Egg Hunt

My Favorite Scones

Here's the thing with me and scones: as much as I like them, too often they've been relied on as culinary gasoline- something gobbled in the morning for a stolen attempt at breakfast. If they've been dry and flavorless- with a uniform texture resulting from too many rounds in a commercial mixing bowl-  it was hardly noticed; all I required was they line my stomach against dark coffee and an early commute.

While I'm still not much of a "breakfast person", I can happily state that these days I enjoy delicious, well-made scones. To my taste, the best are like good biscuits:  flakey and high-shouldered, with craggy tops and a tender interior. Lightly sweetened, they should taste of butter and crunch slightly when bitten.

And although these scones don't require additonal butter (oh alright, if you must), this is the time to bring on the marmalade!

Currant Scones adapted from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine

Please, please, please handle this dough as little as possible- the best scones are made with the lightest touch!

2 c AP flour

1 tbl baking powder

3 tbl sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbl cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

grated zest from one lemon

1/2 c currant, plumped for 10 minutes in very hot water, drained and blotted dry

1 cup cold heavy cream

additional heavy cream and sugar, for glazing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Place cubed butter in the freezer until ready to use

In a large bowl, mix together flour, b.powder, sugar, and salt.

Add the cold butter and lemon zest and- working quickly- cut in butter as you would for a pie crust: with two knives, a pastry cutter, or your finger tips (best for those with cold hands!).

When the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few larger lumps of butter, add the currants and toss lightly to combine.

Add the heavy cream and lightly toss the mixture with your hands, letting it fall between your fingers until the dough just begins to form.

Transfer to the counter top and lightly knead the mixture only until it is just combined.

Pat out dough into an 8" circle and, using a sharp knife dipped in flour, cut into 8-10 wedges of equal size (if dough has become too soft to achieve a nice, clean cut, refrigerate for a few minutes before proceeding; the cleaner the cut, the higher your sides will be). Separate wedges and place onto an ungreased baking sheet (double-pan the baking sheets so the scone bottoms don't over-brown).

Brush the tops and sides of the scones with heavy cream, sprinkle lightly with sugar (white or brown), and bake for until lightly browned (12-15 minutes).

Cozy Winter Sunday

Some lunches are best eaten specifically following a brisk, snowy hike, when the nerves in your legs are twitching and your cheeks are still numbed by the fresh Sierra chill: beef stew, chicken pot pie, kale and turkey meatballs in a rich, garlicky broth...

Followed, of course, by a homey dessert:

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake adapted from Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine

This recipe is simple, but you will dirty many bowls! As the cake bakes, the liquid will sink- grabbing the cocoa mixture as it does- thus forming a pool of sauce at the bottom of the pan.

1 c coffee plus 1/2 c water, room temp

2/3 Dutch-processed cocoa, divided

1/3 c brown sugar, packed

1 c granulated sugar, divided

6 tbl unsalted butter

2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 c AP flour

2 tsp b.powder

1 tbl vanilla

1/3 c milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 lg egg yolk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease an 8" square glass or ceramic baking pan.

In a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate and 1/3 c of cocoa. Whisk until smooth, then cool to room temp. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine coffee with water. Set aside.

In another small bowl, combine 1/3 c cocoa,  1/3 c granulated sugar, and the brown sugar with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

In yet another small bowl, whisk the flour together with the b.powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining sugar (2/3 c) with the milk, vanilla, egg yolk, and salt. Whisk together, then  add the chocolate mixture, followed by the flour mixture, whisking until the batter is evenly moistened. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly to the sides and corners.

Evenly sprinkle all of the cocoa mixture over the batter, covering the entire surface; gently pour the coffee mixture on top.

Bake until the cake is puffed and bubbling and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the dish (35-35 minutes)- do not overbake!

Cool on a wire rack for about thirty minutes before spooning into serving bowls- any sooner and the sauce will be too thin. When warm, this cake screams to be served with vanilla ice cream (but I also like to eat it straight from the refrigerator, when the fudge sauce has turned  pudding-like and luscious).

Snow Days

Listen, the snow is falling over town,
Listen the snow is falling everywhere.
Between Empire State Building
And between Trafalgar Square.
Listen, the snow is falling over town.

Listen, the snow is falling over town,
Listen the snow is falling everywhere.
                                  Between your bed and mine,
                                  Between your head and my mind.
                                  Listen, the snow is falling over town.

                                  Between Tokyo and Paris,
                                  Between London and Dallas,
                                  Between your love and mine.
                                  Listen, the snow is falling everywhere.

                                  Snowfling, snowfall, snowfall,
                                  Listen, listen,
                                  Listen, baby,
                                  Listen.

                              

                                 -Yoko Ono

Gluttony

I'm in SF this week, wheelbarrowing my belly across this delicious town. In the spirit of Ash Wednesday, I'll abstain from delivering the entire tour of obesity and stick to the the highlights:

• a perfect, salt-and-pepper-crusted leg o'lamb with root vegetables and mint jelly, cooked by my host
• a scoop of brioche bread pudding from Tartine

beef bone marrow and horseradish on grilled bread at Blue Plate

green garlic soup, clams and sausage, and a slice of apple tart with huckleberry ice cream at Chez Panisse

a fabulous, new-wave sundae from Bi-Rite Creamery: two scoops of dark chocolate ice cream topped with sea-salt (sorry Regina!), bergamot olive oil, and whipped cream

made-to-order cannolis from Pizzeria Delfina- might be the best I've ever had: warm, crispy shells, fresh, cool ricotta, orange peel, pistachio, bits of chocolate

Tomorrow will find me sampling treats from Ferry Building markets, later snacking on pizza at A16; Saturday, a trip down the coast to Pescadero, artichoke soup at Duartes, and Harley's goat farm.

By Monday I'll be again living among the lean cupboards of Plumas County, but for now, I'm tasting this city 'til  it runs out of food! 

Foiled Again!

A coupla' months ago, I was slinking 'round the Ferry Building markets(as much as a chubby girl can slink, anyway) with no money in my pocket and a brutal resolve (as brutal a resolve a libra can have, anyway) not to break out the plastic. Trolling and eyeballing, grabbing samples where I could, I was content with my vagrancy until I reached Boulette's Larder, where a golden disc on a modest white plate stopped me dead in my tracks.

It all went to hell from there.

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Peanut and Sea Salt Cookies

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz's Ripe for Dessert, where he pairs it with a recipe for Margarita sorbet. These crispy cookies are quite rich and salty; serving them with something refreshing and fruity - pineapple granita, mango sorbet- makes them sing.

1 1/4 c roasted unsalted peanuts, divided

3/4 c flour

8 tbl unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 c granulated sugar

1/4 c packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temp.

1 tsp b.soda

2 tsp hot water

coarse sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place peanuts into a zip-locked bag and crush with a rolling pin. Reserve 1/2 cup and set aside.

Beat butter with sugars until just combined. Mix in the egg.

In a small bowl, mix baking soda with hot water and add to the batter. Mix in the 3/4 c ground peanuts and flour until just combined.

Form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and lightly roll in reserved crushed peanuts. Place onto prepared sheet pan (they will spread quite a bit), and sprinkle each cookie with a bit of coarse sea salt.

Bake for 7-9 minutes until deep golden brown. Let cool a bit before removing to cooling rack.

   

Eat a Bowl of Tea

I don't drink tea often, but I always have a stash in my cupboard in case of medical emergencies: chamomile for headaches, throat coat for flu season, darjeeling to accompany an occasional afternoon yen for chocolate cake (that's medicinal, right?!).  I'm pretty impatient, and the whole rigmarole necessary to achieve a proper cuppa' kind of drives me up the wall (there's no pride for me in admitting it; I wish I was serene and gracious enough to appreciate this lovely ritual, but what can I say).

Cooking with tea is something else, and I have no misgivings when steeping tea leaves in cream for custards or infusing a ganache with Earl Grey or Bengal Spice. Happily, I've inhaled poundcakes and madeleines flavored with something floral and caffeinated.  And I'll always make room for this panna cotta, smoky, shimmering, and luscious, lightly sweetened and very refreshing.

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Green Tea Panna Cotta adapted from Bon Appetit

This panna cotta is made with matcha, a powdered Japanese tea that comes from slow-grown, bright green leaves. High in amino acids with a  flavor that's sweet and deep, it can be found in many health food stores and well-stocked supermarkets.

1 tsp powdered gelatin

1 tbl cold water

3 tbl sugar

1/2 c milk

1/2 c heavy cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 tsp matcha

In a small bowl, soften gelatin in cold water. Set aside.

Heat sugar with the milk, cream, and salt stirring, until sugar dissolves. Whisk in the softened gelatin and vanilla extract.

In another bowl, make a slurry by gradually whisking 2 tbl of warm milk mixture into the matcha. Whisk in the rest of the milk mixture, strain, and divide into serving bowls or ramekins. Refrigerate for at least two hours but no more than a day before serving.

For a fancy, restaurant-style presentation, run a paring knife along the sides of each ramekin, "burp" the side of the panna cotta with your forefinger, and, pulling gently, ease it onto the plate....or dip the ramekin in a bowl of hot water for several seconds, shake gently, and invert onto plate. Serve with candied kumquats, mandarin orange segments, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

yields four servings

Bake Sale

As long as Kevin works in education, he'll hit me up for goodies on a regular basis.

"We're having a staff meeting on Thursday, can you make cookies? I need blood sugar to be up."

"Hey Maura, everyone's  gonna be bummed vacation's over. I'd love to bring in some scones."

"The teachers are having a potluck on Friday. They'll need dessert...do you mind?"

I don't mind, now that I'm no longer a restaurant slave and have time to roll up sleeves in my own kitchen. The old days were different...I'd crawl home after a ten-hour shift and could barely fake the energy for takeout- forget lemon bars and whoopie pies for thirty!

Bake sales are always a hot ticket, and in some ways more of a challenge. I love the idea of turning the kiddies onto, say, a slice of prune tart in walnut pastry (with orange blossom cream?), but I also know that if it's is a tough sell in the three-stars, it'll tank with the under-twelves. To make money with this crowd, I ease up any "cheffy" tendencies and offer something fun, tasty, and  b-a-s-i-c: chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow frosting.

Lord knows there are more sophisticated ways to top a cake- a rich buttercream, a silky ganache- but what the hell am I trying to prove?

Marshmallow Frosting

What's swell about this old-fashioned, boiled icing- also known as Seven Minute Frosting- is it's versatility: it combines nicely with toasted coconut-or sprinkles! It's a natural topping for banana splits and chocolate cream pie. Layer with butterscotch pudding. Or prepare brownies in a graham cracker crust, cover with frosting, toast under the broiler, and call it s'mores! 

1 1/2 c + 1/4 c sugar

2 tbl corn syrup

4 tbl water

6 large egg whites at warm room temperature ( if necessary, stir briefly over a pan of simmering water)

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

In a small pot, combine 1 1/2 cup sugar with corn syrup and water. Stir to combine, dip your hand under the tap, and wash away any sugar that clings to the sides of the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, occasionally washing down the sides of the pot (to prevent sugar from crystallizing) with a wet pastry brush. Cook until the syrup reaches 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Turn off heat and let cool for five minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until they are quite foamy. Add salt and continue to whisk until whites hold soft peaks (from this point on, try not to shut off the beater). Gradually add the sugar and vanilla. Lower speed, then pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl, taking care not to splash the whisk. Increase speed and whisk until cool (about seven minutes). If not using right away, store a room temperature in an air-tight container.

frosts about three dozen cupcakes

Poached Quince

Quince isn't a fruit one stumbles over often- not in this part of the world, anyway. So imagine my delight when I entered a supermarket in Hollywood last week and spotted piles of it, seated indian-style with the bananas and apples.

They were labeled "quince pears", and bumpy pears are indeed what they resemble (both are members of the pome family). Their flavor, however, belongs to quince alone: consider the most fragrant, floral bartlett soaked with rosewater and pineapple juice and you still haven't come close. Bite into one and see for yourself.....

Gotcha! Pretty terrible, isn't it?! When raw, quince is tart and hard, practically inedible. Be patient- quince is a model of belated gratification. As it roasts or simmers, quince takes the lazy route, softening and finding honey at a snail's pace- a languid hour or two- darkening to a rosy blush and filling the house with perfume.

Poached Quince

Quince needs to ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate it- lest it become mealy- once the fruit has lost all traces of green.

quince

water

sugar

vanilla bean

cinnamon stick

lemon, juice and peel

salt

To prepare quince: Peel, quarter, and remove core with a melon baller, a sturdy teaspoon, or a sharp knife (careful- its flesh can be quite hard). Cut quarters in half and set aside.

Per each quince, fill a non-reactive saucepan or pot with one cup of water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 vanilla bean, 1/4 cinnamon stick, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a strip of peel. Add the quince and cover with a parchment circle and/or small plate so the fruit stays submerged. Bring to boil, lower heat, and simmer for 45 minutes to two hours, until fruit is tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife (it will range in color from a light peach to a deep rose).

Cooled quince can be stored in its poaching liquid, refrigerated, for up to two weeks.

Guava Jelly

I've never cooked with guava before, at least not until yesterday. Certainly I've seen it in the "exotic" section of the supermarket, but it wasn't until I went to Southern California that I witnessed the fruit in such bulk, piled high in produce bins of San Diego and Los Angeles, spilling from boxes at the farmer's market in Ojai.

At each locale, their balm was incense-thick, musky, and sweet as syrup; driving home to Greenville with three pounds of ripe guava in the back seat is a lovely experience!

Unfortunately, those hefty three pounds yielded a puny eight ounces of jelly- but whatta jelly! Prepare some yourself, and you, too, can enjoy it for breakfast with cream cheese and toast. Spread it on pound cake. Fill a cookie. Glaze a cheesecake. Crown a custard. Flavor a buttercream. Top a cracker. Brush on pork chops. Nibble with manchego. Drizzle on shortbread. Sandwich with cheddar. Eat straight from the jar!

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Guava Jelly

guava

sugar

lime juice

Wash the fruit, remove stem ends, slice thin, and toss into a large, non-reactive pot. Fill with water just to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until the guava is very soft (30-40 minutes).

Pour entire contents of pot into a jelly bag set over a bowl. Let sit overnight.

Discard the cooked fruit and measure the amount of juice it has produced. Pour into a heavy, non-reactive pot.

For each cup of liquid, measure out 1/2 c sugar and 1 tsp lime juice. Add to pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer, stirring often and skimming off any scum that forms on the surface.  Cook for about 20 minutes, until it reaches 220 degrees (high altitude jammers: drop 2 degrees for each 1,000 feet above sea level) or sets up on a frozen plate.

Refrigerate, or can according to manufacturer's instructions.

Various Shortbreads

It's only mid-December, but my baking is done for the season.  Tomorrow I begin a road trip to Southern California, hitting up Los Angeles and San Diego, eventually landing in Santa Cruz for Christmas. Since my oven will be cold for the next week or so, will you whip up some cookies for me? I've left you with a few of my favorites to choose from.

Thank you and happy holidays! xoxoxox

Shortbread, with variations

300 degrees may seem like a low oven temperature, but it prevents the cookie from browning too quickly and losing its delicate texture

8 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1/2 c sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 c AP flour

optional ingredient from list below

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat sugar with the butter on medium speed for one minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the dough just comes together. Roll out to 1/4" thick and cut into desired shapes (Stars of Bethleham? "Gingerbread" men?). Chill for 30 minutes and bake for 20-25, or until the bottoms are a very light tan (the cookies will firm up as they cool).

Espresso Shortbread

Add 1/4 c ground espresso beans

Pistachio Shortbread

Add 1/2 c chopped pistachios

Lavender Shortbread

Add 4 tsp fresh or 2 tsp dried lavender buds, with which you've ground with some of the sugar

Pinenut Shortbread

Add 1/2 c chopped, toasted pinenuts