Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Sweets: Almond and Chocolate Chunk Biscotti

There can never be such a thing as too much chocolate. And this choc-almond studded biscotti found no lack of contenders in my house. This was my very first attempt at making biscotti and is also the first recipe I've tried from the newest addition to my collection of cookbooks: Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. 

Ryan, a fellow-baker from BWD, suggested we start baking our way through another book and after much deliberation we decided on this new collection of recipes by David Lebovitz. We'll slowly go through each recipe in the book and anyone is welcome to join in. Details can be found here. 

Baking this biscotti turned out to be deceptively simple. I prepared ingredients for half the recipe, shaped the dough into one log and then placed it in the oven to bake for the first twenty minutes. It came out looking perfect. So far so good. But then, given the 90F+ heat, my hot kitchen and the concentration of chocolate in this recipe, I was faced with a gooey mess each time I cut into the log. There was melted chocolate all over the place and it made it completely impossible to get the thinner slices I was aiming for. 

Skeptical, and a little frustrated, I popped the slices in the oven for another 20 minutes and mentally prepared myself for the alternatively titled 'disasters in baking' blog post I was going to write about the whole experience. I needn't have worried because whatever they lacked in appearance was more than compensated by flavor. They were a tad bit sweet for me so I would either cut down the amount of sugar in the recipe or simply use bittersweet chocolate. I never expected my kids to care for biscotti so they surprised me by going through the whole batch pretty quickly and, like DL, taking some along to snack on during our very long flight the next day. 

This first recipe was chosen by Ryan and can be found on Page 216 of Ready for Dessert. Please hop over to Ryans' blog to check out her take on the biscotti. Next up we'll make Orange Cardamom Flan chosen by me. If you'd like to be part of our baking challenges, please drop us an email at sundayssweets at gmail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along!

Curry-Palooza: Eggplant with Crushed Mustard Seeds & Yogurt

This week I had the opportunity to try a brand new curry involving certain techniques that I'm not at all familiar with. Margie of More Please picked this rather unusual recipe by Madhur Jaffrey who, I am convinced, has a knack for taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into something amazing. Every single time. 

This curry uses 'Paanchporan' - a Bengali spice-mix that I have never used before but discovered is the same thing as 'achari masala/spice-mix' which I have indeed used & am very fond of. I made my own 'Paanchporan' since I had all the whole spices on hand (it requires equal parts of cumin, nigella seeds, aniseed, black mustard seeds and fenugreek). I was skeptical about using such a large (seemingly to me) amount of fenugreek because experience has taught me that it has to be used sparingly or it lends a certain bitterness to curries. The recipe also requires the unusual method of crushing the mustard seeds, mixing them with water along with a bare pinch of cayenne pepper and simmering the eggplant in this mixture. Atypical as it was I found that this technique lent a wonderful 'mustardy' aroma to the curry and gave it a deep, yet unsaturated,  note of flavor. 

That said, I had a few minor issues with the execution: I diced my eggplant smaller than indicated, so it cooked faster and  turned out a little mushy. In addition to which the yogurt split when added and I found that the fenugreek did indeed make the curry a teeny bit bitter so it did not go down well with the rest of the family. Maybe it's my/our taste buds, or maybe it's that I need to improve on the technique of cooking with this particular spice, but I intend to reduce the amount of fenugreek seeds significantly when I prepare my Paanchporan mix next time. It's a shame about the bitterness because, otherwise, I really like the flavors in this simple and quick-cooking curry.

I know for a fact that the other Curry-Palooza members had no such issues & really enjoyed this curry. The recipe can be found on Margie's blog. Please check out the participants' posts by following these links:

Croque-Camille

More Please

Sage Trifle

Curry-Palooza is a monthly event. Members take turns picking random recipes each month & next up it's Camille's pick. I'm hoping she will throw a challenge our way!

If you'd like to join in the fun, please email either Rocquie or myself. 

Baking With Dorie: Crème Brûlée

I've always been intimidated by crème brûlée imagining it to be a very complicated dessert that I couldn't possibly make at home. So I was very excited about this months' pick & was looking forward to halving the recipe and trying at least a few of the variations in the 'playing around' section. But then, too lazy to do the math, I ended up making only the classic version. 

Dorie's directions suggest a baking time of 50-60 minutes but the custards were very jiggly at that point and it took me almost double the recommended time to get them cooked. I chilled them overnight and caramelized a few the next morning. How best to describe it? The crème brûlée was wonderfully silky, as delicious as anything I've ever had at a restaurant with its pleasingly contrasting layers of torched sugar and cool custard. 

As usual, this is a winner from Baking from my home to yours. The variations of this recipe can be found on pages 393-4 of the book. I'm including the classic version right here. I'm hopeful that others from BWD will have played around with the recipe! For links to participating blogs this week, please go to the comment section of the related post here. 

Next up we're making the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, picked by Tina. If you'd like to be a part of our baking group, please email me at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us. 

Crème Brûlée

from Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

About 6 tbsp sugar or sifted light brown sugar for topping

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200F. Put the baking dishes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. 

Bring the cream and milk just to a boil. 

In a 1-2 quart glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk th egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter or the hot liquid - this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes. 

Bake the custards for 50-60 minutes, or until the custards are set - tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature. 

Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled. 

To caramelize the sugar topping with a blowtorch, work on one dish at a time. Sprinkle the top of each custard evenly with sugar - about 1 tablespoon for each dish - then brown the sugar, cooking until it bubbles and colors. Wait until the bubbles subside before serving the crèmes. 

To caramelize the sugar in a broiler, preaheat the broiler and fill a shallow roasting pan with the ice cubes. Sprinkle the custards with the sugar, put the baking dishes on the bed of ice and run the custards under the broiler. Don't move away from your oven - depending on your broiler, it can take seconds or minutes to caramelize the sugar, and you don't want to miss the moment and ruin the topping. When the sugar bubbles and browns, pull the custards out, remove them from their ice bed and let them settle down before serving. 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Baking With Dorie: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

Last month all of us in the BWD baking group mutually decided that we needed to adopt a slower pace and bake only once a month instead of every other Monday. For those of us who are trying to cut back on desserts, this is a welcome change! 

I made changes to our baking schedule but I forgot to fix a typing error I'd made when listing this months' recipe. This resulted in a little confusion since I had typed 'strawberry rhubarb crisp' and everyone else in the group either baked the strawberry rhubarb double crisp, or planned for it. So this week we have two different recipes, depending on who baked what. 

I baked the cherry cobbler, replacing rhubarb with granny smith apples since I can't find rhubarb where I live. I made it in advance & we were travelling the next day so I did the math and made just 1/4th of the recipe. This was perfect because it made only two servings. And the cobbler was wonderful - as usual I loved the note of flavor that the addition of ginger lent to this dessert. The tartness of the apples married well with & was subdued by the sweetness from the cherries and both were cooked to flawless deliciousness under the little balls of whole wheat biscuit dough. 

Please head here to find links to what all the other BWD bakers made this week. For the recipe, go over to Ryans' blog The Behr Necessities, or Page 415 of Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. 

Next up we're baking Creme Brulee. If you'd like to join our baking challenges please drop me an email at needfulthings at ymail dot com. We'd love to have you bake along with us! 

Curry-Palooza: Cardamom & Black Pepper Chicken

Since it was my turn to pick the recipe this week, I opted for this simple & aromatic, non-vegetarian curry.

The chicken required little preparation and was quick to put together (other than a 3-hour marination time). I assume it as well with rice as it does with flatbreads or Pitas. Camille served hers with rice & I am assuming from Rocquie's photos that she used flatbread. 

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Cardamom and black pepper chicken – Madhur Jaffrey

(Serves 4)

For the mardinade:

6 tbsp onion

2 inch piece fresh ginger

2 large garlic cloves

Salt ½ tsp

Cayenne pepper ½ tsp

Freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp

450 g boned and skinned chicken breasts

To cook the chicken:

150g (5 oz) onions

Corn or olive oil

1 medium stick cinnamon

8 whole cardamom pods

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

4 tbsp natural yogurt

8 tbsp tomato, grated

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp garam masala

2-3 tsp lemon juice

Step one: To make the marinade, peel and finely chop the onion, ginger and garlic and put them into a blender with ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, ½ tsp black pepper and 3 tbsp water. Blend to a smooth paste, pushing down with a rubber spatula when needed. Cut the chicken breasts 3cm or 1/8 inch slices and put into a bowl. Add the marinade and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours if desired.

Step Two: Peel the onions and slice into fine half rings. Pour 3 tbsp oil into a wide, non-stick pan set over a medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Stir for 10 seconds, then add the onions and fry, stirring at the same time, for 6-7 minutes or until the onion turns a reddish-brown color. Add the cumin and coriander. Stir once. Add the natural yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, and stir till it is absorbed. Add the tomato and stir for a minute.

Step Three: reduce the heat to medium, add the chicken together with the marinade, and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes or until all the chicken pieces turn white. Add 175ml (6 oz) water, salt, garam masala and lemon juice. Stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes, stirring now and then.

Serve. 

Curry-Palooza is a monthly event & all participants take turns picking random Indian recipes. If you'd like to participate, Please email either Rocquie or myself. 

In order to check out the other participants posts this month, please click on these links: 

Croque-Camille

More Please

Sage Trifle