love this little book. So far, the crepes were stellar and this bread pudding/french toast disappeared faster than I could stick a spoon in it. The book is sunny, homey and inviting with delicious photographs, and I love the way it has simple things - cheese and tomato galette, almond french toast, pear and almond tartlets, just to name a few - that I conceptually knew existed, but now cannot imagine living without.

10 slices of thick white bread (I use either challah or Hawaiian sweet bread)
7 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:
6 medium apples (I use Gala or Golden Delicious)
2 tbsp unsalted butter and more for buttering the dish
1/2 cup sugar (I usually use less - about 5 tbsp - if the apples are sweet)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon (more if you like cinnamon, up to 1 1/2 tsp)
sprinkle of ground nutmeg

The night before:

Make the topping: peel, core and cut the apples into 1/4-inch thick slices. Heat the butter over medium heat until melted, then add the apples and cook, stirring a few times to coat in butter, until the apples are tender (about 10 minutes). Turn off the heat and stir in sugar and spices. Set aside.

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cut the bread in half to make triangles and either toast it lightly or leave it out on the counter for a few hours. Arrange the bread in the dish in two rows, so the slices overlap.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing the bread down a bit if it's poking up above the milk. Spoon the apples over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day:

Heat the oven to 350F. Uncover the baking dish and bake 50-60 minutes, until the custard is set and doesn't shimmy when you shake the pan. It will puff up and brown slightly. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Strawberry Bavarian Cake and a Trifle

2009-05-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am disturbingly indecisive these days. This is strange because I usually know exactly what I want (salespeople hate me) and go after it without too much internal debate. Lately, however, the prospect of the smallest decision, like choosing a sandwich at lunch, is making me want to either run away in panic or bury my head in the sand (I can't decide which one... heh).

For example, this Bavarian cake. The internal monologue went something like this: "Omg, I hate this cake. There are just too many components. I mean, who wants to make a cake and strawberry puree AND a batch of pastry cream AND whipped cream AND stabilize it with gelatin?? I am crazy, aren't I? I'm preparing to have 12 people over for brunch. Why could I not have chosen a simple tea cake or something? OH MMMMM.... wait, this cake is AMAZING! It's fantastic, in fact! I am totally making this again! Well -- maybe without the pastry cream... But the pastry cream is SO GOOD! Maybe skip the gelatin? BUT......" and then my head exploded. But at least, I got to eat this cake, and so should you because, really, it's a perfect summer cake and it's totally worth it. I think.

The only problem I found with this recipe is that it makes way too much cake. I mean, you only need 2 layers, and I had enough cake left over to make 8 mini-trifles (cake cubes layered with strawberries, strawberry puree and whipped cream). Not that I'm complaining, the cake itself was deeeelicious, even if it took an extra half hour to bake, but I don't like surprises in baking, so next time, I would either halve the cake recipe (it halves beautifully) or make it a tall, 3-layer cake with less filling between each layer.

Strawberry Bavarian
Tartine

1 Chiffon cake, cut into 2 layers (note: this recipe makes way too much cake. Next time, I will either do a tall, 3 layer cake, or halve the chiffon cake recipe)
Fruit puree (recipe below)
Filling (recipe below)
Whipped Cream Topping (recipe below)
Strawberries - about 2 pints (20 oz)

Assembly directions: Prior to assembly, bake the cake and cut it into 2 layers. Make the strawberry puree and the pastry cream. Then, line the sides of a 10-inch springform pan with plastic so that it does not cover the bottom, but there is enough overhang to cover the top of the cake completely. Fit the bottom layer inside and moisten it with half of the fruit puree. At this point, make the gelatin-stabilized whipped cream and mix with pastry cream.

Spread a little of the cream filling on the bottom layer, just barely to cover. Cut about 7-8 strawberries in half and line them up against the sides of the pan, pressing into the cream (so the strawberries go all the way around). Leaving the other strawberries whole, stand them up on top of the bottom layer of the cake, pressing into the cream. Carefully, spread the rest of the filling on top and fit the second layer on top of the filling. Moisten the layer with the remaining fruit puree. Cover in plastic and press gently to spread the filling evenly. Leave in the refrigerator to set for 4 hrs or overnight.

When you are ready to finish the cake, unmold it carefully from the pan and peel off the plastic, then whip the whipped cream with the sugar for the topping until soft peaks form and frost the top of the cake. Decorate. The cake will keep for 3 days (just be careful that it does not absorb the smells of the refrigerator).

Chiffon Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
6 large egg yolks (I used 5)
3/4 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated
10 large egg whites (I used 8)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom exactly. Do not grease the sides of the pan.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups of sugar and add the salt, whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Make a well in the flour and add the yolk mixture, and then whisk thoroughly and quickly until very smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on medium-high until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar until the whites hold firm, shiny peaks. With a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten and then gently fold the remaining whites until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula if necessary. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top springs back and the tested inserted into the center comes out clean (note: in my oven, this took an extra 30 minutes - I was checking every 10 min). Let the cake cool in the springform pan (so the cake holds its shape) and then run a sharp knife around the edges and unmold.

Fruit puree

1/2 pint (6 oz) strawberries
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Filling
1 batch of Pastry cream (about 2.5 cups)
1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatin
1 tbsp water
2 cups heavy cream

In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over water to soften. Heat about 1/2 of the pastry cream (in the microwave or in a double boiler) until hot and whisk in the gelatin until smooth. Whisk half of the remaining pastry cream into the hot mixture, then whisk in the rest. In a mixing bowl, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately and gently fold the pastry cream into the whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Because the filling will begin to set as soon as the gelatin is mixed into anything cold, it's best to use it immediately (see instructions above on assembly).

Topping
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
4 tsp sugar

Whip the cream on high speed until thickened. Add the sugar slowly and whip to soft peaks.

You can make a liqueur-flavored sugar syrup in place of the fruit puree for moistening the cake layers. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup minus 2 tbsp sugar (6 oz) and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and refrigerate until cold. Select the liqueur or other spirit that complements the fruit you are using and whisk 2-4 tablespoons into the sugar syrup.

Mother's Day & Rustic Bread

2009-05-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

[the rustic bread recipe is after the jump]

So somehow, I was talked into (or talked myself into) having 11 people for brunch on Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day. I don't know how these things happen, I really don't. One minute, I'm contemplating making French toast for brunch on Sunday, and the next, there are 11 more people joining me. Really, I can't be responsible for myself when I'm thinking of brunch, it's all the hazy sunshine mixed with a heavy dose of champagne that clouds my judgment.

Regardless, if there is a holiday that is worthy of a brunch, it is Mother's Day. You see, my mom, she is amazing. She is a super-woman. I don't know how she does it, I wish I could tell you her secret, but she is just so above and beyond, well, anyone else, that when in 6th grade we had to write an essay about the woman we most admired in life (and boy, there is a wealth of choices, isn't there!), I was like, "DUH" and put "my mom." I don't think I ever let her see the essay, though, because that would have been embarrassing, to be admiring your mom in your teenage years, you know?

If your mom is a fabulous, sparkling, diamonds and rubies kind of lady, it's hard to find things to impress her with. Luckily, I don't have to - because she also loves me like no one else, which means it's easy to make her happy. And yet, such is the nature of the mother-daughter relationship, that I still try, all the time, to make something new to dazzle her with. I've put together a few recipes for you guys that my mom has loved and I hope that whatever you do, whatever you make, you just let your mom know that you love her, because that really is the most important part of Mother's Day (and every day). Ugh, now I am being schmaltzy, but it's just that time and I can't help it. On to the food:

Strawberry Frangelico Tart (with mascarpone)
Fruit Tartelettes
Cream Puffs
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Crème Brûlée
Strawberry Tart (without Frangelico, but with pastry cream)
Crepes With Sauted Apples (here is a recipe for the crepes)
Strawberry Scones
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

What will I be making for my mom on Mother's Day? For the others, there will be bagels and crab salad and a yet un-tested and un-photographed (but delicious sounding) baked French toast with sauted apples; but for my mom, there will be bread, because it is the thing that sustains us, just like our mothers. Cue the music, you guys, because when I go for the sentimentalism, I don't hold back! :)

Rustic Bread
Adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman via Break for Bread (a lovely blog, btw)
Makes 2 large loaves

This is a wonderful, dense country bread that's perfect for sandwiches (or for slathering with salted butter, as A. likes to eat it, dispensing with all the sandwich nonsense). It wasn't difficult to make at all and I encourage you to try. As you can tell, my bread-slashing skills leave a lot to be desired, so if anyone has any advice on how to go about slashing the loaves, I would greatly appreciate it!

Overall Formula:
Bread Flour: 1 lb, 9.6 oz (80%)
Whole-wheat flour: 6.4 oz (20%)
Water: 1 lb 6.1 oz (69%)
Salt: .6 oz (1.8%)
Yeast: .06 oz, instant (.6%)
Total Yield: 3 lb, 6.7 oz (171.4%)

Pre-Ferment
Bread flour: 1 lb (3 5/8 C)
Water: 9.6 oz (1 ¼ C)
Salt: .3 oz (½ T)
Yeast: 1/8 tsp, instant
Total: 1 lb, 10 oz

Final Dough
Bread Flour: 9.6 oz (2 ¼ C)
Whole wheat flour: 6.4 oz (1 ½ C)
Water: 12.5 oz (1 ½ C)
Salt: .3 oz (½ T)
Yeast: .06 oz instant (½ tsp)
Pre-ferment: 1 lb, 10 oz (all of above)
Total: 3 lb, 6.7 oz

1. PRE-FERMENT: Disperse the yeast in the water, add the flour and salt, and mix until just smooth. At 60 percent hydration, it will be stiff and dense, but add water if necessary to correct the hydration. Cover the bowl with plastic and let stand for 12 to 16 hours at about 70°F. When ripe, the pre-ferment will be domed and just beginning to recede in the center.

2. MIXING: Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl except the pre-ferment. In a spiral mixer, mix on first speed for 3 minutes in order to incorporate the ingredients. As the dough is coming together, add the pre-ferment in chunks. If necessary, correct the hydration by adding water or flour in small amounts. Finish mixing on second speed for about 21⁄2 minutes. The dough should be supple and moderately loose, with moderate gluten development. Desired dough temperature: 75°F.

3. BULK FERMENTATION: 21⁄2 hours. [Irene's note: don't forget to fold! See step 4 below]

4. FOLDING: Fold the dough twice, once after 50 minutes of bulk fermentation and again 50 minutes later. [Irene's Note: I lifted the dough off the counter and let it stretch, and then folded in thirds like an envelope]

5. DIVIDING AND SHAPING: Divide the dough into 1.5-pound pieces. Preshape lightly into rounds and place on a lightly floured work surface, seams up. Cover the rounds with plastic. When the dough has relaxed sufficiently (10 to 20 minutes), shape into round or oval loaves, place them either into floured bannetons or between folds of floured baker’s linen, and cover with plastic. [Irene's note: I floured a stiff cotton apron that I have and folded it to make little wells for the bread, propping it up on either side with something to keep it from sliding apart]

6. FINAL FERMENTATION: Approximately 11⁄4 to 11⁄2 hours at 75°F.

7. BAKING: Invert the risen loaves onto the loading conveyor or peel. Slash the desired scoring pattern with a blade. Presteam the oven, load the bread, and steam again [Irene's note: I only did this once by putting an empty loaf pan on the bottom of the oven while it pre-heated, and then pouring a cup of boiling water into it right after I placed the loaves into the oven to create steam]. Bake at 450°F. Open the oven vents after the loaves show color, in order to finish the bake in a drying oven [Irene's note: I also didn't do this as my oven has no way to open and close the vents... it worked out just fine, I promise]. Loaves scaled at 1.5 pounds should bake for 35 to 38 minutes.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

2009-05-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am lucky to have a friend. She is one of those very rare and beautiful people, I think you know what I mean. The kind of friend whom you can't imagine your life without and whose kids you love like they were your own from the first moment they enter the world. She has a beautiful soul, the warmest hugs and the sweetest smile. Really more a sister than a friend.

My friend is about to bring her second son into the world, the cycle of life and birth beginning again and just in that magical time when the world is waking up, shaking the cobwebs out of its corners and clothing itself in brilliant colors. It's going to be a brilliant baby, just like her first one, and I don't only mean that he's going to be smart. He is going to bring her joy.

It was her birthday yesterday and I wanted to tell her "I love you" because, let's face it, we just don't say it often enough to the people who should hear it. Maybe I didn't say it in words (I'm still working on that, it's always difficult for me to express it verbally, especially when it really means something), but I said it in chocolate-dipped strawberries.

This recipe is from Jen Yu's website, Use Real Butter, which is one of my daily reads. Jen, I know you only through the magic of the internet, which is to say I do not know you at all, but when I made these, I was thinking about you, and of family, friendship, love.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
via Use Real Butter

24 ripe strawberries (Jen prefers organic, and I do too)
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Valrhona 64% is always great, but I used Lindt)
1 oz white chocolate, chopped

Rinse strawberries and gently pat dry. Set on a rack to dry completely. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler.

Dip strawberries in chocolate and shake off excess. Set to dry on a rack (on the tops as shown in the photos) or on parchment (on the bottoms which will give you a foot of chocolate) in a cool, dry location [Irene's note: I let mine dry in the kitchen for a half hour and then got impatient and put them in the refrigerator].

When chocolate has dried, melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the strawberries [Irene's note: melting white chocolate is trickier than dark, you have to watch it continuously and make sure the heat is low and no steam or water gets into the chocolate. I put the melted chocolate into a ziploc bag with a tiny piece cut off the corner]. Or, you can melt more white chocolate and dip the strawberries a second time.

More chocolate-dipped strawberries:

Ash keeps it simple and classic
Elise dresses hers up like little grooms, complete with mini tuxedos
April takes it one step further and adds cheesecake, oh my!
Paula goes nuts with toppings
And for something a little different, a strawberry-Nutella panini (wow!)

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream Frosting

2009-04-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful weekend here in Los Angeles, and I hope this means that the sun is done playing hide and seek with us and is finally ready for its summer debut. You see, "seasons" is kind of a relative term here -- spring lasts about a minute and a half, teasing us with perfect 70 degree sunshiny days, pink tulips and the subtle, turn-and-you'll-miss-it smell of lilacs in bloom (by the way, the phrase "lilacs in bloom" might just be the most beautiful and romantic phrase in the world). And then, just as you're putting away the winter jackets (singular, in my case - don't hate me) and settling in to enjoy wearing cardigans again, out comes the heat in full force and you are suddenly compelled, by a force stronger than you can resist, to remodel the patio and drive to the beach to check in on the buff Malibu boys playing beach volleyball at all times of day and night. Oh, am I the only one who does that? ;)

One thing that always brings me into the summer mood is beer. During the winter, I enjoy "sophisticated" cocktails with names that get you approving glances from the bartenders and make me feel like I know the secret handshake, but when it's hot outside, I'm a beer and cupcakes kind of girl and I don't care who knows it.

When I was at my first college party and picked up a bottle of Guinness, I got very disapproving glances from some of the boys. As you can imagine, these were all immediately crossed off my "list" (I would explain "the list," but I think my mother reads this blog and I don't want to get in trouble!). Later, I found out that it's kind of an unwritten rule that girls drink Coronas and light beers while guys chug the more "manly" bitters and stouts. Oh. Really. Good thing I've never been one to follow the rules, especially the unwritten ones!

Since then, Guinness has been on my list of favorite beers. Many say it's an acquired taste, but Guinness and I were friends from the very first sip and our relationship has only grown over the years. So when I saw this recipe for Guinness cupcakes, I knew, I just knew that here was the next step in the evolution -- I had to make them. They sat in my mind for a month -- fermented, if you will -- until a friend's birthday finally tempted me to bring them out in their full glory.

People, these might just be -- no, these ARE -- the best cupcakes to ever have come out of my kitchen and possibly the best cupcakes I've ever tasted. Deb is a genius. I have a massive girl crush on her and on these cupcakes (I hope her husband will forgive me). WOW. The combination of moist, lightly sweet chocolate cake in which you can only taste the best parts of Guinness, a chocolaty ganache filling and a buttercream frosting made with Bailey's Irish Cream is indescribable, unforgettable. It's something you have to make for yourself, like right now, and share it with others immediately. These cupcakes have to go out into the world. In the immortal words of a Seinfeld episode, they are real and they are spectacular!

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes
via the Smitten Kitchen

*My only changes were omitting the whiskey in the ganache (I didn't have any on hand) and using 2 tbsp Bailey's and 2 tbsp heavy cream in the frosting. I used about 2 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar in the frosting and it worked out very well. Please click over to the Smitten Kitchen for Deb's great hints and instructions!

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes
Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.

Put the butter with the beer in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a mixer bowl, beat the eggas and the sour cream together. Add the beer/butter/cocoa mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly just to combine. Using a rubbet spatula, fold the batter until completely combined, making sure to incorporate little pockets of flour on the bottom so that the batter is of equal consistency everywhere.

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way if you want flatter cupcakes and 3/4 if you want domed. Bake for about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick or a slim knife inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. I went about half to 2/3 of the way down and used a small knife to help me extract the centers. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter for several minutes until very light and fluffly. Slowly add the powdered sugar, letting it incorporate, utnil the butter becomes thicker and stiff (you will know when this happens). Slowly drizzle the Bailey's (or milk or cream or a combination thereof) and whip until combined. Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Deb says that you can make these in advance: "You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)"

Pomacello Shots

2009-04-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's been that kind of a week. The kind of week when you feel like cracking open a beer every day and on Monday morning, you're already longing for Friday night. The kind of week when all you can do is throw up your hands, have a drink and remember that the universe has a strange way of making things work out.

At times like these, I like to close my eyes, rock back in my office chair and pretend that I'm by the pool at the Viceroy in Palm Springs, drinking one of their delicious pomegranate mojitos and enjoying the sunshine. Sometimes, I can almost smell the sunscreen, that's how good I get at imagining. So here's to Friday, here's to the weekend, and here's to delicious drinks that can take you back to those perfect moments in time, when the sun is shining, the breeze is gentle and the ice crackles softly in the cool depths of your glass.

1 part limoncello
2 parts pomegranate juice
a dash of lemon juice and lemon for garnish

Pour limoncello into tall shot glasses, to about 1/3 of the height of the glass. Shake the pomegranate juice (I use POM - they sent me a few free bottles and I'm addicted now... those crafty POMmers :) Seriously, though, I really liked it) in a mixer with crushed ice and pour over the limoncello. Squeeze a dash of lemon juice into each glass and garnish with pieces of lemon.

Apple Cinnamon Crepes

2009-04-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

I've always been convinced that life is made up of simple pleasures. A smile, a look. A sunny day. Flowers when you least expect them. And brunch. In fact, forget the flowers, just give me some Eggs Benedict, chocolate waffles, bread pudding and a mimosa or two, and you will have yourself a completely happy girl, willing to follow your every whim and fancy. What can I say, I'm easy to please!

Brunch is my favorite and happiest meal of the week. It's the only meal when there's no stress about what to make and almost no food is off limits because, hey, it's breakfast... and lunch... all in one! COOL. So, knowing this, you can imagine my reaction when I got an email from Cath of A Blithe Palate and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness about testing out Gale Gand's new book, which is incidentally called -- you guessed it -- BRUNCH. I mean, I think I set a record for how quickly I hit the reply button!

For anyone who loves brunch, this book is a must have. This slim volume -- beautifully photographed, homey and pleasant to the touch -- has one hundred recipes, which is, well, a lot of Sundays (and Saturdays too, and who says I can't have brunch on Mondays?). I had the whole week of Passover to drool over the book and decide what to make first. I changed my mind about ten times. Do I go for the poached eggs over asparagus and Parmesan? Do I dare the Apple-Cinnamon Baked French Toast? Can I really stay away from the Beet & Artichoke Salad? It was hard, you guys, it really was, and in the end, I just let the book fall open on a random page, and the page said in big letters: CREPES. Sometimes, it's best to just let fate decide.

They were the easiest crepes I've ever made and also the tastiest (as confirmed by my mom, who is always an honest critic -- the woman told me I didn't pour her enough limoncello at 9am this morning, for goodness' sakes! ...but more on that later). Thank you to Cath and Stephanie for letting me participate in their amazing event and a great big thanks to Gale Gand for writing the book of my dreams -- the book about the simple and yet so complex pleasure of gathering around the table for brunch.

To find a recipe for these crepes, you will just have to check out Gale Gand's book at your local library or book store (or go here for a great basic recipe), but so as not to leave you completely high and dry, let me tell you about the amazing apple cinnamon filling I made to go with the crepes. The quantity of cinnamon and other spices is pretty much up to you, but be sure to use apples that don't break easily (like Gala or Golden Delicious) because you want to slice them fairly thinly but don't want them to break during cooking.

For about 4 people, you will need:

4 small baking apples (I use Gala or Golden Delicious)
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet or tart the apples are)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg

Peel and core the apples. Slice them thinly, but not so thinly that the pieces will break easily - about 1/4 inch thickness.

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat until it starts to foam and then saute the apples, turning them over a few times to coat with the butter, until the apples are soft and tender - about 10 minutes.

Stir in the sugar and the spices and take off the heat. Divide between four warm crepes and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream and/or some sliced strawberries.

Basic crepes
Gourmet, January 2006
(makes 8-10)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk milk, eggs, flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and salt in a large mixing bowl until batter is mostly smooth but still has some lumps in it, about 1 minute. Let batter stand in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hr or up to overnight (this prevents tough crêpes). Stir the batter before you are ready to cook the crêpes.

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to a crêpe pan (or a non-stick skillet) and brush to coat bottom. Heat over moderate heat until hot, then pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting to coat bottom evenly. Cook until underside is pale golden, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then jerk skillet to loosen crêpe and flip crêpe with a spatula. Cook until underside is pale golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer crêpe with spatula to a work surface, turning over so that side cooked first is facedown. Transfer to a heatproof platter and keep warm in oven. Make the rest of the crêpes in same manner, transferring to oven. Fill with desired filling (Nutella & bananas, sauteed apples, strawberries, etc). You can also dust with confectioner's sugar before serving or serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream for extra indulgence.

Not Exactly A Recipe

2009-04-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

It's so cool to get noticed, you guys. Seriously, it's just so cool. I love being noticed when I get an email from one of you saying "I love your blog, please keep writing." I love being noticed when I see that you have commented on a post of mine and that you guys come from 114 countries (!!!) and translate my writing into 60 languages. I love finding Confessions of a Tart linked in places I least expected and I love meeting you guys through your blogs and emails. It just makes my day, my week, my year.

A few days ago, this little here blog was featured on Look And Taste as part of their "Bloggers Around The World" series. I could not have been more excited! I've been browsing their recipes and tips for a while, so when I was asked to give a short interview, you bet I said "yes!" So if you have a free minute, mosey on over there and check out the website and all the wonderful bloggers they have featured and will continue featuring. And thank you for being here and sharing your stories with me!

Fresh Strawberry Tart

2009-04-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

There are times when you need to throw subtlety out the window. There are times when all that matters is glamor inside and out - a little red dress instead of a black one, sparkly eye-shadow, high heels, a bit of lace peeking out and lots of lip gloss. You know what I'm talking about, I know you do. I'm talking about a strawberry tart.

Maybe it's all the sunshine and fresh air and maybe it's just me, but I felt daring this morning - daring and bold. My mind was occupied by one thought alone - juicy red strawberries resting on silky smooth pastry cream enclosed by a light shell of pate sable baked to the perfect shade of sweetness. There is joy in every part of this tart, a spring song waiting to be sung, a celebration. It's like that little red dress that fits you oh, so perfectly. It's pure indulgence, pure pleasure. And this is the kind of pleasure you can gift freely, which is really the best part.

Fresh strawberry tart
1 fully baked sweet tart shell
1 batch pastry cream
1 lb strawberries

Fill the tart shell with pastry cream. Hull and slice the strawberries, reserving one perfect strawberry, and arrange in a circle on top of the pastry cream. Put the one reserved strawberry in the middle.

Sweet Tart Dough
(Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons; 4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

1. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in—you should have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses—about 10 seconds each—until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change—heads up. (Alternatively, put the ingredients into a large bowl and cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter and then mix in the egg with a fork). Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing. [Irene's note: if the dough is too dry and does not come together, drizzle 1-2 tbsp of ice cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, just until you can pinch the dough together without it sticking to your fingers.]

2. To roll or press the dough into the pan: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.

* If you want to roll the dough, chill it for about 2 hours before rolling (unless you've used frozen butter and the dough comes out of the processor firm and cold, in which case you can roll it immediately). I find it easiest to roll this dough out between two sheets of plastic film – make sure to peel away the film frequently, so it doesn't get rolled into the dough.
* If you want to use the press-in method, you can work with the dough as soon as it's processed. Just press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be too heavy-handed – press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but don't press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture.

3. Prick the bottom with a fork four or five times. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

4. To fully bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

5. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon (or prick it with the tip of a small knife). Bake the crust for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown, brown being the important word: a pale crust doesn't have a lot of flavor. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature.

Pastry Cream
(Tartine - awesome, awesome book)

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan. Add the salt, place over medium-high heat, and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth (don't let the eggs and sugar stand together for too long or else the sugar will cook the eggs *so I've heard*).

When the milk is ready, slowly drizzle about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the hot milk and continue whisking until the custard is as thick as lightly whipped cream, about 2 minutes. The mixture must come just to the boiling point (slow bubbles, not boiling vigorously, or you will curdle the eggs, yuk). Remove from heat and immediately pour through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut the butter into 1 tbsp pieces and whisk into pastry cream 1 tbsp at a time until smooth.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming and put in the refrigerator to cool.

Buttermilk Honey Loaf

2009-04-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

It's two days before Passover, and what do I give you? I give you bread. A soft, supple, dangerously addictive buttermilk-honey bread. Yes, I am that cruel. But this bread is something you should tuck away and dream about during the week of matzoh ball soup and flourless chocolate cake because this bread is the bomb, delicious, awesome, fantastic, and other such appropriate adjectives that you can come up with.

If anyone had ever told me how easy and how satisfying it was to make sandwich bread at home, I would not have waited all this time to do it, and now that I've started, I can see that there's no going back. I want to make wheat bread and multi-grain bread. I want to make cinnamon raisin bread or date and walnut bread. I want to make -- oh, so many different things! And yet, I want to make this loaf again and again because there is a beautiful simplicity about it, a feeling of freshness and home that we all so desperately need right now.

One of my strongest memories of growing up in my little town in Communist Russia was going into the store to buy bread. There were baker's shelves - always about 3/4 empty - and each shelf had a little handle attached so that the customer can push the top of each loaf to test for softness and freshness. The bread was almost never soft and neither was it fresh and I always wondered, with the painful earnestness of an 8-year old, why that should be so. I knew nothing about economics and the way a pay scale produced incentives. I knew even less about the complexities of the class system and the ever-present bribe/barter mentality. I just knew, looking at my mom's face, that it shouldn't be like this. Perhaps this is why it's so rewarding for me to be able to rectify this for her, to make and give her a loaf of bread that is always soft and smells subtly of yeast and honey.

Buttermilk Honey Loaf
Cook's Illustrated, via Pittsburgh Needs Eated (I love this girl's photos)

Buttermilk American Loaf Bread
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

3 1/2 cups bread flour [I used King Arthur all-purpose flour. I know it impacted the texture, but the bread was still really delicious]
2 tsp table salt
1 cup buttermilk, cold
1/3 cup boiling water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp honey
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast

1. Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Once oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain heat 10 minutes, then turn off oven heat.

2. Mix flour and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. In 1-quart Pyrex liquid measuring cup, mix cold buttermilk and boiling water together (temperature should be about 110-degrees), add butter, honey, and yeast. Turn machine to low and slowly add liquid. When dough comes together, increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and satiny, stopping machine two or three times to scrape dough from hook if necessary, about 10 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead to form smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds. [If making by hand, combine ingredients as directed, turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.]

3. Place dough in very lightly oiled bowl, rubbing dough around bowl to lightly coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; place in warm oven until dough doubles in size, 50 to 60 minutes.

4. Form dough into loaf by gently pressing the dough into a rectangle, one inch thick and no wider than the length of the loaf pan. Next, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn dough seam side up and pinch it closed. Place dough in greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and press gently so dough touches all four sides of pan.

5. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in warm spot until dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing empty oven-safe pan on bottom rack. Bring 2 cups water to boil.

6. Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan. Place pan in oven, immediately pouring heated water into an oven-safe pan [to create steam]; close oven door. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted at angle from short end just above pan rim into center of loaf reads 195 degrees, about 40 to 50 minutes [or until the loaf is nicely browned and sounds hollow when you take it out and tap it on the bottom]. Remove bread from pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature.

Mascarpone Cherry Cheesecake

2009-04-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I have a hard time verbalizing my feelings. This never fails to amuse my family and friends -- after all, I write a food blog and my day job also involves lots of writing, albeit not the emotional kind. And yet, for me, words never seem to be enough to say what I really feel, especially when the feelings run deep, as they usually do with me. I'd much, much rather bake a cheesecake -- and to really express my joy and good wishes for one very special lady, I baked a Mascarpone cherry cheesecake. After seeing the happiness on her face, I'm convinced that wordless communications are the best. Whatever else a cheesecake can possibly mean, it does say "I love you" like nothing else!

I knew when I woke up the morning before the party that I wanted a cherry cheesecake. I saw it clearly in my mind's eye, smelled the hint of lemon and vanilla and tasted its airy lightness on my tongue -- sweetness tempered by the slight tartness of ruby red cherries. It winked at me (in my mind's eye, still) and said, "Make me!" and I obliged. Who am I to say no to a cheesecake?

Mascarpone Cherry Cheesecake

For the crust
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
5 T butter, melted
1 T sugar

For the filling (Gourmet, Dec. 2003)
20 oz cream cheese (2 1/2 eight-ounce packages), softened
8 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
a dash of salt

For the topping
About 2 cups of frozen or jarred cherries (I use Morel cherries from Trader Joe's)
3/4 cup of water or juice from the jarred cherries
3 tsp cornstarch
sugar to taste
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream + 2 tsp sugar

Make crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan.

Whisk graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl and then stir in melted butter to moisten all the crumbs. Press the mixture onto the bottom and about half ways up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Cool.

Make filling:
Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Pour into cooled crust and bake until cake is set and puffed around edge, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool completely in the refrigerator, at least 2-3 hours.

Make topping:
Beat heavy cream with sugar to hard peaks. Set aside.

Whisk corn starch into the water/cherry juice until no clumps remain. Pour into small sauce pan and heat on medium-high until almost boiling. Add cherries, stir, adjust the sweetness by adding sugar if necessary, and heat for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens. Cool completely.

With a large star tip, pile whipped cream around the border of the cheesecake. Spoon cherries into the middle. Chill at least a few hours or overnight.