62 Main - Review

For our big, fancy, dinner celebrating our anniversary, we went to 62 Main, in the heart of downtown Colleyville (or what is supposed to be downtown.) It's just down the street from City Hall and the library in a shopping area similar to Soutlake's Town Center.

The restaurant is small, seating only 62 people (ha). Layout is very cozy and has clean lines. We had reservations and throughout most of our time there every table was occupied.

The menu is fairly short, about 4 choices each in the starters, salads, and entrees sections. For starters, I had the jumbo lump crab cake with a tangy tartar sauce. It was so tender and almost entirely crab, with barely enough other stuff to hold it together. Just the way I like it. Hubby had a wood-grilled shrimp with a smoky roasted red pepper sauce. It was really good. They have a wood-burning oven and let you know what the "wood of the day" is on their board. That day it was a Texas oak.

My entree was a pork belly with some kind of pureed turnip mixture. I didn't look at the menu closely enough to remember what it was. It was good - what little I got. One whole section of my pork was all fat. On top was a prune and morel sauce. I loved the prunes and the sweetness of the sauce, but forgot it had morels. Ugh, I hate mushrooms. I bit right into a morel thinking it was a prune and gagged. Hubby had the fish of the day which was halibut. It came with a tiny little polenta bite and some sort of sauce. He wasn't overly enthusiastic about it. He especially didn't like the ramps that came with it that were long and stringy and hard to eat.

There were selections on the menu which included polenta, gnocchi, and a warm chocolate cake - all things I had made recently. It was pretty funny. To steer away from that, our choices were either creme brulee or the cobble of the day. We chose the rhubarb and raspberry cobbler, mainly because I'd never had rhubarb before. It was pretty good, helped mainly by the ice cream on top. I was kind of disappointed I couldn't pick out the rhubarb. It became a reddish sweet mush with no discernible fruits.

The service was excellent. The only wine we had was one glass of sauvignon blanc, which I don't normally drink, but I thought it was nice with the crab. By the time the entree came around I wasn't feeling like another glass of wine. I'm not sure we'd go back. I would, but hubby thought it was too expensive for what was there. Especiall since I can (and did) make half the menu recently!

Gnocchi'n on Heaven's Door

Lest you think I was not a proper wife and didn't make something FABULOUS for our 1-year anniversary, I give you dinner, Guns 'n Roses style. Having become the recent owner of a ricer, and having some fingerling potatoes growing sad and forgotten in our veggie basket - gnocchi was to be the new recipe of the evening.

Have you ever had gnocchi? It's pasta. Made from potatoes. And done correctly they are light and airy and wonderful. The best gnocchi I ever had was in London's Notting Hill neighborhood. Since then I've wanted to make them, but didn't have a ricer, and like Alton Brown, I hate uni-taskers. Recently I read you could use a regular box grater to grate the cooked potatoes. Makes total sense. I don't know why it didn't occur to me.

We made gnocchi in cooking class a month or so ago so I felt I had my technique down. Potatoes, eggs, flour - that's all there is to it. The starch in the particular potato matters, and I'd always heard fingerlings were the best but all the recipes I seemed to find involved russets. I'm trying those next time because they sure are easy to find and I think the skin comes off easier as it's thicker.

Potato Gnocchi
(serves 4)

1 pound russet potatoes
3-4 egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

You can bake the potatoes in the oven, or boil them in water. Cook until they are tender when pierced with a skewer. You don't want to overcook them or the flesh will soak up more water, and more water equals more flour. A light hand with the flour is the key here - more flour equals a less tender gnocchi. Don't overwork the dough.

Let the cooked potatoes stand just long enough so that they are cool enough to handle. The hotter the potato when you rice them, the fluffier.

Scrape the peels off the potatoes and rice or grate the potatoes. Spread the riced potatoes out in a thin layer to expose as much of their surface as possible to the air. You should have about 2 cups of potatoes. In a large bowl whisk together 3 egg yolks, the cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add the potatoes and mix well. Sprinkle half cup of the flour over the potatoes and using your knuckles, press it into the potatoes. Fold the mass over on itself and press down again. Sprinkle on more flour, little by little, folding and pressing the dough until it just holds together. If the mixture is too dry, add another yolk or a little water. The dough should give under slight pressure. It will feel firm but yielding. To test if the dough is the correct consistency, take a piece and roll it with your hands on a well-floured board into a rope 1/2 inch in diameter. If the dough holds together, it is ready. If not, add more flour, fold and press the dough several more times, and test again.

To form, cut the dough into 4 to 6 pieces. Roll out each piece into a rope about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces and lightly flour any sticky sides. You'll now form them into dumplings with the ridges that are familiar to gnocchi. The ridges are what helps sauce stick. I doubt you have a gnocchi board - the tines of a form work just as well. Rest the fork upside down and at a 45 degree angle. Hold the gnocchi to the fork with your thumb and with light pressure press down and away from you. The gnocchi will roll away down the fork and get the impression from the tines. It will be slightly curved. Don't worry, it will take practice to get the right force and motion.






Rope for cutting








At this point you can lightly dust the gnocchi, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer, and freeze for later use. Simply move them to a ziptop bag when they are frozen through. Or you can bring a large pot of salted water to boil to cook them. They only need about 90 seconds to cook. Place them in the boiling water and when they float to the top, they are done. Use a skimmer or strainer to fish them out and dump into prepared sauce.

Frozen gnocchi can be placed in boiling water for cooking and remove when they have floated to the top - slightly longer than fresh gnocchi.

Sauces should be prepared and kept barely warm to simply coat the gnocchi and heat them through. I did a very simple brown butter coating with another grating of Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of kosher salt. A simple cheese cream sauce, a light marinara, or a pesto would also be excellent. Next time I'll be doing the basil pesto when the basil in the garden gets mature enough.

These took a long time from start to finish (being about an hour or so) but were well worth it considering how long I've waited to make them myself. They had a really strong potato taste plain, but I think switching to russets will help. Next time I'll watch the flour content more to try and make them even lighter. They were really good and went well as a side dish to our pork loin and Italian squash.

Pudding Cake Redux

I tried the Orange Pudding Cake recipe again - mainly because I didn't like the way they turned out. Ok, I didn't like the way *I* turned them out.

I'm happy to report that this time, on the right oven setting, they puffed up brilliantly and were beautiful AND tasty. I still took them out before the recipe recommended, so I wonder if my oven is running hot. Behold them in all their puffy glory!



I can safely and definitely recommend this recipe now. Sigh...that's a definite load off my culinary conscience.

Chocolate Cake

You know all those individual little chocolate cakes that are on every menu you see? You know...the ones that are cakey on the outside and oozy in the middle? I'll let you in on a secret - they are incredibly easy to make! And so tasty!

Continuing my work through David Lebovitz's chocolate book, I decided to make some for my 1-year wedding anniversary this weekend. The recipe normally makes 6 cakes so I halved it for 2 of us - no problems with the recipe. I'm in for a real treat if all his recipes are as good as the ones I've tried so far.

Hot Chocolate Cakes

Makes 6 cakes

10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs, separated

Butter 6 6-oz custard cups or ramekins. Sprinkle the insides with sugar and tap out excess. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

In a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water - or a double boiler - melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the egg yolks.

In a clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mix on medium speed until they are frothy. Increase the speed and whip until the egg whites start to form soft, wet peaks. Whip in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat just until the whites form shiny, droopy peaks.

Fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Divide the batter into the prepared cake molds, set them on a baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes until they feel slightly baked in the center. Remove from the oven and let stand for a moment before unmolding onto serving plates.

As a bonus I had made some strawberry-raspberry coulis the previous night from some frozen berries and sugar zipped up in the food processor, then passed through a fine sieve. It was a really good accompaniment to the bittersweet chocolate.

These are really easy to make in ramekins - but unmolding onto a plate can be a bit tricky as they are jiggly and soft in the middle.



Since there were only 2 of us I played around with making some in muffin tins as well. They came out perfectly (taken out just a tad earlier than the ramekins) and were the cutest little 3-bite chocolate cakes. They were great even 2 days later as we celebrated the last of our anniversary goodies.



I want to experiment with this recipe in the future. Some liqueur added to the batter... throw in some mini chips or cocoa nibs... espresso powder...

Vacation, Had to Get Away

This past weekend we took a little trip outside the Metroplex to celebrate our impending 1-year anniversary of bondage, er I mean marriage. We drove out to Granbury, which is only about an hour away, and spent one night. It turned out to be a culinary adventure as well as a good time away.

We stayed at the Inn on Lake Granbury in a room with a beautiful view of the lake. The room was huge and cozy with a 4-poster bed. It also satisfied our technological wishes, with a VCR/DVD player and Wi-Fi access. Breakfast was tasty, if a bit on the splurge side. Tasty snacks and wine were out in the afternoon for some post-sunbathing by the pool noshing. We were pooped from having been out in the rather warm countryside touring some fine wineries.

First stop was Bluff Dale Vineyards, just outside of Granbury. They had quite a selection of both reds and whites. Grapes are grown in west Texas in the higher elevations near Lubbock. We tasted all but the Merlot (which had been exhausted the previous weekend), even the port and cream sherry. We surprised ourselves and bought a bottle of the Chardonnay - mainly because it didn't taste like normal Chardonnay. We couldn't help but buy some of the port (not their production) which we predicted would be quite tasty over ice cream.

On down the road a bit towards Granbury, we stopped in at the Barking Rocks Winery. What a charming place and what a great guy running it! Tiberia, the vintner, works the whole operation. We loved Cellar, his friendly dog as well. We tried all the reds and whites, and even his newest venture, the Viognier grape. He so kindly let us have some of the new vintage unfiltered and raw. Then he led us into the fermentation room and had some of his Sangiovese that has yet to be bottled. It was fabulous. Here we purchased his Casena - a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and a very easygoing entry-level 2002 Cab. We had the Casena with Easter dinner the next day. Tasty! Tiberia occasionally hosts dinner and wine pairing events. They sound just awesome. He is the one who gave us the tip on our dinner that night.

We toured the downtown square a bit - but only found anything interesting in a foodie shop - go figure. (drunken spatula shopping!) We then retired to our lovely air-conditioned room at the Inn and had some of the afternoon libations. Well I stuck to water and hubby had the Dr Pepper, vintage 2005. But the cheese and crackers and hummus were mighty tasty.

Later that night we drove back out to Bluff Dale for dinner at a place called "Let's Eat". As you can see from the picture, it was a small...ahem, quaint...place. The vehicle out front was the standard mode of transportation.



We had been so worried about how we looked that we changed clothes, only to find that we were grossly overdressed. I wish Tiberia had let us know a little more about what to expect. This has absolutely NOTHING to do with the chef, Curren Dodds, or the fabulous meal we had there. It was a very short menu but I quickly gleaned that you could get lots of grub that wasn't on the menu if you asked and Curren had it. They ran out of 2 specials while we there, that's how popular the place is, even if it seats 35 people as a high estimate. Hubby had the New York Strip on corn hash and I had the grilled pork chops with savory bread pudding and green beans in a bourbon sauce. They were both great, and about 1/3 less than you'd pay at any place in the Metroplex. The Strip was huge! I started my meal with some butternut squash soup that was good, but too salty. The savory bread pudding was great but hard to figure out what was in it as it disintegrated under the chops and into the sauce. The bourbon sauce was perfect with the chops, with apple juice as the perfect sweetness. I thought hubby's hash had too much rosemary but he enjoyed all of it. I couldn't even finish my entree so we decided not to have the apple pie a la mode that was dessert that night.

We went home fat and happy, only to eat MORE on Easter Sunday.

Let's Eat
Bluff Dale, Texas
254-728-3635

I'm Gonna Be a Weiner

Above is my entry in a recipe contest. I've never done anything like this before, but spurred on by all those contest shows they have on Food TV "America's National Crabapple Jelly in Pastry Competition up next! Don't change that dial!" and how simple the rules SEEMED, I decided to take a recipe I make all the time, dress it up, get the particulars, and send it off.

What I realized is that those rules are NOT simple. They have all kinds of hidden details and ingredients you must use and formats the recipe must be in. I'm sure this narrows the pool down to a nice sizable amount that can be actually tested and eaten. Still, I figure this is good experience, plus now a family recipe is down on paper and can be shared with the world. THE WORLD I tell you! It's really good alongside grilled steak or chicken. My husband loves it and he's not the biggest squash fan. It's also good on top of pasta. I personally eat it cold leftover out of the fridge all the time.

Italian Skillet Squash, from my Mama

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups sliced yellow squash (about 2 small)
2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 small)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, with basil and garlic flavor (or other Italian flavor)
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (optional)

Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped oion and saute until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add minced garlic and dried oregano. Saute for another minute. Add salt and pepper.

Add the squash and zucchini and continue to saute until the squash soften. Add the diced tomatoes and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Sprinkle with grated parmesan. Garnish with fresh chopped basil, if desired.

Yield: 6 cups (serving size about 3/4 cup)

Mon Amour

I have fallen in love again. It was tentative at first - a flirtation. Small meetings early in the daylight, mostly on lazy Friday mornings. Then I was emboldened. The "chance" encounters became more frequent. I was creating vivid dreams when I went to bed - gazing out the window thinking about our next visit during the day... Then today, full-blown infatuation. I stood, immobile, eyes closed, savoring each moment. My husband slept just upstairs. I had banished the cat to the yard. I wanted it all to myself. My own private espresso love affair...

Yes, I've fallen prey to that bad, dark boy - the espresso roast. The trip to Paris pushed me forward just like I knew it would. Twice, sometimes 3 times a day I found myself gazing down at my precious, in its cute little tiny cup, head full of foam. My mother always warned me about the dangerous ones. And for the most part I've tread just this side of the precipice. Now however, I've flung myself right into the abyss.

It was the small brick of espresso I brought back with me. Smuggled in my luggage, protected by layers of dirty socks. I had put off opening that package, trying to use up the rest of the poor excuse for grounds I had purchased back in the states. But after perusing this site yesterday I knew the jig was up. I knew I would finagle my way back to the good stuff. And I was completely beguiled this morning. I was like a junkie waiting for the next fix, I was. It was pathetic! But oh...how it's hot warmth with perfect foam felt going down...pure magic...

Candyman

This past week I took a wonderful class by David Lebovitz (of international acclaim!) at Central Market. He is such a good teacher. He's entertaining, and full of information, and made us all instantly at home. Plus, I have never seen so many recipes made in such a short time. Thank you David, I learned so much about chocolate, candy, and Paris.

A Sunday afternoon found me itching to do something. Too early to start dinner, too hot to finish planting my annuals, so I decided to make one of David's recipes we learned in class. His toffee with chocolate and nuts was so good (the small piece I had) and I had bought some really good Callebaut semisweet chips at Central Market so I decided it HAD to be the one. My husband would thank me, I was sure. And it turned out so fast! The slowest part of the whole recipe I think was toasting the almonds.

I'd never made candy before, mainly because molten sugar at 300 degrees scares me. That and I had never bought a candy thermometer. But the way David whipped it up with no fear emboldened me to try it.

Step 1 is to toast your nuts (here almonds) for 5-10 minutes until fragrant. They go from fragrant to burned really fast so watch out.

While doing that you can get your sugar, water, butter, and salt heating in a sturdy saucepan. Your goal is 300 degrees - or "hard crack" stage. The temperature of sugar is referred to as things such as "soft ball", "hard ball", and "hard crack". These represent what the sugar would do if you dropped some of it into cool water. Hard crack means it would seize up and when taken out, make a hard crack when you tried to break it in two.

Here's the butter and sugar mixture bubbling away at about 200 degrees. Those silicone spatulas are great.



Cool your nuts and chop between coarse and fine. Spread half the nuts into an 8x10 rectangle on a buttered pan or on a Silpat, as I did. (that great silicone again).

When the sugar gets up to temperature, remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Pour the sugar over the nuts, trying to keep the depth even. This stuff will stay warm for a good while, but even so, quickly sprinkle your 1 cup of semisweet chips over the sugar. Good chocolate really makes a difference here.

Let the chips sit for a minute or too. Because the sugar is still so warm, you can take an offset spatula and spread the chips evenly over the sugar. At this stage David encouraged us to sprinkle some fleur de sel on the chocolate - I love salty and sweet so I did and I really loved the outcome.



Add the second half of the nuts on top of the chocolate and gently press them into the chocolate.



Let cool in the refrigerator until hardened. The sugar will harden much sooner than the chocolate. In my fridge it took about half an hour to cool completely. Break into chunks. Yummy!



Chocolate Toffee, adapted from David Lebovitz

2 cups toasted almonds, hazelnuts, pecans chopped between 'fine' and 'coarse'
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
big pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Lightly oil a baking sheet wiht an unflavored vegetable oil - or place a Silpat or other silicone liner on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle half the nuts into a roughly 8" x 10" rectangle on the baking sheet.

In a sturdy medium saucepan heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugar. Use a candy thermometer and cook, stirring as little as possible until the thermometer reads 300 degrees.

Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.

Pour the mixture over the nuts on the sheet. Try to pour in an even layer. You may spread with a spatula, but don't overwork it.

Sprinkle the chips over the top and let stand for 1-2 minutes then spread in an even layer over the sugar. Sprinkle with fleur de sel if so desired. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the chocolate and gently press them in with your hands.

Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

Potluck Dinner

Last weekend we had a lovely afternoon at a friend's house. We were attending a matinee of her most recent dramatic endeavor, and afterwards we had a nice potluck dinner. I volunteered to make the entree and a vegetable side dish. Both dishes made use of a "bechamel" - one of the 4 classic French sauces from which all others originate.

My entree was a macaroni and cheese casserole reminiscent of tuna noodle casserole. Instead of tuna I used chicken, and instead of noodles we used wheat penne pasta.

First, I poached the chicken breasts in a combination of cool water, a splash of whiskey (bourbon, whisky or brandy would be fine), some peppercorns, and a couple bay leaves. Just barely let the water come up to a simmer, and simmer about 8-10 minutes. Be careful because over-cooking will make the chicken tough and dry.



Once cooked, let the chicken breasts cool and then shred or cube into bite-sized pieces.



Every bechamel begins in the same way - savory vegetables or garlic sauteed in a fat to a certain point of brown, and then flour added to help thicken the eventual sauce. Here, I've sauteed the onions in butter until soft, then added flour. You want to cook the flour a bit to cook the pasty taste out but not too long such that it browns. When you have a mostly white sauce, it is considered "blonde". You may realize this is the same process for making a "roux". Many Cajun dishes begin with a roux that is browned deeply to a deep rich brown color.

The next step in a bechamel is to add a liquid to make it saucy. Usually this is a broth, milk or cream, or a combination. Here I've used a combination of broth and milk. Usually you are heating the milk or cream while cooking the roux so that when you add it to the flour mixture the temperature doesn't drop suddenly.



The sauce will thicken, based on what ratio flour to liquid you use. Adding nutmeg to the bechamel is very traditional, along with salt and pepper to taste.

You'll want to cook your pasta or noodles more al dente than normal as you'll be cooking it in the oven. Along with the pasta and sauce, I used frozen peas that had been blanched and cooled, cheddar cheese, the pre-cooked chicken, and some breadcrumbs for the top.

Chicken Pasta Cheese Bake, adapted from Macaroni and Cheese by Marlena Spieler

4 chicken breasts
2 bay leaves
5-6 peppercorns
2 tablespoons whiskey, brandy, or bourbon
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups hot, not boiling milk
grating of fresh nutmeg
12 oz pasta or noodles
6 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
3-4 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Cover chicken breasts in a large saucepan with water and bring to a slow simmer with the bay leaves, peppercorns, and whiskey. Let simmer 8-10 minutes until there is no pink left in the breasts. Do not overcook. You'll want to skim off any foam that develops as they cook. Cool and chop or shred into bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the peas in hot water for 2 minutes, then cool in ice water. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter, add the onion and cook until softened. Raise the heat slightly and add the flour. Cook for a few minutes to cook out the flour taste, and take off the heat. Stir in the broth and hot milk and return to the heat. Cook the sauce over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes or until thick. Use a whisk to beat out any lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the nutmeg. Set aside.

Cook pasta or noodles until al dente but less cooked than normal and drain.

Butter a large shallow caserrole pan. Add 1/4 of the sauce to the bottom of the pan along with 1/4 of the cheese. Add 1/3 of the chicken, peas, and noodles, in layers. Repeat the layers 2 more times and end with the sauce and cheese. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.

Bake about 30 minutes until brown and crisped in places.



The vegetable side dish I made was Creamed Spinach. It begins the same way, with a bechamel of onions, butter, and flour. I added only milk, and a lot less, as you want this sauce to be thicker than that for the pasta dish. Add 2 defrosted and drained packages frozen spinach to the bechamel. Add salt, pepper, and a dash of grated nutmeg to taste.



Creamed Spinach

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
2 boxes frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add onions. Cook until softened. Add flour and cook a few minutes to cook out floury taste. Add milk and cook until incorporated and thickened. Add spinach, breaking up strands. Cook until heated through.

Snap and Crackle

Mmmmm, Rice Krispie Treats. Simple...wholesome (there's grain in there)...reminds you of your childhood. My mom used to make them at least once a month it seems.

One of my coworkers got jealous that my cubemate got to request baked goodies twice in one week, so he wanted something for himself. I told him I didn't have time til the end of this week, but that I'd be at the grocery taking a cooking class, so I'd pick up the ingredients for Krispie Treats. He wanted to pay me! I told him my husband wouldn't take that too kindly!

They are so simple and yet so good. As soon as I bit into one last night still barely warm a flood of memories came back to me. My secret was handed down to me from my mom - add peanut butter in the melted marshmallow mix for that extra tasty quotient. At only 2 tablespoons of butter to the whole 9x13 pan, they are even a low-cal treat.

Rice Krispie Treats

2 tablespoons butter
1 10-ounce bag of large marshmallows
6 cups crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup peanut butter - crunchy or smooth

Melt butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. You want this to be a pretty large pan to hold all that cereal.

Add marshmallows and when almost melted completely, add peanut butter. Stir until combined and marshmallows are completely melted. Reduce heat to very low or take off heat completely (depending on how fast you can add your cereal). Sometimes I am slow to get all that cereal in and combined so I leave it on low heat to keep it soft.

Butter or spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray and gently press the mixture into the pan. Do it pretty fast before it hardens up too much. Using a silicone spatula or a spatula sprayed with cooking spray really keeps it from sticking.

Let cool and cut into squares. Enjoy!

Give Peas a Chance

I had been seeing a lot of blogs lately with peas. Spring peas. They had been on my mind a lot since I used them in a casserole on the weekend. So today, when I had leftover pasta and a quick weeknight supper to make I decided to do a pasta with spring pea puree.

I decided I wanted a creaminess, and some herbs. I had chives, that would be good. I was out of cream...so I used sour cream. Definitely need some parmesan... I whirred it all up in the food processor but the flavor was way sweeter than I would have imagined, so I decided I needed some onions for earthiness and spice (really a shallot would have been perfectly delicate). Heated it up with the pasta and more chives and cheese on top and voila!

Spring Pea Pasta

1/2 - 1 bag frozen spring peas, or fresh (remember, no fancy farmer's markets here)
a creamy ingredient - cream, sour cream, or ricotta cheese
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 an onion or 1 shallot
herbs - chives or something similarly delicate - mint perhaps

Blanch the peas in boiling water for just a few minutes, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. Whirr them up in the food processor or blender with the creamy ingredient, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Chop the onion or shallot and soften in some olive oil and the butter. Add the peas and heat. Here I wish I could have added more cream. You can add another tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce too. Add leftover pasta or add pasta you've just boiled up. Garnish with parmesan cheese, herbs, or a dollop of ricotta. mmmm.

I am the captain of my suburban food domain.

Date Night

A couple weeks ago I took a cooking class at the local Market Street grocery. It was entitled "Date Night Food". Now I *thought* it was all about how to make tasty romantic dishes you would serve to your loved ones on, well, Date Night. It quickly appeared that it was actually a Date Night with you and your loved one to go out and cook. I took it with some friends of mine, a couple, so I consoled myself with knowing people in the class. Nevermind that the receptionist called to let me know I wasn't the only "dateless" one in the class that night...

I usually take hands-on classes because most of the demonstration classes drone on into a list of a recipe and the steps to assemble it. I can do that on my own! But this was a hands-on, and it caught my eye because one of the dishes was gnocchi, and I LOVE gnocchi, but have never made it myself. The rest of the dishes that evening were roasted asparagus, quinoa pilaf, roast duck breast, and a souffle for dessert. Wasn't too thrilled with the duck breast, but I sure as hadn't ever made that myself so what the hey?

I picked an assembly station for a dish that was foreign to me - the quinoa pilaf. Step one involved rendering a lot of bacon in a hot pan. Step two was adding butter. So as people came over to inquire about my process I got to say "well it was fat...then we added some more fat..." It really did look like a LOT of fat for that dish, but it came out really nicely. It made a heck of a lot of pilaf so per serving there was probably not a lot of fat content. Still, if I made it at home I'd pour most of the fat off after rendering, or skip the bacon altogether, or go for turkey bacon. There were onions, and chicken broth, and spices and what not, and the quinoa gets almost translucent when done.

Everybody got a turn at making the gnocchi. The chef/instructor had already riced the potatoes, but unfortunately, they were still warm. The gnocchi were very soft and soaked up a lot of flour and were hard to handle. Would have been much better if they had been able to cool. Still, they cooked up very nicely, quite light. The sauce was really good, mainly because it had a lot of cream. But it didn't make you feel heavy at all. Most of that I'm sure was due to the small portion we got, but hey, I'm not saying eat creamy pasta sauces every day. I'll definitely try this recipe out, but I need to get a ricer or food mill first. You can't mash up the potatoes or they'll be too gummy. You need something to break them up and keep it light.

Roasted asparagus...well I make that at home all the time. I don't really remember the salad either. I actually ate a lot of my duck breast. The fat rendered nicely and it didn't taste at all gamey.

I don't remember much about the souffle either, except that it was tasty and gone in a flash. The strawberry sauce was really good, basically just strawberries cooked down with some sugar and strained.

I don't know that I'll take another class there. There were too many dishes to prepare in such a short time and too many people for my taste. There was a lot of standing around. I much prefer the Sur la Table classes I've taken with fewer students. Specifically, knife skills and the pasta class were TREMENDOUS. I've made so much fresh pasta since then.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Inspired by another of Martha's Cooking School lessons, I decided to make Buttermilk Biscuits. This is a recipe that is never far from my heart, as a good southern girl, yet I haven't made them in a looooong time. I decided to add some chives for flavor, and cheese added at the end would be pretty tasty too.

The process for biscuits is very similar to pie dough and scones - cut your cold fat in pieces into your flour mixture. I've never been intimidated by pie dough so I found the biscuits coming almost like second nature to me.

Here is the flour mixture with the pieces of cold butter - I cut the butter in using a standard pasty blender. Doing it in the food processor dirties a lot more than a pastry blender, and I don't think it takes all that long. And exercise!



Next addition is the buttermilk. No buttermilk you say - simply make your own by adding some vinegar to milk. Now, no fancy vinegars, just plain old white or apple cider vinegar. About 2 tablespoons to 2 1/4 cups milk. (2 cups for the recipe, 1/4 cup for basting later) I added apple cider to skim milk, let it set for a minute or two, and added to the flour mixture. It curdled a bit and kind of separated into curds and whey.

Don't stir too much, you want to just combine the ingredients into kind of a sticky ball. You don't want to overwork the glutens in the flour, because that is what makes for a tough biscuit, not a light and fluffy as air biscuit. Here is where you carefully incorporate cheese or herbs. Don't stir, just kind of fold it in. I snipped some chives with kitchen shears into these.



Drop the dough onto a floured surface and lightly dust your hands. Don't roll out the dough, just kind of work it into a 1-inch tall round. Cut with a dusted round biscuit cutter.



Next place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and baste with the leftover buttermilk. Bake for 8-12 minutes.



They will emerge like golden pillows of tastiness. mmm, hot from the oven with a dab of butter - nothing finer.



Buttermilk Biscuits
yields 20 soft pillowy down home biscuits

4 cups all purpose flour, plus some for dusting
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 3/4 cups milk with about 2 tablespoons vinegar)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in bowl and whisk to fluff. Add cold butter cut into small pieces. Cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces. Add 3 cups cheese, or any herbs now.
Add 1 3/4 cup buttermilk, reserving the rest. Stir just until it comes together. You may not use all the buttermilk - watch and make sure you use just enough to make it come together and is slightly sticky.
Turn out onto a floured board, pat into 1-inch thich round and cut out rounds. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush with buttermilk. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until they are softly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Going Away

I did the final installment of the goodbye to my cubemate with my VTB - Very Tasty Brownies. Prior to this recipe I always made brownies solely with cocoa powder, not with melted chocolate. These have both the chocolate and instant espresso powder, which I think makes all chocolate things taste better. I was a little unhappy as I sent my husband out to buy the chocolate and couldn't get the high-quality stuff I used last time. They were good, but not as indulgent rich as the last batch.

Chocolate Brownies - adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup pecans
1 cup unsalted butter
8 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate
5 eggs
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread pecans on baking pan. Toast until fragrant, 5-10 minutes. WATCH THEM - they can go from fragrant to burnt in seconds. Transfer nuts to bowl to cool.
3. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Generously butter a 9"x13" pan.
4. Combine chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Remove from heat when chocolate mixture has melted.
5. In the bowl of a mixer beat eggs, sugar, and espresso powder at high speed for 10 minutes. This is an odd step to me, but it makes a very light-colored, well incorporated mixture. Do not skip! Do not do less than 10 minutes!
6. Reduce speed to low and add melted chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Beat until combined.
7. Slowly add flour and salt. Beat JUST until incorporated - do not overbeat.
8. Chop pecans coarsely. Take bowl off mixer and fold in chocolate chips and pecans by hand.
9. Bake until the edges are dry but center is still soft, about 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into 3-inch squares and store in an air-tight container up to 2 days.

My brownies almost always never take the full 35 minutes. The edges get quite crips and I take them out early. I don't know if it's the way I cook them or what. I always cook in an aluminum pan lined with parchment paper or foil for easy clean-up: spray the pan with cooking spray, then line pan with parchment or foil and spray again. Most times 2 pieces of parchment or foil going opposite ways is easiest. Just lift them out of the pan by the paper or foil and slice. Whatever the reason for early doneness, the brownies never suffer.

It's also true about the 2-days: they just don't taste good after that. I think it's because these are so moist. I don't even like them the next day unless I warm it up a little in the microwave. But boy is that good - gets a little melty and with a dollop of whip cream or even better, ice cream, the contrast is soooo good. You won't have a problem with them lasting more than 2 days though. These goodies were gone in 4 short hours!