Ginger Pecan Scones

I have a crush on the weather man.  His name is Doug, and he has great eyebrows.  Yesterday, alone on my couch, I found myself smiling whenever his reports came on, and I even laughed out loud at one of his jokes.

We have so much in common.  He used to report on the weather in Orlando and Jacksonville; I’m from Florida.  He went to college at the University of Northern Colorado; I went to the University of Colorado-Boulder.  He loves talking about the weather; I love talking about the weather!

Speaking of weather, we are slowly moving into spring here.  There are sweet little flowers popping up all over the neighborhood and the Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing this weekend.

It’s still cool enough that the spiciness from the ginger in these scones is warm and comforting.

Wait, I’m not sure if I’m selling you these scones by talking about the stupid weather.  These scones are really awesome.  They’re tender and melt in your mouth with the richness of the butter.  The toasted pecans and three types of ginger add so much depth of flavor that it keeps changing on your tongue.

I just know Doug would love these.

from Bon Appetite

3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and placed in the freezer
1 1/3 cup pecans, toasted and then chopped
1/2 cup chopped, crystallized ginger
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Add butter and using fingers, blend butter into the flour mix until it is pea sized.  Toss in pecans and 1/2 cup crystallized ginger.
4. Whisk 1 cup buttermilk, grated fresh ginger and vanilla in medium bowl.  Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk.  Stir with s fork until moist clumps form (use hands if you need help bringing it together).
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice until dough comes together.  Divide in half.
6. Form each half into a 6-inch disk.  Cut each disk into 6 wedges.  Transfer wedges to the baking sheet.  Brush with 1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 3 Tbsp crystallized ginger.  Press the ginger lightly into the scones.
7. Bake until scones are golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Bacon Cheddar Crumble Muffins

This week I joined a gym and am impressed with how often I have gone.  I really love the group fitness classes and even woke up at 6:00 this morning to go to a spin class! As a reward and to balance out all those calories burned, I made Bacon Cheddar Crumble Muffins.

These are definitely the tastiest muffins I have made in a long time.  I love making muffins because they are such an easy breakfast or snack to grab when I have a busy day.  I was super excited when my friend sent me a cookbook in the mail called Muffins Galore.  It’s filled with really great ideas, but I’m afraid I may have already made the best recipe from it.

Savory muffins are a nice change from the usual, sweet, cake-like ones, and these particular muffins are nice and hearty from the bacon and whole wheat flour.  My favorite part of these muffins, however, is not the bacon.  It is the savory crumble on top.  You blend finely grated cheddar cheese, butter and flour into a crumbly mixture and sprinkle it on top before they are baked.  I can think of so many different uses for it.  It would add great flavor and texture to any other savory baked good, and I can’t wait to try it as a topping for macaroni and cheese.

adapted from Muffins Galore

4 oz bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp freshly grated black pepper
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Crumble Topping:
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. For the crumble topping, rub butter into the flour in a small bowl until it is mealy but still has some large crumbs.  Blend in cheddar cheese.  Set aside.
3. Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, mustard and salt together in a large bowl.  Stir in cheddar cheese, parsley, and bacon.  Add black pepper.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk and melted butter.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a rubber spatula, just until mixed.
5. Spoon batter (I like to use an ice-cream scoop) into muffin cups and sprinkle the crumble mixture over tops.  Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly brown and well risen.  Cool in pan for a couple minutes and then turn onto wire rack.  Eat warm, or reheated in microwave for 10 seconds.

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Ever since my kitchen started overflowing with bread items, I knew I wanted to make some bread pudding.  Bread pudding is not something I have always liked.  I remember my dad loved it, but I always thought it sounded weird and probably tasted gross.  Kids are so dumb sometimes because how could bread, milk, sugar and eggs taste bad?  Maybe it was the raisins that turned me off.

Now that I am older and more mature, I also know that bourbon makes things taste good.  So good in fact, that I talked to my clean plate after making this.  That’s a funny thing about blogging.  I have to take pictures early in the day to get good light, so I often end up making a fancy plate of dessert for a photo and then eating it for lunch.  If it was just what I was craving, then Motu and my spoon will hear about it.

This recipe came from my textbook.  It’s similar to many other bread pudding recipes on the internet but I’m really into weighing my ingredients these days.  Especially cubes of bread.  I don’t see how 6 cups of cubed bread could be an accurate measurement at all.  I have a small Weight Watcher’s kitchen scale and I love it.  I use it when I am watching my portion sizes of cake and now more often to measure ingredients.  If you want to make this without using weights, I would suggest using this one from Simply Recipes.  Actually, I just compared the two recipes and I think they are almost exactly the same.

adapted from On Baking

Serves 8-10

4 oz Raisins
2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Unsalted butter, melted
12 oz Day old white bread
1 cup Heavy cream
3 cups Milk
3 eggs
10 oz Granulated sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
Bourbon Sauce as needed (see recipe below)
Whipped cream

1. Combine raisins and bourbon in a small saucepan and heat just to a simmer.  Cover and set aside.
2. Use some of the melted butter to coat a 9×13 casserole dish (or two smaller dishes so you can take one to your neighbor).  Reserve the remaining butter.
3. Cut the bread into 1 x 1 in cubes and place in a large bowl.  Pour the cream and milk over the bread and let it sit until soft.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until smooth and thick.  Add the vanilla, the remaining melted butter, and raisins and bourbon.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and toss gently to combine.  Pour into the buttered dish and bake at 350 until browned and almost set, about 45-60 minutes.  It should still be slightly jiggly in the center.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream and bourbon sauce.  Or eat it cold straight out of the dish.  Both ways are delicious.

Bourbon Sauce

4 oz Unsalted butter
8 oz Granulated sugar
1 Egg
3 oz Bourbon

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Stir together the egg and sugar and add to the melted butter.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  It will foam and bubble up so watch out.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon.  Strain if necessary. (My sauce had bits of burnt sugar and cooked eggs in it, so I recommend straining it.)

I Hope You Like Carbs

This is becoming a problem.  Look at this mountain of bread I’m bringing home every week from baking and pastry class!  It all tastes amazing and I’m having a blast making it, but John and I need help eating it.

I mean, these danishes are delicious, but a healthy breakfast they are not.

Cinnamon Raisin Brioche with more butter on top?  Yes please.  Carb crash in an hour?  No thank you.

This week we made baguettes, brioche, danishes, jalapeño corn muffins and soft dinner rolls.  Last week we made zucchini bread, morning glory muffins, sour cream muffins, foccacia, biscuits and soft dinner rolls.  I love all the techniques I am learning, and I love how much work it takes to produce something great.  It feels really good to work with my hands and run around the fast paced kitchen trying to get everything done on time.

Stay tuned for some more recipes!  I hope to have a bread pudding or a bread crumb cake posted soon.  If anyone has any thoughts on how to use up some leftover bread I would be grateful.

Sausage Pinwheels

Happy 2011!  John thinks this is a stupid year.  He says 2010 was exciting because it was the start of a new decade, and 2012 is exciting because it is an election year, and 2011 is just lame.  I think 2011 is awesome because 11 is my favorite number.  And since 11 is such a great number and it is the start of a sparkling new year, I am going to make some lists.  Like resolutions, but not.

5 things I need more of in my life this year:

1. Blogging!  My goal is once a week.
2. Friends in DC.  John and I always feel like it is creepy and weird to ask someone for their phone number.
3. Vegan and gluten-free baking.  It is time to expand my baking skills into new territory.
4. Exercise and fruits and veggies.  Cliché but true.
5. Adventures.  I would love to explore this new area we are living in.  There is the Chesapeake Bay, Blue Ridge Mountains, all sorts of stuff!

5 things I need less of:

1. TV. Period.
2. Naps.  Some of you may laugh or roll your eyes, but I found myself taking way too many naps last year instead of being productive.  Instead of napping, I can blog, or exercise (see list 1).
3. Parking and traffic tickets.  These are such an infuriating waste of money.
4. Meat.  I feel so much better about my food choices when they contain less meat and I got out of that habit last year.
5. Excuses.  No more!

Although these pinwheels are in violation of List #2 (they are meaty), they are so delicious and would have been perfect for a New Year’s Eve party if I had gotten them up in time.

I have to give a shout out to my best friend for these, because her mom made them when we were growing up.  I was always excited to see a plate of them on her counter and they wouldn’t last long once I had shown up.

1 recipe for The Best Biscuits
3/4 lb bulk sausage
Mustard for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Roll the biscuit dough out to a 10×20 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Thinly spread the sausage out onto the dough leaving a clean 1 inch border on the long side away from you.  To do this, I grab a hunk of sausage and flatten it between my hands, then I lay it on the dough and push it around until it is thin and touching the other hunks of sausage.
4. Roll it up into a log and pinch the seam.  I cut the log in half and put one half in the fridge while I worked with the other half.
5. Slice the log into 1/4 inch slices and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

The Best Biscuits

There are very few recipes that I have memorized, and this is one of them.  I found the amount of buttermilk and yogurt I like best on the fourth version and now they are perfectly baked in my brain.  They have a lovely golden yellow hue and the best flaky texture.  The tops and bottoms are sturdy enough to hold up to any toppings but the middle is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

You can drizzle them with honey.

Or you can splurge and go buy some brie and raspberry jam because it’s snowing outside, and that means you deserve a treat.

Stay tuned for an awesome meaty recipe that uses this biscuit dough.

adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into little pieces
1/2 cup plain yogurt (fat free is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Add butter pieces and combine with the flour using your fingers until completely incorporated and no large chunks remain.
3. Add yogurt and buttermilk to flour mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until it mostly comes together.  Use your hands to knead the dough a few times to get it into a nice ball.
4. Turn it out onto a floured surface and pat it out into a square that is about 3/4-1 in thick.  Cut it into 9 squares and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Apple Bacon Cheddar Pizza

I know, I know. It’s been forever since I posted last.  It turns out that there’s a lot of homework for culinary school!

But I promised you the recipe for this pizza, and I really think you’ll love it.  I made it one night after coming home from the bar and decided that it had to be made again as quickly as possible and documented.

Before I get too distracted waxing on about the awesomeness of this pizza, I’ll tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to (so maybe you’ll forgive me for not posting).

First of all, I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity.  Even though we couldn’t see the screens or hear John Stewart very well,  we had a great time people watching and reading the signs everyone was carrying.  It was a great experience, and I think it made a big impression on me since John Stewart showed up in most of my dreams later that week.

Second, I was recently hired by a cupcake place that’s opening a few new stores in D.C.  I’m very excited about starting work and meeting new people, but I’m especially excited because I get to attend the Capitol Food Fight.  You might notice that the co-host is someone whose last name starts with a B and ends with -ourdain.  I should also let you know that as a participant, I’m invited to the after party, and my only goal if I end up meeting him is to not barf up all the free cupcakes I might’ve consumed.

But enough about dreamy fake journalists and ex-drug addict celebrity chefs. This pizza is great.  Although it may sound a little strange, all of the ingredients are familiar and comforting.  The apples are soft and sweet, the bacon is crunchy and salty and the cheddar cheese covers them like a creamy rich blanket. Mmmmmm.

I really hope you try this.  You could put this combo on any type of bread.  Like apple bacon cheddar bruschetta or – OH MY GOODNESS – apple bacon cheddar biscuits for brunch!

Note: I still haven’t gotten the hang of my oven yet.  I can’t seem to get things to brown the same on the top and bottom.  So my temperature and time are suggestions.  My goal when cooking pizza is fast and hot.  In reality with my  oven, I have to watch it carefully and often move it up or down depending on which side is browning too quickly.

Pizza Dough

adapted from How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Toppings

8 slices of bacon
4 small-medium apples (not too tart, and not too mushy, I used a Sunscrisp variety), cored and chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or as much or as little as you want)

1. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor.  With the machine running, add the water and olive oil through the feed tube.  Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water if needed, a little at a time, until the dough forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.
2. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes to form a smooth round dough ball.  Put the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
3. When the dough is ready, gently punch it down and divide it into 2 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and let them rest on a baking sheet covered with a damp dishcloth or plastic wrap for about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 450-500° F (see note above).
5. While the dough is resting, cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet if you have one.  Remove when it is cooked how you like it.  I prefer it pretty crispy for this recipe.  When the bacon is cooled, chop or crumble it up. Drain off some of the bacon fat; you want about 1-2 tablespoons left in the pan.  Add the chopped apples and cook over medium-high heat so they brown before they become too mushy.  Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper.
6. When apples are done, roll the dough balls out pretty thin, about 1/8-1/4 inch.  Place them on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top with half the apples, then half the bacon, and half the cheddar cheese.  If you have to baking sheets, you can go ahead and prepare the other pizza.  Otherwise, cook the first one and make the other one when it comes out.
7. Bake for 7-15 minutes (see note above), until the cheese is melty and the crust is golden brown.

Sausage Feta Calzones

Operation Washing-Tons of Fun 2010 is well under way.  We have a visit planned to find an apartment and an awesome high paying job for my boyfriend (who will be supporting my sweet ass), and my culinary school plans are almost finalized.

Last week I receive my exorbitant financial aid statement for the Culinary Arts Associates Degree and almost threw up a little in my mouth.  So the new plan is to get the Baking and Pastry Diploma.  It is only a year long and I will still get the basic introductory class in culinary techniques.  I reread the descriptions for the classes I will be taking and can’t wait to learn about the ethnic and international desserts, garnishing and plate decorating, and petit fours.  The final exam for the class is a grand dessert buffet.  A GRAND DESSERT BUFFET.  I can’t wait for that one.

I also can’t wait to make these calzones again.  I started out trying to come up with a portable breakfast for John to take to work in the mornings and I basically ended up with pizza.  Not really a problem since John loves cold pizza for breakfast.

The fennel and onions in the filling  gave it a nice sweetness while the fresh parsley and feta kept it lighter than a normal gooey calzone filling.  I also used whole wheat flour in the dough and the nuttiness from that helped it feel a little more like breakfast.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 packet instant yeast (about 2 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor.  With the machine running, add the water and olive oil through the feed tube.  Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the dough forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.
2. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes to form a smooth round dough ball.  Put the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
3. When the dough is ready, gently punch it down and divide it into 8 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and let them rest on a baking sheet covered with a damp dishcloth or plastic wrap for about 20 minutes.

Sausage and Feta Calzones

filling adapted from Martha Stewart

4 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound sweet Italian pork sausage (removed from casing if necessary)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 head of fennel trimmed, cored, and sliced thinly
pinch or two of red pepper flakes
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Dough from recipe above
Flour for dusting
1 egg for brushing
whole fennel seeds for sprinkling

1. While your dough in rising in the recipe above, you can make the filling.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat, and break the sausage up into it.  Stir occasionally until the sausage is cooked through and evenly browned.  Transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate.  Drain pan if necessary.
3. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onion to pan and cook for about two minutes, or until onion is softened.  Add fennel and red pepper flakes.  Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until vegetables are cooked through, about 8 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook until their juices are released, 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the reserved sausage.  Let this mixture cool to room temperature.
4. When mixture has cooled down, gently stir in the crumbled feta and parsley.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. When your 8 balls of dough have rested, roll each one out on a lightly floured surface into a 6-8 inch circle.  Beat egg with a little bit of water (less than a tablespoon) and brush around edges of circle.  Put a heaping 1/4 cup of filling onto one half of circle and fold the other half over.  Pinch and twist the edges inward to seal them.  Place on a baking sheet or pizza pan coated with cooking spray.  Brush tops with more egg wash and sprinkle with fennel seeds.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown all over.
7. Cool on wire rack until you can’t resist them any longer.

Pan de Queso

Pan de Queso

Last week my younger brother was in town from New York.  We always get drunk have a great time together, and this visit was no different.

Sam has a beautiful Colombian/Ecuadorian girlfriend, and one afternoon he was talking about all this delicious food her mom cooks for him and the treats they pick up at a local Colombian bakery.  After hearing how delicious it all sounded, I just had to try my gringa hand at Colombian cooking.

We went to a Latin market and found everything we needed to make pan de queso, arepas and chicharron.  The pan de queso was amazing.  The rest of it, well, we couldn’t even swallow the chicharron, and cooking the arepas filled the house with smoke.

BUT the pan de queso was something especial.  It only had four ingredients, but the texture of these little rolls was unique.  The outside was firm and crisp but the inside had a fluffy, moist, and chewy feel to it.  When you bit down, the rolls seemed to deflate, but that only made it easier to eat 10 of them.

The two main ingredients are tapioca starch and queso fresco.  I had to find the tapioca starch at the specialty Latin market but am able to find queso fresco at the regular supermarket.  Queso fresco is a crumbly, salty cheese that is good on black beans and salads.  It doesn’t really melt so it’s most often used as a last minute topping or garnish.

Pan de Queso

From Andrea’s Recipes

1 cup yuca flour (tapioca starch)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs

10 oz queso fresco, crumbled

milk (as needed)

1)    Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

2)    Mix yuca flour and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor until combined.

3)    Add eggs and cheese and process until dough comes together in a ball.  Add more flour a tablespoon at a time if it seems too sticky, or add milk a teaspoon at a time if it seems too dry.

4)    Turn dough onto a floured surface and work with floured hands until it is in a smooth ball.  (The dough was very light and soft for me so it was pretty easy to manage.)

5)    Cut into four strips and then cut those strips into four pieces.  Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place on prepared baking sheet.

6)    Cover rolls with a dish towel and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

7)    While dough rests, preheat oven to 375° F

8)    Bake the rolls on the top oven rack for 20 min until golden brown.