MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

May your celebrations be full of love and harmony!

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21Dec2024

AIR-FRIED SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Air-Frying, Breads by sallybr

When your oven dies and you won’t have another one delivered for a couple of weeks, but your freezer is running out of sourdough slices, what can you do? Desperate times call for desperate moves. You turn to the air-fryer. I am actually quite pleased with the way the bread turned out, although the crust is not nearly as crisp as a “normal” sourdough bread. But if you like to experiment in the kitchen, give it a try…

AIR-FRIED SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

250g bread flour
50 g sourdough starter at 100% hydration
180g water
5 g salt

Make the levain mixture about 6 hours before you plan to mix the dough. It should be very bubbly and active.

When you are ready to make the final dough, place the water in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer and dissolve the starter in it, mixing with a spatula briefly, then add the flour, and salt. Turn the mixer on with the hook attachment and knead the dough for 4 minutes at low-speed all the time.

Remove from the machine, and transfer to a container lightly coated with oil, cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 4 hours, folding every 45 minutes or so. Because the dough is already a bit developed from the initial time in the mixer, you should get very good structure after 3 and a half hours, or even sooner than that.
After four hours bulk fermentation, shape the dough as a ball, and place, seam side up, in a lightly floured banetton. Leave at room temperature one hour, and then place in the fridge overnight, from 8 to 12 hours.

Next morning, turn your air-fryer to 400F and leave it on for 5 minutes at that temperature. Invert the bread on a piece of parchment paper, and cut it so that very little paper is outside the perimeter of the dough. Score if you want. Place the bread in the air-fryer with ice cubes around it.

Air-fry for 25 minutes, remove the paper and check the internal temperature. If it is over 205F, and the crust has good color, invert the bread and inspect the bottom. If a bit soggy and pale, place the bread in the fryer with the bottom up, and continue roasting it for another 5 minutes or so. Remove from the fryer and let it cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The air-fryer will never be my choice to make sourdough bread, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well things turned out. Let’s suppose you are on a road trip and still want to bake some bread while away from home, maybe you can take your fryer with you… Just a thought! I do like to experiment, so this was actually pretty cool. I painted the surface with Sugarprism green after baking.

ONE YEAR AGO: Ube Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: Christmas Sourdough

THREE YEARS AGO: Star-Shaped Sun-dried Tomato Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cranberry White Chocolate Tart

FIVE YEARS AGO: I dream of Madeleines and a Tower of Cheesecakes

SIX YEARS AGO: Dominique Ansel’s Chocolate Mousse Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Slow-Roasted Eye of the Round Beef

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Steam-Roasted Indian-Spiced Cauliflower

NINE YEARS AGO: Creamy Zucchini-Mushroom Soup

TEN YEARS AGO: Ken Forkish’s Pain au Bacon

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Carrot and Cumin Hamburger Buns

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Potato Galettes a l’Alsacienne & Book Review

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Caramelized Carrot Soup

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Miso-Grilled Shrimp

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Pain Poilane

16Dec2024

ROOT VEGETABLE CLAFOUTIS

Posted in Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

One of the tastiest and most unusual recipes I’ve made in the recent past, we loved it so much! This would be perfect as a side dish for the holidays, or as a hearty main dish for vegetarians. The idea came from Geoffrey Zakarian in FoodTv’s The Kitchen, and I just knew I had to make it. I modified it to lower the amount of fat but will give you the original version and you can do as you please. My modifications are listed in the comments.

ROOT VEGETABLE CLAFOUTIS
(from Geoffrey Zakarian )

2 carrots, diced small
2 parsnips, peeled and diced small
2 small turnips, peeled and diced small
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 cups diced Honeycrisp apple
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the carrots, parsnips and turnips to one baking sheet. Add the sweet potatoes to a separate baking sheet. Drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Add 2 sprigs of rosemary and 5 sprigs of thyme to each baking sheet. Roast about 30 minutes, rotating the sheets and tossing the vegetables about halfway through.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron or other oven-safe sauté pan. Add the shallots, sage and some salt, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and a pinch of salt and cook until the apples are softened but still have some bite, an additional 4 minutes.

Once the vegetables are done roasting, combine them in the sauté pan with the shallot-apple mixture. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Remove the leaves of the remaining sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme and chop. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, half-and-half, rosemary and thyme, 1/4 cup Parmesan and some salt. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Bake until golden and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then serve immediately or at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My modifications were quite a few. I could not find turnips at the store, so I used double amount of parsnips and one extra sweet potato. I omitted the shallots and used diced celery instead (food sensitivities at play). Veggies were sautéed in olive oil instead of butter. I did not bother removing all the leaves from the stalks of rosemary and thyme, added some Herbes de Provence instead. And, finally I used half the amount of half-and-half and completed the volume with cashew milk. Next time I might try to go for cashew milk only and see what happens, but overall I think the amount of fat is not excessive. Do not omit the apples, they really make the dish shine. This savory clafoutis is absolutely delicious, and it will become part of our rotation for special meals. Leftovers kept super well, with a brief encounter with the microwave. But it is even nice at room temperature.

ONE YEAR AGO: Oreos Dressed for the Holiday Season

TWO YEARS AGO: Peppermint Wreath Macarons

THREE YEARSAGO: Cornish Hens with Yogurt-Mace Marinade

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cookies for the Holidays – Gingerbread

FIVE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Times Four

SIX YEARS AGO: White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse Cake

SEVEN YEAR AGO: Panettone Time!

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Pistachio Creme Brulee

NINE YEARS AGO: Fast and Furious Bison Chili

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, December 2014

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Braised Fennel with Saffron and Tomato

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Revenge of the Two Derelicts

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Grilling Ribbons

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Peppery Cashew Crunch

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Baked Shrimp and Feta Pasta

10Dec2024

THREE LITTLE COOKIES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Posted in Cookies by sallybr

The holiday season is all about baking, so today I offer three ideas for cookies that may not be on your radar. I start with a recipe recently shared by the baking queen extraordinaire, Helen Fletcher.

SERBIAN WALNUT COOKIES

SERBIAN WALNUT COOKIES
(from Helen Fletcher’s blog)

for the filling:
¾ cup apricot preserves
1 ½ teaspoon gelatin
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

for the cookies:
1 cup walnuts (114 grams)
½ cup unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
1 cup + 1 T granulated sugar (75 grams)
1 large egg yolk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (175 grams)
2 cups powdered sugar (260 grams)

Make the filling, if you prefer, a few days in advance. Place the apricot preserves in the bowl of a processor. Process until smooth. Dissolve the gelatin in the vinegar in a very small bowl. Heat the preserves just to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Tear the gelatin into about 6 pieces and immediately add it to the hot preserves. Wait for a minute or two until you can see the gelatin has liquified. Stir it into the preserves. Transfer to a small container and refrigerate until needed.

Make the cookies: Heat the oven to 325°F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Place the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minuts until fragrant and slightly browned. Cool completely. When cool, place the walnuts and flour in the bowl of a processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground and instinguishable. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until light. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until completely incorporated. The dough should be good to roll out but if it is too soft, refrigerate briefly. Place the dough between two large pieces of waxed or parchment paper. Roll the dough to abut ¼” thick. With a 1 ½” round cutter, cut the cookies out, keeping them close together.

Remove the top piece of waxed paper and, keeping the cookies on the bottom pieces of paper, transfer the whole thing to a baking sheet. Freeze until rock hard. When frozen, punch them out and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes from the frozen state until lightly browned and firm. Cool completely.

Assemble the cookies: Stir the filling vigorously to smooth it out. Turn half the cookies upside down and fill with about ¾ teaspoon apricot filling. Place the tops on the cookies. Allow the filled cookie to set up on a rack overnight to tighten the filling. Store in an airtight container for a week or 10 days.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These cookies are so delicious that they can stand on their own without the filling: nutty, great texture, not too sweet. I advise you to stop by Helen’s site so you can see all the detailed pictures and step by step instructions. I love the way she adds gelatin to a store-bough concoction to make it perfectly set in the sandwich cookie. I don’t like fillings that ooze out when you hold or bite into the cookie. She definitely knows all the great tricks in the baking world… I omitted the showering with powdered sugar, as they are easier to box and share without the sugar coating. Excellent cookies, make sure to give this recipe a try. As I’ve said many times over the years, you cannot go wrong baking with Helen!

BLUEBERRY SWIRL MERINGUE COOKIES

BLUEBERRY SWIRL MERINGUE COOKIES
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

120g egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
200 g sugar (about 1 cup)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla paste
blueberry jam, about 1 cup

Heat oven to 200°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low to combine, then turn the speed up to medium and whip until frothy. With the mixer is still running, add the sugar in small increments. Once all the sugar has been added, turn the speed up to high and whip until the meringue is glossy, thick, and holds stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle the cornstarch and vanilla on top and fold gently to combine. Divide the meringue into 12 equal rounds, using a cookie or ice cream scoop or two spoons. Spoon a small amount of blueberry jam on top of the meringue and use a chopstick to gently swirl it. Bake the meringues for 2 hours, then turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool gradually inside the oven for another hour. Store leftover meringues in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are pretty amazing, and you can add different jams and I imagine it would work well with Nutella also! Make them big, I think they turn out better this way.

BISCOCHITOS

BISCOCHITOS
(from The New York Times)

½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon anise seeds
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (116 grams) yellow masa or finely ground yellow cornmeal
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons rum or brandy (optional)

FOR THE TOPPING:
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small pinch of coarse kosher salt (such as Morton)

Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat softened butter with sugar on medium-high until well combined, about 2 minutes.
While butter is creaming, toast the anise seeds in a small skillet on medium heat for 30 to 35 seconds until fragrant, just to open up the flavor. Transfer to a mortar and pestle, or crush under a heavy pan, and grind to medium fine.

Add the egg, toasted anise seed, orange zest and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat for 2 to 3 more minutes, scraping the sides, until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, masa, baking powder and salt.

In two additions, with the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until well combined but crumbly. Add rum or brandy, if using, and beat for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the dough comes fully together.

Place the cookie dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out evenly to ¼- to ½-inch thickness. Freeze for at least 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes. The cookies will keep a sharper shape depending on how cold they are when they go into the oven.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the cinnamon sugar topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and salt; set aside. Once the oven is at temperature, remove the dough from the freezer, remove the top parchment layer and cut the dough with a cookie cutter into your preferred shapes, such as stars. Gather any dough scraps and combine them into a disk. Roll and repeat the cookie-cutting process, chilling as necessary. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or with parchment. Transfer cut cookies, spacing 1 inch apart, to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the cookies with the cinnamon sugar topping.

Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets after 8 minutes, until the cookies are light brown around the edges but still pale in the center, 13 to 15 minutes total. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are very unusual and quite addictive. I was surprised by how sharp the edges turned out even though there is quite a bit of baking powder in the recipe, made me wonder about adding a touch of masa harina to sugar cookies and see what happens. A friend of mine made this recipe and it turned out hard to roll out, very crumbly, so if that happens to you, add some milk to the dough to make it smoother. Probably less than a tablespoon is all you’ll need. I love their flavor and texture, I hope you also give this recipe a try during the holidays, they are perfect to include in a cookie box, as they are quite sturdy and last well. at room temperature.

ONE YEAR AGO: Two Festive Cakes, Part One

TWO YEARS AGO: Broccoli Slaw Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

THREE YEARS AGO: Vegan Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Green Tea Rice with Edamame and Butternut Squash

FIVE YEARS AGO: Santa Hat Mini-Mousse Cakes

SIX YEARS AGO: Fun with Sourdough

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pasteis de Nata

EIGHT YEARS AGO: New Mexico Pork Chile, Crockpot Version

NINE YEARS AGO: Chocolate on Chocolate

TEN YEARS AGO: Double Chocolate and Mint Cookies

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Story of my first Creme Brulle’

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Mini-rolls