What to Cook for Dinner: Nicole’s Favorites January 4, 2009

My friend Alix and I were just chatting over IM about our favorite recipes, so I thought it might make a fun list. The faves are things that I’ve been cooking recently.

BTW, it affirms my assertion that the October issues of Martha Stewart Living have always been the best. Best recipes, best crafts, best covers (until Michael Boodro became editor and, really, just ruined the magazine for me).

My winter faves (all Martha):

• Apricot-Dijon Glazed Chicken (MSL, 10/04)
• Spicy Squash Pasta (MSL, 10/05)
• Pumpkin pancakes (MSL, 10/06)
• Chocolate pots de creme (MSL, 2/97)

My recent faves (my kitchen has been almost all Bittman, all the time):

• Roast Chicken with Roasted New Potatoes (How to Cook Everything, p. 359)
• Spicy Tofu with Ground Pork (HTCE, p. 526)
• Baked Ziti with Radicchio and Gorgonzola (HTCE, p. 143)
• Broccoli Raab with Sausage and Grapes (HTCE, p. 545)

On my to-cook list:

• Gwynnie’s Caramelized Black-Pepper Chicken (GOOP)
• Also, her Buckwheat Banana Pancakes (GOOP)
• Our friend V’s veggie saute: red onion, mushrooms (any kind but flavorful is better), basil, zuch, red peppers, tomato. Drizzle with balsamic, let it sit together and stew. Serve over a mild white fish or polenta.
• Smitten Kitchen’s Chocolate-Toffee Cookies
• Moosewood Cookbook’s Lemon-Anise Biscotti (this and the guacamole recipe are the only two things I make out of this cookbook anymore).
• Bittman’s chicken stock (still choosing which one)

[[Update 1/12/09]]

How could I forget my favorite chili recipe? Sooooo good.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart December 5, 2007

(Am home sick today, so I’m using the time to catch up on some blogging.)

I always intend to blog about various cooking projects (but of course, the road to hell is paved with good intentions), but never seem to find the time. So here’s a quick update on the ridiculously decadent pumpkin-chocolate tart (from MSL 11/2003) I made for the vegetarian Thanksgiving down in Santa Cruz.

Next time, I’m going to build the sides up a bit more. They shrunk more than I remembered. And yes, that is chopped chocolate in the bottom of the chocolate crust. You can see one of my test pots de creme for post-Thanksgiving (before they met their unfortunate fate) in the background.

The creme fraiche in the filling gives it a nice tang that helps, slightly, to cut the richness of the chocolate. The store-bought creme fraiche helped speed up the preparation. I’ve made this twice before and made my own creme fraiche both times.

Sadly, my photos of the finished tart either make the chocolate look strangely purple or are out of focus. Next time, I’m going to heat the chocolate a bit more to get it a thinner consistency for dripping. The globby look of the chocolate undermines the presentation and doesn’t make it look as yummy as it is, although it does remind me of lattice-crust pie.

Cut in small pieces. This is one of the richest desserts I’ve ever made.

Making dough in a mini-Cuisinart August 12, 2007

It’s not the worst thing in the world to try to make dough in a mini Cuisinart, but it is labor-intensive. I just spent an hour making pate brisee in a ridiculous number of batches. But it actually turned out better than it usually does (I think. I’ll find out for real when I make my tomato tart tomorrow).

I did three things differently:

• I mixed the flour and salt with a spoon, instead of in the mini-cuis.
• I added the butter in smaller batches, scooping up the dry, cornmeal-consistency dough in each batch to try to distribute the butter more evenly. The added benefit of this was that the butter was more evenly distributed and there weren’t as many chunks.
• I poured the water in slowly. For the most successful batch, I added dough, then water, then dough, then water. Adding water just to the top made the dough at the bottom of the cuis get all nice and sticky, but it didn’t blend into the top.

I’d definitely do the parfait layering of the dough and water next time. I also would try to keep the butter colder (maybe cut up a half a stick, and leave the rest in the fridge or put it in the freezer for a bit). My one concern is that all these little batches work the dough too much. But considering that I don’t know what the ill effects of that are (I just know you’re not supposed to do it), I’ll wait until tomorrow AM when I roll it out.

Baking Tip: A Must for Crust November 6, 2006

In the new Everyday Food, there’s an awesome tip for dough: roll it onto floured wax paper so you can turn the paper (not yourself) when you need to roll the dough in a different direction. I’m so trying that.