One week....and Loaf Cakes (Chocolate and White Chocolate Almond)

One week. One week left of school. I can't believe that I am almost done being a student for good. And my little film family is growing up! And I'm writing a feature! I'm backpacking through Europe in two weeks! Phew...that's a lot to ingest. But it's not so much that I can't also enjoy a piece of cake or two. One of the reasons I've had so many double-recipe blog entries is because my baking instincts are in overdrive. I cook a lot when I'm stressed, and at this point I've got enough sweets to turn my apartment into the new hip Williamsburg bakery. Luckily, you don't need a crazy baking fetish to enjoy either of these cakes. You just have to like tasty things and have minor league skills in the kitchen. And trust me, these two beauties are worth it. 

This chocolate cake is really wonderful, but you MUST use good cocoa. The intense flavor from really good cocoa powder just gives this cake such a chocolatey punch. I add some bittersweet chocolate chips just for a little extra choco-goodness, and because I think they add a nice bit of moisture. This recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen's, who names this (very aptly) an "everyday chocolate cake", which it really is. One bowl, great for a party or a boring Tuesday.

The one thing I should warn you about is that this is a crumblier, slightly drier cake. It's delicious, but don't expect one of those moisture explosions that comes with some chocolate cakes. This is actually perfect with some fresh whipped cream and a few berries. Or, if you're crazy (in a good way), a touch of thin chocolate ganache. Either way it's a great way to relieve a bit of stress in not too much time. Which is great when you've got a lot of writing to do.

Left a few pieces of cake for my roomies. Next to them are some (slightly) failed macarons w/ Meyer lemon mascarpone filling. 

Now, this white chocolate almond pound cake, this is something else entirely. Moist, sweet, buttery with a touch of tang and awesome depth of flavor, this is officially my favorite pound cake now. So much so, I made it twice within one week (for two different events, not for me to just eat in my room while watching Friday Night Lights).

The real trick to this cake is the cream cheese that replaces half the butter. It keeps the cake moist and gives it such depth. The white chocolate is really amazing as well. I'm not even a white chocolate fan, but in this form it really, REALLY works. That paired with the almond extract...mmm...maybe I should make this cake one more time....

I use a bit more almond extract than asked for in more recipes (or in this original recipe) but I really think it makes a difference. The best thing to do is to taste the batter after adding a conservative amount of both vanilla and almond extracts, and then adding more bit by bit till it's got a good, strong taste of almond. Don't worry if it's a little intense, remember you still need to add the flour which will dull the flavor a bit.

Ghirardelli has slowly become my go-to for chocolate chips, both white and brown. Their 62% bittersweet version is great for several applications. I even use it for ganache. It's the same chocolate the company uses in their blocks of bittersweet. I think one reason they tend to be better is that it doesn't have that awful, waxy texture so many chocolate chips come with. Plus they're usually the only kind of chip that my fancy pants Williamsburg grocers carry.

So, another reason I'm baking so much is that I'm in training. For the biggest event in NYU's Grad Film Program. That would be...drumroll please...the official 3rd Year Bake-Off!!! At first I didn't feel too much pressure, but after having every one of my classmates pass me in the halls and claim they are going to take me down, now I'm in it to win it. I've got to make something(s) that are pretty spectacular. More details on what I'm planning will come.

Everyday Chocolate Cake (based on Smitten Kitchen - http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/everyday-chocolate-cake/)

Note: Since SK keeps this cake a one-bowl creation I figure my lazy method of making most cakes is acceptable. Just make sure you add the flour last, as after that is when over mixing becomes an issue. And try to use really good cocoa. No Hershey’s crap.

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup room temperature water

4 tbsp dried buttermilk

¾ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (I used Guittard, Valrhona is good too)

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup and 5 tbsp flour

couple handfuls of chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine butter, oil and sugars. Beat until fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg and beat until completely combined. Add water and vanilla and mix. Batter will look somewhat curdled, that’s fine. Add cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, and salt. Mix thoroughly with a spatula. Add flour and mix till almost completely combined. Add chips and fold in until batter is just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top over. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes till toothpick inserted in center comes out with several crumbs attached, but no wet batter. Cool in pan for ten minutes, then flip out and cool till room temperature. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, or just pull chunks right off the loaf. That’s more my style.  

White Chocolate Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake (adapted from Smitten Kitchen - http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/cream-cheese-pound-cake-strawberry-coulis/)

1 ½ sticks butter, softened

2/3 package (5-6 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup plus 5 tbsp sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¾ - 1 tsp almond extract

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ cup flour

3 handfuls of white chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a standard loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and increase speed to high and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes (very important). Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, along with salt and baking powder. Add half the flour and fold into batter with spatula. Add half the white chocolate chips. Add the rest of the flour and fold till almost combined, add the rest of the chips and mix till just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out top with spatula. Bake cake four about 30 minutes, till golden brown, then cover with foil and bake an extra 25 minutes, till a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.

Allow cake to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, then can be removed to cool completely, about another half hour. Slice and serve at room temperature. 

Slight disasters...chocolate cranberry scones and buttermilk cupcakes w/ chocolate p.b. ganache

Sometimes....I am not perfect. I know: this is shocking news for you. But every now and then I bake something that's just...eh. I mean it tastes good, possibly even great, but the looks aren't there, or something small got messed up. It's painful to realize at the time, but I suppose we make mistakes to learn from them. Here are two recipes that are actually quite good, but for some reason or another, I wasn't 100% happy with them. The chocolate p.b (aka peanut butter) ganache on these cupcakes was pretty awesome. Neither the cake not the topping was too sweet, making this cupcake a lot lighter tasting than it looks. To be honest, these came about from having a bowl of leftover ganache that I didn't know what to do with (other than take a spoon to it and go to town). 

And actually, whether you make these cupcakes or not, definitely remember this buttermilk cake recipe. It's genius, and I use it constantly. The main way I make it is into a 9" cake pan and dotted with fresh berries. Sprinkle some sugar on top of that and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Best cake you've had ever (until you've had the caramel cake I've got a recipe for....)

These scones I don't take responsibility for. I know, those things pictured below don't look like scones. They look like funny pancakes. Mind you, this was in the middle of a shoot, and I had slept a total of 4 hours in the past three days. Hence why I may have added a touch too much liquid, because I was near the point of hallucination. However, they tasted lovely. Because of all the moisture, they were more cakey than scone-like, so if that's how you like your English tea treats, add a 1/4 cup more milk than I recommend. 

However, in my defense I'd just like to say that along with my homemade granola bars, these scone were a hit on set. A big plate of them lasted about halfway through one day. Admittedly, people on set are half asleep and hungry so I might have been able to spread some chocolate syrup on cardboard and they would've been happy, but I'd like to think they enjoyed them because I'm just such a top notch baker. And hey, ignorance is bliss.

Buttermilk Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

CUPCAKES

1 cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp buttermilk powder

½ stick softened butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

½ cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and buttermilk powder together and set aside. Take butter and whip for several minutes till fluffy. Add sugar and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Add 1/3 flour mixture, then ¼ cup water, then another third of flour mixture, last ¼ cup of water, and last third of flour mixture.

Line cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners. I found it easier to pour batter into a ziplock bag, snip off end and pipe into the liners. Should make 11 cupcakes.

Place cupcake pan into oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until tops are lightly brown and a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.  Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. 

FROSTING

1 cup spiced chocolate ganache (recipe below)

½ to ¾ cup good peanut butter

½ cup cold heavy cream

Mix peanut butter with ganache. Place cream into large bowl and whip on high with electric mixer till peaks are stiff. Add ganache/pb mixture to cream in thirds, folding each thoroughly before adding the next. Add a touch of salt at the end (I like my desserts to have a tiny kick of salt in them).

SPICED CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Note: This is the ganache I use for pretty much anything I make with ganache, so save this recipe, it’s very versatile.

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp instant espresso mixed w/ 2 tbsp water

½ tsp salt

½ tsp red pepper

Place heavy cream in small pot and turn to medium high. While that’s heating up, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring cream to a boil. Take off heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand for two to three minutes, then stir. Chocolate should be completely melted at this point. If not, pop bowl into microwave for a few seconds. When cream and chocolate are completely melted and mixed together add the rest of the ingredients and combine. 

To make chocolate p.b. ganache, simply add 1/3 to ½ cup of peanut butter (I use natural Woodstock Farms, creamy style) to prepared spiced chocolate ganache and mix. Continue to add peanut butter till you get the ratio of p.b. to chocolate that you like.

Buttermilk Scones w/ Bittersweet Chocolate and Dried Cranberries

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 tbsp powdered buttermilk

4 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp cold butter, cubed

3 tbsp shortening

½ cup cold water

1 egg

¼ cup heavy cream

3 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips)

handful of dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and powdered buttermilk in a food processor and process for a few seconds. Add shortening and butter and process till the fats are incorporated and the mixture has the texture of sand.

Dump into large bowl. In another bowl mix the egg and water, whisking to combine. Slowly add egg/water mixture, mixing the dough with your hands. Stop adding when the dough comes together and before it becomes sticky.

Add chocolate and cranberries and fold into dough with spatula. Lightly flour a countertop and place dough on top. Gently shape into a disc about 8 to 10 inches in diameter, and approximately 2.5 inches in thickness. Cut into triangles (depending on the size of scones you want, 8, 12 or 16 would be good).

Place on baking sheet and brush with heavy cream. Sprinkle extra sugar on top.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top, depending on the size of scone you’re making.

How Grownups Play With Their Food....Sauteed Baby Octopus and THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN

Every now and then I think it's imperative to spoil yourself. For me, that means spending far to much on fancy ingredients and making a luscious meal. (Really, who wasn't expecting that.) I experimented with two different ingredients I've never used before: baby octopi, and sunchokes.  

I was wandering through the Union Square Farmer's market (in search of some perfect bone-in and skin-on chicken breasts) and found over three stands selling sunchokes. Which got me curious: what the hell are sunchokes??? I mean, I've heard of them, but I had no idea what they taste like. And the problem with farmer's markets and I are that, I just can't resist. Local dairy farms selling unbelievable heavy cream (trust me)? Why not? A pound of winesap apples? Yes please. Cider doughnuts? Well, ok I say no to those, because they are always disappointing. But really expensive lamb bacon I don't need? Well, you get the picture.

So, in case I haven't mentioned this to you guys before, roast chicken with root vegetables has apparently become my absolute favorite meal. I've roasted two whole chickens in the last month, and while I loved both of them, something was lacking. But I still craved roast chicken. So finally, on a night with a great horror movie on my Netflix queue ("The Thing", awesome) and several pages of my script waiting to be written, I decided to make my own version of roast chicken with root vegetables, with essentially just half the bird.

I bought these chicken breasts from a local farmer at, of course, the farmer's market. At first I was mentally kicking myself for spending almost 10 bucks on two chicken breasts (they were large, in my defense), but after taking one bite, all my suspicions were gone. This chicken was frigging AMAZING. The crispness of the skin, the juiciness of the meat...it took all my strength to not just eat as much as I could hovering over the roasting pan.

The crispiness of the skin was through a trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen. Strange as it may sound: baking powder. Mixing it with the salt and pepper used to season the meat it helps brown and dry the skin. Also, make sure to loosen the skin from the meat, which stops moisture from being trapped between the meat and skin and making things soggy. I should apologize right now for all my readers in the nyc area, for the life of me I can't remember the name of the farmer I got my chicken from. But don't worry, I'll be scouring Union Square till I find him. Oh, and by the way, the sunchokes were fantastic! Roasted them with carrots, yukon gold potatoes, and red onions. The sunchokes reminded me of yucca, which I love. Another fantastic veggie to add to this mix is fennel. Now on to the octopus...



Not sure if anyone remembers the glorious day of warmth we had on Monday, but I just couldn't stay inside, no matter how much work I had. Wandered around, stopped by the Housing Works bookstore (a lovely place to peruse, by the way, I became a member and everything), and finally couldn't stop myself from walking into Dean & Deluca about a block away from the bookstore. At $10 a pound these baby octopi looked amazing. The very cute fishmonger mentioned they came in just that day. I was pretty much sold at this point, and because of the fish guy's cute smile.  =)

I marinated the octopus first with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper for half an hour. Meanwhile, I set about sauteeing sliced garlic and chopped red onion. When the aromatics are soft and cooked through you should take them out of the pan, as the octopus needs to be cooked on high heat, which will burn the garlic and onions. I, of course in my lazy state, decided to skip this step. Big mistake.

I decided to keep it simple with my cooking strategy. The essential flavoring elements are garlic, onion, lemon and parsley. Even with my several stupid (and obvious) mistakes with this recipe, these little eight legged creatures were still delicious. Which is a shame, as that means I'll just be shopping at Dean & Deluca more, a hobby I simply cannot afford.

If these octopi looks funny, it's because they are covered in flour, which I thought would be nice, and make them crispy while being sauteed. No, do not do this. Only batter and flour octopus if you are going to deep fry them, otherwise your flour becomes a mushy mess in the pan, and you get something that very vaguely resembles a strange, seafood-esque oatmeal. Luckily, when I pushed the breading aside, there was glorious, perfectly cooked octopus underneath. Victory! So those are my two wonderfully indulgent, fairly simple recipes you can whip out whenever you feel like doing something special on a Tuesday or any old weekday night. And please invite me over if you're making roast chicken.

Roasted Chicken w/ Root Vegetables

Note: I’m one of those rare fans of white meat over dark, hence why I use only chicken breasts here. However, you’re more than welcome to try this out with chicken legs and thighs. While the breast is done at 160 degrees, thighs and legs should register at 175 degrees.

Another Note: This is quite the decadent meal with the generous use of butter. I really loved serving this over some raw bitter greens which cut through the richness of the chicken and veggies. Perfect “cold night in” kind of food.

Oh Yeah, One Last Thing: The kind of chicken you use is very important. I generally buy only from my local farmer’s market, which has sustainable free range chicken. Not necessary to get the best of the best, but I’d really recommend staying away from Perdu-esque poultry.

2 large bone-in skin on chicken breasts

1 ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 ½ tbsp. dried tarragon

1 tbsp kosher salt

3 tsp pepper

½ tsp baking powder

6-8 tbsp clarified butter, melted

2-3 carrots, peeled and cubed

3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 medium red onions, cubed

1 large fennel bulb, cubed

4-5 small sunchokes, peeled and cubed

7-8 cloves garlic, peeled

1 lemon, cut into eighths

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place all vegetables and lemon wedges into roasting pan. Sprinkly 2 tsp of salt and pepper on top, along with 1 tbsp of thyme and dried tarragon. Drizzle about 2-3 tbsp butter on top. Toss with hands to make sure all veggies are coated evenly.

Bring chicken to room temperature. Thoroughly dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix the rest of the salt, pepper, thyme, tarragon and baking soda. Loosen skin from meat with fingers.  Sprinkle seasoning mixture all over chicken and under skin. Drizzle butter onto chicken and rub over breasts (don’t giggle) and under skin. Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables and roast in oven for about 30-35 minutes, until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees at center of breast. Remove chicken from pan and let sit for 10 minutes under foil. Let vegetables continue roasting.

Serve atop raw dark greens (kale, collard, turnip, etc.).

Sauteed Baby Octopus w/ Garlic, Onion and Tomato         

Note: I had my fishmonger take care of any prep work for the octopi, so I didn’t need to remove any skin/beaks. I’d recommend if you’re able to get the people at your fish market to do the same, do so. Unless you like butchering octopi, then have at it.

½ lb baby octopi (about 4-5 whole), rinsed

2 tsp garlic chopped, 4 cloves sliced

1/3 cup red onion, chopped

¼ cup and 3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

½ cup chopped tomatoes

half a lemon

handful of chopped parsley leaves

salt and pepper

Place the octopi in a shallow bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil, chopped garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss octopi a few times and let marinate for half an hour.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in sauté pan and gently cook onions till soft. Add garlic and cook till fragrant and soft. About 5 to 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. When garlic and onions are properly softened and starting to caramelize, transfer to a plate.

Add remaining tbsp of oil and get to high heat. When pan is good and hot, add octopi, cooking quickly. When the legs are starting to curl up around the body add white wine. Bring heat down just a bit and add back the garlic and onions.

As soon as the legs have curled up tightly turn off the heat. Add chopped tomatoes, juice and all, and stir. Take that half a lemon and squeeze it all over the top. Then add  the parsley. Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.

Serve atop pea shoots or any other greens.

I'm Insane...Mixed Berry & Apple Almond Granola Bars

Alright, that's it. I've lost it. I've completely lost my mind. In the midst of all this writing/working/chaos I've suddenly decided to attempt making granola bars for a set I'm production managing this weekend from scratch. Why? I have no idea. Well, that's a lie, I have some idea. I saw this recipe for Raspberry Breakfast bars on Smitten Kitchen (one of the great food blogs, of course) ages ago, and since then I've had it in the back of my mind to attempt them. But why, why oh why, did I decide to make them for at least 20 people and in the middle of a week where I'm prepping for this shoot as well as trying to get all my work done??? It's because I'm insane, nothing else to it.

Shooting starts at 5 am and goes till about 5 pm every day, which made me think "Gee, we need really good breakfast foods." Another excuse for me to try and make these. So of course, if you're going to be cooking for a set, you've got to make at least two batches, which is what I did. One is a mixed berry from frozen berries, the other is apples and almonds. I figured if I cut them up small enough, they'd last at least a day and a half (hopefully). Oh, and just to add to my masochism, I made these around midnight, and didn't finish till about 3 am. Yeah, this is not a recipe to just "whip up" any old night. It takes some forethought.

This is the consistency your crumb/crust mixture should reach

Having said that, I knew I was onto something good when I tasted the crumb mixture. If I had a spoon and no conscience, I could've eaten that alone no problem. It was AWESOME. The cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, oats...it's hard to go wrong with a combination like that. The only problem was, my food processor couldn't handle all the dry ingredients. So I just cut up the oats with the flour, and then did the rest by hand. Mind you, it can be done, but mixing 3 sticks worth of butter cubes into a heap of flour, oats and sugar is no small feat. Took a while, but in the end was worth it.

One reason I may have decided to spend my night covered in oats and brown sugar is to distract me. See, I just turned in my application for the coveted This American Life internship a few days ago, and it's been driving me crazy. I want this job. I really want this job. And not only that, I know I would be good at it. But I don't find out for another three weeks. So till then, I spend my nights baking to drown out the thoughts in my head. Thank god there's a bunch of hungry filmmakers to eat most of this stuff, otherwise I'd probably weigh about 348 pounds.

Mixed berry granola bars

Now, I said this wasn't the easiest recipe, but the bars are tasty. Now, I say "granola", but they're a bit more dessert-like than that. These could easily be served as a luxurious brunch item, or as a substitute for a scone with afternoon tea. Or just any old time you feel like eating something sweet and delicious, with a bit of fruit. And of course, the great thing about these is you can do pretty much anything to them. My next combination most likely will be chocolate ganache and peanut butter (I know, my heart skipped a beat too).

Other than being antsy, I'm going to start upping my baking schedule because of one very important upcoming event: the annual Tisch Grad Film Bake-Off!!! Yeah, I think it goes without saying that I'm entering, but it's gotten around that I'm the one to beat. And now it seems I've got a fair bit of competition. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little bit of pressure: I seriously have to nail this. So if anyone has any ideas as to what might be a sure-fire winner, please, I need help!

Apple almond granola bars

Sadly, since it was around 2 am, I burned the bottom crust of the apple bars. I tasted them later, and they're fine, but not as stellar as they could have been. Just be careful when your bottom crust is in the oven to not let it get too brown. Also, I should mention that there is a higher ratio of crust to fruit in both these bars. While that's not altogether a bad thing (like I said, the crust is dee-licious), but if you're looking for something more fruit-centric, I'd add more. You could probably up the apple bars to three, even three and a half apples, and an extra half pound of berries for the mixed berry ones.

Alright. Time to get my life in order. The bars are done, I've got a few new pages of my script, and I can't do anything more about my TAL application so I'm going to stop thinking about it. Yes, things are going to start falling in place, I can feel it! I'm going to be productive! Hmm...or I could make roasted chicken breasts w/ sauteed kale and sunchokes and just tell you guys how that goes.... (more on this endeavor later)

Mixed Berry & Apple Almond Granola Bars

(by Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/raspberry-breakfast-bars/)

For crust/crumb:

1 ½ cups flour

1 ¼ cups rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp cinnamon

¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (room temperature)

For mixed berry filling:

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

½ tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp flour

½ tsp salt

1 pound frozen berries (I used a mixture of strawberry, blueberry, blackberry and raspberry)

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For almond apple filling:

¼ and 2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp flour

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced into small pieces

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9”x13” baking pan with cooking spray. Take a long piece of parchment paper and place on bottom, allowing extra to hang over sides of pan (you’re essentially making a sling for the bars).

If you have a large food processor, put all of the crust ingredients into the food processor and blend till you get a dry, crumbly mixture (about 40 to 50 seconds) If you don’t: put flour and oats in your dinky food processor. Process for 20 to 25 seconds, till well combined, and the oats have been ground down. Dump into large mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and cinnamon. Whisk thoroughly. Place the butter pieces into the dry ingredients in two batches. With the first batch in, use your fingers to combine and mix the butter into the ingredients, pushing the butter into the flour mixture. When the first batch is pretty much combined, add the second and repeat. This does take a few minutes, but it’s worth it!

Reserve 1 ½ cups of crust mixture. Take the rest and place in prepared baking pan and press into the bottom, all the way to the sides. Put in oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Take out of oven and cool.

For the fillings, the first step with both versions is to mix the brown sugar, zest, cinnamon (and nutmeg for apples), flour and salt in a small mixing bowl.  Place defrosted berries or apples and almonds in larger bowl and pour sugar mixture on top. Toss fruit to coat completely. Add lemon juice and butter and mix with spatula.

Pour fruit mixture on top of cooled crust and spread out to edges. (The berry mixture will look like it’s not enough, but don’t worry.) Take reserved crust mixture and sprinkle on top, till the fruit is completely covered. Press down on the crumb so it seals the fruit in between the layers of dough.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes till top is golden brown, rotating pan every 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then use parchment paper sling to remove from pan. Cool to room temperature and cut into bars/squares. Will keep refrigerated for 2 days (long if frozen).

Brisket Galore and a Guest Post! (Ann's Shredded Chicken Tacos)

Tip for life: if anyone ever asks you to join them to an all-you-can-eat brisket cook-off against several of nyc's finest BBQ joints at one of your favorite bars, you always say yes. Jimmy's No. 43, a great place for well crafted beers and a big supporter of the slow food movement, hosts several food events every weekend.They're having a duck-off next weekend. Mmmm....

And there are two new things about "Mmm...Toast". First of all, we have our very first guest post! Ann Erickson, my old roomie and close friend from Illinois Wesleyan University is a fellow foodie, and was kind enough to share her fabulous recipe for shredded chicken tacos. I have yet to try it myself, but I promise that's something I'm going to rectify soon. 

The second new thing is, everyone can comment on my blog now! Yay! I finally figured out how to change the settings on my blog, so those few followers I have who've been dying to tell me things, now you can. Now let's get to the food.

This is Fatty 'Cue's entry. A delicious brisket sandwich with pickled onions, cilantro, a little coleslaw on a hawaiian roll. I'd like to say that the sandwich entry is a bit of a cheat, because this competition is about the brisket, but damn it was a good sandwich. And I've always wanted to go to Fatty 'Cue. Now I have even more reasons why. This sandwich, and the cute guy doling out the 'cue.  =)

This was an entry by the cutest lady named Emma, who wasn't part of any restaurant whatsoever. She just made her own brisket and offered it up to hungry patrons. I'd love to say it was wonderful, because she was so adorable, but while the meat was incredibly soft, it had almost no flavor. The coleslaw was good, though.

Jon is trying to figure out which three entries he liked the best. He wouldn't let me look at his choices. Party pooper. 

I know this seems like a mish-mash of meat, but there are actually two different kinds of briskets here. One was from a Tennesse joint, Mr. Bobo, nice but a bit stringy, one's the Fatty 'Cue sandwich (delicious, as we already know), and Ribs From Within. One of my favorites, soft, great flavor, but a bit on the too fatty side (I know, that doesn't seem possible).

Here is the entry that won 1st place (The Kitchen NYC), and the brisket that won audience's favorite (Waterfront Ale House). The Kitchen's is a wagyu brisket with pickled radish, yuzu, and some other accoutrement I can't remember. I chose Waterfront's as my top pick. Great straight-forward brisket. They also had a mind blowing pastrami with house-made mustard (on top of their brisket above). 

Such a good time. And the embarrassing thing is: we had brunch before coming here. So essentially, we ate two HUGE full meals within about three hours. I even got seconds of some of the briskets. Yup, we're awesome. And now, without further ado, here are Ann's delectable chicken tacos. (I'll be back soon with a few dishes of my own to share with you guys.)

Shredded Chicken Tacos (By Ann M. Erickson)

So to say I love Mexican food is an understatement. I grew up in a south suburb of Chicago, ensconced in some of the best authentic Mexican food around-- not just in restaurants, but in the homes of some of my dearest friends. I have tried to replicate many of the recipes made by those wonderful mothers who insisted that I eat every time I came over, and I have even tried to make healthy versions, with mixed success. These tacos were inspired by a chicken flauta making session at my best friend's house. I wanted to make something almost as delicious, but less greasy and with my favorite taco toppings--- here you have it, spicy shredded chicken tacos!
 

Ingredients:

Package of boneless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lbs)

1 tbsp of kosher salt

1 tsp Freshly ground black pepper 

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp white onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp olive oil

Package of corn tortillas

Mexican cheese

1 avocado

Other toppings as you choose.

You start out with three large boneless chicken breasts. I like butterfly them just for ease of having well-seasoned meat and quicker cooking, but if I am lazy, I will just season the breasts and throw them in the stove. (Here is a pretty good tutorial on how to butterfly chicken breasts: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/butterfly-chicken-breast).

Once the meat is ready, rub it in kosher salt, black pepper, and then again in red pepper flakes, white onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. It sounds like a ton of seasonings, but I promise it balances out. Drop about two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and lay the chicken pieces in the skillet. Cook at medium heat.

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through (no pink when split open!), place pieces of chicken into a metal or pyrex bowl. Then, using two forks, shred the chicken breast. Using one fork to hold the meat down and the other fork to pull the meat away in shredded pieces seems to be the best way to get this done.

Once all the chicken is shredded, put it back in the pan and mix in a small can of tomato paste. Taste here for seasonings-- if it needs more salt or spice for your taste, feel free to add! Cook the mixture together for a couple of minutes on medium heat while warming up tortillas on another pan. 

Top with your favorite taco toppings-- I had avocados and a blend of Mexican cheeses to top them with, but feel free to add salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, or lettuce.

If you wanted to do the flauta version, you could pour vegetable oil into another pan--- about an inch deep-- and roll some of the chicken mixture in the corn tortillas. Drop a few flautas in the oil at a time, and fry them until the outsides are crispy. Delicious with guacamole!

Couple days in Chicago....oh so much food....

My ribeye burger with gouda and curried onions at Blackbird. Comes with pear salad and frites.

So, you'll have to forgive the poor photography. I somehow went home thinking "nah, I'm not going to cook/eat anything I'll want to share with the world." So stupid...anyways, these are the work of my trusty little blackberry, because in the last few days I spent in Chicago, oh my word. There was food. Glorious food. Enough that I almost don't care I've gained about 5 pounds in a disturbingly small amount of time.

The first stop on our culinary tour was Blackbird, a little Chicago landmark from chef Paul Kahan. It's one of the few restaurants in the city with two Michelin stars (up there with Charlie Trotter's, Tru, Everest, the usual suspects) yet unlike other restaurants of that caliber Blackbird serves lunch, and at a crazy reasonable price. All entrees were around $14-$15. They also have a three course prix fixe for $22. And as you can see from the picture above, the portions aren't crazy small. I also got a diet coke, which was refilled four times. For free. This is why I love my windy city. (nyc: until you offer free refills as generously as the Midwest, there will always be something between us.)

My Dad ordered the sturgeon. It was the best dish out of the three, hands down. Might be one of my favorite fish now. (Not pictured is Mom's whitefish sandwich. Very good, but apparently not very photogenic in my mind.)

After this we went to Alliance Bakery in Wicker Park, and I am so sorry that I didn't take photos of both the bakery and the gorgeous apple custard tart we bought. Because the bakery was adorable, and the tart was probably the best apple tart I've ever eaten. No joke, later that night, when it wasn't even warm, I picked it out of it's little white box, took one bite, and it was all over. That thing was gone within a matter of seconds. My mother was able to drag it away from me for a couple bites, but dad was completely left out. I will most definitely try to find a recipe for that little bit o' heaven, and report back. 

On the plus side, I did take a photo of the jar of peanut butter I made the morning I arrived home. Two different kind of peanut butter in fact (just give me a second while I brush my shoulders off...). The top is a nice, lightly toasted peanut butter and the bottom is an UBER toasty peanut butter. While the top one is more for general applications, the bottom is fantastic for cooking. It made some stellar peanut butter cookies, where you can really taste the nutty, roasted flavor of the peanuts. It's extremely simple to make PB, actually. Roast some peanuts till they're just beginning to brown, toss in a food processor, add a pinch of salt and some honey, and turn that sucker on high. When the nuts start becoming paste-like, stream in vegetable or peanut oil till it thins out to the right consistency. Voila! Homemade peanut butter!

The toothpicks are not actually my sadistic attempts at cake-torturing. I place them around the surface of the cake so the saran wrap on top doesn't touch the icing. Also, I used powdered buttermilk, which was fantastic. Apparently, the buttermilk we buy in stores isn't real buttermilk. Powdered is closer to the real thing.

 So, I might have a problem. Around midnight on Friday, when my parents were tucked away sleeping, I finally had enough of the Ghost Hunters marathon I'd been watching on the Travel Channel (alright, I'll admit it, I was getting creeped out), and instead of going upstairs to sleep like a normal person, I thought, why this is the perfect time to make a cake! Mind you, by this point, I had literally baked about five different things. My baking drive was on overkill. Part of me really didn't want to, but I had seen a recipe on a wonderful food blog by Tartlette (http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2008/11/daring-bakers-caramel-cake-and-soft.html) that I just couldn't get out of my head. It's a caramel cake, with caramel sauce in the batter, and a caramelized brown butter frosting (which I flecked with some orange zest). Now, the frosting sounded wonderful, and in theory it is, but it's literally sugar on top of sugar. Way too intense, so I'm not even going to give you the recipe right now till I perfect it. But don't worry, make the cake anyway. This cake is so good it needs absolutely nothing to fancy it up. It's so good that at 3 am last night/morning I was taking a fork and burrowing underneath the icing just to get at cake. Seriously, MAKE THIS CAKE. And then send me a piece. 

Another item we picked up at Alliance Bakery was a chocolate macaron with a salted caramel filling. The macaron was delicious, but the price seemed ridiculous. $1.50 for a itty bitty cookie? In the Midwest?! My mother turned to me and said "I bet we can make those." And of course, the challenge was laid down. That evening, my mother and I attempted to make macarons for the first time. Ladies and gentlemen, these are frustrating little buggers. The egg whites need to age, dry ingredients need to be sifted twice, the batter needs to be folded about 62 times (even slightly under or over mixed batter ruins the cookie), the cookies must rest for an hour before being put in the oven, oh and don't get me started on the hundred different ways I looked up on how to properly bake a macaron. Needless to say, I understand the $1.50 charge now. Our first batch was over mixed and the cookies came out like flat pancakes. The photo above is my second attempt, and the batter was under mixed. There's no other way to say it: I made Smurf turds. But, looking past that, the flavor of these....oh man. I've had macarons before and have never been that impressed, but these had this wonderful light, almondy flavor, and a great crispness on the outside and chewiness inside....so the good thing is I now really love macarons. The bad thing is I'm going to have to kill myself to finally make them right.

Of course, you need a filling for macarons. For some reason, my parents had an abundance of pears in the house, so I thought, why not a pear curd? I haven't made curds in a while, but as far as I know, it's generally fruit in some form (either juice and zest, or pureed), egg yolks, and butter. Since these pears were relatively young, I simmered them in simple syrup with a cinnamon stick and some cloves, blended them, then went ahead with a traditional curd recipe. Oh man, is this stuff good. Very lightly flavored, it works so well with the macaron, or honestly, probably on any dessert-like platform. I'd actually just eat it on its own.

For my goodbye dinner, my mom always makes up a meal that I generally couldn't get anywhere but her kitchen, which is almost always Indian food. We were browsing the produce section of the grocery store and came upon Methi, or fenugreek. That was it, a dish I haven't had in ages but really love: aloo methi. It's chopped up fenugreek leaves cooked with potatoes. This is a seriously Indian dish. I almost never see it at Indian restaurants because it's a flavor that most people who haven't grown up eating Indian food would probably not immediately enjoy. It also makes your kitchen stink a bit. But honestly, the flavor is so interesting and lovely. You mix mustard oil and seeds with asafoetida, turmeric, and these greens and potatoes and get this amazingly pungent, bitter, and delicious dish. If you're brave, I'd definitely give this one a try.

This dish came completely out of left field. Early yesterday morning my mom, my cousin and I were watching one of our favorite shows on the Cooking Channel: French Food at Home. The host, Laura Calder, is adorably quirky and her food looks divine. One of the dishes she prepared was a celeriac remoulade. Now, I'm not really a fan of anything celery flavored, but my cousin was adamant we make this (mainly because he'd just gotten back from India and wanted something on the plate not heavily spiced). It's an easy side dish to make, especially if you put your julienne blade onto your food processor and make quick ribbons out of all the veggies and fruit (something I highly recommend). The flavor of the remoulade was, well, kinda perfect. It was ever so lightly coated in a lovely vinaigrette that has fennel and mustard seed, just enough to give you a taste of the spices but not overpowering the flavor of the celeriac at all. Divine. 

My last supper: aloo methi, gobi (of course), papar (best chip you could ever buy), and celeriac remoulade

It's always so nice to visit home, get re-energized to deal with the rest of life. No matter how chaotic things get, thank goodness there is always a plate of something yummy and two smiling parents just a two hour flight away.

Blackbird: http://www.blackbirdrestaurant.com/
Alliance Bakery: http://www.alliance-bakery.com/
Tartlette: http://www.tarteletteblog.com/
French Food at Home: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/french-food-at-home/index.html

Caramel Cake (based on Tartlett’s)

Note: This was my first try at using buttermilk powder and I thought it was extremely successful. The instructions on the side of my container said it required 4 tbsp of powder and 1 cup of water to substitute 1 cup of buttermilk. Then, instead of mixing the powder and water together, mix the powder with the dry ingredients and use the cup of water as you would milk in the recipe. If your container of buttermilk powder has different instructions, I’d follow those instead of the ones I provide. If you have fresh buttermilk (or another type of milk) instead, go ahead and use that.

10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

Generous 1/3 cup caramel (recipe below)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

4 tbsp buttermilk powder

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch cake pan.

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and salt and cream until light and fluffy as well. Add caramel sauce and whip on high speed till well combined. Add eggs one at a time, and vanilla. Beat mixture well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and buttermilk powder together. Set mixer to low speed and add one third of the dry ingredients. Add half a cup of water. Add the second third of the dry ingredients. Add the last half cup of water, and follow with the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

Take bowl off mixer and use a spatula to fold batter a few times, making sure everything is properly mixed. Pour batter into pan and smooth out top. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for between 45-50 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through. Check cake by sticking a toothpick in the center. A few crumbs should stick and it’s done.

Caramel Sauce (based on Ina Garten’s)

Note: To quicken the cooling of the sauce, I took the 1/3 cup I needed for the cake, put it in a metal bowl, and popped it into the freezer for about 15 to 29 minutes. Stirred it a few times afterwards and it was perfect.

1 ½ cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

Add sugar and water to pot and set to medium high heat. Do not stir. Swirl pot to mix ingredients. Bring to a boil and let bubble away till reaching a dark amber color. As soon as this happens, add the cream and step back to avoid getting splattered. Whisk till caramel becomes smooth again on low heat, about two minutes. Then turn off stove and let sit till coming to room temperature, about two hours. 

Pear Curd

Two large pears

1 cup sugar

2 1/3 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

pinch salt

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon juice

half stick butter

Peel pears, and save the skin from one of them. Chop the pears into a small dice. Place sugar and water into a saucepan. Add diced pear, skin, cinnamon stick and cloves. Turn heat to medium high and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir.

Let pears soften till they are just barely retaining their shape. Strain, reserving the liquid. Take out pieces of skin, cloves and cinnamon. Toss pear into blender and blend into a puree. Set aside in a glass or metal bowl to cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, wash out pot, fill with water and put on medium high heat. Take pear puree and whisk in salt. Whisk in egg yolks one at a time. Add lemon juice and vanilla.

Set bowl over pot of simmering water and whisk vigorously. Continue whisking till curd sets and the curd becomes much lighter in color and becomes pudding-like in texture and thickness. Take off heat, but continue whisking for another 30 seconds. Taste curd. I noticed at this point that I wanted a touch more sweetness and pear flavor, so I added about 2 tbsp of the reserved cooking liquid. Did the trick. Whisk that in and taste again. Add more if necessary.

At this point, if you aren’t happy with the texture of the curd, pour through a fine mesh strainer.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and place directly on the top of the curd. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before using.

Aloo Methi (Potato w/ Fenugreek)

Note: It’s not necessary to use mustard oil if you don’t have it at home. You can just use all vegetable oil. If you do end up using the mustard oil, along with the mustard seeds, I’ll warn you right now: as soon as those two start cooking, you’re essentially perfuming your house with a light mustard gas. My mom and I started coughing whenever the lid was removed off the skillet. However, the taste was divine. Part of my childhood in a pot, heavenly.

One Last Thing: For god’s sake, open every window in your house/apartment, and make sure the exhaust is on. Otherwise I can’t guarantee you’ll ever be able to set foot in your kitchen again. This is mainly necessary if you are using the mustard oil and asafoetida.

12 cups fenugreek leaves

3 large potatoes

1 tbsp mustard oil

A few grated shavings of asafoetida (hing), or ½ tsp of asafoetida powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp chopped garlic

2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chili flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Thoroughly wash and dry fenugreek in a large bowl. Set aside. Peel and chop potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Add oils to your largest nonstick skillet, and add mustard seeds. Add the asafoetida into the oil as well. Set heat to medium high and cook till seeds turn pale in color and begin to pop. Add turmeric powder as well and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add chopped potatoes. Toss to coat in spices. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. While those are going, start taking large handfuls of fenugreek leaves and chopping them down just a bit. Don’t go too fine, you’re just looking to pretty much halve the leaves. Start adding to the skillet, allowing every third or fourth handful to be tossed and settled into the potatoes before adding more. Add salt and pepper.

Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Serve with plain yogurt.

Celeriac Remoulade (recipe based on Laura Calder’s)

 Note: When we tossed the vinaigrette with the celeriac and apple we found that it was just shy of enough. Instead of making more I just sprinkled in a bit more ground fennel and mustard, along with a pinch more salt and pepper. Worked out fine, this vinaigrette adds more like a sheen to the mixture, just the faintest hint of dressing.

1 medium celeriac

1 apple (Fuji or Grannysmith, something crisp and tart)

1 egg yolk

3 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 tsp Dijon mustard

¾ cup Olive oil (grapeseed and vegetable work well too)

2-3 tsp ground fennel seed

2 tsp ground mustard

salt and pepper to taste

lemon juice to taste

Peel and julienne both the celeriac and apple (to make quick work of this, use your food processor). Toss together in a large bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients except for the olive oil. When properly mixed, slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. When you’ve drizzled in about 75% of the oil, stop and taste. Continue if necessary. Taste again, and season accordingly.