FRENCH LEMON YOGURT CAKE WITH POPPYSEEDS

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

It’s a little hard to believe that it took me 5 years to finally blog on this cake, a classic that I’ve made quite a few times in the past decade to take to graduate students in our lab. The funny thing is that I thought it was already in the blog, so whenever I made it, I never bothered taking a picture. Last month, searching through my index to retrieve the recipe, I was shocked to realize the harsh reality: it was nowhere to be found. Better late than never, this is the cake-challenged dream. One bowl, one whisk, absolutely nothing can go wrong. Except of course, if you tip the bowl…

FRENCH-STYLE YOGURT LEMON CAKE
(from Alpineberry)

for the cake:
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
3 large eggs
1 + 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/3 cup canola oil

for the glaze:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line with a parchment circle and butter the paper.

In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest with a whisk. spoon. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds. Mix until flour is just incorporated.

Add the oil and mix well. The batter will look curdled at first but it will come together. Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until your cake tester is clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Allow cake to cool in pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and set on a rack to cool completely.

Combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Such a perfect little dessert or morning treat with a cup of cappuccino. Not too sweet, not too rich, poppy seeds are of course optional, but they add a very unique flavor, and look pretty cute in their random distribution through the cake. If you have kids, it will be hard to find a recipe more appropriate for their first lesson in baking. By starting them early enough on this path, they won’t turn into cake-o-phobes like certain food bloggers you may know 😉

Disclaimer: No bowls were tipped during the making of this cake.
Isn’t that something?

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen – July 2013

TWO YEARS AGO: Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

THREE YEARS AGO: Ina Garten’s Banana Bran Muffins

FOUR YEARS AGO: Beer Bread with Roasted Barley

FIVE YEARS AGO: Tomato Confit with Arugula and Zucchini

3Jul2014

SOUS-VIDE PORK CHOPS WITH ROASTED POBLANO BUTTER

Posted in Pork, Sous-Vide Cooking by sallybr

Cooking certain cuts of pork in the Bewitching Kitchen can be a bit tricky. No matter how many chefs, cooks and food bloggers recommend cooking pork medium or even medium-rare claiming that it’s safe and tastes better, we prefer our pork to be fully cooked, approaching well-done. Sorry, folks, it’s a matter of taste… At that point, the less marbled pieces will end up dry. So, I pretty much abandoned center-cut pork loin chops in favor of other cuts. Pork tenderloin is my number one choice, and for braises and low-roasting I go with pork shoulder. Let’s bring sous-vide to the scene. Now I can cook the meat to the point we enjoy it, ending with a piece of meat that is both tender and juicy. This recipe, by the way, was the one that really sold the sous-vide concept to Phil. He was amazed by how perfectly cooked these turned out!

PORK LOIN CHOPS WITH ROASTED POBLANO BUTTER
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

for the compound butter:
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1 small poblano chili, roasted and peeled, seeds removed
1 Tbsp minced cilantro
zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

for the brine:
2 cups water
2 Tbs salt
1 Tbs sugar

for the meat:
4 center cut pork chops, boneless
1 tablespoon butter (probably a bit less)
grated ginger to taste
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon lime juice

Make the compound butter earlier in the day or several days before. Mix all ingredients well, form the butter into a log shape over parchment paper, rolling it tightly. Place the roll in the fridge for several hours, cut in slices when ready to use. Freeze leftover slices in a plastic bag.

Make a brine by dissolving the salt and sugar in 2 cups of cold water. Place the pork chops in the brine, refrigerate for a couple of hours. Remove the meat from the brine, rinse briefly and pat dry. Add a little bit of butter and grated ginger on top of each piece of pork, and place two chops inside each sealable bag.

Seal the bags and place in a sous-vide bath set for 140F for 6 hours.

When the time is almost up, mix the soy sauce, honey, mustard and lime juice in a small bowl. Remove the meat from the bag, brush the pieces with this mixture and grill very quickly on a hot grill just to char the surface, a couple of minutes per side.

Serve with a piece of compound butter on top.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

If you’ve never made compound butter, that’s a nice cooking project for a Saturday afternoon. You can flavor it with many different fresh herbs, the traditional kind uses minced parsley. I went with a lot of roasted poblano, a small amount of cilantro and some lime zest. Using a bench scraper helps a lot to get the butter shaped as a nice roll, but next time I will add a layer of plastic wrap underneath the paper. The butter must be very cold when you serve it, so that it slices easily. It is hard to make compound butter using less than 2 sticks, so you will have plenty of slices to save in the freezer for later. Just remove what you will use a few minutes before dinner time.

We both really loved this meal. Take a look at how juicy the slice of pork turned out! We served it with mashed cauliflower and sautéed broccolini. A perfect way to end a Sunday!

If you do not have a sous-vide, the exact same recipe can be made on the grill, simply brine it before, brush with the soy mixture (add the ginger to the rest of the ingredients) and grill, preferably with indirect heat to prevent the surface from burning too fast. If you are anti-butter, I feel a bit sorry for you, but the sous-vide pork will be ok on its own. 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

TWO YEARS AGO: Amazing Ribs for the 4th of July!

THREE YEARS AGO: Baby Back Ribs on the 4th of July

FOUR YEARS AGO: Blueberry Muffins

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Pie for your 4th of July

1Jul2014

AND HERE ARE THE WINNERS!

Posted in General by sallybr

All names were written in pieces of paper, carefully folded. The husband picked two names, the first one will get the beautifully crafted wooden board, and the second will get the cookbook, My Paris Kitchen. Not surprisingly, my beloved managed to pick two gorgeous ladies….. he’s got a magic touch, I suppose… 😉

Congrats to the winners, and please send me your address info so I can get those babies in the mail for you!

29Jun2014

WHEAT BERRY CARAWAY BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Time running out to enter the Bewitching giveaway… click HERE to join the fun!

Mom and her kids…

This bread was featured by the bloggers at Bread Baking Babes. I do not participate of this group event, but Ilva – from Lucullian Delights – does and when she blogged about this recipe, I made it on the following weekend, no time wasted. The original recipe from Peter Reinhart called for wild rice and onions, but she decided to use barley and caraway. I went with a modified version of her modified recipe, keeping the caraway but replacing the barley with wheat berries. A soft crumb, permeated with just enough crunch with the wheat berries, and that great flavor given by caraway seeds. You would almost think about rye bread as you savor this bread, since caraway is so often used in European rye concoctions. But it is definitely different. A wonderful dough to work with, rose like a balloon…. what a great sight this is for a bread baker, whether or not she is a babe… 😉

WHEAT BERRY AND CARAWAY BREAD
(adapted from Ilva’s recipe)

6 cups (765 g) bread flour
2 + 1/4 teaspoons (17 g) salt
2 tablespoons (19 g) instant yeast
1 cup (170 g) cooked wheat berries
1/4 cup (56.5 g) brown sugar
1+1/2 cups (340 g) lukewarm water
1/2 cup (113 g) lukewarm buttermilk
1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
1 egg white, for egg wash (optional)
1 tablespoon water, for egg wash (optional)

The day before baking:
Combine all of the ingredients, except the egg wash, in a mixing bowl. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for 1 minute. The dough should be sticky, coarse, and shaggy. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed, or continue mixing by hand, for 4 minutes, adjusting with flour or water as needed to keep the dough ball together. The dough should be soft, supple, and slightly sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will still be soft and slightly sticky but will hold together to form a soft, supple ball. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days.

On Baking Day:
Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Shape the dough into one or more loaves, in any shape you like, free form or in a loaf pan (if using a 5 by 9 inch pan, use 1kg of dough). For sandwich loaves, proof the dough in greased loaf pans. For freestanding loaves and rolls, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat and proof the dough on the pan.

Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours, until increased to about 1.5 times its original size. In loaf pans, the dough should dome at least 1 inch above the rim. If you’d like to make the rolls more shiny, whisk the egg white and water together, brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash just before they’re ready to bake.

Heat the oven to 350°F and bake the loaves for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate the pan. Total baking time is 45 to 55 minutes for loaves, and only 20 to 25 minutes for rolls. The bread is done when it has a rich golden color, the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and the internal temperature is above 185°F in the center.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes for rolls or 1 hour for loaves before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe makes A LOT of dough… Peter recommended using only 2 ounces (around 57g) dough per small roll. My rolls were definitely bigger than that. Normally I do not weigh dough when shaping. For this recipe I more or less cut the dough in half, shaped one as a large ball, and divided the remaining dough in 6 pieces, eyeballing the process. For hamburger-type sandwich, they were the perfect size.

The crumb is super soft, and since I used a reasonably small amount of caraway seeds, the flavor was not overpowering. I love caraway, but in breads I like it to be a mild presence. This bread was perfect with our Black Bean Burgers of a recent past…

FINAL REMARK: Remember that this bread takes TWO days to prepare. On the first day you will mix the dough, and place it in the fridge. Next day you resume shaping and baking. The fact that the dough can be kept in the fridge for a few days will make it easy to have freshly baked bread on a whim. Or almost on a whim…

I thank Ilva for the inspiration, and Susan for her Yeastspotting venue so I can share this bread with other bread baking “babes’…

ONE YEAR AGO: Mexican Focaccia

TWO YEARS AGO: Sunny Kamut Salad with Roasted Lemon Vinaigrette

THREE YEARS AGO: Pane de Casa & Crostini

FOUR YEARS AGO: Down-home Dig-in Chili

FIVE YEARS AGO: Cinnamon Rolls

25Jun2014

CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY WITH A SPIRAL KICK

Posted in Celebrate Wednesday, Poultry, Salads by sallybr

When I planned this dinner, I did not think it would turn out so delicious, and definitely not something that could go into my files of “Celebrate Wednesday“. A simple grilled chicken served with a humble zucchini salad? What could be so special about that? Hard to pinpoint a particular reason, but I feel this meal was a gastronomic jackpot: the whole combination of flavors is perfect. Refreshing, light, and satisfying. You can change the salad around in lots of ways, as long as you add the dressing a few minutes before serving. That will make sure the zucchini will get the right texture, losing some of its raw bite. Fresh mint, shaved celery, shaved fennel, those are some of the ingredients that come to mind as add-ons. The chicken marinade will go with pretty much any protein. Including tofu, if you are so inclined… 😉

GRILLED MISO CHICKEN
(adapted from Happy Food Happy Home blog)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons miso paste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
juice of 1 lime (2-3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt

Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and add the marinade. Toss everything around in the bag to coat all the chicken pieces. Marinade for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Grill the chicken using the 7-6-5 method: seven minutes on the first side, flip the pieces over, grill for 6 more minutes. Turn the grill off without opening the lid, and let the chicken stay inside for 5 minutes. Remove from the grill, let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes slightly tented with aluminum foil, slice and serve.

to print the Grilled Miso Chicken recipe, click here

SPIRALIZED ZUCCHINI AND CUCUMBER SALAD
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by Skinny Kitchen)

2 zucchini, ends trimmed, cut on a spiral cutter
1/2 English cucumber, end trimmed, cut on a spiral cutter
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon olive oil or to taste
1 avocado, cut in pieces
handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Use a spiralizer or a mandolin fitted with a julienne blade and cut the zucchini into very thin, spaghetti-like strands. Do the same for the cucumber, but place it over paper towels to drain excess liquid. To make it easier to serve, trim the strands cutting with scissors or a sharp knife, so that they are about 8 inches long. Place both veggies in a large serving bowl. Reserve.

In a small bowl, make a quick emulsion whisking the olive oil and lemon juice, a touch of salt and pepper. When it’s all emulsified, add the lemon zest.

Drizzle the dressing all over the strands of zucchini, and toss to coat. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the avocado pieces, the tomatoes, toss gently to combine. Sprinkle cilantro, adjust seasoning, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the salad recipe, click here

Comments: First, my apologies for being unable to give immediate credit to the grilled chicken marinade. I found it in the internet, thought I had bookmarked it, but instead I did a cut and paste of the ingredients and sent to myself by email. (Palm hits the forehead!) Since I clear my bookmark history every week, no luck tracking it down. (Head shake in disbelief…) Hopefully a lesson was learned. However, thanks to one of my dear readers, I could retrieve the source, and correct my mistake. It came from Happy Food Happy Home. Cute name for a blog… 😉 Thank you, Nan, for finding the source for me.

The salad. Of course, the spiralizer makes it super fun and interesting, but taste should come first, and in this category we also have a winner. However, depending on how watery your cucumber might be, you could run into problems. One way around it would be spiralizing only the zucchini and adding the cucumber in small pieces together with the avocado & tomatoes. You can salt them very lightly and wait for a few minutes until the salt draws most of the excessive liquid out. A brief rinse, a brief encounter with paper towels, and voilà: perfect cucumber! This is harder to do with the strands, so keep this in mind if you try this salad.

The husband verdict: you can make this recipe ANYTIME. It is awesome!

When you witness a man who loves pasta, rice, and potatoes giving such a compliment to zucchini, you know you got something special going… As special as offering two recipes in a single post (wink, wink). Almost as special as a Wednesday evening rescued from the boring middle of the week…
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ONE YEAR AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

TWO YEARS AGO: Granola Bars

THREE YEARS AGO: Awesome Broccolini

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Twist on Pesto

FIVE YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes