May 2009 - Posts
Cheese blintzes usually come in cute, little packages, folded neatly like an envelope, housing a creamy ricotta or farmer's cheese filling. My cheese blintz is not like that. It's big and fat, 9" x 13" in fact, baked up as one large entity in a pan with a thin crepe-batter bottom, delicate ricotta centre and tender, pancakey top. It is golden and luscious and fast as a dart to make. No standing over the stove swirling crepes into circles, one by one. Easily cut into individual portions and slathered with rhubarb and strawberries, this recipe comes from Ina Garten's newest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics.
Baked Blintzes
Batter: 1+1/4 cup milk; 2 tbsp. sour cream; 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 4 large eggs; 1+1/3 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp. sugar; 1 tbsp. baking powder.
Filling: 3 cups (24 ounces) ricotta cheese; 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (I left this out); 2 extra-large eggs; 1/3 cup sugar; 1 tbsp. grated lemon zest; 2 tbsp. lemon juice; 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1 tsp. kosher salt.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9" x 13" pan. For the batter, place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour half the batter, about 1+3/4 cups, into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes until set. Meanwhile, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone if using, eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling evenly over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining batter over the cheese to cover.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from oven and allow to stand about 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes into squares and serve warm.
Then there is the topping. Blueberries are beautiful here, but I have plenty of rhubarb right now waiting for some action. So, my action plan involves chunks of fresh rhubarb stewed along with the ripe strawberries in my fridge.
Rhubarb and Strawberry Topping:
3/4 cup orange juice; 2/3 cup sugar; 1 tbsp. cornstarch; 2 cups diced rhubarb, about 1/2" thick; 1 cup sliced strawberries; 1 tsp. grated lemon or orange zest. Combine orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rhubarb and strawberries and simmer until fruit has broken down and softened, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly and serve over blintzes.
Of course you may also want to make blintzes in their more usual format as rolled up little crepe bundles. This approach provides you with some nice possibilities: fill them with stewed apples, with sauteed mushrooms, with spinach and ricotta cheese. Our family favourite is the apple rendition. Peel, core and chop about 4 or 5 apples and saute them in a bit of butter and brown sugar with about 1/2 tsp. of ground cinammon. Cook until apples are soft and have broken down somewhat into a thick mass. Adjust sugar to taste. I then make a batch of blintzes and we each roll up our own, plopping a generous tablespoon on the top part of a 6-inch crepe. Fold in the sides about 3/4 of an inch so that the filling stays put and roll into a tidy cylander. Your dainty, edible package should measure about 4" long by 1+1/2" wide, chubbier than a long, thin savoury crepe.
Try your hand at blintz-making, with this recipe adapted from Jewish Holiday Cooking by Jayne Cohen:
1 cup milk; 3 large eggs; 3/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 tsp. salt; 2 tbsp. canola oil; 1 tbsp. sugar for sweet blintzes.
In a blender mix milk, eggs, flour, salt and oil until smooth. Transfer batter to a bowl, cover and let rest in the fridge at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. Stir the batter once or twice before making blintzes. If the batter seems to have thickened, you can add a spoonful or two of milk to thin it. It should be the consistency of heavy cream (35%).
Heat a lightly oiled 7" skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1/8 cup (or 2 tbsp.) batter into the centre of the pan and immediately lift and tilt the pan from side to side to swirl the batter into an even, thin circle about 6" wide. Cook until the bottom is pale golden, not brown, and carefully flip the blintz over to just barely sear the uncooked side, leaving it for only a half a minute or so, just until pale golden dots appear. Remove cooked blintz from pan and place on a plate, stacking up the blintzes as you continue. Keep the cooked blintzes covered with a cotton kitchen towel so that they do not dry out. You will need to brush a little bit of oil into the pan between blintzes. This recipe yields about 16 blintzes, a perfect amount for a family of 4 who eat 4 each. You can fill the blintzes immediately or let them cool, covered with a cloth, and then covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
I must tell you, for authenticity's sake, that some people fry their filled blintzes before eating them. While there is no denying that this is a delicious option, I prefer not to and enjoy them as their naked selves, even eating them cold out of the fridge. If you choose to eat them hot and fry them, place them seam side down in a hot, oiled or buttered pan and turn them only once, giving them about 2 minutes per side, until they are a medium golden brown. Blintzes are wonderful any way you eat them, hot or cold, fat or thin.
More well-loved Jewish foods are described in these books:
The essential book of Jewish festival cooking : 200 seasonal holiday recipes and their traditions by Glazer, Phyllis.
Arthur Schwartz's Jewish home cooking : Yiddish recipes revisited by Schwartz, Arthur (Arthur R.)
Joan Nathan's Jewish holiday cookbook : revised and updated on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Jewish holiday kitchen by Nathan, Joan.
Tomato Salsa
Tortilla chips and salsa have become so cliche in the world of commercial foods, occupying massive amounts of space on supermarket shelves and adorning countless insipid pot luck tables, that they barely deserve mention. But a bowl of fresh, homemade tomato salsa is something else entirely, perky and pungent, bright and tingling with lime juice and chiles. Salsa cruda, a chunky combination of fresh tomatoes, chiles, garlic, onions, lime and cilantro embodies the flagrant flavours of Mexican cuisine in a single dish. It is as common in Mexico as ketchup is in the United States, a cool condiment that balances beautifully on the end of a crisp torilla chip.
The success of a salsa is measured by the freshness and meatiness of the tomatoes and the harmony in the proportions of the contrasting flavours. This recipe comes from The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue.
Fresh Tomato Salsa
1+1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into 3/8-inch dice (about 3 cups); 1 jalapeno chile (or more to taste), minced, seeds and ribs removed and set aside; 1/2 cup minced red onion; 1-2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves; 1/2 tsp. salt or to taste; pinch ground black pepper; juice from 1 - 2 limes, to taste; 1 tsp. sugar.
Set a large colander in a large bowl. Place diced tomatoes in colander and let drain 30 minutes. As the tomatoes drain, layer the jalapeno, onion, garlic and cilantro on top. Shake the colander after 30 minutes to drain off excess tomato juice. Discard the juice and wipe out the bowl. Transfer the contents of the colander to the now empty bowl. Add salt, pepper, sugar and lime juice and toss to combine. Add jalapeno ribs and seeds. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
Guacamole
Well, if you can put together a jaunty salsa, you need a great guacamole to accompany it. My travels through the colonial towns of Mexico, eating guacamole at every opportunity, plus my own forays into guacamole-making have led me to these conclusions: keep it chunky, use lots of fresh lime juice to offset and temper the rich oils of the avocado, add texture with minced onion and diced tomatoes, give it some heat with jalapeno peppers and be liberal with the garlic. As with the tomato salsa, play with the proportions to suit your own tastes. This is another flawless recipe from The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue.
Chunky Guacamole
3 ripe avocados; 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves; 2 tbsp. minced red onion; 1 small jalapeno chile (or more to taste), seeds and ribs removed, then minced; 1-2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed; 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (optional); 1/4 tsp. salt or to taste; juice from 2 limes.
Place the lime juice, garlic, cumin and salt in a medium sized bowl. Scoop out the flesh from the avocados and place in the bowl. Using a fork or a potato masher, mash the flesh until chunky and not completely smooth. Add cilantro, onion, jalapenos and mix to blend. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Guacamole is best eaten within an hour or two of being made, an argument that favours making your own, as how fresh can store-bought guacamole be? If you have leftovers (unlikely!), squeeze some extra lime juice over it, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Stir and serve the next day. Avocados do darken when exposed to air, so do not worry if there are some shadowy spots on the guacamole.
Serve salsa and guacamole with tortillas or tortilla chips and grilled meats or fish. Bursting with fresh flavour and texture, they will add loads of spunk and sizzle to your menus.
Salsas and tacos by Curtis, Susan, 1947-
Nueva salsa : recipes to spice it up by Palomino, Rafael, 1963-
Orange Hazelnut Biscotti
You may have noticed that I have a sweet tooth. And that I adore cookies, their small cuteness, the portability factor, the artfullness of their shapes. Life is short and we should make sure it is also sweet. You may think yourself too grown-up to indulge in cookies, but my Biscotti are very adult cookies that you can enjoy virtually guilt-free, as they contain no added fat. Unlike many commercial Biscotti that are loaded with oily, tasteless margarine, these orange-scented twice-baked coffee-dunkers contain the simplest of ingredients, resulting in an old-world classic that has been loved for generations.
Orange Hazelnut Biscotti
2+1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1+1/2 tsp. baking powder; 1+1/2 cups coarsely chopped hazelnuts (skins on is OK); 3 large eggs; finely grated zest of 2 oranges; 3 tbsp. orange or lemon juice; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir in the hazelnuts. In another large bowl whisk eggs, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and combine to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half. Form dough into 2 equivalent logs, each about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Place logs about 4 inches apart onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten tops of each log slightly and square off the ends. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes or until well-risen and golden. The logs should feel firm but not hard. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Cut each log into 1/2-inch-thick slices, cutting diagonally into logs for long biscotti, or straight across for short ones. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake sliced cookies for 15-20 minutes until cookies are dry and golden on the cut sides. Makes about 4 dozen biscotti.
Making biscotti is guaranteed to catapult you into instant popularity. Why are people so impressed with homemade biscotti? Because most people don't make them and because the commercial biscotti are so terrible, with fake vanilla, a greasy crumb, artificial chocolate. I find baking biscotti to be simpler and quicker than baking other types of cookies, there being only two steps requiring some simple manual skills: forming the dough into logs and then slicing the baked logs into biscotti.
On a recent girls' weekend for my bookclub I brought biscotti dough to bake up, along with recipes for everyone. The fallout from this is shown in the photo above, my friend Deb's stunning kitchen gloriously enhanced with Double Chocolate Biscotti cooling on cookie sheets, my recipe neatly tucked away in a holder. You should have this recipe too.
Double Chocolate Biscotti
3/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1/8 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon; 1 generous cup granulated sugar; 1 tbsp. instant espresso powder (optional); 1/3 cup cocoa powder; 1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips; 3 large eggs; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 2 tbsp. Amaretto liquour or cold coffee.
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Combine the almonds, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, espresso powder and cocoa powder. Mix in the chocolate pieces. In another bowl beat the eggs with the sugar. Add in the vanilla and Amaretto and combine to blend. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry and mix to form a stiff dough. Using your hands, roll dough into 2 logs, each about 2 inches wide and 9 inches long. Pat so they are dense and even, flattening the tops a bit. Bake about 25 minutes until firm and lightly coloured. Let cool for about 1/2 hour and then slice on the diagonal into 1/2 inch wide cookies. Bake the slices for another 20 minutes, turning them over once halfway through baking time.
Become a biscotti maker:
The ultimate chocolate cookie book : from chocolate melties to whoopie pies, chocolate biscotti to black and whites, with dozens of chocolate chip cookies and hundreds more by Weinstein, Bruce, 1960-
Field guide to cookies : how to identify and bake virtually every cookie imaginable by Chu, Anita.
Once again I am enthused about a formula for food as opposed to a rigid recipe. In an issue of Fine Cooking magazine from May 2006, there is an article explaining an easy method for cooking a rich and creamy risotto and improvising with the base recipe to include the ingredients you love. Because risotto is such an admirably adaptable dish, a canvas upon which you can add your own personal touches, all you need is the basic technique and some options.
Classic Risotto
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 cups aromatics (see list); 2 cups short-grain rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli; 1 cup dry white wine; 1 choice of foundation flavour (see list); 5-7 cups broth or water; 1 or 2 choices of vegetables, seafood or meat (see list); 2 tbsp. unsalted butter (optional); 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese; kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; finishing touches (see list).
Bring the broth or water almost to a boil in a large pot and reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. In a large saute pan or pot heat olive oil over medium heat and add aromatics with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt. Cook, stirring, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, lower the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until the water is evaporated and the aromatics are soft and glistening but not browned, 5-10 minutes more. Add 2 cups risotto rice to the pan and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring, to coat the rice with the oil, about 3 minutes. Toasted rice should be white and glistening and you should hear a clicking sound when you stir it. Pour in 1 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring, until it is almost completely absorbed, 2-3 minutes. Choose one or two foundations of flavour ingredients from the list below and stir them into the rice. For saffron and dried mushrooms, add the soaking liquid to the rice also. Ladle 1+1/2 - 2 cups hot liquid to barely cover the rice and stir constantly. Add 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and adjust heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Keep stirring the rice. When all the liquid has been absorbed ladle in another cup of liquid, again stirring until it is absorbed. Continue adding liquid in 1 cup increments, always stirring, until the rice is nearly but not fully al dente; this is usually 12-16 minutes after the first addition of liquid.
When the risotto is a few minutes away from al dente, add your vegetable, seafood or meat (see list). These will only need to be heated through. Continue stirring. Taste the rice to determine doneness. If the rice is done, remove it from the heat. If more cooking time is needed, you may need to add a little bit more liquid. Before serving, stir in the butter, cheese and the finishing ingredients (see list) and taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Serve the risotto immediately.
Here is where the fun happens. Make the risotto the way you like it by selecting options from these lists:
Aromatics: Any combination, totallying 2 cups, of onions, shallots or leeks.
Foundation Flavours: Choose one or two: Saffron (1/2 tsp. steeped in 1/2 cup hot water for 5 minutes); tomatoes (one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes); dried mushrooms (1 cup dried mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups hot water for 30 minutes, cut into 1/4-inch slices; strain soaking liquid).
Vegetables, Seafood or Meat: Choose one or two: 2 cups leeks, white part only, well rinsed, cut into thin slices and sauteed; 2 cups asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces, sauteed or parboiled until just slightly undercooked; 2 cups julienned zucchini, sauteed; 1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, roasted and cut into 1/4-inch cubes; 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined; 1 pound small scallops; two links sausage, removed from casings, crumbled and sauteed; 6 slices bacon, cut into small dice and sauteed; 1 cup braised or roasted chicken, beef or pork, in small dice (good use of leftovers).
Finishing Touches: Choose one or two: 3 tbsp. chopped parsley, basil or mint; 3 tbsp. thinly sliced green onions; 1 tsp. grated lemon or orange zest; 1-2 tsp. lemon juice or balsamic vinegar.
Perfectly cooked risotto will have absorbed the liquids and flavours of your ingredients. You can leave the risotto tight and thick or looser and soft, according to your preferences. Risotto does not benefit from sitting around. People should be gathered, waiting for your risotto, not your risotto waiting for your people. The rice can become as mushy as baby food if left to continue absorbing the liquid it resides in. If you would like to cut back on some of the richness of risotto, omit the final finish of butter. The dish will still be fabulous and flavourful without it. Keep your ingredients simple, adding one or two items from the lists. Too many flavours at once are not a great game plan. Remember, also, that seafood and cheese are not traditionally paired, so omit grated cheese for seafood risottos. Finish these with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Read about rice in these books:
Risotto
Cooking rice with an Italian accent! by Orsini, Joseph E.
The top one hundred Italian rice dishes : including over 50 risotto recipes by Seed, Diane.
Even though I do not usually eat breakfast, I do have some robust breakfast ideas. This is one of them. Toasted oats, oat bran, dessicated coconut, chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, pumpkin, sunflower, flax and sesame seeds are all swathed in a moist bath of honey and orange juice concentrate before being browned in the oven. Add to that five kinds of chewy dried fruit. This is wholesome, healthful, great granola, nothing like the oil-ridden, mega-sweet granola of commercial cereal brands. With only a wee shot of artery-friendly canola oil in a full 6-cup batch, you will enjoy hearty grains undisguised and virtually naked, just gently sweetened for your dining pleasure. I love serving this granola in a tall parfait glass, with layers of fruit and yogurt, a guilt-less treat that will feel indulgent and sinful but isn't.
Great Granola
6 cups old-fashioned rolled oats; 1+1/2 cups unsweetened dessicated coconut; 3/4 cup sesame seeds; 3/4 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds; 1+1/2 cups chopped walnuts; 3 tbsp. flax seeds; 1/2 cup cup oat bran or wheat germ; 2/3 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed; 2/3 cup runny honey or maple syrup; 2 tbsp. canola oil; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1+1/2 cup assorted dried fruit, chopped into dice if large.
Have two large cookie pans ready. Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine oats, coconut, sesame and sunflower seeds, nuts, flax seeds and oat bran in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl combine honey or maple syrup, oil, vanilla and orange juice concentrate. Whisk together until emulsified. Pour this mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine. Divide the granola into two parts and spread each part evenly onto the two baking pans. Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown. Check often towards the end of the baking period to ensure the granola is not burning. Remove granola from oven and add in the dried fruit. The steam from the hot granola softens the dried fruit somewhat, rendering it more tender. Let cool. Pack in air-tight containers or jars. Can be frozen. Makes approximately 7 cups.
Improvising with this granola leads to many possibilities: cut up some dried pear and candied ginger into little cubes and toss them in; substitute some almond slivers for the walnuts; replace some of the sunflower seeds with pumpkin seeds; add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the mix; dried papaya and dried pineapple with coconut make for a tropical-themed cereal; dried apples, craisins and cinnamon work well together when moistened with defrosted apple juice concentrate for big apple flavour.
If you prefer your granola in bar cookie format, here is an easy, virtuous granola bar chock full of goodness, from a recipe in Ina Garten's newest book Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics:
Homemade Granola Bars - Makes 12 - 16 bars
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal; 1 cup sliced almonds; 1 cup dessicated coconut; 1/2 cup wheat germ; 3 tbsp. unsalted butter; 2/3 cup honey; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1+1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp. kosher salt; 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates; 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots; 1/2 cup dried cranberries.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8" x 12" baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, almonds and coconut together on a baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.
Reduce oven temperature to 300 F. Place the butter, brown sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then add in the vanilla, mix to blend, and pour over oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots and cranberries and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and press the mixture evenly into the pan so that it is compactly nestled in. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.
Here are some book titles you may also enjoy:
The complete whole grains cookbook : 150 recipes for healthy living by Finlayson, Judith.
Whole grains : every day, every way by Sass, Lorna J.