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Monday November 16, 2009
Thanksgiving and Christmas would not be complete without a beloved homemade apple pie. This pie is assembled and frozen raw in a 2-inch deep ceramic pie dish that is able to go directly from the freezer into the hot oven.…
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Monday November 16, 2009
Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie. A tradition. I used to think heavy cream too rich an addition to the custard, having grown up on using the old Libby’s recipe calling for evaporated milk, but the cream stabilizes the custard perfectly for…
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Monday November 16, 2009
Preheat the oven to 350º. In a large bowl with a whisk or electric mixer, beat the eggs, then add the sugar, melted butter, syrups, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in the center of the preheated for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown, and center is puffed and firm, but still a dash wiggly. A thin knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Place on a rack to cool completely; it takes about 3 to 4 hours.
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Monday November 9, 2009
There are interviews and there are interviews. I do a lot of print and radio spots and it is one of the perks of a most often solitary job of testing recipes then writing them down, which can take hours per recipe. Interviews give me the chance to get out into the community and interact; to chatter with like minded foodies about what I love. I get really inspired when an interviewer has unique and well thought out questions that make me think and dig deep into my wellspring of knowledge. Here is an interview I did last year on baking bread and its renaissance in the home kitchen.
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Monday November 9, 2009
Grissini is the Italian word for breadsticks. After making the dough and letting it rise in the bread machine, they are hand shaped by rolling the dough out to a desired length and then baked at a high temperature in an oven. They look very different than machine extruded breadsticks which all look exactly alike; they are charmingly nobby and irregular. You want to bake these until they are crisp, otherwise, if they are soft like bread, they will bend and break when you stand them in a crock to serve. If you are unsure about freeforming, use a bread stick tray, which is a series of very thin cradles. Eat as an appetizer buffet, eaten either plain with butter, or wrapped with smoked turkey or proscuitto.
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Monday November 2, 2009
If you like to bake bread, you know all about the search for the perfect loaf pan. Since all bread pans bake just that little bit different, bakers tend to own at least two different types, choosing the right pan for the each recipe.
First is usually a pair of Pyrex glass loaf pans from the supermarket with the lip-like handles on the two opposite narrow ends. You have to remember to drop the oven temperature by 25 degrees, but you can see underneath to make sure the bottom crust is baking properly and they can be easily washed in the dishwasher.
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Monday November 2, 2009
When I worked at the bakery in 1980, my assistant Celeste made this variation of our standard Sunflower Molasses Bread with buttermilk and honey. It was scrumptous and ended up being one of our best sandwich/toasting breads, rich flavored and moist textured. When I wrote Bread for Chronicle Books, I included the recipe. Good thing I wrote it down for Celeste never did and had forgotten she ever created it. Always write down your variations!
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Monday November 2, 2009
Whole wheat bread is the mainstay of the baker’s kitchen. Until you have mastered whole wheat bread you cannot say you are a bread baker. The easiest whole wheat bread is a 50-50 blend of whole wheat and white flour: it makes the dough easy to work with and gives a high rise. Use fresh flour, as fine a grind as you can find, for the grind will dictate the overall texture. Remember when kneading to leave the dough a dash sticky, as the whole grains will absorb it during the rise. This is real old fashioned home baking at its best and is perfect made in the terracotta bread pans.
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Monday October 26, 2009
I grew up with the meatless Friday–mac and cheese, filet of flounder, pancakes. I now consider that the practice run for becoming a vegetarian in the 1970s. Those were the days when granola had just been invented for Woodstock, and The Vegetarian Epicure and Moosewood cookbooks had not burst onto the scene yet to help the home cook with some new options. Being a vegetarian meant plenty of meatless spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, omelets, cheese sandwiches, and lentil soup, a staple in France and often brought to French class, in the struggle to adapt familiar dishes to a new lifestyle.
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Monday October 26, 2009
paella
Paella in about 30 minutes? Sure! Paella, a composed dry rice dish very similar to Creole Jambalaya and Mexican Arroz con Pollo, is usually a bit of an extravagance both ingredient and time-wise. Americans have taken the Spanish signature dish and adapted it enthusiastically into a fast, satisfying vegetarian one-dish weeknight meal. Here I use quick-cooking brown rice in place of using the white rice.
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