Monthly Archives: January 2010

FOOD HEAVEN

  • The honey-cardamom chicken may single-handedly keep me from ever going completely vegetarian…
  • Feisty green beans put up a fight asking me why on earth would I ever need meat when vegetables can be made to taste like this…
  • Sweet potato american-style fries are in fact the simplest and most delicious way to eat a sweet potato…
  • The chocolate-chip cookies again proved why they are the gold standard…
  • Henna’s white chocolate cookies were a little piece of oatmeal heaven in my mouth…
  • And who doesn’t love chokladbollar for dessert……or breakfast :$ ?

This weekend was FOOD HEAVEN

….recipes to come this week!!!

Weekend Plans

Other than running, watching Season 3 of The Tudors, and just generally trying to stay warm, I plan on making….

  • Feisty Green Beans with Tofu
  • Honey Cardamon Chicken
  • Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
  • The World’s Most Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • and maybe even a batch of Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls

…stay tuned…….

Happy Baking!


Some things I’ve been coveting lately…

(click on the images to see where to purchase)

the de Buyer double boiler…an all-in-one piece…genius!




a brushed stainless-steel spice rack…my spices are currently stashed in random places throughout my kitchen.




Ebelskiver filled-pancake pan…I’ve been seeing delicious looking recipes for these Danish treats everywhere lately…




a gorgeous Emile Henry dish…perfect for a rustic apple pie.




the de Buyer Kobra adjustable slicer…I really want this…




*sigh*…someday….




Anthropologie has so many beautiful aprons, but if I had to choose just one…



Le Creuset cherry stackable ramekins…who doesn’t love cute individual servings?




the Riedel Sommeliers Tinto (Tempranillo) Reserve wine glass…because baking isn’t baking unless a glass or two of wine is involved… (and Tempranillo is my favorite!)

January Daring Bakers Challenge: Nanaimo bar

And this month the Daring Bakers Challenge was…..




Nanaimo Bars!


uh?



Yep, I had no idea what these were.  Here’s the blip from the challenge description:

Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in none other than Nanaimo, British Colombia. In case you were wondering, it’s pronounced Nah-nye-Moh. These bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut and nuts, a middle custard layer, and a topping of chocolate. They are extremely rich and available almost everywhere across the country.





The first part of the challenge was to make the graham crackers needed for the bottom layer from scratch.  (See previous blog entry.)  We were also encouraged to make them gluten-free. But being a bit short on funds these days I had to make due with a wheat version since I already had all the ingredients.  The second part of the challenge was whipping up the actual bars….

The process was only a tish time consuming since there were three layers to make up separately, but in the end, these bars were fairly easy to put together.  Always a good thing!  I decided to put that Frangelico on top of my fridge to use and tweaked my bars to have a hazelnut flavor rather than the traditional almond.

Verdict? Rich and delicious! I thought that the middle layer was maybe a tad too sweet and next time around I think I would cut down the powdered sugar and up the Frangelico.  I will also say that I adored the bottom crust layer and will keep this mind for the next time I need a chocolate crust either for a bar or pie….nummmm….




Well done, Canada.  ;)




Nanaimo Bars

Adapted from the City of Nanaimo’s recipe @ http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/visitors/NanaimoBars.html

Ingredients-

Bottom Layer

  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 cup  Granulated Sugar
  • 5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
  • 1 Large Egg, Beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous blog post)
  • 1/2 cup Almonds – finely chopped.  (I used hazelnuts)
  • 1 cup Shredded Coconut (I used sweetened since its all I could find.  I think unsweetened would work just as well…maybe even better.)

Middle Layer

  • 1/2 cupUnsalted Butter
  • 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream
  • 2 tablespoons Vanilla Custard Powder (I couldn’t find Bird’s custard mix, but found that Jell-O makes a custard mix…you can find it with the instant pudding mixes.)
  • 2 cups Powedered Sugar (I would try cutting this down to 1.5 cups)
  • 3-4 shots of Frangelico…what can I say?  I am a lush.  ;)

Top Layer

  • 4 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • I would consider upping the top layer up to 1.5 times.  My chocolate layer was really quite thin.

Directions-

1. For Bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. I don’t have a double boiler so I just made a makeshift one like this:

2. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. (You want it to thicken, but cook it too long and you’ll get a lumpy mess…take it from me!  I had to do this step twice….) Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
3. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until fluffy and light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
4. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

My finished graham crackers!


Maybe not the prettiest dessert I’ve ever created, but delicious nonetheless!

Graham Crackers

This weekend I completed my Daring Bakers Challenge for January.  While I can’t tell you what the recipe was until Wednesday (the DB reveal date), I will tell you that graham crackers were an ingredient.

Can you believe I made homemade graham crackers? They were actually quite easy and very tasty.  Though I think they turned out more like a wheaty shortbread cookie rather than crispy graham crackers from the store.  (Or at least mine did…though I am thinking I should have rolled them a hair thinner and maybe baked them for a minute or two longer…that could make all the difference.)

The verdict?  Good, but not rock-my-world-good.  If you’re just looking for something to smash a store bought marshmallow between, I think store bought graham crackers are just fine.  But I will say that the complementing recipe in The Craft of Baking (where I got this recipe) looks amazing = completely homemade s’mores: coconut infused marshmallows with a layer of chocolate ganache positioned between two homemade graham crackers. See the picture below…but realize that your apple may no longer seem nearly as fulfilling as your healthy snack this afternoon.

I will also say that these graham crackers are fabulous – FABULOUS – dunked in coffee.

Crisp Honey Grahams

from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox

Makes 3 dozen.

Ingredients –

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey

Directions –

1. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and honey. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. In two additions, add the dry ingredients, letting the first fully incorporate before you add the second. (Note:  I do not have a stand-up mixer nor any sort of paddle attachment.  I just used a regular hand mixer and it worked well.)

3. Flatten the dough into a rectangular shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days. The dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.  (My dough was still too sticky to work with after 30 minutes in the fridge.  I ended up leaving it for a few hours before being able to properly roll it out.)

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

5. Unwrap the chilled dough, and on a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a ruler and a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-1/2-by-3-inch rectangles; use a spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheets as you go. Reroll the scraps of dough once, and cut out more cookies. Using a fork, pierce each rectangle with two rows of four to six marks.

6. Bake the graham crackers, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until they are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.  (Make sure they are browning around the edges if you want a more traditional cripsy graham cracker.)

The graham crackers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

My finished result….

Karen DeMasco’s elegant s’mores…