ingredients and fresh garnishes

I met my first black bean while traveling in Guatemala. Along with Orange Crush soda, I was hooked from the first bite. Black beans were cooked with a few spices and served alongside every meal. Sauteed plantain slices were a usual accompaniment.

There is chili and there is chili. Chili used to mean Texas style with meat and beans. Enter the vegetarians and the use of dried black beans, as called turtle beans, an integral part of Central American and Cuban cookery. They are easily found in the dried bean and rice section of the supermarket.

Black bean chili was born and it has become probably the most beloved of all vegetarian dishes. You cook the chili from scratch with dried beans, rather than canned, then add pan-toasted spices and lightly sauteed vegetables. It cooks all day, then at the end you add the tomatoes and salt, acid ingredients that would make the beans tough if added first thing.

Rich, dark, flavorful, vegetarian black bean chile is easy to make and even more of a delight to devour. It is not a spicy-hot chili so everyone loves it. Black beans are no longer a regional food, but part of the American culinary repertoire. They cook evenly and are easy to digest. The appealing flavor is unlike any other bean and wildly popular.

I was introduced to this version at Green’s vegetarian restaurant in Fort Mason on the docks in San Francisco in the 1980s. You can buy it to-go at the bakery and sit outside on the edge of the docks overlooking the bay to eat it with some fresh Tassajara bakery whole wheat or cottage cheese dill bread.  It is still a daily offering and one of the best chilis every concocted.

Overview

Cooker:  Large Round or Oval

Machine Setting and Cook Time: Low Heat: 8 to 12 hours

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound (2 1/4 cups) black turtle beans, picked over and soaked overnight

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder, or New Mexican chile powder in combination with ancho chile powder

• 6 cups water, to cover

• 1 tablespoon cumin seed

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano leaves

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipolte chile en adobo

• One 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice, or 4 large fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

the chili ready to serve with a corn muffin

For Serving

• Grated Muenster cheese

• Sour cream

• 6 cilantro sprigs

Instructions

raw black turtle beans

Drain the beans, place in the crock with the bay leaf and chile powder, and cover with 3 inches of water.  Turn on the cooker to LOW to begin cooking while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Heat a large cast iron, or other heavy metal, skillet.  Add the cumin seed, paprika, cayenne, and marjoram or oregano, shaking the pan to lightly toast, about 2 minutes, until they are a shade or two darker.  Pour into a mortar to grind the herb leaves into a coarse powder.

Place the oil in the skillet and saute the onion, pepper, and garlic until soft.  Add the onion and spice mixtures, and chipotles to the beans in the crock and stir.  Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours.

Add the tomatoes and juice, and salt to taste.  Recover and cook another 1 to 2 hours.  Stir in the cilantro at the very end.

Serve in bowls, layering the cheese on the bottom and the sour cream on top with a sprig of cilantro, if you like.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. (c) 2005, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

traditional steaming method of cooking bao buns in a bamboo steamer over a wok

Bao buns, encasing a filling of char siu pork, are a popular dim sum item in Cantonese restaurants.  Old-timers usually steam them until fluffy white. Immigrant chefs who came to America discovered that when baked, the buns turned golden and pleased the locals.  What they got was sort of an Asian hamburger.

Chef David SooHoo, along with his wife, food writer Elaine Corn, is a restauranteer in Sacramento, California, and the baked pork bao is the most popular appetizer on their restaurant menu.  David took 5 years developing this particular recipe, a repeated draw at his cooking classes, but has been making bao since he was a teenager cooking in his father’s restaurant.  Today he easily prepares the dough in his BreadMaker bread machine by Mr. Coffee, comparing the results to other rich egg breads like challah and brioche.  SooHoo doubles this dough recipe (you need a machine capacity of 2-pounds to do this), knowing the dough is ready when it pushes up the lid a bit.  He also likes them stuffed with 1-inch cubes of cheese, like Cheddar or Brie. The shaped bao will be baked in this recipe, but if you are comfy with the traditional steamer method, go for it.

David says it takes three times to master any recipe, especially for the handwork involved in the shaping of these buns, techniques that are repeated throughout Chinese cuisine.  For that real Chinatown flavor, buy the meat ready-made from an Asian grocery in the deli department (hanging next to the Peking ducks), where it is cooked the traditional way–in a hanging oven.

savory char siu pork filling inside a fluffy bun (notice it is not browned)

Makes 6 buns

Ingredients

• Bao Dough

• 2/3 cup water

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 large egg

• 3 1/2 cups bread flour

• 5 tablespoons sugar

• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk

• 3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

• Pork Bao Gravy

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Bao BBQ Pork Filling

• 3 tablespoons diced yellow onion or stalk of green onions

• 4 ounces prepared char siu (Chinese barbecued pork)

• Bao Egg Glaze

• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

Instructions

rising the dough in the bread machine

1.  Place all the dough ingredients in the bread pan according to manufacturer’s instructions, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the flour.  Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. (This recipe is not suitable for the Delay cycle.)  About 5 minutes into the Knead 2 cycle, slowly add the remaining flour.  Dough will be stiff, but by the end of the kneading cycle be pliable and smooth.  This is important; if the batter is too moist, the bows will flatten as they bake.

2.  While the dough is rising, prepare the gravy.  Combine the water, rice wine, oyster sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar in the top of a double boiler.  Whisk in the flour.  Place over simmering water and, stirring constantly, cook until thick and smooth.  It will be the consistency of mayonnaise.  Remove from the water bath and cool in the refrigerator.

3.  For the filling, chop the pork into a large dice and place in a large bowl with the onions.  Add the gravy and mix with the pork.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

4.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  At the beep, remove the dough from the machine and place on a clean wooden work surface.  Roll into a fat 3 inch wide log.  Cut the log into 6 equal portions.  Place a disc of dough on a wooden work surface (don’t shape on cool marble or ceramic because it will stiffen the dough).  With the palm of your hand, press down on the center and rotate your palm, spiraling out from the center.   The dough will grow into a 3-inch diameter circle (not lopsided, please) with a pretty spiral-pattern radiating from the center like a flower.  Don’t use any flour.

the shaped bao bun, pleated and pinched at the top

5.  Using a 1 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop (size 40), place a scoop of filling in the center of the round of dough.  Bring up the dough over the filling, and holding the two sides between your thumb and third finger, and pinching with your pointer finger, pleat the edges to encase the filling.  Place, seam side down and at least 4 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheet.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  If the filling is cold, it will take 1 1/2 hours to rise.

6.  Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350º.  Brush each bao with the egg glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake in the center of the preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until big, puffy, and golden brown.  If you have a convection oven, they will bake about 20 minutes.

Eat the day they are baked, or freeze in plastic freezer bags up to 2 months.  Reheat in a microwave (no need to defrost) for 2 to 3 minutes for a quick dinner.

Excerpted from The Bread Lovers’ Bread Machine Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2000, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

I come from a long line of movie buffs. I mean hard core movie lovers from way back.  I went to the movies every Sunday with my Aunt Marge all the years starting from about age 6 growing up in northern New Jersey. My aunt had all the old Dell Publishing Modern Screen and Photoplay movie magazines from the 1930s on up, as well as books written by the movie stars about their lives. Aunt Marge kept the scandalous biographies on the top closet shelf, but I found them. The one about Errol Flynn was the most contraband. I spent many a night pouring over those magazines cover to cover. On the last page, a list of the actors home addresses and phone numbers was included. A far cry from today’s celebrity info. I adored the stars of the 1930s and 40s, like so many people.  The movies had a distinctive character that is just not how movies are anymore.

I loved Katharine Hepburn.  My sister and I used to walk around the house chanting “the calla lilies are in bloom again, dah-ling,” with her characteristic aristocratic accent, a line from one of her earliest films.  I was mesmerized by the movie, The Little Minister, written by the same author who wrote Peter Pan.  Kate was Babbie, the rich girl skulking around in a thick forest masquerading in an over sized paisley gypsy shawl I still buy every time I see one just like it.  As Eleanor of Aquitane in The Lion In Winter, she was bathed in the contradictory pathos of a woman scorned. This was the first role she played after the death of Spencer Tracy. She did it to keep busy.

the love of her life

Kate was the woman who first wore slacks with her short mink coat; a close-to-scandal at the time.  I absolutely adored her when I found out she never squandered her money on expensive jewelry and homes after making it in Hollywood; she kept her first car “just in case her fame didn’t last so she wouldn’t lose it.”  She was the woman many feminists modeled themselves after: self-reliant, independent, honest, opinionated, capable, energetic, intellectual, generous, creatively selfish, and loving all wrapped up into one tall thin tomboy package. She wasn’t classically beautiful, although as I have gotten older, she has gotten more beautiful in my eyes.

Kate obviously didn’t have time for cooking, but kept the same cook/companion for decades (now they are called private home chefs).  Her handed-down family recipe for brownies is somewhat infamous by now.  They are never referred to by any name like Chewy Chocolate Brownies, New England Brownies, One-Bowl Brownies, or Favorite Fudge Brownies; just plain ol’ Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies.  It first appeared in print during the late 1960s mentioned during an interview with the actress.  Over the decades, it has been printed in everything from a woman’s magazines like an August 1975 interview in Ladies’ Home Journal to Gourmet because the charming, now also gone, food writer Laurie Colwin also loved them.

a rare photo of Kate in her homey, marvelously cluttered Connecticut kitchen with her vintage range. This was her family home right on the ocean and her weekend house.

I obtained my copy in the early 1990s from my dessert making buddy Rosmarie, who is a confirmed chocoholic and swears by these brownies. Even timid bakers are successful with this recipe, as brownies from scratch can be fussy. We started making them with plain old Baker’s unsweetened chocolate, which I suspect is the brand originally used in the Hepburn household in Connecticut.  But with all the nice chocolate out today, an artisan brand unsweetened would really give a nice flavor.  This

The former home of Katharine Hepburn at the mouth of the Connecticut River in the Borough of Fenwick in Old Saybrook. Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

original version has walnuts, but you can leave them out if you like plain brownies. My contribution is that you can substitute the all-purpose wheat flour with alternative flours since the proportion is so small. The texture will be slightly different, but still wonderful. I love desserts to eat out of the pan, which you can do with these. They are good with a bowl of sliced strawberries, fruit cocktail, or ice cream.

In the words of Laurie Colwin, “If there were no other reason to admire Katharine Hepburn, this pan of brownies would be enough to make you worship her.” I most certainly agree; they are as elegant, yet no nonsense, as the lady herself.

Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies

moist and chewy with a crackly crust

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I’m sure Kate used salted)

• Two 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, white spelt flour, white whole wheat, whole wheat pastry flour, or GF baking mix

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325º (300º for a Pyrex pan).  Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan.

dressed up for gift giving

In the top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate.  When melted, take off the heat and cool a little bit.

With a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla; beat well until nice and smooth.  Stir in the flour and salt, then the walnuts; do not overbeat.

With a spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 40 minutes, until firm around the edges but still soft and slightly undercooked in the center.  Don’t overbake or they will be too dry at eatin’ time.

Cool on a rack, then cut into squares served casually out of the pan or removed to a fancier serving plate.  Eat with your hands in memory of a great actress.  Makes one 8-inch pan.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

stove top steamers

I picked up a new bamboo stacked steamer at the Asian market. I have an antique set, but I keep that for decoration. So I was off and running looking for things to make in the new steamer baskets. Steaming fresh vegetables helps to retain the texture, color and flavor of the vegetable while keeping its nutritional value intact. It is considered one of the way healthy ways to prepare veggies.

That is vegetables just steamed in a modicum of water and maybe some salt and pepper, bit of unsalted butter, Parmesan cheese, or drizzle of olive oil, nothing more. You can add flavor elements to the steaming water like soy sauce, grated fresh ginger, garlic, sprinkle with herbs, which will vary the flavor. If I am in more of a hurry, I combine the same veggies and cook them in the microwave. Either steaming in the microwave, pressure cooker (faster than the microwave), rice cooker, stacked electric steamer (a totally cool appliance if you are a veggie person and don’t want to use the microwave all the time), or on the stove top are the best techniques for the weeknight cook. Whatever you are most familiar with.

The most common error that occurs while steaming vegetables is overcooking them! This is more apt to happen with a steamer basket, because both microwave and electric steamers are time controlled. The pressure cooker is best for the harder vegetables and frozen veggies. If you don’t want soggy, overdone veggies, check them often and follow time guidelines carefully. Since vegetables cook so quickly, do not leave the kitchen while they are cooking.

This is the overall how-to recipe for when you went to the farmer’s market, got your weekly veggie box, or just picked up what looked good at the produce section of the supermarket. If you have a glut of homegrown or bought-too-much from a road side stand in the summer, freeze the extra vegetables in quart plastic freezer bags for winter. Use a combination of two or three different seasonal vegetables to vary–just chop or slice them in similar sizes for even cooking. For example, one of the best combinations is chopped onion, frozen peas, and sliced celery, where the combination of elements forms a new flavor.

1) Every veggie is different and so the time taken by each for steaming is also slightly different. Peas cook faster than root vegetables. Ensure that you either steam the vegetables separately to ensure that they are all well done, or else place the ones with the same density together since they will cook the same amount of time. The produce section now carries pre-cut vegetables for uber-fast prep. They are more expensive, but if time is what you need, there is a variety to choose from. The grated broccoli salad with carrots make a great steamed veggie in minutes.

2) Cut the vegetables into equal sizes to ensure that they are all done evenly. Obviously the way that you prepare the vegetables greatly effects their cooking times. Whole carrots can take over 30 minutes to steam, while thinly sliced carrots can take only a few minutes. The best way to determine steaming times is to practice with your steamer and record the times. For fast cooking it would be best to chop them into bite sized pieces.

3) Chop the vegetables as close to the steaming process as possible to ensure that the vegetables are fresh or else they end up losing the moisture content and can turn color. If you have to do ahead, place in plastic bags and refrigerate and cook as soon as possible.

4)There are several easy ways to tell when a vegetable is cooked. If it is a green vegetable, look for a vibrant color change. When the color intensifies the vegetable is done. It will still be quite crispy, but is tender enough to eat. This should take at the most about three minutes. In the case of leafy greens like spinach it can take only a minute. For non leafy green vegetables like broccoli and green beans, it can take as long as 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the vegetables and how tender you like the vegetables. A general guide for stovetop is Leafy Greens=3 minutes=will turn bright green/Green Beans=10 minutes=taste test for doneness/Potatoes=30 minutes=Use fork to test for softness/Asparagus=10 minutes=Insert fork in to the stem/Yams=20-25 minutes=Use fork to test for softness/ Beets=25 minutes=Insert fork to test.

Overview

Cooking Method: Microwave, Stovetop, Rice Cooker, Electric Steamer, or Pressure Cooker

Cook Time: About 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the vegetable

Spring and Summer Vegetables

• Red, green, or yellow bell peppers

• Zucchini, patty pan, Tatuma, or yellow crookneck summer squash

• Mushrooms, sliced or quartered

• Asparagus

• Celery

• Leeks

• Shallots or green onions

• Cucumbers

• Snow peas, sugar snap peas, or English garden peas

• Fresh corn on or off the cob

• Tomatoes

• Fava Beans

• Eggplant

• Baby bok choy

• Broccolini

Fall and Winter Vegetables

• Rutabaga

• Parsnips

• Beets

• Fennel

• Kale

• Chard, Collards, and Spinach

• Carrots

• Cauliflower florets

• Celery/Celery Root

• Broccoli

• Onion wedges (like red or Maui sweet)

• Whole white, red, or gold pearl onions

• Winter Squash, peeled and diced, or halved

• Sweet Potatoes

• New Potatoes

• Turnips and Rutabagas

• Frozen petite peas and artichoke hearts

• Edamane

• Brussel Sprouts

• Zucchini

• Canned hearts of palm

Instructions

microwave steamer

• If making in the microwave, use a 1 quart glass bowl or microwave-proof dish. Add the vegetables and 2 tablespoons water. Cover, leaving a small space for steam to escape, with microwave-proof plastic wrap, a paper plate, a piece of parchment, or lid. Microwave about 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. If not tender enough, cook in few minute intervals. Drain off water and serve hot.

collapsible steamer basket for stove top or rice cooker

• To cook on the stove top, pour enough water into a deep medium saucepan to come up about 1 inch. You use a bamboo steamer, the steamer insert for your saucepan, or a stainless steel collapsible steamer. Set a steamer basket in the pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Place the vegetables in the basket, recover, and steam summer vegetables 5 minutes and harder winter vegetables 10 minutes, until crisp tender. Remove the steamer from the pot with a potholder and serve immediately.
• 

  filling up the pressure cooker

• Using the pressure cooker for steaming is also a great idea. Fast and easy. Wash and peel the vegetables. Lay your vegetables out on a chopping board and use a kitchen knife to cut them down to serving size so no further chopping is required once they are done cooking. Cut away and discard any stems or excess parts of the vegetable that you don’t want to cook.
• Place the chopped vegetables in the pressure cooker’s basket or tray. This is a device that sits inside the cooker and holds the vegetables above the waterline so they are subjected to hot steam without being submerged in the water. Check your recipe for the cooking time. Fill the pressure cooker so the waterline is lower than the bottom of the basket or tray.
• Check your manufacturer’s guide for the minimum amount of liquid allowed. Do not fill the pan over 1/2 full with vegetables. Bring the water to a boil. Lock the lid of the pressure cooker and set a timer. You are done in 4 to 5 minutes time, depending on the vegetable. Manufacturer’s booklets that come with the appliance usually have a time chart for steaming plain vegetables.
• When the vegetables are finished steaming, use the quick release method to stop the steaming process immediately. Open the lid of the cooker away from you and remove the vegetables from the basket or tray using a slotted spoon to drain away any excess liquid. Pour away the hot water, taking care not to burn yourself, and enjoy the steamed vegetables.

electric steamer

• To steam in an electric steamer. Plug in electric steamers are now readily available from most electrical retailers. Made of several layers the water is added into the bottom container with vegetables placed in separate compartments and a lid placed on top. An electrical timer is set and the vegetables can be left to steam to perfection before being turned off. When making layers of vegetables to be steamed place new potatoes and other thicker root vegetables at the bottom of the steamer where there is more heat. Electric steamers will give you a chart to set the time for different vegetables. If you wish to steam a variety of vegetables that include some softer items such as peas or frozen vegetables then add them to the top stem compartment in the final minutes of steaming.The electric vegetable steamer works flawlessly every time. It even has a safety mechanism, so if by chance you forget to put the water in, it beeps and will not start.
• Procedure: Fill with water (usually about 1/4 cup). Put vegetables or other food to be steamed in the steaming container. Set the amount of time you want the food to be steamed for/then Press the start button.

• To steam in a rice cooker. Fill the rice cooker with the appropriate amount of water so it will not touch the vegetables. Place the steam basket inside the rice cooker pan. Add the vegetables into the basket. Add any seasonings to the vegetables. Cover the rice cooker with a lid or close the lid. Plug the cord into the wall, and make sure that you turn the cooker on to the “Cook” setting. Set your timer to steam the vegetables. See your manufacturer’s guide or recipe for timing guidelines. Turn the rice cooker off once the vegetables finish steaming. Remove the vegetables and place them into a serving container to keep them from overcooking.

Recipes and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

dessert still life upstairs at Chez

When Chez Panisse restaurant opened a café upstairs from the main dining room, it quickly became one of my watering holes whenever I went to shop or visit friends in Berkeley.  Since it was always so jammed, it was best to show up for lunch just after the doors opened at 11 a.m. My favorite lunch was a baby green lentil salad with soft fresh goat cheese crumbled on top, Steve Sullivan’s peasant French bread and sweet butter, and a Perrier mineral water, all for about $5.00.

The café switched to taking reservations to relieve the crowds, so it is difficult to get in for a casual spur of the moment lunch anymore.  So here is my version of her favorite baby lentil salad with the addition of brown rice. Brown rice and lentils are a really toothsome grain and pulse combination.

the rustic upstairs bread

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup baby French Green lentils or Black Beluga lentils

• 2 cups water

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 sprigs fresh or dried thyme

• Vinaigrette

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (my favorite is pinot noir vinegar, use a bit less if you use cabernet vinegar)

• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

lentil salad to go

• Salad

• 2 cups cooked and cooled, room temperature brown jasmine rice, or other brown rice

• 3 green onions, chopped with part of the green, or 1/4 cup minced fresh chives

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery or sweet red bell pepper

• 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley

• 3 tablespoons chopped golden raisins

• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

• 5 ounces plain fresh goat cheese, crumbled

French Green Lentils (lentilles du Puys), differ from other “garden variety” lentils as they retain their lens-like shape and firm pleasant texture when cooked, making them a good choice for salads

Instructions

Make the lentils in the rice cooker. Rinse and pick over the lentils.  Place the lentils, water, salt, and thyme in the bowl of the rice cooker.  Turn on the rice cooker to the regular or porridge cycle and cook for 50 minutes.  The liquid will all be absorbed.  When the timer sounds, open the cover and cool the lentils to room temperature right in the cooker bowl.

Prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Chez Kitchen

In a large bowl, combine the room temperature rice, warm lentils, celery or pepper, green onions or chives, red onion, parsley, raisins, and walnuts.  Toss with the dressing and mix to evenly combine; it is okay to have some vinaigrette leftover.

Serve the salad at room temperature, adding the crumbled goat cheese right before serving.

Excerpted from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. (c) 2003, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

Béarnaise sauce, a sharp buttery sauce with red wine vinegar, shallots, egg yolks, and tarragon, is truly a special occasion sauce. But one to look forward to. It is THE sauce for grilled and sautéed meat or fish, much less a foundation sauce in French cookery. This was a sauce invented in royal kitchens and King Henry IV is even nicknamed the Great Béarnaise, for he must have loved it. Who wouldn’t with its uber-rich texture and flavor?

With the aid of the trusty food processor, this sauce, like its cousin the Hollandaise, is moments away.  The food processor is the medium to making fabulous French sauces rather than the old “by hand” method. My life in the kitchen changed when I learned how to make the classic sauces in the food processor. There was instant success and success every time. You can become a gourmet cook having this sauce in your repertoire. Use a fabulous red wine vinegar, like a Merlot vinegar; you will notice the difference.

Make the sauce first, for the sautéing goes fast. Serve on filet mignon or, as here, the delightful boneless sirloin shell steak. It is very tender, despite coming from the top of the hip (top butt), and with a quick flash in the pan, is ready for a weeknight dinner. Top sirloin steaks can run large, about 1-pound per steak; if so plan on one steak for two people, and then slice it against the grain on the bias like flank steak. Often the steaks are pre-cut into 8- to 10-ounce individual square steaks with no fat except some light marbling. If you like, substitute a New York (boneless top sirloin) or a Porterhouse (with bone).

Serve with sautéed mixed peppers and zucchini, and steamed whole new potatoes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Food Processor Béarnaise Sauce

• 2 large shallots, minced

• 1/2 cup excellent red wine vinegar

• 3 large egg yolks

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and hot

• 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or vegetable oil

• 4 boneless sirloin shell steaks, each about 8- to 10-ounces

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the sauce. In a saucepan, combine the shallots and vinegar. Bring to a boil and let boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. You can strain the vinegar into the food processor, or just dump it in with the shallots. Cool 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, pulsing to combine. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the hot butter; the sauce will naturally thicken. Stir in the tarragon, lemon juice, and season to taste. Set aside. Makes 3/4 cup.

Pat the steak dry with paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet or sauté pan (can be non-stick) over medium-high heat, add the oil. Add the steaks to the hot pan and cook 3 minutes each side for medium-rare, 4 minutes for medium, and 5 minutes for well-done. Remove from the pan to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain in 1/4-inch slices. The temperature will be 130º on an instant-read thermometer for medium.

Place the slices of steak on dinner plates and top each portion with about 3 tablespoons of the Béarnaise. Serve immediately.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2008, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

photo courtesy martha stewart omnimedia

Chocoholics live in a world that is defined by passionate words-everything from love and crave to addiction and indulgence.  Some prefer milk chocolate, others dark.  Europeans have a developed palate for white chocolate that Americans haven’t got yet.  Everyone loves chocolate baked into cookies.  It is culinary luxury in a bite and even the most timid baker longs to bake the perfect batch.

A New World food brought back to Spain by Columbus, it wasn’t until Cortez observed the Aztec Indians of Mexico drinking chocolate that Europeans got the idea of how to use it.  Chocolate translates to “bitter water” and with sugar added for palatability, the luxurious favorite drink of continental royalty was invented.

Henri Nestlé was a Swiss chemist who developed the method of condensing milk.  Sharing the invention with his neighbor, a semi-sweet chocolate manufacturer, milk chocolate was born.  Nestlé is still today the most recognizable name in store-bought chocolate, especially chips, and stands up in flavor to the gourmet brands.

Once upon a time, a chocolate chip cookies meant Toll House made with the recipe printed on the back of a bag of Nestlé’s semi-sweet morsels.  Today there is a variety of chocolate chips available and recipes abound for different types of cookies featuring them. But most are a variation on the original Toll House. I found an article in the Autumn 1984 issue of the then fledgling Chocolatier magazine on old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies based on the proportions of the original Toll House recipe.  The seven recipes are so good that I never looked at another recipe for chocolate chip cookies again. I share two of them here with you. In the future, I will post more.

Chocolate chips are specially made to retain their shape during baking, which is why they are not called for use in other recipes calling for chocolate.  They are squeezed through a nozzle and immediately set up into the pert, pointed morsel shape that is like a miniature Hershey’s kiss.  They are available in seven varieties: semi-sweet, bittersweet (also called double chocolate), white, milk chocolate, mint, peanut butter, and butterscotch, and in sizes ranging from 1/2-inch discs (also called cookie chips, made by Guittard) down to 1/8-inch diameter mini-morsels (which disappear into a cookie, but are good added to bread).  If you are eating them right out of the bag, you want a velvety smooth texture and overall assertive chocolate flavor.

Easily found in most supermarkets are Nestlé, Ghirardelli, and Guittard chocolate chips, all excellent brands.  I stock up on bags of white, semi-sweet, and milk chips, especially if they are on sale.  The lesser known Tropical Source chips, made with tofu powder for creaminess and no refined sugar, is available at health food stores and Whole Foods.  Before you say poo-poo to this natural foods store brand, Tropical Source ranked first in a blind chocolate chip tasting by Cook’s magazine. I love them.

I also like small bars of Valrhona chocolate from France, Sharffen Berger from US (owned now by Hershey), Swiss Lindt Excellence, and Tobler for chopping by hand into uneven chunks. If you use them in place of the chips, they will make a more rustic looking cookie. With dark chocolate now in the category of superfoods, whats stopping you from whipping up a batch right now?

Tips for a Beautiful Chocolate Chip Cookie

•Use butter that is soft, but still a cool room temperature, rather than runny.

•Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator after mixing, up to 3 days, so it is firm when you drop the batter on the baking sheet.  Do not freeze.

•Use cool baking sheets, never hot ones just out of the oven or the cookie batter will separate and puddle.

•Vegetable shortening (Spectrum solid vegetable shortening-the organic version of Crisco) or a vegetable cooking spray, like Pam, are the best fats for greasing the baking sheets. I use parchment or a Silpat, and skip this step.

•2 tablespoons of dough will make a 3-inch cookie and 3 tablespoons of dough will make a 4-inch cookie.

•To judge when a cookie is perfectly done, press gently on the center.  It is done if it springs back.  The edges will not be brown.  Do not over bake or they will be dry (you want moist and chewy); cookies set up as they cool.

Cocoa-White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 12 ounces coarsely chopped white chocolate bars, or 2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions

In a large bowl with a wooden spoon or in a Kitchen Aid mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.  One at a time, with the mixer running, add the vanilla, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and finally the egg.  Slowly add the flour and then the white chocolate.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until firm, 4 hours to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325º.  Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.  Using 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter for each cookie, shape into a rough ball.  Place on the baking sheet, with at least 4 inches of space in between the balls and away from the corners of the pan.

Bake in the center of the oven, one pan at a time, 12 to 14 minutes.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to a layer of paper towels on a metal cooling rack.  After a few minutes, slide from the paper towel onto the rack to cool completely.  Makes about 20 cookies.

Orange-Pecan-Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon (packed) freshly grated orange zest

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon orange-flavored liqueur, like Grand Marnier

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

• 12 ounces coarsely chopped milk chocolate bars, or 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Instructions

In a large bowl with a wooden spoon or in a Kitchen Aid mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.  One at a time, with the mixer running, add the orange zest, vanilla, liqueur, salt, baking soda, and finally the egg.  Slowly add the flour and then the pecans and milk chocolate.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until firm, 4 hours to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.  Using 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter for each cookie, shape into a rough ball.  Place on the baking sheet, with at least 4 inches of space in between the balls and away from the corners of the pan.

Bake in the center of the oven, one pan at a time, 10 to 12 minutes.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to a layer of paper towels on a metal cooling rack.  After a few minutes, slide from the paper towel onto the rack to cool completely.  Makes about 20 cookies.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

There might be a riot if there was not a Chinese chicken salad in the Weeknight Cooking book; it is that popular a salad. Chicken salads on the whole are immensely popular, but this dish tops them all since it combines sweet, crunchy, spicy, cold, and sour all in one.

Most recipes call for cooking rice noodles in hot oil. No way am I interested in that messy job, even for a few minutes, on a weeknight. Hence, enter the crispy chow mein noodles, which are delicious for snacking right out of the can.

Fast forward to one day I am shopping in the produce department and this young man from the fire department is next to me, obviously struggling in the Asian vegetable department. His indecision is obvious. I asked him what he was looking for and he replied cilantro; he was holding a bunch of watercress, which is an experience many of us have had at one time or another. I showed him the cilantro and then the conversation struck up that he was a San Francisco fireman, shopping near home in the South Bay, for it was his night to cook at the station. He told me about his chicken salad and that the firemen even published a cookbook for raising money to support surviving families of firefighters lost in the line of duty.

Well here is a variation of the recipe he told me about. I adore the dressing, which is a mild creamy cilantro with sesame oil and ginger instead of the same old same old. Anything with lime and cilantro, and count me in. The unique item is how to poach the chicken, which you do right before you toss the salad; it is in a bath of soy sauce.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Poached Chicken

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (About 1-pound)

• 3 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari (wheat-free) or soy sauce

• Water, to cover

• Creamy Cilantro Dressing

• 1-inch piece fresh gingerroot, cut into a few pieces

• 1 cup cilantro leaves

• 1 cup mayonnaise or soy mayonnaise (Veganaise)

• 3 tablespoons plain rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil

• Juice of 1 small lime

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• Few drops hot pepper sauce

The Salad

• 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds

• 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

• 1/4 head Napa cabbage, chopped (about 2 loose cups)

• 1 (5-ounce) can chow mein noodles

• 2 carrots, grated

• 1/2 English cucumber, cut into 2 inch hunks and cut into strips

• 3 green onions, white and few inches of the green, chopped

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, place the chicken, soy sauce, and water just to cover. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand 30 minutes while you make the dressing and assemble salad ingredients.

In a food processor, drop in the ginger and chop. Then add the cilantro and pulse to chop. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, oil, lime juice, sugar, and hot pepper sauce. Process until smooth. Set aside in a small bowl.

Place the sesame seeds in a dry skillet and toast until golden, shaking the pan a few times to even toast them, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a shallow bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, chow mein noodles, carrots, cucumbers, green onions, and sesame seeds. Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and shred into bite-sized pieces. Toss the chicken with the lettuce mixture. Either toss with the dressing or place the dressing on the table and let people drizzle over their salad (this is the way I do it). Serve immediately with some pot stickers and hot steamed rice, if you like, although this is a filling salad on its own. Chopsticks optional.

Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2008, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.
Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

Niente dice più romagna di questo pane nostro... questo è un simbolo che dice devozione alla nostra terra. G. Pascoli/this bread is a symbol that says devotion to our land

An Italian version of a flour tortilla or Indian chapati, piadine is one of the oldest hearth breads made in the world today.  It hails from the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy on the Adriatic Sea, the site of old Etruscan cities, and the most fertile wheat-growing area in the country. This was a staple of the tenant farmer’s diet. It is also one of the basic unleavened flatbreads–just flour, salt, lard, and water, although this food processor version is adapted with a bit of oil, baking powder, and milk for a more tender, manageable dough for the beginning baker. Its all in the hands.

It is baked on discs of fireproof terra cotta clay bakestones known as a testi. You can use a cast iron skillet or griddle. It is served hot off the griddle, cut into 4 appetizer wedges around a mound of whole milk ricotta cheese studded with ripe plum tomato wedges and sprinkled with chopped fresh basil, or like a sandwich, folded around grilled sausage and onions or melting chunks of gorgonzola or fontina Valle d’Aosta and a paper-thin slice of proscuitto or Black Forest ham (in place of more expensive Parma ham).

So many bakers have tackled tortillas and chapati, but not la piadina. It is the same technique and the dough has a similar feel.

Serve as a bread side with with veal stews and braised beef, always freshly made, warm if possible. Bona Fortuna!

Makes 10 breads

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup semolina pasta flour (fine grind for making homemade pasta)

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil

• 2/3 cup warm water

• 1/2 cup warm whole milk

• Olive oil, for brushing griddle

• Equipment: 10- or 12-inch heavy cast iron frying pan or oval cast iron griddle (one that fits over 2 burners at one time)

Instructions

In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flours, salt, and baking powder.  Add the melted butter and combine with a few pulses.  Combine the milk and water in a measuring cup, gradually adding half at first, until the dough comes together into a coarse, moist meal and clears the sides of the bowl.  Do not over mix.

portions of dough ready to roll out

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead until a silky and resilient ball is formed, 1 to 2 minutes.  Leave the dough ball on the work surface, cover with an overturned bowl, and let rest at least 20 to 30 minutes to relax the dough.

photo courtesy of Consorzio Prodottori

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, each the size of a round plum.  With a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a flat circle about 1/8 inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. Uneven is okay.

Place a 12-inch heavy cast iron frying pan or oval cast iron griddle over medium heat.  Heat until a drop of water dances over the surface and disappears.  Brush the surface very lightly with olive oil before baking each bread.

Place the piadina into the hot pan.  Cook about 60 seconds on the first side.  The bottom surface will have brown blisters, smell a bit burnt, and bubble up.  Turn and cook the other side for another minute until the second side is golden brown.  Slide from the pan with your fingers to remove and place in foil in a 250º oven to keep warm and soft while making the rest of the breads.

onto the hot griddle

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

Some tagines are quite complex and time-consuming to assemble. Others, not so, but a harried hostess dream of culinary efficiency. A tagine casserole is unique enough to stun guests, but a comfort food that is also tasty as heck.

Here is one of the fastest chicken dishes ever with all the sweet and sour flavors of the kasbah—capers, dried fruit, olives, and the sweet-tart combination of sugar, wine, and vinegar adapted from a very famous dish called Chicken Marbella from the first Silver Palate Cookbook. It has become a classic. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking often combines fruit, dried fruit, and nuts with preserved flavors of capers and olives to flavor meat and vegetable stews. Back in the old days of my first Bon Appetite magazine shoot in the 80s, the producer used to go on and on about what magazine editors called F & M, fruit and meat, a combination which she disliked immensely.

There have been quite a few knockoffs on the original Marbella recipe, which can be a bit fussy when it doesn’t need to be. I found all the ingredients can be mixed at one time for the marinade, then just bake in the juices, instead of separating the steps and making lots of dishes to wash. You just have to be careful not to slosh the liquid all over the place, especially taking it out of the oven.

It is a magnificent buffet offering, moist and colorful, that never fails to pique the palate. ever since Oldways took a tour of Morocco with all manner of food writers, magazines and cookbooks have been infused with the flavors of Morocco. I used to make this often for catering and even my staff would sit in the back of the kitchen on the stairs with plates on their knees saying: this is incredible tasting chicken. Add yummy hummus and fresh mint tea and you will have guests dancing around the tables in no time like belly dancers.

This dish is versatile since it can be served hot, warm, room temperature, or cold (like for a picnic). You can use the thighs or breasts interchangeably, but for fancier parties, I always use the boneless breasts or bags of the boneless tenderloins (they come in 3-pound bags). If you use flat breasts or tenderloins, your cooking time is short; if you buy fresh breasts (I sliced these in half lengthwise), you might bake a dash longer. I like California apricot halves, but you can use Turkish if choose.

If you are familiar with preserved lemons, dice up a lemon and stir in as the casserole comes out of the oven before serving. Or add the diced lemons to the hot couscous.

I serve with a bowl of plain couscous or jasmine rice for soaking up the juices; it is special and festive. Here are directions for taking the casserole to a potluck, step by step, as well as cooking in your home oven.

Serves 16

Overview

• Preparation Timeline: Prepare entire dish in its marinade 1 day ahead and refrigerate overnight before cooking

• Serving Equipment: Two 10-by-15-by-2-inch casseroles; serving fork and over sized spoon

• On site/Reheat: Yes, but optional

• On site/Refrigeration: Optional, only if you are not baking the raw chicken immediately (I always place in the oven immediately when I arrive and get it cooked since it can stand fully cooked at room temperature with the sugar and vinegar

• Serving Temperature: Hot or room temperature or cold the next day

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup red or white vinegar (I use a champagne vinegar or Merlot vinegar, both tasty by themselves)

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons crumbled dried marjoram or basil leaves

• 6 cloves garlic, pressed

• 4 1/2 to 5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, rinsed and patted dry (thawed if using frozen)

• 1 can (6-ounces dry weight) medium California black olives, drained (if you like mild), or other imported black olive of choice, such as niçoise or calamata (if you like more assertive)

• 1 can (6-ounces dry weight) pitted green olives, drained

• 8-ounces dried apricot halves

• 8-ounces pitted prunes (regular or bite-sized)

• 1/2 cup drained nonpariel capers, drained and rinsed

Instructions

Prepare the chicken the day before baking to marinate. In a very large plastic container with snap-on lid, combine the white wine, brown sugar, vinegar, oil, marjoram, and garlic.  Add the chicken, olives, dried fruit, and capers; cover and turn upside down to coat all the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

The grand dame of Moroccan cooking in her early days of discovery: Paula Wolfert, cookbook author and Moroccan food expert, cooking a tagine over charcoal in Morocco, circa 1970s

To serve hot or room temperature, bake the day you are serving it. To serve cold, you can bake the day before, cool it, cover, and refrigerate overnight. I usually bake on site if there is time, since it is quite juicy and easiest to transport still in the marinade bucket. I like it served hot during the winter and holiday season; room temperature in the summer.

To Serve: Roasting Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400º. Divide the chicken and marinade between two large 10-by-15-inch shallow baking dishes or roasting pans.  I use ceramic or Pyrex so they can be served directly out of the casserole.

Bake, uncovered, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on thickness of the meat, until chicken is no longer pink when pierced at its thickest part with the tip of a knife. If using one small oven, switch the position of the pans halfway through cooking, or cook one pan at a time; be careful, as this is pretty juicy. Taste the juices for seasoning, but I find the olives and capers are salty enough. If serving cold, cool to room temperature in the juices, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transportation Notes: Bring the casserole dishes and carry the chicken in the plastic bucket. No special requirements, but keep the bucket from tipping over. If carrying to the potluck cold, be sure to cover tightly since there is a lot of liquid and needs to be placed on the floor of the car or in the trunk with a large thick towel wrapped around it to prevent tipping over and sloshing out.

Onsite Preparation: Preheat the oven to 400º.  Divide the chicken and marinade between two large 10-by-15-inch shallow baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, 35 to 45 minutes. You can turn off the oven and let these stand 30 minutes if necessary. Serve hot, or let stand on the counter, still covered, to serve at room temperature. You can pour off the cooking juices, but I just serve as is and have a little ladle for spooning the juices.

To serve, let stand up to 4 hours at room temperature. To reheat, place in a 300º oven for 20 minutes until just warmed through.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

the winter citrus bounty

My friend, award-winning food writer, journalist, food scout, restaurant critic, reporter on the lam, her own t-shirt boutique pusher, dancer in the dark, dragon boat rowing in the sun, and former editorial boss at the San Jose Mercury News is Carolyn Jung, aka FoodGal (married to her now famous counterpart, MeatBoy the grill meister). She always has the best darn recipes, from her father’s steak sauce to the best cookies and cocktails. I keep suggesting she write a cookbook one of these days with her family recipes. She is a professional restaurant hopper, and I don’t think she goes anyplace without her miniature camera in her iPhone so she can record the plate before it disappears into her mouth. She loves to eat and talk about it. She is so engaging, we all like to read and hear about it, too.

So of course I was pleased as punch when she made my microwave orange marmalade, adapted to her stash of Meyer lemons. Here is her blurb. She added vanilla bean and fresh thyme since she is more creative and bold than myself, who loves plain ol plain ol.

I like the microwave for jams as you can make a small amount, utilizing your over ripe fruit if need be, and not hassle with canning.

This marmalade is different than the traditionally made, where you slice and boil the rinds and end up with rinds floating in the transparent sugar base — a gigantic sticky mess on the kitchen counters, much less a sink full of. This marmalade has the rind ground in the food processor, then combined with the rest of the ingredients and cooked like lickity split in the microwave. It is great for spreading, but also great to use as a glaze on poultry or ham. It is less sweet and more citrusy than commercial. Carolyn nicknamed it “minute marmalade”.

Be sure to have at least a 2-quart glass measuring cup or microwave-proof bowl to give the marmalade room to expand while cooking without boiling over. You can find the big Pyrex measuring cups often at the kitchen equipment section of the supermarket. Or order my very most favorite measuring cup/batter bowl from Pampered Chef (http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=211&catId=123&parentCatId=123&outletSubCat=). Nice, convenient, easy to hold. It is one of my favorite gifts to send for birthday gifts.

Carolyn Jung's Orange Marmalade with vanilla, thyme, and meyer lemons/photo couresy of FoodGal

Minute Marmalade by Carolyn Jung

Tuesday, 18. January 2011

Want to make jam when you’re, um, in a jam for time?

This no-fuss, no-mess, no-time-at-all recipe allows you to do just that — with help from your microwave.

My good friend and fellow Bay Area food writer Beth Hensperger has just come out with her latest cookbook, “Not Your Mother’s Microwave Cookbook” (Harvard Common Press) that will have you looking at this common appliance in a whole new way.

Let’s face it — most of us use our microwave oven primarily for reheating leftovers. But it can do so much more, as evidenced by Hensperger’s book. Roast peanuts? Yup. Toast coconut? For sure. Dry fresh pasta? You bet. Dry fresh herbs? But, of course.

You’ll even find a microwave version of my Dad’s “Foil-Wrapped Chicken” in the book, of which I just received a review copy. Only, this version  is safe for the microwave because it uses parchment paper instead.

Her microwave “Orange Marmalade” takes just minutes to make. You can even turn it into “Meyer Lemon-Orange Marmalade” as I did, and add fresh chopped thyme for a twist. This easy recipe is a boon to those who have citrus trees in their yards and are trying to find new ways to use that bounty at this time of year.

Her microwave “Orange Marmalade” takes just minutes to make. You can even turn it into “Meyer Lemon-Orange Marmalade” as I did, and add fresh chopped thyme for a twist. This easy recipe is a boon to those who have citrus trees in their yards and are trying to find new ways to use that bounty at this time of year.

The sliced fruit — both peel and flesh — gets chopped in a food processor. Pour it into a Pyrex measuring cup, add sugar and a dash of light corn syrup. Zap in the microwave for a couple minutes, transfer to a jar with a cover and allow to cool. That’s it.

Albeit the consistency isn’t exactly like that of a very jelled jam; it’s more like a thick puree, which I kind of like. It’s fab spread on bread, biscuits, scones and toasted pound cake. What I especially adore is the bright, zingy taste. This is one jam where the freshness hasn’t been cooked out of it. You can still taste the lively citrus. And who can resist that?

Carolyn Jung’s Meyer Lemon-Orange Marmalade with Thyme

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 navel orange (preferably organic), unpeeled, scrubbed, and quartered

• 2 Meyer medium-size lemons, washed, cut into sixteenths, and seeded

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only

• Sugar (equal to the amount of pureed fruit)

• 1 tablespoon Light corn syrup

Instructions

Place orange, lemon slices and thyme in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until reduced to 1/4-inch pieces.

Transfer to a 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup. Note the amount and add an equal amount of sugar; stir. Note the amount and add 1 tablespoon corn syrup, which will prevent crystallization during cooling, per cup of orange-sugar mixture.

Microwave, uncovered on HIGH for 2 minutes. Microcook on LOW (10 percent power) or DEFROST for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is slightly thickened and the peel is tender. Be careful not to overcook. The mixture should fall from a spoon in thick drops.

Transfer to a storage jar. Let stand to room temperature; the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. You can store the marmalade in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Variation a la Beth: Orange Marmalade — Omit the lemons and thyme. Place quartered orange in the bowl of a food processor and follow remaining directions.

chunkier cut

Adapted  and excerpted from “Not Your Mother’s Microwave Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger (c) 2002, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site, then Carolyn’s as well.

Quinoa translates to “mother” in Quechua, one of the main languages of native Andean peoples and Incan descendants.  It was a staple highland grain of equal importance as maize, and considered a primary food source of strength and endurance for working in the thin mountain air.

It has been grown in remote highland rural areas of Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia, up into the present, with each Indian community having their own special strain of quinoa, quite similar in practice to the Indians of the American Southwest and their relationship to corn.
For the indigenous people of the altipano regions of South Amercia, quinoa represents both food and medicine, while at the same time it has remained at the core of their age-old spiritual practices inherited from their pre-Columbian ancestors. Since it carried sacred importance, the Spanish conquistadores under Pizarro stamped out its cultivation, thinking to move the psychology of the mountain people to Christianity.

Quinoa was virtually lost to the world until the 1880s when it made a first appearance in the United States through the work of visionary horticulturalist Luther Burbank.  The “forgotten cereal of the ancients,” as he dubbed the supergrain, did not catch on as a food source for North Americans.

It resurfaced in 1982 in test plots in the high altitudes of the San Luis Valley (this is where Coors plants its vast fields of barley for beer), cool and semi-arid, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Today, this is the main source for domestic organic quinoa in the United States. Quinoa is also imported from South America under the name Ancient Harvest Quinoa and Alter Eco Fair Trade. As an alternate to wheat, barley, and rye, quinoa is one of the fastest growing new gourmet food trends to hit the market in the 21st century.

Bolivian Emigdio Ballon, a Ph.D. in plant genetics, planted quinoa for the Seeds of Change research farm in New Mexico.  As Director of Agronomy and Research Associate, Ballon has personally developed fields of numerous strains of heirloom quinoa in a rainbow of colors, all hand planted with traditional ceremonial rituals, available for home gardeners and limited gourmet food market today.

pearl colored raw quinoa/notice the little hoop surrounding each grain

To Wash or Not To Wash Quinoa

Quinoa is coated with a resiny natural pesticide and preservative compound, saponin, which is bitter and soapy flavored in the cooked grain.  All imported quinoa needs to be rinsed before cooking, as the compound dissolves easily in cold water. Always wash, since a batch of bitter quinoa is not exceptionally palatable. Domestic grown quinoa does not need washing as it is prewashed.

Technique for Washing: Place the seeds in a deep bowl.  Fill with cold water to cover.  Swirl with your fingers; it will foam.  Drain off through a fine mesh strainer and place under cold running water.  Repeat until there is no foam.

cooked red quinoa

Quinoa Tortillas

Tortillas are now showing up made with “ancient grains”. Here is a unique tortilla recipe translated and adapted from a little known South American cookbook Comidas Del Ecucador by Michelle O. Fried (Quito, Ecuador, 1986), a recipe that won her first place in the Primer Festival Costumbrista food competition in 1984.  It is a more complicated tortilla than the basic flour and corn varieties, with the addition of vegetables, cheese, herbs, whole quinoa, and oatmeal, but this savory version is a must for serious tortilla lovers.  A commercial liquid egg substitute works nicely for the liquid in this recipe.  Quinoa tortillas make great quesadillas and chilequilles.

Makes about sixteen 6-inch tortillas

Ingredients

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup raw quinoa, well rinsed

• 1 small shallot, minced

• 1/2 cup grated raw carrot

• 1/2 cup minced raw red pepper

• 1 large egg or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute

• 3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal

• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dry Mexican oregano

Instructions

1.  In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a rolling boil.  Add the quinoa and reduce the heat to the lowest setting.  Cover and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes.  Let stand off the heat 15 to 30 minutes before proceeding with mixing the tortilla dough. You can also make the quinoa in your rice cooker.  You want to use the quinoa while it is still warm.  Makes about 2 cups.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl using your hands or a wooden spoon, or the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on the lowest setting, combine the shallots, carrots, red pepper, and eggs.  Add the warm quinoa, oatmeal, whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, cheese, salt, and oregano, stirring just until the dough sticks together, clears the sides of the bowl, and a very soft ball is formed.  Adjust the consistency with a tablespoon or two more of flour or an extra egg, if necessary.

Give the dough a few kneads (less than 10) to make a smooth ball.  Form into a cylinder and wrap the dough in plastic wrap or a clean dishcloth to prevent drying out, and let rest at room temperature 15 minutes.

3.  To shape the tortillas, divide into 16 equal portions about the size of a golf ball.  Place one of the portions of the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper coated with cooking spray for easy releasing.  Press in a tortilla press, turning at regular intervals, until the desired thickness, or roll out with a thin rolling pin to a 6-inch round, less than 1/4-inch thick.  Often the edges will crack; you can leave like this, or press on the plastic to smooth, or trim with a knife.  Leave in the plastic wrap until ready to cook.  You will have a pile of tortillas sandwiched between the layers of plastic or waxed paper to prevent sticking and drying out.  These may be refrigerated in this form for up to 8 hours before baking, if necessary.

from a mural by Diego Rivera

4.  To bake the tortillas, heat an ungreased heavy cast-iron skillet, griddle, or comal over medium-high heat; a drop of water will dance across the surface.  Peel off both layers of the plastic or waxed paper and place each tortilla onto the hot pan, one at a time, or as many that will fit without touching.  Bake for 30 seconds on the first side, turn over and bake for 1 minute, then turn back to the first side and bake for a final 30 seconds; the tortilla will puff up and be speckled with brown spots (that homemade look).  The tortillas can be baked in advance, stacked, wrapped in plastic or placed in a thick plastic bag, and refrigerated overnight.  Rewarm as needed right before eating.

Using quinoa tortillas in recipes: When making recipes that require you to quick fry the tortillas before using (such as enchiladas, which require you pass them through oil or hot sauce before stacking or rolling) you can use the freshly made tortillas without this step. If the tortillas are not quite fresh enough to roll easily without breaking, spritz the tortillas with a small amount of water and place in a towel inside your microwave. Microwave on high for about 15 seconds, and this will restore the freshness to them.

Storage: Quinoa tortillas can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 2 to 3 days. To reheat for serving, sprinkle each tortilla with a few drops of water and heat on a preheated nonstick pan for 10-15 seconds on each side. They can be also frozen in plastic freezer bags.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

artwork by gallardo

I adore fresh pears.  Next to apples, oranges, and bananas, pears are the most common winter fruit.

A delicate fruit with a short harvest period, we can enjoy fresh pears from Washington and Oregon all winter due to the convenience of cold storage that slows the delicate off-the-tree ripening process.

Each variety has its own distinct appearance and flavor and autumn pears are known for their firmer texture during baking.  Pears are easily eaten out of hand, sliced in fruit salads, or paired fresh with cheese for dessert, but the baked desserts they make are positively ethereal, even a bit exotic.

From the greenish Anjou to the buttery smooth Comice and tapered Boscs, buy pears that are plump, free of blemishes, and, most important, still firm, so they can hold their shape after poaching or baking.  Although all pear varieties are good for cooking, my favorites are the aromatic yellow-skinned or Red Bartlett and the large, bulbous Comice.  Both have a smooth flesh without any grittiness, but always need to be peeled before baking, as the skin is very tough.

The following fruit pie and pear cake are anything but common; both are incredibly delicious and are a permanent part of my quick-to-prepare winter dessert repertoire.

The pear cake blankets the fruit under a layer of baked custard and the pie simply piles the sliced pears into a raw shell while its crumb topping contains enough sweetening and spices to flavor the entire pie. This is the perfect place to use a good-quality commercially made frozen crust to save time, as it is so tender and buttery that even the most accomplished baker can’t tell it from homemade.

My Absolute Favorite Pear Crumble Pie

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 medium Bartlett pears, still firm to the touch

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or GF flour baking mixture (like from Bob’s Red Mill)

• 1/4 cup organic granulated cane sugar

• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace

• 1/3 cup (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

• One frozen prepared pie crust, unthawed, or homemade 9-inch single pie crust, chilled or frozen

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400º.  Peel, halve, and core the pears.  Cut each halve into 3 thick slices and pile into the frozen pie crust, mounding the fruit higher in the center.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, and spices.  Cut in the cold butter pieces with your fingers, pastry cutter, or use a food processor, just until coarse crumbs are formed.  Holding your hand around the edge to prevent spilling, cover the pears evenly with the spicy crumble topping.

Bake in the center of the hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and pears are tender.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Beth’s Pear Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

• 3 medium Bartlett pears, still firm to the touch

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 large egg

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350º.  In a medium bowl or bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, and salt.  Cut in the cold butter pieces with your fingers, pastry cutter, or use a food processor, just until coarse crumbs are formed; like for a crumb topping.  Divide the mixture in half (reserve half for topping).  Place half of the flour mixture in a greased 9-inch square or round baking dish, at least 3 inches deep.  Press to make an even layer over the bottom of the pan.

Peel, halve, and core the pears.  Cut each halve into 4 slices and arrange a tight single layer of the pears over the flour mixture.

Add the sour cream, baking soda, and egg to the remaining flour mixture.  Beat well just until smooth.  Pour the batter over the pear slices and spread evenly out to the sides.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the topping is firm and pears are tender.  Serve warm or at room temperature the same day it is made, cut out of the pan.

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

Chocolate truffles are rolled into rough balls that look like their name-sakes, the earthy subterranean fungi that grows under oak trees and is a savory culinary delicacy and quite rare.

Chocolate truffles are intensely sweet and able to be devoured in one bite, a satisfying treat for the most discerning chocolate addict.  Usually made from a combination of chocolate and heavy cream, here I have omitted the cream and used prune purée instead.  The result is a smashing low-fat truffle with a pure balance of flavor. And you only need one good recipe to make a wide assortment of flavored truffles. No one could tell the difference in a taste test and marveled that it could be low fat. And you know how healthy dark chocolate is. So it is like a big antioxidant vitamin pill.

Alice Medrich is given the accolades of bringing the chocolate truffle as we know it onto the American dessert scene. After learning about them in France from her landlady, she started making them and selling them out of Pig By the Tail, across the street from Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley. They were so popular, Alice started her own sweet shop across the street called Cocolat. A tradition was born.

Dried fruit butters are indispensable for low-fat baking and an excellent complement to chocolate.  Since the purée keeps up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator, make a big batch to have on hand for spur of the moment baking, or even just spreading on toast.  Sweetened prune filling (available in the baking section) or prune lekvar (available in the kosher section), or prune baby food can be substituted, but homemade is best.

If you want to make these vegan, substitute the butter with Earth Balance or a soy margarine, and a vegan chocolate.

The inspiration for this unlikely combination of chocolate and a fruit purée comes from my friend Stephen Durfee, original pastry chef at the French Laundry and recipient of the 1999 James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year Award.

Makes 24 one-inch balls

Ingredients

• 8-ounces bittersweet chocolate, such as Lindt, Callebaut, or Guittard

• 1/2 cup warm prune butter (recipe follows)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance

• 1 tablespoon liqueur (see liqueur choices following below)

• About 1/2 cup (2 ounces) toasted nuts, finely chopped in a food processor or with a sharp knife, for coating each batch (see nut choices following below)

Instructions

Chop the chocolate and place in the top of a double boiler over simmering water to melt.  Stir with a whisk until smooth to complete the melting and remove from the heat.

With a small wire whisk, add the prune butter, unsalted butter, and liqueur;  stir to evenly combine.  Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin forming, and chill about 4 hours to harden.

Use a plate or line a baking sheet with parchment.  Place the nuts on a shallow plate.  If the mixture is very hard, let stand at room temperature 1/2 hour until malleable.  Using a teaspoon, scoop a small round the size of a big cherry, and roll between your palms to form the rough balls.  Roll each ball in the chopped nuts and place on the plate or baking sheet.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill.  When hardened, transfer to an airtight plastic container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze.  Let come to room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Prune Butter

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 12-ounce bag pitted prunes

• 3/4 cup boiling water

Instructions

Place the prunes and 1/4 cup of the water in a food processor (it is too thick for a blender) and process, adding the remaining water in a thin stream while the machine is running, until a thick, smooth paste is formed.  It will look a bit chunky from the skins; that is okay , but if it bothers you, press through a sieve.  Use immediately or refrigerate.

Flavor Choices

Amaretto Truffles

Add Amaretto liqueur to the chocolate mixture and roll the balls in chopped almonds.

Orange Pistachio Truffles

Add Grand Marnier liqueur to the chocolate mixture and roll the balls in chopped pistachios.

Rum Truffles

Add dark rum to the chocolate mixture and roll the balls in chopped pecans.

Raspberry Truffles

Add framboise or Chambord liqueur to the chocolate mixture.  Tuck a frozen whole raspberry into the center when forming the ball and roll the balls in unsweetened cocoa.  Stud the truffle with 4 slivered almond pieces.

Chestnut Truffles

Add Cognac or brandy to the chocolate mixture.  Tuck a piece of chestnut in vanilla-flavored syrup (available in cans in the jam section) into the center when forming the ball and roll the balls in unsweetened cocoa.

Cherry Truffles

Add Cherry Marnier liqueur to the chocolate mixture and roll the balls in chopped walnuts.

Hazelnut Truffles

Add Frangelico nut liqueur to the chocolate mixture and roll the balls in chopped hazelnuts.

Macadamia Nut Truffles

Add Macadamia nut liqueur to the chocolate mixture. Sift some unsweetened cocoa powder onto a plate. Cut the macadamia nuts in half. Scoop the chilled chocolate mixture and place them on the baking sheet. Shape into roughly shaped balls with your hands. Use your thumb to gently press half a macadamia nut into the center of the ball, pressing it closed. Drop it into the unsweetened cocoa and roll it around until it’s completely covered then return it to the baking sheet.

for a crowd-pleasing serving presentation, use candy paper liners

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.

I got a call from an acquaintance named Nicole who lived in San Francisco.  I had done her best friend’s wedding at the Faye Mansion Inn the year before. I had even had danced at the wedding with her husband, who was a dead ringer for David Bowie, willowy tall, blonde, and debonair. Nicole (who was quite his opposite in being dark, exotic, aloof, and temperamental) and the faux David Bowie had decided to have a brunch to celebrate the opening of his new one-man accounting business.  The party would be in the top floor office of a converted Noe Street Victorian home on a Sunday morning (street parking would not be a problem then) and she wanted a lavish but casual, impressive brunch.  She wanted people to really feel satisfied by being able to come back as many times as they wanted for food and drink. In short, lots of everything.

Nicole was very particular, even nervous, about every single detail being in place, which was no problem for me since reassuring hostesses is one of my strong points.  It is not unusual for anyone who does not entertain very often to get the jitters when they do since it is way bigger a responsibility in reality than when you are in the planning stages.

The most compelling detail of this party was that Nicole had planned everything according to astrological projections–the day, time, even right down to when the perfunctory formal announcement lauding the opening of the business would be made to the guests.

Nicole was a professional astrologer. Unbeknownst to me and most of the world, she was working with Joan Quigley, the astrologer who gained front page notoriety when Donald Regan’s book about his experiences as the Chief of Staff in the Reagan White House was published. The fact that Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer to co-ordinate her husband’s calendar for personal safety and to set dates for global conferences really hit a scandalous note for most of America. Joan Quigley took all of the heat and never revealed to the public that she was working in tandem with Nicole, who was doing the mathematical calculations for Joan’s thriving business.  Of course, I was reassured when I found out since Nicole was smart, technical, scientific, and very competent.  She was highly trained and did a lot of published writing on the subject, as well as having a large client base of her own.  In my opinion, the country was in good hands and I was able to put in perspective the giggly remarks I had heard in my circle of friends that Nancy Reagan had her own “kitchen cabinet.” Nicole had her computer setup and worked out of her kitchen.

The menu had to be completely prepared beforehand since there was really no kitchen in the building, just a sink and microwave installed in a narrow walk in hall linen closet.  We would cut the fruit and breads in there, along with arranging the platters.  The upstairs rooms, accessed by a steep banistered staircase, were smallish and rather dark, reminding me of my grandmother’s 1920s house in New Jersey. There was  a turn-of-the-century fireplace in the main office that was once the living room of the rental flat/master bedroom of the original family house, with double glass doors leading to adjacent rooms.

I would set the serving tables up in that L-shaped room, looking out the front window. The room, probably once a child’s bedroom or dressing room, was small enough just to allow for an even flow in from the hall and around the front of the L and then head them out to the office area. My servers could stand behind the tables, one for the food, the other for the juice, champagne, and coffee, without being in the way of the guests at all.

view from the end of the catering table to the two bonsai I borrowed from a friend's collection that added height to the table

While the menu looked deceptively simple, it created a lovely bountiful table.  You can serve a very simple array of foods, but end up with a stunning meal the way they are balanced flavor and appearance wise, then push the whole look a up a notch by having a great presentation.  Notice I don’t say elaborate here.

As long as you have real glasses for the drinks and real flatware, you can have a lovely brunch with stylish paper or plastic plates and over sized paper napkins reflecting the colors chosen by the hostess.  You can have all the same color or mix and match complementary colors.  You want whatever the guests touch to feel good to encourage the mood of satisfaction and stability; stainless forks and nice glassware achieves that.

Since the guests would be eating standing up, that meant there would be a balancing act–plate in one hand, fork or glass in the other.  All foods had to be able to be eaten with just a fork or your fingers, and not be messy at all.  I went for sturdy black plastic, dinner plate size, to avoid food dumped on the floor as guests tried to get a forkful, yet have room for generous portions of all the foods including the breads.

Auspicious Business Debut

Buffet Brunch in the Victorian Office

Noe Street

San Francisco, California

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Sunday, January 31, 1988

Lox, Natural Cream Cheese and Miniature Bagels

capers and wedges of lemon

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Fresh Vegetable and Cream Quiche

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Fresh Pineapple Slices and Melon Wedges

A Variety of Homemade Nut Breads

pumpkin, poppyseed, sour cream cashew, carrot, and apricot

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Piper-Sonoma Brut

fresh squeezed orange juice                                 cafe

Recipe and text copyright Beth Hensperger 2012

Please enjoy the recipe and make it your own. If you copy the recipe and text for internet use, please include my byline and link to my site.