Back to School...

Well, I don't have to go back to school just yet, but a lot of other people are. Even though it is still pretty warm outside, I have that squirmy feeling that summer is ending. What is a girl to do?

Make cookies you say?

But of course.

I thought long and hard about what kind of cookies really capture what I am feeling. Summery, yet not summery. Something portable, or rather, lunch-box-worthy. But most importantly, what sounds tasty at the moment.Continued...Then it hit me. Cranberry Lemon Squares. The tangy, refreshing lemon is perfect for a warm summer day. The cranberries are as autumnal as can be. The contrast of the cool, zingy topping and the tender, buttery crust perfectly represent this August/September transition. Yep. I am awesome.

Well, Martha is awesome for coming up with the recipe. As usual though, I edited it to my needs. (Read "my needs" as "I am occasionally quite lazy") I also added the lemon zest to the mix because I love a very pronouced lemony tang. If you can't handle it, omit said zest.

Cranberry Lemon Squares

6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 12
pieces, plus more for pan

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (about
7
ounces)

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for
dusting

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

3/4 cup granulated
sugar
Zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup freshly squeezed plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
lemon juice (about
3
lemons)

...
1.Preheat oven to 325°.
Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, and set
aside.

2. Chop the
cranberries as best you can with a knife.
Or, use scissors and snip them
down. (This was originally done via food
processor after they cooked, but my
food processor is a dinosaur. Unreliable,
and an otherwise clunky, annoying
object.)

(Pause for daydreaming about a new
food processor)

3. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries and 2 cups water; bring to a
boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until water
has
been absorbed, about 25 minutes. Set aside, let cool.

4. In a bowl combine confectioners’ sugar and 3/4 cup flour.
Add
butter, incorporate by hand (again, food processor should do it, but it
doesn't have to) until mixture forms pea-size pieces. Press batter into
baking
pan.

5. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to
cool.

6. Beat eggs and granulated sugar until smooth.
Add lemon juice;
beat to combine. Add remaining 1/4 cup flour, and beat to combine; set lemon
mixture aside.


7. Reduce oven temperature to 300°. Spread cranberry
mixture over cooked crust. Pour lemon mixture over the cranberry mixture. Bake
until set, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 40 minutes. Chill
4 hours. To serve, cut into squares, and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

This can actually be a lovely dessert as well, with a little whipped cream on top. Sprig of mint. You know the And here is where you write the rest of it.

You Whore!

I alwasy thought puttanesca was a tomato-based sauce characterized by the addition of olives and/or capers. At least that is what I told my little sister who heard it mentioned in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunatel Events. However, with a little research in The FoodNetwork Encyclopedia, I found a very surprising description: Continued...

[poot-tah-NEHS-kah] Generally served with pasta, this sauce is a spicy mélange of tomatoes, onions, capers, black olives, anchovies, oregano and garlic, all cooked together in olive oil. A dish on a menu described as alla puttanesca signals that it's served with this sauce. The name puttanesca is a derivation of puttana, which in Italian means "whore." According to one story, the name purportedly comes from the fact that the intense fragrance of this sauce was like a siren's call to the men who visited such "ladies of pleasure."

Well, it does make it a whole lot more interesting. It implies a kind of aphrodisiac-like-quality. If I make this, will there be a line of boys outside my door? Yes? Awesome. I am all for it then. Does the fact that I cook this dish imply anything about me? About Mr. Snicket? Hmmmmmm...

This is certainly one of those "cooking as a performance" dishes, meaning that you kinda juggle a few things at once as you go along. As with any performance, one must "set the stage" and prep your ingredients.

(Again, I am terrible with keeping track of measurements. Just do it to taste, then it will become your very own)

First bring a pot of salted water to the boil for your pasta. Next, chop some tomatoes (whole from a can, or fresh), red onion, garlic, parsley, olives(green and black, and brown for that matter). Roll and halve a lemon, and have at the ready for the big finish. Drain some tuna that has been packed in (preferably olive) oil.

(Your water might be boiling now, add some spaghetti. Not angel hair, not penne. Spaghetti. Whole wheat actually works very well here.)

Now heat some olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add some crushed red pepper flakes. When the little flakes start to jump from the pan, add the onion and a little salt. Cook until "the edge is taken off" the onion, add the garlic. Cook until you can *just* smell it and add the tomatoes and olives, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook vigorously, stir constantly. All the while watching your pasta, draining whenever it is finished, keeping it backstage in the colander. (Told you this was crazy) If your sauce becomes to thick, you can add pasta water, stock, or even some white wine. Ok, ok, preferably the wine. Add the tuna and parsley, heat the tuna through. Add the pasta and coat with the sauce. Plate. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, and a dash of olive oil. Voila!

I like to serve with a little arugula dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon, with sliced roasted beets (golden beets if you rock and don't want to deal with red beets that stain everthing). The bitter arugula and sweet beets compliment the spicy pasta.

Obviously you could add some capers, or anchovies to be more authentic, but I like tuna because it makes the dish more like a meal. You could also throw some cheese in there, but I like it as is. Whore that I am...

And Now For Something Completely Different

For fear of talking about only pastry, and for the sake of fairness, I should throw in some ideas from the more savory end of the spectrum. I am always trying to come up with healthful and yummy meals, with the hope to inspire the fast food nation that is my family and friends (you know who you are). So first up is my favorite version of a burger, served with roasted zucchini. Continued...

(By the way, it is even harder to come up with a "recipe" for this kind of cooking, so if this is confusing, it isn't your fault. Just try to figure how much zucchini or turkey will feed one person, and multiply accordingly)

I start by heating the oven to 425. Next I prep the zucchini by cutting each of them twice lengthwise, leaving long skinny quarters. I lay them skin side down on a cookie sheet, spray them with spray olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and throw them in the oven. They will shrink way down, and be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

For the burgers, start by roasting some bell peppers (any color but green). After the skin is removed , set aside. Now take your good ol' ground turkey meat in a bowl, and add some salt, pepper, minced garlic and chopped fresh parsley. Mix, then form into patties. Cook over medium-high heat with some olive oil. While they are cooking, toast some buns (I love the Trader Joes "Honey Wheat" buns. Wheat just works better here). Spread a little mayo* on the buns (May also be a Trader Joes product "The Ojai Cook Lemonaise") add a few layers of romain lettuce to the bottom. Add your burger, roasted bell pepper, and some thinly sliced red onion. Serve with the zuchinni.

I think this meal is great as is, but if you feel the need to "round it out" you could throw in some roasted potato or some fruit, or a cup of soup. OOooo. That sounds good. Also, avocado plays well with the burger. Actually, avocado is good with just about anything. But that is another post altogether.



*When I say something is "healthful" it does not mean "low fat," "low carb," "low cal," or really "low" anything. I just try to have more poultry and fish, less meat, lots more veggies, whole grain instead of white, less butter, more olive oil, moderation...yada yada. More a "healthy choices" kind of thing. So admittedly, not the healthiest person ever, but come on, would you ever trust a skinny cook?

French Toast and Dave Matthews

This morning I decided to make my little brother and sister french toast, and I'll be damned if it wasn't the best I ever made. My sister hated it, of course, but Luke really seemed to enjoy himself. This is the recipe to the best I can recall it:

- 1 large egg
- 1/2-3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp. freshly grated clemetine zest
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 T sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix in a pie pan. Set a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add some butter. The amount of egg mixture I made coated 4 pieces of bread very nicely. (I used potato bread, as that was on hand). Cook, turning once, until golden brown and delicious. I served it with real maple syrup and whipped cream (there was a can in the fridge, why not?). I'm telling you it was heaven. Continued...

I think I will call it "Lazy Crepe Suzette" because it gives you similar flavor notes, but with much less time and effort. Needs a nice cafe au lait to go with. Maybe some raspberries. Mmmmmhh. Raspberries...

Also, I went to my 9th or 10th (Lost track. Yes I know I need to stop) Dave concert last Friday. I ate Gordon Biersch Garlic Fries with their Marzen Lager. I still smell like garlic. God those are tasty. Dave was excellent. He played Lover Lay Down, one of my favorites. All I know about Dave and foodstuffs is that he loves his drinkie. In his songs he mentions wine (many times), and tequila, and whiskey. Among Dave Fans, he notoriously loves bourbon. So here is a generic whiskey sour recipe to toast Dave and his fabulous performance. To be more specific, we'll call it a bourbon sour. (I happen to love these, although Dave probably likes it straight. How can you not like a drink with a mandatory cherry?!)

Bourbon Sour

2 oz bourbon
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 tsp superfine sugar
1 orange slice
1 cherry

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the bourbon, lemon juice, and sugar. Shake well. Strain into a whiskey sour glass, garnish with the orange slice and cherry.

If only I could get Dave to come over to my house. I would make him my french toast. Then we would live happily ever after.

Thoughts on Baking...

There are really two schools of thought when it comes to baking, and there are upsides to both. First is that of the scientist. Each and every ingredient is measured with extreme care, and the whole operation is done, well, like an operation.

"Nurse! Fifty grams of sugar! Stat!!!"

This approach to cooking is very useful to someone with pastrophobia, as it lays out the ground rules. If followed properly, failure is unlikely.

The other school of thought is the "this and that" method, where the cook measures nothing, but uses lots of taste, touch, and smell tests to determine the condition of the food at hand. It is often developed over years of practice as requires finely tuned senses. Think Grandma's homemade apple pie. Although there are purists, to be a true baker, you must know both. Kinda like when Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that one must learn both sides of the Force in order to fully understand it. Except he was full of crap.Continued...

AB artfully outlines the arguement for science in his book I'm Just Here for More Food. More than that, he also explains where the wiggle room is in baking and how to play with it. He is a clever boy. I tend to not be quite as stringent with my measurements, but I also have a respect for things like "baking soda does NOT equal baking powder." I do not have a scale (so sorry AB!), though I completely agree it is the most accurate and precise way to measure pretty much everything.

It just seems like you should use the science stuff as a step towards understanding the whole realm of baking. After that foundation is put down, you should be able to have a little fun with it, and not stress over ever little microgram. Baking, and pretty much all other cooking, is like a live theater performance. There is vague script that leaves room for improvisation, an unpredicatable cast or characters, and there is always the possibility that something could go wrong. Baking one ups theater though, because at the end, you get to eat cookies.

And speaking of cookies, I have a great, easy, cookie recipe that I came up with. It is also great because it can easily be made vegan.

"La-Dee-Dahs"

I actually came up with this completely on the fly one evening. My Dad came downstairs just as I put the cookies on a plate and said, "did you know my mother used to make these EXACT SAME things? She called them 'la-dee-dahs'. " Which was weird because I did not know that, particularly since she died, like, way before I was born, and my Dad doesn't talk about his childhood on a regular basis.

-piecrust, chilled, any recipe you like (for vegans, use a vegetabable based fat)
-butter or margarine, melted
-sugar
-cinnamon
-whatever else*

Roll piecrust into a rectangle, or as close as you can. Make a paste of sugar, cinnamon, and melted lipid of your choice. Spread onto piecrust. Sprinkle "whatever elses" if you so desire. Roll up the concoction. Slice (or even better, use some thread to make slices). Lay slices on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill until firm. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and delicious (10-15 minutes?) Let cool very well before eating, as the butter/sugar will be like liquid hot magma.

*whatever else can include things like finely chopped nuts, dried currants, dried cherries, raisins, etc. Crystallized ginger is also nice. Keep the pieces little and don't add too much to the cookies, just a sprinkling.

Fiat Blog

Following the trend-wave of blogging, and a brilliant idea from Mr. Neuman, I introduce you to my Food Blog. (Neuman, you little muse you...) I would also like to thank Miss Stephanie for the oh-so-clever name, as it accomplishes many things as a title. For one, it encapsulates my sense of humor. It also references Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, which is fine in its own right. We could also conveniently throw in orginal sin, and Adam and Eve, but then I might spin off into how Christianity demonized Eve and my whole feminazi side that I really try to keep under control will come out like a thundering monster... I'll stop now. One of the first things I think about when I think apples is how they relate to Snow White, my favorite Disney princess, possibly the root of my whole cooking obsession. (She makes a pie for Grumpy! Food-gifts are a good way of showing how you feel... right...) Then there is that whole "apple of discord" that Paris awarded to Aphrodite in exchange for Helen, which launched those damn ships...
Continued...

Of course, apples contain a general food reference, which was the original intent of the title and therefore blog. Quite a lot of symbolic punch.

My favorite apple dish is, what I call, Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake. It is heavily based on Martha's Steamed Caramel Apple Pudding. I have made it for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but most memorably for my Latin professor. He loves all things apple, so when out class threw him a little surprise birthday party, he had apple turnovers and apple juice, along with this cake.

The main reason I had to adapt it was because I don't have a true pudding mold. Instead I used a metal bowl, which makes a nice dome shaped caked, and cooked it in the oven with a water bath. (To simulate a steamed pudding). I also upped the apples and added the almond flour (because I happened to have it on hand the first time I made it, creating yummy results)

-4 Granny Smith apples, and 4 Golden Delicious peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
-1 3/4 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-12 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1/4 cup molasses
-1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
-2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
-Pinch of salt
-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
-1/2 cup almond flour (I love Trader Joes)
-Copious amounts of whipped cream

1. Preheat oven (preferably convection) to 350

2. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small, heavy saucepan; set over medium heat. Cover, and cook until sugar has melted. Remove cover, and continue cooking, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar turns a deep amber. Carefully pour caramel into metal bowl; tip so caramel coats bowl evenly. Set mold aside. It will be BLOODY hot.

3. Place half of the apple chunks in a small saucepan, and add 2 tablespoons water, 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Place saucepan over low heat, and cook, covered, until apples fall apart. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more, stirring often. Set the applesauce aside.


4. Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a small sauté pan; add remaining apple chunks and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until apples turn brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Place apples in the bottom of the mold, distributing evenly so they reach up the sides.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and molasses; mix well. Add the reserve applesauce, and mix well.

6. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in breadcrumbs. Add to the applesauce mixture. Stir batter until just combined.

7. Fill bowl with batter. Add a layer of parchment paper then a layer of foil. Secure foil as best you can. Place a pan in the oven, place the bowl in the pan, and water to the pan to create the water bath. (In that order). Bake until done.* Let cool for a few minutes, but flip onto a serving try while still warm.

8. Eat with loads of whipped cream.

* I have a nasty habit of never keeping track of time. I say check the food after 20 minutes, but it could be as long as 40. Toothpick test should yield sticky crumbs.