Caramel Walnut Biscotti

One of those most used baking cookbooks that I have is a book called Biscotti by Lou Seibert Pappas.  It is one of those small books that you can get at Borders or Barnes and Noble.  These small books can be deceiving.  Sometimes they have great recipes and sometimes you wonder why in the world you paid money for a book about just one particular food item.  I think I have made every biscotti recipe in this book, and probably each of them at least twice.  Biscotti are great because they are slightly sweet and crunchy without being a heavy dessert.  They are great with coffee (and a treat that goes good with coffee is always a winner in my mind) and they hit the spot when you are hungry for something in the evening after dinner.  I've tried biscotti recipes from the Food Network and Epicurious, but honestly they don't compare to the ones in this book.  

When I first moved to the city, the original Biscotti book was left behind at home.  One day, I was checking my mail and lo and behold, my Mom had mailed me my very own book.  I think she got the hint that I would want one when I kept emailing her for certain biscotti recipes.  There is a recipe in the book for Almond Crunch Biscotti.  You carmelize almonds with butter and sugar in a pan to make the crunch part.  You let the nut mixture cool.  The key here is to not snack on the nuts while they are cooling.  They are oh so tempting, so I usually double just the nut part of the recipe to make sure I have enough.

Biscotti are different than cookies because you bake them twice.  Once as a whole log, and then the second time as individual slices.  The best part of the baking process is getting to eat the 'testers'.  When you individually slice them after the first round of baking, you are left with 4 end pieces.  We call those the testers and each person usually gets an end.  Well, I guess I cook them alone in my kitchen now, so I am priveledged to all 4.  Chloe even loves the testers.  She sits patiently right by the counter waiting for her turn.  Biscotti baking day might be her second most favorite time in the kitchen.  Her first is obviously when anyone is ever in the pantry opening the bag of bread.  

I made the Caramel Walnut Biscotti this week.  I had a Charity Runner Committee meeting and wanted to bring a little snack for people to have.  A perfect treat to take to work or to a party.  Give them a try.

Caramel Walnut Biscotti

3/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar (I use a little less)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons Kahlua

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour (I use half white/half whole wheat)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Toast nuts and ground oatmeal for 8 minutes in a 350 oven.  Let cool.  Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat in eggs, Kahlua and vanilla.  Add flour, oats, baking powder and salt, mixing until just blended.  Fold in nuts.  Divide dough in half.  Pat out into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1 1/2 inchs wide and 12 inches long.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Transfer from baking sheet to a cutting board.  Slice diagonally.  Put the slices on a baking sheet, lower oven to 250 and cook for about an hour, until slightly hard.

Almond Butter

You might think that with the salmonella scares out there that I would be slowing down in my peanut butter consumption.  That is not the case.  I keep a few packages of peanut butter crackers in my desk at work, just in case the occasional hunger pain strikes, and I did throw those away just to be safe.  I actually just came home with fresh ground peanut butter from Whole Foods.  Someone there definitely has the right idea.  I am currently compiling a taste test of different peanut butters, as I've been buying a different brand for each new jar I need.  Currently, my list is at 6 different brands.  I hope to have at least 10 before making my post about how they rate.  Each time I try a new one, I am taking notes, grading on a scale from A-F and am trying to rate each one based on texture, consistency, taste, and saltiness.  It's not an easy task, but someone has got to do it.  

I just finished watching a show on the Food Network called 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate'.  It was a one-time special, where the TV chefs described the best meal/snack/food item they have had at a restaurant.  I've been sitting here trying to think of what that meal would have been for me, and nothing is coming to my mind.  The best meal that I can recall over the past year was on a vacation to New Orleans when we ate at Herbsaint.  I had this dish of creole shrimp over creamy polenta and it was melt in your mouth/I could never create this at home delicious.  Once on long weekend trip to Santa Fe, I ate chicken enchiladas at every restaurant we ate at.  If I had only been blogging at age 12, I would have had a lot to say about enchiladas at the time. I think that a lot of food can taste better when homemade, my standout dishes come from things that have been made in the kitchen.   

I've been researching different recipes for 'butter' on the Internet lately.  There are so many ways to make your own nut butter and I intend to try quite a few of them.  I had never tried almond butter before (homemade or from the store) so I thought I would give it a try.  In my mind, peanut butter is still #1 on my list, but the almond butter has a slightly grainier taste and it is a little bit dry, in a good way.  Ground peanuts give off a creamy texture and the almond butter seems to create more of a paste.  I'm so glad I gave it a try.  I just sort of made my own recipe based on what I had read from different websites.

Almond Butter

2 cups blanched almonds, lightly toasted

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon walnut oil

Note: You want to use blanched almonds because the skins will be off.  I used slivered blanched almonds.  If you use whole almonds, they will have a higher oil content so you may not need as much oil.  I used walnut oil because I had some in my pantry, but regular peanut or vegetable oil will do.  I toasted the nuts, but if you want a raw almond butter, just throw them in un-toasted.  Also, most recipes don't call for adding salt, but I love the taste of salt so I added some.  

Place nuts in a food processor.  Process for about 5 minutes.  Mixture will turn from a sand texture, to a formed ball, and then into a paste.  Add a little bit of oil at a time until you get your desired consistency.  

Broccoli Pesto & Rotini Pasta

I'm sitting here at my kitchen table/desk/only table in my apartment, looking out at the lights of the city buildings.  The best time of day to look out the window is in the evening.  You can't see the water when it is dark, but the whole city lights up at night.  I love that I can be a part of the city below, without necessarily traipsing around on the streets.  As I am looking out the window I am noticing the extremely overpowering taste of garlic that I have going on in my mouth right now.  Good thing I am not reading this blog to you aloud in person.  Note to self: when raw, garlic can be quite potent.  

Roasted garlic on the other hand is quite mild and sweet.  Roasting a head of garlic is easy to do and if you don't like the strong taste of garlic, this may be a way for you to incorporate it into more of your recipes.  Preheat the oven to 425.  Take a head of garlic and just cut of the top 1/4 inch.  Leave the skins on.  Drizzle a touch of olive oil on the exposed cloves.  Wrap the head of garlic in tin foil and put it in the oven for about an hour.  The garlic cloves will become mush.  Take the head of garlic and squeeze out the cloves.  It makes a nice paste and you can use it in just about anything.  

I was reading through Heidi Swanson's blog yesterday (gosh is she talented or what?) and I was hoping to find a good soup to make.  I have a couple of night meetings this week so I wanted to have something to take for dinner each night so that I don't have to eat out.  Nothing in the soup section was jumping out at me but I did come across a Broccoli Pesto & Pasta recipe.  I've never had broccoli pesto before.

In the summer, we (as in Mom and Dad) grow a lot of fresh basil.  We actually get so much basil that we don't know what to do with it.  You can only put basil on so many things.  We make batches of basil pesto and freeze them into ice cube trays.  You can then have pesto year round, and as I type this I have a freezer bag full of tiny pesto cubes in my freezer.

I made a few alterations to the recipe, but it follows the original pretty closely.  I don't cook a lot of pasta recipes.  The half box of rotini that I had open in my pantry is probably from year one in this apartment, if that tells you anything.  This is a pretty healthy dish, and I have leftovers in Tupperware for the next 2 nights.  

Broccoli & Pesto Pasta

1 medium head of broccoli, chopped into small florets

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 clove of garlic (only if you like breathing garlic fumes after eating, otherwise use powder)

Juice of half a lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound of pasta (I used whole grain rotini)

3 handfuls of spinach, torn into pieces

Steam broccoli.  Add 3/4 of your broccoli to a food processor.  Add the walnuts, parm cheese, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil.  Puree until a paste forms.  (You will add pasta cooking water later so it doesn't have to be sauce like).  

Boil pasta until al dente.  Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid.  Add to food processor to finish sauce.  Drain pasta.  Add torn spinach leaves, they will wilt with the hot pasta.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of the pesto until you get the desired consistency.  Add more pasta water if too dry (mine wasn't).  Top with a little more parm and some red pepper flakes.  

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Chicken is not my favorite food.  When I go home for a weekend meal, I always request that chicken not be what we have for dinner.  I don't know what it is about chicken that I don't love. When I worked at Kalck's Butcher Shop, we made the best chicken salad, or more like Wendy and Megan made the best chicken salad.  It is a hot ticket item and there is something about it that you just can't recreate at home.  Actually, they make the best of a lot of things there.   We first started going into Kalck's when I was about 12 years old, and I always asked for the shrimp salad.  It was something that only came around during the holidays, so it wasn't a weekly treat, but more of a couple times a year thing.  I became known as Emily 'who loved the shrimp salad'.   Not only was I thrilled that they had the shrimp salad, but I also loved that they called me by name when I walked in there.  As I got older, I became known as Emily 'who wants to work here'.  It was a great place to work, great people, and great food of course!

I'm still re-reading recipes from my 'Cooking for Mr. Latte' book.  I had bookmarked a recipe for Tarragon Mayonnaise.  It looked relatively simple and if I am going to eat mayo, the best way to have it is homemade.  Tarragon has a slightly licorice-y taste and it seems to go well with the cooked chicken and the light dressing.  If you haven't made mayo by hand before, you should really give it a try.  The taste difference is so noticeable and it is worth the few extra minutes in the kitchen.

Tarragon Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

salt

3/4 cup peanut oil

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons tarragon

lemon juice from half a lemon

Add egg yolk, dijon, vinegar, tarragon, lemon juice and salt to a food processor.  Slowly drizzle the oil in.  This yields about 1 cup.

Chicken Salad

2 bone in chicken breasts

Tarragon mayo

Preheat oven to 350.  Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and drizzle with a touch of olive oil.  Bake skin side up for 40 minutes.  Let cool slightly and discard skin and bones.  Chop chicken.  Add mayo a few spoonfuls at a time.  I don't like a lot of mayo in my chicken salad, so I use just enough to moisten the chicken.

Inauguration Day

8 years ago today, I was 18 years old and a freshman in college, unaware of what Inauguration Day was really all about.  I walked into my dorm room that afternoon and turned on the tv.  I saw a somber looking procession going on.  I honestly thought someone had died, and it took me asking around to a few different people to really understand what was happening on that day.  Now I probably should have been more aware of the current news at that time, but when in college, you sort of live in a bubble and don't realize what is going on around you.  

This year, in 2009, was much different.  At work this morning, we gathered in our conference room, decorated with red, white and blue balloons and streamers, to watch this historic day.  The rabbit ears for the TV were giving us a slightly doubled vision picture (we are non-profit remember!), but as a group we were able to watch WGN as President Obama took office.  The ceremony gave me chills at some parts and I was so glad to be aware of what was going on around me.  It was one of those mornings that you will remember 50 years from now when someone asks you what you were doing on that day.  We are a group of individuals from different backgrounds and different political views, but today we all witnessed history together as a group.  

We had a potluck buffet for our Inauguration viewing party.  Red, white, and slightly yellow drinks were provided by Ellie and Sean made red, white, and blue cupcakes.  I wasn't sure what to bring for an event that took place at 10:30 am.  After browsing through some recipes I decided on Irish Soda Bread and Apple Butter.  It would be the perfect breakfast snack, not too sweet, and not to filling for the mid-morning time slot.  

The bread recipe calls for a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in.  I would love to own a Le Creuset cast iron skillet, but my apartment can honestly not hold another cooking utensil that I would only use once or twice a year.  I read the reviews and many had used a 9 or 10 inch cake pan, so that is what I used.   Take a look at the picture of my new cake pan: Is this one of those oxymoron's like "clean dirt"?  My nonstick cake pan has a label that is completely stuck to the outside of it and I gave up and made the cake with the label still attached.  

The bread is so good.  It is slightly sweet but not like a coffee cake.  It is more like a raisin bread.  It is great for a mid morning snack with coffee.  I made the cake last night and ideally I think it would be best to eat it the day you cook it.  If you save it for leftovers, I think toasting it would be even better.  The apple butter just adds a really nice sweet/fruity touch.  Make them together or make them separate.  They won't disappoint either way.

Apple Butter

adapted from Heidi Swanson

4 lbs apples (mixed variety)

1/2 gallon or so of apple cider

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

3/4 cup sugar (original recipe calls for 2c but it doesn't need that much at all)

Peel, core, and dice apples.  Place them in a large pot.  Add enough cider to just cover the apples.  Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, about 20 or 30 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Blend mixture in batches in a blender until smooth.  Put the apple mixture back in the pot on the stove.  Add sugar and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2 hours.  Stir it everytime you walk by the kitchen.  Once thickened, it is ready to go.

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

adapted from Epicurious.com

5 cups flour (4 white and 1 whole wheat)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick butter, cut into cubes at room temperature

2 cups raisins

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

Heat oven to 350.  Butter a 10 or 12 inch skillet (or cake pan).  Whisk first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add butter, using fingertips to form coarse crumbs.  Stir in raisins.  Stir in buttermilk and egg to blend.  Dough will be very sticky.  Add dough to skillet, smooth top.  Using a knife, cut a 1 inch deep X into the top center of the dough.  Cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely on a rack.  

Parsnip and Potato Puree

I had originally planned to start Tender to the Bone yesterday morning but when I stopped into Barnes and Noble, the book Cooking for Mr. Latte caught my eye.  Amanda Hesser is a food writer for the New York Times and talks about throwing her own dinner parties, eating at some of the best restaurants in NYC, and relives memories about food through the eyes of interacting with her friends and family.  It is a light-hearted read with many great recipes that I have jotted down to try.  She makes hosting a dinner party seem like a breeze, so I can't wait to test some of these things out.  What a wonderful job to be a food writer for a national newspaper.  There are so many things that you must get to experience and write about in the culinary world.  

For dinner tonight I wanted to try something from my new book.  I knew I had the pineapple sauce in my refrigerator from last night that could be used.  While I was on the elliptical machine this morning I started brainstorming about all the different recipes I had read and decided on a Parsnip and Potato Puree.  On the way home from the health club, I ran into Jewel to get Orange Roughy as my fish of choice.  Parsnip puree with orange roughy and a pineapple sauce would definitely do the trick.

The parsnip is a root vegetable related to the carrot.  They are slightly sweet and have a real earthy taste.  By the time late afternoon rolled around, I had ditched the orange roughy idea and went with the beef tenderloin steaks that were in the fridge from the day before.  My Mom probably thinks I am nuts for changing my mind about dinner so many times, but that is just how my taste buds go.  And when I'm at my apartment, beef tenderloin doesn't usually appear on the menu, for budget and red meat purposes.  But when I'm at home for a meal, why not go big or go home.  We had the steaks, roasted fingerling potatoes, and my Dad made a green peppercorn sauce to go with his steak.  My Mom and I stuck with the pineapple sauce.  

Parsnip and Potato Puree

2 parsnips, peeled and diced

1 small potato, peeled and diced

1/2 cup milk

extra water if needed

2 green onions

Small handful of dill

Salt and Pepper

Put diced parsnips, potato, milk, and green onion into a small saucepan.  Add enough water to come up to the top of the parsnips.  Simmer until potato and parsnips are tender, about 20 minutes.  Let cool slightly.  Transfer to a food processor, add the dill, and puree until smooth.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

Serve with fish or beef and it is a great addition.   

The Proof is in the Pineapple

Today is Day 8 of a life sans coffee.  It sort of happened by mistake actually that I have gone this long without it.  Last weekend I had hot tea on Saturday and Sunday, for no apparent reason really.  I think it was cold and snowy, and tea just sounded good.  When I got to work on Monday I realized that I had gone the whole weekend without coffee.  Imagine that.  Me going without Starbucks is like macaroni without cheese, a hamburger without a bun, peanut butter without jelly, it just doesn't happen.  My blood pressure has been a little high over the past year so I thought this would be a great opportunity to see if cutting out coffee will have any affect.  I'm always up for a challenge as well, and this is a challenge.  This is Day 8 and this streak I'm on could end at any moment.

My tea of choice right now is Wild Sweet Orange by Tazo, plain, no honey, no nothing.   However, that tea can only be consumed in the afternoon.  In the morning, it must be something with caffeine, so I've been having the Awake by Tazo.  Sipping on tea all week has kept me warm and hydrated all at the same time.  

Tonight for dinner, crab cakes were on the menu.  We have a recipe from Emeril that is our go-to crab cake recipe.  On the ride out to CL today I started thinking of what sauce would go well with crab cakes.  I knew I wanted something slightly sweet or fruity, so I pulled into the store to grab a few things.  Ingredients on the list: pineapple, coconut milk, and a jalapeno.  

Pineapple Sauce

1 pineapple, chopped

1 plum tomato

1 jalapeno, chopped

1/3 or so cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 450.  Place chopped pineapple, tomato, and jalapeno in a dish and cook for about 20 minutes, until ingredients soften.  Then transfer to a blender.  Add coconut milk and puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

The sauce went great with the crab cakes.  It is just the right amount of sweet to balance the taste of the crab.  I served my crab cake over a few spinach leaves, a little corn relish, and the pineapple sauce.  Brussels sprouts were served on the sides.  Excellent meal.

Tapioca Pudding

I just finished reading Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant.  It is a collection of essays where writers and foodies talk about their adventures in the kitchen, when they are alone and just cooking for one.  It was a great book and I would recommend it to you if you are a fan of being in the kitchen.   I am now onto my next food book, Tender to the Bone.  This will be my 3rd book of the New Year.  I'm on a roll.    When reading the eggplant book, I was even inspired to purchase an eggplant at the beginning of the week.  I rarely cook with eggplant and think it lacks quite a bit of flavor, and I think that might be the reason the eggplant is still in my refrigerator.  I will probably toss it in the morning.  

I've mentioned that I follow Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks food blog before in this blog.  A couple of weeks ago I found her recipe for Tapioca Pudding.  I think the only tapioca pudding I have had before has come in a small plastic container from the grocery store.  I can count on one hand the number of times that I have had this dish, so it isn't something that sounds good to me that often.  I don't even know what made me hungry for tapioca pudding?  

Heidi suggests using Bob's Red Mill All Natural Small Pearl Tapioca for the pudding.  If that is what she suggests, then that is what I was going to buy.  I went to my Whole Foods to find the tapioca, but they didn't have it.  Down the road is the South Loop Whole Foods.  People joke that the SLWF has an olive bar the size of my downtown WF store.  When I went to the SLWF, they had the tapioca.....go figure.  They have everything.  

The other key ingredient here is the real vanilla bean.  I went back and forth about splurging on the bean, but when you have such few ingredients in a recipe, I think the quality of the each ingredient is what makes the dish a success.  So I splurged and got the real deal.  It's worth it.  

The pudding is delicious.  It is hot, thick, vanilla scented, creamy, and it warms you from the inside out.  I probably had about 14 taste tests before it was done cooking, so that proves how wonderfully tasty it is.  There isn't a lot of sugar in this recipe and I used skim milk, so I think this is a relatively healthy dessert.  I served mine in a mini Italian wine glass and ate it with mini-teaspoon.  

Tapioca Pudding

3 cups milk

1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Small Pearl Tapioca

2 egg yolks (I accidentally added one white and it didn't ruin a thing)

1/3 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean (bean bits scraped out)

dash of salt

dash of cinnamon (my addition)

Add 3/4 cup milk in a saucepan and add tapioca.  Let soak for 30-60 minutes.  Add remaining milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean (add leftover bean too), and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring.  Once mixture boils, lower to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Mixture will thicken.  Let cool and then serve warm.  

Baby Zucchini

I'm starting to feel like the bag lady, coming and going from my apartment everyday.  Each month that we deepen into the winter season, I seem to add another bag onto my daily commute.  I have my purse, my lunch bag, my mug for tea in the morning, clothes for the gym, and my computer if I have brought it home the night before.  It is quite a sight to see as I balance my bags with my hat, scarf, gloves, and puffy coat on, while trying to bend over to put my boots on.  

One of my favorite past times is to go grocery shopping, and that is the honest truth.  I love walking up and down the aisles, looking at all of my potential options, getting ideas as to what might be fun to cook, and looking for things that I might not have tried before.  I have a particular fish monger that I try to avoid, I know when the free samples of freshly baked bread will be out, and I can practically quote the ingredients in each of their tuna salads at the deli.  Shopping at Whole Foods might be the perfect way to spend 30-45 minutes of your day.

I am really good about having a vegetable with every meal.  My go-to veggies are asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and beets.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the baby zucchini were back in season.  Until shopping at WF, I had never had baby zucchini before.  They are so simple to cook and have so much flavor.  I can eat them plain, steamed, cold or hot.  If I'm having them with a meal I sometimes add a little cheese to them.  

Baby Zucchini 

1 package baby zucchini

Salt and Pepper

Grating of Parmesan Cheese

Steam zucchini until tender (they are small so they don't take long).  You can also microwave them with a splash of water for about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grate cheese over warm zucchini.  

This can honestly work with just about any vegetable.  It's a great way to get 3-5 servings of veggies in a day, and couldn't be easier to prepare.  Give the baby zucchs a try.

Breaking Bread

I don't usually make any New Year's Resolutions because I'm not the type of person that could realistically stick to one major thing for an entire year.  My Grandpa once gave up french fries for a year, which just astounds me that someone could do that, and I also know people who vow to workout on a daily basis.  No matter how hard you try, you can't possibly workout everyday.  You will get burned out, frustrated, and give up entirely.  Everything in moderation. 

I did set a goal for myself this year though.  My hope is to eat dinner at my 'kitchen' table more often than I eat dinner on my chair while watching tv.  I don't have room for a table in my kitchen, so my table is actually in my bay window in the living room.  I have this gorgeous view from the 32nd floor, facing the lake, and there is no reason why I can't spend 30 minutes sitting quietly at my table while eating my meal.  I suppose I just get a little giddy to eat dinner while watching my tivo'd Soap Net reruns of 90210 that were on earlier in the day.  

I loved the homemade bread that I made last weekend, so my goal was to try a new recipe for a multigrain bread.  I had all the ingredients from my last bread adventure, so I was set to go.  Honestly, making your own homemade bread is not all that difficult.  It's more just giving yourself enough rising time to get the job done.  And with the new mixer, kneading time is a cinch.  Yesterday, I actually vacuumed by entire apartment, while the mixer kneaded the dough for 10 minutes.  Homemade bread tastes unlike any other bread I can purchase in the store.  You can taste each ingredient and really appreciate the simplicity and ease at which it comes together.  This morning I had homemade peanut butter on my homemade multigrain bread, toasted.  

Multigrain Bread

1/2 cup oatmeal

2 cups boiling water

1 envelope dry yeast

4 1/3 cups flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

2 teaspoons flax seeds

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Place oatmeal in a large bowl.  Pour 2 cups boiling water over.  Let stand until mixture cools slightly, about 15 minutes.  Sprinkle yeast over oatmeal.  Add flour, oil, sugar, and salt and stir until smooth.  Cover and let rest 15 minutes.

Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Oil large bowl.  Add dough to bowl.  Cover with clean kitchen towel and let rise until bread has doubled in size.

Mix the seeds in a bowl.  Punch down dough.  Knead briefly and add the seeds as you do and shape into a loaf (or two).  Cover and let rise about 30 minutes.

Using sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes on the surface of the loaf.  Bake at 425 until golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Cleaning out the Pantry

My Mom recently sent me this food article from The New York Times.  Mom is really good at searching through newspapers and online articles to find something that might be a worthwhile read for me (she does it for Ben too).  She then emails it to me.  How nice is that?  The article talks about what should be in a well-stocked pantry, and what needs to be thrown out at the end of the year.  I took the advice of the article and started going through my 'pantry' last night.  I don't really have a pantry, but it is more like 1 cupboard in my kitchen that holds most of my non-perishable food items.  I have your basic grains, (couscous, barley, wild rice), pasta (orzo, linguini), a few cans of soup that rarely get eaten, diced tomatoes, cans of tuna, canned beans, dried beans, and assorted vinegars (rice wine, red wine, balsamic).  I did notice that things were starting to pile up in there.  I go through food phases, so what was once a staple months ago, probably isn't as popular with me these days. 

I hadn't decided on dinner yet, so I thought I would sift through my cupboard and whip something up.  I had eaten quite a few spoonfuls of my homemade peanut butter as a snack, so I wasn't necessarily starving.  I guess the key here is having a well-stocked pantry so that you can throw something like this together.  I had a half bag of black calypso beans (not soaked, but I made do) from Rancho Gordo that I knew I wanted to use up.  I also had a fresh bunch of kale and some leftover brussels sprouts from the previous nights dinner.  It started to come together.  I threw everything into a pot and I had dinner in less than an hour (including bean cooking time.

Pantry Pot

1/2 pound dried black calypso beans

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 small portabello mushrooms, chopped

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 bunch of kale, chopped

Handful of cilantro, chopped

1 cup brussels sprouts

1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated cheese (I used queso fresco)

Cook beans in boiling water until tender.  Add a little bit of the bean broth to a big pot.  Add garlic and mushrooms to soften.  Add kale, tomatoes, cilantro, brussels sprouts, bread crumbs, and grated cheese.  COok until everything softens, about 5 minutes.  Toss beans into the pot.  Top with more grated cheese and serve.

Get it while it's hot: Homemade Peanut Butter

I have been wanting to blog all week about what has been going on in my kitchen, but in all honesty, nothing exciting has been going on.  I had homemade turkey soup from the freezer on Tuesday, tuna salad on toast and brussels sprouts on Wednesday, and last night I had a tuna sandwich.  All very nice, but nothing to be blogging about.  I blame a hectic (but productive) work week for the lack of creativity in the kitchen.  I will pick it up this weekend though.

I was talking with Jenn yesterday while at work, and she happened to mention that she makes her own peanut butter from scratch.  Not only does she make her own peanut butter, but also makes almond butter and soy nut butter, etc.  How wonderfully fantastic is that?  As you know, I have a fond love for peanut butter.  I consume it at least twice a day and I think it goes well with everything.  Peanut butter and banana on toast, peanut butter on vanilla ice cream (to die for), Shredded Wheat dipped in peanut butter, and peanut butter in oatmeal happen to be some of my favorite ways to incorporate peanut butter into my everyday meals.  

I ran into Jewel after work today (thanks Mom for the gift cards) to get my ingredients.  My hope was to get to Whole Foods for organic peanuts but with all of the chaos with the protests this evening, my route to Whole Foods was slightly blocked off.  

Homemade peanut butter is my absolute best, newest, why didn't I think of this sooner, favorite thing.  It is so incredibly easy to make, and it tastes like no peanut butter you have tried before.  It comes together in about 4 minutes and couldn't be easier to make.  Oh how I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow.  

I made up this recipe and just went by taste and consistency.

EP's Homemade Peanut Butter

1 lb dry roasted, unsalted peanuts

Quick squeeze of honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup or so of peanut oil

Put peanuts into a food processor.  Process until a giant clump forms, about 1 minute.  Add salt, drizzle of honey, and a few tablespoons of oil.  Process and continue to add oil until you get to the right consistency.  Store in an airtight container.

Peppa' Jelly

Another one of my new cookbooks is the Complete Book of Home Preserving.  I have never canned anything before, nor was I convinced that boiling a jar of jelly in water would allow it to sit on my shelf for months.  I'm sure botulism still exists.  I am more than willing to buy a jar of jelly at the store, but maybe not make it all on my own......yet.

I spent almost 5 years living in Louisiana, and during that time I fell in love with the spicy, cajun food of New Orleans.  We used to go to Morton's Restaurant in Madisonville quite often to eat boiled shrimp.  I love peeling the shrimp and even more astonishing, enjoyed leaving dinner with my lips burning from the spiciness of the food.  When I went back to New Orleans this past March, Morton's was on the top of my to-do list.  So when I think about why I put red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper on just about everything I eat, I give credit to Louisiana.  

At the Spice Merchant in Old Town, where I get my spices, they sell a Jalapeno Powder that is practically hotter than hot.  As the store employee jarred the powder for me, I practically cleared out the entire store as everyone started sneezing from inhaling the spice.  If you like spicy, you have to get some of that powder.

When I got my canning book, I knew I wanted to try pepper jelly, or as our friend in Louisiana says, peppa' jelly.  I had a very successful first run at canning, and for the past couple of weeks I have been able to eat my jelly as a snack before dinner just about every night.  I've put the jelly on sandwiches, eaten it with Triscuits and cream cheese, and even on slices of brie.  When my jars run out, I am going to make more as I don't think I can live without it.  Beware, because if this canning hobby takes off, you may be getting jarred food from me on a regular basis.  

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

16 oz jalapeno peppers (stemmed, seeded, and deveined)

2 cups cider vinegar

5 cups sugar (yes you must use that much, no getting around it)

4 oz liquid pectin

(This is not quite the actual recipe.  This is the recipe with the tweaks that I will use for next time)

1.  Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

2.  In a food processor, puree peppers and 1 cup of vinegar until smooth.

3.  In a large, deep saucepan, combine pepper puree, remaining vinegar and sugar.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes.  Stir in pectin.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

4.  Pour hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe rim.  Place on lid.

5.  Place jars in canner.  Make sure they are completely submerged in water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  

The jars must make a little pop noise so that you know they were sealed correctly.  Luckily, all of my jars popped and listening to them click might have been the highlight of the canning process.  

I'm in love with the thought of canning all of this food, and if I had more space in my kitchen I would go wild.  

The New Mixy: Makes Bread

For Christmas this year, my Mom got me a book called Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin.  The book is written in a very conversational and almost blog-like tone, which are good characteristics for a non-reader like me.  It has a little bit of everything.  Laurie talks about cooking in her first apartment, trying different foods to make recipes, entertaining friends with dinner parties,  giving advice on successes and failures that she has had with dishes in the kitchen, and she gives her opinions on creating the perfect simple recipes.  After reading the first chapter, I really felt like Laurie and I could have been great friends (not possible though since she died at the age of 48).  It is a great read, and if you like food, I think you would definitely enjoy this book.

I woke up this morning and decided to head to the gym, as I need to get into a habit of doing that on a regular basis.  My goal is to walk for 20-30 minutes per day while doing a few light weights.  Nothing major or overly strenuous but at the same time, heart-healthy.  I sometimes have to drag myself out the door to go, but once I am done, I am always glad that I went.  Today was no different.  After working out I headed to Starbucks.  My plan was to drink my coffee and read my new book.  I found a great table by the window, ordered my Grande Americano, started listening to the Coldplay playlist on my iPod, and settled in for a good read.  

In Home Cooking, chapter 4 talks about the art of baking homemade bread.  I've tried homemade cornbread muffins and homemade dinner rolls for Thanksgiving before, but that is about it.  Upon finishing the chapter, I immediately had a desire to bake the bread recipe in the book.  I started imagining the bread panini style, with my new favorite friend, the brie cheese, and my homemade pepper jelly.  Would that not make the perfect dinner?  And to top that off, I could use my new mixer for this recipe.  It was already 12:30 and if I wanted the bread for dinner I knew I had to get started.  So after my 10 minute sit at Starbucks, I was off to Treasure Island.  I spent 13 dollars on getting the appropriate flours needed for my bread, well, make that $11 as I did buy a bag of chocolate chips as well.   

I sat down and read my Joy of Cooking cookbook.  I wanted to do a little research on baking bread before getting started and this is a great general go-to cookbook.   By 1 o'clock I was home and ready to break bread.

For One Loaf

1.  Mix 1 1/2 cups white flour, 1 1/2 cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour and 3/4 cup coarse ground whole-wheat flour.  Add 1 heaping teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon wheat germ.

2.  Mix 1/2 teaspoon of yeast with 1  1/2 cups liquid (half milk, half water).

3.  Pour liquid into the flour and mix.  

4.  Knead the dough well.  Put it in a warm bowl and let rise.

5.  Once dough has doubled in size, punch it down, knead it well, and let it rise again.  

6.  Take dough out of bowl and knead one final time.  Form it into a baguette and brush with water.  Cook at 450 for 30 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 425 and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

I made a few changes to the recipe.  I heated the milk to dissolve the yeast as I wasn't sure what kind of yeast she was using.  I also added some flax seeds and honey to the dough.  Other than that, I made it as is.  There are no exact times in the recipe for the rising of the bread.  Laurie says that you have time to run a few errands in between each rise and that you shouldn't let the bread rule your day.  Instead, take care of the baking steps as you have time.  I did just that. 

The bread turned out great.  It is hearty and extremely tasty.  I would bake it at a slightly lower temperature during the first round, but other than that, it is something I will definitely make again.  

2 N's, 2 L's: Cannelloni for Luck

I've heard that you are supposed to eat Black Eyed Peas at the New Year to bring you prosperity for the upcoming 365 days.  Check that off my list, I did eat a homemade black eyed pea salad today from chef Mom today, so I am expecting big things for the new year.  Bring on the prosperity.  My New Year's meal this January 1st was homemade cannelloni, something I had not attempted before. 

When I think about spending the afternoon in the kitchen, taking several hours working on a meal, I usually tend to go with the Italian theme.  I love trying to make different types of homemade pasta, reading through the countless recipes in my cookbooks and online, rolling out the noodles, cutting it into different shapes, pairing it with different fillings and sauces, etc.  My experience with cannelloni can probably only date back to my high school days when I would eat the frozen Lean Cuisine version of Cheese Cannelloni, which at the time actually didn't taste half bad.  I don't know if you could pay me to eat that for a meal today.  You could pay me to eat the version that I had tonight though.

I was slightly skeptical about using a ragu filling recipe that contained so many pork products, but after tasting the sauce, it was something that couldn't be passed up.  I was initially tempted to go with a crab and ricotta filling or a spinach and cheese, but just decided to throw caution to the wind and go whole hog with the meat recipe.  The ragu works so well because it takes a couple of hours to come together on the stove and all of the flavors have a chance to meld together.  

This meal is definitely easier to prepare with 2 people involved.  The rolling of the pasta, cutting the sheets, par boiling and transferring to an ice bath, etc works better with a couple of hands.  Individually the steps are not that difficult but doing them together all at once can be a bit time consuming.  For Christmas I did get the Kitchen Aid Professional 610 Mixmaster with the pasta roller attachment, so this is something I will definitely be able to do on my own on a consistent basis.  

This recipe is a labor of love.  It is a lot of work but OH so worth it.  You can't compare the frozen Lean Cuisine version to the homemade one.  I did make one small mistake while cooking this meal and I am passing the lesson onto you as the reader.  I used a very sharp ravioli cutter to cut my pasta sheets into squares, not realizing the deep welts that the cutter would make into the kitchen counter.  I should have realized that a butter knife would have been just fine to cut through my paper thin sheets of pasta, but no I had to go for the sharpest object in the drawer.  How fun that we will now be able to remember this cannelloni recipe for years to come by the indentations on the counter, right?

Cannelloni alla Sorrentina

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, diced

1 pound ground pork

1/2 pound Italian Sausage

1/4 pound pancetta, diced

Grate of fresh nutmeg

Dash of thyme, fennel seeds, and oregano

3 small cans of tomato paste

1 cup red wine

1 can Italian tomatoes, crushed by hand with love

1 recipe basic pasta dough

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 bunch chopped basil

1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tablespoons butter

In a 6 quart saucepan, heat oil and add the onion.  Cook about 10 minutes.  Add the pork, sausage, and pancetta, and cooke about 30 minutes over medium heat.  Add the nutmeg, herbs and tomato paste, and cook until a deep brown color, about 20 minutes.  Add the wine and canned tomatoes and cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Divide the pasta dough into 2 parts and roll each to the thinnest setting on a pasta rolling machine.  Cut each rolled sheet into 5 inch squares.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and set up an ice bath next to the stove.  Cook the pasta squares in 2 batches until just al dente, about 2 minutes.  Remove to the ice batch.  Drain and set onto damp kitchen towels.

  

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix 3 cups of the ragu with the ricotta and add 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and the basil.  Lay the pasta out and place 3 tablespoons of ragu mixture into each one, and roll up like a cigar.  Butter a glass baking dish and lay the cannelloni next to each other.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese, dot with butter, and back in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

Basic Pasta Dough

3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of olive oil

Mound flour in the center of a large board.  Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil.  Using a fork, beat eggs and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.  As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour from the base of the mound to retain the well shape.  The dough will come together.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, wrap it in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.