Meini, Italian Semolina Honey Buns

I eat a lot of inspiring things...especially lately.  I'm deep in the process of assisting my dear friend Ashley write her first cookbook (of what I am SURE will be many) .  I help her in a number of ways, but the best one is cooking her food.  Every Tuesday or so, we spend the day working on the cookbook.  I cook from her recipes and she styles and photographs the food.  This food is inspiring.  It is delicious.  I LOVE THIS JOB.  But as you might imagine, I can't share these recipes with you.  You're going to have to buy the book.  You are really really going to want to buy the book.

So what I'm telling you is, I haven't been cooking many recipes that aren't for the cookbook, you know, recipes I can actually share.  But, on Sunday night, I wanted to bake something.  I get that itch a lot.  I got out a cookbook my Aunt had given me a while ago (thank you Aunt Ruth - its a gem!).  It's a book on Italian baking by the original head baker at Il Fornaio.  Zack and I started looking through it and it was so inspiring.  I was excited to try the breads and intrigued by a few strange cookies.  This thing called a Meini really jumped out.  It's called a bun in the recipe, but is really more of a cookie in its method, though its less sweet.  The ingredients are most likely in your pantry, with the exception of semolina, but you could use regular corn meal no problem.  Just whirl it around in your food processor for a couple minutes to grind it more finely.

The process was a little odd, so I've modified it slightly for you.  I baked these buns and took a warm bite, not expecting too much.  WHAM.  A wonderful cake like texture, a rich buttery, cornbread flavor licked with lots of floral honey.  It really surprised and delighted.  I couldn't wait for Zack to try it.  "wow" he says.  Then I needed Zack to bring some over to Ashley (who lives blocks away) so she could try it.  A text comes 10 minutes later.  "What?!!  These are magic." it says.  "Wouldn't they be an amazing base for a raspberry shortcake?" says the next.  "Genius!" I say!  Anyway, you get the point.  This is a very tasty and versatile bun.  It is sweet enough to be a part of a dessert;  not sweet enough to truly be a cookie (IMHO), so enjoy it with your morning coffee and call it breakfast, and savory enough to enjoy with a soup or salad.  Overall a special find.  And, as with any baked good, best about 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven.

MEINI, ITALIAN SEMOLINA HONEY BUNS
adapted from The Il Fornaio Baking Book
Makes 12 2.5" round buns

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semolina flour
1 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3-4 tablespoons honey - your best one
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons whole milk (or 4 of you don't use the amaretto)
1 tablespoon amaretto (optional but gooooood)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the tops
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar, in a sieve

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, semolina and salt into a bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your Kitchenaid or a large bowl and electric beaters, cream together the butter, sugar and honey on medium speed until fluffy, light and pale in color, scraping down sides a couple of times.  This takes 5 minutes.  Continue to beat and add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Reduce speed to low, add half of the flour mixture and beat until the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  Beat in the cream, milk, amaretto and vanilla.  Continue to mix on low speed, add the remaining flour mixture and beat until a soft dough forms, about 2 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  The dough will be sticky but try not to incorporate too muck flour as you shape the buns.  Form the dough into a circle and then cut it into 12 equal wedges.  Dust your hands lightly with flour and roll each wedge between your palms into a round golfball-sized sphere.  Place this on the baking sheet and flatten slightly into a disk about 3/4 inch thick.

Lightly brush the top of each disk lightly with water and then sprinkle with sugar.  Once all the disks are brushed and sugared, sieve the powdered sugar over the tops.

Bake the buns in the preheated oven until the tops begin to crack and the rim of each bun is light golden brown, 14-16 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely on baking sheet.  Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes

This past week was pretty priceless.  I got to fly to Hawaii to meet my new nephew.  His name is Liam, and he is so beautiful and whole and precious, what a blessing!  Every baby is.  He was born to my youngest brother Andrew and his wife Melissa.  He is a Navy coreman stationed with the Marines on an enormous base near Kailua, Oahu.  He married such a freaking spectacular woman in Melissa, adding another amazing sister-in-law to our family.  For three days, my Mom and I cooked for them.  We did a few other things, but didn't even go to the beach!  It was cuddle time and cooking time and it was everything I could have hoped.  For the last night of the short trip, I wanted to cook a special celebration dinner and I went all out.  I asked Melissa to choose the dessert - she has a sweet tooth that rivals even mine.  She requested something I made around this time last year, for a classic St. Patricks Day feast Zack and I threw - sticky toffee pudding.  Near as I can tell, a pudding is a catch all term people in the United Kingdom use for a dessert. This is a cake made with dates, and a wonderful deep dark toffee sauce.  It absolutely must be served with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whip cream.  It is stupid good.  and just in time for St. Paddy's day!  Make it friends!

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING CAKE
adapted from David Liebovitz
4-8 individual or 1 large pudding cake

For the toffee sauce
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar or muscavado if you can find it
1/4 cup molasses (use only 2.5 tablespoons if you use muscavado sugar)
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon whisky or bourbon
generous pinch of salt (and more to taste)

For the date cake
6 ounces pitted dates,  chopped
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F and butter an 8 1/2-inch (24cm) porcelain soufflé dish (or similar-sized baking dish.).  You can also make these individual as I prefer to do.  4 8oz ramekins (as I did), 6 6oz ramekins or 8 4oz ramekins. 

To make the toffee sauce:  Make the toffee sauce by bringing the cream, dark brown sugar,  molasses and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring often to melt the sugar.  Lower heat and simmer, stirring constantly for about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture is thick and well coats the spoon. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter and bourbon.   NOTE:  If the sauce separates, you can fix it by whisking in another couple tablespoons of cream.  Pour half the sauce into the prepared soufflé dish or divide between ramekins and place in the freezer, and reserve the other half of the toffee for serving.

To make the cake:  In a medium saucepan, heat the dates and water.  Once the water begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.  Set aside for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, at least 4 minutes.  Gradually beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. (Don’t be alarmed if the mixture looks a bit curdled.)

Stir in half of the flour mixture, then the date mixture, then add the remaining flour mixture until just mixed. Don’t overbeat the batter.

Remove your chosen baking dish/s from the freezer and divide the batter in between.
Baking times:  You are baking until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached.
ONE  8 1/2 inch dish: 45-50 minutes
FOUR 8oz ramekins: 35-40 minutes
SIX 6oz ramekins: 30-35 minutes
EIGHT 4oz ramekin: 25-30 minutes

Remove the cakes from the oven, and let cool slightly before serving but they are best served warm!

ENTERTAINING NOTE:  I prepped all the components of this cake before dinner and actually made it after.  I love doing this.  It gives time for guests to relax and digest before dessert and builds anticipation.  Draws that whole wonderful experience out!  To make the pudding in advance, bake the cake without the toffee in the bottom. Let cool, then cover until close to serving time. Poke the cake about fifteen times with a chopstick. Distribute half of the sauce over the top, as shown in the photo, cover with foil, then re-warm in a 300F  oven, for 30 minutes.

Serving: Top with ice cream, lightly sweetened whip cream and additional warm toffee sauce.

Chocolate Bourbon Toffee Cookies

One of the most universal pleasures of life is savoring food.  It is never most fully appreciated alone, but within relationship it is a powerful force.  In the past couple weeks, I've had many menu decisions to make, but one that is very dear to me involves Zack.  I don't take these choices lightly, because I believe they really matter.  Every six weeks he leaves his home office in Ballard to spend the week working with his company of coworkers near Carlsbad, California.  These are great people and this is a blessed job.  It matters a lot to me to send him with treats that are special.  Treats that show these people he rarely sees how much we appreciate them.  Baking and cooking is not an routine endeavor.  It is my love language,  and as a result, one of OUR love languages as a couple.  For Zack's one year anniversary with the company they sent us treats.  One of the items was chocolate covered, almond crusted toffee squares (Zack loves toffee).  I decided to re-commission them into cookie stuffings and this is the recipe I came up with.  It's a Zulie original.  The response from his coworkers this week has been strong, so I knew I needed to write up a recipe to share.

CHOCOLATE BOURBON TOFFEE COOKIES
Makes 16-24 cookies, depending on size

Note:  I used milk chocolate and almond covered toffee from Shari's Berries, but I realize I wont often have that lying around.  Skor bars would be the most readily available substitution, though many companies make a chocolate covered toffee, so just use what you like and/or the best you can find.  Almond Roca would work awesome too!

For the Cookie dough
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
about 5 oz chocolate covered toffee candy (such as Skor bars or almond roca), chopped
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or almonds (or not, if your toffee candy already has a nutty crust)
Maldon Smoked Salt flakes or other smoked salt

For the ganache swirl
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 oz good semi-sweet or dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

To make the ganache swirl:  In a pourable glass measuring cup, heat the cream for 20 seconds in the microwave till very hot, and add the chocolate.  Let it sit on the counter for a minute allowing the chocolate to melt.  Now whisk it together and add the espresso powder and salt.  Let stand at room temperature.

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for 5 minutes at least.  It should be light and fluffy.   Add egg and mix thoroughly, then add vanilla and bourbon and mix another 15 seconds or so.   Slowly add the flour mixture till just mixed in.  Now, turn off the mixer and dump in your toffee and nuts.  Pick up your ganache cup and get ready to pour.  Turn the mixer on its lowest setting and stream in the chocolate ganache.  This toffee mixin/ganache step should only be about a 5-10 second process.  You want the ganache to ribbon through the dough, but not mix fully in and turn the cookie entirely chocolate.  

At this point, you have two options, you can scoop the dough now and bake, just like you would a chocolate chip cookie, OR allow the dough to cure in the fridge for 24-48 hours, which will make it even more delicious and I strongly recommend it.  Should you choose the latter, dump the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper and form it into a log, rolling it into the paper and twisting the ends to secure.  You could use wax paper or foil here too.

Whenever you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Scoop your cookies, or slice from your log, sprinkle with a few flakes of smoked salt and bake for 9-12 minutes in the center of the oven.  Check them at 9 minutes.  When they are fully set and just barely coloring they are done, but you can also go a few more minutes, if you like a more golden cookie or more crisp edges.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Gramercy Tavern is an iconic New York City restaurant.  I know quite a few people who have eaten there, and everyone puts it well up there in their ranks of best restaurant meals ever.  The desserts alone are worth a visit.  Zack and I ate an caramel apple crisp ala mode there that has never been rivaled by any other.  The caramelized crumble was exactly what we wanted it to be and more.

Last fall I was looking for a recipe for brownie cookies.  I had in my minds eye exactly what you see above.  In my research I came across many recipes, but when I found one from Gramercy Tavern, I knew it was going to be good.  I think its perfect and my brownie cookie cravings have been fully satisfied ever since.

These cookies are kind of like biting into a chocolate bar macaron (the French kind).  Immense chocolate flavor, but a wonderful light crust and slightly chewy interior.  My only significant adaptations to the recipe involve salt.  This much chocolate desperately needs it.  For the past four months, I've been baking these at least every couple weeks.  People just love them.  It recently dawned on me that they are the perfect cookie for sandwiching.  In fact, I'm making them next weekend and sandwiching them with Nutella, for a dear friends birthday.  These cookies definitely have the best texture the day you make them and the batter doesn't keep well.  You'll want to mix them up and bake immediately.  Then, get munching within 2-4 hours for optimum textural enjoyment.  I mean, they still taste amazing days later, but they will be gone by then.  I promise.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES
Adapted The Last Course, The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (4 times the original amount in the recipe, but definitely important!)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

7 ounces 60-70% dark chocolate, chopped or use Ghiradelli's 60% chocolate chips

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (or combination of chips and similarly sized pieces of nut of your choice)

Maldon sea salt (optional, but I always do this)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 full minutes.

While the eggs are whipping, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave.  Start with the chocolate ONLY and heat for 1 minute.  Stir with a metal spoon or whisk.  Add the butter and heat for another 45 seconds.  Stir/whisk again.  If not quite melted, give it another 20 seconds or so.  

Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Using a small or medium (depending on the size you want) levered ice cream scoop, drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets.  Sprinkle with a little Maldon salt (if you choose) and bake until puffed and cracked, 6-8 minutes (again, depending on size). Cool on a wire rack before removing from the baking sheets.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Walnuts, Dates, Ginger & Smoked Salt

What do you make for dessert after a long and utterly satisfying dinner party with friends?  There are endless possibilities.  For me, the search for the right dessert is a thrilling hunt for just the right thing. If it doesn't come to mind right away I'll pour over my collection of cookbooks and magazine tear-outs for inspiration.  I think about seasonality of ingredients, the menu, tastes of the guests, time I have to work with, cost, best way to serve it, number of guests and so on.  Sometimes the right recipe doesn't exist so it needs to be created. That is what happened with this chocolate bark and it was so easy and fun to do! If you are shy about experimenting with recipes this is a good one to try. It will surely boost your confidence. I also think that it's a perfect recipe to have the kids help with and you could even let them pick the ingredients they like. What kid or adult wouldn't love to be set free in the bulk bin section of the grocery store to find favorite ingredients to throw in some chocolate?  Really, any combination of dried fruits and nuts or candies will work with this.  I was so glad that this particular combination turned out to be a real crowd pleaser.

There are also many ways you could flavor the chocolate instead of the espresso powder.  Try a small amount of cinnamon with walnuts, candied orange peel, dried currants or figs and sea salt.  Or a scant amount of cayenne pepper with almonds, dried cherries, dried banana chips and pepitas.  Whatever you do try, I hope you'll share it with us here at The Joyful Kitchens! 

This recipe yields a bit over a pound depending on how much good stuff you throw in. 

DARK CHOCOLATE BARK WITH TOASTED WALNUTS, CRYSTALIZED GINGER, DATES AND SMOKED SEA SALT

1 11 1/2-oz bag (about 60 % cocoa) bittersweet chocolate chips, about 2 cups

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1 cup pitted and diced fancy medjool dates

1/2 cup candied ginger, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes or regular fleur de sel 

Line a small baking sheet with foil or parchment.  Melt the chocolate chips in medium bowl over saucepan of simmering water, stirring until melted smooth.  Stir in the espresso powder until well combined.  Pour melted chocolate mixture out onto foil, spreading with offset spatula to thickness of 1/4 inch or so.  Scatter ingredients evenly over chocolate, finishing with the salt.  Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.  Peel off foil and cut for a more refined look or break into irregular pieces for a more rustic look.  Serve slightly chilled.

Individual Butterfinger Ice Cream Pies

When I was making this dessert, I kept thinking of the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention".  After awhile though, it occurred to me how ridiculous it was to think that those words truly applied.  One does not NEED ice cream pies.   I mean really, REALLY?  Anywhoooo...

Since moving into our new home where I can actually cook again, I have been doing so constantly.  Cooking, baking, scouring cookbooks and in all ways scheming how to create from and enjoy my kitchen in the company of others.  We have a dinner or party on the books every weekend now until Easter.  I love it, and so does Zack in case you're wondering.  Last weekend, he was hosting a guys night.  I wanted to make sure there was delicious food, without him having to do much (because he is a brilliant computer programmer, but somewhat developmentally delayed in the kitchen).  We talked for awhile and looked through my notebook of absolute winners and he chose Beef Bourguignon.  I can make it ahead, it will taste even better that way.  He can put it in the oven to warm 30 minutes before dinner, warm up smashed potatoes, toss a salad and dinner is done!

The next essential question, what about dessert?  In the "keeper" desserts section of the note book is this caramel peanut crunch ice cream pie that would bring tears to your eyes, and he promptly chose that.  Cut to time for party prep.  I was home, day 2 of being sick and really much better, but still didn't feel like getting out of my pajamas to head to the store for the ingredients that I was missing.  Here is where the turn of phrase comes in.  I thought to myself, what DO I have that would make a great ice cream pie and why in the world shouldn't I just make it from whatever I have?  I mean, you can't go wrong, can you?  Well, I don't think you can.  This recipe is for Butterfinger ice cream pies, my necessity "invention" of the day, but you could modify this in so many different ways.  No vanilla wafers?  Use graham crackers or biscotti or shortbread.  No vanilla ice cream? Well, do you have any other kind in the house?  Raid that stash of Halloween candy you are giving your kids only 1 a day of and see what you find.  Rachel has kit-kats in hers (though I deplete them slowly every time I'm there - I wonder if she'll notice?).  I happened to have crushed Butterfingers in my freezer from an ice cream sundae bar I did for a party months ago.  Or you can make your own, as Ashley does!  I also had cream and many things in which to flavor it.  You can do that too.  This peanut butter cream is particularly scrumptious.  Anyway, the point is, this is a fun method and idea for a make-ahead dessert that I think will wow.  Individual desserts are always fun, and chances are you have the stuff in your pantry and fridge to make a version right now! 

Individual Butterfinger Ice Cream Pies
An invention of Julie Hubert

Make 4 individual pies, using 4" ramekins.


for the crust:
2 oz vanilla wafers
2 oz cold butter, cut in small cubes
1 Tbl sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you have convection, use it here but decrease cooking time by 2 minutes.

Pulse together these ingredients in the bowl of your food processor until the wafers are uniformly crushed and mixture is uniform.  Very lightly press 1/4-1/3 cup into the bottom of each of your 4" ramekins.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool fully on a rack.

for the ganache:
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 oz chopped chocolate
1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
pinch of sea salt

Place cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Add chopped chocolate and let sit for 1 minute to melt.  Stir to combine and add espresso powder if using.  (Espresso powder doesn't make it taste like coffee, just makes it taste better somehow)

for the topping:
2 oz cream cheese, softened (optional)
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

Whisk all ingredients together in the bowl of an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

the rest:
1 pint premium vanilla bean ice cream, softened and stirred till its more like soft serve, for spreading into ramekins.
2 crushed/chopped Butterfinger candy bars, or snickers, or chocolate covered peanuts, or whatever!


assembly:
Spread 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream over the cookie crust and top with 2 Tbl of the butterfinger crumbles and a good drizzle of ganache, as much as you'd like.   Freeze for 30 minutes.  Top with 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the peanut butter topping, smooth the top and garnish with additional cookies. Serve with warm ganache if you'd like - you should have extra. :)

Four Happy Guys!

Cinnamon Streusel Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Anyone who occasionally reads this blog knows that I make treats every week for the staff of The City, the company where my husband is the software architect. This week, my treat was a shame. I think I'll blame convection. My oven has that option and sometimes I flip the little switch to speed up a baking process. This is rarely a good idea. The cake ended up crusty hard and brown on top and dry throughout. The recipe itself wasn't my favorite anyway. Chocolate and cinnamon are wonderful together, but the method just wasn't quite to my liking. The chocolate chips were layered in the middle of the batter and not incorporated throughout and the topping was a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and a cup of chocolate chips, but no struesel. I sent the cake anyway, my frugal roots not wanting it to be wasted, but the rating was a paltry 3.5 stars and Zack confirmed a disappointing result. I just couldn't leave things like that! So, tonight, I did a do-over, making some changes and adding a thick struesel topping. The resulting cake was inspiring enough to deserve an entry here. It was moist, chocolaty, cinnamony, struesely perfection.



Cinnamon Struesel Chocolate Chip Coffeecake
loosely adapted from two Smitten Kitchen recipes

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt (This is a lot, but I think the salt really balanced it out)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cups flour

For the cake:
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tbl vanilla extract
2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 8 pieces.
1 1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips (miniature really is key here)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 9 x 13" baking pan or 12 6oz ramekins (for individual cakes)

2. To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted butter until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Scrape batter into prepared pan or fill ramekins each half way full.

5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. You can put a few chocolate chips on top so its clear that its chocolaty. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter, 25-28 minutes for individual cakes or 35-40 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan. Serve warm or room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar. This is a great breakfast treat, but if it happens to come out warm at 9pm, serve it with some ice cream. :)

Yield: 12 individual servings or 16-20 squares.

Cinnamon Sugar Dipped Apple Muffins

Growing up, Zack had a few favorite foods, but I would say none has a more lore-like nostalgia in his mind than these apple muffins. Well, maybe Norwegian potato balls, but that's another post, and likely never will be. Anyway, back to apple muffins. I've heard of them many times in our five years of marriage, but until about a week ago I had never eaten one and didn't know what all the fuss was about.

Apple muffins? Doesn't really sound like anything special! But the thing is, these muffins bake up with the texture of cake donuts and once baked are rolled in melted butter followed by cinnamon sugar. Now I get it. Last week, Zack's brother gave me a photocopy of a very old and sacred recipe card. Armed with it, I baked these muffins for the first time on Tuesday morning. I sent them with him to work for the weekly treat, still warm from the oven. He emailed me with this report - "they are dead on - totally delicious". That made my day, really totally made it. The recipe card didn't talk much about the method and (GASP!) called for shortening, but I used butter, and regular muffin techniques apply. Here is my adapted version and method, just in time for you to make them for breakfast tomorrow morning.


Cinnamon Sugar Dipped Apple Muffins
adapted from Suzi Hubert's kitchen
makes 10 small muffins, you may want to make a double batch...

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup peeled, grated Granny Smith apple

1/4 cup melted butter
Cinnamon sugar

Cream together butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Add egg and mix till incorporated. In a seperate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Starting and ending with the flour, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk (will be 3 additions of flour and 2 of milk), mixing till just incorporated between each addition and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. After final flour is just mixed in, add grated apple and any juice and fold in until just combined.

Coat a muffin tin well with non-stick spray. Then use a regular ice cream scoop to distribute batter evenly to 10 spaces.

Bake for 20-25 minutes in the middle of your oven. Check after 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, the muffin is done.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl. Dip warm muffins, top and bottom and roll them liberally in cinnamon sugar. You can make the cinnamon sugar to your liking. I like lots of cinnamon so used about 2 tsp for 1/3 cup sugar.

Serve warm!

New York, New York!

January held a lot of culinary high points. When I wrote my last post, I was on my way to NYC to sit in the audience at the Martha Stewart "Blogging" themed show with my friend Ashley. The 48 hours we enjoyed in that taste-bud playground were unforgettable. The words aren't flowing today so let me just hit the highlights.


Frankie's Spuntino in Brooklyn - candlelit, red-brick, pressed tin, modern Italian-American comfort food. The best dessert of the trip were their prunes cooked in spiced red wine, served with marscapone. The deep, syrupy sweetness of the prunes was amazing against the tartness cream of the marscapone. One of those desserts where you take a bite and you can't believe that what you are looking at tastes even half as amazing as what your taste-buds are telling you.

Eleven Madison Park for an early Ashley birthday lunch - 50 foot ceilings, the ultimate in elegance and service, beautiful plating and food. A really special experience.

Peasant - a restaurant that made me gasp with delight. The ambiance is like none other. Utterly lit by candles and open hearths along the whole back wall of the restaurant - it feels like a renaissance castle kitchen.

Buttermilk Channel - the best meat loaf of my life, made of duck and topped with an onion ring dipped in thick cornbread batter and fried.

A long stroll from Brooklyn, across the epic Brooklyn Bridge, up through lower Manhattan to meet Ashley for grilled corn at Cafe Habana, followed by frites and pavlova at the most Parisian bistro that's not in Paris - Balthazar. Oh yes, and a lovely time at Martha. We appear for .3 seconds at the 51 second mark of the show. In my split-second of screen time, I am pretending to blog while smiling widely at the camera. A now infamous pose that has been the source of much good-natured mockery.

On January 30th, I hosted my first Not Without Salt cooking class, taught by my friend and NYC travel buddy, Ashley Rodriguez. I felt perfectly happy in those three hours, chatting with friends old and new, enjoying delicious treats, making people feel welcome and truly learning! I mean, I learned how to make puff pastry! Something I never would have thought to make for myself, but now I really feel I can. I'll be hosting 1-2 classes a month as long as Ashley wants to teach them. She is a natural born baker and has so much to share, so I think there will be many, many more. If you'd like to join one, email classes@notwithoutsalt.com to get on the list. We're also cooking up some special events and dinners!

I've done a lot of bread baking this month, but last night, Zack and I whipped up a wonderful cake, for The City weekly treats tradition. I had Granny Smith apples leftover from the cooking class, so I made this apple cake from the blog Smitten Kitchen. The critique from the offices today was good - a smashing success, Zack said, definitely worthy of including here. It's an incredibly moist, lush cake. Great for breakfast OR dessert. I followed the recipe almost exactly, with the exception of the type of apple used and a drizzle of maple cream cheese icing to top it off. Gratuitous I'm sure, but I didn't hear any complaints.


February is a special month in my family - lots of celebrations. Three birthdays on my side and four on Zack's, as well as Zack and I's anniversary. This year, we celebrate FIVE big ones. I was poking around to find a good place to go that would allow us to use miles to purchase the tickets and Montreal leapt to the front of the line. The Paris of North America they say, and only about five hours away. Should be a wonderful adventure and I'm counting down the days. Literally - I have a large white dry erase board and each day I cross out one big box. There are fifteen more boxes. I'm so excited for four days of total, undisturbed time with Zack - there is nothing better (except more than four days). Got any Montreal tips? I'd love to hear them!

Dessert Inspiration

A lot of my inspiration for special occasion baking comes from a few key places, kind of an 80/20 rule for Julie's culinary inspiration. 80% of what I bake comes from Bon Appetit magazine, Gourmet magazine and the blogs of Smitten Kitchen, Dana Treat and Not Without Salt and 20% from everywhere else. The magazines are nationally recognized and always filled with great ideas and beautiful photos. The blogs are written by women whose taste can be trusted, something I have come to be certain of after trying many of each of their recipes and reading dozens more. They are true flavor enthusiasts and they post recipes they have adapted, tried and tasted.

Recently, I was a part of another Supper Thyme, a bi-monthly supper club I started with friends. The guests and theme rotate and this month was Farmer's Market, for obvious reasons! My course was dessert and as usual, I looked to my favorite blogs for inspiration and most certainly found it. Instead of re-posting the recipes, I'll just link you right to the ones I made and tell you that they were AMAZING and I made very tiny adaptations. I opted for the more seasonal blackberries instead of cherries in the Brown Butter Bars and actually made them into individual tarts. I used heavy cream instead of half and half in the Brown Sugar Sour Cream Ice Cream. Other than that, I followed the recipes to a T.

The response to the dessert was just what any baker would hope for - total delight all around. I'm not saying that lightly either. They really, really liked it. Definitely a great base recipe on the tart especially - brown butter is just such a luscious flavor and one we don't experience often enough. Use it with plums, blueberries or apricots and it would be wonderful as well. I'll make it with pears for a Thanksgiving dessert. And then, as if that combination wasn't enough, I decided to make a little candy to go with coffee and Bacon Caramels seemed just the ticket. Honestly, it was overkill after the dessert, but there were very nice just the same.

Ultimate Dessert Championship

So, as I'm sure all my readers know (because all my readers are personal friends and family, to my knowledge!) I am a committed member of an incredible church called Mars Hill. I attend its Downtown Seattle campus. One of the main ways I serve at church is through throwing, coordinating, planning, hosting, whatever is needed...events.

I have been an event planner since I was old enough to formulate a to-do list, I'd say about 7. In my early 20's, I followed this passion into the professional world as an event planner for a wonderful catering company. Since then, I have planned events professionally for a number of different companies, as a service to my church or community and as a personal entertainer - pretty much non-stop! There is always the next event on the horizon and I like it that way. So this leads me to last Saturday. Well, lets start in January. My pastor asked if I had ideas or could help him plan an event geared towards the single people at our campus, of which there are many. I said yes, and as is typical for me, I have taken a bite of this need and I haven't let go. The first event was a bit weak and we were determined to create a better experience the second time out. After much deliberation with the team, the Ultimate Dessert Championship was born. A knock down, drag out dessert bake-off, where only one comes out standing! At least that was the idea behind the marketing (think UFC). :)

Anyway, I was so happy with the event, because I really felt it broke a lot of ice and helped everyone meet someone new. 110 people attended and 30 of them baked and entered desserts. The guests ate dinner, competed in trivia and other competitions and judged desserts. They really got into the scoring and had a great time. We shook up the evening by having the guests sit at tables with people they didn't know, using a fancy arbitrary placement system (yeah right, we put numbers on the bottom of their paper plates that coordinated with what table they had to sit at). Now, in my experience with these competitions, a cheesecake always wins, UNLESS, there is a molten chocolate cake of some type. In which case, no one else even has a chance. This winning chocolate cake was even better than the normal molten gooey goodness, because she used almond paste as well. Chocolate and almond, OH MY! This was the high scoring, absolute winner and I'd definitely recommend it if you really want to impress someone with dessert!


Ultimate Dessert Champion of the World: Almond Chocolate Torte
(pictured in main space above) by Megan Behrmann

For Cake:

1 tsp instant coffee powder
2 Tbs hot water
4 oz semi-sweet coffee
1 Tbl shortening
3 eggs seperated
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond paste
1/2 cup flour
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 inch round pan and sprinkle with
cocoa.

Mix instant coffee and hot water together. Melt the shortening and
semi-sweet chocolate together over a double boiler or glass bowl over simmering water and cool. Stir in coffee.

Whip egg whites into soft peaks.

Cream butter and sugar. Add almond paste, egg yolks, salt and flour. Add
chocolate coffee mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Fold in egg
whites in thirds.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until tester pierced 1 inch from the edge comes out clean (note: the center will still be quite gooey and delicicious). Cool
for 10 minutes and then turn out. Allow to cool completely and then top with
glaze and let sit for 2-4 hours.

For Glaze

1 and 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbl butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2-3 Tbl warm water
a pinch of salt

Melt chocolate and butter together. Whisk in sugar, salt, almond and
vanilla. Add warm water to thin as needed. Pour over cake and allow to
harden.

Supper Thyme - Southern Style

What is Supper Thyme? Let me tell you. Supper Thyme is the most wonderful potluck you can imagine, where each guest brings the best from their culinary arsenal to compliment the meal. It is not haphazard. There is a specific theme and four or five courses. Two people are assigned to each and the normal formula is that a dish and paired drink is their responsibility. A theme is ESSENTIAL. This is similar in concept to the group of ladies I dine with quarterly, but it is really very different. That group is fixed - five ladies...the SAME ladies, every single time. Supper Thyme is a rotating band of wonderful food lovers, with each new dinner bringing some regulars and some newbies to the table. It happens sporadically, on average 5 times a year I'd say. We've done many wonderful themes, that you can check out here. To Supper Thyme you bring your very best. You research and test and you consult regularly with one another to ensure that the perfect meal is designed, or as close as you can get to it!

The Southern theme was probably the most discussed yet. Southern food is innately comfort food and there are so many elements of it that we wanted to experience. The issue was really narrowing it down to a reasonable amount of food that a reasonable human could eat in one evening. It didn't really make sense to do a lot of wine pairing with this meal, because cocktails and beers are more authentic to Southern meals, so we set up a fabulous bar and set out a couple recipes and people went to town. Fresh fruit old-fashioneds and whisky sours were the favorites.

It was a mind boggle. I am not 100% sure, but I am 95% sure that this was my favorite Supper Thyme yet. Here is the menu, with my comments.

~Cocktail Hour~

Fresh Fruit Old-Fashioneds

Crab Cakes Balls via Maryland

Spicy Pimento Cheese

Roasted Dates
wrapped in bacon and stuffed with Pecans

I wanted to pick one recipe from the evening to share with you and I chose the crab balls. The balls were so lusciously moist and filled with crab and the peppadew aioli a brilliant compliment. Really though, all the appetizers were amazing and the fresh fruit old-fashioned has turned me onto the possibilities of bourbon.

~First Course~ Plated

Sauteed Giant Shrimp
with country ham and andouille sausage

over the creamiest grits you've ever tasted in your life.

Oh Azie, these were so wonderful! There was much discussion over whether to have this course and would it be too much food and my oh my am I glad we did! These were the best grits I've ever eaten and the shrimp were perfectly spiced by the andouille sausage and smoky, salty ham. Delectable.

~Main Course~ Family-Style

Double Dipped Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Collard Greens
cooked with ham hocks

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Southern Bread Basket:
Jalepeno cheddar cornbread, Country Bisquits
with honey butter

Okay, it was my job to make the fried chicken. Fried chicken is no easy matter. I tested a couple recipes earlier that day and determined a few key things. Don't add a bunch of smoky spices like paprika and cayenne to the chicken. It takes away from the pure flavor. Salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried thyme ended up being perfect. Another important thing is double-dipping for maximum crust. I mean, isn't that REALLY why we eat fried chicken? So, soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours, then dredged in the seasoned flour, then buttermilk again, then flour, then rest for 5 minutes and into 360 degree oil. 3 minutes per side and then 25 minutes in the oven. I am telling you, I was very proud of that chicken. Which made me feel better when the blue cheese coleslaw was totally a waste of space. Fortunately, the collard greens were amazing as were the breads. Seriously, my friends Beth and Tim killed it on the baking. I have never seen such tall, fluffy biscuits come out of a home kitchen.

~ Dessert ~
Served much, much later, standing around the kitchen

Rhubarb Peach Cobbler
with Buttermilk crust, topped with Buttermilk ice cream
garnished with Grilled Bourbon Peach & Bourbon Drizzle

Ah me, it is too much. An incredible meal and then THIS! It was so perfectly golden, with the proper ratio of topping to fruit that is crucial to a good cobbler. The rhubarb and peach were a perfect combination. Tart and sweet mingling together in a symphony of...okay, I'm losing it. Breathe, Julie, Breathe. This was Amy's first attempt at homemade ice cream and the flavor was perfect. The sweet tangy buttermilk came right through. The grilled peach and bourbon drizzle took this to another planet. Stop Julie, you're doing it again! Point being, I really liked this dessert.

So, back to that recipe I promised you. This is in Rachel's own words.

Crab Cakes Balls via Maryland
This recipe is inspired by my Mother-in-law Donna's crab cake recipe. I modified it to make it into crab cake balls which make a very special appetizer. For the record, it's more economical to buy the already shelled crab meat believe it or not. The monger at Central Market convinced me.

1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat (splurge)

1 3/4 cups panko

4 large eggs beaten

2 Tbl olive oil (plus a bit more to coat the cookie sheet the balls are baked on)

1 Tbl butter

1/2 sweet onion finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves finely minced

3 Tbl mayo

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp hot sauce of choice (Iguana habenero)

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

3/4 cup finely processed parsley

1 tsp fresh chives

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Process the onion and garlic together until very fine. Then, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil and butter until it gets caramelized and brownish. Break up the crab meat into smaller pieces that will mix well. Big chunks will not work well in a ball. Add to bowl. Add crab meat to bowl. Add all other ingredients to bowl and mix or fold together gently until everything is well combined. Do not over mix. Once combined, use a tablespoon measure to scoop out amount to mold into balls. Gently roll crab batter into ball and place on lightly olive oiled cookie sheet. Should make about 40 balls.

The balls need to set for at least a few hours to firm up before they are baked. This is a great recipe to make the day ahead and let them rest. Cover with plastic wrap.

Bake in middle of oven at 400 degree for 25 minutes.

Peppadew Pepper Aioli

1/2 cup olive oil mayo (more if you want the aioli thicker)

Juice of half a lemon

1 Tbl fresh chives

1/4 cup fresh italian parsley

about 5-7 peppadew peppers with juice (found in olive bars in finer grocers)

1 Tbl hot sauce of choice (Iguana habanero sauce)

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Blend all aioli ingredients together in a blender. Serve with warm crab cake balls.

Don't forget the toothpicks. And chives with parsley make a lovely garnish. Enjoy!

Turkish Grilling - Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kebabs

A friend of mine recently mentioned that her cooking magazines right now are all about barbeque or grilling. So, so true - tis the season! Each cover is graced with slathered ribs, towering burgers or well dressed hot dogs. I was delighted with my July Bon Apetit to find a story about grilling from around the world, an article filled with items that aren't classic American grill, but showcase the traditions of the world when it comes to the oldest of cooking techniques...fire! I picked this recipe from the mix because I love Turkish flavors, but more important than that, I had the necessary ingredients already in my fridge or pantry. I love it when that happens. I've modified the recipe somewhat and added red onions and dates to the skewer, which definitely made it a bit more interesting. The chicken recipe is awesome and gives wonderful heat and flavor but the sweetness of the grilled onions and dates were a perfect foil. It is an inexpensive main dish, and one that I'd feel very confident serving to company, with a pine nut, fresh herb and dried apricot studded cous cous and a interesting green salad or grilled vegetables.

Yogurt Marintated Chicken Kebabs
with red onions and medjool dates
Adapted from Bon Apetit Magazine, July 2009

Makes 8-10 kebabs, serves 4-6 for dinner

3 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
1 cup plain 2% or whole-milk Greek-style yogurt (8 ounces) (Trader Joe's Faje is GREAT)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, peeled, flattened
2 unpeeled lemons; 1 thinly sliced into rounds, 1 cut into wedges for serving (optional)
2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken (thighs and/or breast halves), cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes
1 small red onion, cut in thick wedges and then in half*
16 Medjool dates, pitted (Trader Joe's)*

*Note: You could use other fruit or vegetables here, like peppers, mushrooms, pineapple.

Equipment: Metal skewers OR the thick bamboo ones, soaked for 30 minutes in water before skewering

Method

Place dried crushed red pepper and paprika combination in large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons warm water and let stand until paste forms, about 5 minutes. Add yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper to spice mixture in bowl; whisk to blend. Stir in garlic and lemon slices, then chicken. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat barbecue for 10 minutes (medium-high heat). Thread chicken pieces, onions and dates on skewers, dividing equally. Discard marinade in bowl. Sprinkle each skewer with salt, pepper. Brush grill rack with oil. Grill chicken until and cooked through, turning skewers once, 10 minutes total. Transfer skewers to platter. Surround with lemon wedges and serve.

Market Report: June 3rd

What an incredible week at the market. It was 85 degrees walking over and feels like the dead of summer, though its still spring!

A couple of the stands stood out to me today. The gentleman behind the counter at Seabreeze Farms was so nice and helpful. I definitely want to try some of his myriad of products this summer. Seabreeze is located on Vashon Island and they do a little bit of everything; incredible pork products, lamb, beef, produce and wines to name a few. I definitely want to try their lard for a pie or two this summer and the bacon glistening behind the glass will be a must as well. I asked him where he recommended I buy asparagus and he sent me to the Alm Hill stand. He was right on. From them I picked up a bag of the most delicious lettuce mix I've ever had. They called it their spicy mix and it had so much variety and flavor that it didn't even need dressing (though I dressed it anyway). A bunch of asparagus with lovely purple tips and baby walla walla sweet onions were next in the bag. A couple stalls over a man was selling raspberry vinegar. It tasted wonderful. Truly raspberryesque. I bought some, thinking of a recipe I'd seen for a goat cheese and raspberry vinegar appetizer spread on baguette and drizzled with lavender honey. Planning ahead, I can't help myself. Darned if I can remember the meat vendors name, but from him I got a pound of lovely grass-fed tri-tip. The marbling in the meat was very intramuscular and all the exterior fat was well trimmed, which is something I really appreciate in a butcher. With that, our shopping was done. Next step, make dinner.

I had already decided on a big entree salad. We've been eating like golden piglets during our vacation so something very light was definitely in order. The result was so tasty and just felt good to eat. Zack was exclaiming over the deliciousness of all the elements. I really didn't do anything special here, it was just amazing ingredients, plenty of salt & pepper, the char of a good grill flavor and some creamy yogurt sauce. Here's the recipe, but again, its really just a method. You could substitute whatever was fresh and in season and make a great dish. I used a few things from my pantry which is allowed! :)

Grilled Asparagus, Onion and Tri-Tip Spicy Greens Salad
with shaved parmigiana reggiano and balsamic vinaigrette

Serves 2 generously, we were eating this and only this for dinner so I made a lot.

1 lb asparagus, trimmed
6 baby walla walla onions, stems cut so only 2 inches of green are left
7 cups freshly picked salad greens (Alm Hill's spicy mix or other farmstand lettuce mix is key here - fresh picked lettuces taste amazing compared to storebought)
1 lb tri-tip steak, fully trimmed
2 tbls balsamic vinegar
3 tbls olive oil
20 shavings of parmigiana reggiano (use a vegetable peeler)
4 tbls greek yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin

Kosher salt & pepper to season along the way

Method:

Pre-heat grill for 10 minutes to medium-high. Drizzle the asparagus and onions lightly with olive oil and generously season with kosher salt and pepper. and grilled them over medium-high, 7 minutes and 12 minutes respectively. Remove and allow to cool somewhat. Chop to bite size.

GENEROUSLY season steak with kosher salt, pepper, olive oil and 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds each. Grill to your desired temperature. Mine was 4 minutes per side for medium and 10 minutes total for medium well (for Zack!)

Mix together yogurt with cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper.

To assemble: Toss spicy salad greens mix with asparagus, onions and vinaigrette. Shave cheese overtop. Serve steak on top of salad with dollop of yogurt sauce (my preference) or alongside with cumin yogurt (Zack's preference).

Wine Lunch!!

I love a cold, crisp white wine. In Italy, Zack and I would always order a quartino (quarter liter) of the house white wine with lunch, which was almost always a perfectly charred pizza to share. Wherever we were, the wine was brought well chilled and often it had a slight effervescence to it. These "wine lunches" are one of our favorite memories of our time in Italy and we try to recreate them here. The inexpensive Italian white table wine of our memory is not as easy to find here as one might imagine, but many varieties hit the spot; prosecco, vinho verde, albarino, and some sauvignon blancs to name a few. Recently though, I came across Albero, a Spanish sparkling white wine sold exclusively at Trader Joe's for $4.99 a bottle. To me, its the perfect combination of sparkles, light fruit and incredible value. It goes great with so many foods and just feels like summer. A definite perfect foil for one of my fresh pizzas. Try a bottle and tell me what you think! Here is my pizza method and a simple one I commonly make. The dough is absolutely awesome and is inspired by this one on my friend Dana's blog. It's great because it only has to rise for an hour, so I don't have to plan far ahead to make this meal. The crust is the soul of the pizza for me and this crust and this method of baking really come close to recreating the Italian pizza memories. Crisp, chewy crust, nice yeasty flavor and plenty of salty bite. Fresh mozzerella is really important here. It gives a completely different and much less greasy result than typical pasturized mozzerella. The reason I use parchment paper is because I can never seem to keep the pizza dough from sticking to the peel and making a mess when I try to transfer it from the peel to the pizza stone in the blazing oven. This alleviates that issue with great success and I always do it this way now.

Calabrese Salami & Oregano Pizza

For the dough

2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup warm water plus 2 tablespoons
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dry oregano
2 tsp. kosher salt

Toppings (obviously you can use whatever you'd like)

1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce (I like Barilla tomato basil or roasted garlic)
15 slices calabrese salami
4 oz fresh milk mozzerella, chopped into nickle size pieces about 1/4" thick
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dry oregano (or fresh would be even better, in which case put 1-2 tsp on after baking)

1/8 cup freshly grated or shaved reggiano or grana padano

Method:

1. In the bowl of kitchanaid, whisk the yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, salt, and the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water; stir until a dough forms. Put the dough hook attachment on your kitchenaid and turn on, kneading in the bowl for 6 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, place a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven, and preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Make sure the oven has preheated for at least 30 minutes.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured very large sheet of parchment paper. Press and stretch the dough into a 15-inch round, nice and thin is good. Top with sauce, fresh mozzerella and toppings of your choice.

4. Slide the parchment paper with pizza onto the back of a cookie sheet and slide it from there onto the pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, until the crust is golden.

5. Top with reggiano and final fresh herbs if desired.

The King of Steaks

It's Memorial Day weekend in Seattle and an amazing thing is happening! Notoriously, this "beginning of summer" weekend is cold and rainy, but not this year! It is brilliantly warm and sunny. I woke up at 5:31am today, because despite closing every blind tightly, the room was still filled with creamy yellow light. Not only is it sunny today, but there is not a cloud in the forecast for four days. Glory to God it's thrilling!

This much sun calls for some serious grilling and I have the ultimate steak for you. I learned about this cut of steak and method about 5 years ago as I was researching an upcoming trip to Italy. It's most famous representative is Dario Cecchini, otherwise known as the "Butcher of Panzano" A wildly charismatic fellow, he owns a legendary butcher shop called Antica Macelleria Cecchini in Panzano, Italy. The cut he is most famous for is called Bistecca Fiorentina and traditionally comes from giant white Val de Chiana cows lovingly raised in Tuscany and found nowhere else in the world (to my knowledge). When Zack and I went to Tuscany almost 4 years ago now, a trip to Dario's famous butcher shop was essential and unforgettable, made even more wonderful by stumbling on a wonderful local outdoor wine tasting on the open square in his beautiful Tuscan hilltop town. That day, I could only gaze carnivorously on the giant cuts of meat. We had only the smallest kitchenette in the apartment we were renting and no grill on which to roast a 3 inch thick, 4 lb T-bone steak. It has held great culinary fascination for me since then. Here I am at this temple of beef!


Since then, the Bistecca Fiorentina has become one of my favorite really special company dinners. It is always impressive and delicious and its sheer enormity makes for definite wow factor. Because the heavily herbed rubbed steak is incredible thick, it must be cooked on a preheated grill for 12 minutes per side, ending in a crusty blacked exterior and a wonderfully rare to medium rare center.


If you like your steak more done, you can take it to medium by adding a couple minutes but please, I beg you, don't go beyond that. Once you've let it rest, carve it and drizzle it with black truffle oil or good olive oil if you prefer. The truffle oil option takes it to the next level.


Bistecca Fiorentina

Recipe:
Adapted from Mario Batali's Italian Grill, serves 4

1 3inch, 3-4 lb T-Bone, or for a larger piece of meat (as seen in the pictures above), ask for a porterhouse. With the porterhouse, you get a very large piece of filet, which is the most tender part cut of beef you can get. You will have to order this cut in advance. In Seattle, I always drive up to Mountlake Terrace and the incredible Double D Meats for mine. They are used to getting this order now as there are a number of us that place it regularly. I learned about this wonderful place from fellow friends and foodies, Tim and Beth, and I am ever in their debt. The meat is incredible as are the prices. Absolutely worth the jaunt up I-5!

For the rub:

1 Tbl chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tbl chopped fresh thyme
1 Tbl chopped fresh sage
1.75 Tbl kosher salt
1.5 Tbl freshly ground black pepper (a morter and pestle or spice grinder works well)

Method:

Start this recipe the morning of the day you want to serve the steaks or even the night before.  Pat the steaks very dry.  Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl.  Rub all over the meat and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil, pressing the rub into the meat and making sure its damp with oil all over.  Marinate in the fridge at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

About 1 1/2 - 2 hours before you plan to serve the meat, remove steak from fridge and let rest at room temperature.  Preheat a grill for about 20-30 minutes. It needs to be at least 450 degrees and hotter is better. Ideally 550 - 600. After meat has sat for 60 minutes with the rub, place on the hot grill. Cook for 12 minutes per side or until internal temperature hits 120 degrees for medium rare and 125 for medium. Remove immediately and let rest for 12 minutes. It will continue to cook quite a bit while it rests, so don't leave it on the grill past these temperatures. For true rare, take it off at 115 degrees internal temp. After the meat has rested, cut it from the bone and slice. Drizzle with your choice of truffle or olive oil and serve!