Happy New Year!

For us, New Year’s Eve is an excuse to host a dinner party, so we invited our closest friends over and had a low key evening. We started with homemade French bread (recipe to come) with local butter and quick-pickled radishes. Then we had braised pork belly with turnips and an arugula-parsley salad. For dessert, Erik fried Twinkies. Yeah, we had fried Twinkies after such a homemade old-school meal. They were . . . → Read More: What to do with a half-drunk bottle of Champagne?]]>

Happy New Year!

For us, New Year’s Eve is an excuse to host a dinner party, so we invited our closest friends over and had a low key evening. We started with homemade French bread (recipe to come) with local butter and quick-pickled radishes. Then we had braised pork belly with turnips and an arugula-parsley salad. For dessert, Erik fried Twinkies. Yeah, we had fried Twinkies after such a homemade old-school meal. They were fantastic. He promises to post the recipe soon.

The pork came from this great, relatively new butcher in our town. He sources from small, local farmers and is really knowledgeable about his art. He tries hard to sell the whole animal, even the parts that aren’t so popular, so the shop is full of cookbooks and he’ll suggest ways to prepare, for example, trotters (pig feet). When there wasn’t enough pork belly in the case, he shouldered half a pig and filled our order right there and then. Take a look!

Anyway…after dinner, we rang in the new year with Champagne from Westport Rivers in southern Massachusetts. Since none of us are huge Champagne fans, we awoke this morning to at least half a bottle of warm, kind of flat Champagne sitting on the kitchen counter. As you know, I have trouble wasting food, so I found two recipes for using the last bits of Champagne in the bottle.

The first, Champagne vinegar, isn’t much of a recipe. For every cup of leftover Champagne, add one tablespoon of homemade apple cider vinegar or a store-bought apple cider vinegar with the “mother” (Bragg is a good brand). Pour the mixture back into the bottle and cover the top with a thin towel or cheesecloth, secured by a rubber band or piece of string. Let it ferment in a dark, cool place for a month or so. It’s ready when you like the taste.

The second, Champagne sorbet, is from the Flour cookbook, which I LOVE for special occasion baking. It has a nice Champagne taste, but it’s not overwhelming. We might make it next year for a fancy-schmancy New Year’s Eve dessert – we certainly can’t get less fancy than fried Twinkies.

Champagne Sorbet

Makes a generous 2 cups

Directions

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small pot and heat to boiling over medium-high heat.
2. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. When you think it’s fully dissolved, turn off the heat and wait a minute until the water is still. Check the bottom of the pan for undissolved sugar. If you spot some, bring it back to a boil for another couple of minutes and then check again.
3. Let the syrup cool in the pot. Transfer it to a small bowl and refrigerate for two to three hours.
4. After the syrup has chilled, add the Champagne, lemon juice, and salt.
5. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the maker’s directions. For ours, this was 45 minutes.
6. If you want a firmer sorbet, pack into a freezer-safe container (we used a pint jar) and freeze overnight.

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day – whether celebrating the holiday or just enjoying a day off. We get to see both sides of the family today, so it’s bound to be a good one.

Since we’re traveling this year, I didn’t do a lot of Christmas baking, but I did squeeze in these “Massachusetts shortbread” cookies right before we left home. “Massachusetts” because of cacao nibs from . . . → Read More: Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Cacao Nibs]]>

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day – whether celebrating the holiday or just enjoying a day off. We get to see both sides of the family today, so it’s bound to be a good one.

Since we’re traveling this year, I didn’t do a lot of Christmas baking, but I did squeeze in these “Massachusetts shortbread” cookies right before we left home. “Massachusetts” because of cacao nibs from Taza Chocolate and dried local cranberries. “Shortbread” because of the slightly crumbly texture (as opposed to chewy or crisp). They’re a little sweeter than your standard shortbread, but not overly so. The dried cranberries add a nice tang and the cacao nibs are more nutty than chocolate-y. They’re the perfect cookies to accompany an afternoon tea. If you want something a little more luxurious, drizzle some dark chocolate over the top.

I made them small and kind of fat, but you could roll the dough into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a bit. Once it’s nice and cold, cut thin discs off of it and bake them for 10 minutes or so. This will give you a thinner and bigger cookie. With the assistance of a kitchen scale, you can prep these even before the oven has preheated.

Cran-Nib Cookies

Makes about 45 small cookies

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat the sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the flour and salt and mix well.
5. Add the dried cranberries and cacao nibs and mix gently to evenly distribute.
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll about 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball. Place it on the pan and flatten it gently with your palm. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should be able to fit about a dozen cookies per pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans in the middle. To rotate the pans, (1) switch the top and bottom pans and (2) turn the pans so that the cookies in the back of the oven are in the front. The cookies should be just a little golden around the edges.

I have learned that there are two things in life that impress people way more than they should. (1) An undergraduate math degree and (2) homemade marshmallows. I know you mean it as a compliment, folks, but girls are good at math, too. Even ones that no longer have bad perms and pink plastic glasses (childhood friends – you know what I’m talking about).

Now on to number two…also unreasonably impressive. I took . . . → Read More: How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallows (with Local Honey)]]>

I have learned that there are two things in life that impress people way more than they should. (1) An undergraduate math degree and (2) homemade marshmallows. I know you mean it as a compliment, folks, but girls are good at math, too. Even ones that no longer have bad perms and pink plastic glasses (childhood friends – you know what I’m talking about).

Now on to number two…also unreasonably impressive. I took a batch of these into my office Christmas party, met a lot of new people, and will now forever be known as “Marshmallow Girl”. I spent a lot more time on the gingersnaps, but these are what people remember. Homemade marshmallows are much better than store-bought, in my opinion. The texture is better; there’s no chemical taste; and you can flavor them however you’d like. Plus, you can wow some new friends.

Two notes on these. First off, I started with a recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet and doubled it. I think the marshmallows were too hard as a result. Next time, I’d try three packages of gelatin, rather than four (equivalent to 3 tablespoons). Secondly, this involves some very very hot, sticky liquids. Be careful. Use common sense and a much bigger pot than you think you need. Burns caused by hot sugar are not fun and shouldn’t be risked.

Not at all related to marshmallows, but still very important – residents of Dorchester, Boston’s largest and most diverse neighborhood, are working on their first community food system project, a winter farmers’ market. They need less than $1,000 to reach their Kickstarter goal. To read more and give them some support click here.

Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallows

Makes one 9-by-9-inch pan of marshmallows

Directions

1. Put 1/2 cup cold water into the workbowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin on top.
2. In a large pot, mix another 1/2 cup of water, the honey, 1/4 cup of cocoa, and the salt. Don’t skimp on the pot here. I know it’s only about 2 cups, but it will boil up quickly. As an example, I started with a 6-cup saucepan and had to pour everything (very carefully) into a larger pot after about 10 minutes.
3. Bring the liquids to a boil over high heat, watching carefully. Once you reach a boil, put the lid on for 3 minutes. This causes condensation to run down the sides of the pan, removing any sugar crystals, which will mess up the process.
4. Remove the lid and continue boiling until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, stirring occassionally.
5. Using the whisk attachment, beat the gelatin into the water. Then, very carefully and while the mixer is going, pour the hot honey mixture into the water and gelatin. Aim to put a thin stream down the side of the bowl. Once everything is incorporated, turn up the speed to high and let it go for about 12 minutes.
   Note: It will probably start to smell kind of gross at some point. This is normal. Also, your poor stand mixer might start to heat up a bit. This is also normal.
6. While the mixer is doing its thing, prepare the pan. Spray a 9-by-9-inch pan with nonstick spray. Mix together 1 tablespoon of cocoa, the cornstarch and the powdered sugar and dump it into the pan. Roll the pan around and tap it to coat the bottom and sides in the powder. Pour out the extra and save for later.
7. The marshmallows are done when they look like marshmallow fluff and are only slightly warm. Add the peppermint extract and mix for another minute.
8. Use an oiled spatula to coax the fluff from the bowl and into the prepared pan. Spread it out and smooth the top, if it’s cooperating. If it’s not, just do the best you can.
9. Dust the top with some of the reserved powder mixture and save the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to set up for 8-12 hours.
10. Once they’re set, turn them out onto a cutting board and cut however you’d like. A pizza cutter works pretty well. Toss the cut marshmallows and the reserved powder mixture in a zip-top bag or covered bowl until all the sticky edges are covered. Go forth and impress!

Clafouti is a fancy word. Technically it’s only supposed to be used to to refer to deserts made with cherries, otherwise the dish is called a flaugnarde (which is even worse). I call it lazy-man’s apple pie. What it actually reminds me of the most is Dutch pannekoeken or “Dutch pancakes”.

Lindsay is still out of town for work, and I overbought on apples, which started to get a bit old and sad. I . . . → Read More: How to Make Apple Clafouti (Lazy Apple Pie)]]>

Clafouti is a fancy word. Technically it’s only supposed to be used to to refer to deserts made with cherries, otherwise the dish is called a flaugnarde (which is even worse). I call it lazy-man’s apple pie. What it actually reminds me of the most is Dutch pannekoeken or “Dutch pancakes”.

Lindsay is still out of town for work, and I overbought on apples, which started to get a bit old and sad. I was also jonesing for something sweet. I turned up Martha Rose Shulman’s NYTimes “Recipes for Health” column with the basic recipe.

Apple Clafouti
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it (* Union Sq. Greenmarket)
4	Apples (larger is good)	Peeled, cores removed, cut into 1/16ths	Breezy Hill Orchard *
1 TBsp	Lemon juice	Fresh or bottled
1-2 TBsp	Unsalted butter	Use 1 if you want it a little healthier, you will also need a little extra for greasing the pan	Ronnybrook Farm Dairy *
2 TBsp	Brown sugar (light brown preferred)	Again, you could use less, but I wouldn’t
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
3	Eggs	Whisked	Northshire Farms *
1/2 tsp	Vanilla extract	Use pure extract, or 1/2 of a fresh vanilla bean!
1/3 cup	Sugar
2/3 cup	All-purpose flour	Sifted	Cayuga Pure Organics *
1/2 cup	Plain yogurt		Homemade with milk from Milk Thistle Dairy Farm *
3/4 cup	Lowfat or skim milk		Milk Thistle Dairy Farm *
Pinch	Kosher salt	Or table salt

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. I find it easier to measure out all of the other ingredients first and then to deal with the apples and then the eggs, but it requires a lot of little measuring dishes. If you want to, you can measure out everything as needed, but who needs to stress? Just make sure your dishwasher is empty!.

   

3. Peel the apples. Cut them into quarters, and cut the core out of each quarter with a knife. I used an apple corer in these pictures and I probably wouldn’t bother with it next time. We just got it, though, so I wanted to try it out. Cut each of the quarters into quarters. Put them into a large bowl and toss immediately with the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

   

4. Melt the 1-2 TBsp of butter (your decision) in skillet over medium-high heat. I used a stainless steel skillet; if you use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet it will probably cook faster and require the lesser amount of butter. Just make sure it is well cleaned so that no undesirable flavors (like garlic) get introduced.
5. Add the apples and stir them for 4-6 minutes, until they begin to soften and appear translucent. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix it in thoroughly. Cook, continuing to stir frequently, for another 6-8 minutes. When the apples are slightly browned and caramelized, they are done.

   

6. While the apples are cooking, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add the sugar and salt and stir thoroughly. Add the flour, about 1/3 of it at a time, and mix it in well. At this point it will appear like a paste. Add the yogurt and milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Make sure you start with a large enough bowl. I had to go up one size before I added the liquids.

   

7. Use some additional butter to grease the sides of a glass baking dish, and when the apples are done, spread them evenly in the dish. Pur the egg mixture over the top. Let it sink into all of the nooks and crannies. If necessary, level out the apple slices so that all are submerged.

   

8. Bake in the oven for 35 – 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned by not burned. I would set a timer for 35 minutes and then 2-4 minute intervals after than just to be on the safe side. When it is done, but the pan on a wire cooling rack. This desert is great warm, lukewarm, or cold, no matter how you want to do it!

   

Pumpkin pie offers several opportunities to incorporate local food: pumpkin puree, evaporated milk or cream, eggs, butter and flour in the crust. We went all out this weekend and made a pie with entirely local ingredients, except for the sugar and spices. We’ll post all the individual tutorials this week, but wanted to get the recipe out there ASAP, since it’s a . . . → Read More: Pumpkin Pie Recipe]]> This is the best reception I could ever hope for. Thanks, Shoshana!

Pumpkin pie offers several opportunities to incorporate local food: pumpkin puree, evaporated milk or cream, eggs, butter and flour in the crust. We went all out this weekend and made a pie with entirely local ingredients, except for the sugar and spices. We’ll post all the individual tutorials this week, but wanted to get the recipe out there ASAP, since it’s a winner. We tried a few new things, so it wasn’t picture perfect, but it tasted fantastic.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
Dough for single pie crust (9-inch pie)
2 cups pumpkin puree (preferably homemade, but canned is fine)
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk or cream
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Lay the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and fold the edge under. Flute the edges by pinching the edge with your left hand and pushing it against your right index finger (or just use a fork).

   

3. Use a fork to dot the bottom of the crust with holes. Line the crust with foil and fill it with pie weights or a pound of dry beans. Put the crust into the oven and bake it for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. This is called blind baking.

   

   Note: I underestimated the amount of beans I had to use as pie weights, so make sure you use more beans/weights than are shown in the photo. Because I didn’t use enough beans, the sides puffed inwards, rather than staying flat. You should use a full pound of beans.

4. While the crust is baking, mix the remaining ingredients together until the filling is smooth and uniform.
5. When the crust is done, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
6. Pull out the oven rack holding the crust, so that you can fill the pie directly on the rack. This is so that you don’t spill filling all over the floor moving the pie from the counter to the oven.

   

7. Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes
8. The pie is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean; however, testing this way will result in a gash in the middle of your pie that will widen as the pie cools. Alternately, you’ll know it’s done when the very middle is a little wiggly, but the sides are firm.