Ali's Kitchen: Apples For Rosh Hashanah

All right, you shiksas. This evening is the first night of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Two of the best-known culinary symbols of Rosh Hashanah are apples and honey. (If you didn't already know that, shame on you, and also you must never have read All-of-a-kind Family books in fourth grade.)

Accordingly, a very simple apple tart:

Take your basic pie shell recipe and cut to fit tartlet pans. (Notice how I actually bought some this time.) Blind bake at 375° for about 15 minutes, first brushing all over (not just the edges) with egg white, to create a waterproof layer. This will block out excess moisture from non-traditional pie apples, and keep your crust from being soggy.

Core and halve however many apples you need for however many tarts you're making. (Dough for one 10-inch pie shell makes dough for approximately 6 traditional French tartlet pans, so, 3 apples.) Slice each apple half into 1/4-inch thick slices, and lay each apple half right into a tart, trimming the ends to the apple fits easily. Sprinkle to taste with sugar, cinnamon, and any other spices you enjoy in apples pie. Brush the entire surface (apple and crust edges) with melted, unsalted butter. (I used less than 2 Tb for 6 tartlets.) Bake for just about 20-30 minutes at 400°. They should be golden brown, and the apples should be soft.

Note: These look pretty, right? But they're a little hard to eat without the entire apple halve trying to jump into your mouth in one bite. You can slice the apples both vertically and horizontally before baking and laying in the crusts, to make for easier eating. It'll still be pretty!

Happy New Year. ^_^

Ali's Kitchen: Anniversary Special: Baking

The past several days, I've been big on the baking. On Friday I snagged a Cioppino recipe from Cooking Light and set to making my own bread to go with it. I used a very basic recipe from How to Cook Everything:

3 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

Scant 1 1/2 c. water

The recipe calls for, when making by hand instead of a food processor since some of us do not have room in our kitchens for food processors, mixing half the flour with all the salt and yeast, then stirring in all the water. Add the rest of the flour until completely mixed and just cohesive enough to knead. Knead, using minimal flour for surface and dough, for 20 minutes, until much firmer and more elastic, but still quite sticky. Set in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap for 2-3 hours (or for a longer time, if you're going for sourdough). When the dough has approximately doubled, cut into 3 or 4 sections, roll into balls, and let sit under a towel for about 20 minutes. Flatten each dough ball into a disc, then fold the disc over on itself twice, sealing the seam each time. Roll (again, on a lightly floured surface) into ropes and place, seam side up, on a sturdy piece of cotton (such as a clean tablecloth). Fold part of the cloth over the dough and allow to rise for another 1-2 hours. 30 minutes prior to baking, preheat the oven to 450. Just before baking, slice the tops of the dough several times, and spray the inside of the oven to create steam. Bake for five minutes in the center of the oven, and spray again at 5 minutes to create more steam. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

See that? That's too damn skinny for a baguette. The flavor was good (I added herbs and garlic into the fold-and-roll step), but they were too dense, and very chewy. If you Google this problem, you'll find suggestions from "too much kneading" to "not enough kneading" to "too much extra flour during kneading" to "not enough flour during kneading." So I had no idea what I really did wrong, though I suspect it had something to do with too much extra flour and not enough kneading time. BUT APPARENTLY YOU NEVER KNOW. You know what I noticed when I went to make the bread again tonight (Tuesday)? The How to Cook Everything recipe calls for rapid-rising yeast. I have plain old traditional yeast. That maaaay have had something to do with it. So guess what I did today when baking this same baguette again to go with anniversary lobster? I used the whole packet of yeast (about 1 Tb). Guess what? That worked juuuust fiiiine. They were still a little chewy, and the crust is so crusty it would make a Frenchman wince, so I've clearly still got some figuring to do. But, on the whole, don't these look basically like baguettes?

Since tonight was our second anniversary, I made a special dessert. Whereas last year I did a cake that attempted to recall our wedding cake, this year I've been baking muffins and cupcakes so often that I wanted to do something a little different. Enter Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food and her lemon curd made with pâte sucré tartelettes. They didn't come out particularly prettily, but that's my own fault for not shilling out the bucks for tartelette pans and using muffin tins instead. (Yeah, I really did. lulz.)

The raspberry was my idea, thankyouverymuch. ^_^

Pâte Sucré

from Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Food"

Beat together until creamy:

8 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

Add and mix until completely combined:

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

Add:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose unbleached flour (*I used whole grain pastry flour instead*)

Mix well, stirring and folding, until there are no dry patches. Chill for at least 4 hours, until firm. Roll out between two sheets of floured waxed paper. Roll out to about 1/8 in. thick, popping it into the freezer briefly if it becomes too stick to work with while rolling. Cut out the dough according to the size of tarte, tartelette, etc. I ended up using an old cocktail glass dipped in flour, which was about the right size for muffin tins. Press the dough gently into your baking container, sealing any cracks with extra dough. Trim excess dough at the top by gently pressing with thumb and index finer. Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes before baking. Bake the chilled shells in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until an even light gold in color. Halfway through the baking, remove the tart shells from the oven and lightly pat down any bubbles that may have formed.

Lemon Curd

Wash and dry:

4 lemons

Grate the zest of one of the lemons on the small holes of a grater. Juice the lemons; there should be about 1/2 c. juice.

Beat until just mixed:

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

2 Tb milk

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Stir in the lemon juice and zest and add:

6 Tb butter, cut into small pieces

Cook the mixture in a small nonreactive heavy pan (*I used a Paul Revere stainless steel saucepan - which are relatively light and copper bottomed on the outside. This is apparently a nonreactive pan, which I discovered when I actually made the stuff, because I'm daring like that.*), stirring constantly, over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle.

This is where I deviated: I believe Waters would have you pour the curd into the pre-baked pastry shells and cook at 375 only until the curd is set - before it has thickened completely in the pot. I let it thicken completely then cook to an almost cheesecake-meets-lemon-bar consistency, about 20 minutes. THERE. WERE. SO. GOOD.

Because of my funky tartelette sizes, I ended up with a bit of extra lemon curd, so I poured that into some pretty teacups (which Courtney gave me for my bridal shower), topped with some extra lemon zest, and a couple of blackberries.

However you're enjoying lemon curd, make sure you chill it for at least 2 hours before serving. Paradoxically, you need to take it out of the fridge at least an hour before serving. Now figure *that* one out if you have to cook-then-serve. I made them about 24 hours before eating, and they were fantastic. Definitely great for a celebration!

Le yum yum!

I got to thinking today: "If one cannot afford to go to the tropics in this economy, ought one not at least have a taste of said tropics?"

"Yes," I decided, "one ought."

Hummingbird Cupcakes

with cream cheese frosting

adapted from marthastewart.com recipes

(if I changed something, that ingredient is marked with *)

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Sift together in a medium bowl:

*1 1/2 c. cake flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

Beat together in a large bowl:

*3/4 c. Smart Balance Light butter substitute, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

*1/2 c. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

Add and whisk until fluffy:

1 large egg plus one white or yolk

Combine in a large bowl, then stir into egg mixture:

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 c. unsweetened, drained, crushed pineapple (canned in pineapple juice)

*1/2 c. sliced almonds

Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Divide into cupcake cups, and bake about 26-28 minutes, rotating from the top rack to bottom rack about halfway through.

For the frosting:

All ingredients should be room temperature.

Cream together until well-blended:

*6 oz. reduced fat plain cream cheese

3/4 stick of butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Gradually add:

3/4 lb. confectioner's sugar

Notes on some of the changes:

I used almonds instead of walnuts or pecans because we already had them, and because they pack a little better nutritional punch than pecans do. I'd wager a guess, though, that macadamia nuts would be awesome.

I omitted coconut from the recipe because the only coconut I could find was already sweetened, which would make each one of these cupcakes face-scrunchingly sweet, even if you rinse off the pineapple, cut the sugar content, and use unripe bananas. We still got the coconut kick, though: instead of topping with a pretty pineapple blossom (though I do intend to do that one day, since it's so cute), I sprinkled some coconut on top of the iced cupcakes.

Finally, the reduced fat cream cheese works just. fine. From some recipes I've seen around teh Interwebs, you can probably even use fat free and get away with it with extra time for mixing out the lumps.

Voilà! Tropical tastes even if you're stuck in a moderate climate. Le yum yum!

Ali's Kitchen: Oui, oui, Ratatouille!

You know why ratatouille is the perfect food and wants you to eat it all the time? Look at it:

RATATOUILLE

It has the word "oui" in it. It's a culinary extravaganza of positive reinforcement, and it loves you. Love it back! I adore ratatouille, especially MY way that doesn't involve any stupid bell peppers. Honestly, bell peppers? You have eggplant, zucchini, onions, garlic, and fresh tomatoes... and you want to ruin it with bell peppers? Why would anyone do that?

Anywho, it may be all the Julie & Julia ads I've been seeing around, but I decided that I HAD TO cook ratatouille, and I HAD TO come up with a "new" way to make it. New here meaning "one Ali has not done before, because Ali doesn't feel like looking up the real recipe, and would rather just wing it." Herewith, My New Ratatouille.

Slice into 1/2 inch rounds:

1 eggplant (then halve these rounds into semicircles)

4 large zucchini

2 medium yellow onions

Slice very thinly:

4 large garlic cloves

Dice:

6 medium vine-ripe tomatoes

Set aside:

Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking spray

Herbes de Provence or similar mix*, to taste

Fresh basil, to taste

Sauté the eggplant and zucchini slices in single layers, over medium heat, setting aside when lightly browned on both sides, perhaps 2 minutes per side. Use just enough oil to coat the pan each time. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion and garlic together, stirring often, just until the transluscent, about 3-4 minutes.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking oil and place the sautéed eggplant in gratin-like rows.

Sprinkle with Herbes de Provence. Next, spoon onions and garlic over the eggplant; add more herbs, approximately the same amount, again, varying for your taste. Add zucchini in neat rows, like the eggplant, and follow with a final dash of herbs.

Top everything with the diced tomatoes.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil. You can make the recipe ahead of time to this point.

Heat the oven to 375º F.

Let the casserole cook with aluminum foil covering it for approximately 20 minutes, longer if you've had it in the refrigerator. You're looking to cook until heated through, though the magical thing about ratatouille is that, in my opinion, you can't really overcook it. It's one of those dishes that can sit around and be reheated over and over, and just get better with each serving. Top with fresh basil! If you've made the amounts above, enjoy for days! Le yum yum!

* I use a pre-made Fresh Direct Provence Classic mix, which includes sea salt and black pepper, so I've not added any salt to the recipe. If you're using fresh Herbes de Provence or a mix without salt, add it with the Herbes de Provence, again, to taste.

Ali's Kitchen: Fresh Fig Scones

I love scones. I love them. I love them so much. So very, very much. I love scones.

I love figs. I love fresh figs. Fresh figs are pretty much the epitome of fruit, as far as my tongue is concerned.

I baked some scones. With figs. I love them. I want you to love them too. Love is good, as are scones and figs. Spread the love.

The basic recipe comes from p. 275 of my lovely copy of The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. As per usual, I modified it to make it lower fat, and of course used fresh fruit instead of dried fruit, one of her great basic-scone-dressing-up suggestions. Now, either one or both of those alterations made the dough rather tough to work with. I imagine that, had I been patient and refrigerated the dough before kneading as you do with bread doughs, it would have been a heckuva lot easier to work with. But, they were scones, with figs, so waiting really wasn't in the cards. I'm sure you understand. Don't judge me, monkey*.

Preheat the oven to 400º

Measure and mix together in a large bowl:

- 2 cups unbleached whole-wheat flour (original recipe calls for pastry flour; I didn't have any; scones will simply be heavier)

- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/8 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (original recipe call for 1/4 cup sugar)

- 3/4 cup figs, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Stir in:

- 1 1/3 cups skim milk (original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups cream, which I swear I would have used, but we didn't have any)

Mix until the dough just starts to come together; it will be sticky. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead briefly, just enough to bring the dough completely together. (Remember the basic kneading rule: if it's too sticky, sprinkle on more flour as you go; if it's too dry, sprinkle in some extra milk or water.) Pat it into an 8-inch circle. Brush with:

- 2 tablespoons Smart Balance Lite, melted (original recipe calls for butter)

And sprinkle with:

- 1 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar)

Cut the circle into 8 wedges and place the wedges 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 minutes for my recipe, 17 minutes with the original recipe, or until golden brown. Common sense tells me that the extra moisture in the fresh figs (as opposed to dry additional ingredients) was responsible for the extra time, but I'm really just making that up.

Voilà:

Le yum yum!

* I will send you a scone (some day) if you can name that movie reference.

Ali's Kitchen: French Fries Substitute

Making burgers?  Have a husband* on a diet, yet you yourself refuse to have a burger without something at least approximating a french fry?  I have the solution for you.

Asparagus.

Yes, really.  This idea comes courtesy of Sondra Bernstein, chef/owner of the girl & the fig, the awesome, pared-down, scrumptious restaurant where my mom and I enjoyed Mother's Day dinner while in Sonoma.  I bought the girl & the fig cookbook, and ever since have been terribly impressed with myself for that sage decision.

Sondra suggests roasting asparagus, on a baking sheet, brushed with a little olive oil (I used Pam Olive Oil spray on the pan itself, then again in a light layer over the asparagus) for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  In order to imitate that french fry je ne sais quoi, I sprinkled liberally with salt and garlic powder (because I have a fetish for knocking people out with my breath), but you can sprinkle on pretty much whatever spice you associate with french fries, including, I imagine, Cajun seasoning or Lawry's Seasoning Salt if you're going for that glorious overkill one finds when one bites into an ochre-tinged curly french fry.  I roasted for less than 15 minutes - probably closer to 10 - and instead of a truly tender asparagus, I was rewarded with a crisp, salty, garlicky, green french fry dopplegänger.

Extra points if, when you went to bag the asparagus, you grabbed purple asparagus without thinking, and then, when you went to pay for the asparagus, you realized it actually cost more per pound than your ground burger meat, or anything else in your basket for that matter, but were too** embarrassed to put it back and acted like you totally knew you were spending nine dollars per pound on asparagus when you put it in the produce bag.

* Or whomever

** I just proofed this post and had to correct "Cajun" from "cajon" and a mix-up of "to" and "too."  It may be time to put me down like a horse with a broken leg.  What is going on??

Ali's Kitchen: Consume Some Time-Consuming Peach Pie

If someone tells you to save pie-making time by using a pre-made crust, then he or she is a jerk. What the jerk is not telling you is that there is no way to NOT spend a lot of time on a pie, because cutting up alllll that fruit is going to take you a looong time anyway. So tell the jerk that you've seen through their pathetic attempts to imbue your baking efforts with false hope, and that you'll be making your crust from scratch, thankyouverymuch, following the Alice Walters classic The Art of Simple Food. From pages 174-5:

"Have measured 1/2 cup ice-cold water. Mix together 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour*, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add 12 Tb cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes." Cut/work the butter into the flour until moist, then add most of the water until the mixture becomes, well, dough-like. Divide the dough into two spheres, wrap in plastic, press each into a disk shape, and refrigerate for at least an hour. When it's time to roll, flour your counter or board. Press the disk thinly while still in the plastic, then remove the dough from the wrapping and flour the top side. Roll out until a little thicker than 1/8-inch, which should give you approximately the right size to line a 9-inch pie dish. Refrigerate (on wax paper or parchment paper) again so it's easier to work with. Repeat with the 2nd disk of dough. Pre-baking is optional, I believe, and if you choose to do so Walters recommends 375 degrees for about 15 minutes (lined with parchment or foil, weighted with dry beans or other pie weight), then about 5 minutes without the lining.

* I used whole wheat flour, which worked just fine.

I'm not going to type out all of pages 174-5 because a) that's probably copyright infringement, and b) that's a lot of typing. My suggestion is that you go out and purchase The Art of Simple Food right the heck now, because Walters has simply the clearest, easiest-to-follow instructions of any chef out there. Not only are her step-by-steps easy to figure out, but she also includes all kinds of substitutes and contingencies in her recipes. So there you have your basic crust recipe.

If you're like me, you'd think, "Well, while the dough is refrigerating pre-rolling, I'll cut up the peaches and then I'll have plenty of time to clean up because cutting cling-free peaches won't take very long, especially since I'm not peeling them, since peach skins are awesome." This assumption, unfortunately, is based around trusting your grocery store's produce section to properly label cling-free versus cling-stone peaches. If you find that the produce manager has no idea how to differentiate between the two kinds of peach, you have my full permission to find him or her and present them with a lovely banana cream pie. In his or her face. Just don't get arrested for assault.

For the filling and baking time, I pulled the basic Peach and Other Stone Fruit Pies recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (p. 689-9).

About 2 lbs. peaches, sliced about 1/4 in. thick (I used a little bit more; and if you're not going to peel them, rub off the fuzz with a clean dish towel)

1 Tb lemon juice (I used Key Lime juice which worked just fine)

1/2 c. sugar (I used 1/4 c. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend which was the perfect amount for my not-quite-totally-ripe peaches)

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 Tb cornstarch

Milk or egg whites

Preheat the oven to 450. Toss the sliced peaches in the citrus juice. Mix the sugar, almond extract, nutmeg and cornstarch together and toss the mixture into the peaches. Pour fruit mixture into the pie pan (which now, naturally, has one of your pie shells in it). Cover with the second pie shell. I cut my second pie shell into a little lattice crust. You don't need a fancy-shmancy pastry cutter for this, just a nice, sharp paring knife. Brush the crust with milk or egg whites as needed. (The recipe calls for milk, but I really recommend the egg whites instead - you get that nice brown, glazed glow.) Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 40-50 minutes. (Baking with substitute ingredients, like the Splenda blend, tends to increase cooking time, I've noticed. It's hard to overcook a pie, so don't worry too much. If the crust starts to burn around the edges, cover it with aluminum foil while the center turns golden.)

If you discovered you had some extra dough left over after making your lattice crust, drag out the food coloring, get creative, and make yourself a little peach! (Or apple, if it's an apple pie, or cherry, blueberry, etc.)

Le yum yum!