Ham Sandwich Indicted!

Sometimes, the universe conspires so perfectly to create a weekend of such magnitude and blessings, that it is nothing short of breathtaking.  Sometimes, the love, passion, and joy of six people is so great that a seventh one decides she has to join the party.  That was the case this weekend, when I went up to Petoskey, on the far Northern tip of Michigan, to visit my very pregnant friend B, her husband, and his father and brothers that also happened to be in town. Being that we're a group of people for whom food shortages are not an option (and because I couldn't sleep at 6am that morning), I brought up a peach-cardamom coffee cake, based essentially on this Cook's Illustrated recipe from The New Best Recipe  cookbook . I should have known I had no need for such worries as a lack of baked goods, however, as B married into an amazing family of very accomplished bakers and cooks, and for dinner that first night they 'threw' together a meal of homemade focacc...

In last week's Wayward Seed CSA share, I received about a pound of unshelled English peas.  After freeing them from their pods, I was left with a bowlful of tiny, beautiful, bright green orbs and decided that since there  were so few of them, I needed to really showcase their flavor.   I remembered that Chef John Dornback of  Basi Italia had offered a pea puree appetizer at the Taste of Dine Originals event, and decided to use that dish as inspiration.  They had served the lightly mashed peas on a single-serving spoon topped with shaved Parmesan.   Since I had just purchased a baguette from Omega Bakery at the North Market (not-so shameless plug: Go there! Get their bread! It's amazing!), I decided throw together a pea and Parmesan "hummus" to spread on said bread. Twenty minutes later, I had a party-worthy appetizer that looked and tasted of early summer.  The sweetness of the peas is balanced by the salty ...

It's probably a little ridiculous to post a King Cake recipe the day after Mardi Gras, but I didn't get my pics off my camera until now. The King Cake is (I think) a lot like Christmas fruitcakes--they start popping up in grocery stores at one particular point in the season, and are never as appetizing as advertised. It's one of those traditional foods that people seem obligated to buy, but no one is really ever super excited about it. (I'm sure there are New Orleans residents who would beg to differ with me on that point.) Anyway, I think they're kinda tacky--slathered in high sugar glaze and festooned with an explosion of sprinkles...they're like the over-forty cougars in miniskirts at the bar...trying just a little to hard to get noticed. All that being said, this year I decided that they are probably better if made from scratch, not sealed in a plastic and cardboard box, and so I pulled a recipe from epicurious and made a couple King Cakes for friends an...

OK, so they don't look like your typical street vendor/concession stand pretzels, but I can confirm they taste about eight million times better... This is the year of the pretzel for me. My goal is to achieve pretzel perfection for the day that I decide to open a German beer garden. This weekend was the first step on that path, in that it was the first time I tried making pretzels from scratch (I've already mastered the beer drinking part). While not the most attractive things, they did turn out pretty tasty. I followed a recipe from the Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes , by the head baker at King Arthur Flour....My guess is, they're probably a pretty reliable source when it comes to baked goods. This book is no slouch when it comes to baking--it offers an extensive section on the foundations of baking--ingredients, shaping, etc, then provides recipes in metric and standard measures, as well as commercial production and home baker production (need to ...

Of the various obsessions I have pending at any given time, a constant (at least for the past year or so) has been Penzey's . I've mentioned it in the past, and if you haven't had the chance to check one out, or go online, you really must--it's a fantastic store, offering up almost every spice, out there, along with some nice boxed spice sets. (They make great gifts!) My most frequently used spice is their Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon. Sweetholyjesus it's awesome--rich, heady, maybe even decadent in it's aroma and taste. I find myself putting it in all sorts of dishes, just to see how it will perform. Usually, it performs fantastically. The other wonderful thing about Penzey's is their mail-order catalogue. It's great because if you sign up for it, you almost always get a coupon for a free spice or seasoning with each issue (this time around, it's Cajun spice mix). It's also great because they have really homey, all-American interviews with ...

My fruit CSA from Wayward Seed Farm has been just prolific over the past few weeks--pears, apples, plums, and melons have been piling up on my dining room table. To cope, I dug out two of my favorite recipes and refitted them for use with my current bounty. First, a plum tart that I modified from a New York Times pear tart recipe: Upside Down Plum Tart 1/4 cup honey 5-6 plums, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cored 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet (not nonstick), simmer honey until it begins to reduce, caramelize and darken in color, 6 to 10 minutes. Don't let it burn! 2. Arrange plums, close together and cut-side down, in a circular pattern in skillet. 3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together sugar and spices. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour and salt...

So, it's January, 2009, and my first post of the new year. I really hope to be more consistent with the posting...just like I hope to be more consistent with running and less consistent with beer drinking. Seriously. I promise...really gonna try to get it together. First, I must show off the newest member of my household--the Series 600 Professional Mixer from KitchenAid. (see above) It was the best Christmas present a girl could get. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, DF!) Below is the first thing(s) I made with it--a honey-wheat bread braid and a herb-garlic boule. They turned out quite well (I just used the basic bread recipe in the book that came with the mixer and then tweaked the ingredients), and are yet another step on my road to mastering bread baking. Also, a quick recap of Christmas (for posterity's sake). I made the black cherry and chocolate macaroons pictured below. The recipe is from epicurious--it's here , but since I couldn't find raspberry extract, I...

So lately, I've been on a bread making kick. It started when I finally got around to trying the no-knead bread recipe from the NYTimes. It's here . And it's good, as long as you plan a little bit ahead. So far, I've tried the original recipe, one with rosemary and thyme, and one with whole wheat flour. The whole wheat flour one was the least, shall we say, delicious, if only because it was really dense. But hey, it's good for cleaning out the system, I'm sure. Last night I tackled pizza dough. I was not quite through the NYTimes Sunday magazine, when I came across the Eat/Memory article they always have near the end. It was for a pizza that the author shared with Picasso (yes, as in Pablo) several years ago. I jumped up, found that I had all sorts of stuff on hand for a pizza and went to town. Several hours later, I realized that I never had finished the magazine...sometimes the ADD really kicks in. Here's my take on the dough they offered and the...