Monthly Archives: July 2012

THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: MASCARPONE BROWNIES

Posted in Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by


The last Monday of the month is here again, and with it comes the much anticipated  reveal day for the members of Group D in The Secret Recipe Club.  For those who don’t know,  each month we are assigned (in secret) a blog to cook from.  We “stalk” the blog, pick a recipe, cook it, write a blog about it, and set it to go live at exactly the same time on reveal day.  This month my blog was Sweetly Serendipity, hosted by the beautiful Taryn, a baking goddess who lives in Boston and dreams of opening her own bakery some day. Yeap, that’s how serious she is. Once I started browsing her site and noticing the profusion of cakes, some extremely involved, I felt a bit uneasy.  For instance, I was smitten by  this cake, but it will have to wait for a less chaotic time in my life.  I kept on browsing her recipes, until I got to “mascarpone brownies”.  Simply scrumptious.  This is what she had to say about them:

It’s kind of like eating a dense chocolate souffle — their texture is light and airy, but the flavors are deep and delicious. They satisfy every feeling, and shower your mouth with a tantalizing array of sensations. They are smooth and creamy and absolutely perfect.

I had to bake a batch! 😉

MASCARPONE BROWNIES
(from Sweetly Serendipity)

for the brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces  semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

for the ganache
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325F and cover a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.

In glass mixing bowl melt butter in microwave on full power. Stir in chocolate and mix until combined. If the chocolate doesn’t fully melt, place it in the microwave again for a few seconds at a time.

Add sugar to the chocolate/butter mixture and mix until combined. Heat for an additional 30 seconds on high, remove and stir until it looks shiny. Don’t worry if it still seems a bit grainy.   Add marscarpone cheese, vanilla, eggs and mix until smooth.

Sift flour, salt and cocoa into the chocolate mixture and stir just until combined, making sure to scrape all sides of the bowl.  The batter will be rather light in texture, instead of dense and heavy like many brownie batters.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth top to ensure even baking. Bake for 40-50 minutes until tester comes out clean. If the surface seems uneven, use the flat end of a potato masher to lightly tamp down the surface of the brownies while they are still warm.   This will help the ganache coat evenly. Leave in pan and set on wire rack to cool.

While brownies are cooling, make the ganache to pour over the top, a step you should do before the brownies are cold.  Heat butter and cream on medium power (taking care not to boil) in the microwave and add chocolate. Stir until all lumps disappear. Immediately pour over brownies. Let cool completely.  It is a good idea to place the pan in the fridge to allow the ganache to set.  Once chilled a knife will cut through the brownies quite cleanly. Make sure to clean your blade for each cut for a more polished look.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

These brownies were simply spectacular!  I never had a brownie with ganache on top, but it’s never too late to find new forms of decadence in life.  One piece of brownie will satisfy your chocolate craving for a while, so be the best person you can be and share!  😉
Taryn’s description for these brownies was perfect, I’ve got nothing to add!  They will be a hit at any party you take them to, and they are very easy to make, ganache included.   I actually made them in our almost completely bare kitchen in Oklahoma, using a couple of bowls, a baking dish, and a cheap whisk (bought for the occasion, as mine was 312 miles away, in Manhattan).


Taryn,  thanks for a great recipe!

Please visit my virtual buddies from Group D following the links provided by the blue frog at the end of the post, and have fun!

ONE YEAR AGO: Salmon Tacos

TWO YEARS AGO: Cinnamon Turban Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Summertime Gratin



A TASTE OF YELLOW TO HONOR BARBARA

Posted in Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

Long before I started my own site, I already followed Barbara’s blog, Winos end Foodies.  For a while I was unaware of her health problems, until one day I clicked on the “About” page and learned that she started blogging right after being diagnosed with cancer, in 2004.  She used Winos and Foodies to get her mind away from her illness, and through the years of blogging she touched many people’s lives.  A lot has been written about Barbara, you can read a particularly touching tribute  here 

A few months after I started the Bewitching, I wrote Barbara an email and was amazed by how kind and thoughtful she was, sending me advice and encouragement. She read, left comments, dropped me private emails, it was hard to imagine that she could do it all while fighting one of the toughest battles a person can face.  I feel fortunate to have known her, at least virtually.

If you’ve never stopped by Winos and Foodies, please do so. She wrote about art, photography, food, her relationship with her husband of so many years, and occasionally about her tough times with cancer.   You will notice that  contrary to what most bloggers do (myself included), she didn’t post a blogroll of websites she enjoyed.  Instead, she created a page called Blog Friends, and listed everyone by name.  A special, sweet gesture, so typical of her.

In 2007, fascinated by the performances of Lance Armstrong 0n the Tour de France, she launched the event “A Taste of Yellow”  ,  to coincide with LIVEstrong Day, and to raise awareness about cancer in the community of food bloggers.  Barbara passed away on June 29th, so this year’s event, hosted by Jeanne (Cook Sister), is dedicated to her.

For my participation in this series of Taste of Yellow, I chose to cook with beautiful ears of corn.

COUSCOUS WITH CORN AND SCALLIONS IN BROWN BUTTER
(adapted from Fine Cooking, Aug/Sep 2012)

1 + 1/2 Tbs butter
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
kernels of 2 ears of corn
2 scallions, finely sliced (white and light green parts)
3/4 cup couscous
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup boiling water

Melt the butter on medium-low heat and cook stirring occasionally,  until the butter gets a hint of golden color. Do not let it turn brown at this point because it will still cook a little further.  Add the thyme, and cook until fragrant.

Add the corn kernels, salt and pepper, cook for 2 minutes, increasing the heat slightly so they brown up.  Add the scallions, cook until they soften, another minute or so.  Add the boiling water all at once, close the pan and remove from the heat.  Let it rest 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and serve.

to print the recipe, click here

My deepest condolences go to Barbara’s husband Bryan, their two sons,  family and friends in this difficult time. She will be missed.

(Comments are shutdown for this post)

THERE WILL BE BREAD

Posted in Breads by


Drum roll, please…  

This post officially inaugurates the new kitchen in The Little Apple!  What better than a loaf of bread to start things on a nice track?  So, let me share with you a golden bread perfumed with the special saffron I received as a gift from our friend Steve. The bread looked like a blast of sunshine sitting on the black granite, and it made nice cracking noises as it cooled, the promise of a nice crumb underneath a hearty crust.

GOLDEN SAFFRON & FENNEL LOAF
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by Flo Makanai)

125 g  sourdough starter (at 100% hydration)
250 g water (divided)
large pinch of saffron
375 g bread flour
7 g salt
1 tsp fennel seeds

Heat 50 ml (no need to be precise) of water in a microwave until almost boiling, add the saffron and let it sit until it cools to almost room temperature, stirring every now and then.  Strain the saffron water through a fine mesh colander, and add to the rest of the water for a final volume of 250ml. Reserve.

Add the active starter to a large bowl, mix it with the water until it dissolves more or less smoothly. Add the flour and the fennel seeds, and briefly do a few kneading moves to form a shaggy mess.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over the dough and incorporate by kneading lightly and folding the dough on itself.  You can keep the dough in the bowl, or transfer to a surface.  After 20-30 seconds of kneading/folding, cover the dough again and let it sit for 40 minutes (total rising time up to this point: 1 hour).

Repeat cycles of quick kneading/folding two more times, spacing them 40 to 50 minutes.   After the third and final kneading cycle, let the dough sit for 20 to 30 minutes, shape it as a round or oval loaf, and leave it at room temperature  30 minutes longer.  Total rising time from beginning to end: about 3 and a half hours.  Place it in the fridge overnight.

Remove the dough from the fridge 2 hours before baking (see my comments). Heat the oven to 450F. If using a clay pot, place it in the cold oven as you turn it on. Bake the bread covered for 30 minutes, remove cover, and allow it to fully bake (reducing the temperature to 425F if the bread seems to be browning too fast) for 12 to 15 minutes longer.  Remove to a rack to cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  It’s been a while since I baked a loaf of bread that made me as happy as this one! I’d been refreshing my starter for weeks in a row, but placing it back in the fridge, unable to squeeze bread baking in our crazy schedule.  My cookbooks are not unpacked yet, so I decided to go with the simple but very efficient method devised by Flo Makanai years ago: her famous 1, 2, 3 recipe.   One part starter, 2 parts water, 3 parts flour.  You can adapt and use any liquid or flour, but that’s the basic formula.   I wanted to incorporate saffron in the dough, and fennel seemed like a good match too.  Considering that it was not a tried and true recipe, and that it would be my first time using the oven in our new home, I admit I was  pushing the envelope. Interesting expression, by the way, I learned its origin not too long ago, and was a bit surprised. No Post Office material was used in its making.  Live, and learn.

Live, learn, and bake!  😉

To add a bit more emotion to the adventure, I could not find my banettons to proof the dough after shaping.  I actually have two, one round, and one oval, but they are both MIA, probably hidden inside one of the unpacked boxes.  I ended up using a copper colander, lined with a white cloth.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

I pushed the envelope once more by removing the dough from the fridge only 30 minutes before placing it in the 450F oven, trying to minimize the time our kitchen would be exposed to such insanely high temperature. Still, the bread had an impressive oven spring, and the beautiful, golden open crumb I hoped for.  It would be amazing with paella or a bowl of bouillabaisse, but until the weather cools enough for those dishes, we’ll enjoy it with fresh, juicy tomatoes and a sprinkle of Maldon salt.   Simple pleasures. Golden pleasures.

A final remark: I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, but my beloved husband was the genius behind it…  Sorry, ladies, he’s mine, all mine!

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting.

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2011

TWO YEARS AGO: Heavenly Homemade Fromage Blanc

THREE YEARS AGO: A Perfect Sunday Dinner