Citrusy Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Cucumber, and Almonds

This is Thanksgiving week. I’m getting ready to bake bagels and start on a buttery pie crust. I’m double-checking my shopping list for how many total cups of cream I need before I rush out to gather the rest of the ingredients for the big day. Our menus for breakfast and the main meal are planned, and they’re full of rich and decadent things suited to a holiday that’s all about food. And, now I’m showing you a not-so-Thanksgiving-y light and lovely quinoa salad. Maybe think of this as the perfect day after Thanksgiving dish. The combination of Ruby Red grapefruit and avocado is what got my attention. The salad is found in The Kitchn Cookbook , and I received a review copy. It’s actually more than a cookbook. It begins with tips for setting up or reorganizing your kitchen. There are specific ideas for how to arrange cookware and utensils, but more importantly, it gets you thinking about how you use your kitchen and what will work best for you. There are also photos and ideas from several very different but all beautiful kitchens. Then, the book has you covered with tips for stocking your pantry and some basic cooking techniques. This leads up the recipes section with dishes for every meal of the day plus sweet treats and party planning ideas. The recipes come with lots of suggestions for variations to make them your own. The Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Hash with Baked Eggs would be great as a vegetarian brunch dish, or roasted chicken or cooked sausage could be added. Homemade Potato Chips are offered either baked or fried. The Roasted Shrimp with Horseradish Ketchup is now on my to-try list because I realized I’ve never made homemade ketchup. And, I’ve somehow never tried the extremely popular Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream that appeared TheKitchn.com. It’s made from frozen, very ripe bananas, and I can’t wait to make it. But, I had just received some Ruby Red grapefruits from my CSA, and this quinoa salad came first. 

I used a three-color mix of quinoa because I love the different colors, and I’ve heard the red and black varieties have more nutrients than white quinoa. It should be rinsed before being cooked, and the cooking process is a quick hands-off 20 minutes of simmering. After cooking, the quinoa was left to cool. Meanwhile, I made the vinaigrette with lemon juice, minced shallot, and sherry vinegar. Grapefruit sections were supremed and then chopped into big chunks. Almonds were toasted and chopped, and cucumber and celery were diced. The cooled quinoa was combined with the cucumber, celery, grapefruit, and some lemon zest. The vinaigrette was incorporated, and then the almonds were folded into the salad. I had a pretty head of butter lettuce from my CSA, so I served the quinoa salad in some lettuce leaves. It was topped with sliced avocado and crunchy, flaked sea salt. 

There are a lot of great flavors and textures here, and the sweet, citrusy grapefruit with the tender avocado was as delicious as always. I particularly love the mix of grapefruit, avocado, and shellfish, so I served roasted shrimp with the salad. Crisp celery and cucumber and crunchy nuts added nice variety. If you only add the avocado as a topping to each serving, the salad can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. I think it would also be perfect with some sliced, leftover turkey. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Citrusy Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Cucumber, and Almonds 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from The Kitchn Cookbook . 

Serves 4 to 6 
Once we nailed down how to cook quinoa perfectly every time (our post on making quinoa still brings thousands of readers to our site every day), a whole new world of seed salads opened up. Tossed with grapefruit segments, cucumber, and toasted almonds, and topped with creamy avocado, this quinoa salad makes a great lunch dish, or a side for dinner. 

1 cup quinoa 
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth 
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 teaspoon zest and 1 1/2 tablespoons juice) 
1 large shallot, minced 
1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar 
1 Ruby Red grapefruit 
1/3 seedless English cucumber (about 1/4 pound), unpeeled and diced small 
2 celery stalks, diced small 
1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds 
Kosher salt, to taste 
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced, for serving 
Flaked sea salt 

Rinse the quinoa for 2 to 3 minutes in a fine-mesh strainer, rubbing vigorously. Drain. Heat a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and add a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the quinoa and cook, stirring to coat the quinoa with olive oil, for 1 minute. (The quinoa may pop, so be prepared to stir right away.) Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and let the quinoa sit, with a folded dishtowel over the pot lid, for 5 minutes. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and spread out the cooked quinoa in an even layer. Let it cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients. 

Whisk together the lemon juice, shallot, and sherry vinegar. Slowly stream in the remaining oil while whisking, until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Set aside. To prep the grapefruit, peel away the top and bottom of the grapefruit rind until you can see the flesh. With a sharp knife, peel away all rind and pith along the curve of the grapefruit. Then cut between the white segments and cut out the flesh. Roughly chop the grapefruit segments and set aside. 

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and add the cucumber, celery, grapefruit, and lemon zest. Add the vinaigrette and toss gently. Fold in the almonds. Taste and adjust the salad to taste with salt and pepper. At serving time, top the salad with the avocado, a sprinkle of flaked sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. This dish will keep in the refrigerator for 1 day in a sealed container. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Saffron Roasted Tomatoes with Labneh

A book focused on eating less meat, more vegetables, and a variety of whole grains and legumes was of course right up my alley. Diana Henry set out to learn more about what is truly healthy eating, and that’s how her new book, A Change of Appetite, came about of which I received a review copy. Not to worry though; this book isn’t about following strict rules or depriving yourself in any way. It’s about eating more fresh food and saving sweet treats for the weekend or special occasions. And the food here isn’t chosen for health benefits alone. Yes, the dishes in this book are healthy, but they were picked because of flavor first. The chapters are divided into seasons, and there are recipes for every meal of the day and even a special menu for each season. Although I mentioned a focus on less meat, there are still meat dishes included like Japanese Ginger and Garlic Chicken with Smashed Cucumber and Whole Roasted Fish with Tahini Dressing and Barley Tabbouleh. The influences on the food range from Middle Eastern to Asian to Scandinavian and Peruvian to name a few. And, I forgot to mention Indian. I can’t wait to try the Home-style Punjabi Lentils with a spicy tomato topping, Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup with Saffron, and Roopa’s Indian Scrambled Eggs. The photos show off how beautiful these dishes are as well. The Burmese Chile Fish with Hot and Sour Salad; the Pilaf of Mixed Grains, Sweet Potato, and Fennel with Avocado Cream; and the Roasted Tomatoes and Lentils with Dukka-Crumbed Eggs all look irresistible. It’s no secret that I’m always drawn to dishes with saffron. I had to try the Saffron Roasted Tomatoes with Labneh. 

Here in Austin, our tomato season starts early. We actually have two seasons, and by late August we’re in between them. Fall tomatoes will arrive a little later. Luckily, we have farmers who sell at our markets that are from areas just far enough north of the city to still have tomatoes when the heat has ended the early season for other farms. I brought home plum tomatoes from Hairston Creek Farm for this dish. To start, the labneh needs to be made the day before serving. Greek yogurt was mixed with minced garlic, finely chopped parsley, and salt and pepper. It was left in a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. The cheesecloth should be twisted up and around the yogurt so it can be squeezed from time to time to release more liquid. The next day, the tomatoes were halved and topped with a mixture of olive oil, harissa, and usually I make my own but I was lazy and bought a jar this time, and saffron. The tomatoes were tossed in the mixture in a roasting pan, and they were placed in the oven for about 45 minutes. The roasted tomatoes were transferred to a serving platter, the labneh was broken into pieces and dotted around the tomatoes, and chopped toasted almonds were sprinkled on top. More saffron was heated with lemon juice and olive oil, and that mixture was drizzled over the top. I served the tomatoes and labneh with warmed pita. 

This was my first time making labneh, and I’ll definitely be doing that again. The tangy yogurt, garlic, and parsley mixture could be used in so many ways. Roasting tomatoes intensifies the flavor, and the saffron gives them a lovely added dimension. The pretty, lemon-saffron oil drizzled on top brought even more color to this bright dish. With so many styles of cooking and such variety of flavors, this book offers new fresh food adventures on every page. 

Sweet Saffron Roasted Tomatoes with Labneh 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from A Change of Appetite.

Saffron and hot spices, sweet tomato flesh, clean acidic yogurt, there is an irresistible interplay of flavors here. Try to make sure you get some of the saffron juices to smear the labneh; the golden streaks on creamy white yogurt look beautiful. Make this a complete main course by serving couscous on the side, or try kamut flavored with preserved lemons. You can sprinkle either pistachios or almonds on top. 

Serves 8 

For the labneh 
1 3⁄4 cups Greek yogurt 
2 garlic cloves, crushed 
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, mint, or parsley leaves 
pinch of salt 
black pepper 

For the tomatoes 
18 plum tomatoes 
1⁄4 cup olive oil 
2 teaspoons harissa 
good pinch of saffron stamens, plus extra to serve 
1⁄2 tablespoon sugar (unless you have great sweet tomatoes) 

To serve 
Arab flatbread 
1 1⁄2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted
juice of 1⁄2 lemon 
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves 

Make the labneh the day before you want to serve the dish. Line a strainer with a piece of cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Mix the yogurt with the garlic, herbs, salt, and black pepper. Transfer to the cloth, tie it up, and refrigerate. The yogurt will lose moisture over the next 24 hours, producing a firmer, "cheeselike" substance. Help it along by giving it a squeeze every so often. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Halve the tomatoes and lay them in a single layer in a large roasting pan (or two small pans). Mix the regular olive oil, harissa, and saffron and pour the dressing over the tomatoes. Turn the tomatoes over in the oil to make sure they are well coated, ending with them cut side up. Sprinkle with the sugar and season. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly shrunken. Let cool a little. 

Take the labneh out of its cloth. Carefully move the tomatoes (they will be fragile and can fall apart easily) to a serving plate, dotting nuggets of the labneh among them as you work. You can also toast the flatbread, break it up, and arrange it among the tomatoes as well (or serve it on the side). Pour on any cooking juices that have collected in the tomato roasting pan, being sure to douse the flatbread if you have included it within the dish. 

Sprinkle the almonds over the top, then heat another good pinch of saffron stamens with the lemon juice in a small saucepan. Add the extra virgin oil and mix with a spoon. Spoon the mixture over the dish; the golden dressing looks beautiful against the white labneh. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve warm, or at room temperature. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Genmaicha Granola Bars

With perfect timing, in the midst of the vegetable love I mentioned, I got to read a review copy of Feast by Sarah Copeland. It’s a book devoted to fresh and fabulous vegetarian dishes with just a few, minor seafood appearances. And, the influences for these dishes come from around the world with tacos, tempura, gulyas, romesco, kimchi, curry, pizzas, crepes, and more. The book was mentioned back in April in Living magazine when the Barley Risotto with Radishes, Swiss Chard, and Preserved Lemon recipe was shown. I added that page to my to-try stack of recipes at the time. Then, when I recently saw the recipe in the book, I finally had to make it. The barley starches blend with the stock as it slowly cooks, and the radishes become tender and mild as they braise. Swiss chard and bright, citrusy sorrel add fresh flavors, and the preserved lemon adds a punch. It’s a clean-tasting dish that’s filling at the same time. Some other dishes I’d like to try include the Sweet Potato and Kale Tortilla Soup, Pea Guacamole and Seared Halloumi Soft Tacos, and the Indonesian Rice Bowl. I didn’t want to risk overdoing it with vegetable propaganda, so I’m showing a sweet recipe from the Breakfast and Brunch chapter. Granola bars are one of those things that always get my attention. I love making every version I ever see, but I was especially drawn to this one because of the genmaicha tea in the ingredient list. Copeland writes that the tea “adds depth, a malty richness, and a caffeine boost.” 

Interestingly, there’s no butter or oil in this recipe and no refined sugar either. Everything is bound together by a mix of pureed dates, maple syrup, and honey. I made one substitution because as I began measuring ingredients, I discovered I didn’t have millet although I was sure I did. I used amaranth instead. So, oats, amaranth, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and I used black sesame seeds, cinnamon, and salt were combined. Toasted pecans and almonds were coarsely chopped in the food processor and added to the oat mixture. Pitted dates were then pulsed to form a paste, and maple syrup, honey, and vanilla were added and pulsed. The date puree was added to the oats with genmaicha tea leaves, and the mixture was stirred until well-combined. The granola was baked until brown at the edges and then allowed to cool. I found it easier to cut bars after chilling the pan for a few hours. 

The bars had a great mix of crunchy seeds and nuts and chewiness from the date puree. The flavor from the tea was very subtle, but I liked having a little green tea caffeine in each bar. Now that I’m looking back at the breakfast chapter, I’m marking the pages for Avocado-Cheese Arepas and Mustard Greens, Cheddar, and Farm Egg Breakfast Pizza. I won’t be running out of great recipe ideas for vegetables any time soon. 

Genmaicha Granola Bars
Recipe reprinted with publisher's permission from Feast.

Many granola bars masquerade as health food when, in fact, dozens of them are anything but, laced with sugar and chocolate chips. The granola bar of your dreams, though, can be chock-full of fast energy and lasting nutrition like this one—loaded with nuts and seeds, like almonds and sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds. Millet adds incredible crunch, and naturally sweet dates and maple syrup hold it all together. Genmaicha—green tea leaves with roasted brown rice—adds depth, a malty richness, and a caffeine boost. If you can’t find genmaicha or simply don’t do caffeine, skip it. These granola bars will win fans far and wide either way. 

Makes 8 TO 10 Bars 

2 cups/170 g old-fashioned rolled oats 
1/2 cup/60 g millet 
1/3 cup/30 g raw sunflower seeds 
2 tbsp raw unseasoned pumpkin seeds (pepitas) 
1 tbsp sesame seeds 
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp fine sea salt 
1/3 cup/50 g toasted pecans 
1/3 cup/50 g toasted skin-on almonds 
 Packed 1 cup/170 g pitted Medjool dates 
1/3 cup/75 ml Grade B maple syrup, plus more as needed 
1/4 cup/60 ml honey or brown rice syrup 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1 tbsp genmaicha tea leaves 

Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C/gas 3. Line an 8-in/20-cm square baking pan with parchment paper so that there are overlapping flaps. 

Stir together the oats, millet, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. 

Pulse the pecans and almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped (it’s okay if some nuts are coarsely ground and others a little powdery). Stir into the oat mixture. 

Pulse the dates in a food processor until a thick paste forms. Add the maple syrup, honey, and vanilla and pulse until a puree forms. Scrape out the puree with a rubber spatula and stir into the oat mixture. 

Add the genmaicha tea leaves and continue stirring (your clean hands work best) until the oats and nuts are sticky and coated with the puree. If the mixture doesn’t clump together easily, add up to 1 tbsp of maple syrup. 

Transfer the granola to the prepared baking pan and press into a smooth, even layer. Bake until just starting to brown around the edges, about 25 minutes. Transfer to the counter to cool slightly in the baking pan, about 15 minutes. Grab the flaps of parchment paper, lift out the whole batch, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into eight to ten bars while still warm. Let them cool completely and serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds

It’s not often that the first word I’d use to describe a collection of chefs’ recipes is “practical,” but that’s just what came to mind as I started reading a review copy I received of The Chefs Collaborative Cookbook. The Chefs Collaborative is a group of chefs, food professionals, and producers who have been fostering sustainable cooking through advocacy and education for 20 years. They inspire others to “embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies.” The book is a collection of dishes from the member chefs that take you through the seasons with vegetables and fruits, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, and dairy and eggs. The recipes immediately seemed practical because of the many suggestions throughout for making use of what’s in season at the same time, what you may be growing yourself or finding at your farmers’ markets, or what you may have on hand to use as substitutes. There are ideas for using as much of harvested plants as possible like by saving your chard stems for a gratin, pickling watermelon rind, and adding squash leaves to a curry. I like those kinds of reminders especially when the end results look so delicious in the photos. There are also great bits of information throughout the book about reducing waste, choosing well as you shop, and cooking with different sustainably-produced ingredients. The Rainbow Chard Stem Gratin is from Chef Monica Pope; the Broccoli Hushpuppies made with broccoli stems comes from John and Julie Stehling; the beautiful Grilled Eggplant with Roasted Red Pepper and Black Olive Salad is by Nora Pouillon; Southwest Heritage Bean Soup using heirloom beans is from Kim Muller; and Chestnut Waffles with Roasted Apples and Cream is by Jennifer McCoy. It’s exciting to see a book full of such smart ideas, making use of sustainable ingredients so well, and bringing together interesting flavors. At the height of peach season, I love adding them to as many meals as I can, so I was delighted to see the Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds by Michael Schwartz. That was my first stop in the book. 

To make the salad, red onion was thinly sliced on a Benriner mandoline and then left to soak in cold water to take off some sharpness and to make them extra crisp. I also sliced the radishes on the mandolin and soaked them in cold water. The peaches were pitted and cut into thin wedges. An easy vinaigrette was made with champagne vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The drained vegetables, peach wedges, and some chopped basil were tossed with the vinaigrette and placed on platter. The salad was topped with crumbled feta, more chiffonade of basil, and toasted almonds. 

It’s a crunchy, savory, tangy, and sweet kind of salad, and I loved the mix of flavors. It was a perfect match for some grilled, Gulf shrimp. I’m deciding what to make next and thinking about the Farmstead Cheese Strata with Roasted Tomato Wine Butter. There’s also a Vanilla Carrot Cream Tart that I can’t wait to taste. There’s a lot to like about this book, and I predict its pages will be food-splattered from frequent use. 

Peach and Radish Salad with French Feta and Almonds 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from The Chefs Collaborative Cookbook by Chefs Collaborative and Ellen Jackson published by The Taunton Press in 2013. 

Michael Schwartz, Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink | Miami, Florida 

French feta cheese is typically made with sheep milk and tends to be milder and creamier than Greek feta. Its understated flavor nicely complements the sweetness of the peaches and the bright, peppery notes of the basil and radishes. Cheesemakers across the country are making a wide range of sheep milk cheeses, including French-style feta. Look for your own local source. 

Serves 6 

1/2 small red onion 
3 to 4 Easter Egg or French Breakfast radishes 
4 or 5 ripe peaches (about 2 pounds) 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn 
1 cup French feta cheese, crumbled 
1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted 

Thinly slice the onions on a mandoline or with a very sharp knife. You should end up with about 1⁄4 cup. Fill a small bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes and soak the onions for 5 minutes; this mellows the sharp bite typical of raw onions and makes them crisp. Drain the onions and pat dry with paper towels. Thinly slice the radishes on the mandoline. 

Halve and pit the peaches. Cut each half into quarters and slice the quarters into thin wedges. Combine the oil and vinegar in a bowl with some salt and black pepper and whisk to combine. Add the peaches, onions, radishes, and basil, tossing gently to evenly coat the ingredients. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. 

Divide the salad equally among six plates and top with the crumbled feta and toasted almonds. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Chocolate Almond Swirl Cookies

I’m a little behind schedule here since I’m just now telling you about Christmas cookies, but better late than never. I was out of town for a birthday party right before Christmas, then Christmas happened, and so this post didn’t find itself ready until today. Swirl-shaped cookies became my theme for this year. As I started looking through files of cookie recipes and books full of cookies, I remembered a cookie I hadn’t baked for years that was kind of like a cinnamon roll in cookie form. With that shape in mind, I pulled every rolled up, spiral cookie option I found. This chocolate almond number was from the December 2004 issue of Living magazine. The recipe isn’t available online, so I’ll include it below. You do have to make two types of dough and roll them both out, there is some waiting while dough chills here and there, but layering the dough and forming the spiral is easier than you might think. The lighter, almond dough is made with ground, toasted, blanched almonds and almond paste, and it smells so lovely as it’s mixed you know it’s going to make an excellent cookie rolled up with chocolate dough. This was one of those treasures from the files that makes me happy I’m such a pack rat about keeping all those old recipes.

I set about making the almond dough first, but both need to be made and chilled before proceeding. For the almond dough, blanched almonds were toasted and allowed to cool. In a food processor, sugar, almond paste, flour, and salt were pulsed. The toasted nuts were added, and the mixture was processed until finely ground. Last, butter, eggs, and vanilla were added and pulsed to combine. The dough was wrapped in plastic and chilled overnight. For the chocolate dough, butter and sugar were creamed in a stand mixer. Eggs were added followed by milk, flour, and cocoa powder. The finished dough was wrapped in plastic and chilled overnight as well. Once both doughs are chilled, they needed to be rolled out on parchment paper. You should start with the chocolate dough and roll it to fit on the back side of your largest baking sheet that will fit in your refrigerator. Just slide the parchment onto the back of the baking sheet after the dough is rolled, and then refrigerate it while rolling the almond dough. The almond dough should also be rolled on a sheet of parchment to just slightly smaller than the chocolate dough. Next, the chocolate dough should be placed on your work surface and brushed with egg white, and the almond dough is transferred to the top of the chocolate. I didn’t have great luck with this. The almond dough fell apart as I tried to place it on top. The good news is that it doesn’t matter. You can move the almond dough around in pieces and fill any blank areas as needed. Then, sprinkle the almond dough with flour and roll the layered doughs together into a larger rectangle about 11 x 24 inches or so. Starting on a short side, the layers are then rolled into a spiral, and egg white is brushed on to seal. The rolled dough should be chilled in the freezer before slicing and baking.

The swirl shape makes a festive cookie and combines two great flavors in every bite. It’s also handy to be able to slice and bake a few cookies at a time if you’d like since the dough can remain in the freezer. I liked this spiral-shaped cookie theme, and now I’ll be looking for more cookies like this. I hope you’re all having a great holiday season, and Happy New Year to you all!

Chocolate Almond Swirl Cookies
from Living December 2004

Almond dough:
1 cup whole blanched almonds (5 ounces)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup almond paste (7 ounces)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 egg white

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast blanched almonds until just browned, about 13-15 minutes. Shake pan from time to time during toasting to turn the nuts. Allow nuts to cool.

-In a food processor, pulse sugar, almond paste, flour, and salt until very fine. Add toasted almonds and process until finely ground. Add butter, eggs, and vanilla and pulse until combined. Wrap almond dough in a plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to a day.

-To make the chocolate dough, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer. Mix until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and mix to combine, and then add the vanilla and milk and incorporate. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to a day.

-Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the back side of a baking sheet. Place the parchment on a work surface and sprinkle with flour. Place the chilled chocolate dough on the floured parchment. Dust the dough with flour, dust a rolling pin with flour, and roll the chocolate dough to a large rectangle to just fit on the back of a baking sheet. Slide the parchment paper with dough onto the back of the baking sheet and refrigerate while rolling the almond dough.

-Repeat the process of cutting a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkling it with flour. Place the almond dough on the floured parchment and dust the dough with flour. The almond dough is particularly sticky, so add flour as needed while rolling it into a large rectangle. The almond dough rectangle should be a couple of inches smaller than the chocolate dough rectangle. Remove the chocolate dough from the refrigerator and brush the top of it with egg white. Turn the almond dough onto the chocolate and remove the parchment from the almond dough. If the almond dough breaks during transfer, it’s not a problem. The dough can moved into place in pieces and patched as needed. Then, sprinkle the almond dough with flour and roll the two layers together into a larger rectangle about 11 x 24 inches or so. If you’d like a neater starting edge, trim a short side of the dough where you will start rolling.

-Begin rolling the dough from a short side and continue to form a dough log. Brush more egg white on the chocolate dough to seal the closing edge. Wrap the rolled dough in parchment paper and chill in the freezer for about an hour and a half before baking. -Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silpats. Using a serrated knife, slice the rolled dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Rotate the dough after each cut to keep an even shape. Transfer cookie slices to baking sheets and bake until just set, about 18-20 minutes. Cool on racks and devour unless you plan to share with Santa.

Irish Coffee Bars

I admit that I’m fickle when it comes to cookies. One of my favorite cookies in the world is a basic sugar cookie that my Mom taught me how to make when I was little, but I have trouble choosing a top five and sticking to it. I’ll forget about a favorite cookie after awhile, or a new cookie will come along and be my favorite thing for a few months until I discover something else. There were those Gingerbread White Chocolate Blondies that I fell pretty hard for, those Ganache-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies that took me by surprise, the Lemon Wreath Cookies that I’ll be making every holiday season, and of course, the Homemade Thin Mint Cookies can’t be forgotten. And, there are probably twenty others that deserve a mention too. However, I can say with absolute certainty, this Irish Coffee Bar is currently, definitely one of my favorite cookies. They’re from the March issue of Living magazine. With a bar cookie, I usually prefer the middle pieces to the ones with crunchy edges, but as proof of just how good these were, I wanted to eat every bar from every region of the pan. The crunchy parts were great, the middles were great, the coffee flavor was aromatic and lovely, the sliced almonds on top added nice texture, and the whiskey glaze was sweet and ever so slightly boozy. They were also just as good after sitting for a couple of days as they were the day they were made.

This is one of those delightful cookie recipes that doesn’t require a mixer. The dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, and baking soda were sifted and set aside. In a mixing bowl, melted butter, brown sugar, ground espresso, and salt were combined. Eggs and vanilla were whisked into the mix, and the dry ingredients were stirred in next. The batter was poured into a parchment-lined nine-inch by thirteen-inch pan, and it was topped with sliced almonds. It baked for about half an hour, and the pan was left to cool. The glaze was made with melted butter, some whiskey, and confectioners’ sugar. You could drizzle the glaze from a spoon, or place it in a bag and pipe it on the cooled bars. I opted to spoon the glaze into a plastic bag, snip the corner, and make diagonal lines of glaze. When the glaze had set, the cookie bars were cut.

So, yes, I like a lot of cookies and sometimes get distracted and forget which ones I said were my favorites in the past, but these Irish Coffee Bars have captured my full attention. Now, I just need another excuse, or occasion, to bake these again soon.

Almond Rosemary Cake with Lemon and Creme Fraiche Glaze

“Rustic” is such a handy word when it comes to describing food. My homemade sourdough baguettes are always “rustic” which means I’m sloppy about shaping the loaves, and when my pastry doesn’t turn out as perfectly as it could, all is well if the word “rustic” is added to its title. However, there are times when “rustic” isn’t a euphemism for messy. Sometimes, a thing is “rustic” because it’s simple, charming, or well-textured. This almond cake is that kind of rustic. When I saw it in the June issue of Food and Wine, it went directly into my to-try stack of recipes. I have a not-so-successful history with almond cakes, so I headed into this recipe with a little concern. In the past, almond cakes I’ve made have been dense, dry, and dull. Thankfully, there were a few tricks to making this cake that prevented all of that. The cake batter is made with polenta and minced rosemary which added interest in both the flavor and texture departments. Also, the eggs were whipped with sugar to a fluffy state, and folding the mixture into the dry ingredients lightened the batter. One last trick was the use of a sugar and lemon syrup that was poured over the warm cake and prevented it from becoming dry.

Let me run through the details and the minor changes I made the original recipe. Skin-on, raw almonds were toasted, chopped, and ground in a food processor. I added some of the sugar to the almonds in the food processor to prevent them from forming a paste. The dry ingredients were combined, and I always sieve dry ingredients. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose, and polenta, baking powder, and salt were also included. After sieving those, I added the ground almonds, minced rosemary, and lemon zest. In a stand mixer, the eggs were mixed with the remaining sugar using the whisk attachment for about ten minutes until tripled in volume. Then, creme fraiche and cooled, melted butter were added. The egg mixture was folded into the dry ingredients in three additions. For baking, an eleven-inch springform pan is suggested, but I used a ten-inch pan. The cake baked for 25 minutes while the syrup was made. Sugar, water, and lemon juice were boiled and reduced for five minutes, and then I added a sprig of rosemary to steep in the syrup as it cooled. When the hot cake was removed from the oven, the syrup, minus the rosemary sprig, was poured over the top, and it was left to cool completely. Once cool, it was glazed with a mix of confectioners’ sugar, creme fraiche, and lemon juice and topped with pieces of rosemary.

I finally got over my losing streak with almond cakes. This is in no way light and fluffy like a chiffon, but it definitely wasn’t as dense as other almond cakes I’ve attempted. The sugar syrup worked like a charm in warding off a dry texture too. Next time, I might add a bit more minced rosemary to the batter since its flavor was very subtle, and those extra flecks of green will just make the cake even more “rustic” in a very good way.

Beer Nut Ice Cream

As I've been telling people about the flavors in the Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book, I keep hearing: "Wait, ice cream?" Yes, ice cream. This is the first book from the San Francisco ice cream shop, and I received a review copy. I first heard of Humphry Slocombe when I read Mission Street Food since their ice cream was served for dessert when MSF moved from the taco truck into the first restaurant. I knew they were known for unique flavors, and it was these recipes that sent me off in search of vadouvan curry and cubeb pepper. The curry powder is used in the Peanut Butter Curry ice cream, and the cubeb pepper is in Pepper and Mint Chip. Several of the flavors include a savory angle to accent the sweetness like Chocolate Smoked Salt, Strawberry Candied Jalapeno, and Candy Cap which is made with dried candy cap mushrooms. The thrill of this book is the surprising flavor combinations, but there are a few conventional options as well. There's a Tahitian V*nill@, Here's Your Damn Chocolate Ice Cream, Malted Milk Chocolate, and Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee. The shop's signature flavor is Secret Breakfast which combines bourbon and corn flakes in the form of chopped corn flake cookies. I can't wait to try that one. Since I couldn't decide which flavor to make first, I handed the book to Kurt and asked him to choose one. No surprise, he handed the book back opened to the Stout page. It's an ice cream made with reduced stout, brown sugar, and molasses, and there's a variation for turning it into Beer Nut Ice Cream by adding Frosted Peanuts. I congratulated Kurt on a great choice and put the ice cream canister in the freezer. 

In the recipe introduction, it's explained that they didn't expect this flavor to be as popular as it is. They write that the beer geeks keep asking for it and go on to describe the beer geeks as "the Trekkies of the food world." I loved relaying that quote to Kurt. It's also noted that this ice cream could be made with any beer, but stout becomes syrupy when reduced and works especially well. I chose a chocolate stout, but the chocolate flavor wasn't a part of the finished ice cream. After reducing with brown sugar, the stout tasted like butterscotch. Molasses and salt were added followed by milk and cream. When the mixture was back to barely a simmer, it was slowly poured into a bowl of egg yolks and sugar while whisking to temper the yolks. The custard-to-be was poured back into the saucepan and heated while stirring until thickened. It was poured through a strainer into a measuring pitcher set in an ice bath, allowed to cool, chilled in the refrigerator, and then churned in an ice cream maker. Meanwhile, I made the Frosted Peanuts. You just whisk together an egg white, some sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and then add nuts. I used both peanuts and almonds, and coated them with the egg white mixture. Then, they were spread on a baking sheet and baked in a low oven for about half an hour. The nuts were stirred every 10 minutes while baking to prevent them from clumping. 

As the stout and brown sugar cooked and reduced, it smelled like delicious, malty butterscotch, and that's how the ice cream tasted too. The sweet-salty, crunchy nuts fit the flavor perfectly. For more beer ice cream, there's also a Guinness Gingerbread flavor in the book, and I'm already planning to serve that for dessert for Thanksgiving this year. And while I wait for fall, there are sorbets to try like Thai Chile Lime, Cayenne Cantaloupe, and Hibiscus Beet. For frozen desserts beyond the ordinary, this is the book for inspiration. 

Stout 
Recipes reprinted with publisher's permission from Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book. 

One 12-oz bottle stout, or any other strong beer you love 
1/2 cup brown sugar 
2 tbsp molasses (Note: If not using stout beer, skip the molasses.) 
2 tsp salt 
2 cups heavy cream 
1 cup whole milk 
3 egg yolks 
1 cup granulated sugar 

No, you can’t get drunk from beer ice cream. 

Well, maybe you can if you eat a few gallons of it, but in that scenario, you’d throw up from the fat and dairy well before getting a buzz from the beer. 

We mostly use stout in the shop—it gets rich and syrupy when reduced, permeating the air with a great yeasty smell—but you can use this basic recipe with any kind of beer. We like cheap beer, medium-priced wine, and expensive bourbon. Unfortunately, cheap, watery beer like PBR or Bud Light won’t work too well, because the lighter the beer, the less pronounced the flavor. We’ve come to favor any variation of stout, but if you’re a real beer fanboy, you can try other kinds of beers that have strong, distinct flavors. (For example, IPA gets its own flavor during Beer Week; we don’t offer it during the rest of the year, though, because the hops are very pronounced. It’s not for everyone, but beer geeks love it. 

We thought beer ice cream would be more or less a novelty that comes and goes, but the legions of beer geeks proved us wrong. They’re like the Trekkies of the food world, and their passion never ceases to amaze. Now beer is in our regular rotation. Lick your beer; we promise to hold your hair back if you have too much. 

In a large, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, combine the beer and brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes. It should be slightly sticky to the touch. 

Add the molasses (if using) and salt and stir to dissolve the salt. Add the cream and milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot but not boiling. 

Fill a large bowl or pan with ice and water. Place a large, clean bowl in the ice bath and fit the bowl with a fine-mesh strainer. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well blended. 

Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Slowly pour about half of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula and being sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan so it doesn’t scorch, until the liquid begins to steam and you can feel the spatula scrape against the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour it through the strainer into the clean bowl you set up in the ice bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally. 

When the custard has totally cooled, cover the bowl tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. When you are ready to freeze the custard, transfer it to an ice cream maker and spin according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Eat immediately or freeze for up to 1 week. 

Fun Fact: Before the New York Times profile on Humphry Slocombe was published, we had to submit to a bunch of fact-checking. Jake spent hours on the phone with the marvelous Anaheed Alani. Somewhere along the way, she mentioned that her favorite ice cream was a beer-and-peanut flavor from a Manhattan shop. To thank her for her work, Jake sent a pint of the ice cream that would later become, in tribute, Anaheed’s Beer Nut. We hope it’s her new favorite. To make it for yourself, prepare Stout as directed and stir in ½ cup Frosted Peanuts after spinning the custard in your ice cream maker. 

Free Advice: Since the beer ice creams are all so high in alcohol (compared to other ice creams that is), they probably won’t freeze completely in your ice cream machine—depending on what kind of machine you have, of course. Don’t fret; freeze as best as you can in the machine and finish it off in the freezer. Transfer to an airtight container, cover, and freeze until it reaches the desired consistency. 


Frosted Peanuts 

Makes 2 cups 

1/2 cup sugar 
1 egg white 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
Pinch of salt 
2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts 

We use Frosted Peanuts in our Tin Roof sundae and in our Beer Nut ice cream, but there are about 391 other uses for them, including just snacking on them. 

Preheat the oven to 250°F. 

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the sugar, egg white, vanilla, and salt. When everything is smooth and mixed, stir in the peanuts. 

Spread out the coated peanuts on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. 

Bake, stirring every 10 minutes so the nuts separate and do not stick together in one big clump, until the nuts are dry, about 30 minutes. Transfer immediately to a plate to cool. Keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Apples, and Gorgonzola

The very first post of 2012 should be sort of healthy, shouldn't it? Consider this a gateway dish to ease into the healthy January phase. It is a dish of baked pasta and there is Gorgonzola cheese in it, but there are also nutritious, little Brussels sprouts and chunks of apples. Unlike most baked pastas, there's no thick, rich bechamel sauce coating every bite. Instead, the pasta and Brussels sprouts are tossed with crumbled blue cheese, or whatever easy-melting cheese you prefer, and some of the water in which the pasta was boiled. It's lighter than you might expect. The dish came from the Mark Bittman blog, but I couldn't help making a couple of changes. The original was made with figs, but there's a note that pears, apples, and cranberries would all do the job of adding a little sweetness. I had some apples in the refrigerator waiting to be used, so they were my choice. I also opted to saute the Brussels sprouts rather than boil them as suggested because I can't resist browned edges on Brussels sprouts. Clearly, this can be customized in countless ways, but with the basic pieces in place, you'll get a quick dish that delivers a great range of flavors.

Since everything cooks quickly before being mixed and placed in a baking dish, you should chop everything you need before starting. While the rigatoni cooked for a few minutes, and it shouldn't be cooked until done but only half-way, I sauteed Brussels sprouts that had been trimmed and halved. I also added some minced shallots to the saute pan. When the Brussels sprouts were nicely browned, I added two small, chopped apples. Most importantly, don't forget to save some of the pasta boiling water before draining the rigatoni. Then, toss the half-cooked rigatoni with the Brussels sprouts and apples and stir in the Gorgonzola crumbles. Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water and stir to combine. The pasta mixture should then be placed in an oiled baking dish and popped into a 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes. If it appears the pasta is becoming too dry in the oven, add a little more pasta water after 10 minutes of baking. When you remove the dish from the oven, top the pasta with chopped, toasted almonds.

Edges of the rigatoni pieces on top turned brown and crispy in the oven, and underneath, the pasta and Brussels sprouts were tender for a tasty contrast. The cheese melted into all the nooks and crannies, and the apples did their job of adding sweetness. There were bitter, savory, and sweet flavors, creamy cheese and nutty almonds, and I can't think of anything this dish was missing. It was a great way to begin the year, and I hope your 2012 is off to a good start as well.

Cherry Lambic Crisps

In late May and throughout June, I keep an eye out for organic, fresh cherries. Conventionally-grown cherries will make appearances around town, but organic ones seem to be harder to find. I started asking around about them since I was sure I must have darted right by them without noticing at some point. Then, as if they knew I was starting to panic, a few days later, Whole Foods announced a one-day, organic cherry sale. I got to the store as early in the day as I could and loaded several pounds of cherries into my shopping cart. I tell you all of this to explain the many, cherry-filled dishes that will be showing up around here starting with this one. These individual cherry lambic crisps were shown in the June issue of Food and Wine, and that issue was full of recipes made with beer. In this case, a cherry lambic was mixed with the fruit for the base of the crisp, and dried sour cherries were added to the fresh, sweet, dark cherries. I was intrigued.

So, a combination of cherry beer, fresh and dried cherries, honey, and seeds from a vanilla bean was mixed and left to sit for 30 minutes. The dried sour cherries plumped, and juices from the fresh cherries mixed with the honey and beer. The fruit mixture was divided between six ramekins. The crisp topping was fairly standard with sugar, flour, chopped almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Orange zest was to have been added, but I used lemon zest instead. Melted butter was stirred into that mixture, and it was pressed by hand to form clumps as it was added to the top of each ramekin with fruit. The crisps baked for about 30 minutes to a bubbly and golden state.

The crisps tasted like cherries rather than beer, but then, the taste of cherry lambic itself is more of cherries than of beer. The chewy, dried sour cherries added a nice contrast to the sweet, fresh ones, and the topping's buttery crunch was made even better by the addition of chopped almonds and spices. I would definitely make this again with the exact same ingredients, but I think a version with wine-soaked fruit might be interesting too.

Croissants

Do you have a mental list or an actual list of things you hope to cook some day? Croissants was one item on my list. Earlier this year, Michael Ruhlman wrote about unfinished business and challenged everyone to commit to accomplishing something new in the kitchen. I left a comment on that post thereby publicly committing to attempting both gnocchi and croissants before the end of the summer. So, I did finally take a stab at making gnocchi, but I had a really good reason for waiting on the croissants. It was hot. It's always hot here during the summer, but fear coupled with a warm kitchen and humid air prevented me from spending three days on croissants during the summer season. I needed time to convince myself that even if my first try was a failure the effort would be a learning experience, and I needed the weather, my schedule, and the universe in general to cooperate. Last week, we had some nice, cool, non-humid days, and I finally went for it. I'm certainly no expert after only one go at making these lovelies, but I now understand that waiting for a cool day was a very, very good idea. There is a lot of butter involved here, and too soft, oozing, warm butter would have been disastrous. I had heard several times that the very best croissants to make are the ones from Baking with Julia written by Dorie Greenspan. I attended a cooking class taught by Dorie a couple of weeks ago, and when she signed her new book for me after the class, I mentioned that I was planning to try those croissants. She said "it's a project, but it's worth it." She couldn't have been more right.

I knew that to make croissant dough, a whole lot of butter needed to be layered into some dough. I knew it was necessary to roll out the layered dough and butter and fold and turn. I was sure that I would fail instantly at this and there would be butter squishing out in every direction, and I would never get the dough rolled into a straight enough shape to fold properly. I was wrong. Before starting, I read the recipe all the way through about ten times. Then, I set about following each step as precisely as I could. The dough was made with yeast, flour, sugar, salt, and milk. It was made in a stand mixer with a dough hook. As instructed, I added a little more milk when the flour wasn't all worked into the dough. When it came together, the dough was wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight. The next day, I mixed four and half sticks of cold butter with two tablespoons of flour and pressed it into a thick oval. My oval of butter wasn't all that attractive because of the wrinkles left by the plastic wrap, but it really doesn't matter how it looks. I refrigerated the butter oval for an hour or two before proceeding.

The next step was what I thought would be the scariest. The dough was rolled into a wide oval, and the butter oval was placed in the center of it. The dough was folded over the butter, and then, the butter had to be distributed across the width of the dough. This was done by whacking the packaged dough and butter bundle with a rolling pin. Slowly but surely the butter did work its way throughout the dough, and it did not result in the squishing mess I had anticipated. One small victory was mine. After distributing the butter, and rolling a little, you are left with a big rectangle of butter-filled dough, and you give it its first fold. Excess flour was brushed off, the dough was folded in thirds like a letter, and it was placed on a baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for two hours. My first fold of croissant dough went off without a hitch.

Next, the dough was rolled again into a big rectangle, it was folded in thirds once again, and it was placed back in the refrigerator for another two hours. Then, it was time for the third and final folding. The dough was rolled yet again into a big rectangle, and this time, the dough was folded inward in quarters with the last fold closing like a book, and that double turn is known as the wallet. I loved making the wallet. I didn't have finished croissants yet, but I felt like I had really accomplished something by successfully arriving at this point. Interestingly, at this point, or after any of the folds, the dough could have been placed in the freezer to store for a later date. It should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with the next step. Otherwise, after the last fold, the dough should be refrigerated for two hours before proceeding, and I left it refrigerated overnight.

At last, it was time to actually make the croissants. The chilled dough, with all those folded-over layers of butter, was cut in half and one piece went into the freezer while the other one was rolled into a big rectangle one more time. That was folded in half. That double layer of dough was cut into triangles. The double-layered triangles were unfolded back out into a single layer, and the dough was cut down the center to separate the triangles, and croissant forming began. After cutting the triangles, there are two scrap pieces of dough from each end. Those scraps are used to make little footballs of dough that sit in the back of each croissant to help plump them. Or, if you're making almond croissants, which I also did, a little ball of almond paste would be used instead. To form each croissant, a dough triangle was picked up and stretched to twice its length. The football of scrap dough or ball of almond paste was placed at the wide end of the triangle. Then, the triangle was rolled from wide end down to small end, and voila, croissants were born. After filling two baking sheets with croissants, they were brushed with an egg wash, the almond paste filled ones were sprinkled with sliced almonds, and they were left to rise for three hours before being baked.

Yes, this was a project. Mixing the dough on the first day was quick and easy, but you do need to have two days thereafter during which you can come into the kitchen every couple of hours and tend to the dough and then spend the time to form the croissants and wait for them to rise. But, you already know I'm going to tell you it is absolutely worth every minute of your time. After one bite, I declared that these croissants were hands-down the most delicious things I've ever baked. The bonus to all of this is that, that last time the dough came out of the refrigerator, it was cut in half. Half was used to make these croissants, and the other half is in the freezer. I can use that to make more croissants whenever I want. When it's gone, I'll definitely make the dough again just as soon as the weather, my schedule, and the universe are all aligned once more.

I’m submitting this to Yeastspotting where you’ll find some seriously well-made bread.