I'd bought some rhubarb at the beginning of the month but didn't have time to make anything out of it. Ms. CAM kindly cut it up and put it in my freezer, awaiting a three-day weekend (and didn't even mention that most hostesses don't ask their guests to prep and freeze food for later consumption). In between then and today, Smitten posted rustic rhubarb tarts. So, thanks to both CAM and Smitten, I've enjoyed two today and am trying to stop myself from enjoying my third. Not that I've ever been picky about my rhubarb, but this recipe is definitely a winner.
I followed the by-hand directions, because I also dragged Ms. CAM around central Connecticut trying to track down a pastry blender (for the rhubarb pie that she never got to eat). Apparently, multiple Williams-Sonoma stores haven't been able to order pastry blenders quickly enough to meet demand. I managed to snag the last one at Macy's, though, and it was worth it. No more cutting in butter with two knives for me!
I modified the recipe a little because I didn't have corn flour and didn't feel like tracking it down just for 1 cup. And I did have about 3/4 c. graham flour and thought that its sweetness would work well with the rhubarb. I replaced all of the corn meal with graham flour and the corn flour with 3/4 c. regular flour and 1/4 c. graham flour. The crust may have turned out heavier, but I've got no complaints.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
raw rhubarb does freeze well!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
recipes that shouldn't be good but, oh man, they are
So KZ and I had a conversation earlier this week that went something like this:
HEB: Oh man, I made that tomato sauce from Smitten, you know, the one with the canned tomatoes and onion that you throw away and butter, and oh man. I ate one-and-a-half servings and I had to stop myself from having two servings.
KZ: I saw that on smitten and thought, "This can't be good. It has three ingredients."
HEB: Oh man. I want to eat more right now. I mean, it might be my favorite tomato sauce ever. Well, okay. Fresh in the summer is good. But I'm never buying sauce in a jar ever again.
KZ: Wow. I never would have tried it because I would have thought that it was a waste of time to make a sauce that would clearly be bad.
HEB: Oh man.
I've actually made it twice now (single recipe once and double recipe once) and am not yet over the "oh man" phase. Although I will say that I think that the San Marzano tomatoes do make it better than the Shaw's brand ones. And also, don't skimp on the butter like I tried to do in my double recipe. The sauce only has three ingredients (and you throw one of them away). Let it have as much of those ingredients as it calls for.
If you want an "oh man" conversation, the recipe is here.
This one doesn't have just three ingredients, but it inspires similar feelings for me. It's a Fig and Walnut Tapenade over goat cheese on ciabatta.
Nomi made this for our aebleskiver party this year and it was so excellent that I had to make more to bring to my office's holiday party. I generally don't get excited by olives and capers, but, oh man, they are perfect here.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Because It's Always Somethin' Somethin' Weather
This cranberry slushy can barely be classified as a recipe, but it is probably my first (and favorite) exposure to alcohol. My aunt always made this at Thanksgiving and now it is a staple in my freezer, for parties and for weekday nights.
All you need is (1) one can of frozen lemonade, (2) one bottle of standard
sized cranberry juice, and (3) the frozen lemonade can full of rum (1.5 if you're really feeling feisty).
Stir it up, and put it in the freezer. The next day you'll have a frozen treat. The alcohol keeps it from freezing solid, so once you stir it up, you're good to go.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
this one was worth it
Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stirring, 1 minute (mixture will thicken). Transfer blueberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest. Sandwich layers: Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined. Divide batter between baking pans and spread into thin, even layers with offset spatula. Bake until golden-brown but still tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely in pans, about 30 minutes. Assemble sandwiches: Transfer sandwich to a cutting board using overhang. 
Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches
I fell in love with the idea of these sandwiches, which were on the cover of Gourmet's August 2009 issue. However, I also pretty much simultaneously fell in love with a batch of KZ's homemade graham crackers that she made while visiting, so I decided to tweak the recipe to accommodate the graham-love.
The sandwich layers turned out a little odd, much more caramelized than I anticipated. However, all-in-all, I'm pretty pleased with these. If I make them again, I will probably stick with the lemon ice cream as in the original, since I think the tartness would be extra delicious.
Here's the recipe with my mods:
For ice cream:
For blueberry compote:
For sandwich layers:
Equipment: 2 (8-inch) square baking pans (2 inches deep); a small offset spatula
Blueberry compote:
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each side, then butter parchment paper. 
Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream, then swirl it gently through ice cream with a spoon. 
Spoon all of ice cream over 1 sandwich layer (in pan) and spread evenly using clean offset spatula. 
Invert second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich. Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. 
Cut into 12 pieces. (Eat with a fork because the sandwich layers are super sticky.)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
test run
After having the best salad of the summer at a friend's house, I couldn't wait to recreate it. 
Here's her recipe:
eggplant: cubed, tossed with garlic, olive oil and salt and roasted at 425 degrees
cucumbers: peeled, de-seeded, sliced
tomatoes: from the farmer's market, chopped
red onion: thinly sliced
fresh field greens
feta
tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Here were my mods:
Used a fig/walnut balsamic salad dressing because I discovered that I had no balsamic vinegar.
Used a crumbled goat cheese rather than feta because I like goat cheese better and they were sampling a particularly tasty one at the grocery store.
Didn't peel or de-seed the cukes because I'm lazy.
Here's the verdict:
Dressing: I'd use balsamic in the future. The fig/walnut flavor was unnecessary and got lost.
Goat cheese: fantastic.
Cucumbers: being lazy is okay.
Proportions: I definitely didn't master the proportions, and I also ended up making about three times as much salad as I could eat. Next time, I will add more greens and fewer tomatoes/cucumbers. Also, probably less cheese.
Overall: still delicious. The eggplant really makes this special, well worth the roasting time. (However, I think that my roommate might not think that it's well worth heating up our too-hot apartment...)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
remodeling my kitchen
I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.
Before:
After:
I celebrated the successful remodel by making a batch of brownies from scratch. I have no problem admitting that I rarely see the point in making brownies from scratch when you have Ghiradelli's double chocolate brownie mix available. However, I did not, and I wanted to try the Fudge Brownie Recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.
Verdict: delicious (even though I'm still thrown off by my one remodeling mistake: replacing the gas stove with an electric one)
Here's the recipe with my mods:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Green & Blacks)
1.5 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used Penzey's double strength)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1 inch overhang on two sides. Set aside.
Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted, about 7 minutes. (I heated in the microwave for about a minute at 50% power.)
Remove bowl from heat; let cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes. (I probably let it cool for 5 minutes, while prepping the pan and measuring other ingredients.)
Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.
Whisk in vanilla.
Gently fold in flour and salt.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with an offset spatula.
Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. (Took me 35.)
Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
I'm not sure that they were delicious enough to replace Ghiradelli as my go-to brownie, but I'll certainly be pulling these out when I want to be extra impressive. (Ghiradelli does still have the advantage of being less expensive to make since you don't need to purchase butter and chocolate.)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
because it's somethin' somethin' weather
And this is my favorite somethin' somethin'
Bourbon Slush
4 tea bags
2 cups boiling water
6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate
12 ounces frozen orange concentrate
1 cup bourbon*
7 cups water
2 cups sugar
ginger ale
Put tea bags into 2 cups boiling water; steep for five minutes and remove tea bags.
Mix together remaining ingredients and add tea.
Pour into several containers and freeze at least 24 hours.
Scoop frozen mixture into a highball glass; pour ginger ale over top.
* I have been known to double the amount of bourbon.
[gratuitous somethin' somethin' picture]Friday, September 19, 2008
things that look like poop
My ex-housemate Gretchen is known for her pithy and accurate life observations. Once, when one of us was apologizing that the dinner we'd made looked like, well, crap, Gretchen pointed out that "we've eaten tons of things that looked like poop and they were fantastic!" That's how I feel about this casserole. It's not much of a looker, but, oh man, is it tasty.
I celebrated my oven being fixed by making up a double recipe of this baby yesterday, which means that I also packaged up lunches for today and all next week.
It's the Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin from Moosewood New Classics. I don't feel right posting the recipe, because you should all own this cookbook if you don't already. I'm actually trying very hard to think of any cookbook that has made me as happy. Which is saying a lot because I'm very fond of my cookbooks. (Maybe my waffle cookbook. Maybe.) But, basically, it's sweet potatoes, rice, black beans, and spinach layered with a coconut milk/lime juice/garlic/thyme mixture and topped with a cornmeal topping. And fantastic. Just writing about it makes me want to go heat up some. Luckily, I have plenty that didn't get packed into lunches, so that's an option. (If you're really unconvinced about buying New Classics, other people have posted the recipe online, so go to them.)
PS: I am shocked that this blog has gone so long without having a "sweet potato" label. Seriously.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
run, do not walk
To your nearest grocery store. Or I might beat you there and buy out all of the Canadian Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale. Because it's just that amazing. And I've already done so at one grocery store and a Target. (To my limited credit, that was only a total of 3 12-packs.) And, look, it's not just me who thinks so. But I may be the first to point out that it's basically canned Tea Sparkle. So until Argo opens up on the East Coast, I'll keep stocking up on the Green Tea Ginger Ale.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
ugly but amazing
I wanted pancakes all day yesterday, so I was thrilled to discover that I did, indeed, have baking powder and could make them. I used the yogurt variation of the super-simple Everyday Food recipe. (I used Trader Joe's vanilla yogurt for the yogurt.) This isn't my usual pancake recipe, but that one is in a box somewhere and this produced a completely delicious dinner. I managed not to eat all of them yesterday, so I could reprise this meal today.
Monday, October 22, 2007
easy-peasy baked tofu
Per kzwick's request, here's my favorite tofu-for-non-tofu-eaters recipe. It's super easy. Non-tofu eaters love it. (And so do tofu eaters.) Just don't serve it with ketchup. Please.
Ingredients:
Water-packed firm or extra-firm tofu
Soy sauce
Oil (vegetable or sesame)
Peanut sauce
1/ Press tofu for 10-20 minutes. (Technically, you should probably cut tofu into pieces first and then press, but I'm lazy, so this is what I do.)
2/ Cut tofu into pieces. (I usually cut a block of tofu into 6 slabs and then cut each slab into 2 squares and each square into 2 triangles for a total of 24 pieces from each block. But you can cut them however you like.)
3/ Make a marinade of 1 part soy sauce to 1 part sesame or vegetable oil. (For 1 lb of tofu, you should probably use about 2 tbsp. of each.)
4/ Dredge each tofu piece in the marinade.
5/ Optional: arrange the tofu in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour remaining marinade over it. Let sit for 20-30 minutes.
6/ Preheat the oven to 425.
7/ Oil the bottom of a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with about 1 tbsp. vegetable oil. (It will seem like a little too much oil. That is okay.)
8/ Lay tofu pieces in a single layer on baking dish/sheet.
9/ Bake for about 15 minutes. Turn. Bake for about 15 minutes more. (Obviously, if you cut your tofu into smaller pieces, you should bake for less time. You can also cut up some red peppers into thin slices and bake them in the same dish and at the same time as the tofu. I don't do this because I'm not a red pepper fan. But I'm sure it would be nice.)
10/ Serve with peanut sauce. (I often serve this with my sesame noodle recipe, which is basically peanut sauce on noodles with cucumber and carrot strips.)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Chocolate Drop Cookies
This is an old favorite. These cookies freeze really well (in my opinion, although my mom thinks the frosting sometimes gets weird). I like eating them a little cold, so I don't let them defrost completely.
All ingredients should be used at room temperature for this recipe.
Cream together until well combined:
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine in a small bowl, stir thoroughly until smooth and thick:
2 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate (cooled to just warm, but still runny)
1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Combine chocolate/milk mixture with creamed mixture until the mix is uniformly chocolate.
Stir in, making sure that all of the batter is combined with the flour:
1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
optional: 1 cup chopped nuts
Cover, chill at least one hour or overnight.
Heat oven to 375o. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart unto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. Immediately remove from baking sheet; frost with Chocolate Icing when still slightly warm.
Chocolate Icing
Melt in microwave (30 second intervals, at high power, stirring between intervals):
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Blend in:
3 tablespoon water
about 2 cups powdered sugar