I really felt like naming this post THE ALMIGHTY HIGH-ALTITUDE DOMINATION OF CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE. It sounds a lot more exciting, right? Like Jean-Claude Van Damme might show up in a frilly apron any second, whisking egg whites at high speeds unknown to man until now.
Obviously, I’m dealing with high altitude here in Denver. We live at almost 5300 feet above sea level, which means there’s a lot that can happen to baked goods up here. (Add to that, I don’t bake a lot in general – Brad won’t eat lots of baked goods, and so I try not to churn out multiple dozens of cookies every week, lest every cookie make it’s way to my ass.)
There’s a rumor that baked goods fall at high altitudes, including but not limited to, cakes and soufflés. For a long time (read: before I moved here) I thought it was because there was more pressure in the air up here. It’s actually the reverse – there’s much less oxygen at high altitudes, which means there is much LESS air pressure than at sea level. When there is less air pressure, air bubbles in the batter of baked goods expands much more quickly (because hot air expands, remember?) If the air bubbles expand too much before the cake’s structure (in the flour, usually) has had time to bake and therefore set up properly, then the cake/soufflé will fall once it’s removed from the hot air of the oven.
This is doubly so for soufflés, since there is little to no flour in most soufflé recipes to provide a good structure to hold up. Also, soufflés are underbaked usually, so that the center is creamy. Any souffle, at any altitude, will fall when it’s removed from the oven; it’s just a matter of how much time.
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After google-searching “high altitude soufflé,” I came across this Mark Bittman recipe from the New York Times. I made only one adjustment – instead of whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks, I only whipped them to soft peaks. The purpose of holding back on whipping the egg whites, was to prevent the cake from rising too quickly. If I didn’t whip the egg whites as much as called for, then I hoped that the soufflé wouldn’t rise too quickly before it was baked
Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge! Dave and Linda provided many of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.
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Chocolate Souffle (High Altitude Domination)
Adapted from Mark Bittman
Makes one 4-cup soufflé or two 2-cup soufflés
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Gather:
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup sugar, divided, plus extra for dish
3 eggs, room temperature, separated into yolks and whites
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
powdered sugar for serving (optional)
Prepare:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the inside(s) of two 2-cup or one 4-cup soufflé or other deep baking dish(es). Dust the inside with granulated sugar and tap out any excess.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (i.e. a glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water).
Whisk the egg yolks with all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, until the mixture is very light yellow, and falls in a ribbon from the beater blade. Meanwhile, whisk egg whites in a medium bowl with cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually add remaining tablespoon sugar, until the egg whites have soft peaks (i.e., when you pull out the beaters, small little peaks appear in the egg whites, and they flop over at the top rather than standing straight on their own.) Temper the egg yolk mixture by adding in about a tablespoon of melted chocolate; stir to combine. Add the rest of the melted chocolate, and stir until combined. Then add a large spoonful of egg whites to the chocolate mixture, and gently fold in the egg whites with a plastic spatula. Fold in the remaining egg whites gently. Transfer batter to prepared soufflé dish(es). (Make ahead: cover and store in the fridge until ready to bake.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes for individual soufflés or 25 to 35 minutes for a single large soufflé. Do not open the oven whatsoever while baking. When the outside looks done but the center still looks creamy, remove from oven and serve immediately. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top, if desired.
Uncanny is a series in which I explore the different uses for jams and preserves that we put up during the summer. Because even though each jam you make is wonderful on its own, a veritable taste of summer in a jar… sometimes, you just get TIRED of eating summer on toast.
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Oatmeal wasn’t big in my house when I was growing up. I think grits were more of a constant presence. (We did grow up in Virginia, after all, Land of Buttered and Cheesy grits. Lula will agree with me. REPRESENT.)
But, I have recently come around to oatmeal. Remember how I wrote two days ago that if we didn’t get snow for 2 more weeks than we would break a record here in Denver? Well, nevermind, because we got our first snowfall today. Major fail, in my opinion. When it snows, it gets all cold and all wet, and people forget how to drive, as if 3 snowflakes in the air impedes their ability to drive whatsoever, and then it ends up taking me an hour to drive to the grocery store which is all of 10 blocks away which sends me into a not-so-nice mood and there’s lots of cursing and obscene hand gestures and honking and my father on the phone telling me “he wasn’t aware I had that kind of mouth.”
So yeah… snow sucks.
Basically, it’s cold and it’s wet and you know what coldness and wetness calls for? (Other than puppy hugs, that is?)
Hot, warm breakfast cereals. Like oatmeal.
This isn’t some earth-shattering revelation of how to use up jam. This is the Kitchenette blog, not the Kitchenette Think Tank, of course. But, I think the picture above is so yummy-looking that it deserved a blog post. For the record, I like my oatmeal made with steel-cut oats; the texture is a lot more pleasing than the rolled oats I bake with so often. Furthermore, I like my oatmeal topped with a dollop of cold, tangy, plain yogurt, and then swirled with some hot jam. I microwave my jam for 20-30 seconds until it’s really runny, because it mixes in better when it’s hot, than it does with it’s straight from the fridge and gloopy and all that.
This morning I made mine with some cinnamon-scented blackberry jelly, but you could use whatever preserves you have around.
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Steel-Cut Oats with a Jam Swirl
Adapted from Alton Brown Serves 2 really hungry breakfast-ers
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Gather:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
plain whole-milk yogurt, for serving
1/4 cup jam (your choice of flavor)
Prepare:
In a large saucepot, melt the butter and add the oats. Stir for 2 minutes to toast. Add the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. Keep at a low simmer for 25 minutes, without stirring. Add the milk, and stir gently to combine and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon your jam into a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until the jam is hot and runny. Spoon oatmeal into a serving bowl and top with yogurt and hot jam. Swirl if desired before serving immediately.
So, as I made my last Thanksgiving dish, this apple and custard pie, I realized that I had unintentionally made a Martha Stewart-ized Thanksgiving meal. The broccoli puree, the rolls, the glazed squash, AND this pie all came from different issues of Martha Stewart Living. But I can’t say that I mind… I mean, isn’t not like any of Martha’s dishes are ever bad. So whatever.
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I had to track down the kataifi (shredded phyllo) that’s used as the crust in this pie. It was kind of hilarious. I called three different Middle Eastern grocery stores in Denver. I talked to three different men with three very thick accents, who could barely understand me. Most of the conversations went something like:
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Older Gentleman with thick Middle Eastern accent: Good morning, how may I help you?
Me (Suburban White Chick): Hi, I was calling to see if you carry… uh… kah-tie-fee?
OGwtMEa: What?
Me(SWC): Uh… ka-tiff-ee?
OGwtMEa: Excuse me?
Me(SWC): Um, it’s like shredded phyllo dough?
OGwtMEa: [silence]
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I’m not even sure if the first two stores didn’t actually carry kataifi… maybe they just didn’t understand what I was asking for? The third place I called had it – either I finally said the word right, or they understood my horrible mispronunciation, or something. At least I got it!
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This is a very fun pie to make. The kataifi is easy to pull apart when frozen, and would be a fun project for a teenager or tween to do, if your kids are into helping in the kitchen. I probably wouldn’t give the task of lining the pie dish with kataifi to a toddler… simply because that stuff gets EVERYWHERE, even when a 26-year-old is carefully pulling it apart. This isn’t a super-sweet pie at all, which is a nice change. If you’re into super-sweet pies, try a pecan pie for the holidays. This pie, however, is a wonderland of different textures – the caramelized apples are chewy, the custard is soft and light, and the crust is crispy.
Kataifi is shredded phyllo dough. It usually comes frozen in 1-pound packages. I have seen it at Middle Eastern grocery stores (try googling “middle eastern grocery [your city and state],” and call the store to ask if they carry kataifi.) I also recently saw it at a Greek neighborhood grocery as well. Just call around until you find a place that carries it. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, or let it sit out for one hour until it comes to room temperature. Freeze the unused portion of the package for up to a year.
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Gather: For the crust 3 ounces frozen kataifi (shredded phyllo), thawed (1 cup packed)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the caramelized apples 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 baking apples, such as Granny Smith; peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the caramel 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
For the custard 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup semolina flour
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Prepare: Make the crust. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange a 1/2-inch-thick layer of kataifi into the bottom and up and over the sides of a 9-inch pie plate (it will shrink during baking); brush all over with melted butter. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.
Make the caramelized apples. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple wedges and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft and caramelized, about 40 minutes. Transfer apples to a medium bowl.
Make the caramel. Add sugar to skillet. Cook over high heat until sugar dissolves and turns medium amber. Remove skillet from heat. Slowly and carefully stir in cream (it will bubble and steam as you add it).
Assemble pie and make custard. Cover bottom of crust with 3/4 cup caramelized apples. Drizzle apples with 2 tablespoons caramel. Whisk together egg and yolk in a medium bowl. Bring milk, sugar, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add semolina flour, whisking constantly, until mixture starts to bubble, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and slowly whisk one third of the semolina mixture into egg mixture. Return entire mixture to saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick, about 30 seconds. Pour custard over caramelized apples into crust. Let stand until set, about 1 hour. Top with remaining caramelized apples just before serving. Drizzle top of pie with some caramel (reheat if needed). Serve immediately.
Thanksgiving Background Music Recommendation of the Day – in our house, we like a constant stream of mellow background music to enjoy along with our holiday festivities. Here is a week of safe-for-childrens’-ears, no-curse-words-to-creep-out-Grandma, soft tunes to accompany your turkey and mashed potatoes. (And not one of my recommendations will be a washed-up-musician’s rendering of Christmas hits, I promise.)
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The Smiths / (any album)
How can you say no to the Smiths? That voice is like the caramel on this pie, smooth and soulful. Any album of theirs will do, even though some song titles hint at… interesting lyrics (“death of a disco dancer,” anyone?) the words are pretty hard to understand, so there’s little chance for Grandma to launch into her tales of when she attended Studio 54.
Indulge my craziness, friends. A few days ago I accomplished my biggest triumph yet! I made bread, REAL BREAD, from SCRATCH. And I’m not talking pizza dough. I’m not talking quickbreads for monkey bread. I’m talking a real, made from scratch, rises-five-different-times, honest-to-goodness CRUSTY BREAD.
Can I get a HELL YEAH?
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In case you’ve never wandered over there, my about page mentions my fear of baking. I think when I first started this blog, way back in May 2009, I listed learning to bake bread as a major goal. And last Christmas my sister-in-law Amy (of the Uncanny moniker fame) even gave me a bread baker’s newbie kit. I was all set up for success… it just took me 10 months to try it!
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Of course I don’t go with an easy recipe for my first time. This is a Martha Stewart recipe, y’all. And you know Her Holiness of All Things Domestic doesn’t do anything EASILY. No sir. This dough rises, let me count… FIVE TIMES.
FIVE.
That Martha is so hardcore. I will say, I am impressed with this recipe. The dough comes out extra fluffy and chewy on the inside, with a crust that is simply Heaven-sent. I like my bread crusty, so if you’re looking for a soft roll, this recipe isn’t for you. I mean, there is a time and a place for soft rolls, definitely. But a good and hot, crusty roll, straight out of the oven? YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.
Gather: For the starter
5-1/4 ounces King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
pinch of active dry yeast
5-1/2 ounces cool water (2/3 cup, 75 degrees to 78 degrees)
For the dough
11 ounces King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour (2-1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon)
1-3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 ounces cool water (3/4 cup, 75 degrees to 78 degrees)
1-3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
vegetable-oil cooking spray
all-purpose flour, for dusting
three mixing bowls (one very deep bowl for rising, or use a bread-rising bucket)
plastic wrap
parchment paper rim-less cookie sheet baking stone lame (bread-slashing blade)
Preparee: Make the starter. Stir together flour, yeast, and water with a rubber spatula in a medium mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature until it has risen slightly and bubbles cover entire surface, 12 to 15 hours. (This is best done the night before you plan to make the rolls.)
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Bubbles over the surface of the starter
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Make the dough. Whisk together flour and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and starter, and stir with spatula until mixture comes together in a slightly sticky, loosely formed ball of dough. The dough will look a bit shaggy, which is fine. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes. Prepare a deep mixing bowl or bread-rising bucket by spraying the entire inside with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Gently turn dough onto an unfloured work surface. Sprinkle with salt. Knead dough until it is smooth, supple, and elastic 8 to 10 minutes. (The original recipe directions to knead are: “gather dough, lifting it above work surface. Hold one end of dough close to you while you cast the other end in front of you, onto the surface. Pull the end of dough in your hands toward you, stretching it gently, then fold the dough in half on top of itself. Repeat. Lift, cast, stretch, and fold.” I found this very hard to do, since the dough stuck to my hands endlessly. Instead, I opted for a “smear” knead; smear the dough with the ball of your hand away from you, then claw the dough back towards you into a ball, turn a quarter way, and smear again.) Use a dough scraper to clean the surface as needed, adding the scraps to the dough. The dough will be VERY VERY sticky; I referred to it as the “super glue stage.” Do not add more flour, even though the dough will stick to your hands. Right before I started kneading, my dough was quite lumpy, but by the end of 8 minutes, it was quite smooth, although still quite sticky. Form into a ball; dip your hands in flour at the very end, and pat the dough with your floured fingers to help you form it into a ball.
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap (oil plastic wrap by spraying one side with vegetable oil cooking spray). Let rise at cool room temperature for 45 minutes. Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. (Do not punch down; because the bowl is oiled, you should just be able to slide the dough straight onto your floured countertop.) Fold into thirds, as you would a business letter. Then fold it in half crosswise. Spray bowl inside again with cooking spray, and return dough to bowl, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature until it has almost doubled, at least 75 minutes.
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Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface (again, it should slide out of the bowl easily). Using a dough scraper or a knife, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
Shape the rolls. On a lightly floured surface, spread each portion of dough into a rectangle that’s roughly 10 by 6 inches. Fold dough into thirds lengthwise again, as you would a business letter, pressing seams with your fingers. Working with 1 portion of dough at a time, keeping remaining dough covered, fold dough in half lengthwise to form a tight, narrow log. (So the dough should be folded in thirds like a letter, first, and then folded again lengthwise, second. You will end up with a very skinny log.) Gently press edges with lightly floured fingertips to seal. Using a dough scraper or a knife, cut into 8 pieces. Gather edges of each piece, and gently pull and tuck them underneath the dough to create a round shape, pinching to seal. Place each piece of dough on the work surface. Cup one hand around dough, and rotate it in circles until a smooth, taut ball forms. Place each shaped roll on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature until rolls have almost doubled and a floured finger pressed into side leaves a slight indentation, 30 to 40 minutes.
Bake rolls. Meanwhile, place an oven-proof skillet on oven rack adjusted to lowest position and a baking stone on middle oven rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Just before baking, use a lame or a razor blade to slash the surface of each roll, forming an X. Pour 1/2 cup hot water into skillet in oven. Slide rolls and parchment onto baking stone.
Immediately reduce oven to 450 degrees. Bake until rolls are deep golden brown, sound hollow when bottoms are thumped, and interiors register 205 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool on racks. Rolls are best the day you make them, but they can be wrapped in parchment and then foil, and stored at room temperature overnight (or frozen for up to 1 month; thaw at room temperature before serving).
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Herb Compound Butter
Original recipe from The Kitchenette
Makes 2 6-oz logs
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Gather:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons minced thyme
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced basil
Prepare:
Stir the herbs into the softened butter until thoroughly combined. Place half of the butter mixture on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Cover the butter with one end of the plastic wrap and use your hands to shape the butter into a log. Carefully roll up the butter, pushing out all the air bubbles and pinching the ends. Repeat with the remaining butter. Freeze logs until ready to use. (Make ahead: Can be made up to 3 months in advance, and frozen until later use. Let come to room temperature for 6 hours before use, and re-whip using a spoon or fork before serving.)
Thanksgiving Background Music Recommendation of the Day – in our house, we like a constant stream of mellow background music to enjoy along with our holiday festivities. Here is a week of safe-for-childrens’-ears, no-curse-words-to-creep-out-Grandma, soft tunes to accompany your turkey and mashed potatoes. (And not one of my recommendations will be a washed-up-musician’s rendering of Christmas hits, I promise.)
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Mumford & Sons / White Blank Page
I’m sure you’ve heard of these guys, since they seem to be the music industry darlings, at least for the summer anyways. But they’re just so HAPPY. And their songs won’t offend anyone at your Thanksgiving table, which is always a plus. (It can get kind of awkward explaining to Grandma what Lil’ Wayne’s song “Lollipop” is about. Just saying.)
“All most people really want [for Thanksgiving] is turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, [and] and cranberries.” xxxx - Andrew Knowlton, Bon Appetit November 2010
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Ah, just another indication that me and mine are huge freaks. Our Thanksgiving table at home in Virginia changes year over year… the only staples are corn pudding, and the chocolate fudge pie from Ukrop’s. (Which was our neighborhood grocery store, now bought by the evil Martin’s. *moment of silence*)
Four years of Young Married Couple Thanksgivings has really torn up the idea of the traditional Thanksgiving menu, at least for me. I can pretty much guarantee that Brad won’t care one way or another what I make, as long as one dish has bacon, ham, or pork in it. (Done.) And not having to cook for a crowd of 12 has thoroughly released me from having to cook the standard mashed-potatoes-green-beans-stuffing line up; now I just cook whatever seasonal dishes I want for the big day. Usually I try to stick to one “starch” dish, whether it be mashed potatoes or bread, one dessert, one salad, and an entree. Then I do one or two vegetable dishes as well.
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I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for 3 years now, just waiting for the right time to break it out. The original recipe from Her Holiness of All Things Domestic calls for sweet potatoes, hubbard squash, and delicata squash. I’m not a huge fan of delicata, so I just cut that out and went with the hubbard only. When I was at the market, they were out of sweet potatoes, but they did have some gorgeous garnet yams. Just use whichever – yams or sweet potatoes – that you can find.
I think this recipe will definitely make a reappearance at my table soon, just because it was so freaking delicious. I like winter meals that take the normal pantry ingredients and twist them in new tastes and textures. Most squash recipes tend towards roasting, with or without the peel. Then you can puree the flesh or turn it into soup, or stir it into risotto, etc etc etc. But I liked the way that the squash ended up juicy and tender in this recipe; I imagine this would be a great use for squash that has been in storage for a long winter, because you infuse it with bacon and butter and chicken stock. The resulting dish is bursting with flavors just layered on top of one another… you can taste the chicken stock, the brown sugar, the wine, the butter. It’s so rich and delicious, I can’t get over it.
What side dishes are you contemplating for your Thanksgiving table?
For the record… I didn’t eat the squash peel. It helps to keep the squash from falling apart while cooking, though. The bacon will be easier chopped if chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes before cutting. Reserve the seeds of the squash to toast later, if you’re so inclined. And if you’re going to double this recipe, either use an additional (large) saute pan, or cook in batches.
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Gather:
6 ounces smoked bacon, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds total), sliced into 3/4 inch thick coins
1/2 Hubbard squash (about 2 pounds), de-seeded and sliced into 1 inch thick wedges
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
Prepare: Cook the squash. Cook bacon over medium heat in a large saucepan. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the bacon is just crispy. Do not let bacon burn. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from pan and deposit on a paper-towel-lined plate; reserve for later. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from the pan. Add butter to pan and melt over medium-low heat. Add sugar, cloves, and red pepper flakes to pan, and cook until sugar is somewhat dissolved, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Layer squash in pan, then layer potatoes on top of squash. Slowly pour chicken stock and wine over squash and potatoes. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until squash is tender. Remove squash from pan. Layer potatoes in the bottom of pan and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. (Make ahead: can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance; store squash and potatoes, covered with saran wrap, in the fridge until ready to use; reheat in a 350 degree oven until hot. Store bacon separately from squash and potatoes, in a small tupperware container or plastic bag; reheat the next day with vegetables. Remove glaze from pan and store in a jar until ready to finish cooking the next day.)
Reduce the glaze. (Reheat squash and sweet potatoes if necessary in a 350 degree oven.) Add glaze back to a large saute pan, and whisk vigorously to re-combine any separation that occurred overnight. Reduce over medium-low heat, about 7 minutes, until the glaze is thickened and syrupy. Add (reheated) vegetables and half of crispy bacon to the pan and toss to coat with glaze. Transfer to a serving dish, top with remaining bacon, and serve. (Make ahead: Can be kept warm in a warming drawer or warm oven for up to an hour; reserve second half of crispy bacon to sprinkle on right before serving.)
Thanksgiving Background Music Recommendation of the Day – in our house, we like a constant stream of mellow background music to enjoy along with our holiday festivities. Here is a week of safe-for-childrens’-ears, no-curse-words-to-creep-out-Grandma, soft tunes to accompany your turkey and mashed potatoes. (And not one of my recommendations will be a washed-up-musician’s rendering of Christmas hits, I promise.)
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Fleet Foxes / White Winter Hymnal
This is about as close to holiday music as you can expect me to get. Look, it’s themed! It talks about winter! It’s easy to imagine snow drifts outside your window when you play this! Think of it as the updated, indie version of Mannheim Steamroller (but with more facial hair).
I swear, November 1st could not come soon enough this year. I decided (waaaaaay back in early October) that I would post my Thanksgiving menu ideas the first week of November. I figured, that’s when people (who aren’t crazy overbearing foodbloggers, that is) would start thinking about what to serve at their Thanksgiving table.
But as it got to be the third week in October, by which I had already done run-throughs of half my dishes, complete with 7 am photoshoot for each, I was just ITCHING to share all of the recipes with you. Because, somehow, I figured you guys would get just as excited about holiday menu planning as I do… although I’m going to assume you’re way less nerdy about it than I am.
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I always try to serve a salad with a big meal, only because 1) it’s healthy and 2) there’s usually someone who wants salad at their meal, whether it’s because they’re on a diet or just because they like salad. It’s also a great meal enhancer because salads are usually pretty low-key, mostly just tossing together a few ingredients. Most times I just round out the meal with a bowl of mixed greens, a few chunks of goat cheese or shavings of parm, and maybe a handful of dried fruit. But this time I thought I would make a salad that really whispered “fall is here.”
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I love a good fall salad, and this is one of the tasty ones. Both radicchio and endive are cold-weather greens, so unless you’re in Hawaii, these should be easy to find at the grocery. The radicchio can be bitter depending on how long it’s in storage; icing it the day before will cut down on the bitterness. Taste your radicchio; if it’s fresh, you might not even need to ice it down at all.
Make sure to pick up the “natural” seasoned rice vinegar, not the “regular style” seasoned rice vinegar (which is filled with mostly high-fructose corn syrup, among other grody preservatives.)
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Braeburn or red-skinned apples, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pound radicchio (about 2 heads)
1 pound endive
Prepare: Prepare the spiced pecans. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and stir 1 minute. Add sugar, Worcestershire, and cayenne; stir until coated. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in a plastic container until ready for salad assembly. (Make ahead: Can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.)
Prepare the salad dressing. Add vinegars, dijon mustard, and olive oil to an empty mason jar. Shake vigorously to combine. (Make ahead: Can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.)
Prepare the radicchio. Fill a deep bowl with ice and cold water. Submerge the radicchio in the ice water, and weigh down with a plate if necessary. Let sit in ice water for an hour. Then remove and let drain on a kitchen towel for 30 minutes. Cut in half and peel leaves off radicchio, leaving each leaf as whole as possible. Add leaves to a Ziploc bag, insert a paper/kitchen towel in the plastic bag (in this manner), and store until you’re ready to assemble the salad. (Make ahead: Can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance.)
Prepare apples and endive. Toss apples in lemon juice and store in plastic bag. Cut root end from endive leaves, and tear leaves apart. Store in plastic bag with a paper towel inserted into the bag. (Make ahead: Can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance.)
Assemble.Add radicchio leaves, endive leaves, and apple slices to the serving bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss lightly to coat. Sprinkle pecans on top of salad and serve.
Thanksgiving Background Music Recommendation of the Day – in our house, we like a constant stream of mellow background music to enjoy along with our holiday festivities. Here is a week of safe-for-childrens’-ears, no-curse-words-to-creep-out-Grandma, soft tunes to accompany your turkey and mashed potatoes. (And not one of my recommendations will be a washed-up-musician’s rendering of Christmas hits, I promise.)
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Neko Case / Middle Cyclone
My love for Neko knows no bounds… she is fierce, as Tyra would say. This is upbeat and soulful folk rock for you to sing along to while you toast pecans.
Guys, I know you’re disappointed, because as you can see, there is no mention of turkey in the title of this post. I know, I know, it’s a crime against the American dream, how could I be so unpatriotic, blah blah blah. We just don’t DO turkey at my house.
Don’t get me wrong, my parents make turkey every year for Thanksgiving, and B’s parents do turkey at theirs. So it’s not as if we’ve never seen a overgrown winged creature on our Thanksgiving table. But when we moved to Denver (and consequently gave up going home for the holiday thanks to exponentially higher airplane tickets) we started our own Thanksgiving tradition. Namely, why on earth would we make an entire 12-pound turkey when there’s only 2 of us to feed? I mean, Brad can put away a surprising amount of food for a lanky white boy (I blame it on growing up fighting over food with 3 older brothers). But given the choice, I’d rather not spend my Thursday night in the hospital after Brad “accidentally” eats 14 pounds of poultry “because it’s just so tasty.”
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So in the interest of both our wallet and Brad’s gastro-intestinal health, we forgo the traditional $70-turkey-to-feed-12, and instead choose to spend these few years of YMC (Young Married Couple) Thanksgivings trying out fancy-pants new holiday dishes. Last year, we had salmon poached in red wine, and the year before that, it was cornish game hens. Back in 2006, our first year here in Denver, we had a totally ghetto Thanskgiving, but that’s another story for another post…
This year it’s steak. This is based on a on a dish that B and I had at a local Denver restaurant called 1515. The original dish was steak over butternut squash puree with a roasted cherry tomato confit. While it was undeniably delicious… it was also late spring here in Denver when we had this dish. When fresh cherry tomatoes are definitely NOT in season. I racked my brain trying to come up with a locally-available substitute if I were to serve this for the Thanksgiving meal. I wanted something that would still have the sweetness to play off the gamey steak, and that would have a soft, but still chewy texture, but it had to be an ingredient available in late fall. I think I found the perfect (locally-grown) complement in caramelized onions.
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This is the most amazing dish. The butternut squash puree is delicious on it’s own (perhaps a side dish if you’re making turkey for the big day?) The steak is tender, chewy, and the perfect savory complement to the butternut squash puree. The caramelized onions are sweet but not overly so, and they burst with flavor when you bite into them, just like the tomato confit did in the original dish. If you’re hosting a YMC Thanksgiving this year, consider this for your entree… or consider this for a secondary entree if you’re cooking for a huge crowd on the Big Day.
And eventually, when we make it home again for Turkey Day, we will go back to turkey… but for now, we enjoy our non-turkey holiday dishes!
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Steak over Butternut Squash Puree with Caramelized Onions
This recipe is easily adaptable to more or less servings – I would budget about 1/2 to 3/4 pound of beef per person (depending on if this is the main dish or a second dish to the turkey) and 1/2 an onion per person. Make the full serving of butternut squash puree because you’ll pretty much want to bathe in it, it’s so delicious.
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Gather:
1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
10 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 sweet yellow onions, sliced into strips
4 pounds top sirloin steak
salt and pepper
baking sheet, cooling rack, cast iron (or oven-safe) frying pan
Prepare: Prepare the squash. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Place the two halves of squash on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with brown sugar, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and crumble the butter over the squash halves. Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes or until the flesh soft, i.e. easily pierced with a knife. Scrape the inside of the squash into the bowl of a food processor/blender, and pulse until the squash is a smooth consistency. (Make ahead: can be prepared up to 2 days in advance; store in the fridge until ready to use, and reheat slowly over medium heat until hot.)
Prepare the caramelized onions. Add 4 of the remaining 8 tablespoons olive oil and the onions to a large saute pan. Toss the onions to coat with oil. Cook the onions over medium-low heat for about 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or more frequently, to prevent the onions from burning to the bottom of the pan. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar if after an hour of cooking, the onions still retain some of their bite. Remove onions from heat when they are dark brown and sweet, approximately 60-90 minutes. (Make ahead: can be prepared up to 2 days in advance; store in the fridge until ready to use, and reheat slowly over medium heat until hot.)
Prepare steak and assemble. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and let the oven sit at 325 for at least 20 minutes before starting the beef (to let the oven get good and hot). Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, and place the seasoned steak on top of the cooking rack. Bake the steak for 10 minutes, or until the steak starts to feel rare, using the finger test.
Meanwhile, while the steak is baking, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the frying pan, and heat over medium-high heat. As soon as the steak is done in the oven, use tongs to transfer the steak to the hot frying pan. Cook about 2 minute on one side of the steak, then flip and cook another 1 minute on the reverse side. Refrain from moving the steak in the pan; you want to get a good sear on the steak. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes, before slicing into 1/4 inch strips against the grain.
Spread the butternut squash puree down the middle of a serving dish, and place slices of beef over the top. Top with a line of hot caramelized onions down the middle of the steak. Serve.
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Thanksgiving Background Music Recommendation of the Day – in our house, we like a constant stream of mellow background music to enjoy along with our holiday festivities. Here is a week of safe-for-childrens’-ears, no-curse-words-to-creep-out-Grandma, soft tunes to accompany your turkey and mashed potatoes. (And not one of my recommendations will be a washed-up-musician’s rendering of Christmas hits, I promise.)
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James Vincent Mcmorrow / Early in the Morning
I’ve mentioned JVM before on the blog, but I really can’t get enough of his folk-ish pop rock. It won’t upset Grandma, I promise… she might even have a crush on him by the end of the night.
Unfortunately, B has just been out of town like CRAZY lately. I’m bored out of my MIND without someone to constantly nag talk to all the time. I’ve practically started talking to my TV, honestly. So after like, the third straight week of him being out of town, and him having to eat horrid restaurant food every night, he came home for the weekend. Last Monday, Brad made a special request for his grand Friday night return meal. B hardly ever makes straight-up requests for a certain dish… so when he asks for something in particular, I try to accommodate. Well, out of all things…
He requested pasta.
And mustard.
Together. (Just in case you missed that part.)
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I know… it’s weird. I mean, we eat a LOT of mustard in our house (we have – let me count – 5 different kinds in our fridge right now? Overkill, I’m sure) but uh, I’ve never made a mustard-based sauce for pasta.
Well, there’s a first time for everything… right? I mean, mustard and pasta are like, our two favorite foods. Surely I could find SOME WAY to meld them in an amicable way. Well, Google came to the rescue — as usual — by leading me to a Food & Wine recipe. Pork and mustard go well together, I know this already. So it seemed like a reasonable conclusion that pork + mustard + carbs = mouthgasms.
Not surprisingly so… this pasta is delicious. It’s full of mustard flavor, so if you’re not such a fan of mustard, then maybe think about scaling back on the mustard by a tablespoon or two. The thyme here isn’t overwhelming, like thyme can sometimes be. Instead it just melds with the crushed red pepper and the mustard and cream to make a delicious tasting and delicious smelling sauce. This is also the perfect quick dish – the second time I prepared it, the entire dish was done in the amount of time it took the water to boil and the pasta to cook, about 20 minutes. You could easily substitute dried thyme in this recipe, just halve the amount of dried thyme.
I’m just saying… I know it sounds weird, but it’s just the dish to ease you into fall or winter… just trust me on this one!
Gather:
1 pound conchiglie pasta (shells), or other bite-size pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound mild italian sausage or ground pork
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
3/4 cup white wine
4 tablespoons coarse grainy mustard
3/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper
Prepare:
Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Season liberally with salt. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large shallow pan over medium heat. Add ground pork and proceed to break up the pork into bite-size pieces as it cooks. Cook for approximately 7 minutes, or until almost done. Clear a space in the pan, and add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to cleared space. Add crushed red pepper flakes and thyme to oil, and let fry for 10 seconds. Add wine to pan, scraping up any burnt bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the mustard and half and half, and toss to combine.
When pasta is al dente (tender to the bite), reserve a cup of pasta cooking water, and strain the rest of the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan, and toss to coat the pasta with sauce. Add a little pasta water, if the sauce seems too thick and gloopy. Transfer to serving dish (if using, I won’t judge if you serve out of the pan, I’ve done it too) and garnish with a few springs of thyme.
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Rilo Kiley / Silver Lining I forgot how much I loved this song until I bought the album the other day… sigh. LOVE.
The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.
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I was so excited to see that the challenge was doughnuts, since I have had a particular recipe from Martha Stewart in mind since before I got married… waaaaaay back in September 2007. I saw this recipe in a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine issue, one of the MANY wedding magazines I acquired in the process of planning the best party of my life our wedding. Her Holiness of All Things Domestic suggested serving these doughnuts as a midnight snack along with coffee. What a cute idea! I thought. Eventually we ended up scrapping the idea of a midnight snack, but these doughnuts earned a permanent spot in the back of my mind from then on.
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I was so enamored of the idea of an espresso glaze for doughnuts, but I had some cocoa in my cabinets and thought that would be an excellent addition. I mean, really… why WOULDN’T you add chocolate to coffee?
I thought these were a great deviation from your standard Krispy Kreme, sugar overload, diabeetus diabetes-on-a-plate fried ring of dough. The dough itself, when fried, doesn’t taste very sweet at all. In fact, if you like a sweeter doughnut, I would suggest adding another few tablespoons sugar to the batter. But with the addition of a dripping coat of chocolatey glaze, these are really sent over the top. They’re not sweet like what you’ll find at your grocery store or at a bakery, but instead, the espresso and cocoa really stands out. They’re rich in flavor, not rich in sugar… it’s almost savory in a way. I mean, to make a long story short, they taste like the delicious bastard child of a mocha latte and a doughnut. They’re just.that.good.
Gather:
1 cup warm milk (about 60 degrees F)
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1 large egg
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, divided
vegetable oil, for frying Chocolate-Espresso Glaze, see recipe below
Prepare:
Whisk together the milk and yeast in the bottom of a stand mixer bowl, and let stand 5 minutes until foamy. Add egg, sugar, bread flour, pastry flour, and salt. Mix on medium speed until dough comes together, about 6 minutes. Add butter and 1 teaspoon espresso powder; mix on medium-high speed until combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Raise speed to high, and mix until dough forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute more.
Reduce speed to low. Add remaining 5 teaspoons espresso powder, and mix until just combined. Shape dough into a smooth ball; cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Using a 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out center of each round. Gather together scraps, reroll, and cut out. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 20 to 25 minutes.
Heat about 3 inches of oil in a heavy stockpot until it registers 360 degrees Fahrenheit on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches of 4 to 6, fry doughnuts, flipping once, until golden brown, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs, transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. (Adjust heat between batches as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature.) Let cool 10 minutes before glazing.
Whisk glaze. Dip each warm doughnut into glaze, turning to coat completely. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with parchment; let glaze set, about 20 minutes. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment until ready to serve (up to 8 hours).
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Chocolate-Espresso Glaze
Gather:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup unsweeted cocoa
1/3 cup brewed espresso, chilled
Prepare:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the sugar and cocoa, then whisk in the brewed espresso. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes or until thickened.
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The Black Keys / Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be
Until I buy 2 more pounds of peppers at next weekend’s farmers market.
Kidding! (Sort of.)
Anyhoodle, in addition to the peach-habenero jam and the homemade sriracha sauce I already made this month, the last thing I wanted to make for this month’s Can Jam was some giardiniera.
In Denver and Boulder, we have this ridiculously delicious sandwich shop called Snarf’s. I know, it’s possibly the most oddly-named sandwich shop ever. I’m not entirely sure why it’s named Snarf’s actually. I assume it’s a word-play on “scarfing” the food? Whatever, because the important thing here is, THEIR SANDWICHES ARE FREAKING TASTY.
I mean, I could wax poetic about the high-quality meats they use, or the toasty bread that acts as the canvas for the sandwich equivalent of the Mona Lisa. But the giardiniera, OH THE GIARDINIERA, I would watch a marathon of Sandra Lee episodes for a jar of their giardiniera. (And you know how much I abhore Sandra Lee.)
Oh, and just in case you’re totally lost here, giardiniera is the Italian word for pickled hot peppers and vegetables. Giardiniera recipes differ depending on preferences, region, etc., but the one from Snarf’s is particularly delectable. B and I both get giardiniera on our sandwiches at Snarf’s (his Italian, my turkey and avocado). Granted, we both end up fanning our open mouths with napkins and gulping water like it’s our job, but it’s just one of those things that you can’t.stop.eating, because it’s so damn delicious.
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So, I Googled and found a recipe for giardiniera over at Married…with Dinner. I compared her list of vegetables with the vegetables listed on the Snarf’s jar, and adjusted accordingly. Snarf’s recipe is very heavy on the hot peppers, so I used about a pound of peppers, in addition to calling for 2 bell peppers. But as I’ve said with the sriracha sauce recipe, you can adjust this recipe to your heat tolerance by changing the amount of hot peppers vs. sweet bell peppers that you use. I used about 8 ounces of hot peppers and 8 ounces of bell peppers to make up the pound of peppers called for. (That is in addition to the 2 bells that is standard in the recipe.)
Serve this on sandwiches, as a side to a meat and cheese plate, or straight out of the jar, depending on your level of hardcore-ness.
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
1/2 pound celery, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 red bell peppers, coursely chopped
1/2 pound cauliflower florets (about a half head), about 3/4 inch large
1/2 pound green pitted olives, coarsely chopped
1 pound mixed chile peppers of your choice, chopped
1 cup pickling salt
2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons pickling spice
1 1/2 cups sugar
In a very large bowl, dissolve the pickling salt in 4 quarts cold water. Add the vegetables to the brine, and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours. Drain the vegetables, rinse in cold water, and drain again.
Bring vinegar, pickling spice, and sugar to boil over high heat. Add vegetables to vinegar mixture and cook for about 10 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Ladle into hot jars. Pack vegetables into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot pickling vinegar to cover vegetables, maintaining 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims. Apply lids and rings. Process for 5 minutes at a rolling boil, shut off burner and leave jars in canner for an additional 5 minutes before removing jars. Check for seals after 24 hours. x
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