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.

Poppyseed Angel Food Cake with Grapefruit Curd

I've been a super-procrastinator lately with the updates. There are a few reasons for this, but mostly it's due to laziness. Also, I've been borrowing heavily from smittenkitchen.com, and frankly, it seems a little silly to spend a bunch of time typing up recipes that anyone can get to with mere clicks. Some things I've made recently that have been stellar are the blondies (so easy), peanut butter chocolate rice krispie bars (so dangerous), goat cheese pasta with asparagus (so refreshing), and peanut butter cookies (so classic). Go nuts, kids.

This is another recipe from Regan Daley's In The Sweet Kitchen that is a stunning rendition of a classic cake. The angel food cake gets a little something different from the poppyseeds; I've made this both with and without, and it was very good both ways. I've also played with the grapefruit curd, swapping out the citrus juice and zest for an orange/grapefruit mix, and straight lemon. I thought all three were excellent, but I would probably rank them 1. lemon, 2. grapefruit, 3. orange-grapefruit as my preference. The angel food cake - curd mash-up is really spectacular, and convenient, because the curd uses as many egg yolks as the cake does whites. Most recently, I also made some raspberry sauce to go with the cake-curd combo, and that was a very good idea.  

NB: for this recipe, it is important that the tools you use to make the cake - pan, bowls, mixers, spatulas, etc - all be very clean and grease-free. Even a little bit of fat can keep the egg whites from achieving their full volume.

For the cake:

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

1 1/2 cups egg whites, at room temperature (about 10 extra large, 12 large)

2 Tbs. warm water

1 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 Tbs. poppyseeds

For the curd:

12 large egg yolks

1 cup superfine sugar

2 tsp. finely grated pink or yellow grapefruit zest

3/4 cup freshly squeezed pink or yellow grapefruit juice

3 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place a clean, removable-bottom 10-inch tube pan off to the side. Working between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, sift the flour and 1/2 cup of the sugar together 3 times, and set off to the side.

In a very large bowl, beat the egg whites with the warm water until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and the salt a whip the whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, a little at a time, whipping constantly. When all the sugar has been added, the whites should be firm, glossy and hold stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Incorporate the flour-sugar mixture gently but quickly to avoid deflating the whites. Sprinkle about 1/4 of the flour mixture over the whites and using your clean hands, fold the batter over onto itself, making sure to reach down to the bottom of the bowl and all around the sides. When you don't see or feel lumps, and another 1/4 of the flour mixture. Repeat until the final 1/4 is almost incorporated, and add the poppyseeds. The batter should be very light and fluffy, but smooth. Scrape the batter into the pan without banging the spatula on the bowl or the bowl on the counter, as this will deflate the whites. Smooth the top of the batter, and run a clean knife through the pan to rupture any large air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean, and the top is cracked and golden. Invert the pan onto its legs, over the neck of a wine bottle, or into a colander, cake-side down to prevent sinking. Cool completely

To unmold, run a thin-bladed knife around the outside and center tube of the pan. Carefully pull the tube upwards, and run a knife around the bottom of the cake, then invert onto a cake platter. The best way to cut this cake is with 2 back-to-back forks, pulling the pieces apart from the rest of the cake. This will keep the cake from getting smashed by a knife. Well-covered leftovers can be stored for several days at room temp. 

To make the curd:

Fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a simmer. Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium-sized bowl, set aside. Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl and whisk until frothy, then whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the grapefruit juice and zest, and the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the simmering water and adjust the heat to keep the water just barely simmering. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickly coats the back of the spoon and a finger drawn over the back of the spoon leaves a clean trail, at least 10 minutes. Make sure the spoon sweeps the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once the curd has thickened, pour it through the strainer. **The curd must be kept moving or the yolks will cook unevenly, and you'll end up with a grapefruit flavored omelet, which is exactly as gross as it sounds. 

With a clean spoon or rubber spatula, stir the butter into the hot curd a few pieces at a time, blending well after each addition. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bowl to prevent a skin from forming, poke a few holes with a sharp knife, cool to lukewarm, and refrigerate until cold for 2-8 hours. May be stored, well-covered in the fridge, for 3 days.

S'more Pie

I brought this pie to a Memorial Day barbeque and it was a big hit. I was expecting it to be good - a quick glance at the ingredients will tell you why - but it was very, very good. It had a nice texture balance between the three layers, and was not nearly as sweet as I imagined, even with a milk chocolate filling. Plus, I got to make marshmallows from scratch, which was very exciting and not as messy as it could have been. I don't think I whipped the marshmallow long enough, either because I was getting bored or because my little hand-held beater doesn't have as much oompf as a stand mixer. I followed the time estimate (5-8 minutes) but if you're doing this by hand I would recommend going as much as 10 minutes. The top was totally suitable for a cake, but definitely too runny to work as a stand alone marshmallow. Also, when you're browning the top, keep a very close eye on it. The aluminum foil to protect the crust really focused the heat onto the center of the cake, and we were mere seconds away from unappetizingly burnt topping. Fortunately we got it out in time and it was only pleasingly burnt. You could also brown the top with a creme brulee torch if you were feeling up to the task.

from smittenkitchen.com

Note: Pie (before browning topping) can be chilled up to 1 day.

Crust
5 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for greasing
1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs (10 graham crackers or 24 small gingersnaps; about 6 oz, pulsed in a food processor until finely ground)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt (omitted if you use salted butter)

Chocolate cream filling
7 oz fine-quality milk or semisweet chocolate (not more than 70% cacao; not unsweetened), finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, at room temperature for 30 minutes

Marshmallow topping
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil for greasing

Special equipment: a candy thermometer

Make graham cracker crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter pie 9- to 9 1/2-inch pie plate.

Stir together all ingredients in a bowl and press evenly on bottom and up side of pie plate. Bake until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on a rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

Make chocolate cream filling:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then pour hot cream over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Gently whisk in egg and a pinch of salt until combined and pour into graham cracker crumb crust (crust will be about half full).

Cover edge of pie with a pie shield or foil and bake until filling is softly set and trembles slightly in center when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature on a rack (filling will firm as it cools), about 1 hour.

Make marshmallow topping:
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a large deep heatproof bowl and let stand until softened, about 1 minute.

Stir together sugar, corn syrup, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup water in cleaned 1- to 1 1/4-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then boil until thermometer registers 260°F, about 6 minutes.

Begin beating water and gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed, then carefully pour in hot syrup in a slow stream, beating (avoid beaters and side of bowl). When all of syrup is added, increase speed to high and continue beating until mixture is tripled in volume and very thick, about 5-8 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until combined, then immediately spoon topping onto center of pie filling; it will slowly spread to cover top of pie. Chill, uncovered, 1 hour, then cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and chill 3 hours more.

Brown topping:
Preheat broiler.

Transfer pie to a baking sheet. Cover edge of pie with pie shield or foil and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat, rotating pie as necessary, until marshmallow topping is golden brown, no more than 3 minutes. Cool pie on a rack 10 minutes. Slice pie with a large heavy knife dipped in hot water and then dried with a towel before cutting each slice.

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.

Spaetzle

Have you ever been to a German restaurant or pub and had those tasty, pasta-like nuggets of goodness that often accompany schnitzels and the like? Spaetzle is a a traditional German food, made from a very basic dough, usually served with parsley and some kind of creamy sauce or grated cheese. Being a lover of all things dough-based, spaetzle is a staple in my kitchen. With some good quality bratwursts and a little salad, you've got yourself a dinner.
In Germany, or the hardcore German-style kitchen, spaetzle is made with a spaetzle press, a heavy metal contraption that resembles a potato ricer and presses the dough out in little rounds. Not wanting to buy a single-function piece of equipment to store in my 80 sq. foot kitchen, Jonah discovered that this can (sort of) easily be made by pushing the dough through the blunt side of a coarse cheese grater. I say sort of easy because while not difficult, this technique involves getting sticky dough all over your hand. However, delicious spaetzle is waiting on the other side of that messy grater. The heavy-duty hand washing it totally worth it.

Makes about 4 cups.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
A healthy pinch each of grated nutmeg and ground pepper (both optional)
Butter for browning
Parsley
Cheese, or whatever topping you like (I prefer grated Parmesan)

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Stir together the flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine eggs and milk; stir into the flour mixture, beating until the dough is very sticky. By the generous handful, push the dough through the blunt side of a coarse grater. The extruded pieces of dough will fall into the boiling water, cooking for 2-3 minutes. Fish out the spaetzle with a slotted spoon and transfer to a saute pan with a little bit of butter. Cook on medium heat until just browned and slightly crisp on the outside. Toss is some fresh parsley and grated cheese, mix gently, and serve hot.

Use as you would pasta as a side dish to almost any kind of entree.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

I consider chocolate + peanut butter to be one of the finest combinations offered in the history of food. These are quite sweet, but great for a quick sugar fix and dangerously addictive (for me, at least). They also disappear almost immediately from potlucks, file cabinets, and coffee tables, so I don't think I'm alone in my feeling that these, while not fancy or highbrow, are seriously tasty.

From The Best American Recipes, 2005 - 2006.

Makes about 30.

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (think Skippy, not that hippy-dippy healthy peanut butter)

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

6 oz. chocolate chips (semisweet or milk chocolate, to your taste)

1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening

Line two baking sheets with wax paper.

Put the confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, butter (still warm), vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls and transfer to a prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes.

Melt the chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl) over barely simmering water, stirring often. Remove the pot and bowl together from the heat. 

Working with about 6 peanut butter balls and a time, insert a toothpick into the center of a ball and dip about three-quarters of the ball into the melted chocolate, leaving about a 3/4-inch circle of peanut butter visible at the top. Twirl the toothpick between your finger and thumb to swirl off excess chocolate, then transfer to the other baking sheet, chocolate side down. Slide out the toothpick and repeat the dipping process with the remaining peanut butter balls and chocolate, reheating the chocolate if necessary.

Freeze until the buckeyes are firm. Smooth out the toothpick holes left in the peanut butter. Buckeyes keep well sealed in a cool place for up to 1 week and up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature or chilled.