Hugo woke up with a bit of a puppy hangover on Wednesday  morning.  In a Marley & Me-esque moment, he consumed an entire box of Valentine’s Day chocolates, box, ribbon, and all on Tuesday.  I arrived at my desk to find a phone message, an email, and a text from John, all somewhere along the lines of “HELP! DOG ATE ENTIRE BOX OF CHOCOLATE.  What should I do????”  Vets were called, work was missed, and many rolls of paper towels were used.  Hugo shook it off just fine; a little worse for the ware from a sleepless night and an empty stomach, but my little angel will live to see another day.

Needless to say, we are all very much relieved. 

In need of some near-death experience consolation, I embarked on a little baking project this weekend:  a plump pan of pull apart rolls twisted with poppy seeds, butter, sugar, and lemon zest, which were inspired by this pull-apart lemon loaf on Leite’s Culinaria.  A little patience (hello, yeast dough) is rewarded with tender and melting rolls perfect for a breakfast or a just a sweet treat.  Not to worry, I’m keeping these well out of paw’s reach.     

One Year Ago: Chicken and Spatzel with White Wine & Creme Fraiche, Roasted Mushroom Soup with Barley and Kale. 

Makes 12 rolls & serves 4-6. 

Pull Apart Lemon Poppy Seed Sweet Rolls

For the Sweet Roll Dough

• 2 ½ cups + 2 tbsp / 355g all purpose flour  (+ more for rolling)
• ¼ cup / 50g granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ tsp / 1 package dry active yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup / 70g whole milk
• 4 tbsp / 56g unsalted butter
• ¼ cup / 56g water
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the Lemon Poppy Seed Filling

• ½ cup / 100g granulated sugar
• finely grated zest of 3 small lemons (about 3 tbsp)
• finely grated zest of 1 medium orange (about 1 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds
• 3 tbsp / 42 g unsalted butter, melted

For the Lemon Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Begin by making the dough.  Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment.  Mix to combine.  Combine the milk and butter in a small sauce pan over low heat and heat just until the butter is melted.  Alternatively, melt together in the microwave.  Allow to cool slightly, then whisk in the water, eggs, and vanilla extract. 

Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until a dough forms.  Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and kneed until no longer sticky – 3 to 4 minutes.  Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size – approximately one hour.  Punch down the dough and set in the refrigerator overnight. 

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 inch spring form cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Make the filling by combining the sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, and poppy seeds in a small bowl.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, working on a lightly floured surface, pat into a rectangle.  Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 20 inches long and 10 inches wide; keep the longer side facing you.  Brush the dough with melted butter and evenly sprinkle over the lemon-poppy mixture. 

Roll the dough over itself beginning at the side closest to you, forming a spiral.  Cut the spiral into 12 even pieces.  Transfer the rolls to the prepared pan, spiral side up, tucking any loose ends under each roll.  Be sure to evenly space the rolls as they will expand – I did 9 around the edge and 3 inside the circle. 

Cover the rolls with a clean dish towel and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size about 1 to 1 ½ hours.  Bake the rolls 30-35 minutes until golden brown. 

While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl.  Once cooked, transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool 5 to 10 minutes, then drizzle over the glaze while still warm.  Serve warm or room temperature – the rolls are best eaten the day they are made. 

I finally packed away the Christmas decorations yesterday.  Figured V-Day roses and a plate full of holiday cards couldn’t sit next to each other on the dining room table.  Cheesy as it is, I kind of like Valentine’s Day.  It’s an excuse to buy treats for the dog, cut our paper hearts, and make something delicious. 

This year, I tried Nigel Slater’s recipe for hot chocolate puddings.  The dark horse ingredient here is two heaped tablespoons of nutella, which adds some nutty depth to these warm and oozy chocolate cups.  For anyone who likes chocolate, this is a weak in the knees kind of dessert.

Speaking of weak knees & love.

This little mop-head is in desperate need of a trim.  Happy V-Day from me & my fuzzy valentine.  xx

Not the treat you were looking for?  Here’s a few more V-Day options from the achives:

chocoalte:

1. alice medrich’s torta cioccolata
2. chocolate sables
3. chocolate divine {flourless chocolate cake bliss}
4. chocolate pots de creme with nutella {!} chantilly
5. drunken fig truffles

non-chocolate:

1. cream puffs
2. plum frangipane tart {sub the plums with pears or frozen rasperries}
3. easiest fresh strawberry tart with a gingersnap crust {if you find good looking berries, go for it; if they’re not looking too hot, cook briefly with a pinch of sugar to soften and sweeten}
4. cherry clafoutis {use any frozen red berry this time of year}
5. lemon sponge cups {dress them up with a few berries + some whipped cream}

One Year Ago: Drunken Fig Truffles.

Hot Chocolate Puddings

• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (Nigel Slater calls for 1/2 cup – add more if you like sweeter desserts.)
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2 heaping tbsp nutella, or another chocolate hazelnut paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter 4 6oz ramekins. 

Place the chocolate and the butter in a metal bowl set over just simmering water (or use a double boiler if you have one.)  Stirring occasionally, leave it to melt.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and the egg yolks in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk until creamy, frothy, and pale yellow – this will take a minute or two.  You can also use a handheld electric mixer to do this.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peak form.

Once the chocolate is melted, add the nutella and stir to incorporate.  Remove from the heat and fold the chocolate mixture into the beaten egg yolks.  Gently fold in the beaten whites – make sure there are no visible streaks of whites left. 

Divide the mixture between the prepared ramekins and bake 12 to 15 minutes until risen.  The tops should be cracked, but the centers still melty.  Serve warm, topped with a little cocoa or powdered sugar.  Leftovers are delicious cold with a small pour of cream.

I learned this past weekend that Super Bowl Sunday ranks second only to Thanksgiving Day in terms of calories consumed by Americans.  Being totally oblivious, I forgot about the impending snack down when I ventured out for a few groceries Saturday afternoon.  A few groceries turned into a few hours fighting traffic, dodging grocery carts, and colliding with manic shoppers diving after the last bag of Doritos.  There are a lot of sarcastic things I could write about football’s big day here, but let’s just say it’s not really my thing.  Ask John, and he’ll tell you I shoveled a plate of wings in my face and then promptly fell asleep for the 2^nd half.

Incase anyone else out there is in need of a fresh hiatus between last weekend’s heartburn fest and next week’s chocolate pig out (hello, Valentine’s day), I present you with a Southeast Asian dinnertime escape.  No plane tickets or sunscreen required, just a quick trip to your local Asian supermarket and a little kitchen finesse.

Though they are readily available in most Vietnamese restaurants here, I first tasted Vietnamese pancakes (also known as Saigon Crepes or Banh Xeo) in Vietnam.  We were staying in Hoi An, a picturesque beach town about 60 miles outside of the City of Hue.  We went to the Hoi An’s central market – a bustling congregation of vendors that’s party grocery store and part food court – in search of Cau Lau, a hearty noodle and pork dish topped with crispy fried dough bits, rich homemade gravy, lime, greens, and fresh herbs.  Though the Cau Lau was certainly delicious, the stall we returned to again and again, sold Banh Xeo.  Crispy yellow crepes, wrapped around bits of stir fried pork, fresh shrimp in their shell, bean spouts, greens, and fresh herbs, the Hoi An (and Hue) style version of this dish is eaten out of hand with a thick fermented bean sauce for dipping. 

Aren’t those pans incredible?  Talk about well-seasoned.  The photos above were taken in the Hoi An market by John; see the rest of his Vietnam photos here.   

More than two years later, those pancakes are still on my mind.  Saturday afternoon, after the aforementioned grocery misadventure, I set about making my very own Vietnamese pancakes.  The recipe here is adapted from Mai Pham’s The Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table, and though very similar to the pancakes we ate in Hoi An, this version is more in the style of Ho Chi Minh City, served with nuoc cham for dipping rather than the thicker fermented bean sauce.  The batter comes together easily – a quick combination of rice flour, coconut milk, water, and turmeric, dotted with sliced scallions – but I ran into trouble cooking the crepes.  First round, they stuck, fell apart, and ended up mounded on my lunch plate: deliciously disastrous.  Round two, I abandoned the recipe’s instructions to cook the crepes in a 12-14 inch skillet, instead opting of a more manageable 8 inch skillet, and stir-fried the filling in a separate pan.  This method yielded much more cooperative albeit less authentic pancakes. 

Along with the pancakes, I also included a recipe for traditional Thai coconut sticky rice with fresh fruit below.  The Southeast Asian dessert for a reason, you’ll be surprised how easy this dish is to recreate at home.  Subtly sweet and coconut scented, for me the pleasure of this dessert is textural – sticky, chewy, toothsome rice and cool yielding fruit.  A great way to finish any spicy meal, leftovers make a delicious breakfast or lunchbox snack.  

One Year Ago: Meyer Lemon Shortbread & Orange Ginger Jam + Chocolate Sables.

Saigon Style Vietnamese Pancakes

Adapted from Mai Pham’s Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table

Serves 4 to 6

For the Salad

• 1 head butter lettuce (or any soft mild lettuce), washed and leaves separated
• ½ large English cucumber, thinly sliced
• Assorted fresh herbs – basil, mint, cilantro and/or thai basil

For the Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

• 2 thai bird chilies, sliced into thin rings – this makes a pleasantly spicy sauce.  Increase or decrease according to your taste.
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 5 tbsp fish sauce
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp finely julienned carrots for garnish

For the Pancakes

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 1/3 cups water
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• Vegetable oil for cooking

For the Filling

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small or ½ large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 oz pork shoulder or chicken breast, pounded thin and sliced in 1 inch strips
• 8 oz raw small shrimp, heads removed in or out of their shells  – New Englanders: Maine Shrimp are in season now, insanely sweet, and perfect here. 
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• Salt

Begin by preparing the salad and the nuoc cham – both items can be kept in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.  For the salad, simple arrange all ingredients on a large platter and cover with a damp paper towel until ready to serve.  For the nuoc cham, combine 2/3 of the chili (reserving 1/3 for garnish), the garlic, and the sugar in a mortar and pestle and pound into a rough paste.  Transfer to a small bowl and add the lime juice, fish sauce, and warm water.  Mix and taste for balance, adding more lime juice (acidity), fish sauce (salt), or sugar (sweetness) as needed.  Keep in mind the rest of the dish is essentially unseasoned, so you want your sauce to have a good kick.  Garnish with the carrots and the reserved chili.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Next, mix the pancake batter.  Combine the rice flour, tumeric, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Slowly drizzle in the water, whisking well as you pour.  Stir in the coconut milk and the scallions.  The batter should be thin and brightly yellow.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Next, prepare the filling.  When you’re ready to serve, preheat a wok or heavy bottomed sauté pan over high heat.  Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and the sliced onions.  Stir fry 1 to 2 minutes until aromatic, then add the sliced pork or chicken along with a pinch of salt and stir fry 2-3 minutes or until the meat is browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a platter and return the pan to the heat.  Add another tbsp of oil along with the bean sprouts, shrimp, and another pinch of salt.  Stir fry 2 minutes or until the bean sprouts are slightly wilted and the shrimp are cooked through. Transfer the shrimp and bean sprouts to the platter holding the onions and meat.  Cover with aluminum foil and set this, your salad, and your nuoc cham on the table. 

Assemble your friends and family and start cooking your pancakes.  These are at their best freshly cooked, so get everyone involved in the process.  Preheat an 8 or 9 inch skillet (preferably non-stick) over high heat with 1 tsp vegetable oil.  If you have 2 small skillets, preheat both; it will make the process that much faster.  Add 1/3 cup to ½ cup pancake batter and tilt the pan to coat.  Cover the pan with a lid (doesn’t have to fit tightly – any pot lid or dinner plate will work) and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute until the pancake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Remove the lid and cook an additional 1 minute to crisp the crepe – peek under the sides of the crepe, it should be slightly browned.  Transfer to a serving plate.

To eat the pancake, tear off a small piece, top with a little stir-fried meat and shrimp + some salad and herbs and dip in the nuoc cham.  Alternatively, pile your crepe with toppings and sauce and enjoy with a knife and fork!

Thai Style Coconut Sticky Rice

Adapted from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Hot Sour Salty Sweet

Serves 6-8

• 3 cups sticky rice (aka glutinous or sweet rice) soaked in warm water for 1 hour and then drained
• 2 cups coconut milk
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Fresh sliced mango, pineapple, and/or papaya to serve
• Toasted sesame seeds to serve

Steam the Rice: Either use a bamboo style rice steamer set over plenty of boiling water, or make your own rice steamer using a large soup pot and a metal colander lined with cheesecloth.  Fill the pot with a few inches of water (you don’t want the rice touching the water), place the rice in the colander, and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Steam until the rice is translucent – 15-25 minutes.  Check the pot periodically to make sure it hasn’t run out of water. 

Meanwhile, prepare the coconut sauce: Combine the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Heat just until warmed through and the sugar has dissolved.

Once the rice is cooked, transfer to a mixing bowl and add 1 ¼ cups of the coconut sauce.  Mix well and let the rice sit for 1 hour.  Reserve the remaining coconut sauce for serving. 

To serve: Scoop some rice into a bowl, top with plenty of fresh fruit, a few spoons of coconut sauce and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.  Keeps well refrigerated up to 1 week – bring the rice to room temperature before serving or steam it for a few minutes to reheat.   

Anyone who has tried to make bread at home knows there are three essential ingredients:

1. 1.  some combination of flour, water, salt, and *live* (as opposed to dead in the cupboard 3 year old) yeast
2. 2.  a very very very hot oven
3. 3.  a patient baker

Anyone who knows me, knows I am sorely lacking one item here, which is partly why I rarely make bread at home.  With so many excellent bread bakeries in and around Boston – think Clear Flour, Hi Rise, Fornax, even Iggy’s – it’s not only hard to get motivated, but also hard to replicate quality loves at home.

Nevertheless, approximately once a year, usually when I find myself wrapped in wool and spending an afternoon at home, I get the itch to fill my kitchen with the glorious smell of freshly baked bread and pretend I live on an idyllic goat farm somewhere in Southern France.  Don’t ask.  No idea how I came to equate goat farming with bread baking, but it’s where my mind goes.

And so, I’ll break out the flour and the yeast and get to work making what all too often turns out to be a very disappointing loaf of bread.  Dense and flabby, my homemade loaves are never the blistering, open-textured, chewy specimens of my imagination.  Let’s be clear:  I’m not talking about soft-white bread here.  I make a mean brioche, potato rolls, and even english muffins.  I’m after something more hearty, rustic, and savory. 

Probably my greatest bread-baking shortcoming is my inability to keep a starter living more than 24 hours.  It’s the usual neglect related cause of death every time, but somehow I blame the starter itself or the recipe.  Rest easy: I am much more attentive to the dog. 

All this to say, I have long considered myself a bit of a bread baking failure. 

Enter today’s recipe.  An adaptation of an archived Food 52 recipe for Pain a l’Ancienne, I was drawn to the recipe not only by the beautiful photo (blistering! rustic! hearty!), but also by the directions, which required no starter, no special equipment, and very little fuss.

And the results?  Finally, a home-baked bread that lives up to my expectations – moist and chewy, with a crackling crust, it hits the heat of the oven and explodes, creating a light and bubbly crumb.  Warm and slathered in salted butter, this bread is about the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long while. 

One Year Ago: My Dad’s Yorkshire Puddings.  (Speaking of delicious things to come out of the kitchen, this is an all-time favorite.)

The recipe here produces 4 medium loaves, and the dough also makes an excellent  pizza crust.  Lately, I’ve been mixing the dough on Saturday, then baking off 3 loaves on Sunday afternoon along with a pizza for lunch. 

I adapted things only slightly from the original source, providing measurements in weight to keep things consistent from my kitchen to yours, and also adding a bit of extra water.  The recipe calls for an overnight rest in the refrigerator, which gives the yeast time to slowly ferment and adds great flavor – don’t skip this step!

Ciabata Bread or Pizza Dough

• 3 cups / 708g ice cold water, divided (I fill a large pitcher with ice and cold tap water and pour from there to measure.)
• 2 tsp / 7g active dry yeast (I like red star for bread)
• 6 cups / 908g bread flour + more for dusting
• 1/3 cup / 35g toasted wheat germ
• 2 tsp / 6g kosher salt
• 1 tsp / 7g olive oil (optional)
• Cornmeal for dusting

Combine ¼ cup water (70g) and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment.  Let sit 5 minutes until frothy.  Add the remaining 2 ¾ cups (638g) water, the flour, wheat germ, salt, and olive oil (if using.)  Make sure to add the salt on top of the flour, rather than on top of the yeast – direct contact will kill off some of your yeast.  Mix until a dough is formed and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Continue mixing an additional 5 minutes to kneed the dough.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours.     

The next day, dump the dough our on a well-floured counter.  Cover well with flour and press the dough into a rectangle about 8 inches by 8 inches (20 centimeters by 20 centimeters.)  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen – the dough should be slightly risen, but still cool to the touch.

Half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 500 degrees and set a caste iron pan on the bottom shelf, near the door – you’ll be pouring water into the pan, so want it as accessible as possible.  Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal.  Have ready ½ cup of cold water in a cup or dish beside your oven.

Once the dough is proofed, cut it into quarters using a floured bench knife or sharp kitchen knife.  With the sheet pan next to you, take a quarter section of dough and gently lift it up – the dough with stretch and sag between your hands.  Stretch to approximately 12 inches (30 centimeters) and set the dough lengthwise across the sheet pan.  Repeat with a second piece of dough, setting it next to the first. 

Place the sheet pan in the preheated oven and quickly pour the ½ cup water into the caste iron pan.  Shut the oven door, and reduce the heat to 450 degrees.  Set the timer for 12 minutes – do not open the oven door!  (You want to trap the steam.)  After 12 minutes, rotate the bread 180 degrees and bake an additional 4 minutes.  Remove and cool.

To bake the next two breads, return the oven to 500 degrees and allow to preheat 15 minutes before repeating the stretching and baking process – don’t forget to add the ½ cup water for steam.

Pizza Instructions:

Begin by preheating the oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the pizza.  I skip the steam for pizza, as not as much oven lift is needed – so no need to have water ready or place the caste iron pan in the bottom of the oven.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal.  Gently lift one quarter of the proofed dough and stretch it to fit the sheet pan – it should be quite thin in the center and only slightly thicker around the edge.  Don’t worry about making the pizza perfectly rectangular, remember rustic = beautiful!  Top your dough with toppings of choice – I generally use pizza as a vehicle to use up leftovers from my fridge.  Just remember less is more; loaded pizzas never bake well.  The pizza you see pictured is tomato sauce, leftover baked eggplant, slivered brussel sprouts, mozzarella and parmesan drizzled in a little olive oil and with a shake of chili flakes + sea salt. 

Bake the prepared pizza 10 minutes at 500 degrees.  Then, rotate 180 degrees and reduce the heat to 450 degrees – continue baking until golden brown, crisp, and bubbling 3-6 minutes more.  Serve immediately. 

I first tasted this pudding almost one year ago to the date.  I’ve kept it to myself all this time because a rice pudding recipe never seems the type of thing anyone’s eagerly searching for.  But, considering this is something I crave all the time and make over and over and over, I thought it should be shared. 

John first stumbled on this recipe in an old post (circa 2007) on Luisa Weiss’ blog The Wednesday Chef. He was searching for something easy to put an end to my pudding  whining.  If memory serves, I believe yours truly scoffed at the rice pudding suggestion, imagining something vaguely healthful and not at all the creamy goodness I was after.  Growing up, rice pudding was something we made to use up leftover cooked rice – cinnamon specked with raisins, lots of milk, and maybe a cardamom pod if we were feeling exotic.  Virtuous enough to eat for breakfast type of thing.  This pudding is not in the same category. (Though don’t think that stops me from enjoying it with my morning coffee.)  It’s ultra-creamy – each grain of rice swollen with milk and draped in soft-luxurious vanilla-bay scented custard. 

A “dark horse” is Luisa Weiss’ apt description of the bay leaf here.  Bay leaf.  In a dessert.  Let that sink in for a minute.  When you’ve finished freaking out, relax: it’s absolutely delicious, adding just a hint of subtle exotic spice.  Without knowing the bay leaf’s in there, you’d be hard pressed to put a finger (or a tongue) on the flavor.  Since my first bite of this pudding, I’ve become a bit of a vanilla-bay fanatic and have been known to slip the two into ice cream bases, bread puddings, pots de crème, and the like.

Makes about 1 quart of pudding, which hypothetically serves 6-8.  That said, this rarely lasts more than 24 hours in our household of 2.

One Year Ago: Pistachio Cake

Bay and Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding

• ¾ cup long grain rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 to 5 cups whole milk
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
• Pinch of salt

Place the rice and bay leaf in a medium sauce pan and cover with water.  Bring just to a boil and then immediately turn off the heat and drain.  Return the rice and bay leaf to the pot and add 4 cups of milk, the sugar, and the vanilla bean.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour until the rice is fully cooked and most of the milk has been absorbed.  At this point, you can cool a bit and enjoy as is or add another cup or so of milk and continue cooking another 15-20 minutes until the milk is absorbed – this will give you a milkier and slightly richer pudding.  (We generally skip this step.)

Serve warm or at room temperature, but not piping hot – the pudding is best after setting -up and cooling slightly.  Notoriously impatient, this final step is the hardest for me.  Enjoy the pudding plain or with a small pour of heavy cream and a tiny sprinkling of ground cinnamon.

There is a lot of baklava consumed in Greece.  If not by the Greeks themselves, then at least by the throngs of summer tourists who descend on those blue waters in August.  Presented with sticky-crunchy-drippy pastry, we followed the when in Rome (or Athans) mantra and reached for the nearest fork.  I’ve never been a huge lover of baklava’s syrupy sweetness but, with a café fredo or an espresso chaser, and served ice-ice cold, the Greek baklava categorically won me over. 

In the city of Chania, on the western side of Crete, we came across a family shop, where the owner (now in his 70s) has been making hand-pulled phyllo dough for more than 50 years.  He put on an inspiring dough-stretching show for us, and in return we gladly paid 10 Euros for a tiny box of homemade phyllo treats.

Fortunately, today’s recipe does not require draping your dining room table in bed sheets or dough acrobatics best left to the experts.  This is more of a clear out the refrigerator endeavor I baked last night to munch with wine.  Having bought a pack of frozen phyllo for an apple strudel, I wound up with a few miscellaneous sheets left floating in the freezer.  Brushed and layered with butter and parmesan cheese, they made an excellent vehicle for a deeply carmelized onion and a few rings of soft-sweet roasted delicata squash. 

Delicata, if you aren’t familiar with its charm, is a favorite thin-skinned winter squash, perfect for stuffing or slicing into pretty rings.  The cooked skin is yielding enough to be eaten, just be sure to give it a good wash before roasting.  Any winter vegetable would be welcome here though – butternut or acorn squash, thinly sliced potatoes, parsnips, or even roasted carrots.

Makes one 10 inch tart which serves 8-10 as a before dinner snack, or 4-6 as a light meal with salad and bread. 

One Year Ago: Spiced Red Lentil Soup with Ginger and Coconut and Kasha Breakfast Porridge.

Phyllo and Delicata Squash Tart

• 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium delicata squash, washed, seeded, and cut into thin rings (about ½ inch thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 4 sheets prepared phyllo pastry
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 3-4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, divided
• ½ cup grated gruyere (substitute any Swiss, mildgouda, or cheddar you have on hand)
• ½ tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• ½ tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Set a medium sauté pan over medium high heat and drizzle in a little olive oil.  Add the sliced onion and sauté until wilted with a little salt, and then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelized – this takes about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the squash rings on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast until softened and beginning to brown, 25-30 minutes. 

Once the onions and squash are cooked, prepare the tart shell by brushing a 10 inch tart pan with a little melted butter.  Lay one sheet of phyllo in the pan (its edges should overhang) and brush with butter – make sure to get all the way to the edge.  Sprinkle over a little parmesan cheese (no more than 1 tsp) and top with a second phyllo sheet.  Repeat with the remaining sheets, omitting the butter and parmesan on the top sheet.  Using a pair of kitchen scissors, trim the corners of the phyllo so you have approximately a 2 inch overhand all around your pan – don’t worry about making this perfectly even. 

Transfer the caramelized onions into the bottom of the tart, then top with the squash rings.  Sprinkle over the gruyere, a little extra parmesan, and the fresh herbs.  Gently fold the edges of the phyllo into the tart pan – they should look crinkled and very rustic.  Brush the exposed phyllo edges with a little melted butter and bake the tart 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.  Serve immediately or reheat at 375 degrees for 10 minutes before serving.   

I came very close to handing over the first post of 2012 to either a pot of creamy vanilla-specked rice pudding or to a pan of pancetta fortified meatballs, but clearly neither fits well with my January 1^st New-Year-New-Me mantra (insert dramatic eye roll here.)  Though I did run 3 miles at the gym yesterday, I also stuffed my face with crackling and butter-laden apple strudel and the better part of a bottle of wine.  Needless to say, the New Year is off to a great start here.

But instead of creamy dessert or crisp-crackling meatballs, I have for you today the ultimate New Year’s cliché: a salad.

Bear with me people.  It’s a damn good salad, I promise.    

It is inspired by the first two-martini lunch I’ve had in years (except they were manhattans) shared with Vange at Area Four in Cambridge on Friday.  We got a bit of a late start on our lunch plans after running into every single resident of J.P. (Vange has been M.I.A. for a couple years and drew a bit of a crowd), plus a nasty head bonking which I won’t go into here (except to say that blood was drawn and that it was neither my head nor my bonking.)

Long and short, by the time we were seated at Area Four, the wait staff was doing pre-meal with the chef and busily setting the restaurant for dinner service.  We ordered away: homemade mozzarella topped with gremolata, a charming white pizza with New England Clams and smoky bacon, and a sassy salad of shaved brussel sprouts, arugula, kale ribbons, cheese, and toasted hazelnuts.  Maybe because the pale winter sun had waned already, or because of the aforementioned head trauma, or maybe just because I like wine, we washed this meal down with a liter of wine and two cocktails each.  A very. nice. lunch. indeed.      

I’ve recreated the salad below.  Winter vegetables thinly sliced and deliciously dressed in zesty lemon vinaigrette (a winter favorite, also used here), tons of pecorino, and toasted pine nuts.  Liter of wine and manhattans optional. 

One Year Ago: Spelt and Jam Scones (Again with the new-year-new-me theme…)

Shaved Winter Vegetable Salad

Serves 4-6

For the Salad

• 10 medium brussel sprouts, trimmed and very finely sliced
• 6 large leaves Tuscan kale, stems removed and very finely sliced
• 1 large handful baby arugula
• ½ bulb fennel, trimmed and very finely sliced (optional)
• 2 ounces pecorino cheese, coarsely grated
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

For the Dressing

• 1 small garlic clove or ½ large clove
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Pinch salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Juice of half a lemon, or more to taste
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp finely grated pecorino cheese

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and set aside while you prepare the dressing.

For the dressing, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to a mortar and pestle and pound until a paste forms.  Add the lemon juice and mix well.  Whisk in the olive oil and the grated pecorino. 

Toss the salad with the dressing and taste for seasoning – adding more salt, pepper, lemon juice, or olive oil as needed.

We were talking over lunch last week about my failed trip to India last winter.  It was only the second time I planned an elaborate trip to Northern India, the first having been cancelled by a certain Icelandic eruption.  Long story short, the second trip never set sail either, so instead of landing in New Deli this time last year, I touched down in Amsterdam instead.  After a beautiful week with my best friend Lindsay, I booked myself a short flight to Budapest.  Why I chose to go North instead of South to Morocco, Greece, or Turkey will remain a mystery.  At any rate, I travelled by way of the lovely Frankfurt airport (in which I spent a grueling 12 hours waiting for 1 inch of snow to be cleared from the runway) and, on arriving in Budapest, was greeted by the freak European snow blizzard of 2010.  It was a memorable trip to say the least.    

I bring this up because my luck [not] travelling to India has closely paralleled my luck [not] baking delicious gingerbread lately.  A series of unfortunate events, you might say.  Indeed, this was the third gingerbread cake to come out of my kitchen last week. 

Gingerbreads can generally be assigned one of two categories: the brown and the black.  Brown cakes are close cousins of the honey cake – softly spiced and lightly scented with molasses.  Black cakes are dense, serious cakes laden with molasses and full with spice.  The brown version I think I’ve got covered, but it’s the black where thing start falling apart.  There’s a fine line between a moist cake and a downright dense cake, and it would seem cakes in my kitchen like to cross it.  What was promised to be “sticky” all too often winds up tasting under-baked and all wrong. 

Which is why I’d like to introduce you to this little number.  Finally, a gingerbread cake I can get behind.  Drum roll please: the recipe has been waiting patiently for me all these years in my very own recipe box.  (I’ll skip the goldilocks life lesson metaphor here, but don’t think it’s not crossing my mind.)  A slight modification of a recipe I jotted down from my Dad years ago, this cake is richly fragrant with ginger, cinnamon, molasses and just a touch of espresso and cocoa.  It is dark (albeit not quite black) and the perfectly dense.  I topped things off with a glaze version of classic Christmas hard sauce – the kind of thing served alongside Christmas pudding once upon a time.  True to its name, the sauce is hard in the “spiked with alcohol” sense as well as the “not liquid at room temperature” sense.  Be sure to keep it in a warm place until you are ready to glaze the cake.

Happy New Year Everyone!

One Year Ago: Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows. 

Gingerbread Cake

Makes one 10 inch bundt which serves 8-10

• ½ cup / 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsulfured molasses
• ½ cup honey
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1tbsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 10 cup bundt pan or 9 by 9 square baking dish. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar and egg.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, cocoa, and salt.  Finally, in another bowl, combine the molasses, honey, water, espresso powder, orange zest, and fresh ginger.  Alternately add the dry ingredients and the molasses mixture to the butter and sugar.  Stir well to combine. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake springs back when touches and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool slightly. 

Hard Sauce Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp brandy or whisky

Stir together all ingredients until smooth.  Store in a warm place (like the back of the stove) until ready to use.  If the glaze hardens before you use it, microwave or place in a warm oven a few seconds until softened.

While the cake is still warm, drizzle the glaze over using a spoon.  Allow to set and then dust in powdered sugar and serve.

I tried to make quince paste from scratch once.  I was one of those Epic Kitchen Fails.  A pride goeth before a fall moment, kind of like every time I manage to leave the house looking like a professional (instead of a 28 year old college student), only to rip my skirt or drop coffee all over my lap before I make it to work. 

I was a little too pleased with myself over the prospect of homemade membrillo, visions of cheese plates and sparkling silver dinner parties dancing though my head, to notice that while I was busy snapping photos of my trophy quinces, the spread itself was turning a frightening shade of black as it scorched both my pan and the wall behind my stove. 

Fortunately for all of us, I reached for a tub of already prepared quince paste last weekend to make these scones.  The inspiration here comes from an almond-quince scone I had last week at Ula Café in J.P., minus the almond part with lots of manchego cheese instead.  It’s sweet-salty treat, or “swalty” as it’s known in my house.

Manchego is a traditional Spanish sheep’s milk cheese that’s hard like romano, but much more mild and pleasantly nutty/grassy.  It’s magic (like most cheeses) with bread and membrillo or fig spread.  Pour a glass of wine, light a few candles, and the Christmas spirit will be yours. 

In the unlikely event that you find yourself with any leftover manchego, you can bake a batch of buttery, crisp, salty, cheesy scones with an oozing layer of quince paste sandwiched in the middle.  You know, if you’re into that kind of thing. 

Serve them for brunch or cut them small and pass them (with the aforementioned glass of wine) as a tasty pre-dinner snack. 

One Year Ago: Winter Squash Laksa with Ginger and Tomatoes.

Makes 12 breakfast sized scones, or 24 hors d’oeuvres size scones. 

Manchego and Quince Paste Scones

• 5 oz / 140g quince paste, also called membrillo
• 2 ¼ cups + 2 tbsp / 340g all purpose flour
• ½ tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp / 125g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 3 oz / 85g coarsely grated manchego cheese
• ½ cup / 110g buttermilk, plus a little extra for brushing
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the quince paste in a small bowl and mix to soften then set aside.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few seconds to cut in the butter – do not over-mix.  You want the butter somewhere between the size of oatmeal peas. 

Transfer the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the cheese, buttermilk, and egg.  Mix with your hand until a dough forms. 

Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and pat it into a rectangle.  Roll to about 16 inches wide by 8 inches deep.  Using your hands or an offset spatula, spread the quince paste lengthwise across one side (about 4 inches) of the scones.  Fold the other side over the quince paste and, using a chef’s knife, trim the ends.  Cut into 12 equal triangles.  (To make hors d’oeuvres size scone, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise before you cut it into triangles – you should have two 4 inch by 16 inch rectangles, each of which can be cut into 12 triangular scones.)  Place the scones on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake 15 to 17 minutes until golden brown.  Rotate the scones half way through cooking.  Serve warm or room temperature.  Scones are best eaten the day they are made, but any leftovers can be warmed in a 300 degree oven 8-10 minutes.

I packed up a big box of cookies and mailed them off to Milwaukee, Oregon today.  Now just praying to the USPS gods that the Wang’s won’t end up with a big box of crumbs. 

December is cookie land in my house.  I tend to spend my days elbow deep in stickiness, racks of baked goods perched on every flat surface in the house, a fridge packed with butter, and a freezer filled with ziplock bags. 

Growing up, we made the same Christmas treats year after year – chocolate shortbread, butter shortbread, thimble cookies, nanimo bars, and mince tarts.  As sure as the tree, the stockings, and the lights, the baking was part of the whole cozy Christmas package. 

Now though?   I’m horribly fickle.  I almost never make the same thing twice, which means I roll out an entirely new round of recipes every year.  A.K.A masochism, cookie style.  Nothing like testing a half a dozen new recipe when you’re up against the USPS deadline and baking for your closest friends and family.  We’re talking high stakes, people.  Good thing I have a wrapping-paper obsessed cocker spaniel to keep me company.

Last year’s cookie baking parade produced more disasters than I’d like to remember, but this year, thanks to a keep-it-simple-stupid mantra, I’ve managed to keep my head mostly screwed on straight. 

Here’s what’s on the menu this year:

Cherry Pistachio Shortbread:  Tender butter shortbread flecked with red and green.  Pretty, delicious, and dead simple. 

Sassy Molassies:  Three kinds of ginger (fresh, ground, and crystallized), plus blackstrap molasses and fresh ground black pepper give these little guys some refreshing sass.

Ina Garten’s Honey Pecan Squares: I confess, these produced a minor kitchen disaster in the form of an oven coated in smoking caramel and a rather hazy house.  BUT, they are damn good.  Think pecan pie on top of a shortbread crust with less goo and real honey flavor.

Cardamom Crescents: Russian tea cake type cookies with the intoxicating combination of cardamom, cinnamon, and pecans.  These will make your house smell like all of the above.  Awful, as I’m sure you can imagine. 

Chocolate Macaroons with Orange Spice Ganache:  My attempt at pretty French macaroons (errr…fail), but they taste incredible.  Almond + orange + chocolate + cloves + allspice = cookie bliss.  They are soft and just chewy enough.  I horrified John by painting them in edible silver and gold dust.  It’s gotta be all natural, right?

And last but not least, Lace Cookies with Oatmeal and Chocolate: Wafer thin and crisp-caramelized cookies brushed in dark chocolate.  Yes, please.

Merry Christmas Everyone.  Wishing you all mugs of cocoa, cheesy carols, snowflakes, and some holiday magic.  xx

Cherry Pistachio Shortbread

• 250g, 1 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 100g, ½ cup granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 300g, 2 cups all purpose flour
• 65g, ½ cup finely chopped pistachios
• 75g, ½ cup roughly chopped dried cherries

Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat together the butter and sugar until well mixed, but not fluffy – about 2 minutes.  Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix to combine.  Add the flour and, with the mixer on low, slowly incorporate into the butter mixture.  Stop mixing when the dough has no visible flour but looks crumbly and add the pistachios and dried cherries.  Continue mixing until the dough comes together. 

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once chilled, roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well floured work surface.  Cut using your favorite cookie cutter (I like to keep these on the small size.)  Arrange the cookies 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Bake 10-15 minutes (depending on size) until set and golden around the edges.  Cool on wire racks.  The shortbread keep well wrapped at room temperature up to 1 week, or frozen up to 1 month.  Defrost at room temperature for 2 hours before serving.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

or “Sassy Molassies” as we called them at Clear Flour

from Bon Appétit, December 2011

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp finely ground fresh black pepper
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I has some organic Spectrum shortening on hand, which I used here.  I rarely bake with shortening, and if you can’t find a good brand, I would go for all butter.  The shortening, like any oil, will simply keep the cookies softer longer.)
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 tsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
• 1 to 2 cups turbinado or sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 

Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, combine the brown sugar, butter, and shortening.  Beat until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Add the egg and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add the molasses, vanilla extract, and fresh ginger and mix well.  Add the sifted dry ingredients and, with the mixer on low, mix until just incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl and add the crystallized ginger, mixing to incorporate.

Spread the turbinado or sanding sugar sheet pan.  Scoop the cookie dough using a 1 tablespoon measure and place it on the sugar.  (The dough will be very sticky.)  Using your hands, roll the dough in the sugar and form it into rounds.  Place the rounds on parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing the rounds about 1 ½ inches apart.  Bake 8-12 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool, and repeat with the remaining dough – this recipe makes about 48 small cookies, which for me took two rounds in the oven.

Cookies keep well wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or frozen up to one month.  Defrost at room temperature at least 2 hours before serving.  

Ina Garten’s Honey Pecan Bars

For the Shortbread Crust:

• 1 ¼ lbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt

For the Pecan Caramel Topping:

• 1 lb unsalted butter
• 1 cup good honey
• 3 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 lb 12 oz toasted pecans

Make the Shortbread Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Have ready an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1 inch pan (half sheet pan.) Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, combine the butter and the sugar a beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.  Scrape down the bowl and add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix on low speed just until the dry ingredients are well incorporated into the butter mixture.  Scoop the dough into your pan and sprinkle with a little flour.  Using your hands, press the dough as evenly as possible to cover the bottom of the pan.  Use more flour as necessary – the dough will be quite sticky.

Bake the crust 15 minutes until set but not browned.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

Make the Pecan Caramel Topping:

While the crust bakes, prepare the caramel.  Combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Cook until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved; then boil an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream and pecans. 

Bake the Bars:

Spread the pecan filling over the crust, using a spatula to distribute it evenly.  Lay out two large pieces of tinfoil and center your pan over the foil.  Fold the tin foil up around the pan to form a “moat.”  Place the wrapped pan in the oven and set another pan under it (just incase.)  Bake 35 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven and cool completely at room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.  Then, using a sharp knife, cut the bars – I went with 8 across and 4 down to yield 32 bars, some of which I cut in half for gifts.  You’ll want to also run your knife around the edge of the bars to loosen them.

The bars keep well wrapped at room temperature up to 1 week and can be frozen up to 2 months.  Defrost at room temperature 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Cardamom Crescents

Adapted From Bon Appétit, December 2011

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, well sifted (divided)
• 1 cup toasted pecans
• 1 cup (1/2 pound or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Sift together the flour, spices and salt and set aside. 

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pecans with ½ a cup of powdered sugar until the nuts are well ground, but not a paste. 

Using a stand or hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter and vanilla until soft and slightly fluffy – 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the pecans and powdered sugar and mix well to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough begins to come together then stop the mixer and finish by kneading a few times by hand.

UPDATE:  Round two I made these entirely in the food processor, which saves you from washing out the mixer.  Start by combining the pecans and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar in the food processor, pulsing until the pecans are ground but not a paste.  Then add the butter and vanilla and pulse to combine.  Last, add the flour, spices, and salt and pulse until a dough forms. 

Drop 1 tbsp rounds of cookies onto the prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.  Roll each cookie into a log about 1 ½ inches long and then bend to form a crescent, tapering the ends slightly. 

Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets half way through.  Cool slightly and then, working in batches, toss the warm cookies in the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Cool completely and dust with more powdered sugar before serving. 

Cookies keep well wrapped at room temperature up to 5 days and can be frozen up to 1 month. 

Chocolate Macaroons with Orange Spice Ganache

Adapted from Bon Appétit, December 2011

This recipe calls for a precise measurement of egg whites, which helps ensure the macaroons have the right texture. 

For the Macaroons

• 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 1 ¼ cup blanches slivered almonds
• 3 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tbsp egg whites (from about 3 large eggs), at room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Pulse 1 cup powdered sugar and the almonds in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground, but not a paste.  Add the cocoa powdered and remaining 1 cup powdered sugar and pulse to combine.  Sift the mixture through a medium-mesh sifter, discarding any large pieces of almonds that remain – if more than 1 tbsp remains, pulse again and re-sift.  (I used a mortar and pestle to finely grind the remaining nuts as my food processor wasn’t doing the job.)

Using a stand or hand-held electric mixer, beat the 1/3 cup of egg whites until frothy.  Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold the remaining 3 tbsp egg whites into the almond-sugar mixture as is, and then fold in the beaten egg whites in two additions. 

Spoon the meringue batter into a piping bag fitted with a ¼ inch tip (or use a freezer bag and cut ¼ inch hole in one corner.)  Pipe quarter-size rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing one inch apart.  Let stand until the tops are dry, about 10 minutes.  Bake the macaroons, rotating half-way through, 14-16 minutes until puffed and dry.  Cool on a wire rack and repeat with the remaining batter – be sure to use a cool baking tray. 

For the Ganache

• 3 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Sharfen Berger 62%), very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Edible gold and/or silver dust for topping (bling optional)

Combine the chocolate and butter in a small mixing bowl.  Heat the cream over medium heat until boiling, remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest, spices, and salt.  Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and butter and stir until smooth.

Refrigerate until firm enough to pipe, about 20 minutes.

To fill the macaroons, spoon the ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a ¼ inch tip (or again use a plastic freezer bag.)  Pipe about 1 tsp ganache onto the flat side of one macaroon and top with a second macaroon, pressing slightly to seal.  Decorate with gold or silver dust if desired.  Macaroons keep well refrigerated up to 1 week, and are actually at their peak after a night in the fridge.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Lace Cookies with Oatmeal and Chocolate

Adapted from The Essence of Chocolate by John Sharfenberger and Robert Steinberg

I use melted chocolate chips to decorate these cookies because they keep their shine when melted and don’t need to be tempered.  If you prefer regular chocolate, be sure to temper it beforehand – instructions can be found here.

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup (2 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half
• 2 tbsp lyle’s golden syrup or light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp dark rum or whisky
• 4 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (like Ghiradelli) – I microwave the chocolate chips 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval.  Alternatively, you can melt over a double boiler. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and oats in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, cream, golden syrup, vanilla, and rum.  Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. 

Drop by 1 tsp rounds onto the prepared baking sheets.  Keep the cookies quite far apart as they spread considerably during baking – about 12 per sheet.  Bake, rotating half-way though, 7 to 9 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and cool on wire racks.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the cookies are cool, brush each with chocolate.  Once this hardens, I like to stripe the cookies with more melted chocolate using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8 inch tip or a plastic freezer bag with a small hole cut out of one corner. 

Let the chocolate completely set and then store in a sealed container at room temperature up to one week or in the freezer up to one month.