Like many New York residents, I’m completely obsessed with brunch. There are so many amazing options in this city that I don’t usually make my own. Everything is closed on New Years Day, however, and I wanted something eggy – and a little hair of the dog – so I pulled out my roommate’s crepe maker (the big flat non-stick plug-in kind) and whipped up some batter and a Bloody Mary. Crepes are an amazing brunch option: you can easily make them ahead, and slip them between layers of wax paper for reheating later. Recipes for crepes pop up all over my cook book collection, but I chose to go with a trusted source: the Joy of Cooking. I had a few people over and we took a DIY approach to fillings, cobbling together various combinations of jam, cheese, and chutney. The crepes were tasty and the company was lovely: a great start to 2011!
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My grandmother used to make stuffed mushrooms all the time for parties. I loved them (still do) and learned how to make them by watching her cook – the measurements for the recipe below are ones I figured out working backwards while cooking by my usual “eyeballing” method. Because I associated stuffed mushrooms so strongly with my grandma, I assumed they were a family thing. When I started looking through old cook books, though, I discovered stuffed mushroom recipes all over the place. The 50s and 60s were all about cute little canapes and hors d’oeuvres, and stuffed mushrooms were apparently a classic and a favorite. I still love my grandma’s recipe, though – it’s just a simple breadcrumb stuffing, but it’s tasty and has a great texture. The cheese is my addition: it gives a great umami punch. These mushrooms work as either an appetizer or a vegetable side dish. So…both family-vintage and vintage-vintage…here they are:
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Just made these again – a seriously adult version with Valrhona cocoa, toasted almonds, and Bulleit bourbon. Welcome to 2011!
Happy New Year! Well…almost. Before I head out to ring in 2011, I’m putting up the first of several treats I whipped up today. I wound up in charge of dessert for the party I’m going to, so I decided to do one “fruity” thing and one chocolatey one. For the first, I put together a banana cake with caramel icing. The recipe book in which I found this (my trust Southern Cook Book) suggests using a loaf or layer pan, but I love bundt cakes and I figured this dense banana-filled batter would cook well in a bundt pan. I topped it off with a few caramelized bananas and some burnt sugar shards (I got the latter idea from Baked Explorations). Yum! See you next year, with more treats!
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I’ve blogged previously about recipes from my Jewish grandma. I have, however, been remiss in addressing my other culinary heritage. For Christmas, I’m home with my Mom, and I think it’s time to come clean: I’m a pizza bagel. Half Jewish. Half Italian. Actually, half Jewish and one quarter Italian/one quarter Welsh. So, enough with the bagels: it’s time for pizza. This Christmas, in between family time, I’m working a few traditional recipes into our meals, and posting them up here.
In Italian families, it’s traditional on Christmas Eve to eat fish. When big clans get together they’ll often have a “Feast of Seven Fishes.” I did this once with my grandparents and their friends: the feast lasted about 7 hours, with intense numbers of courses and a ridiculous amount of food. Because last night it was just me and my mom, we just made a really nice fish stew. I took the stew out of my mom’s copy of Marcella Hazan’s Classic Italian Cook Book. Marcella, if you haven’t heard of her, is to Italian cooking as Julia Child is to French: she wrote one of the first great English-language cook books for her cuisine – published in 1973.
We chose to do her brodetto di papi – “Dad’s soup.” It’s a simple, flavorful homestyle fish stew. Marcella’s recipe calls for whole fish and for pureeing of fish heads: I am technically on vacation and was simply not up for this. So, to add flavor I substituted Madeira wine for white, and tossed in a tablespoon of baharat. Cross-cuisine blog fusion! It turned out tasty and festive, if I may say so myself. I’m putting both versions of the recipe below (omitting fish heads), so you can try it old-school or modified.
While I was cleaning fish yesterday, my mom was pulling together a panettone – an Italian Christmas bread. This bread has been a feature of my Christmas morning for as long as I can remember, and is largely responsible for making me a little obsessed with candied fruits (I love little surprise chunks of citron, citrus peel, etc.). My mom uses a recipe from the old Vegetarian Epicure: it’s not a family recipe, but I’ve been eating it for so long that it is tradition. It’s not my handiwork, but I’m putting up pictures and recipe anyway – guest food is welcome!
Finally, today I’ve been heading north, so-to-speak, and paying tribute to my Anglo-Celtic heritage by trying my hand at figgy pudding. Yes, the thing from “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” I got this recipe from my mom’s copy of Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cook Book: her copy is actually a 1970 edition picked up around that time in Taiwan. The best bit: it’s pirated. Yes, people apparently used to pirate books as well as DVDs. I actually have pirated Taiwanese bound editions of Golden Age Batman and Superman comics my Dad picked up on that same trip. (These volumes are totally the “root” of my comic book geekdom. Thanks, Dad!) About Craig Claiborne, though, if recipe copyrights are dubious/thin, is there really a big problem with a pirated cookbook? Something for my lawyer readers to chew on along with Christmas dinner…
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Well, looks like it’s another baking post. I’ve been meaning to work on some non-dessert courses soon, but when I’m stressed (as I am during finals), baking is just all I want to do. This particular recipe is another non-vintage one: it’s actually a modified Baked recipe, tweaked to accommodate the massive amounts of baharat I have hanging around.
My love for the Rosemary Apricot Squares from Baked is well documented, and I’ve been meaning to make them for a while. I’ve also been thinking about ways to change up the recipe flavors and use spices other than rosemary (if you want the classic rosemary version check out this great post). I remembered this afternoon that dried fruit (including apricots) is often featured in Middle Eastern cooking, so to celebrate finishing finals I decided to see how Baharat Apricot Bars worked out…Here they are!
And a close-up…
Apricot Spice Bars (Makes 9 large or 12 medium)**
For the shortbread base:
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baharat or garam masala (or rosemary, in the original recipe)
12 tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla (I used triple sec)
For the apricot filling:
2 c. dried apricots
1/2 c. sugar
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. brandy (used triple sec here too)
Pinch salt
For crumb topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/3 c. sliced almonds (original recipe calls for chopped pecans)
3 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1. Combine apricot ingredients in a pot with water (1 1/2 c. if your apricots are very dry, 3/4-1 c. if they’re the moister vacuum-packed kind) and simmer for 40-50 minutes, until liquid is evaporated or very syrupy.
(NOTE: Watch your apricots carefully in the last stages of cooking. I wandered off in my post-final-exam daze and started watching a very mesmerizing episode of What Not To Wear, and my apricots got a little too syrupy: they started to get some serious caramelization going. This tasted fine with the baharat, which is intensely flavorful, but would totally kill this recipe if you used rosemary.)
2. While the apricots are cooking, spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray and line it with parchment paper.
3. Whisk flour, salt, and your spice of choice together in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, blend butter, vanilla, and confectioner’s sugar until fluffy. Put the mixer on its lowest speed and add the flour mix in a gradual trickle.
4. Pat the resulting dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees in the meantime. Bake the crust 25 to 30 minutes, until golden, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool on a rack and leave the oven on.
5. The apricot syrup should be done by down; puree it until smooth and let cool.
6. Combine all the topping ingredients except the butter in the bowl of a mixer and blend for about 15 seconds with the paddle attachment. Now add the butter and blend for about 1 minute, until the mixture is crumbly.
7. Spread the apricot filling over the shortbread, then sprinkle the crumb topping over it. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crumb gets a little brown (and the nuts are nice and toasty!). Let cool for 30 minutes, then lift out using the edges of the parchment and cut into squares. Enjoy!
**I’ve included the original recipe’s indications as well, so you can make Rosemary Apricot OR Spicy Apricot Squares!
This recipe is from the internet, not from a vintage cookbook…but making your own spice blends is a seriously old-fashioned pastime (and one that I intend to try more, now that I have a nice new coffee/spice grinder). Making your own spice blends is fun, thrifty, and a great way to make your house smell awesome. Spices also make great holiday gifts: I know I already associate cinnamon and nutmeg with this season, so why not send some around! You can easily toss a few tablespoons in small Ziploc baggies and mail them with cards without increasing your shipping costs too much. The spice mix du jour: Barahat, a Middle Eastern seasoning. I like it even more than the better-known za’atar.
I am also working on my food styling/photographing skills, so please give comments and tips!
Bahārāt (Makes about 3/4 cup)
2 tbsp. black peppercorns
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
2 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. allspice berries
1 tsp. cardamom seeds
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
4 (3-inch) cassia or cinnamon sticks
2 tbsp. ground sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Grind it all up using a mortar and pestle, spice mill, or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Some ideas for using bahārāt:
- Toss it in ground lamb for stuffed eggplant
- Add it to box couscous for extra flavor
- Use it as a meat rub – for beef, chicken, even tofu
- Roll zucchini spears in it and broil for 10-12 minutes
- Cook lentils with it
- Roast squash and use it place of cinnamon
