Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Strawberry-rhubarb is a classic American dessert combination. Both fruits are signs that spring is finally warming into summer, and they go so well together that the less common rhubarb is rarely found without it's flavor soul mate, strawberry. The tart, crunchy rhubarb is perfectly offset by the sweet, soft strawberries, and they bake up into a beautiful, rich red filling for tarts, pies, crumbles, crisps, or even on their own as a tasty sauce to serve over scones, cakes, or ice cream.

This recipe is an adaptation of several different versions, and represents my preferences for a baked fruit dessert: fairly cohesive filling, not too sweet, and a topping that is more crumbly than a uniform crust. You can play with the proportions to make it more to your taste - less cornstarch for a more liquid filling, melted instead of softened butter for a crust-like topping, exchanging some of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or rolled oats. The filling also adapts to almost any fruit your little heart desires.

For the topping:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp. baking powder

3 Tbp. brown sugar

3 Tbs. raw sugar or evaporated cane juice

zest of one lemon

1 stick unsalted butter, softened but still slightly chilled

For the filling:

2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch cubes

1 quart + a few extra strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar **depends on the relative ripeness of your rhubarb and strawberries

juice of one lemon

3 - 4 Tbs. cornstarch

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375F. Cover an edged baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil.

Combine the rhubarb and strawberry pieces in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the sugar over the surface of the fruit, and let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Combine the dry ingredients for the topping in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into large chunks, and cut into the flour-sugar mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until large and small pieces form; the largest butter pieces should be pea-sized. Put flour-butter mixture into fridge until you are ready to use it.

Add lemon juice, cornstarch and salt to the fruits, mix well, and pour into a glass baking dish (a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, 8x8-inch pan, or 7x10-inch pan will all work, each giving you slightly different ratios of topping to filling). Smooth fruits with the back of a spoon or your hands. Sprinkle the topping over the fruits, and smooth with the back of a spoon or your hands until it evenly and thickly coats the fruit.

Put the baking dish on the aluminum foil-covered baking sheet. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling up through the topping.

Pommes Fondantes, or Skillet-Roasted Potatoes

There is an excellent restaurant here in Seattle called 611 Supreme. They make crepes, and some other Frenchy type dishes (and really good cocktails). Some of their crepes come with these amazing "breakfast potatoes", as they call them - silky, flavorful, meltingly soft. Jonah and I have long wondered how to recreate them at home, and never really got any further that. I found this recipe just this morning, nestled in one of my cookbooks, that while not a perfect recreation of the 611 potatoes, makes a damn fine potato nonetheless. 

This recipe has some fairly exacting instructions, despite being pretty straightforward. We followed them closely, and were pretty satisfied with the results. You will need to buy the right potatoes: they should be either baby Yukon Golds (my favorite) or baby Red Bliss (Jonah's favorite). They need to be less than 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and you must have a nonstick skillet. We used lil' red potatoes and my trusty cast iron skillet, and they turned out beautifully. 

from The Best American Recipes 2005-2006.

Serves 4 to 6.

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. baby red or gold potatoes

2 cups chicken broth, low-sodium

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 tsp. kosher salt (less if the broth is salty)

1-2 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives

Sea salt

Trim any eyes or damaged areas from the potatoes and wash well in cold water. Arrange as many potatoes as will fit in a single layer in a 10-inch non-stick skillet, with some extra room to spare. Add the broth, oil, butter, rosemary, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan but leave the lid ajar, and boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. The liquid should still halfway surround the potatoes; if it doesn't, add more broth or water until it does.

Remove the pan from the heat and press on each potato with a metal measuring cup (or anything with a rigid, uniformly flat base) just until it cracks open. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until all the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes have browned on one side, about 10 minutes. Gently turn the potatoes and brown the other side, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the potatoes rest for 5 minutes before transferring them to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chives and sea salt and serve immediately.

Notes:

- Make sure the potatoes have a little extra room in the pan. You need to be able to flatten them out and have them still fit.

- Be careful not to overcook the potatoes. If they are too soft, they will mash, not crack, when you press on them.

- When cracking open the potatoes, press gently but steadily. You want to crack open the skin, but the potatoes should hold together. Once the skin is broken they are much easier to crush, so be careful not to push too hard.

- The sea salt is not essential, but very tasty.

Banana Bread

Who doesn't like banana bread? Even people who aren't crazy about bananas as a fruit can usually be swayed by a good banana bread. This recipe is dead easy and - *drumroll please* - is actually better made at least a day ahead of time. How great is that?

While I prefer my banana bread pretty simple, this recipe takes nicely to additions. You can add 1/2 cup chopped nuts, dried fruit, crushed pineapple, or shredded coconut. I've also swapped out the bananas entirely in favor of strawberries as a good way to use up the leftovers of those super-sale 8 gazillion lb boxes of strawberries that I can never seem to eat and yet continue to buy.

From The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger.

Makes one 9 x 5" loaf or three 5.5 x 3" loaves.

1/2 cup flavorless vegetable oil, like canola

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 medium to large overripe bananas (12-14 oz.), slightly mashed

Zest of one small lemon (optional) *not necessary, but I think it makes the bread way better

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. Grease and flour your pan(s). 

2. In a small bowl, mash up the bananas. Add the vanilla and lemon zest.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, sugar and eggs. Beat hard with a whisk or electric mixer until light-colored and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the banana-vanilla-lemon mixture and beat again until well combined.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Add to the banana-egg mixture and stir to combine. Beat well to make a batter that is evenly combined and creamy in consistency.

5. Spoon the batter into the pan(s). Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake for about 50 minutes for the large loaf and 40 minutes for the small loaves, or until the tops are firm to the touch, the loaves pull away from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack and cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 5 days before serving.

Challah French Toast

From Cook's Illustrated, May 1997.

Though thick-sliced challah is best for French toast, you can substitute high-quality, presliced sandwich bread. Flipping challah is easiest with tongs, but a spatula works best with sandwich bread. To speed the cooking of large quantities, heat two or more skillets to brown a few batches at once. To vary the flavor of the batter, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or one-half teaspoon of ground nutmeg with the dry ingredients, or substitute almond extract for the vanilla.

Ingredients
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus extra for frying
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 - 5 slices day-old challah bread (3/4-inch-thick) or 6 to 8 slices day-old sandwich bread

Instructions
1. Heat 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg lightly in shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in butter, then milk and vanilla, and finally sugar, flour, and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak bread without oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challah or 30 seconds per side for sandwich bread. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.
2. Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet; cook until golden brown, about 1 minute 45 seconds on first side and 1 minute on the second. Serve immediately. Continue, adding 1 tablespoon butter to skillet for each new batch.
3. Adorn your french toast with syrups, jams, butters, fruits, etc. Eat and swoon.

Vanilla Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Another tasty recipe from The Bread Bible, this is a quintessential coffee cake and freezes quite well.

Vanilla Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This makes one 10-inch round cake, or one 12-cup Bundt cake, or two 9-by-5-inch loaves.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup (3 oz.) pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Grease the pan(s). In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream until just smooth. Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat well until fluffy and light colored. There should be no lumps or dry spots.

3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon. Spoon about one third of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with one third of the nut mixture. Repeat for three layers of batter and end with a layer of nut mixture.

4. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake is no longer shiny. Let the cake stand in the pan about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to cool completely on a rack, right side up. Serve dusted with powdered sugar, if desired. 

Muffin mania

All the info in this post in taken from The Bread Bible, by Beth Hensperger, which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good collection of bready recipes.

Things to know about muffins:

- Don't worry about lumps in the batter; the less a muffin is beaten, the better.

- For thick batters, fill cups level with the top; for thin batters, fill 3/4 full to avoid spilage.

- Bake muffins in the center of a pre-heated oven.

- Muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.

- Miniature muffin cups cook for 10-15 minutes; standard sizes cook for 20-25 min, and oversized cook for 25-30 min.

Banana Pecan Muffins

Use an overripe banana with black, mottled skin and soft, very sweet flesh - these are best for baking.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium bananas)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup (3 oz.) pecans, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Grease or line 10 standard muffin cups. Fill the other 2 halfway with water.

2. In a large bowl, using a whisk or an electric mixer, combine the sugar, oil, and eggs until light colored and foamy. Add mashed bananas and beat well. The banana will incorporate, but still be chunky.

3. In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the pecans and the banana mixture and stir with a large spatula until just moistened, about 10 strokes.

4. Spoon into cups until level with the tops. Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops feel dry and springy. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Spiced Applesauce Muffins

An American classic.

1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 Tbs vegetable oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp powdered instant espresso

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

3/4 cup raisins or chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Grease or line 9 standard muffin cups, and fill the other 3 halfway with water. 

2. In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, and oil.

3. In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, baking soda, espresso, and spices. Add to the wet mixture and stir with a large spatula until just moistened, about 10 strokes. Add the raisins or nuts, if using.

4. Spoon the batter into the cups until level with the tops. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops feel springy. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Raspberry Cornmeal Muffins

If your raspberries are tart, sprinkle them with some of the sugar and macerate for 15 minutes to sweeten them up.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Grated zest of 1 lemon, just the yellow part

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/3 cup corn oil

1 1/2 cups fresh red or golden raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400 deg. F. Grease or line 9 standard muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and zest.

3. In a large bowl, using a whisk or an electric mixer, combine the milk, eggs, and corn oil and beat for 1 minute. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a large spatula just until evenly moistened, not more than 15 or 20 strokes. Gently fold in the raspberries, taking care not to break them up (the batter will be lumpy).

4. Spoon the batter into each muffin cup until just below the tops. Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until browned, the tops feel dry and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.