Lately…

May has kicked my butt. Also, didn’t May just start? I’m behind in a big way, but committed to clawing my way back. Here’s what’s been happening lately. Stay tuned for a slew of new recipes!

1. We moved! And, as of last weekend, have (most of) our boxes unpacked. Phew.

2. I ran my first half marathon (and first road race, period). Also a “phew” moment. I’ll be living on my bed until my legs work again.

3. Mother’s Day happened, and I borrowed from some stellar recipes for brunch inspiration. I’d highly recommend:

• Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes- From Food & Wine, this recipe is spicy, savory and perfect for a crowd. Because every brunch needs eggs.
• Buttermilk Biscuits- Easy and so delicious. Because every brunch needs eggs…and biscuits.
• Italian Cream Cake- The Pioneer Woman can do no wrong in my book. This cake was just. so. good. Even if you don’t like coconut, you will in this cake.

Wishing you a great week ahead! xo

 

Garlic Cilantro Sweet Potato Fries

Heaven is a place on earth. It’s in your oven. And it’s filled with sweet potato fries.

Sweet puh-tay-tuhs. Sweet poh-tay-toes. Sorry. It’s all the same; everyone gets a healthy toss of cilantro, garlic powder and olive oil. Hold on to your hats.

Contrary to their russet cousins, these fries have a sweet golden color (and flavor) but lack the stiffness of their fried counterparts.  This means you can eat more. Trust me here.

One of the most important things I did (aside from devouring all the fries) was soak them in cold water before baking. It helps remove starch so you can achieve maximum crispiness. You want this.

I went through a few test batches before achieving said crisp factor. The first versions were rather sad, but I persevered. Perseverance is important in life.

So are snacks.

Sweet potato snacks.

Please make the fries. Then bring me some.

Garlic Cilantro Sweet Potato Fries

Yields 4 servings of sweet potato fry goodness

Ingredients

2 Sweet Potatoes

2 tbsp plus 1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt plus additional to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash sweet potatoes and slice in half length-wise. Thinly slice each half into fry-width strips. With each strip, cut to fry width and shape. Once cut, submerge in large bowl with cold water and soak for 5 minutes.

Drain and completely dry fries, then return to dry bowl. Add olive oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper and breadcrumbs. Toss to evenly coat then spread onto oil-coated baking sheet. All fries should touch the sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees, flipping halfway through. Once removed from the oven, sprinkle fresh cilantro and toss to coat. Yum!

Peach Lavender Lemonade (and Lavender Simple Syrup)

A simple post for a simple recipe about simple syrup. After a week of heartache, tragedy and unease in Boston and around the country, I’ve been savoring life’s quiet, beautiful moments more than ever. For me, that meant a reflective Saturday afternoon with peach lavender lemonade. It tasted like Spring should, and reminded me to count my blessings.

The main star of the lemonade is the lavender syrup, and it’s as simple as can be. You can procure culinary lavender from most specialty food shops, but Williams Sonoma is always my go to.

The other important piece here is keeping the sugar from crystallizing as it cools. I learned this one the hard way– a cooled sugar lump does not a syrup make.

When you bring your sugar and water to a boil, the sugar will fully dissolve and turn clear, like below. Once you’ve removed from heat, add in a little corn syrup or cream of tartar. It acts as a “chaos” agent to keep the sugar crystals from forming. Science wins every time.

Drain, bottle, chill and you’re ready to go! Bonus points if you put it on pancakes.

And for a little something extra, my mantra for the week. Peace, love and prayers to Boston.

watersounds Etsy shop, Sarah Abbott

Peach Lavender Lemonade (and Lavender Simple  Syrup)

Yields 1 1/2 cups simple syrup, and about 3 quarts of lemonade

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

3 tbsp lavender buds

1/2 tsp cream of tartar or corn syrup

2 quarts lemonade

1 quart peach juice (or puree would work)

Directions

In medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add lavender buds, and immediately reduce to simmering. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, and add cream of tartar or corn syrup. Mix well, and set aside to cool/steep for 30 minutes. Once cooled, drain through a fine mesh strainer to remove lavender buds, and press them against the strainer to extract maximum liquid.

Pour your simple syrup into a sealable bottle and put in the refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, either in a pitcher or individual glass, combine 2 parts lemonade to 1 part peach juice. Add about 1/2 a tablespoon of lavender simple syrup per 16 oz. So if you made a pitcher using the amount of lemonade/peach juice above, add 3 tbsp lavender simple syrup. Stir, add lots of ice, and enjoy.

Time

40 mins

Doughnut Madness!

Some Saturdays are for accomplishing lofty goals– getting up early, making a proper breakfast, running 7 miles and doing the laundry. I’m exhausted just talking about it.

Other Saturdays are for equally lofty but less healthy goals, like doughnuts. I mention only doughnuts because they took a good 3 hours to make. Note to self: start earlier. Or walk to Dunkin’ Donuts.

I’d ventured into doughnut land before, but with an innocent heart-shaped, oven-baked, orange-zested doughnut. These puppies were no comparison.

I started with some water, yeast and bread flour.

I let that sit and rise for a while. Then I added more water, yeast and bread flour, among other things.

Then I let it sit some more. It was at this point I settled on making them lunch doughnuts.

 

 

Also, donuts? Doughnuts? Doughnaughts? I hope I’m not offending anyone.

Anyway, when my dough was finally done rising, I prepped my space. Rolling, cutting, proofing, frying, cooling, dipping, and topping. Phew.

Eventually, they started to resemble actual doughnuts.

And then, I satisfactorily dropped them into the mini-oil vat. Fry, baby fry!

Mmmmmm.

After repeating 8-10 times, I was ready for my toppings. Time to separate the fried bread from the doughnuts.

In the end, I settled on two fitting flavor profiles: maple glazed with bacon and chocolate glazed with assorted sprinkles.

Simple enough.

Just don’t cross the streams. Don’t. It would be bad. “What do you mean, ‘bad’? Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.”

I went there. It was just wrong. It was molecule-exploding material. I’m not sorry.

A lofty Saturday, indeed. See the recipe below from Doughnuts!

Basic Raised Doughnuts and Glaze, two ways

Yields 8-10 doughnuts

Ingredients

3 tbsp active dry yeast (about 3 packets)

1 cup whole milk, heating to 110 degrees

2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Vegetable oil (for fying)

Maple Glaze *note that I halved the glaze recipes, since I made two. Double for just one!

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 1/2 tbsp whole milk

Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

Toppings

4-5 slices bacon

assorted sprinkles

Cocoa Pebbles

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tbsp (or 2 packets) of yeast into 3/4 cup of hot milk. Add 3/4 cup flour and combine. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 mins.

Next, add the rest of your milk and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add the flour mixture above, along with sugar, salt, vanilla and egg yolks and mix until combined. Add about 1/2 cup of remaining flour and mix for about 30 seconds before adding your butter and mixing another 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and slowly add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until soft dough is formed and completely pulls away from the sides of your mixer. It shouldn’t be too sticky to roll out.

Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to 12 hours. Line baking sheet with a dish towel and roll out your dough on a floured surface until 1/2 inch thick. Start cutting out your doughnuts with a doughtnut cutter, biscuit cutter, or even a glass (just use something smaller to put holes in the middle).

Place your cut doughnuts on the dish towel and cover with plastic wrap. Let them proof until they’ve almost doubled in size, which should take between 5 and 20 minutes. When you touch them and they spring back slowly, that means they’re ready.

While proofing, set up your frying pan or fryer and let it heat to 360 degrees. Any hotter and you risk burning your doughnuts. Any cooler and the insides won’t cook. Drop them in for about 1 minute per side, or until golden brown. Remove and let them drain and cool over paper towels.

For the glazes, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Dip your doughnuts, add your toppings, and enjoy your breakfast (er, lunch)!

Time

3 hours

Angel Food Cake with Berry Sauce

How to make angel food cake in several easy, succinct steps.

1. Carefully separate egg whites. Carefully.

2. Invest in an angel food cake pan. Yes, there are such things. Yes, the bottoms do release, making for easy cake removal. No, they don’t look like this…

3. Triple sift your flour mixture for extra fluff and lightness (not jokes…I did this one right!)

4. Show your egg whites some love. The finest meringue takes patience, cream of tartar, and a little song and dance. Perhaps I should say it turned out in spite of the last part. No shame.

 

4. Invert your cake after oven removal. It keeps it from settling on itself while it cools, and makes great use of your empty wine bottles. Not that you have any, because you don’t drink that much…and you regularly take out your recycling…

5. Make a berry sauce for accompaniment. The angel cake is light, airy and delicate. It begs for a little sin.

 

6. Enjoy with loved ones. And when you’re alone, enjoy a couple extra pieces. You deserve it.

The classic angel food cake recipe comes from Craig Claiborne in the New York Times Dessert Cookbook and the berry sauce is adapted from The South.

Angel Food Cake with Berry Sauce

Yields about 10 servings

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups fine sugar

1 cup cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

12 large egg whites, room temp

1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Sauce

1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup water

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tbsp Chambord (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift 1/3 cup sugar, cake flour and salt in medium bowl. Repeat x2.

Pour egg whites into stand mixer and beat on medium until foam appears. Slowly add cream of tartar and continue beating until they turn white and hold soft peaks. With the mixer running, slowly add in remaining 1 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time until your egg whites hold stiff peaks. Carefully fold in vanilla and almond extracts.

Sift 1/4 of your flour mixture into the egg whites and carefully fold in until fully incorporated. Repeat until everything has been mixed together, then pour batter into an ungreased (important so your batter can “climb” the pan) 9″ tube pan. Trace a square shape into the bottom of your pan, about 2″ deep.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the cake has browned and springs back when touched. Once you’ve removed it from the oven, immediately invert over a bottle and allow to cool completely (1 t0 1 1/2 hours). Run a knife or metal spatula around the pan sides to release.

For the sauce, mix sugar, cornstarch and water over medium heat until incorporated. Add berries and stir to coat. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and is glossy. Add a splash of Chambord for an extra kick!

Time

1.5 hours

 

Caramelized Banana Ice Cream

This ice cream is B-A-N-A-N…ugh, sorry. You guys are better than that. Feel free to stop reading now. MAKE THE ICE CREAM!

Somewhere in the depths of your kitchen there are bananas. Unlike a fine wine, they don’t get better with age.

You neglect them, and when you realize they’re just a little too ripe, you think “I’ll make banana bread!” So you keep your rotten bananas and when you find time to bake, you decide that that trip to Nordstrom Rack is just a little more important. For shame.

(Note: bears no resemblance to the actions of those affiliated with Eat Cake for Breakfast. Or not.)

P.S. look at my manicure! This lasted about another two hours.

But back to the bananas. Next time you find your ‘nanners expired, save them for this ice cream! The idea is the same as banana bread– the overly-ripe bananas really bring out extra flavor.

One extra side note: takeout containers are great for storing ice cream. They fit one quart perfectly. Looks like Thai for dinner!

This recipe comes, once again, from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, the Bi-Rite Creamery’s brilliant book. The bananas and brown sugar, along with the vanilla and (optional) bourbon create a taste similar to Banana’s Foster, just without the pyrotechnics. One of my favorites to date!

Caramelized Banana Ice Cream

Yields 1 quart

Ingredients

5 egg yolks

2 very ripe bananas, sans peels

1/2 packed light brown sugar (dark is fine, too)

1 3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup 1% or 2% milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

pinch of cinnamon

1 tsp bourbon (rum works too, but I had bourbon on hand)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Separate 5 eggs, mix together yolks and set aside. Peel your bananas and add to a medium saucepan with brown sugar over medium heat. Mash them together as the mixture heats and begins to liquefy. Stir constantly as the mixture starts to bubble and turns a golden brown color. This will take 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream, milk, salt and cinnamon over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer, then reduce heat to medium. Slowly pour half a cup of your hot milk mixture into your egg yolks, whisking constantly. You want to temper your eggs so they cook without scrambling. Add another half cup while still whisking.

Take your egg-milk mixture and pour it back into your saucepan, stirring it constantly over medium heat. Continue to stir for another 2 minutes until your finger can draw a clear path across the back of a spatula coated with the mixture.

Strain through a mesh strainer into a clean bowl and place on top of an ice bath so it cools to room temperature. Stir occasionally.

Once cooled, whisk in your pureed banana mixture and let refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight. Before dumping into your ice cream machine, add your bourbon and vanilla and churn/freeze according to instructions. Enjoy your ice cream right then, or put it back in the freezer for a few hours to firm up. Good for a week after, unlike your rotten bananas.

Time

1 hour for base, plus chilling and churning time

Irish Soda Bread

Slainte, friends! It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Today I’ve avoided all green dyes, clover shapes and whiskey-flavors (in food, at least) in favor of sweet, Irish nostalgia. Irish soda bread is on the docket and perfect for your St. Paddy’s Day feast.

In days of yore when I walked in from school on St. Patrick’s Day, I could count on a few things. The corned beef was a-brewing, the Chieftans were a-blasting, and my mom greeted me in her best Irish accent. It was classic.

Along with all those things came my great grandmother’s Irish soda bread. I’ve learned to appreciate it in adulthood, but as a child I always thought of it as dense cake with raisins. Not cool. After pushing around the boiled cabbage on my plate, the last thing I wanted to do was pick the raisins out of my bread (much to my parents’ amusement, I’m sure).

Fortunately, I’ve come to embrace it for what it really is– a crusty, salty-sweet loaf best paired with a healthy slather of butter. Now we’re talking.

And so this fourth generation recipe lives on, along with my great grandmother’s sparkling Irish spirit. I’m fortunate that in my life I got to know her, and will always remember her enduring kindness, vigor and gumption. I’m also fortunate to share her middle name– Quinn. That’s my favorite part of all.

And so with Esther Quinn in mind I share this recipe. It’s simple, but an ode to reminiscence. It calls for regular and golden raisins, and I recommend sticking to it. One or the other will do just fine, but the two together give it a great color contrast and the golden are just a little bit sweeter.

Pair with your own Irish feast, and toast to the mother land. Erin go bragh!

Irish Soda Bread

Makes one 5×9 loaf, or two small 3×5 loaves

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick butter, at room temp

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup dark raisins

1 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In stand mixer, beat together butter and eggs until just mixed (butter will still be chunky, and that’s fine!). Alternate adding your flour mixture and milk to stand mixer, starting and finishing with the flour. Just as the dough/batter (the consistency will be somewhere in between) starts to come together, dump in your raisins and mix only until combined.

Pour dough into greased bread pan(s) and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 30 minutes. If the top of your bread is browning too quickly, turn the oven down to 325 for the last half hour.

Time

2 hours (including baking)