Rosemary, pecan, and parmesan cookies

I can see you. Through the computer. With that quizzical look. Rosemary + Parmesan, in a cookie?  She's for sure lost it this time.

But I haven't.  Nor has the creator of this cookie, Dorie Greenspan. (She's kinda like THE cookie goddess, if you don't know who she is.)  Nor has the person who recommended them to me, and told me that despite all the Thanksgiving baking I still had left to do, these cookies definitely needed to be made. 

These cookies are savory -- a savory shortbread, almost closer to a cracker, with a fine crumb (they're so crumbly, but in the best way possible) and just the teensiest hint of sweetness.  So much so that they're called -- get this -- cocktail cookies!  Not in the sense that there's booze in them (how can we make that happen?!), but in the sense that you eat them with booze.  White wine was mentioned somewhere, so was some champagne.  I could definitely get on board with that!

So yeah, these cookies.  It's probably too late for you to make them for this Thanksgiving, but Christmas is right around the corner....so is New Year's...or just any random Friday (or Tuesday) night!

A few thoughts about these cookies:

- They come together super easily!  Like all in the bowl of a food processor. No warming of the butter to room temperature.  Literally a few whirls in the food processor. That's it, people!

- Please, freshly grate your Parmesan. Don't use the stuff from the container from the grocery store.  I just feel like the freshly grated stuff is worlds better when it comes to baking.
- I'm toying with the idea of adding a few grinds of fresh black pepper next time.  I might also up the cheese just a little bit. 

- Lastly, don't be lazy like yours truly. Not wanting to take out your food processor because it's in the back of the cabinet behind a lot of other stuff is a pathetic reason to half the recipe so that you can use your mini-prep (which is way more accessible), yielding half as many delicious cookies, and just necessitating that you make another batch sooner.

Rosemary-Parmesan Shortbread Cookies
These were recommended to me by a friend, who has Dorie's new cookbook.  She even sent me pictures of the recipe from the book, but the flash got in the way, so a not-so-quick, very specific internet search yielded me the recipe linked above.

For a more crumbly texture, Dorie recommends not grating your cheese too fine.

Yields about 60 cookies

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp granualted sugar
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated and lightly packed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Special tools:
1.5" round cookie cutter

Instructions:

Season the sugar:
Working in a small bowl, run the sugar and rosemary together with your fingertips until the sugar turns moist, aromatic, and maybe even tinged green (mine was not green, and my fingers killed from all the mixing, so I left mine aromatic and moist, but still white)

Toast the pecans:
I did mine in a toasted at 400F.  
Watch closely, mine took about 5 minutes.  
Do not let them burn 

Prepare the dough:

Combine the flour, pecans, Parmesan, salt, and rosemary sugar in a food processor.
Pulse to blend.
Add in the pieces of cold butter.
Pulse until the mixture turns crumbly.
Slowly and gradually pulse in the beaten egg yolk.
Then continue to pulse the mixture until it turns to a moist dough that forms clumps and curds.

Roll the dough:

Turn the dough out and divide it in half.
Pat each half into a disk.
Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Repeat with the other half.
Without removing the parchment paper, slide both disks onto a baking sheet -- you can stack them -- and freeze for at least 1 hour.  (Freeze?  Haha.  My freezer is FULL TO THE MAX.  Literally.  I could not fit a baking sheet into it if I tried.  So I refrigerated mine overnight.)

Position your oven rack to the center of your oven.
Preheat to 350F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
Have your cookie cutter on hand.

Cut the cookies:
Working with one slab of dough at a time, peel away the top sheet of parchment paper.
Use the cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as you can.
Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Leave about 1 inch between cookies.
Combine the scraps from both portions of dough.
Re-roll the dough.
Freeze and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Always make sure that you start with a cool baking sheet.

Bake the cookies, for about 15 minutes, or once they turn golden and have set.
Rotate your baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.
Once done, let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Bake the remaining cookies.

To store:
If wrapped well, the rolled out dough can be frozen and stored for up to 2 months.
Simply cut out the dough and bake directly from the freezer.
Baked cookies can be kept in a covered container for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Serve with a crisp glass of white wine or champagne.  (or the whole bottle....this is a no judgement zone!)

Bolognese sauce

I know, I know.  This is clearly not baked nor is it something sweet (most of the things on Julie Bakes are at least 1 if not both of those things), but seeing as I baked two things yesterday, and have another on the agenda for today, I needed to mix things up a little.  Plus, B and I have been bringing in a lot lately (busy schedules, little time to cook), and I wanted to make a home cooked meal for us.  So I had the day off today, I got my exercise in this morning, and B was at work all day, so I set out to make something tasty.

One of the things we tend to pick up is the fusilli Bolognese from a local restaurant -- at the recommendation of one of B's friends -- and it's delicious.  So I googled Bolognese recipes and the first one that came up was Marcella Hazan's recipe.  I've seen her recipes featured on a lot of the foodie sites that I look at, and so I went right with that one, because if people rave about her recipes...well, you get it.  Her tomato sauce (which I haven't made yet), it supposed to be amazing!

This recipe is time intensive, but in the best way possible.  Cooking down the milk before adding in the wine, and cooking that down as well, and finally adding the tomatoes makes the sauce rich and delicious.  The final cooking time -- a minimum of 3 hours! -- makes the sauce tasty and full of flavor.

In the future I'd probably adjust things a little (less wine, more tomatoes), but this sauce is a keeper!  It would probably be great for a dinner party, since the last 3 hours of cooking are mostly watching and don't involve a lot of hands-on time.

Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Sauce
Found on the NY Times website

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil, since we didn't have vegetable oil)
3 Tbsp butter, plus 1 Tbsp for tossing the pasta
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork (1/4 pound) to 2 parts beef (1/2 pound)).  I used generic ground beef'
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill (we don't have a pepper mill -- something to register for, perhaps?! -- so I used regular ground pepper)
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg (I used already ground nutmeg, which B and I don't particularly love, so I used about 1/16 tsp)
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italia plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese, at the table

Directions:

Put the oil, butter, and chopped onion in the pot.
Turn the heat on to medium.
Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent.
Add the celery and carrot.
Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.

Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper.
Crumble the meat with a fork.
Stir well and cook until the beef has lots it's raw, red color.

Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely.
Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 tsp (I used half of that) -- of nutmeg.
Stir.

Add the wine.
Let it simmer until it has evaporated.
I added a pinch of salt and some pepper here to taste.
Add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all the ingredients well.
When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through the surface.

Cook, uncovered, for 3 hour or more, stirring from time to time.
While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to see that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat.
To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary (I added 1/4 cup water after about 40 minutes).
At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce.
Taste and correct for salt.

Toss the sauce with the cooked, drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on the side.

Bucatini pie

I've had a long past 2 weeks, and so has B.  We're both working a ton, which is great, but with me leaving really early for work and him getting home from work as late as 11:15 p.m. (!!), I sometimes don't get to see him as often as I'd like (at least during wakeful hours).  Last night we both managed to be home by 9 p.m. and we even ate dinner together.  Turns out that today is my early day at work and he doesn't expect to work late, and I felt like that was cause for a (mini) celebration...or at least a home cooked dinner that was more than a protein and salad (our mainstay).  Honestly, I was probably only looking for an excuse to make this recipe, but heck, maybe I'll throw in a glass of wine and we can have a little party.

This recipe, much like the hummus I made before, is a savory one.  But unlike the hummus, it is baked and it does have the word "pie" in the title.  I've done a few savory things in the past (there was this garlic parmesan pull-apart bread and this killer mac and cheese) that also required baking, so I felt that this was an OK thing to post on this baking blog (which, by the way, turns 4 years old in 2 days!).

We usually make our own pasta sauce, which we call marinara sauce, for our meatballs and pasta.  I decided that, since I was going all out with this homemade bucatini pie, I might as well make some homemade sauce as well.  So I did just that!  We don't have a recipe, per se, but since I'm on this "savory kick," I've added a link to it here and below. 

Just one note about the pasta shape: I love bucatini but have found it difficult to find in the past.  Not all stores carry it.  Much to my dismay, there was no bucatini at either of the two grocery stores or two other bodegas that I checked out.  I used spaghetti instead and it came out really well!

Bucatini Pie
From Food and Wine

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 large eggs, beaten
1 pound bucatini, broken in half (Bucatini is a long pasta with a hole in the center so that it is actually a tube, also known as Perciatelli)
1.5 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (4 oz)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp freshly ground pepper (no, that is not a typo!)
2 tsp kosher salt

Warm marinara sauce, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet (our cast iron skillet is technically a grill pan, with grooves on the bottom, so I baked this in a regular 9" round metal cake pain, adjusting a little for time since it was a bit thicker).

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil.
Add the bucatini and cook until al dente (the pasta will continue to cook a little while baking)
Drain the pasta.
Run under cold water to stop the cooking.
Drain well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, cheese, cream, parsley, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt.
Add the pasta and toss to coat.
Scrape into the prepared skillet.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until just set..
Remove from the oven.

Preheat the broiler.
Broil the bucatini pie 6 inches from the heat until golden, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

The pie can be kept at room temperature for 4-6 hours before serving.

Homemade pasta sauce

B and I love to cook together!  I've even been known to type #thecouplethatcookstogethereatstogether with photos of the meals that we make (and eat) together.  And while he does leave the baking to me, he is a great cook!  One of our favorites to make is meatballs (one day I'll post those for you) and homemade sauce.  Today, I'm writing to you about this sauce.

The thing about homemade sauce is that it is really easy to make.  It just involves some chopping, and time and patience, but not much else.  (Confession: I am not Italian, and if you have an Italian grandma, she'll probably tell you that this isn't real sauce, but B and I love it and I can't get enough!)  Again, I know this isn't really baked, but it goes so nicely with a savory dish that I'm having for dinner tonight, so I thought that instead of telling you to serve that with store-bought sauce, I'd let you in our little secret :-)  Sorry, I know I'm jumping around, but it'll all make sense soon.

Anyway, back to this sauce.  There is no actual recipe, no actual amounts of measurements, but I will do the best to approximate everything for you.  Feel free to adjust it to your taste: less garlic, more hot pepper, different kinds of tomatoes, etc.

Homemade Pasta Sauce
B's and my recipe

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 medium-to-large yellow onion, diced about 1/3"
1 box (750 mL) San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1 box (750 mL) San Marzono diced tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Crushed red chili peppers, dried
Pinch of sugar
8-10 large fresh basil leaves (or more, if leaves are small), chiffonaded

Directions:

Put olive oil in large sauce pan or dutch oven, making sure that it covers the bottom of your pan.
Warm over medium flame until oil is hot.
Add diced onions.
Sautee until almost translucent.
Add in garlic slices.
Continue cooking until garlic is soft and pale.
Add both boxes of tomatoes, being careful because they can splatter.
Add a sugar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Mix well.

Keep the sauce on a medium flame and stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and chili flakes to your liking.
At this point, you can lower the heat to medium-low.
Continue cooking until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 1 hour.
Stir in fresh basil, and allow to cook for 5-10 more minutes.

Serve with anything -- pasta, meatballs, or this bucatini pie!

I know it's not technically baked but.....HUMMUS!

B and I were in Israel for a week at the end of August.  It was my first trip and it was absolutely amazing!  The food, the sights, the people, the culture....did I mention the food?!

One of the (many) culinary highlights of the trip was the hummus.  Honestly, it is worlds different than the stuff you buy off the shelves in the grocery stores here in the states!  It's much paler in color, and smoother in consistency, and the flavor....oh, the flavor....I can't even begin to describe!  We didn't get enough hummus while we were there (I know, it's hard to believe, but I was obsessed!), despite me telling people that in the seven days we were in Israel I ate at least 50 pitas with some sort of hummus or tahini.  I might be slightly over exaggerating, but I'm not entirely sure that it's not the truth.

So it was amazing that a few days after we got back from Israel, I saw a link on my Facebook feed titled "The Secret to the Creamiest, Dreamiest Hummus."  And even more fitting, it was a recipe from an Israeli guy who has a hummus restaurant in Philly, which B has tried and said was the closest to the hummus you can get over in Israel while here in the states.

And I knew I had to make it.  Now if only I could find good, fresh, authentic pita bread here to eat with it....guess that'll be up on the list of things I'll be needing to bake soon....(I served mine with pita chips and pieces of flour tortilla, but mainly because I forgot to buy pita at the grocery store, each of the three times I was there today).

Israeli-Style Hummus
Found on Bon Appetit, originally from Michael Solomonov

Ingredients:

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 tsp baking soda, divided
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/3 cup (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more
2/3 cup tahini
1/4 tsp (or more) ground cumin -- I despise hate cumin, so I left this out.  Next time I might up the lemon/garlic/salt mixture a little for a little extra flavor
Olive oil, paprika, and fresh parsley for serving

Directions:

Place chickpeas and 1 tsp baking soda in a medium bowl.
Add cold water to cover by 2 inches.
Cover and let sit at room temperature until chickpeas have doubled in size, 8-12 hours.
Drain and rinse (I didn't rinse them....oops).

Combine soaked chickpeas and remaining 1 tsp baking soda in a large saucepan.
Add cold water to cover by at least 2 inches.
Bring to a boil, skimming surface as needed.
Reduce heat to medium-low and partially cover.
Simmer until chickpeas are tender and really falling apart, about 45-60 minutes.
Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, process the garlic, lemon juice, and 1 tsp salt in a food processor until coarsely purred.
Let sit 10 minutes to allow the garlic to mellow.

Strain the garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible.
Discard the solids.
Return the liquid to the food processor.
Add tahini and pulse to combine.
With the motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the Tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until the mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick.
Add chickpeas (and cumin, if using) and process, occasionally scraping down sides, until mixture is extremely smooth, about 4 minutes.
Then with more water, if you prefer.
Taste and season with more salt/lemon juice/cumin, if desired.

Spoon hummus into a shallow bowl, making a well in the center.
Drizzle liberally with oil, and top as desired (my preference is paprika and fresh parsley).

Jalapeño cheddar scones

Last up, a tried and true scone that I swear by: Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones from Smitten Kitchen!!  I've made these before, several times, but shared them on the blog with you about a year and a half ago here.  They're SO good, that I decided to share the recipe again below, so that you don't have to flip back and forth between this post and the previous one!

Jalapeño Cheddar Scones are the second from the left.

Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones (from SmittenKitchen.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, diced - I always use white cheddar, although i'm not completely sure why.  I've also thought about trying monterey jack or pepper jack cheese, but I always stop myself, because why fix something that doesn't need fixing?
2 small jalapeño peppers, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft.
Let them cool, then mix them with the cheddar cheese in a small bowl and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour.

Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt.
Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture.
Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together.
Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is well-mixed.

Put the dough on a well-floured surface and gently knead it till it comes together well (less than one minute).
Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. I made mine mini for the shower (and generally make them mini when serving as an appetizer).

I then froze mine, and actually baked them up AT the shower, since I think they are THE BEST when they're fresh out of the oven.

When ready to bake the scones, remove the from the freezer and then start from here:

Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water.
Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  My mini ones take much less, about 8-12 minutes depending on the oven.

Prosciutto, cheese, and scallion scones

For L's baby shower this past weekend, I wanted to add some savory scones to the sweet ones that I was going to make.  These were my first savory scone that I baked for the shower, and also happen to be the second installment of the week of scones!

The Prosciutto, Scallion, and Gruyere Scones are the 4th from the left.

These were also pretty easy to make, in part to the pre-chopped prosciutto that I found near the deli counter.  What a time saver!  Definitely appreciated given the sheer variety of scones that I was making (plus, there were cupcakes, too!).  I made these mini, too, since there were going to be so many varieties of scones, and I figured people might want to try more than one flavor.  I ended up getting 19 mini scones, plus I had tons of leftover dough that I just re-kneaded and made about 10 more mini scones.

I have to say, I'm a HUGE fan of these savory scones!  They're perfectly savory, salty, and delicious without being too salty!  My only regret?  The minis are so mini...I want to eat more than one at once!

Prosciutto, Gruyere, and Scallion Scones
from Kitchen Confidante

Ingredients:

2.5 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup shredded gruyere (I hand grated mine)
1/2 cup chopped prosciutto
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped green onion (scallion)
2 Tbsp half and half
Sea salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Using a pastry cutter (or two forks, or knives, or a food processor), cut the butter into the flour mixture, until you have course crumbs.

Whisk the eggs lightly and combine with the buttermilk.
Add to the flour mixture and stir until just moist.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, prosciutto, and scallions.
Add this to the batter and mix lightly.
* The dough will be sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and knead lightly until all the cheese, prosciutto, and scallions are incorporated into the dough.
Roll the dough 3/4 inch thick.
Cut out 3 inch squares, then cut diagonally to make triangles.  You should have about 10.
Or, you can make mini scones like I did, with a 2" circle cutter.  Punch down with the cutter, but do not twist.
Place the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Lightly brush the top of the scones with half and half.
Sprinkle with sea salt.

Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes.

*Since I made the scones a few days before and planned to bake them the morning of the shower, I left off the half and half and salt when I froze them, and did that when I took them out of the freezer to bake them.  I ended up using an egg wash and left off the salt, since I was afraid that they might be too salty.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Once the scones are chilled, bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
I baked my mini scones for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese and serve warm.
Since I did this at L's mother-in-law's apartment and I forgot to bring the parmesan cheese with me, I inadvertently left that off.  Oops!

Sriracha Chex mix

I promised myself yesterday that I wouldn't bake anything between Christmas and New Years, with the exception of my New Year's Eve dessert.  See, I had a TON of leftovers all over the apartment, and even after tossing some, I had a lot remaining.  Plus, in 16 days I'll be off to Miami for a long weekend, and I have to be in a <<gasp!!>> bathing suit.  So clearly, the fewer desserts and treats I had around the apartment, the better it would be.

Then last night I saw a recipe for Sriracha Chex Mix.  I figured that it would be a great snack or appetizer for New Year's Eve.  I also mused it would be a great edible gift for people who like spicy, but that's kinda a moot point since the holidays are over and I don't really have any edible gifts I need to give (except maybe at a "friendsmas" get together this weekend).  But you know me -- and how I hate to bring foods places when I haven't tested them out before -- and I needed to demo the recipe first.  A quick trip to Target (and then grocery store for fresh ginger and garlic) later, and I was ready to check out the recipe.

And yes, I know that Chex Mix is technically not baking, but since I used the oven to make it, I decided to include it on the blog.  Because, frankly, if I have a great recipe, why not share it with you?  And, it gets baked in the oven ;-)

Sriracha Chex Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups corn Chex*
3 cups rice Chex*
1 cup pretzels
1 cup wasabi peas (I got hot, since that's what they had)
1 cup peanuts
1 cup crunchy chow mein noodles
1/4 butter (I used salted)
1/4 cup Sriracha
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic

* I thought about using wheat chex, too, but decided I'd try the recipe out as is the first time.  I think 6 cups of Chex in any permutation of wheat, corn, and rice Chex would work.

Directions:

Mix all the solid ingredients together.
                      

Mix all the liquid ingredients together. 

Grate the ginger and garlic in. 

Microwave to melt butter and warm the mixture.

Pour the sauce over the cereal mixture and toss to evenly coat.                           

Bake at 250 for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so until crunchy and flavorful.                        

Smitten Kitchen cookbook

I've talked about Smitten Kitchen before.  It's one of my all time most favorite food blogs ever.  I've made a ton of her recipes, and have even put some of them up on the blog.  There was the grapefruit yogurt cake, some divine sweet and spicy candied nuts, hazelnut thumbprint cookies, braided stuffed lemon bread, and the most perfect yellow cake (which is significantly high praise from this chocolate lover), just to name a few.

Just over a year ago, the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook came out (October 30th was it's first birthday!).  I knew about it before it came out, and then while it was out, but hadn't bought it...until about 2 months ago.  Honestly, I don't know why I waited so long, but I did. 

I just have to say that although this cook book has both savory and sweet recipes, I am looking at it strictly from the baking perspective (for this review....doesn't mean I won't reevaluate it later on for it's savory components).

There are buttered popcorn cookies, salted brown butter crispy treats (which I'm sure my friend N has made....and she RAVES about them and how decadent they are), gooey cinnamon squares, brownie roll out cookies (which I've made before and they're FANTASTIC), lemon bars, a s'more layer cake, and a deepest dish apple pie that I literally just drooled over!  She also has a grapefruit olive oil pound cake which is similar to the grapefruit yogurt cake I made from her blog.  And apple cider caramels, which I had been eyeing since she posted them on the blog over 13 months ago.  And oh-my-word, I just saw a recipe for coffee toffee.  Now I'm drooling all over again!

Looks like I have to get back in the kitchen soon!!

Apple pie with latke crust, take 2

When I made the first Apple Pie with Latke Crust, I was very pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.  I ate a slice right out of the oven (which was delicious), and then another the following night.  I brought a piece home for my parents to try, since I was so proud of my creation.  My dad ate a piece (cold, straight out of the fridge) and lamented to me that he liked the filling and the crust, but simply didn't like them together.  I called my mom and pleaded, "Warm the pie up, please, and you and dad try it."

So it took a while (and several calls to my mom to gently remind her to try the pie, since Thanksgiving/Thanksgivukkah was rapidly approaching, and if they both didn't like it, I wasn't going to serve it at a family function), but my mom finally called me back - she loved it, but she felt the filling was a little too sweet.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, since I ended up using fewer apples last time, but used the regular amount of brown sugar.

So when I made it again for Thanksgivukkah, I ended up making a few adjustments:
1.  I ended up using 3 apples - 2 large Rome apples and 1 large Braeburn apple.
2.  I used 1/2 instead of 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar; I kept everything else the same.
3.  I cut down the butter even more, and ended up using a little less than 1 Tbsp.
4.  I baked the whole thing uncovered, instead of covering it for the first part and then removing the foil at the end.
5.  I decided to decorate the top of the pie with the apple slices, to make it look prettier -- like a flower.

Check out my original recipe here.

Chocolate, olive oil, and sea salt cupcakes

Chocolate.  Sea salt.  Olive Oil.  Together, in one (mini) cupcake!

I saw this recipe and immediately thought that I had to make it.  Sea salt and chocolate?  Sign me up!  Plus, years ago I had an amazing olive oil gelato, so I figured olive oil in dessert couldn't be that bad.  My only qualm about the cupcakes was the orange zest in the cupcakes (I'm not a huge fan of zest, especially orange zest).  Sadly, I thought that the cupcakes were a little too orangy, and then next time I make them, I'll probably skip the zest altogether.

 

 

Chocolate, Olive Oil, & Sea Salt Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar
1 packed tsp finely grated orange zest (I would leave this out next time)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the chocolate ganache:

7oz good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped

2/3 cup heavy whipping

Optional: 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted (I left this part out - I might add the sugar and whip it next time)

Sea salt, to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to about 325°F.
Place 8-10 paper liners in a cupcake tray (I used 27 mini cupcake liners).
Whisk eggs, yolk, granulated sugar and orange zest in a medium bowl until foamy.
Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until combined.
Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl.
Fold into egg mixture in 3 additions.
Fill cupcake papers, about 2/3 full, and bake until light gold and testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 15 minutes.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare the ganache; place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.
Gently heat cream in a small saucepan until it just comes to the boil.
Pour over the top of chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt.
Use a whisk to stir the mixture together until smooth.
Chill until it reaches room temperature and thickens.
At this point you can spread the ganache over the top of your cupcakes (what I did last time), or if you prefer you can add the confectioner's sugar and beat the mixture using an electric mixer to make it fluffy (beating the mixture increases the risk that it will split, so be careful not to overmix - I may try this next time).
Spoon or pipe over the top of cupcakes and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top.
Serve immediately, or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Cinnamon buns and bacon-cinnamon buns

This past weekend, brunch with a friend consisted of a bacon-maple croissant and an as-big-as-my-face sticky bun.  A few weeks before that, a brunch appetizer at my friend's birthday brunch consisted of sticky buns - which the waitress informed us (after we had devoured them) contained some bacon (my friend the vegetarian was OK with that...just an affirmation of how good they were).  Now I am not a firm believer of "bacon makes everything better," but I would happily subscribe to the "bacon makes almost everything better" school of thought. 

I had been thinking of making something in the sweet-savory (bacon) realm since that first sticky bun weeks ago, but life has just been generally busy and I didn't have much time for baking.  Enter Hurricane Sandy.  The subways and buses in NYC and commuter trains outside of the city shut down on Sunday evening, evauations were ordered for certain areas of the city, and 2 tunnels closed in the middle of the day on Monday.  The school work is now done and submitted, and although my office is open today, I didn't go in. 

Pictures from top left: Rolled out bacon dough. Bacon-cinnamon-brown sugar mixture.  Log for slicing.  Sliced cinnamon rolls before second rising.  Sliced rolls after second rising.  Close-up of rolls after second rising.  Fresh out of the oven.

So when I went to the grocery store at 7 a.m. on Monday morning for some last minute supplies, I picked up some bacon.  It seemed only natural.  Because when the weather is inclement and there is the threat of power loss, buying pork products is always a smart idea.  Clearly.

Bacon-ified Cinnamon Rolls
Original recipe from epicurious.  Bacon-ifying by JulieBakes.
The recipe says it makes 18, but I got 14.  It's possible that I sliced them too big.  But in the past, when I've made the original recipe, I've gotten up to 21 out of the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the dough: 

1 cup whole milk (I had skim milk, so that's what I used)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)

1 teaspoon salt (I used less, just a pinch, since I was adding bacon to the dough)

 

Bacon, cooked and cooled, chopped, with fat removed, total was about a heaping handful.  Or turkey bacon, or bacon bits that have been soaked in water to soften them a bit.

Pinch of flour

 

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

For the filling:

3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature - or cooled bacon grease, if you're totally into the bacon-ness....or a mixture of both
More chopped bacon

For the glaze (which I left off, since I don't love glaze on my cinnamon rolls, but I assume the sweetness would go well with the bacon)

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Cook bacon however you prefer.  Remove from heat and place on platter lined with paper towels.  Allow to cool.  Or soak bits for a bit, and then strain them well.

Make the dough:

Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup.

Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, start at 30 to 45 second intervals.  Mine took much longer. 

Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.

Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt.

Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.

 

Toss cooled, chopped bacon with a pinch of flour to coat.

 

Add 21/2 cups flour.

Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl.

Add chopped bacon.

If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface.

Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky.

Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray.

Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel.

Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Make the folling:

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Add chopped bacon. 

Punch down dough.

Transfer to floured work surface.

Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle.

Spread butter or bacon grease, or mixture of them over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border.

Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar-bacon mixture evenly over butter (or bacon grease).

Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up.

With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray.  I used two 9" square metal baking dishes, but thats simply because that's what I have at home.

Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls).

Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel.

Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F.

Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes.

Turn rolls right side up.

Make the glaze:

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl.

Using electric mixer, beat until smooth.

Spread glaze on rolls.

 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garlic parmesan pull-apart bread

Think of this bread as savory Monkey Bread.  Granted, I've never made monkey bread before, but I imagine that this is it's savory brother.  It's a homemade yeast dough rolled into balls, coated in a garlic-parsley butter, and layered into a bundt pan, with layers of grated parmesan (or, in my case, romano) cheese.

This bread would be great as an appetizer served with marinara sauce or as a side dish for an Italian dinner in place of traditional garlic bread.  I've only tasted it fresh out of the oven, but I imagine that that is the best way to serve it.

I made this recipe for my sisters.  One, more than the other, but simply because she LOVES garlic in an almost-unhealthy way.  But both of my sisters are not big fans of sweets.  Abnormal, right?  So when I saw this recipe a while ago, I knew I had to make it for them.  Savory baked goods are right up their alley.  See if you can find where I snuck a piece to taste.

A few thoughts/notes:
1. DOUBLE the butter-garlic-parsley mixture. Or, at the very least, 1.5X it. Do it at the beginning, too. I found having to mince garlic twice to be annoying.
2. You may think that you don't have enough dough when you're layering it. Do not worry. When you let it rise a second time, and then bake it, it more than rises and fills the pan!

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups barely warm water (I used hot tap water that had been running for a few minutes)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or bread flour, according to the recipe, but I used all purpose)

Coating (I recommend 1.5 or doubling this recipe):
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used unsalted, since there is a good amount of salt in the dough and the cheese is quite salty, too....oh, and I only have unsalted butter in my fridge for baking)
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used Romano cheese, since that is what I had - and prefer.  Romano cheese is a bit more salty than Parmesan)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the yeast and water, and let it sit for 5 minutes until it is foamy.
Mix in flour, olive oil, and salt.
Using the dough hook on the mixer, knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until elastic.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
Allow the dough to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic.  Set aside.

Punch down the dough. 
Tear off small pieces of dough (about the zise of the bowl of a medium spoon) and coat in the butter mixture.  Place the coated balls of dough in the bottom of a (nongreased) bundt pan.
Repeat until you have one layer of dough balls.
Cover with 1/3 of the cheese, sprinkled over the layer.
Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until there are 3 layers.
Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until the dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.
Serve hot with a side of marinara sauce.

Pretzel, potato chip, chocolate chip, and toffee blondies

My friend K's birthday was a few weeks ago.  She had a party and a friend of hers brought these blondie-brownie creations.  They had chocolate chips and pretzels, and I was informed that they also had potato chips (I didn't quite taste them), but what I did taste the AMAZINGNESS that they were.  I asked K to get me the recipe, and she told me she asked her friend.  But it's been over two weeks, and the recipe hasn't come.  There was only thing I could do: try and figure out a recipe myself. 

First, I searched for a blondie recipe.  No surprise that I found one on smitten kitchen.  And no surprise that her recipe is "infinitely adaptable" - perfect for the baker who wants to add her own add-ins!  Then, I did some searching to see if there was an already-published potato-chip-and-pretzel blondie recipe, and came across one (which, not surprisingly, used the same smitten kitchen blondie base).  That recipe called for white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, but I'm not a huge fan of either of those, so I went with the original chocolate chips that were in the blondies I had originally.  Just for fun, I added some toffee chips (which I had in my kitchen cabinet).

And, very unlike me, I doubled the recipe (instead of my usual halfing it).  I have a few events I'd like to bring them to over the next few days.  I slightly underbaked them, since no one I know likes overbaked blondies or brownies.

Blondies:

Use the smitten kitchen base linked above. 

When adding the mix-ins, add:
1/2 cup crushed potato chips (I used ridged ones)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed pretzels (I wanted to use mini pretzels, but the store was out)
1/4 cup toffee bits (optional)

Matzah gnocchi

Two thumbs WAY up to Bon Appetit!  In the April 2012 issue, they have a section on an Italian Passover Seder.  Instead of matzah balls, they have matzah gnocchi.  Now, I'll be honest...matzah balls are one of my all time favorite Passover foods, and I've even been known to order them at the diner when it isn't Passover.  So while part of me was intrigued - and excited - about trying these gnocchi, part of me was thinking to myself "why fix something that isn't broken?"  However, I think they're different enough from matzah balls so that they aren't trying to fix matzah balls as much as they're a great addition to the soup (my mom served both matzah balls and this gnocchi at the second seder).

Matzah Gnocchi (from Bon Appetit)

1 large (11-12 oz) russet potato
1/4 cup matzah meal
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh chives
1 Tbsp finely minced flat leaf parsley
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (I used the pre-ground stuff and it was fine)
Kosher salt
3 large egg yolks, beaten to blend
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
Chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F
Bake potato until tender, about 1 hour.  Let cools lightly. 
Peel potato and pass through a ricer or food mill (or press through the holes in a colander) into a medium bowl.
Add matzah meal, herbs, and nutmeg; season to taste with salt (and pepper, I think they left that out)
Add yolks, stir to form a dough.

Divide dough into 4 pieces.
Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping the others covered with a kitchen towel, roll dough into a 12" roll.  Cut into 1" pieces.  Transfer gnocchi to a parchement-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Cover with a towel.

Bring broth to a simmer (I used salted water, because I wanted to serve them with cheese, and couldn't if they were cooked in chicken broth).  Season with salt and pepper.  Add gnocchi, simmer until tender, 4-5 minutes.  Divide among bowls.  Drizzle with olive oil. 

ENJOY!

Super bowl

This year's super bowl is exciting not only because the home team is playing, but also because I actually have the day off! In the past six years, I have worked every super bowl Sunday. I chose to celebrate having the day off by hosting a little get together at my apartment for the game.

In traditional Julie fashion, I planned a hugely elaborate menu, sticking mainly to hors d'ourves/snack-y foods and desserts.

I started a few days early by making the sweet and spicy candied nuts, the jalapeño-cheddar scones (which I didn't get to serve), and the roasted and shredded beef. Then, I made some of the chocolate lollipops. My original intent was to make football lollipops as well as helmet lollipops in the colors of the teams playing, but finding/making navy chocolate proved to be harder than I thought it would.

Then I pared down my menu. Pretty substantially. It was way too much food for the dozen or so people who were expected.

The day before I started with the remaining foods on my now-paired-down list. Greek lamb meatballs, buffalo chicken mini meatballs (the original recipe called for mini, it wasn't my doing!), my grandmother's hot dog appetizer (which I also didn't get to serve), spinach dip (which I also didn't get to serve), and macaroni and cheese. I took a short cut with the salsa, hummus, jalapeño poppers (from the freezer aisle), and buffalo wings (from a local bar) and bought them.

Dessert was chocolate lollipops, nutella cupcakes in football wrappers, and cookie-and-brownie "burgers" (idea taken from this blog, but I made everything from scratch). Why nutella cupcakes, you may wonder? Because tomorrow is Nutella Day and I promised a friend I'd make Nutella cupcakes for Nutella day!

Congrats to the Giants on an awesome win!

Some of the spreads

Macaroni and cheese

The first time I set out to make homemade macaroni and cheese years ago, I decided I'd go with a fancy version.  It was called "Cheesemonger's Mac and Cheese" and used, among other cheeses, brie.  I remember tediously taking off the rind of the brie and then cutting it into cubes which was, given brie's natural softness, difficult at best.  Then, I hand-grated the other cheeses.  It was hard work and I anxiously awaited the final version, only to be let down by the finished product.  I remember it being bland and not at all cheesey (in the "full of cheese" not the "corny sense of humor" way). 

I set out on a mission to find a new, cheesy-tasting macaroni and cheese, and actually found it in the same place, on epicurious.  The second one I made was exactly what I was looking for in a mac n' cheese, and it's been my go-to mac and cheese recipe since then.  Just a warning: this recipe makes A LOT of cheese sauce.  So much so that I recommend you either half the sauce or double the amount of pasta.  I add a little jack cheese just for a little extra richness.

This is mac n' cheese made with half of the sauce and topping recipe, and 1 pound of pasta! 

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

For topping:
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups panko or 3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/4 pound (1.5 cups) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (I add some jack cheese)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

For cheese sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
6 Tbsp flour
5 cups whole milk
1 pound (6 cups) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar (again, I add some jack cheese, too)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the topping.  Melt butter and then stir with the panko crumbs and the cheese for the toppings until well combined.

3. Make the cheese sauce.  Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes.  Then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer while whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.

4. Make the pasta.  Cooke pasta in a pot of salted water (2 Tbsp salt in 4 quarts of water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to 2 buttered 2-quart shallow baking dishes.

5. Put together the mac and cheese.  Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Jalapeño-cheddar scones

Most people will be surprised to see this recipe on this blog.  I think it's because most people forget that baking can be savory, too.  I've made this recipe a few times before, and it's always a big hit.  They have great jalapeño flavor without being too spicy (I think to increase the heat you can add extra jalapeños or sautee them briefly (or not at all) to increase the heat factor, though I haven't tried either of those yet).  I choose to cut mine into little circle scones instead of the typical wedge-shaped scone.  I also make them mini (by now, you shouldn't be shocked).  Why mini scones, you might ask?  The answer is simple - I like to serve them as an appetizer, straight out of the oven (while most sweet scones can be served room temperature, these are really the best straight out of the oven, as the cheese is still soft and melty).  And I think they'll be perfect for my superbowl party this weekend (while I am not a football fan, I am rooting for the home team, so here is my shameless bias: GO GIANTS!).

Since I have an extensive menu planned (again, not a huge shocker here), I figured I'd try and start a few days early.  I made the scones tonight and the put them in the freezer.  They can be baked straight from the freezer, too - all you need to do is add an extra minute or two.  Just be sure to put the egg wash on after you take them out of the freezer (translation: don't freeze them with the egg wash on them).  I made a double batch so that I could give some to my parents to take to the super bowl party that they're going to.

But of course I had to test them out tonight, you know, just to make sure they're OK ;-)

  

After I cut out all the circles, I refolded the dough and cut out more.
Not wanting to be wasteful, I used the scraps from the second round
and just made a few wedges to bake up tonight.

And my little taste tester (minus the egg wash, since I wasn't making an entire egg wash tonight just to glaze this little guy and his few "tester" buddies):



Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones (from SmittenKitchen.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, diced - I always use white cheddar, although i'm not completely sure why.  I've also thought about trying monterey jack or pepper jack cheese, but I always stop myself, because why fix something that doesn't need fixing?
2 small jalapeño peppers, minced

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft. Let them cool, then mix them with the cheddar cheese in a small bowl and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour.

Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together. Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is well-mixed.

Put the dough on a well-floured surface and gently knead it till it comes together well (less than one minute). Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.