Basil Treats

I realize it's a bit late in the year for these, since it's now frigid cold outside, but I did still see bags of fresh basil available at the local Co-op. For these two recipes, I used a large bunch of basil purchased at the farmers' market, probably half as big as my head. I've had herb and flower-flavored ice creams in the past, but the more immediate catalyst for my foray into basil desserts was a pair of French macarons I bought from Two Tarts Bakery's booth in the Portland Farmers' market. The first, purchased in early July, was a basil macaroon with fresh strawberry buttercream filling. It was transporting. In September, they still had the basil macaroons, but filled with basil buttercream. Strawberries no longer being readily available, this is the version I tried to re-create.

I started with Tartelette's basic macaron recipe, as published on Bakerella, then adapted for my circumstances (unground almonds) and preferences (basil!).

Basil Macaroons with Basil Buttercream

90 grams aged egg whites (from not-the-freshest eggs, at room temperature)
2 T granulated sugar
110 g blanched slivered almonds
200 g powdered sugar
pinch salt
leaves from 2-3 stems of basil (I used more than this, and they were very very strong)

Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and keep beating until it forms a glossy meringue. The peaks should be fairly stiff, but it should still be shiny and wet-looking.

Process remaining four ingredients in food processor until almonds are finely ground and basil manifests itself as tiny green flecks.

Fold almond mixture into meringue, without being too gentle--you don't want little peaks to stand up when you squeeze the batter from the pastry bag onto the cookie sheet.

Put batter in a large ziploc bag or pastry bag and squeeze 1.5" circles onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Let batter-filled sheets sit at room temperature for an hour before baking at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before peeling off parchment.

Make your favorite buttercream (I'm not entirely happy with mine yet), only make it in the food processor or mini-prep, and add the leaves of a sprig or two of basil.

Basil Ice Cream
adapted from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

2 large eggs (or 3-6 yolks, if you want to save the whites for the macaroons)
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy cream
1 C milk
pinch salt
leaves from half a large bunch (about 6 stems) of basil

Put cream in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Submerge basil, remove pan from heat, and let steep 30 minutes. Strain, pressing leaves to get all the cream, then set aside to cool.

While the basil-cream mixture is steeping, whisk eggs (or yolks) until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and salt and keep whisking until completely blended, light yellow and glossy. Whisk in milk, then transfer mixture to a medium-size saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Whisk into cream, let whole mixture cool (I sometimes speed this part of the process by nestling the bowl in a larger bowl filled with crushed ice), then refrigerate in the coldest part of your refrigerator overnight. The next day, freeze in an ice cream maker. Makes about a quart.

Summer Goodies

Over the last month and a half or so, I've made some yummy stuff--some repeats from before I had this blog, and one new recipe. The first two I made for a book group brunch in mid-June, and the last in two different iterations for birthday parties: strawberry in mid-June for me and my sister-in-law (our birthdays are three days apart), and raspberry at the end of June for my sister The Laundry Queen.

Strawberries in Lavender Syrup with Crème Fraîche and Lemon Sugar, from Bon Appétit, April 2005. I first came across this recipe when the magazine was new, and we were staying with Mavis's sister's in-laws in Los Angeles. I madly typed it and its companion recipes (notably Bacon-Wrapped Eggs with Polenta) into my PDA for future use at a book group brunch. I did serve them for book group in June 2005, making the strawberries the starter with small, freshly-baked scones, and serving carrot cake for dessert. This time I also served the strawberries as the starter, with fresh scones (with jam and devon cream), and for dessert we had:

Butterscotch Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce. Divine. I had this dessert at Nostrana and was transported. Imagine my delight to find the recipe online. One note--whatever you do, don't look at the version published in the LA Times, which also has the nutrition information. Really, just don't look. You don't want to know. My one quibble with the recipe was the amount of cornstarch. It seemed like a lot, and the pudding seized right up when I stirred the tempered cornstarch-egg yolk mixture into the hot saucepan. Maybe I needed to add more hot pudding to the egg yolk bowl before mixing it into the main pot, or maybe it would work with a tad less cornstarch. I'll try the first possibility before making any ingredient adjustments.

Berry Cream Cake (why type it in when someone else has gone to all the trouble?)




I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated, but it has a lot in common with the classic Norwegian birthday cake bløtkake (check out the picture!)--maybe why I like it so much. I made it a few years ago with mixed cane berries (raspberries, marionberries and boysenberries), and I think that was my favorite of the three (7 adults polished off the whole cake with no difficulty). One note--don't stick to the weight of berries recommended in the recipe when you're making it with cane berries. I did for the raspberry version I made for my sister's birthday, and the berry : cake/cream ratio was a bit high (and the cake a bit soggy as a consequence).

Apple Bacon Cheddar Scones

Back in October, Burgerville's seasonal menu items all involved local apples. My far-and-away favorite of these was the Apple Bacon Cheddar Scone. I hope they'll bring them back next year, but in the mean time, I thought I'd try my own. Saturday was my first stab. I made my favorite scone recipe (adapted from Sheila Lukins' All Around the World Cookbook), adding sautéed bacon, caramelized diced apple, and grated cheddar cheese at the end. Next time I'll make it with a slightly smaller proportion of bacon and apples, and cook the apples a little less--they were caramelized enough to be chewy.

Apple Bacon Cheddar Scones
4 oz apple-wood-smoked bacon, sliced thinly, slices halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4" pieces
1 medium baking apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" wide wedges (I used a Pink Lady; Braeburn was my runner-up, and Granny Smith would work in a pinch)
1/4 C sugar
2 C all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
3 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten in liquid measuring cup
milk added to beaten egg to reach just above 1/2-cup line
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I used medium because I had it; I think sharper would be even better!)

Mixed diced apple with 1/4 C sugar (adjusting as necessary depending on tartness of apple). Sauté bacon over medium-low heat until most fat is rendered and it is crisp but not overly browned. Scoop bacon pieces onto a paper-towel-lined plate, and pour bacon grease in pan into a heat-proof container, leaving a small skim of melted fat in the pan. Add sugared apples and cook over medium-low heat until apples have softened, puffed, and started to brown. Scrape apples into bowl and toss with bacon pieces.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put dry ingredients in bowl of food processor and pulse a couple of times to blend. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and pulse until mixture is slightly yellow and no pieces of butter larger than pea-sized remain. Pour 1/2 C of egg-milk mixture over other ingredients (leaving a couple of tablespoons liquid in measuring cup) and pulse until dough is starting to form curds but has not fully come together. Dump contents of food processor into a large bowl, add reserved apple and bacon and grated cheddar (reserving a little cheddar to sprinkle on top of scones), and mix gently with your hands, just until the extras are mostly evenly incorporated and cohesive dough has formed. Do not overwork. Divide dough into equal halves and form each half into a round, flattened disk about 3/4" thick. Use a pastry scraper to cut each round of dough into six wedges. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet (prepared scones can be chilled and held at this point as long as overnight), brush with reserved egg-milk mixture, and sprinkle with reserved cheddar. Bake about 15 minutes, then cool a little before serving.

Happy Halloween!

Growing up, Halloween was one of our favorite holidays. Not only did we get to go trick-or-treating, my parents would make donuts! Well, spudnuts, really, made with mashed potatoes in the dough. These are traditional yeast-raised, deep-fried goodies, with a simple powdered-sugar glaze. Tonight I made a double batch, 7 dozen plus a few using the smaller of my two cutters, and we ended the evening with just five left. Several bags were delivered to friends and neighbors, and adults chaperoning trick-or-treaters also got lucky.

I don't use a deep-fat fryer or a cast-iron dutch oven to fry my donuts. I use the same tool my parents used back in the 1970s: an electric frying pan. Mine is bigger than theirs was, which speeds the process some, but not too much--it's still crucial to let the oil come back up to temperature after every panful. This built-in refractory period means adding another kitchen worker doesn't speed stuff up much, if at all.

Spudnuts
adapted from a recipe submitted to the Salem Fourth Ward cookbook, Garden of Eatin', by Pat Youngberg

2 eggs, beaten slightly
1/2 C cooled mashed potatoes
1/2 C potato water
1 C scalded milk
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
2 t salt
3 T yeast, dissolved in 1/4 C warm water
6 C flour, plus more for kneading and rolling

Glaze:
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 C boiling water

Mix ingredients to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm-ish spot (I use my oven with just the light on) for two hours (don't let it go too much longer--I couldn't get back to mine for nearly an extra hour, and the dough had overflowed the bowl onto the baking stone and floor of the oven!). Knead just a little, adding flour to make the dough less sticky and workable, then roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a donut cutter, and put cut donuts on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper, with just a little space between, saving and rerolling the holes and other dough scraps. Let rise until doubled, just about an hour (again, not longer--those last few donuts pictured above are misshapen because the longer they rise, the stickier they get, and the harder it is to get them off the waxed paper). A half-hour before the first ones will be ready to fry, start heating the oil in your electric frying pan, with the temperature set to halfway between 350 and 375 (this helps ensure that the temperature doesn't drop much below 350; at temperatures below 350, the donuts absorb oil and turn greasy and heavy). Measure powdered sugar in a flat-bottomed bowl, and put measuring cup with water in microwave ready to heat. Arrange cooling racks over waxed paper on table for glazed donuts.

When oil is hot and donuts have risen, start frying them. Gently place dough into oil, taking care not to overfill pan (in my extra-large frying pan, I try not to do more than about 10 at a time). Turn (I use a dinner fork) when bottom side is deep golden to fry on second side. In the mean time, heat water in microwave and whisk into powdered sugar to make a smooth glaze. It should be about the consistency of olive oil. As donuts finish cooking, lift them out of pan, let some oil drip off, then place on brown paper bags or paper towels to soak up grease. When they're all out of the oil, drop one at a time into the bowl of glaze, swirling around and then flipping (I use a bamboo skewer) to get a nice coating. Lift donut with skewer in the center hole and let some glaze drip back into bowl, then place on cooling rack. Check to make sure oil has come back up to temperature while you were glazing, and then repeat until all donuts are fried and glazed.

When you are all done and the oil is cooled down to just warm, strain it (using a coffee filter or a couple of paper towels) back into its original jug and put it in the fridge. It can be used a few more times if you have another frying project within three months (latkes, anyone?), otherwise take it to be recycled into biodiesel (here in Portland you can take it to the Metro transfer station, if you don't have a regular relationship with a biodiesel processor).

Note: Do not eat the dough while cutting out the donuts. Trust me when I say you will be sorry.

Hail, Gourmet!

I had printed off a couple of recipes from Gourmet, based, on recommendations of friends and other food bloggers, and have finally got around to making them. I hope they don't disappear from the web any time soon, but if the links stop working, let me know and I'll type them in.

First up, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Sage & Chestnuts. Based on my experience with adding sweet potatoes to traditionally all potato recipes (as in Orange Mashed Potatoes, Orange Potato Gratin, and Orange Latkes), I had an inkling it would be good. I made it almost exactly as written, except that I didn't roll the dough into tiny balls before rolling down the back of a fork (I didn't care if they weren't that uniform). Plus I didn't shave the chestnuts, because my chestnuts (which I had roasted, peeled, and frozen) didn't shave, but crumbled. Oh well! Anyway, this recipe was fantastically delicious, and snarfed up by all eaters, especially my mother-in-law.


Then I made not just one, but twoPear Butterscotch Pies. For my all-butter pastry, I used my adapted version of the Cook's Illustrated foolproof vodka pie crust. It was really, really good, and not nearly as sweet as the name might make you think. The brown sugar and pear juices combined to bake into a brown, almost custardy, goo. A la mode, this pie was darn-near divine.

The Last Gasp of Summer

We had beautiful summer weather last weekend, so I wanted to take advantage of our bounteous local harvest and have one last patio meal. Pulled pork, buttermilk coleslaw, sautéed zucchini and corn, roasted heirloom tomato tart (this time with chèvre!), and plum cake and Honey-Caramel Peach Pie à la mode for dessert. Corn, zucchini, tomatoes and peaches--can't get much more summer than that!

The tomato tart:

Buttermilk Coleslaw
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Jul/Aug 2002

I doubled the recipe, using a whole small head of lavender cabbage that weighed just under 2 lbs.

1 lb cabbage, shredded fine (quarter, core, then shred in food processor)
Salt
1 medium carrot, shredded (I used my julienne peeler)
1/2 C buttermilk (I was just shy and used a little plain whole-milk yogurt to make up the difference)
2 T mayonnaise
2 T sour cream
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 T)
2 T minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 t cider vinegar
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t dijon mustard
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper

Toss shredded cabbage and 1 t salt, then put in a colander over a bowl. Let stand 1-4 hours until cabbage wilts (it never seemed all that wilty to me, and it didn't express any water). Rinse cabbage under cold running water, then press gently and pat dry with paper towels (don't wring). Put cabbage and carrot in a large bowl.

Stir remaining ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over cabbage and toss to combine. Refrigerate until chilled, then serve.

Sautéed Zucchini & Corn
adapted from recipes in Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country
makes a side dish for 8-10


a bunch of zucchini (like, 8 small--I used 2 large and 1 medium)
3 T unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, minced
4 ears sweet corn, kernels removed with a serrated knife
2-3 T chopped fresh basil
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper

Grate zucchini (I used the food processor). Toss with 1 t salt, and put in a colander over a bowl. Let sit for 30-45 minutes. It will give off a lot of water. Then squeeze out even more water by wrapping zucchini in a triple layer of paper towels and wringing (in two batches if necessary). Toss with olive oil and corn in a large bowl.

Heat butter over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet. When foaming subsides, sauté shallot until just soft. Add zucchini and corn and sauté until tender. Top with basil and salt and pepper and serve.

The pie (my brother said it was the best crust he's had in his whole life!):

Blackberry Pie

So, I made the blueberry pie recipe with blackberries instead. The berries were pretty tart, so I increased the sugar to 1 C. I remembered the egg wash on the crust this time, and the lemon juice (I still left out the lemon zest, which I almost never care for).

YUM. I've never been a pie person (except for pumpkin), but this is almost enough to convert me. In any case, it's something I'll be adding to my seasonal rotation. And other times, too (since I froze enough blackberries for another two pies).

One note to emphasize in the original recipe: they weren't kidding about letting it cool down all the way before slicing it. When first cut while still warm, the filling was pretty loose and ran out into the pie plate. But left over the next day, it sliced neatly with no big oozing.

Pasta with Summer Squash Redux

I made this recipe again, and I remembered to take a picture. Just barely (this is the last of the leftovers).



Too bad the kids are on an anti-zucchini kick.

Rhubarb Cream Cake

No, I haven't been posting much lately, but this one is worth the wait. I first made this cake last week for a church fundraising auction, and it went for $50. Time constraints meant I didn't photograph it, and since someone else bought it I didn't get to taste it, either. Reports from the eaters were favorable enough, however, to warrant making it again. I didn't take pictures of the process, but here is the final product:



Mmmm, let's look a little more closely:



I'll tell you right now, it tasted every bit as good as it looked. And yes, I use the past tense advisedly--our barbecue crowd polished this thing off in a matter of minutes.

This cake was inspired by a recipe from a couple years back in Cook's Illustrated for Strawberry Cream Cake. I've never actually made the cake with strawberries, but I did make it once with mixed berries (raspberries, boysenberries, marionberries) (huge hit, polished off in its entirety by 7 people), and once with peaches. The peach version was tasty, but not nearly so much as the berry version. It struck me that the tart/acidic punch of the berries was a key component in what made it so good. And what fruit is more tart than rhubarb? But I didn't think the original cake would translate directly into a rhubarb version, so some changes would be necessary.

The berry cream cake has exposed whole berries lining the edges of the filling layers, and no frosting on the sides. But rhubarb doesn't lend itself to this treatment, so I decided I would frost the sides of the cake. The frosting for the original cake was whipped cream stabilized with cream cheese, and it is perfectly dreamy. I knew for sure that I wouldn't tinker with that. The cake in the original recipe was a single layer of chiffon, cut into three layers, but I thought a bit softer cake would better complement the strong rhubarb. So I switched it out for two layers of Fluffy Yellow Cake (also from Cook's), each cut into two layers. For the filling, I used two recipes from The Cook's Dessert Bible: stewed rhubarb and pastry cream. Then I mixed them together for a rhubarb pudding filling.

Now, with pudding, cake, and cream, this cake ends up more or less a trifle without the bowl. The filling tends to make the layers slip, so maybe it would be better in a bowl as a trifle. But however you put the elements together, it's delicious.

Make the rhubarb and pastry cream the night before, so they have plenty of time to chill before assembling the cake.

Stewed Rhubarb
adapted from The Dessert Bible

1 lb rhubarb, trimmed, cleaned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 C sugar
2 T honey
2 T lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has released its juices and most of the sugar is dissolved, a couple of hours. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Remove lid and keep simmering, stirring very occasionally, until thick and jammy, 15-20 minutes.

Pastry Cream
adapted from The Dessert Bible

1 pt half and half
6 large egg yolks (reserve whites to make macaroons later!)
1/2 C sugar
3 T flour
1/8 t salt
2 t vanilla

Heat half and half on stovetop or in microwave until just about to simmer. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt, then whisk dry ingredients into the egg yolks in a medium saucepan until smooth and pale yellow. Very slowly add the hot half and half to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

Put pan on stove over low heat and heat until mixture reaches 180 degrees, whisking constantly (no kidding, CONSTANTLY, or you will regret it). Strain into a bowl, stir in vanilla, then put waxed paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding and let cool.

Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake
adapted from Cook's Illustrated, March/April 2008

10 oz (about 2 1/2 C) cake flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 t table salt
1 3/4 C sugar
10 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 C buttermilk, room temperature
3 T vegetable oil
2 t vanilla
6 large egg yolks + 3 large egg whites, room temperature

The eggs are easier to separate when cold, so put three whites in bowl of stand mixer, three whites in container to save for making macaroons later, and six yolks in a four-cup Pyrex measuring cup with the buttermilk. Let sit for a couple of hours to come to room temperature.

Melt butter and let cool slightly (it took 30 seconds plus just a little stirring to melt room temperature butter in my microwave). Preheat oven to 350 and prepare two nine-inch round cake pans (either baking spray, or butter and flour; the original recipe calls for lining the bottoms of the pans with parchment as well, but I had good luck without). Whisk together flour, 1 1/2 C sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk butter, oil and vanilla into measuring cup with buttermilk and egg yolks.

Beat three egg whites with whisk attachment until foamy, then gradually add 1/4 C sugar with mixer running. Scrape sides of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed until mixture just forms stiff peaks (it should still look moist, not dry). Scrape beaten whites into a small bowl, then return mixer bowl to machine.

Dump dry ingredients into mixer bowl. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in buttermilk mixture and blend until just incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix on medium-low speed until smooth, 10-15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer, and use spatula to gently mix in one-third of the egg whites to lighten the mixture. Then gently fold in remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain. Divide batter between pans, drop pans from 2 inches to dislodge big air bubbles, and put pans in the oven on the middle rack. Bake until a toothpick just comes out clean, about 30-32 minutes, rotating pans after 15 minutes. Cool on rack in pans 10 minutes, then take out of pans and cool completely on rack, at least an hour.

Cheesy Whipped Cream
adapted from Cook's Illustrated, May/June 2006

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
1 pt heavy cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt in stand mixer with whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add cream in a steady stream. Stop mixer to thoroughly scrape sides, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture forms stiff peaks.

To assemble the cake, use a serrated knife to cut each cake layer in half horizontally, holding knife steady and rotating cake. Stir together rhubarb and pastry cream. Put one cake layer on serving plate and top with a thick layer of rhubarb pudding (less than one-third of the total; there will be some left over). Repeat with remaining cake layers. Using a straight icing spatula, spread a thin layer of cheesy cream over the sides of the cake. If it's warm in the kitchen, chill the cake for 10 minutes, then apply a thicker layer to the sides. Scrape remaining cream onto the top of the cake and use spatula to spread to edges. Refrigerate whole cake for a couple of hours before serving.

Salmon-Asparagus Salad

I've made something similar to this in the past, but somehow never posted about it. I was in Utah this weekend and needed to do something with a filet of Costco salmon. Here's my solution, which also uses fresh in-season asparagus. In late summer and fall, when asparagus isn't so plentiful, it tastes great with green beans.

Salmon-Asparagus Salad
loosely inspired by The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 filet (approx 2.5 lb) salmon
1 large bunch (2 lb? How big are the packages at Costco?) asparagus, ends snapped off and snapped into two-inch pieces

Spray salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees until just firm and opaque throughout. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Blanch asparagus pieces in boiling water for 30-90 seconds, depending on thickness of spears. Let cool and refrigerate also.

juice of one lemon
twice as much olive oil as lemon juice
1 pkg fresh dill, leaves stripped and minced (about 3-4 T)
3 T capers, minced
2 ribs celery, diced fine
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
1/2 or more English cucumber, cut into quarter-rounds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, dill and capers with some salt and pepper, then stir in remaining ingredients and reserved salmon and asparagus. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Make It Stop, Make It Stop, Make It Stop!

So, if you don't live here in the PRP you might have heard something on the news about how we're having our worst winter weather in forty years. Well, I haven't lived here for all of the last 40 years, but it's certainly the most snow I can remember. We've missed two weeks of church, most of the last week of school before winter break, and the last bit of our Christmas shopping will remain undone. It started just over a week ago on Sunday, December 14 (one day into our thankfully-short stint of furnace-free living; by the time the furnace was repaired Monday at dinnertime it was 45 degrees in the living room). We got all excited, and Newton did some sledding, and we started taking pictures. For the first week, although lots of stuff was canceled, there wasn't really all that much snow accumulation, just cold temperatures that kept any of the 1-2" we had gotten from melting. (Our street, thanks to its status as the neighborhood sledding hill, was burnished to a high sheen.) That changed starting last Saturday, when it snowed ALL DAY, piling up 8 inches of powder. It even drifted a little, unheard of for here. The boys went out in the middle of the day, in the steadily-falling snow, for more play.



And here are our backyard composters (they stand about hip height):


Saturday night late, the snow turned to freezing rain, so the 8" of powder got a 1/4" shell. THEN it kept snowing, and snowing, and snowing. Pretty soon we had about a foot total, and the composters looked like this:


Winter Wonderland? Um, yeah. We've been unable to drive out of our neighborhood since Friday afternoon--basically no streets were plowed. Yesterday we called on friends for help, and one super helper came and picked me up in the afternoon to run errands in his Land Rover. Then we were able to go to a party yesterday evening by having another friend pick us up in his tricked-out jacked-up diesel suburban with gnarly chains. Cindy Lou was the only one dressed up for the party, since she was the only one who was guaranteed not to have to tromp through the snow:


Here are more shots I took today of our street, yard and house. I'll probably have to update tomorrow, since it's now predicted that we'll get another 3-5" starting tonight around midnight. I heard that the streets are now plowed to within a block of our house, so there's a good chance our guests will be able to make it for Christmas Eve dinner (stay tuned! I'm making a bûche de Noël, because I am just that crazy), and maybe even a possibility that someone will be able to pick up my mother-in-law at the airport (assuming her plane can land). Oy.

Thanksgiving Side Dishes

I'd highly recommend both of these. Sorry for the dearth of pictures.

Pan-Roasted Pear Salad with Frisée, Goat Cheese, and Almonds
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Nov/Dec 2007

I doubled this and mixed everything in the bowl (instead of assembling on plates) for ease in serving on a buffet. If I'm making it for a smaller group I'll do it as recommended in the recipe.

3 ripe but firm Bartlett pears, quartered and cored
2 1/2 t sugar
salt and pepper
2 t + 2 T olive oil
4 T balsamic vinegar
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 T)
1/2 medium head green leaf lettuce, washed, dried, and torn into 1-inch pieces
1 head frisée, similarly prepared
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
3/4 C toasted slivered almonds
1/2 C pomegranate seeds (optional)

1. Toss pears, 2 t sugar, 1/4 t salt, and 1/8 t pepper in medium bowl. Heat 2 t oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pears cut-side down in single layer (I nestled them a bit to keep the side flat against the bottom of the pan) and cook until golden brown, 2-4 minutes. Gently tip each pear onto second cut side; continue to cook until second side is light brown, 2-4 minutes longer. Turn off heat, leave skillet on burner, and add 2 T vinegar; gently stir until vinegar thickens and coats pears, about 30 seconds. Transfer pears to large plate and let cool to room temperature. Cut each slice crosswise into 1/2" pieces.

2. Whisk remaining 2 T oil, 2 T vinegar, 1/2 t sugar, and shallot together in large bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, frisée, and cooled pears to bowl; toss and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide among individual plates; top with cheese, nuts, and pomegranate, if using. Serve immediately.

Roast Cauliflower
adapted from "Parisian Home Cooking" by Michael Roberts (courtesy of MWR)

I've now made this three times: once with a large head of white cauliflower, once with a large head of romanesco, and once with three small heads of orange and green cauliflower (2 orange, one green), broken into florets. Unless you really like chewy cauliflower, I'd recommend erring on the side of more steaming/parcooking than less.

1 lb cauliflower
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 T unsalted butter
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly-ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
mustard vinaigrette (optional)

1. If using one large cauliflower, steam for 10-20 minutes or parcook in microwave.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. Combine the oil, butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan over low heat, swirling until just melted.

4. Place the cauliflower in a dutch oven, baste with butter mixture, cover with lid, and roast for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Remove cover and continue to cook until a knife can easily be inserted into the core. Serve hot or at room temperature, with the vinaigrette, if desired.

The Perfect Mustard Vinaigrette
adapted from "Parisian Home Cooking" by Michael Roberts (again courtesy of MWR)

1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
1 shallot, minced
1 T dijon mustard
3 T white wine vinegar
5 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t salt
leaves from 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
freshly-ground black pepper

Whisk together the first four ingredients, then slowly add oil while whisking, then thyme, salt and pepper.

Spudnuts

In my family of origin, spudnuts were a Halloween tradition. Since there's not much not to like about deep-fried and glazed sweet, yeasty dough, I've continued the tradition with my own family (much to my neighbors' delight!).

You could also make these for Hanukkah.

Spudnuts
(adapted from the Salem Fourth Ward cookbook, Garden of Eatin'; recipe submitted by Pat Youngberg)

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C unsalted butter (original recipe calls for Crisco)
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C leftover mashed potatoes
1/2 C potato water
1 C scalded milk
2 t salt
3 T yeast, dissolved in 1/4 C warm water
6 C flour

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Mix all ingredients in stand mixer. Before you add the flour, the mixture may look something like this, with unincorporated bits of butter:


Do not fear. After you've mixed in all the flour, you will have a smooth, albeit sticky, dough.


Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let stand for two hours. It will have about doubled in volume. Turn dough out onto a heavily-floured surface. Knead in just enough flour that the dough doesn't stick to everything (only a few turns), then roll 1/2" thick. If dough springs back too much to easily reach that thickness, do something else for five minutes and come back after it has relaxed a bit. Cut rolled dough with a donut cutter, and arrange on waxed-paper-lined cookie sheets, spaced as shown.


Let rise for 1 hour. I arrange my donut-filled cookie sheets in the oven with its light on. Do not let rise longer than an hour, or the dough will start to stick to the waxed paper. A half-hour before rising period will be over, start heating oil to 375 degrees in a deep-fryer or electric skillet. For my large electric skillet, I used almost a full gallon of canola oil. I suppose it's possible to do this without one of those appliances, but I think managing the oil temperature would be much more of a pain. And maintaining a consistently-hot temperature is the most important factor in turning out perfect (non-greasy) donuts.

Just before starting to fry the donuts, whisk together 1 1/4 lb powdered sugar and 1/2 C + 2 T boiling water in a flat-bottomed bowl (the original recipe calls for 1 lb and 1/2 C, but there's never quite enough glaze to finish the whole batch).

When the oil reaches temperature, add donuts to the pan and fry until golden, flipping mid-way with a fork. Do not fill the pan full, as it will lower the oil temperature too much (for my size pan, I don't put in more than 9 donuts at a time). When they're done, transfer them to paper towels or clean brown bags to absorb excess oil.


Then quickly dip the donuts in the glaze, turning with a fork or skewer. Let as much glaze as possible drip back into the bowl, and place on a rack over a sheet of waxed paper to cool.



With my 3" cutter (with a 1 3/8" center), this recipe makes four dozen plus a couple donuts (I also have a 3 1/2" cutter, and those donuts are just too big).

Don't forget to recycle your used oil! You can use it up to four times before you have to get rid of it, but you have to filter and refrigerate it in between, and you shouldn't keep it longer than a month or so. I made batches on Friday and Saturday and used the same oil, without filtering and refrigerating, because I was making the same thing only a day apart. Now I'm decanting it back into its original bottle to take to Metro's hazardous waste facility, and it will eventually make its way into biodiesel. Yay!

Edited to add: I forgot to say, beware of making this into an assembly-line operation. There was a time when I wished I had a sous-chef for the frying and glazing part of the process, BUT the time it takes to glaze each panful is just about the right amount of time for the oil to get back up to temperature for the next set.

Happy Day of the Dead

We decorated Day of the Dead sugar skulls at Enrichment at church this month, and I finally got around to icing the leftovers. I wrote the names of our dead loved ones (thankfully few--I ran out of names before I ran out of skulls), and kind of went nuts with the intensely-colored icing. Did you know royal icing is still usable even after two+ weeks if it's sealed in a pastry bag?


Making them is not hard--just buy the molds (I ordered my first one online, but I bought the rest for less at a local fair trade import store) and follow the instructions. Then make royal icing (again following the instructions) and use gel food coloring to get bright colors. I had disposable plastic pastry bags, but you could easily use zippered bags and just snip a tiny corner to squeeze the icing out. I put coloring in each bag, the divided the icing, sealed the bag, and kneaded the color in until no streaks remained.


Mavis and I attended a Day of the Dead party. We thought of a few costumes that would have been more Day of the Dead-ish, but at the last minute decided on Zeus (complete with foil-covered cardboard lightning bolt) and Hera. (The fact that Zeus' eyes are closed in the picture was not apparent when I looked at the picture on the camera.)

Boo!

We carved pumpkins this week, for the first time in several years. I'm not even sure Newton would remember having done it before. I bought small pumpkins so there would be less goop to deal with, but that meant small (and harder-to-carve) designs. Newton was excited to use some of the designs from Yes We Carve, so I printed out a couple I thought might fit on our pumpkins. Then of course both boys wanted the same design. Of course! Cindy Lou didn't participate, so we gave her pumpkin a classic jack o'lantern face.

I wish I'd gotten pictures of the process, but Mavis was wrangling Cindy Lou and my hands were covered in pumpkin goo. I wish I wish with all my heart (bonus if you get that reference) I had a picture of the Wizard carefully scooping seeds out of his pumpkin with a soup spoon. He toiled assiduously for a good 20 minutes, and while he didn't remove any of the stringy pulp, he did remove a good share of the seeds from his pumpkin.

Newton helped with transferring the designs from the stencils, and then I did the actual carving. It went LOADS easier (those pumpkin-carving-kit knives are dull dull dull) once I figured out that I should thin the target wall from the inside with a melon baller before carving. Taking it down to 3/4" or so made a world of difference. Even then, the stripes on the Obama-logo Os were beastly hard, and each of the two Obama pumpkins has a goof on it.

I'm a Carny, You're a Carny . . .

My book group met today to discuss one of the strangest books I've ever read: Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. Not geek as in Mavis, geek as in carnival performer who bites off the heads of small animals. The story (written by a Portland author, and partly set in Portland) revolves around a family of homemade carnival freaks. Trust me--it's even weirder than it sounds. The book is beautifully written (it was a finalist for the National Book Award), but not for the faint of heart.

So, for brunch today we had (in part) carnival-inspired fare. The parts that were carnival-inspired and the parts that weren't should be immediately apparent. Once again, in the bustle of getting everything ready and on the table I forgot to take pictures--you book group attendees need to follow Newton's example and remind me!

Peaches topped with Nancy's Honey Whole Milk Yogurt and brown sugar

Gourmet Corn Dogs made with chicken-apple sausage
Creamy Mustard-Dill Sauce
Corn Relish

Mesclun Salad with balsamic vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and chèvre

Umpqua Ice Cream Cones (with either Tin Roof Sundae or Beaver Tracks--an OSU promotional flavor with caramel-filled chocolate footballs and a fudge swirl in peanut butter ice cream)
Kettle Corn drizzled with dark chocolate

We ate on the back patio to enjoy our beautiful weather (seriously, it's been near-perfect lately!), and enjoyed a lively discussion of the book, the presidential race, and the more annoying aspects of Mormon culture. You shoulda been there!

Grilled Steak with Peach Salsa

This was a yummy summer dinner earlier this week. Mavis bought a really fat (1.25-1.5") New York steak at the farmers' market. I dosed it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and grilled it outside on my charcoal behemoth to a nice medium (actually a little less rare than would have been ideal, but still very good and juicy). I served it with the sides you see below, all from the farmers' market: multicolor baby potatoes (the purple ones are insanely bright purple inside), sweet corn on the cob, and mixed brassicas (broccoli, romanesco and cauliflower).


I felt the need for something juicy, sweet and savory to put on the meat, plus I had peaches that needed to be eaten, so I whipped up this peach salsa to put on top (we've since also had it on pork--I think it's a little better with the beef). The flavors are more Italian (parsley, basil, garlic) than Mexican (cilantro, lime), so just imagine that "salsa" is in Italian, not Spanish.

Fruit salsas are amazingly easy to make, and make delicious. You need one or more fruits, one or more alliums (onion family--onion, shallot, scallion, garlic), one or more herbs, optional hot chiles, and acid from some kind of citrus. I usually add just a small drizzle of olive oil to help fix the fleeting flavors of the herbs. Whip it all up in the Cuisinart with a little salt and pepper and you are good to go.

Peach Salsa

1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1 sm-med clove garlic
handful fresh Italian parsley leaves
10-12 basil leaves
a little salt and freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil (not extra-virgin)
juice of one Valencia orange
2 ripe medium peaches, peeled and cut into chunks

Drop shallot pieces and garlic clove one at a time through feed tube while processor is running. Open top of processor and add parsley, basil, salt & pepper, olive oil, and orange juice. Process until finely chopped and fairly well-blended, stopping to scrape sides of work bowl as needed. Add peaches and pulse until blended--I like my salsa to be fairly smooth, but if you like it chunkier just process for a shorter time, or mix diced peaches in by hand.

Nights of Spain

Of a recent Friday night, we had friends for dinner with a Spanish theme. No, I've never been to Spain (though one of my brothers went there on his mission)--I just had some Spanish chorizo in the freezer I wanted to use up. So, paella it would be. We started with a spread of Spanish cheeses, fig-almond paste, bread and crackers, and olives (the olives aren't in this picture, but you can see them in the first picture of the big table--there were medium-sized anchovy-stuffed ones, and little tiny ones).





Then the paella. It's not really that short on ingredients, but when you're making basically a one-dish meal, you get a lot of bang for your food-prep buck. I've never made a traditional recipe (this was my first paella), and I don't know why I'd bother when Cook's Illustrated has already done the paring down, and this one was so tasty!

Paella
adapted from Cook's Illustrated, May/June 2005
serves 6 (for our crowd of 10, I basically 1.5xed this recipe, and it was just right)

1 lb extra-large (21/25) shrimp, peeled and deveined
table salt and ground black pepper
olive oil
8-9 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 red bell pepper, roasted, skinned, and cut into strips (I served these separately because of an allergy among our guests)
8 oz Spanish chorizo, sliced 1/2" thick on the bias
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, chopped, and drained again
2 C Valencia rice
3 C homemade chicken broth
1/3 C dry white wine
1/2 t saffron threads, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 doz mussels, scrubbed and beards snipped
1/2 C frozen peas, thawed
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 (since I was using a cast-iron dutch oven, I put the lid in the preheating oven so a cold lid wouldn't slow down cooking later). Toss shrimp, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t black pepper, 1 T oil, and 1 t garlic in medium bowl; cover and refrigerate. Season chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Heat 2 t oil in large dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown chicken pieces in a single layer (not moving them while they cook), then transfer to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium and add chorizo to pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until quite browned and beginning to render fat, then transfer to bowl with chicken.

3. Adjust fat in pot to equal 2 T and heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.

Stir in tomatoes and cook until mixture begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in rice and cook until well coated. Stir in wine and cook until evaporated/absorbed, then add broth, saffron, bay, and 1/2 t salt. Return chicken and chorizo to pot, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cover pot and transfer to oven; cook until rice absorbs almost all liquid, 15 minutes (or so). Pull out pot and uncover. Scatter shrimp over rice, nest mussels in rice hinged side down, arrange pepper strips in pinwheel pattern, and scatter peas over top. Cover and return to oven, cooking until shrimp are opaque and mussels have opened, 10-12 minutes (mine needed a bit more time on both cooking segments, probably because I was making a larger batch).

4. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes before serving. Toss any unopened mussels, sprinkle with parsley, and serve, passing lemon wedges at the table.

We had Izze sodas to drink: pear, pomegranate and clementine.





After the paella I served a simple salad of mixed greens, aged Spanish Mohan cheese, and grape tomatoes, dressed with EVOO and sherry vinegar. For dessert, fresh strawberry ice cream!