baked goods

Feb

01

#MyBaristaMoment

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Cake & Coffee

I wandered the wide aisles of Smart & Final searching for inspiration on what to bake to go with the fabulous Ambiance coffee I’d chosen. I really love a good French roast and so I’d picked the biggest can of French Roast available on their shelves. I love a strong, dark brew that gets me going in the morning, but I’m also all about flavor and some strong or dark coffees can be bitter. The taste of Ambiance French Roast though is not bitter at all, it’s rich and velvety, almost nutty; smooth on your palate and has that rich zing that we strong coffee lovers crave. So what would compliment it best?

I’d thought to go traditional and make a coffee cake, but when I got to the market, I was overwhelmed by my choices. I bought a ton of stuff for possible recipes and headed home to ponder. Once home, I brewed a pot of the coffee I’d just bought and sat down to sip and think.

Pound cake goes perfectly with coffee

I finally decided on a rich, buttery pound cake. My grandmother Lupe used to make an incredible lemon pound that she served to me slathered in butter and raspberry jam and thinking about it made my mouth water. No one in the family remembered which recipe she used though so I searched the internet. A pound cake is basically this: a pound of eggs, a pound of butter (seriously); a pound of sugar and a pound of flour. It’s not for the faint-hearted or weight watchers. Eventually, I chose to adapt a Martha Stewart classic pound cake.

Start with some really great butter and eggs

Lots of butter

The thing to remember with pound cake recipes is that because you have a LOT of butter in it, you need to make absolutely sure that you cream the butter and sugar properly. If not, you end up with a greasy mess. Take the extra few minutes and really get that butter light and fluffy. Make sure you don’t take shortcuts and just dump it all in. It really does make a difference when you incorporate everything in small bits.

Butter & sugar

No where near whipped enough

I hand-whipped some heavy whipping cream, slowly added a bit of brown sugar (tablespoon) and a teaspoon of Amaretto liquor to top the slices with. Served with the dark French roast coffee, it was perfect. I’d thought about making a fancy coffee drink, but in the end I had it just as I do every morning: simple, strong with a hint of cream. It was perfect.

You need a lot of eggs

Seriously, a lot of eggs

Lightly beaten

There is nothing like the smell of a buttery pound cake

Classic Pound Cake (adapted from Martha Stewart)

• 1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 sticks softened unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 9 large, room-temperature eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs and add to butter/sugar mixture in four increments, making sure each addition is well mixed before adding the next.

Once the eggs are fully incorporated into the mixture, add your flour and salt mixture in 1/2 cup increments, ensuring that it is all mixed in well before adding more flour.

Pour half the batter into another bowl and in one, add 1 tsp. Fresh lemon juice and the rind of that lemon. In the other, mix in three tablespoons sifted cocoa powder and a tablespoon of cinnamon. You can add more cocoa powder if you like. I wanted mine to be light.

Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let cool.

Serve plain, with fresh fruit or as I did with whipped cream and make sure to have it with a lovely cup of strong coffee.

Ambiance French roast coffee with a hint of cream & pound cake

For the cream:

1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. Amaretto
1 tsp. brown sugar (I like just a hint of sugar)

Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and whip it until blended. Slowly pour in the amaretto while whipping. Serve over cake and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon or cocoa powder.

Stiff peaks

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Disclosure: This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jan

29

Elmer’s Glue Science Project – Chemistry in Baking #GluenGlitter

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If anyone in my family is going to do a science project in my family and expect my help with it, it had better involve food. If it’s building stuff – they’d better call on Marissa who managed in one night to help Jasmine build a scale replica (no model kit) of the San Fernando Mission with some cardboard and crushed cookies. She’s talented.

Me, I cook or bake. It’s my therapy and something I love so science and chemistry related to food…that, I can do. When it came time for me to work on a science project – I picked baking.

We started out planning. I discussed the important project with my two grandchildren, Jasmine and Aiden. We had most of the stuff required, so we didn’t need a list – just a beautiful Saturday in L.A. and a ride down to Walmart. From Eagle Rock, the closest Walmart is in Duarte (Store #2401), about twenty minutes away. The day was gorgeous and at first, the freeway was clear sailing but as soon as we hit the 210, traffic.

Neither Anabel (the kids other grandma) nor I had been to Walmart before so we were both overwhelmed by its size. I don’t know about others, but the store in Duarte is HUGE, seriously massive. I almost forgot why we came once I walked in. I didn’t know which way to turn and I could tell Anabel was feeling the same. Thank goodness for my sensible and pragmatic granddaughter who said, “Grammy, Elmers…” Um yeah.

We wandered and easily found the Elmer’s glue and supplies including the Elmer’s tri-fold board I needed for this project. I also picked up some clear glue and of course, glittery pens. I was a little disappointed not to find more Elmer’s project products there, but it was too late in the day and the stores too far spread apart to try and visit another. In any case, we’d easily found what we came for.

With the science project supplies in our cart, we had time to wander and wander we did. Anabel kept repeating, “wow, so cheap” whenever she found something she liked. I made my way over to the cooking stuff and drooled over pots, pans, cutlery and more for the better part of an hour. I fell in love with the Paula Deen line of cookware in robin’s egg blue. Whatever her current health/fan issues are, her line of cooking products is stunning. More and more things found their way into our collective shopping carts. Clothes for the kids found their way in there as well. Jasmine found some super cute little Hello Kitty pants with glitter on them and Aiden, his favorite carpenter jeans.

Robin's egg blue roaster. I'm coming back for this.

 

We left Walmart, tired, happy and with considerably more than what we had went in for. I ended up buying some ricotta and lasagna makings (check out upcoming post for my Lasagna Margherita) as well as sparkling water and a few other goodies. Anabel left with a cart full of stuff too and a plan to come back. My daughter-in-law’s response was “I should never let you two shop together” as she shook her head when we walked in with Anabel’s purchases. Good thing mine were still in the car and she didn’t see what I took home.

*Note: I would have taken photos of the full shopping carts but ran out of batteries halfway through the store. Next time I go to Walmart, I’m taking an extra battery!

Chemistry in Baking Science Project

Use the muffin recipe below as a starting point (Beard, 1972), or pick your favorite muffin recipe and make a “half batch” of 6-8 muffins. Note: The recipe shown below will make 6-8 muffins. You can “halve” your own recipe by dividing the required amount of each ingredient by two. Be sure and note the ingredient amounts you use!

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 to 1 tablespoon sugar (to your taste)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup melted butter

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in the mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and the beaten eggs, the milk, and the melted butter. Stir to a smooth batter. Fill well-buttered (or paper-lined) muffin pans about two-thirds full. Bake at 425°F for 15–20 minutes, or until nicely browned and baked through.

Tip: do your best to start each muffin off with the same amount of batter. You can use a teaspoon to move small amounts of batter between the different cups in a pan to get the muffins equalized. On the other hand, you don’t want spend too much time on this, because the baking powder starts working as soon as it touches liquid.

Remember to use oven mitts when putting the pans in the oven and when taking them out again.
Place the muffin pan on a cooling rack for a few minutes, and then tip the muffins out. Let them cool for a few more minutes before handling (or sampling!) them.

Make one half batch following the recipe above, and then three additional half batches, substituting the following amounts of baking powder:

no baking powder,
1 teaspoon baking powder, and
3 (or even 4) teaspoons baking powder.

Remember to keep track of which batch is which!
Compare the four different half batches of muffins:

Measure the height of each muffin in each batch and compute the average height for each batch. Note: if one muffin is much smaller than all the others, don’t include it when calculating the average height.
If you have a kitchen scale, you should also measure the weight of each muffin.
More advanced students can also calculate the density of each muffin (see the Variations section, below).
Slice some representative muffins from each batch so that you can compare the texture.
Although it is definitely not the case for most chemistry experiments, for this one it’s OK to do a taste test!
Tip: for obvious reasons, it’s important to do the size and weight measurements before the taste test!

We made three versions of the muffins, one with no baking powder which came out flat and dense; the next with the correct amount which came out lovely and a third which had considerably more. While fluffy, it tasted of soap and was “nasty” according to my granddaughter.

We baked them in a marked tin.

I changed up the instructions a bit. We only made three parts of this batter. We used the original recipe and left out the baking powder till the end.

This is our board.

Once the batters were split into three sections, we kept no baking powder in one batch; 1 teaspoon in another; and 4 tablespoons in the last. We used the Tri-fold board from Elmer’s and wrote our conclusions in glitter pen. We also glued the best representations of our project onto the board. We used glue both inside the cupcake paper and outside of it to make sure it stuck. Jasmine decorated the writing (which she thought was too plain and too much like her matter of fact, analytical Grammy) with glitter.

The perfect muffin.

The grandkids and I sure had a lot of fun with this project. It sparked a lot of discussion about the chemistry of cooking and baking while we worked on it. It was relatively easy and fun and I think we’ll be doing a lot more cooking experiments because of it.

No baking powder = hockey puck.

 

The fluffy ones tasted like soap!

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias” all opinions are my own.

For more photos of our shopping trip, visit our Google + page:

Oct

30

Pan de Muertos

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Each October, about this time of the month, I start baking the bread known as pan de muertos. It’s traditional, sweet, delicious with coffee and we only make it at this time. I make several loaves of it from about October 28-November 2nd. Four go with me to the Dia de los muertos ceremony I attend each year in Lincoln Park. I bring other things with me too, to put on my altar and share with the other danzantes, but the pan de muertos is always front and center.

During the ceremony, after the danza we eat and share a meal with friends and family. It is thought that our ancestors (the dead) are visiting and eating with us, so we make their favorite foods. The bread is usually decorated with dough shaped like bones (disfuntos) to represent the departed. Sometimes, you shape a teardrop as well to represent your sorrow. I never add the teardrop. I prefer to remember my dead in happiness, free of the pain that plagued them in their last years.

At our Aztec dance ceremonies, the smells of food mix in with the burning copal resin, the charcoal filled heaters that surround the circle, the scent of the last jacarandas and night-blooming jasmine of the season, and L.A. traffic. The smells rise up in a cloud thanks to the copal and from a distance, you can see the hazy, otherworld quality of it as you hear the drums at least two blocks away. In the circle, the smell is intense and after the hard dancing is over, you wander round snacking on posole, tacos, chicharrones and other dishes people have brought. I wrap myself in a serape and sip at ponche or champurrado and eventually wander back to my altar and sit down with a little pan de muertos and music.

I don’t know where the tradition comes from. Some say our dia de los muertos ceremonies go back to Aztec times honoring Mictlantecuhtli, the spirit of the dead. After the conquest, it got mixed up with Catholic tradition and became intertwined with All Soul’s or Saint’s Day, November 2nd. I like imagine the original pan de muertos was probably something like the modern day candy we call alegrias, made of amaranth and honey, but the Spanish and French brought dairy, yeast, flour and European baking to Mexico, so pan de muertos is rich in eggs, anise and orange flower water; a bread soft, sweet and mildly spicy that melts in your mouth when it is fresh out of the oven. Dipped in coffee or Mexican chocolate, it’s perfection and absolutely sublime. That each taste of it is a prayer in memory for loved ones lost, makes it all the more special.

Pan de Muertos

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 package dry active yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons orange blossom water
zest of two oranges
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar

Dissolve yeast in water, then add one cup of the flour. Stir to make a soft sponge, cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

To the yeast mixture add the remaining flour mixed with salt, sugar and the cooled butter that has been mixed with eggs, anise water, orange blossom water and orange rind. Mix well and turn out on a board floured with the remaining 1/2 cup flour. Dough will be soft, so keep hands floured and knead lightly. Pat into a greased bowl and set in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours to rise.

Shape into a round loaf, saving some of the dough to form the knob and four bone strips.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30-45 minutes. Brush with orange flower glaze then dust with sugar.

Orange Glaze

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons orange-blossom water
2 tablespoons grated orange peel for zest

In a small saucepan over a medium flame add orange juice, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from flame. Set to the side.

If you can’t find orange blossom water, you can substitute fresh orange juice.

If you want a less sweet version, you can make an egg wash and brush the loaf before it goes into the oven with it, then dust with sesame seeds. This is also very traditional.

Oct

11

What To Do with Fresh Pumpkins

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SDC12110

October brings many things and is also a month of memory for me.  My grandmother Lupe for whom this blog is in honor of was born in October so this month always makes me think of her.  It is also the time in Los Angeles, when pumpkins make their way into the markets for Halloween.  More and more I see the heirloom ones, all knobby and in a beautiful array of colors popping up everywhere.  I love the Cinderella pumpkins for all their squished beauty and wish I had had one as a child to dream about turning it into a magic coach to take me to the ball.  The one’s I gravitate most to in the stores though are the big regular Halloween pumpkins.

When I go to the market with the grandkids, they see jack-o-lanterns and I see pies, pasta, ravioli filling, grilled pumpkin in salads, soups, empanadas, muffins, and more.  The season is brutally short though.  I can never find a single pumpkin past Halloween and I wonder where they go.  Solution:  buy them all at once!

As money allows, I tend to buy up as many big pumpkins as I can and fill the freezer.  There are a TON of recipes on the internet for things to do with pumpkin and it just makes sense to me to put up a little money upfront and a lot of work in order to have pumpkin in my pantry and freezer all year round.  Why buy canned when you can preserve your own?  It’s economical and it makes sense, especially if you love to cook.

My favorite thing to do with pumpkin is make empanadas.  The filling is simple and delicious.  I’m sure there are many different ways to do it, but this is mine.

Cinnamon-Steamed Pumpkin for Empanadas

1 large pumpkin
Water
2 cinnamon sticks

In a large stock pot with a steamer basket, add just enough water to come below the steamer basket.  Add the cinnamon sticks and turn on the heat to low.  Add chunks of un-peeled pumpkin to the steamer basket and cover.

Depending on how big your chunks are (I tend to cut the pumpkin into quarters because it’s easier) the steaming can take anywhere from 20 minutes if you have small bits to a few hours with the big pieces.

Keep adding water as it evaporates – that’s important.  You want to keep the cinnamon steam going.

Steam until the pumpkin flesh is translucent and soft.

Once it cools you can just scoop along the rind with a spoon and get all the pulp into a large mixing bowl.


Pumpkin Empanada filling

Not measured, everything is to taste for me with this.

Pumpkin pulp
Sugar – to taste
Cinnamon – to taste
Dash Ginger
Dash Mace

Mash the pumpkin pulp until is is smooth.  Add sugar, powdered cinnamon, ginger and mace to taste.

That’s it!  Simple, delicious and it fills the empanadas nicely.  You want to be sure to strain it though and not get the residual juice into your empanadas or they will be soggy.  I use the juice for liquados or put it into cakes, etc.  It freezes nicely too.

Oct

09

A Pumpkin, Some Figs & Some Apples Walk Into a Bar: A Day of Baking Empanadas

baked goods / desserts / family recipes  Posted by / 2 comments
SDC12153

Well, they didn’t walk in and there was no bar, it was empanadas.  I had about 12 pounds of figs left from the last few days of fig harvest on our tree, bought some apples and a nice sized pumpkin the other day at the market.  As soon as I saw the pumpkins, I knew empanadas were happening.  I didn’t count on there being apple and fig ones too but the pumpkin ones were a no-brainer.  Grandkids were coming for the weekend and there was going to be an empanada bakeathon in my kitchen.

A couple of days ago when I bought the pumpkin it was cold.  In fact, I was wearing my Ugg boots and sweater on that market trip.  Even last night when I cooked down the pumpkin it was a bit chilly.  I couldn’t sleep so for some crazy reason, I hopped up at 1a.m threw the whole basket of figs into a pot with some cinnamon and sugar and turned it down to simmer then finally snuggled in with Jasmine, Aiden and Ozzy and eventually slept.  I woke bright and early and got the kids breakfast, took the dog out and surveyed my figs which had cooked down perfectly while I was in dreamland.  When I went to the fridge to get the butter for the masa, I saw the apples and they ended up on the chopping board.  I’m a little obsessed about baking.  Then it hit me that the sun was blazing and I had an oven pre-heating.  Fun.  Oh well – empanadas were happening.

We baked all day.  Empanada after empanada was rolled, filled, pinched, poked, egg washed and baked.  Jasmine turned out to be quite the expert at rolling and forming them.  I’m so proud of her.  Her little rounds fell off her rolling pin in perfect circles.  She is SUCH a baker!  Aiden on the other hand, hmmm.

Aiden decided to take a mixing bowl, fill it with Maseca (corn masa), cinnamon, sugar, salt, milk, warm water, some butter and some mace.  Then he mixed it all up, asking me every so often to taste; which I did reluctantly.  I deserve the Grandma of the Year Award for that one.  When he’d decided it was perfect, he dipped corn tortilla chips in it, pronounced it his gourmet dipping sauce and asked, “I’m a weely good chef, aren’t I Gwaaaamy?”  I said yes, choked down a few more of those chips with as little of the “dipping sauce” as possible and tried to foist the rest off on my son Phillip who wasn’t having any of it.  Wimp.

By the time Marissa got here to pick up her kids the house was filled with the smell of baking, she had two very exhausted kids (they’ll be asleep before they get home) and a basket full of empanadas to go.  I get the messy kitchen and a sad-eyed dog who’s just lost his litter mates (my grandkids).  Sorry Ozzy, it’s going to be a long, lonely week till they’re back again for Wepa Weekend with Grammy.

Empanada Dough

4 cups of flour
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup of butter
Warm water
Egg wash

Mix the dry ingredients well, then cut in the butter.  Add the eggs and enough warm water to mix the dough into a smooth ball.  I add it about 1/4 cup at a time.  You don’t want to work the dough too much, just enough to get it smooth and elastic.  It seems to vary each time I make it depending on the weather or the flour’s absorbency.  My grandmother did the same, worked the water in bit by bit rather than a set amount.  Kinda like pie dough.

Once you have a nice smooth ball, cover it with a damp cloth.  I tend to prefer flour sack because it’s what my grandmother used and it works really well.  It keeps the dough from drying out and since I usually make tons of empanadas whenever I make them, the dough tends to sit for a long time.  Every time the towel dries I just sprinkle a little more water on it.

Form small balls of dough by pinching off a piece.  I say about the size for tortillas.  Keep those covered under the damp cloth as well.  Roll the each ball out to about a 4-inch diameter.  We like our empanadas big here but you can do them smaller.

Scoop a bit of filling into the center, then brush a little water on the edges of the dough.  Fold over.

Press down with your fingers all around the semi-circle then fold the dough over and pinch. Keep doing that all the way around.  It gives the empanadas a double seal and helps keep the filling in.

Take a fork and poke a few air holes into the center of the empanada, then brush with egg wash and place on a greased baking sheet.  Repeat until your baking sheet is full.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.  I go by smell so I never time them.  You want the empanadas golden brown.

Try to wait at least 20 minutes for them to cool or you’ll burn your tongue on the hot filling.

You can fill empanadas with pumpkin, cherries, pineapple, apples, pretty much anything.  Ours were filled with pumpkin, apples and a fig jam.  Some of them were a combination of fig jam and apple and some plain.

Buen provecho!

Sep

25

Project Food Blog Challenge #2: Two Irish Classics

baked goods / Challenges / main dishes / soup  Posted by / 28 comments

Two Irish Classics

My traditions and culture are solidly Mexican.  I grew up in a Mexican house with Mexican family.  We spoke in Spanish, English and Spanglish.  I still have fond memories of my grandfather saying, “Andale, walkale” which was a funny way of saying hurry up and walk whenever we were going somewhere.  The sounds of boleros and oldies were the music of my growing up and the smells in the kitchen were spicy and sweet.  There is another side of me though – the Irish side.  I am half Irish.  The Mexican is so steeped in me that I rarely give it a thought unless I am cursing my freckles or lighter than the average Mexican skin as it blisters in the hot Los Angeles sun.  I remember I am half Irish when I think of my red-headed, freckled and blue eyed father but I certainly never remember it when I am cooking.

Irish food?  Um..yeah.  My Latina palate requires spices sharp and pungent, my nose needs the scents of chocolate, cinnamon, chiles roasting on a comal, a kitchen redolent with color, sensation, aroma.  Irish food?  Bland, boring, colorless…or so I thought.

When I read this challenge, to create a dish from another culture out of my comfort zone the first thought was oooh Indian!  That thought quickly went out the window as I mentally flipped through countries.  Problem was the most exotic was NOT out of my comfort zone.  There was color, spice, and adventure – all the things I most equate with the food I am most comfortable cooking.  Then it hit me.  Why not use this challenge not only as a chance to push the envelope and challenge myself but also to learn about myself, that other side of the family tree?  Explore my buried roots through the medium of food?

Once decided it felt right.  All I had to do was choose the food.  Beef and Guiness pie?  No. Stew?  Overdone.  Crusty roast lamb (Uaineoil faoi chrusta)?  Colcannon?  Brambrak? No, no, no.  It was getting late.  I was getting frazzled.  Then it hit me just as the idea to cook Irish did.  You want a challenge, girl?  Go simple, uber simple and traditional.  After all, this blog is about traditions, just not Irish ones.  Yet.

Brotchan Foltchep (Leek and Oatmeal Soup) is a creamy, delicious surprise

I settled on an ancient recipe for Brotchan Foltchep (Leek and Oatmeal Soup) with Brown Bread also known as cake.  It was a challenge in many ways.  First of all oatmeal for soup?  Are you kidding me?  That’s for breakfast!  No meat in it?   And, and, and OATMEAL?  Wthout raisins and cinnamon and cream?  Well. there is cream, but it’s not the same.  Then there was the bread.  Oh.  My.  God.  Seriously?  Two tablespoons of butter in about 6 cups of flour?  No eggs.  Stone ground wheat flour.  I was dubious and kept thinking to myself, “this is going to be awful dry.”  I was so tempted to sneak in yeast, sugar, more butter, eggs anything to make that pile of sticky dough a little more like bread.  I swear I slapped my own hand at least three times to keep from trying to “fix it.”  I ended up needing a full cup more buttermilk than the original recipe asked for and it was still very dry.  Another 1/4 cup or so got it feeling right about how the recipe said it should feel.

To get in the spirit of things, I turned on some music.  Believe it or not, I’m a big fan of The Saw Doctors and Juliet Turner.  Turner’s Belfast Central is one of my favorites.  She’s Northern Irish, not where my family is from but her voice is lovely and it helped soothe me.  The Saw Doctors got me dancing and not worrying so much about the brick I was sure my bread would turn out to be.  Being used to kneading dough, it was hard for me to do as little as possible with the Irish bread.  The trick with that is to keep from letting the glutens form so you want to knead as little as possible or it will be tough according to my research.

I had been lucky enough to have had some left over vegetable stock I’d made the other day in the fridge so I didn’t have to make that and it saved me some time which was a relief since I’d left it to the last minute.  As I got into making the soup, it started to make sense to me.  The oatmeal was almost like a roux as it was cooked in butter almost masquerading as flour.  The end result was a hearty, healthy and surprisingly tasty soup with a bit of bright color.  It wasn’t a bit bland!  The brown bread, which was rustic yet light and spread thickly with good Irish butter was a perfect accompaniment.

Leeks simmering in oatmeal broth

I think I like this Irish side and intend to explore it further.  I still want to make that carrot pudding, that Apple and Bramble cake with Bushmills custard and the crusty roast lamb.  I may find more surprises along my way and I think I will learn more about myself, that other I hardly know as I wend my rambling way through Southern Ireland via the route of food.

Brown bread with Irish butter

Brotchan Foltchep (Leek and Oatmeal Soup)  – recipe adapted from http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2kitch/rSoups.html

3 Leeks
1//4 cup of butter
1 cup of Irish oatmeal
2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of mace
Chopped parsley
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Wash the leeks thoroughly and chop into chunks. (Save one chunk and slice into rings as a garnish, if liked: put these aside until the soup is done.)
Melt the butter gently in a saucepan, not allowing it to brown. Add the oatmeal and fry it in the butter, stirring until golden brown. Still stirring, pour in the stock and milk.
Add the chopped leeks, salt, pepper and mace. Bring to a boil; then lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the broth is thick. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, and then either liquidize the soup in a blender or with a “stick mixer”, or push it through a sieve.
Reheat gently without allowing it to boil again. Stir in parsley: serve and garnish with a swirl of cream and / or the previously sliced bits of leek (or stir the cream in when the parsley is added).

Brown Bread recipe adapted from Irish Abroad

4 cups of stone ground wheat flour
2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups of buttermilk
2 tablespoons of butter
Mix the wheat flour throughly with the white flour. Rub the butter into the flours. Add the salt, and soda.
Make a well in the center and gradually mix in the liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon. You may need less, or more liquid – it depends on the absorbent quality of the flour. the dough should be soft but managable. Knead the dough into a ball in the mixing bowl with your floured hands. Put in on a lightly floured baking sheet and with the palm of your hand flatten out in a circle 1 1/2 inches thick. With a knife dipped in flour, make a cross through the center of the bread so that it will easily break into quarters when it is baked.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake a further 15 minutes. If the crust seems too hard, wrap the baked bread in a damp tea cloth. Leave the loaf standing upright until it is cool.

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in Challenge #1.  I’m honored and appreciate it so much.  Voting for Challenge #2 opens on Monday.

Sep

07

Fig and Custard Tart

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I have the little fig tree that could growing in our backyard.  This place we moved into had been left in disrepair and the yard was buried under 6 foot tall weeds and dry brush.  My son Phillip and my roommate David took turns with the weed whacker and one day, we found a fig tree.  It was small, literally buried under weeds, bone dry and yet it was brimming with little green figs.  My heart stopped.  I LOVE figs.

Growing up, whenever we’d go to my Tia Luz’ house she’d have peaches and figs fresh from her trees and they were always so delicious.  Like eating warm candy when you picked them from the tree.  She’d always send my grandmother over baskets full of delicious black mission figs and whenever they’d show up, I’d be jumping up and down dying to get one into my mouth.

We weeded around the little tree, watered it faithfully and it astounded us with it’s bounty.  At first, it was giving about a pound a day which disappeared as soon as we’d pick them.  The following week it was giving about two pounds a day and I made jam.  Just the other day, I went out and picked at least ten pounds.  I sent five of those pounds to a friend in Chicago and we’re still brimming with figs.  More jam is planned.  I want to try a fig marmalade with lemon rind.  The grandkids were here and I felt like making pastry, so I thought, “why not a tart?”

My recipes called for custard with the tart but I wanted something lighter and then I found a Greek-based custard recipe here with one of my fellow Foodbuzz Featured Publishers.  It was almost what I wanted, but of course I changed it.  I can’t help myself.  Can never leave a recipe alone.

I used Julia Child’s perfect pie crust recipe because it’s my favorite flaky pie dough and is uber simple.  I didn’t use honey for the custard, I used a syrupy balsamic with agua de azahares (orange flower water) and tangerine zest.  I loved the tart but the next time I make it, I’ll slice the figs thinner like I would for a French Apple Tart.  I halved these and while it was good and everyone loved it, it was a little much.

Custard (adapted from Gastronomer’s Guide)

2 pounds ripe black Mission Figs, sliced
16 ounces of plain Greek yogurt
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons balsamic cream plus more to drizzle on figs
Zest of two tangerines or oranges
1 tsp. Orange flower water

Mix together the yogurt, eggs and 1/4 cup of the sugar till well blended.  Add the balsamic creme, tangerine zest and orange flower water and mix.  If the mixture seems runny, don’t worry it will set just fine.

Pour the mixture into a pre-baked tart shell – I used a large oval baking dish so if you are using a smaller one you will have enough batter for two possibly.  Arrange the sliced figs all over the custard, slightly layering them.  Drizzle more balsamic cream over the figs and sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the custard is set and the crust and figs are well browned.

Allow tart to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving to give the custard time to set firmly and the juices from the figs to soak in.  Serve warm.

Apr

10

Empanadas de manzana

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When I was a little girl growing up and hanging out in my Grandma Lupe’s kitchen, I always looked forward to the weather cooling off because then it would be time for her wonderful empanadas. There was nothing better than being in that small but homey kitchen at the old red table half covered with wooden boards dusted with flour, neat little balls of masa (dough), the bowls of chopped apples dredged in cinnamon and sugar, the freshly cooked mashed pumpkin or banana squash and other fruits ready in preparation for those empanadas.

Like my Papa Chava, my favorites were the apple ones and I remember hardly being able to wait till they got out of the oven. I almost always scalded my tongue biting into a too hot apple empanada, the hot sticky juice dripping down my chin. I didn’t care how burnt my tongue got, they were that good. The smell was intoxicating too. Who doesn’t love the smell of baking apples and cinnamon?

The masa or dough was an awful lot like tortilla dough, but instead of lard Grandma used butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and I can’t remember but I think she added a bit of sugar to the dough and when I make them for my grandkids, I add in a bit to give the dough a little sweetness. Grandma Lupe would make a huge amount of the dough and then pinch of little balls of it and cover them with her flour sack dishtowels to keep the dough from drying.

My very important job as a little girl was to scoop pumpkin or apples carefully into the center of the rolled out circle of dough, brush on a little egg wash along the edges and then pinch over the edges into a neat little pattern, making sure it was tightly closed all along the edge. My Aunt Jessie and Papa helped too and we worked quickly, filling a variety of cookie sheets with lots and lots of ready to go into the oven empanadas. A brush of egg wash went over the top of each empanada, then they were poked three times with a fork. I loved doing that.

Soon enough the house would begin to smell of baked dough, apples and cinnamon, the sweet gingery scent of pumpkin, and whatever other fruits we were making empanadas from. Sometimes we did cherry, pineapple, guayaba, or peaches. It depended on what we had in the house or what we felt like experimenting with. I’ve made them from membrillo (quince), guayaba and cheese, raspberries, strawberries, etc and I love them all. I remember days standing out in the cold waiting for the school bus eating a hot empanada wrapped in a napkin and feeling like I couldn’t have a better breakfast.

To this day, my favorites are the apple empanadas and each time I bite into a too hot empanada and scald my tongue, I remember those chilly days in my grandmother’s kitchen and how happy they made my grandfather, who loved to dip them in his cup of coffee. No matter what kind we made, we always had to include apple for him. My grandmother never once failed to consider how much he loved apples. The memories I have of empanadas make me both grateful to have had that childhood of wonder in my grandmother’s kitchen and wistful as I wish she and my grandfather were still here.

I don’t make as many empanadas these days since my kids are grown and gone and I’m trying to be better about giving the grandkids too many baked goodies. These days I’m trying to give them more fresh fruit and cut up veggies but occasionally sneak in a yummy thing like empanadas.

Grandma Lupe’s Empanadas de manzana
For the filling:
12 baking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 tbsps sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Mix together the apples, ginger, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

For the masa:

6 cups flour
1/2 c butter
1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
Hot water
Pinch salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.

Sift the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon together until well blended. Add the eggs and cut in the butter then add the hot water, little by little (i do it in sprinkles) till a soft, but not sticky dough forms into a smooth ball. Pinch off small balls (about 3 inches in diameter) and let rest on a floured board covered.

Roll out a ball into a 1/4 inch thick circle and scoop in the apples making sure that when you fold it over, the apples don’t go out to the edge. Brush the edge with an egg wash, using a pastry brush then gently fold over and seal the edges by pinching them closed. Add holes to the center to allow the steam to escape, then place onto a greased cookie sheet. When the cookie sheet is full, brush each empanada with the egg wash and then bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Apr

07

Apple & Apricot Bread Pudding

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It’s a little chilly in the apartment this evening and my roommate Marianella and I were chatting about what to do with all the delicious Fuji apples we have in the fridge. She began telling me about her life in Norway and how her then husband Thor (such a cool name) used to make a wonderful bread pudding of sliced bread, eggs, milk and apples so I decided to riff on that and come up with my own version. Not only would we get a dessert but the apartment would warm up with the use of the oven.

I whipped together some eggs, evaporated milk, cinnamon and nutmeg in a kind of French Toast custard and set that aside. I peeled, cored and sliced apples then dredged them in cinnamon and dotted the mixture with bits of good butter. I then pulled out a big loaf of sliced wheat bread that I wasn’t thrilled about eating along with a container of dried apricots I had bought the other day at the little Armenian store on Broadway, turned on the oven and checked out my pile of stuff then I began to assemble it. At first, I wasn’t completely thrilled with this recipe and changed it a few times before I got it right.

Apple & Dried Apricot Bread Pudding

6-8 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups dried apricots, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup sugar
Sliced wheat bread (preferably stale), cubed
Butter
2 cans evaporated milk
6 eggs
2 tbsps, cinnamon plus more to mix in with the apples
1 dash nutmeg

Mix apples with cinnamon to taste and dot with butter. Pour into a pan and sautee until caramelized. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl mix together the milk, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. Mix the cubed bread into the egg mixture until it is all coated. Let sit for about five to ten minutes then fold in the caramelized apples, chopped dried apricots and raisins into the bread.
Butter a large and deep baking dish and scoop in the bread mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour, removing the foil the last ten minutes to brown. The pudding should be crispy on top and creamy inside.

Serve hot with a dollop of freshly whipped cream on top. I don’t sweeten the cream, just add a dash of nutmeg and vanilla as I whisk it.

Sep

03

Call Me Crazy – Cream Puff Crazy

baked goods / Challenges / desserts / drinks / main dishes  Posted by / 1 comments

creampuffs

So there was this chocolate sauce just sitting in my fridge, left over from the eclairs.  The chocolate glaze was in there too.  Seriously, they were calling me, begging not to be left in there on their own.  Several times, i walked over and thought maybe I should make more eclairs.  Maybe creampuffs.  No, it’s too hot. Then today it got to be too much.  I finished the chapter in the book I was reading and headed for the kitchen .  I sat at the table with the recipe and my cup of coffee and decided to go for it.

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The chocolate glaze had hardened so I set it in simmering water.  I decided to do the same lavender-orange pastry cream since it turned out so delicious and decided at the last moment to pour a little lavender into the chocolate glaze.  I love lavender chocolate.

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The pâte à choux was easier to do work with this time.  I’m not sure why but it was.  In fact, the whole thing was so simple, I am worried for my hips.  I could easily make these all the time.

I piped big fat circles onto parchment paper covered baking sheets and set them to bake.  I know!  Baking again in August.  Crazy I tell you.  Estoy pero bien loca.  That means I’m pretty crazy in Spanish.

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The circles puffed beautifully, everything went like clockwork.  I decided to scoop the remaining chocolate sauce on the bottom of each cream puff, then load it with the cream and top with glaze.  They were delicious, rich and sinfully decadent.

I think I’m going to live to regret having these in my repertoire…you see my dilemna.

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