03/03/15
Corn chowder with chipotle cream
The smoky richness of chipotle seduces me, and I couldn't stop tasting, and
tasting again, and finally digging into an entire bowl for lunch. And, for dinner,
I had another bowl. I couldn't get enough of it, and I hope you feel the same
way when you try it. The recipe calls for frozen corn kernels, available at any
time of year, and smoky-hot chipotles, which should be a fixture in every
cook's pantry. Pureé the soup to any texture you like. Me? I leave half the
corn kernels whole, but you can go all the way to silky smooth.
Serves 4 as a main dish, with salad and bread on the side.
Ingredients
1 tsp vegetable or canola oil
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
16 oz frozen organic corn kernels
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1-1/2 tsp dried thyme)
4 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium store-bought), divided
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh black pepper, to taste
Directions
In a Dutch oven or small heavy stock pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion
briefly over medium heat, just until translucent.
Add the corn and thyme leaves, stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes.
Then, add 3 cups of the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to
simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, whisk together the chipotles and cream in a
measuring cup, and set aside.
After the soup has cooked for 15 minutes, remove the pot from heat. Using
an immersion blender, pureé the soup to the desired texture, chunky or
creamy smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, allow the soup to
cool for 10-15 minutes, then pureé in batches in a stand blender or food
processor, and return it to the pot.
Return the pot to the stove, and set at lowest heat. Stir in the chipotle cream.
If you want a thinner soup, add some or all of the remaining 1 cup of stock.
Taste, and add salt and black pepper, to taste (if you use store-bought stock,
you might not need any salt).
Serve hot. Can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to two days.
1/20/14
Jam-Swirled Coffee Cake
I have a bit of a baking addiction to coffee cakes. I don’t know what it is about
them. Is it the usual presence of a crumb topping? Is it how simple they are to
make? Or, is it the justification of eating cake for breakfast? Whatever the
reason, it seems that I just keep baking them.
This particular coffee cake looks pretty ordinary at first glance. After you slice
into it, however, you’ll find a layer of jam running through the cake and
adding a little burst of sweetness to every bite.
Jam-Swirled Coffee Cake
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup jam or preserves
For the topping:
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and brown
sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in three portions, alternating
with two portions of milk. Mix just until combined.
Transfer half of batter to prepared pan.
Spread jam over batter, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
Top with remaining batter and gently spread over the jam.
To make the topping:
Use a fork to mix brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and salt until crumbly.
Stir in almonds.
Sprinkle topping evenly over cake.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges are browned and a pick inserted
into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely in pan. Cut into squares.
1/18/14
With the very cold winter week coming up, it's time to make some steamy hot
soup. Use the recipe below for a traditional all time classic.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Wide noodles, chunky pieces of skin-on breast meat, and a garnish of fresh
dill and sweet caramelized leeks update this classic comfort food. Use already-
made roast chicken in this soup.
• 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 leeks, white and light-green parts only, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch
pieces with rings intact
• Coarse sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 7 cup(s) chicken broth, preferably homemade
• 1 clove(s) garlic, smashed
• 1 1/4 cup(s) (about 6 ounces) wide noodles
• 3 cup(s) sliced roast chicken, skin on, breast meat
• 2 cup(s) frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoon(s) finely chopped fresh dill, plus more leaves for garnish
________________________________________
Directions
1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Carefully add
leeks in a single layer, so rings don't unravel. Reduce heat to medium-low,
season with salt and pepper, and cook 9 minutes; turn leeks, set heat to low,
and cook until golden, about 9 more minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart pot, bring broth and garlic to a boil. Stir in
noodles; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm, 10 to 12
minutes. Discard garlic.
3. Set aside a few leeks per serving for garnish. Add remaining leeks to
soup, along with chicken, peas, and dill, and cook for 2 minutes more.
Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved
leeks.
1/14/14
January marks my birthday, and there's nothing I like more than apple pie. I'm
a pie kinda guy. -snerks- Ok, so, apple pie is great, but I don't like to make
one big one, as I then have it sitting around the house to tempt me later (I am
trying to cut back on the quantity of sweets I eat). Since slices of pie are not
at all portable, it makes sense to make pie miniatures
Mini Apple Pies
Dough (adapted from Simply Recipes):
* 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
* 16 Tbsp (2 stick) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp sugar (increase to 3 tsp if for a sweet recipe)
* 4 to 8 Tbsp ice water, very cold
Start by cutting the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and placing in the
freezer for at least 15 minutes (preferably longer) so that they become
thoroughly chilled.
In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter
and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size
pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just
begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds
together, it's ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again.
Remove dough from machine and place on a clean surface. Carefully shape
into two discs. Do not over-knead the dough! You should still be able to see
little bits of butter in the dough. These bits of butter are what will allow the
result crust to be flaky. Sprinkle the discs with a little flour on all sides. Wrap
the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Filling:
* 8-9 med granny smith apples
* 1 tsp lemon juice
* 3/4 c sugar
* 1/3 c flour
* 1 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp mace
* dash of salt
* 3-4 tbsp butter
Peel, core and dice the apples to 1/2" cubes. Sprinkle with the lemon juice
and toss. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and spices. Sprinkle
over the apples and gently stir to evenly coat.
Assembly:
* 1 egg, beaten
* turbinado sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F.
Remove both crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for
5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of one of the disks. Roll out with a
rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch
thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is
sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep
the dough from sticking.
Cut out circles ~2x the size of your pan (I used a muffin tin; you don't need to
grease it). Gently pat the rounds into the bottoms of the muffin tin, leaving the
overhang (you may to need to do alternating cups first, then fill the other
cups after the first round is finished, for room). Keep any scraps in the
refrigerator.
Fill the crusts with the apples, until the top of the mound is ~1/2" over the
crust. Dot with the butter. Brush the crust overhang with the beaten egg.
For lattice, roll out the second disk and cut into 1/3" strips. Weave the strips
into one large lattice then cut off sections for each mini pie (you want the
weave to be tight otherwise a lot of the moisture from the pie will escape).
Carefully transfer the lattices to the muffin pan and pinch with the bottom
crust to seal. Trim the excess, brush the remaining egg on top, and sprinkle
with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating in the middle. You want the crusts to be
flaky-golden, not pale, otherwise the bottom crust won't be cooked all the
way. Check a couple times during baking and add time as you feel is
necessary.