Seven ingredients? YES! Seven ingredients!

First, I should say: it’s been forever! I’ve been working a whole lot, I’ve moved, have discovered The Tudors. Needless to say, my dance card’s been full. But now that I’m settled into the new place, I’ve been cooking and baking like none other! So, without further ado, the cobbler:

STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC COBBLER
2 lbs. strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 T brown sugar
2 t balsamic vinegar
10 fresh basil leaves, cut chiffonade
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Combine strawberries, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and basil leaves. Macerate in a 9×9 baking pan for 20 minutes.

2. In another bowl, mix sugar, flour, and butter until it holds together as a crumbly dough. Form the dough into patties, laying the patties on top of the strawberries until the strawberries are completely covered.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Mine’s in the oven now, but I’ll be sure to report back as soon as it’s ready to eat! Yay baking!

Two absurdly easy, thrillingly tasty recipes for sorbet. I promise they won’t let you down.

CLEMENTINE SORBET

Combine the juice of 16 clementines with 1/2 cup sugar. Mix well. Freeze. Serve, then freak out at the deliciousness.

BLUEBERRY LEMON SORBET

Ingredients

12 oz. frozen blueberries

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until they’ve reached a uniform color and consistency–1 to 2 minutes. Freeze to resolidify. Again, freak out at the deliciousness.

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Of the two, I’d say the blueberry lemon is my favorite (though the clementine is a lovely palate cleanser). The blueberry is super variable–you just need (a) your favorite juicy/pulpy fruit or berry, and (b) something to cut the sweetness. Lemon and vanilla are both great options to add some dimension.

Whatever you do, it’s bound to be pretty damn good.

Okay. So this isn’t actually Justin Timberlake’s fried chicken. That recipe was featured in InTouch or Life & Style or some other tabloid that I flipped through at the grocery store. This is the my best attempt at recreating it. & I’ve got to hand it to JT, or his publicist, or somebody: whoever came up with this recipe knows how to fry chicken. It’s wicked easy–and the coating is crunchy, the chicken is moist, and the cornmeal adds a fantastic texture.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Wondra flour
1/2 cup corn meal
2 tablespoons creole seasoning (or as much more/less as you like)
Chicken (as much as you want to make, whatever part you like–I used boneless skinless thighs)
1 pint of buttermilk
Plenty of vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Put the chicken in a bowl and cover completely with buttermilk. Let stand 20-30 minutes.

Combine flour, corn meal, and seasoning. Dredge soaked chicken in flour mixture.

Add enough vegetable oil to a cast iron skillet that there is a half-inch layer along the bottom. Let oil heat way, way, way up (chicken should pop and sizzle when you drop it in). Cook chicken, flipping halfway through, until it’s a deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel, serve up, and enjoy.

I had some reservations from the get-go about making Ina Garten’s Fleur de Sel Caramels.

Making the caramels requires using a candy thermometer, which is a totally baseless and unreasonable fear of mine. The recipe also calls for boiling a sugar syrup–and, as in fudge, if you don’t get it to the right temperature for the right amount of time, the texture will be wicked wrong. And on top of all that, I just haven’t made much candy, aside from fudge, which has always been hit or miss with me.

Sadly my fears were proven right, and holy jeez, the caramels were a mess. None of this reflects on the recipe, just on my ability to produce it. So here’s a list of do’s and (mostly) don’t’s for the next time I make caramels.

TIPS & RECIPE ADJUSTMENTS
1. Dear god, don’t use dark corn syrup. Dark corn syrup contains molasses, so it has a much stronger flavor than light corn syrup–and makes the finished product even sweeter than most caramels. Plus, on a purely practical level, if you don’t actually see the sugar caramelizing, it makes it really difficult to tell whether to increase the heat, add the next ingredient, or abort the operation altogether. Yikes!

2. Dear god, also don’t use actual fleur de sel in the caramel mixture. In addition to being toothache sweet, the fleur de sel made their flavor even stronger–to the point that it was tough to finish even one candy without being totally overwhelmed by the flavor. Kosher salt has a milder flavor and dissolves more easily, so I’ll likely use that next time. And I’ll save the fleur de sel for the lovely garnish up top.

3. Stir, stir, stir! It was mostly just me misreading the recipe, so I didn’t stir the mixture after adding the cream. (As it turns out, I’m pretty sure you’re just not supposed to stir it while the sugar–the candy roux, if you will–is caramelizing. After that, it’s open season on stirring.) As a result, the caramel cooked unevenly, and some of it became toffee. Oops. Consistency fail.

4. Slice ‘em thin. I know they look really good. And I know you’re sure that you could eat a two-inch-long caramel. But trust me, you can’t. And even if you can, it’s just not a good idea.

It might not have been my finest product, but it was certainly a learning experience. And look! I tried something new!

Next up: planning the menu for a volunteer appreciation party this week. I’m thinking a plum galette, hummus and veggies, and pesto-chevre palmiers. I’ll keep you posted!

I actually kind of made up a pie recipe! It’s an adaptation from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Thanksgiving Table, and it uses my all-time favorite crust recipe. Seriously, this pie crust is delicious–the texture is perfect, and it has never failed me. And I’ve definitely had some pie crust-related drama. As for the filling, cooking it down prior to putting the pie in the oven prevents public enemy #1: soupy pie. The crust turned out classically flaky & buttery, and the filling retained the fresh taste of blueberries and the brightness of lemon.

FILLING INGREDIENTS
3 pounds blueberries
Juice & zest of 3 meyer lemons
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons corn starch

FILLING DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan & stir until berries are coated. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture has thickened almost to the consistency you’d like in your pie. Then remove from heat & let cool all the way.

my favorite pie crust!

CRUST INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, frozen and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 cup unflavored vegetable shortening, frozen and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/3 cup ice cold sour cream
2 tablespoons ice cold water

CRUST DIRECTIONS
In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and sugar to combine. Add in butter and shortening pieces and pulse until the mixture has a coarse, mealy texture. Add in sour cream and cold water and process until the dough holds together and just begins to form a ball.

(NOTE: Don’t wait for the dough to form a single mass–it’ll take forever, and the crust will be tough and overworked. Just get 2/3+ of the dough to hold together, and press in the remaining pieces.)

On a floured surface, form the dough into a disc about 1″ high. Cut into two roughly equal pieces, wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour. After refrigeration, re-flour your counter, and roll out the two pieces of dough–one should be about 16″ in diameter, the other should be about 13″ across.

TO FINISH & BAKE THE PIE
Line a 10″ pie dish with the larger piece of dough, making sure you’ve got enough dough overhanging to wrap upward & seal the crust. Press into place. Pour in pie filling. Top with second piece of dough. Roll the edges of the crust and pinch to seal.

Cut steam vents into the top crust. Brush lightly with milk, then dust with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until golden. Let cool before serving & enjoying!

This one wasn’t outstanding, but it was decent. The texture of the orzo and asparagus complement each other well, and the sweetness of the asparagus is a nice contrast to the sharpness of the balsamic and goat cheese. Here goes:

INGREDIENTS
1 small onion, diced
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cups cooked orzo
15-20 spears asparagus, cooked and cut into 2″ pieces
8 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a saute pan, use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to soften the onion. Cook until golden brown, then stir in the tarragon. Cook for one more minute, then remove from heat & set aside.

In a saute pan, use the remaining olive oil to brown the chicken. When the chicken is white (but not yet brown), add in the balsamic vinegar. Cook until golden brown. Salt to taste. Set aside.

Toss the orzo with the onion, the chicken, and the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in the goat cheese (so it crumbles, but doesn’t melt entirely). Enjoy!

I had never made stuffing before tonight. I’ve always had thanksgivings where someone else has had a great signature stuffing that they were eager to make, so I never really had cause to try my hand at it until now. I found this recipe online and modified it slightly to give it a little more punch. The flavors are wonderfully balanced and mild–and the pear retains its flavor and texture beautifully. At 5 grams of fat per serving, with no butter (!), it’s a nice alternative to stuffings like, say, this one. Yikes.

Pear Hazelnut Stuffing

INGREDIENTS
2 t. olive oil
5-6 oz. prosciutto, sliced & cut into half-inch strips, then cooked in a saute pan until crispy
2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped fennel bulb
1/2 c. minced shallot
2 t. fresh thyme
2 t. fresh rosemary leaves
1 large loaf of stale french bread, cubed
2 firm pears, chopped
1/2 c. toasted chopped hazelnuts
14 oz. chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel and shallot, and stir regularly until softened and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add thyme and rosemary and cook one more minute.

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in bread, pears, parsley, hazelnuts and the prosciutto. Add broth; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into the prepared dish.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top crisps, 25 to 30 minutes more.

This is one of my favorite recipes. It’s super easy, super low maintenance and really hard to mess up. Unlike other bar cookie recipes, this one doesn’t contain any baking soda or powder, so it stays dense and almost fudgy. The toffee bits melt into the batter, making the flavor even richer and the texture even more velvety.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 pound chopped dark chocolate (use a mid-level cocoa content bar–53% is my favorite–or substitute semi-sweet chips)
12 oz. Heath bar bits (I like the ones with milk chocolate coating, but you can also use plain toffee bits)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13″ glass pan.

In a large mixer bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually beat in flour and salt. Stir in toffee bits and chopped chocolate. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool, cut into bars, and eat ‘em up. Done and done.

It’s official! After years of baking, and a few months of attempting cooking, I’ve decided to start keeping tabs on what I’ve made, how I’ve made it, and what it looked like. Baking is one of the most relaxing, satisfying things I can think of, and I so often end up with such a distinct sense of accomplishment after finishing some ambitious (or not) new project. So why not keep a record? It’ll be like pictures on the refrigerator.

On the menu for tonight:

Lemon curd mascarpone layer cake

I’ll let you know how it all turns out! Stay tuned!

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