Forever Nigella: Naan Pizza
28 May 2012 48 Comments
For those of you following along in your “everything British” playbook, this year marks Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year as Monarch. In her honor, all sixteen sovereign states of the Commonwealth realm are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee with festivities culminating this upcoming weekend. That being said, it is rather apropos that this month’s Forever Nigella challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella recipe that would be eaten during the Diamond Jubilee.
Now although India declared its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, it can’t be denied that Indian influences still exist in the British food conscience. For instance, Nigella herself relies on “shop-bought” naan as the delicious crust for a quick and easy homemade pizza, which is what I made for this month’s submission!
Surprisingly enough, I had homemade naan, canned mushrooms, thyme and tomato sauce on hand. All I had to buy was smoked fontina. I’ll definitely be including this naan pizza in my regular rotation because it was an extremely satisfying lunch, and now I have a new found preference for fontina! If you’d like to make this recipe, it can be found in Nigella Express or online here.
This month’s Forever Nigella #15 is being hosted by Nelly of Nelly’s Cupcakes. If you can’t make it in time to join us this month, feel free to join us next month! Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.
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ffwD: Lyonnaise Garlic & Herb Cheese
25 May 2012 62 Comments
in ffwD
I made this week’s assignment at the same time we were assigned to make Dorie’s Provençal olive fougasse. I thought my mother and nieces would help me eat the bread and dip, but my nieces were having none of either. My mother on the other hand said she enjoyed the cheese (as any good mother would say to her child’s face), but she also said it needed a little something more, hmm, savory perhaps? Like something with a little more kick? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but kept thoughtfully eating and examining bites of the stuff till she was distracted by HGTv’s “House Hunters”. Personally, I think this would have been a bit tastier had some cream cheese or Gruyere been added for texture and more flavor.
To see how others fared with this Lyonnaise garlic & herb cheese, check out French Fridays with Dorie where we make recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.
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Soft Nutter Butter (& Jelly) Cookies
22 May 2012 61 Comments
in Randomness
I made these homemade Nutter Butter cookies awhile ago, but their soft texture and sweet, creamy filling still linger in my mind. I followed a recipe from Bouchon Bakery that was posted in The New York Times back in December 2006. However, I left out the chopped peanuts from the cookie dough and added a swirl of strawberry jelly to the filling as an homage to the kid-friendly sandwich. These cookies were extremely delicious, and I’m not embarrassed to say that I was not happy about sharing them. To view the recipe, click here.
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ffwD: Double Chocolate & Banana Tartlets
18 May 2012 88 Comments
in ffwD
I’m usually not a fan of fruit and chocolate, but when I saw caramelized bananas in this week’s ffwD recipe, it seemed promising. As usual, whenever I make any of Dorie’s tart doughs, it’s only enough to hand-press into five tartlet shells. (I tried rolling out her tart dough once, and it was a disaster.) One downside to having multiple tartlet shells is that there’s more opportunity for an errant shell to flip and break. This time it happened as I was taking the shells out of the oven, and I was left with four chocolate tartlet shells. I suppose this was a good thing because my caramelized banana slices turned into caramelized banana mush, and I wasn’t sure I’d have enough to “spread” across five tartlet shells anyway. So being down one shell and having only caramelized banana mush to spread, the chocolate ganache behaved itself and turned out perfectly for me.
On a more positive note, my mother was actually excited to try these tartlets because of the amazing smell of the caramelized bananas. When she took a bite, she proclaimed it “sinful” and “delicious”. This is promising. My mother has now approved two Dorie dessert tarts (the other being Dorie’s orange-almond tartlets). And anytime I’ve got a mother-approved recipe, it’s a keeper!
To see how others fared with double chocolate & banana tarts, check out French Fridays with Dorie where we make recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.
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TwD: Baking Pecan Sticky Buns with Julia
15 May 2012 77 Comments
in TwD
You’d think that after a year and a half of French Fridays with Dorie, I’d know better than to attempt Dorie’s brioche-based pecan sticky buns in one day. Alas, my procrastination got the better of me, and I was left waking up very early on Saturday morning to make these pecan sticky buns before my mother and baby nieces left Chicago on Sunday. I’ll admit that the time-consuming process was rather therapeutic, but it was difficult to concentrate with baby-centric activities and commotion swirling around me. (By the way, I now have a greater appreciation for all those mothers who find the time to make these weekly recipes and still blog about it on time.)
Despite the sleepless night and the dual babysitting duties (for babies and the rising brioche dough), the dough came together beautifully, making the appropriate slapping sounds in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and puffing out after every resting period. I will say that I was slightly concerned about Dorie’s recommendation of using a cake pan “with high sides”, as I don’t know what that would look like. I have a normal cake pan with regular sides, I suppose. And I have a springform pan with higher sides. To be safe, I made buns in each type of pan. The normal sided cake pan produced nice high rolls that didn’t grow out over the sides, which I was afraid of, and there was no spillage during the baking process. However, it was a little tense when some of the boiling butter splattered onto the floor during the flipout.
As for the springform pan, the rolls were nice and high as well, but the butter was seeping a bit from the bottom during baking, making good use of the parchment paper catcher underneath it. The flipout from the springform proved less problematic as no butter escaped the pan, and the circular shape of the buns stayed close to form as I could keep the springform ring in place without worrying about sticking.
My mother absolutely adored these buns and gushed about their flaky, buttery texture. She ate two in a row! The babies split one and kept exclaiming, “Yummy!” I tried to feed them bites from one bun so their hands wouldn’t get sticky, but they weren’t having it. Many hand washing were required afterwards. Personally, I enjoyed the soft texture and loved the look of the brioche dough’s lacy strands. I can definitely see myself making these again.
To view the recipe for pecan sticky buns from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking with Julia” cookbook, check out this week’s host pages: Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat or Nicole of Cookies on Friday.
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ffwD: Provençal Olive Fougasse
11 May 2012 70 Comments
in ffwD
Except for the occasional deli sandwich on artisan bread, I rarely eat bread at home. Even though I enjoy baking loaves of bread, I really only do so at the behest of an assignment, such as French Fridays with Dorie or Tuesdays with Dorie. Because of my limited exposure (by choice) to artisan breads, I seem to be confusing this week’s ffwD assignment with Italian foccacia. To me, both breads have the same chewy texture, a brushing with olive oil, and a lightly salted crust. So, is it the black olives, leaf-shape, and slits that make the fougasse French as opposed to Italian? Regardless, it was delicious, and my mother and my niece (Codename: Bacon Monster) enjoyed it as well!
To see how others fared with Provençal olive fougasse, check out French Fridays with Dorie where we make recipes from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.
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Afternoon Drive Munchies: Seven Layers of Sin Bars
08 May 2012 63 Comments
Now, I’m sure there are brownie purists out there who would find my next statement blasphemous, but if you’re ever in a pinch for something chocolatey, nutty, chewy, and very much brownie-like but don’t want to actually mix anything, then these truly sinful bars are the perfect solution. Quite possibly the easiest recipe ever, seven ingredients are layered one on top of another and baked to form a dizzingly sweet treat. It’s almost as easy as Dolly Parton’s “Cupa Cupa Cupa Cake” sounds from Steel Magnolias (which I have never tried).
It’s been awhile since I brought treats to the 107.5 WGCI Afternoon Drive Crew, mainly because my contact over there (Codename: Radio Diva) had to get settled into her new digs! With all the new crew members available to sample these seven layers of sin bars, I was nervous to hear their reactions. Radio Diva informed me almost immediately that the bars were an instant hit, prompting a “more treats, more often” response! If you want to make these bars yourself, the recipe can be found below and in Worth Tasting: A Culinary Tour Through the Architecture of the Palm Beaches. I’ve made several recipes from this cookbook and have never been disappointed. A special thanks to my friend and sorority sister (Codename: GPL) who gifted me the cookbook in the first place!
SEVEN LAYERS OF SIN BARS
(Adapted from Worth Tasting: A Culinary Tour Through the Architecture of the Palm Beaches)
INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter, melted
1&1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (I literally smashed graham crackers in a plastic bag.)
1 c. dark chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips (Or white chocolate)
1 c. chopped pecans (Can use walnuts or hazelnuts)
1 c. shredded coconut
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour melted butter into 9×12 pan and swirl to coat bottom and sides of pan. In the order listed, layer graham cracker crumbs, dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chopped pecans and shredded coconut, one layer at a time. Pour sweetened condensed milk on top of layers, being careful to keep as much of it away from the sides, as it will harden and become difficult to remove from the pan later. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing into bars.
