Mixed-Berry Muffins and a Blog-a-birthday

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

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Madeira Chicken with Mushrooms

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.

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Brown Sugar Almond Shortbread

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

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Haiti

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.

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Baked Brie

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.

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Cinnamon Walnut Rugelach

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.

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Happy holidays!

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

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Perfect Eggnog

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. If it's not thickening, turn up the heat a little, stirring constantly so as not to cook the eggs. 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) - this is a very important step!

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.

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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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.

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How Pumpkin Pie Is Made

I just had to share!

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