For Daphne: Ginger and Meyer Lemon Scones 02/14/2010
 Today I met a really nice woman at Whole Foods. She’s going to make scones for her boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, but feels like she isn’t very good at baking so she had a mix to help her. I assured her that making scones from scratch was well within her capabilities and told her I’d send her the recipe, but she was nice enough to check out this (now largely defunct) blog and she said terribly complimentary things about it in an email to me, so I decided to really help her with the scone project and put up step-by-step instructions. Let’s talk a bit about baking mixes. I’m against them. I think in large part they’re a scam perpetrated against baking-shy or –phobic people who, for whatever reason, think they can’t bake or are bad at it or that it’s difficult or somehow beyond them. The thing is, most mixes contain little more than flour, leavening, sugar, salt, preservatives, and sometimes flavoring. If you’re going to the trouble of baking, mixing those things together (minus the preservatives, of course) is the easiest part! You’re going to have to get out the eggs, milk, oil or butter, and mix-ins anyway, so why not do a tiny bit more work and be able to say you made it from scratch? As far as I can tell, there’s no good reason not to. You’ll eat fewer preservatives, it’s significantly cheaper, and you can feel smug about baking from scratch. Scones are a great place to start if you’re new to baking. They’re easiest to make if you have a food processor, but you can also use a pastry knife. In theory you can use two knives like scissors in place of a pastry knife, but I’ve never had much success with that method and a really high-quality pastry knife costs, like, 12 bucks at Williams-Sonoma and it will last forever. To make scones, you don’t need to do any creaming or much blending – it’s largely just mixing the flour with the leavening, salt and sugar, cutting in the butter, then adding the mix-ins and the liquid and stirring until it looks like dough. There’s a bit of kneading at the end, but it’s not very challenging. Then you just pat the dough into a disk, cut into wedges, bake, and enjoy! Let’s get started.  You will need: 2 cups all-purpose flour (10 ounces) 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half 1 T baking powder 1 t kosher salt (or ½ t table salt) 3 T sugar 5 T cold butter 1 Meyer lemon ½ cup crystallized ginger The first thing to do is to set up your mise en place. Make sure you have everything measured out, chopped, and ready to go. This way you won’t have to stop while you’re cooking to look for an ingredient, and you’ll be sure that you have everything you need to complete the recipe. Measure out your flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cream.  Finely dice the crystallized ginger. The easiest way to do this is to cut it into narrow strips, then turn all the strips 90 degrees and cut them again into dice.  Zest the lemon with a Microplane grater or a lemon zester or other grater if you don’t have a Microplane. If you don’t have a Microplane, get one the next time you’re out shopping. Bed, Bath, and Beyond sells them for under $15 and you can use one of those coupons they’re always mailing you. My Microplane is absolutely invaluable in my kitchen. I use it for grating parmesan, ginger, zesting lemons, and a myriad of other tasks.  Cut the butter into cubes by first cutting lengthwise down the stick, then cutting lengthwise again, then several times crosswise.  Put the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into your food processor and pulse several times to mix it all up.  Next, scatter the butter cubes over the flour mixture. Pulse it 12 times (or use a pastry knife), until it looks like this:  Now dump the mixture into a bowl and add the ginger and the lemon zest. Use a spatula to mix the ginger and the lemon in. Don’t worry if the zest sticks to itself a bit – you should be able to mix it into the flour mixture easily. The flour will help it distribute evenly.  When everything is mixed together, pour the cream into the bowl and mix it up. The motion you want to use is less of a stirring motion and more of a scraping or folding motion. Use the spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and fold the flour that’s on the sides inward, turning the bowl as you go. If you keep at it, you’ll end up with dough that looks like this:  Turn the dough out on a clean counter or butcher block or pirate map or whatever work surface you’ve got. Knead it a bit until it all sticks together and forms a ball. Pat the ball into a disk that’s slightly domed and about 6 or 7 inches in diameter. Cut into eight wedges (like a pizza) with a large knife.  Now (or maybe 15 minutes ago) would be a good time to put an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Note: do not use waxed paper. The wax will melt into your scones and it will be terrible. Not that I’ve ever done that, or anything.  Place the scones on the baking sheet, then bake for 15 minutes. I like to turn the baking sheet around halfway through so that the scones bake evenly, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t. When they’re done, the scones will be baked all the way through, golden brown on top, and turning dark brown on the tips.  Serve them warm with a thin slice of butter, a dollop of whipped cream, or a spoonful of lemon curd if you have some. I imagine they’d also be good with berry jam.  (Seriously, this recipe is so easy a 2-year-old could do it.)  5 Comments Orange Altonius 06/06/2009
 The heat has finally broken here in Seattle. We’ve returned to our regularly scheduled programming – overcast mornings, sunny afternoons in the 70s, drizzles in the evening and cooler temperatures overnight. It’s much more civilized and we’ve all recommenced wearing pants. If you’re living somewhere that it’s hot – or even if you’re not – you’ll love this sweet and creamy blended drink. The recipe is adapted from one given on Alton Brown's show Good Eats. I’ve adjusted the measurements to make a full-blender batch, which serves 4 if you’re feeling generous or 2 if you’re thirsty.  You will need:  Juice enough oranges to get 17 fluid ounces of juice. The number of oranges you need for this will vary depending on the type of orange, its size, and how ripe it is. When I made this recipe to take the pictures it took 10 small ones, but earlier this week I used 8 medium-sized oranges.  Reserve 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) fresh juice, then pour the rest into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours. When the juice is solid, empty the cubes into a blender. Add the milk, vanilla, powdered sugar, and reserved non-frozen orange juice and blend. Serve garnished with an orange wedge.  Fattet Hummos 05/19/2009
 This recipe was meant to be my entry for Thursday Night Smackdown's Cheap-Ass Monday: May. Then I didn't update for 2 weeks. Oops. For more information about the cost breakdown, please see this post. I first encountered this dish when I was taking a Middle Eastern cooking class. It’s incredibly easy to make. There are a few different parts, but each is simple and well within the capabilities of even the most recipe-dependent, can’t-boil-water dunce in the kitchen. Adapted from Chef Shannon Herman.   You will need:  Method: Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Peel the head of garlic and cut off the bottom of each clove. Put the beans, garlic, chicken broth, and bay leaves into a large pot and cook uncovered over low heat (simmer – do not boil) for 1-2 hours, until the beans are soft when squished but continue to hold their shape when left alone.  Mince 4 cloves of garlic and the mint. Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of mint, then mix the minced garlic, mint, and yogurt with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set mixture aside.  In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts until they are slightly browned and smell really good. Remove from heat and set aside.  Set up 4 bowls. Tear the pitas into bite-size pieces and divide between the bowls. Using a spatula, spread ¼ of the yogurt mixture over the pita in each bowl.  Ladle the garbanzo beans, broth, and garlic over the pita and yogurt.  Sprinkle each bowl with pine nuts, then crumble the feta and divide equally between bowls. Garnish with reserved mint and serve immediately.  Salsa Verde 04/30/2009
 This is another of Nadine’s recipes. It’s quick and easy – basically you just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse. It’s a great alternative to tomato-based spicy salsa for people who don’t deal with hot and spicy food well. It has a wonderfully fresh flavor and a beautiful bright green color that will perk up your tacos and tortilla chips.  You will need:  Remove the outer papery husks from the tomatillos and cut each one in half. Remove the seeds and ribs from the pepper and cut into pieces. Remove the papery skin from the garlic. Wash the cilantro and pick off the leaves. Slice the onion into medium pieces.  Place the onion, garlic, pepper, cilantro, lime juice, salt, vinegar, and cumin in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it’s cut into small bits.  Homemade Salad Dressing: Basic Vinaigrette 04/16/2009
 In my estimation, there’s no reason to ever buy salad dressing in a bottle from the store. Not only is it easy to make salad dressing at home, it’s often healthier, it tastes better, and it’s much cheaper. Chicken Almond Soup 04/06/2009
 One of my favorite things about living in London was the food. This surprises most people when I tell them, but it’s true! There has been a revolution in British cooking over the last generation and it’s no longer tough, overcooked meat alongside mushy, flavorless vegetables. In many English homes you’re as likely to find a curry for dinner as you are bangers and mash. The English also make incredible soups and sandwiches – I loved going into Marks and Sparks or Pret A Manger to pick out a sandwich for lunch. What incredible choices! I don’t know who first thought cheese and chutney would be delicious together, but it was a stroke of genius.  You will need:  Begin by cutting up your vegetables. Leeks can be a bit sandy, so you’ll want to wash it out. The best way I’ve seen to do this is to first cut the dark green from the light green and white part, then to make two long cuts 1 inch from the root end toward the top. You should end up with long strips of leek attached at the root. Holding the root end UP, rinse the leek under running water to make sure any sand or dirt are removed. If you hold the root end down the water will drive any dirt between the layers. After washing cut the leek into ½ inch pieces.  Rinse the carrots, then cut off the top and bottom and discard. There is no need to peel the carrot as long as it’s been washed. Cut each carrot in half longitudinally, then into narrow 1/8” half-moons.  In a saucepan, melt the butter. When the pan is hot and the butter is bubbling, add the leeks, carrots, ginger, and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the leeks and carrots are moderately soft. Add the garlic and 4 ounces of almond butter and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes more.  While the leek mixture is cooking, cut your chicken into small pieces.  When the leek mixture is soft and smells delicious, scrape it into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the cilantro to the mixture and process until everything is in very very small bits and is an even consistency. Meanwhile, put the pieces of chicken into your saucepan and put the lid on. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.  Tip: Use a Sharpie to mark on the chicken broth carton how much is remaining. Because this carton holds 4 cups and I used 2, I know that there are 2 cups remaining. Then remember to put the leftover chicken broth in the fridge, because you’ll feel dumb if you come downstairs in the morning and you’ve left the carton of chicken broth you so carefully marked out on the counter all night long. Not that I would know anything about that.  Once the chicken is cooked, pour the contents of the food processor back into the saucepan, taking care not to dump the blade into the pan and splash soup all over yourself. Not that I’ve done that or anything.  To vegetarianize: replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth or water. Omit chicken or replace with fake chicken. Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Paprika 04/03/2009
 Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables. It has a subtle, slightly nutty flavor and really does well in the oven. Because it’s fairly neutral, it’s easy to pair with other flavors. Here I’m tossing it with smoked paprika, but you could just as easily use curry powder, garam masala, minced garlic, or really any spice that you want. I buy my smoked paprika from World Spice Merchants. If you can’t find it at your local grocery store, you can buy it online. It tastes quite different from normal (Hungarian) paprika. It has a lovely smoky flavor that has depth and interest. Try using it on deviled eggs or dusted on top of creamy soup!  You will need:  Begin by cutting the cauliflower into bite-size pieces. The easiest way to do this is to turn the head upside down and cut each floret off the stem, then cut each floret into smaller pieces.  Place all the pieces of cauliflower in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Use your hands to toss the cauliflower so that each piece is coated in oil.  Sprinkle the smoked paprika over the cauliflower. Use your hands and toss so that each floret is coated in paprika.  Spread the cauliflower into a single layer on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in a 375° oven for 30 minutes or until tender.  | Emily90% of my emails were recipes, so now I blog instead. ArchivesFebruary 2010 CategoriesAll |
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