Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake

                                                 Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake

This is not only a favorite cake of mine but it is also one that my friends have requested me to make for them and they also have asked for the recipe. You should wait a day to eat it but that means that it is a cake that keeps well. This recipe is based on one that can be found on the Leite's Culinaria website.

Ingredients 

butter and flour for prepping the pan

4 to 5 large organic navel oranges, because you are using the zest it is important that the oranges be organic 

3 cups granulated sugar 

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mild, fruity extra-virgin olive oil 

confectioner sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and set the temperature to 350ºF (180ºC). Coat a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan with butter and sprinkle flour over it. Instead you could use nonstick baking spray with flour if you prefer. 

Finely grate the zest of 3 oranges into a medium bowl and rub it into the sugar with your fingers and set the bowl aside.

Squeeze the juice from 4 oranges. You should have 1 1/2 cups of juice. If you don't, squeeze the 5th orange until you have enough juice. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or use a handheld mixer in a large bowl. Beat the eggs on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the orange zest and sugar mixture and continue to beat until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. 

Switch to low speed and alternate adding the flour mixture and the oil, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until just a few wisps of flour remain. Slowly drizzle in the orange juice with the mixer on its lowest setting to bring the batter together.

Gently  scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a cake tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 1 1/4 hours. Check the cake from time to time and if the top begins to brow too much, cover it loosely it with foil.

When the cake is done place it on a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, no longer. If the cake stays in the pan for too long a time the sugar will begin to cool too much and stick to the pan. I always set a timer so I don't forget to take the cake out of the pan after 15 minutes.  Turn the cake onto the wire rack and let it cool completely. Place the cake under a cover and let it sit overnight. This moist fruity cake only gets better with age. It will be even better the next day, though my husband doesn't agree with that. He can't resist eating a piece right away. Just before serving, dust the cake with confectioner's sugar.

Clam Sauce

 I haven't made this clam sauce in many years. It is something I remember as being very good and very easy to make. I don't know where the recipe came from.

Clam Sauce 4  Servings

1 lb pasta, fresh or dried, shape you desire. I have always used a long pasta

2 7oz cans chopped clams, drained. (reserve the liquid)

2 cups cream

1/4 cup butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 

Pour the reserved clam liquid into a 2 cup measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup with cream to the 2 cup mark. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Add the clam juice and cream mixture and the pepper and bring to boiling, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the clams and parsley. Cook the pasta and serve the sauce over it. That's it, so easy.

Les Madeleines de Commercy

 This Madeleine is like a little pound cake. It is the one like Proust dipped into his cup of tea in the town of Commercy.  Julia Child adapted this recipe from Le Nouveau Mémorial de la Pâtisserie et des Places, by Pierre Lacam. This method makes a hump because the batter rests an hour, allowing the butter to congeal in it, then it goes in a lump into the Madeleine cups. This recipe makes the best Madeleines I have eaten. Thank you Julia for giving us this recipe!

For 2 dozen Madeleines 3 inches long.

    2 large eggs beaten with a fork in a 1 cup measure

    2/3 cup sugar

    1 cup flour measured by dipping into the flour and leveling off the top

    1 stick (4ounces or 113.5 grams butter) for the batter

        1 1/2 TB butter (total butter 5 1/4 ounces or 149 grams)

        1 Tb flour in a small bowl

    1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

    salt (a pinch if using salted butter or more, rounded 1/4 tsp, if using unsalted butter)

    zest of 1/2 lemon

    3 drops or a little more of lemon juice

Equipment:

    2 Madeleine pans each with 12 depressions 3 inches long, a pastry brush

All ingredients should be be at room temperature. Measure most of the beaten eggs into a bowl with the sugar and flour. Beat with a wooden spoon to blend into a heavy cream. I find that I actually have to beat all the egg into the sugar and flour mixture because it is so thick for me. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile melt all of the butter in a saucepan and let it boil until it begins to brown very lightly. Blend 1 1/2 Tb of the butter into the 1 Tb of flour in the small bowl and reserve. If you have beaten egg left, mix it into the flour and sugar. The rest of the butter should be allowed to cool. While the butter is cooling, coat the wells in the pans with the flour and butter mixture, wiping up puddles if there are any. If the weather is hot, put the pans in the refrigerator. If the butter is still hot you can stir it over cool water. When the butter is cool, stir it into the flour, sugar, egg mixture. Add the salt, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cover the batter and let it sit for an hour.                                                                                                                                                                                                          Preheat the oven to 375º. Use a spoon and a spatula to place a generous tablespoon lump of batter into the middle of each of the Madeleine wells. Do not spread the batter out. Bake in the middle of the oven about 15 minutes. Watch the Madeleines because they can brown quickly. My oven runs hot and they only take me about 12 minutes. When they are lightly browned around the edges and begin to shrink slightly from the cups the Madeleines are done. Unmold them on a rack, hump side up. When the Madeleines are cool wrap them airtight and freeze if they are not to be served promptly. Hint--they are tasty when eaten frozen.

Full Steam Dumpling Char Siu

                                                        Char Siu: Chinese Barbecued Pork 

Full Steam Dumpling makes by far the best char siu bao that we can get in the Santa Cruz area. The secret is the roasted pork and sauce they use. Use this recipe to stuff some bao and wow everyone you serve it to. Thank you Edible Monterey Bay Magazine for providing this recipe from Full Steam Dumpling.

3-5 lbs pork shoulder 

For the marinade:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup light soy sauce

1/2 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup Shaoxing cooking wine

2 tbs sesame oil

2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs sambal paste

2 cups stock or water (enough to cover pork)

For the char siu sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups honey

1/1/4 cups hoisin sauce

7/8 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 tbs Chinese five spice blend

1 1/2 tbs Korean chili pepper flakes

2 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs fermented bean curd (If you can score this, it takes the sauce to the next level)

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl, except for the stock or water. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Slice the pork shoulder into pieces measuring about 8 by 3 by 3 inches. Cover with the marinade and add enough stock or water to cover the pork pieces. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours or preferably overnight.

The next day. preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove the pork from the marinade and let it drip a bit. Place the pork on a wire rack over a baking tray and roast for 45 mins. Lower the oven temp. to 280ºF and roast for another 45 minutes, until slightly charred and the internal temp. reaches 165ºF.

While the meat is cooking make the chars siu sauce by combining all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring it to a slow simmer and stir well to dissolve the sugars. Simmer for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors and spices marry and mellow out the hoisin sauce.

Brush the finished sauce on the pork towards the end of the roasting time or use it later for dipping.

Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for 15-30 minutes and slice right in or refrigerate and enjoy it in fried rice, in sandwiches, on salads, on its own, or best of all in bao.

Note: If you don't have dark soy sauce, you can substitute regular soy sauce in a pinch. If you don't have Shaoxing cooking wine, you can substitute sake in a pinch.

Basque Cheesecake

 

                                                                  Basque Cheesecake

This cake has intrigued me but I hadn't had the opportunity to make it until this week. This cake is very easy to make and very tasty. It is a convenient dessert because you bake it the day before you serve it. I regret that I didn't take a picture of it because it is very unusual looking. It looks like you have burned it because the top is so black when it is finished baking. Never fear, it doesn't taste burned. I looked at many recipes and all of them varied. One called for 12 egg yolks and no whole eggs. Most called for 5 whole eggs, some 6, some 5 eggs and a yolk. Most called for heavy cream rather than crème fraîche. Most called for 32 ounces of cream cheese but one called for 40 ounces. The amount of sugar varied. The oven temp ranged from 400º to 500º with varying cooking times. All said they produced delicious cakes. The recipes left me confused and so I made the decision to do what I did and hope for the best. The cake was delicious and so I think what you do can be very loose. Don't stress on amounts. One recipe added lemon zest. The original recipe from La Viña in San Sebastian in Spain used no flavoring and so you can use vanilla or lemon zest or nothing. I think the lemon zest would be a good idea if you us heavy cream. Do that according to your own taste. One chef has used blue cheese which would be delicious. The crème fraîche is used rather than heavy cream for tang. Most recipes don't use flour but some say there can be weeping if you don't. I skipped the flour and had no weeping. This is definitely a recipe you can play with. I chose the lower temperature of 400º F because baking the cake at 450º F to 500º F made me nervous. Depending on your oven, you might need to raise the temperature at the end of baking if you bake at 400º F to get the blackened look. The cake must be dark brown. I found this article in The Guardian helpful when deciding what to do: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/dec/01/how-to-make-the-perfect-basque-cheesecake-recipe-felicity-cloake

Ingredients:

32 ounces of Philadelphia brand cream cheese at room temperature

5 whole eggs at room temperature

1 egg yolk at room temperature

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cup sugar depending on your preferred sweetness

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups creme fraîche at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

(1/4 cup AP flour, optional)

Instructions: Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Grease a 9" springform pan. If you don't have a 9" springform pan you can use a 10" pan. Cut two 15" square pieces of baking parchment paper, grease them and place them in the pan. This will actually involve crushing the paper at the sides They will hang out over the edge of the pan of course and you will need to place them 90º of each other. Place the cream cheese, eggs and egg yolk, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add crème fraîche and if using flour sift it on top. Process again until fully incorporated. Process only a short time. You shouldn't over mix. If you don't have a processor you can use an electric mixer or mix by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter to get ride of bubbles. Refrigerate for an hour. Bake for 50 minutes on a baking sheet, until browned and almost burned looking on top. Watch it carefully so that it doesn't actually burn. The center should be quite jiggly. It will set as the cake cools. Now is another time the recipes varied. What I did was refrigerate the cake when it cooled, uncovered, until the next day. I took it out of the refrigerator about an hour before serving. Use the paper to remove the cake from the pan. Some recipes recommend serving the same day you bake but it was great the next day. It is recommend to serve it with fine sherry. We didn't have any sherry and served it with port, which was delicious. 

Glazed Pineapple Carrot Cake

 This carrot cake is much less sweet than the carrot cake that is standard today, the one with the super sweet cream cheese frosting. That frosting is way too sweet for me and I always scrape it off and leave it on my plate. The glaze on this cake is relatively light. This recipe is from the first Sunset Favorite Recipes cookbook.

                                                   Glazed  Pineapple Carrot Cake

 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted then measured

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

3/4 cup buttermilk 

2 tsp vanilla

8 oz crushed pineapple, well drained

2 cups finely shredded carrots

1 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds

1 cup flaked coconut

Buttermilk Syrup (Recipe Follows)

Sift flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl. Beat eggs with the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients all at once and mix util smooth. Mix in pineapple, carrots, nuts, and coconut.

Pour into a lightly greased and floured 9x13 baking pan. Bake in a 350º F oven for 45 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. Remove the cake from the oven and lightly prick it all over with a fork.

Slowly pour the hot Buttermilk Syrup over the cake. Serves 12.

Buttermilk Syrup: 

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp tsp baking soda

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup butter

2 tsp light corn syrup.

1/2 tsp vanilla (hold back until the other ingredients have boiled)

Combine all ingredients except for vanilla in a saucepan and bring to boiling over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Buttermilk Pancakes

                                                                 Buttermilk Pancakes

                                                      (Or Sour Milk Pancakes in a Pinch)

This is a quick and easy recipe that was my mother's. If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make them with sour milk. I will give instructions for making the sour milk at the bottom of this recipe*. Sometimes the batter is thicker than I like when I am using buttermilk. In that case, I just add a little regular milk to the batter to thin it.

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons light vegetable oil such as canola oil or 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Beat the eggs until they are thick. Add the baking soda and the oil to the buttermilk and add the mixture to the beaten eggs. Place the rest of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients. Lightly grease a griddle that is medium hot (350º). Spoon the batter onto the griddle to form the pancakes. When there are holes in the pancakes on the uncooked side, peek at the down side. If it is browned to your liking, flip the pancake with a spatula to cook the second side. Serve with real maple syrup, butter, and bacon. Makes an easy quick dinner.

*To make sour milk: place 1/4 cup lemon juice or white vinegar in a two cup measure and fill the measure the rest of the way with whole milk. Mix and let sit for about 15 minutes until curdled.

Banana Bread

This recipe is based on one that was in Sunset Magazine's first volume of Favorite Recipes which was published in 1969. Those were the good old days at Sunset and I miss that old magazine. I often double this recipe so that I can bake two loaves and am including the measurements for 2 loaves as well as for one loaf. A tip for recipes like this that use a small amount of buttermilk. If you don't normally keep buttermilk in your refrigerator, you can use powdered buttermilk. It keeps a very long time on the pantry shelf.

One Loaf:                                                            Two Loaves:

2 1/4 cups sifted flour                                           4 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour (570 grams)

1 tsp baking powder                                              2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda                                                1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt                                                             1 tsp salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter                                          2/3 cup unsalted butter  (150 grams)

3/4 cup sugar                                                         1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (330 grams)

2 large eggs                                                           4 large eggs

1 cup mashed banana                                            2 cups mashed banana

1/4 cup buttermilk                                                 1/2 cup buttermilk 

1/2 tsp vanilla                                                        1 tsp vanilla

Butter and flour one or two 9x5 loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and mashed banana. Sift the flour and measure it into another bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl with the flour and whisk to mix. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Place in the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool 10 minutes. Then remove the loaf from the pan to finish cooling.

Beef Ribs in the Kamado Joe

One rack of beef ribs

Worcestershire sauce 

Dry Rub:

2 tbsp Kosher salt

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp powdered thyme

Mix the rub ingredients together.  Remove the rack of ribs from the refrigerator an hour before you are ready to cook them to allow them to come to room temperature. You do not need to remove the membrane. Leaving it on will help the ribs stay together. Do trim off excess fat. Rub the ribs lightly with the Worcestershire sauce. It will help the ribs stay together as they cook. Rub thickly with the dry rub. You will have extra. Save it for the next time you want a dry rub. 

Set up the K. Joe for indirect cooking using some oak and bring it to 250ºF. Place a drip pan so catch the fat from the ribs. Roast them for about 3 hours, bringing them to 200ºF. Remove the ribs from the fire and cover them with foil. Let them rest for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy. They do not need BBQ sauce as the sauce would just cover the delicious smoke flavor.

 

Noodles with Crispy-Meat Sauce

I haven't made this in years, but I have the end of a roast to be used up and thought this would be a great way to do it. I had to search through my many old Sunset cook books and finally found it. Next time I want to make this dish the recipe will be here in my blog and I will not have to hunt for it. I no longer subscribe to Sunset Magazine, but  I did for many years when it was owned by the Lane family. The recipes could always be trusted to be good. This recipe is from the Sunset Pasta Cook Book, first published in 1980. I have made some minor changes to the recipe.

Noodles with Crispy-Meat Sauce
8 oz. fresh medium wide egg noodles, preferably home made
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cups slivered cooked beef or pork roast
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a wide frying pan over medium heat, combine olive oil and butter. Add the onion and cook until it has softened and starts to brown. Add the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is crisp and browned. Add the parsley, basil, salt, oregano, and pepper and cook until the parsley just begins to turn limp.
Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and place in a serving bowl. Spoon the sauce over the noodles and toss lightly. Pass the Parmesan for individuals to sprinkle over their servings.
Makes 4 servings

Welsh Griddle Cakes

These little cakes make a lovely snack with a cup of tea. Both my children loved them. My older child loved them so much that they were the first thing he made all my himself. I saved the original recipe from a very old issue of Sunset Magazine. It was at least 30 years ago. Over time, I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a little less sweet and dropped the salted butter/margarine for unsalted butter. Sunset suggested serving them with butter and jam but I like them plain.

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1/2 cup raisons or currants

1 large egg white

2 tablespoons milk

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the butter and then rub it with your fingers until you have fine crumbs. Add the raisins, egg white, and the milk. Stir just until the dough holds together. Roll the dough until it is 14" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into rounds using a 2 1/2" cookie cutter. Roll the scraps and cut more griddle cakes. Cook on a griddle set at 350º or use a well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat placing the cakes slightly apart. Cook untie the bottoms are medium brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the cakes with a spatula and cook about another 3 minutes, until the other side is medium brown.

Makes about 10 griddle cakes

Vin de Noix

                                                                         Vin de Noix    

Vin de Noix is an aperitif made from green walnuts and red wine. It is popular in the Dordogne region of France where lots of walnuts are grown. The hardest part of making it is finding the green walnuts. You can find them on walnut trees in the middle of June. The nuts must be immature so that you can easily cut them into quarters. Then you toss them into inexpensive red wine and flavorings and let the magic happen.

4 pounds of green walnuts, about 35-40, quartered

5 liters (7 bottles) inexpensive red wine

1 kg (2 lbs) sugar

1 liter vodka, brandy, or eau de vie

2 cinnamon sticks, broken

2 split vanilla beans

zest of 2 oranges

Optional-7 whole cloves

Place all ingredients into a non-reactive container with a lid and store in a cool dark place for 6 to 8 weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain through cheesecloth. Taste and adjust the sugar if you want the vin de noix sweeter. Bottle it and store it in a cool dark place until at least early winter. The longer you age the vin de noix the better. If you can make yourself wait a year the flavor is better but waiting that long can be hard.

Gougères (tasty, light, cheese puffs)

                                                                            Gougères

Gougères are a traditional finger food in Burgundy, France, to eat as an appetizer or light snack. They pair wonderfully with wine and are very easy to make. This recipe is for the common cheese version but they can also be made with anchovies instead. They are similar to cream puffs but are not normally filled. You can use your imagination if you decide to fill them. When I was researching gougère recipe I ended up with a riff off one from Alice Waters in her Book "The Art of Simple Food" and one I found on the Kitchn website.

1 cup (8 ounces, 237 grams) water 

8 tablespoons (4 ounces), 227 grams)  butter cut in chunks

3/4 teaspoon (4.5 grams) salt

1 cup (4.25 ounces, 120 grams) flour

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces, 170 grams) grated gruyère or similar cheese.

Combine the water, butter, and salt in a 2-4 quart saucepan. When the butter is melted add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously until the mixture comes together and looks like mashed potatoes. Continue to stir the mixture over medium low heat for 3 to 5 minutes to dry out the dough. The dough will be ready when it glistens and is thick enough to hold the spoon upright. 

Transfer the dough to a stand mixer and stir until it has cooled so that it is just warm to the touch. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg using the paddle attachment. Now add the grated cheese. You could also do this by hand with a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula.

Preheat the oven to 400º F (204ºC). Line baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone mats. Spoon rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets. They can be 1 or 2 inches in diameter depending on the size you want. They should be 1 1/2 inches apart. If you prefer you could pipe them from a pastry bag with a plain 1/2 inch tip. Bake the gougères, one sheet at a time, for 10 minutes and then turn the oven temperature down to 375ºF (190ºC) and bake for another 15 minutes. The gougères should be golden brown and crisp on the outside. Pierce each one with a sharp pointed knife, making a small slit to let out the steam. This helps them to stay crisp. If you are not serving them right away, place them on a cooling rack. They can be reheated and re-crisped in a 375ºF ((190ºC) oven for 3 minutes. They also can be frozen to be served later. If your freezer is large enough to hold a baking sheet, you can freeze unbaked gougères to bake later. Once frozen you can move them into a ziplock bag. You can make them any size you wish, tiny to large. Large ones could be used as sandwiches.

Variation: You can replace the cheese with 4-6 salt-packed anchovies, soaked, filleted, and chopped. This recommendation is from the Alice Waters recipe.

Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

This recipe was inspired by a recipe from Nigella Lawson but it takes much less time than her recipe. It is easy and very good. I like to serve it with couscous.

                                                       Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken

6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

1 small head garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves   

2 lemons, cut into eighths. I use Meyer lemons because that is what grows in my yard

Small handful fresh thyme

3 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup white wine

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425º. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and put them in a roasting pan. Add the garlic, lemon, and thyme. Add the oil and mix everything together, then spread the mixture out in the pan leaving the thighs skin side up. Sprinkle the wine over the chicken. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes.

Smoked Chicken (or turkey) potpie

 

Smoked Chicken Potpie

Pie Crust:

2 ½ cups T65 flour

1 ½ tsp salt

10oz unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled

About ¾ cup ice water (original recipe ¼ cup didn’t have nearly enough to meld flour)

Combine flour and salt, add butter and toss to coat with flour. Combine with pastry dough blender (by hand) until only small pieces of butter are left.  Add ¼ cup of water at a time, mixing with fork until it can be worked by hand.  Knead until smooth, divide in half with one half slightly larger than the other, wrap in plastic wrap in ½ inch discs and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. 

Filling

Whatever veggies you want (1 ¼ cups sliced carrots, onions, shallots, peas, brussels sprouts, celery etc etc)

Bay leaves

Thyme

Peppercorns

2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

1 egg for crust

 

Cover veggies with water and add bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns, bring to simmer and simmer 8-10 min until tender then drain and remove thyme, bay and peppercorns 

If using celery, boil in salted water 1-1.5 min and blanch.

Mix with chicken.

Roll out pie dough and place in pie dish, with top half on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place both in refrigerator

 

Buttermilk Béchamel

50cl Buttermilk (heated in microwave)

50g Butter

40g t65 Flour

Pepper

Salt

Paprika

Cayenne Pepper

 

 

Melt butter, then add flour while whisking constantly to make roux blanc, then add hot buttermilk and continue to whisk until thickened.  Season to taste.

 

Heat smoker to 375F

 

Take out pie dough, add veggies and chicken and top with béchamel, brush edge of crust with beaten egg, place top crust, seal the edges, cut off excess and cut vents

 

Smoke 45min to 1 hour until crust is golden

Boeuf Bourguignon

The recipe for this delicious dish is from Delphine, my French daughter-in-law. She gave it to me in French and the translation is mine. This is a dish that is definitely better the next day and that is why the cooking process takes two days. Because it only needs to be simmered the second day it is perfect for entertaining, whenever we are able to do that again. It tastes best when served in a chalet in the French Alps. It serves 6.

3 1/3 lbs. beef

1 1/3 lbs bacon cut into lardons (small strips)

4 or 5 onions, cut across and then cut into slices

4 or 5 carrots, cut into rings

50 ounces wine

1 bouquet garni (Delphine uses thyme and bay leaf, but you can include any herbs you like, all tied up in a bundle.)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, diced

butter and olive oil.

salt and pepper.

flour

Cut the beef into cubes and brown in a dutch oven in a mixture of butter and olive oil. Season the meat with salt and pepper. If all the beef won't fit in the pan without crowding, cook in batches, adding more butter if needed. Remove the beef to a bowl and then cook the bacon. Put the bacon to one side with the beef. Brown the onion in the fat from the beef and bacon. Season it with salt and pepper. Return the beef and bacon to the pan and sprinkle with flour. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add the wine, the carrots, garlic, and the bouquet garni. Cook 3 or 4 hours over a low flame. Remove the bouquet garni and let cool. When cooled refrigerate. The next day simmer for about 2 hours.

 

Poulet à la Gaston Gérard (ou poulet aux moines)

 This chicken recipe is from Dijon, France. The wife of the mayor accidentally put mustard in her chicken dish. To save it she added wine, créme fraîche, and cheese. That saved the dish and she named it after her husband. Delphine prepared it for us at her family's chalet in the French Alps and it was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately American chickens are not the same type as French chickens. Just looking at them you can see they are different. French chickens have a longer body than our roly-poly American chickens and French chickens have more flavor. There is a farm in the Santa Cruz area that has the best chickens this side of France, Fogline Farm, and I will use their chickens whenever I can. I recommend you get the highest quality chicken you can find and not use one that has been water chilled.

Poulet à la Gaston Gérard
preparation time about 15 minutes
cooking time 1 hour

1 small whole chicken cut into serving pieces or 6 whole chicken legs, about 3 pounds, for 6 persons
2 onions, chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 generous cup dry white wine
150 grams grated gruyère cheese plus more to top dish when placed in oven (150grams is 1 2/3 cups)
1 tablespoon strong mustard
250-300 grams crème fraîche (250 grams is just over 1 cup)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Salt the chicken pieces and then brown them in a mixture of the olive oil and butter in a dutch oven. Next add the onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and grate some pepper over it all. Cover and cook over a low burner for about three quarters of an hour. Remove the chicken and keep warm on a plate in a low oven. Add the wine to the dutch oven and then add the cornstarch and stir. Add the grated gruyére and then add the mustard and crème fraîche. Stir to combine and simmer for 10 minutes. Return the chicken to the dutch oven, sprinkle cheese on top and place uncovered  in oven set at 380ºF for 10 minutes.

Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings

                                                      Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings

This is a recipe that I tore out of a copy of Gourmet Magazine. I was so sad when it was discontinued.   This recipe is another favorite of our family. It makes a great weeknight dinner because it is fast and easy. Serve on Japanese style rice which is unsalted sticky short grain rice. I always double the sauce ingredients.
4 servings

1 large garlic clove
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp mild honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
a generous pinch of cayenne
3 lbs chicken wings
1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
Place the rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat it to 425º. Slice the garlic and mash it into a paste with the salt using the side of a large heavy knife. Place the paste into a large bowl and stir in the soy sauce, hoisin, honey, sesame oil, and cayenne. Cut the wings into sections. You may not want to use the tips but my husband loves to chew on them so I keep them. Stir the wing sections in the sauce. Place the wing sections in one layer in a pan lined with foil and pour the sauce over them. Roast for about 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes. They should be cooked through and if they are not roast for a bit longer. After serving sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top. The sesame seeds can be toasted in a dry cast iron frying pan.

Easy Bagels with a Cool Rise

We went into Shelter in Place for Covid-19 with cream cheese that needed to be used and our local bagel bakery closed. I found a good recipe on the Washington Post site to which I only needed to make small changes to make it work for me. The recipe calls for barley malt syrup which is not easy to find. In Santa Cruz I was only able to find it at Staff of Life grocery. The Post says that is often found at brewing supply stores. If you can't find it you can substitute molasses using 1/3 less though the flavor would be more harsh. I don't know that it would be a problem in the bagels. You can also use an amount equal to the syrup of non-diastatic malt powder. The reason for the malt syrup is to give a bagel the proper New York bagel flavor.

Bagels
2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
337 grams warm water/scant 1 1/2 cups (80ºF or 27ºC)
623 grams bread flour/approximately 4 cups (may substitute high-gluten flour)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon barley malt syrup.
cornmeal for dusting
baking stone or steel if possible

Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water in the measuring cup and let it start to foam while you prepare the dough. Whisk the salt into the flour in bowl of mixer that has a bread-hook. Stir in the barley malt syrup. Attach the bread-hook, add the yeast mixture and beat on the lowest speed until the dough starts to come together around the hook, about 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat for 7 to 10 minutes until you have a smooth stiff dough.
Dust a rimmed baking sheet large enough for 8 bagels with the cornmeal. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll them into smooth balls. Cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest 5 minutes at room temperature on your kitchen counter.
Flatten the balls into disks. Next punch a hole into the middle of each disk with your thumbs. Carefully stretch the bagels, enlarging the holes by twirling the bagel around your fingers, trying to keep the ring even as you shape it. You want the center hole large enough that it will not disappear when the dough rises, about 2 inches or 5 centimeters. I know this seems large but it will shrink when the dough rises and cooks. As you finish shaping each bagel place it on the cornmeal dusted baking sheet. After the bagels are all shaped, cover the baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours.
When you are ready to cook the bagels fill a large wide pot with 3 inches/7.5 centimeters of water and set your oven to 450ºF/232ºC with the stone or steel inside. Bring the water to a boil. Have a cooling rack nearby to place the boiled bagels on. Boil the bagels 3 or 4 at a time, for 30 seconds, flipping them after 15 seconds. Place them on the rack, bottom/flatter side down. Place the bagels right side up on a sheet of baking parchment on a pizza peel or an upside down baking sheet. You might feel more comfortable sliding 4 rather than 8 bagels at a time and so feel free to bake them in 2 batches.
Slide the bagels and the parchment sheet onto the stone/steel and bake on the middle rack of the over for 12 to 18 minutes. Actually I skipped the parchment instead re-dipping the bagels in the cornmeal and placing directly on my peel. When they are a deep golden brown, remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Variation: For topped bagels have a dish with your topping of choice such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dehydrated onion or garlic nearby when you are boiling the bagels. Dip the bagels into your topping while it is still wet from the boil, before the bake.

Joy of Cooking's Spaetzle

                                                      Joy of Cooking's Spaetzle

Spaetzle are a wonderful base for many different things. I only used to make them to have with chicken paprika because that was the way I first had them. Now I serve them with pipperade and tonight we are having them with a slow cooked shredded beef ragu. Think of them as a pasta to serve most anything over or next to. The last time we had spaetzle was with duck confit. This is a basic recipe that you can add herbs or spices to if you like. I highly recommend that you purchase a spaetzle maker if you find that you like spaetzle. They are fast and easy to make with the proper tool. If you don't have a spaetzle maker you can push the dough through the holes of a quarter inch grater or us a colander with 1/4 inch holes. The old fashioned way is to cut off small bits of dough from a plate with a spoon or a knife into the boiling water. That is the way an old family friend made them to go with her chicken paprika.

Spaetzle
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
a small grating of nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup water.
Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center and drop the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with the water in the well with a fork and then mix in the dry ingredients.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place a portion of the dough in the hopper of a spaetzle maker and force the dough into the boiling water. The spaetzle are done when they float to the top of the water. Scoop them out as they float to the top with a slotted spoon. Toss the cooked spaetzle with a bit of butter to keep them from sticking together.