Holiday treats

It's the first holiday that I was spending with J's family. We made our favorite kale salad in bulk... That's a lot of kale! A savory mushroom bread pudding. I also was a bit unclear about the gift giving situation -- was told not to get things for the extended relatives but was anxious not doing so and settled on making toffee. Many thanks to http://twophdsbaking.com/2013/12/16/almond-buttercrunch-toffee-a-great-last-minute-gift/ for the recipe.

Kale and quinoa winter salad
7 bunches of kale
2 cups quinoa
4 sweet potatoes
5 persimmons
dried cranberries
almonds

Dressing:
4 lemons
olive oil
1 shallot
ground parmesan
salt
touch of truffle oil
tiny bit of soy sauce

Croutons:
Chopped up bread (same as what we used for bread pudding)
Cheated on this one and used rosemary garlic dipping sauce from William Sonoma that we had


Mushroom Bread Pudding
We doubled this one http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mushroom-leek-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html with a few changes based on what was available at the super market and our whimsies.

6 cups (1/2-inch-diced) bread cubes from a rustic country loaf, crusts removed We used the Italian bread at the super market
2 tablespoons good olive oil  We added truffle oil
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces pancetta, small-diced We omitted this step to be veggie-friendly
4 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts (4 leeks) We saved the dark green parts to flavor broth
1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and 1/4-inch-sliced  We used a mix of cremini, jumbo mushrooms, and shitaake mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves We trippled this
1/4 cup medium or dry sherry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley  We're not parsley folks...
4 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade We used the sweet potatoes from the kale salad, kale stalks, shallot ends, broccoli ends, garlic, thyme, leek for a vegetarian stock
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (6 ounces), divided The supermarket was out of gruyere. We ended up using a mixture of gouda and cheddar


Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mushroom-leek-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback


The original toffee recipe is here http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/12/chocolatealmond/

I followed as instructed...except I was anxious and left out the chopping nuts part... So I had whole almonds instead. Not the end of the world but didn't stick quite as well as I'd hoped. But then I took the pieces that had not stuck together, chopped them together, melted extra chocolate and mixed it with the chopped toffee and nuts, and made chocolate bars with toffee and almond. It worked.

Chocolate-Almond Buttercrunch Toffee

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

• 2 cups (8 ounces, 225 g) toasted almonds or hazelnuts, chopped between 'fine' and 'coarse'
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 115 g) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• a nice, big pinch of salt
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 ounces (140 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips Used bittersweet

optional: Roasted cocoa nibs and fleur de sel

1. Lightly oil a baking sheet with an unflavored vegetable oil.

2. Sprinkle half the nuts into a rectangle about 8″ x 10″ (20 x 25 cm) on the baking sheet.

3. In a medium heavy-duty saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugars. Cook, stirring as little as possible, until the thermometer reads 300 F degrees. Have the vanilla and baking soda handy.

4. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.

5. Quickly pour the mixture over the nuts on the baking sheet. Try to pour the mixture so it forms a relatively even layer. (If necessary, gently but quickly spread with a spatula, but don’t overwork it.)

5. Strew the chocolate pieces over the top and let stand 2 minutes, then spread in an even layer.

Cut and pasted from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/12/chocolatealmond/ in case the link ever breaks and I become very very sadly unable to find what I did.

Background: J's grandparents have a persimmon tree. We now have an enormous number of persimmons ripening on the counter... It's almost a little sad seeing this many persimmons. I know my grandfather would have loved them.
Evidently, there are more persimmon recipes than I realized... Here are a few in case you you ever find yourself with a surplus of persimmons...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/persimmon-recipes_n_3949485.html

And while we're at it...some kumquat research since those supposedly are also in surplus in the winter...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18828304

Monkey Bread

Background: It's J's birthday and he commented about how it would be lovely if someone invented an apple monkey bread. Well, here I am waiting for butter to come to room temperature, and experimenting with turning Flour's brioche recipe into a monkey bread. We shall see if this works. In the meanwhile, this link of links looked pretty fabulous. Savory monkey bread? Amazing. http://www.thekitchn.com/15-different-wa-163188

Mmm...

Can't remember if I've raved about the rosemary shortbread recipe in Flour yet. If not, they're fabulous. And make life studying for a test better. Way better.

I love some of the suggestions for ways to incorporate kids.


http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/everydaycooking/family/chop-chop-sally-sampson-interview

deliciousness--easy salads!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Brilliant

Perfect for morning rush...

or a fancy garden party

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Crustless-Mini-Quiches-366969

Homemade Oreos

Ok, I changed my mind and made oreos instead. Let me tell you, they are amazing, and perhaps my most favorite recipe on earth. Thank you Joanne Chang! Recipe in Flour cookbook rocks... though I made the oreos about a 1/4 of the size as suggested so there'd be enough to share at the office.
xoxo

hazelnut? chocolate? yes please!

Goal of weekend:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-hazelnut-squares

Garces ceviche recipes!

http://philadelphia.foobooz.com/2013/06/28/celebrate-national-ceviche-day-at-distrito/

oooh!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/King-Oyster-Mushrooms-with-Pistachio-Puree-240259


Cannot wait to try this the recipe the next time I get sunchokes! This will be fabulous for using up some of my materials before moving!

Ginger, Strawberry, Mint Mocktails and Cocktails

This one's a spin off of jean-georges' home cooking with jean-georges.
See my other posts about my obsession with his food. Evidently, I'm not the only one. See NYTimes article with a few of his recipes posted there as well.

The original j-g recipe for ginger syrup:

Makes about 1 cup:

1 cup peeled and chopped fresh ginger
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine all three in a small (non-reactive) saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain through a sieve into a container, pressing on the ginger. Discard ginger. Syrup can be covered and refrigerated for 3 days.


The Miami girl recipe for new years:

2 cup peeled and chopped fresh ginger

2 cup turbinado sugar

2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup fresh mint

1/4 cup sliced strawberries

Combine ginger, sugar, and lemon juice ingredients and follow directions above. Let cool. 

Blend with fresh mint. Steep sliced strawberries in it.  Use syrup for making sodas (with club soda or seltzer water) and/or mix with rum and soda, or gin and tonic.

Use candied ginger for snacking. :)

And for the rest of the year, I prefer using lime instead of lemon.

Focaccia, Take III

Olive Focaccia

This is the recipe from the Flour Cookbook that I have been using. Now that I have a kitchen scale (thanks little bro!), I can try the weighted version of the recipe instead of the volume version. 

Methods:

1 3/4 cup water, at body temp (put your finger in it--should be neither hot nor cold)

1t active dry yeast

3 1/2 c (490 g) all-purpose flour (I ended up needing a little more at the end)

1 1/4c (190g) bread flour

3 teaspoons salt (I use 2 t sea salt in first step, and sprinkle sea salt on top at the end)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup olive oil in first step, 1/4 cup later

cornmeal

~1/4 cup olives, optional, which I did

I didn't have rosemary, but the original recipe calls for 2 T rosemary

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the water and yeast and let sit for 20 to 30 seconds to allow the yeast to dissolve and activate. See previous entries version 1 and version 2 for the bowl version. I now use a stand mixer but the results are fairly comparable.

2. Dump the all-purpose flour, bread flour, 1 tsp. of the salt and the sugar onto the water and carefully turn the mixer on low speed. Let the dough mix for about 30 seconds. (To prevent the flour from flying out of the bowl, turn the mixer on and off several times until the flour is mixed into the liquid, and then keep it on low speed.)
3. When the dough is shaggy looking, drizzle in 1/2 cup of the oil, aiming it along the side of the bowl to keep it from splashing and making a mess.
4. With the mixer still on low speed, knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and supple. The dough should be somewhat sticky but still smooth and have an elastic, stretchy consistency. If it is much stiffer than this, mix in a few tablespoons of water; if it is much looser than this, mix in a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour. (for some reason, I always need to add in more flour)
5. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, and turn the dough to coat it with oil.
6. Cover the bowl with an oiled piece of plastic wrap or lint-free damp cloth. Place the bowl in a draft-free, warm place (78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal; an area near the stove or in the oven with only the pilot light on is good) for 2 to 3 hours. The dough should rise until it is about double in bulk. (And if your house if freeeezing like mine so the dough doesn't rise after 3 hours...try perhaps turning the oven on, preheat it, and then turn the oven off and stick the dough in there)
7. Once the dough has risen, flour your hands and your work surface and turn the dough out of the bowl. Gently stretch the dough into a rectangle about 10 by 15 inches. I mix in the olives at this point although the recipe says to do it in step 11.
8. Sprinkle the cornmeal onto a baking sheet to keep the dough from sticking, and place the dough rectangle on the sheet. Generously flour the top of the dough, and then cover it loosely but completely with a piece of plastic wrap or a lint-free damp cloth. Place in a warm area for another hour or so, or until the dough rises a bit and gets puffy and pillowy.
9. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. When the dough is ready, remove the plastic wrap and dimple the dough all over, using all 10 fingers and thumbs, and firmly poking straight down into the dough all the way to the bottom.
11. Sprinkle the chopped olives and rosemary evenly over the top, drizzle evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, and then sprinkle evenly with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt.
12. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until completely golden brown on the top and bottom. (My oven temperature might be a little off... I haven't needed as long as the book says since moving into this house...it's more like 30 min for me...in past ovens, 40 min is ideal). Lift the dough and make sure the underside is browned before pulling it out of the oven, or you will end up with soggy focaccia.
13. Let cool on the pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle, then cut into serving pieces.

Results

Voila!

The focaccia will keep in a closed paper bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or tighly wrapped in two layers of plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. If frozen, thaw at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours and refresh in a 300-degree-Fahrenheit oven for 5 minutes, or refresh, directly from the freezer, in a 300-degree-Fahrenheit oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

For sandwiches, I've been reheating the bread as well, and/or using it for pressed paninis. Delicious! For New Year's Day, I fried two eggs and drizzled with jack cheese, and served on top of split open focaccia and served with a side of spicy breakfast potatoes. Delicious.