Ruhlman's Twenty Chapter 7: Butter

Butter! Who doesn't love it. Butter has so many different applications: in doughs, batters, sauces, or just as a condiment or topping for other items.

Lessons Learned:

• Butter is about 80% milk fat; the rest is water which is what makes it spreadable at room temperature.
• Using butter in cooking to baste foods both flavors the food and cooks the food from the top down (in contrast to the pan which cooks from the bottom up).
• Compound butter is a great way to use butter as a garnish for your food, especially for meat and fish. Soften butter, then mix in aromatics such as shallot or fresh herbs, then roll in waxed or parchment paper or put into a container, then and refrigerate to re-solidify.

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Ruhlman's Twenty Chapter 6: Egg

In this chapter, Ruhlman discusses what I have considered to be a very simple ingredient, the egg, at length. This chapter was quite eye opening for me, not only in the lessons (how best to cook an egg), but in advanced application (custard).

I'm quite surprised that he didn't discuss the quality of eggs. I've noticed a significant difference in yolk color and flavor between inexpensive eggs and organic and/or local eggs. Using higher quality eggs will certainly make a difference in your cooking.

Lessons Learned:

• Eggs are best cooked with gentle heat and gradual temperature changes. Eggs cooked at high temperatures and quickly will be tough. Keep this in mind when scrambling eggs--try cooking them over a double boiler for creamy, silky eggs.
• Basic vanilla custard proportions: 4 large eggs, 2 cups milk and/or cream, sugar, and vanilla to taste.
• Pourable custards begin with egg yolks cooked over heat (direct or double boiler) until thickened to desired consistency.

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Food Science - Green Carrots in Carrot Cake!

It's a little concerning, to say the least, to discover green bits in carrot cake you made just the day before. I was afraid my carrot cake cupcakes from yesterday somehow went bad in 36 hours; Google to the rescue!

According to this article, carrots are sensitive to pH and change color after coming in contact with baking soda. You can prevent it from happening by mixing in your soda thoroughly, or cutting back the amount.

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Thanksgiving Snacks and Desserts!

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this time of year because it gives me a chance to try new dessert recipes. Today is no exception.

I wanted to quickly share the desserts and snacks I made this year, most of which made an appearance at my family get together. Some recipes are my own (some yet to appear on this blog), some are adapted, and some are taken straight from other people. All, except the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, are gluten-free!

I have arranged these from most savory to sweetest.

Cranberry Apple Chutney

Vanilla Roasted Walnuts Roasted with Bacon Fat

Sparkling Cranberries

Seckel Pear Jam with Brown Sugar and Cardamom

Sweet Potato Blondies

Pumpkin Pie Custard

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Dark Chocolate Fudge with Toasted Coconut, Dried Cranberries, and Cacao Nibs

Recipes for the Sweet Potato Blondies, Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, and Dark Chocolate Fudge coming soon!

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Cranberry Apple Chutney

Thanksgiving is upon us already this year. I'm pretty sure we all just woke up one day and poof! Here we are.

I've had this recipe tucked away in my binder for at least a year and stumbled upon it when I was clearing out. Just in time for cranberries to hit the stores! I'm actively making an effort to try new recipes, especially ones I've bookmarked or otherwise tucked away. I'm excited to try this on sandwiches and wraps throughout the season.

This chutney doesn't scream fall or Thanksgiving. It's a mix of sweet, tangy, sour, and spicy all in one small package. It will be great to have small jars of this tucked away in the freezer to smear on sandwiches, wraps, or serve alongside Indian dishes over the next few months. The recipe yields about 2 quarts, which means it's great to bring along to give out at your Thanksgiving feast!

Cranberry Apple Chutney

Adapted from Grand Central Bakery's Cranberry Apple Chutney, via Oregon Live

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 C fresh cranberries
• 5 C diced, peeled, and cored apples
• 1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 1 1/3 C apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C golden raisins
• 1/2 C dried currants

Method

1. In a large saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and saute until softened. Add the garlic and ginger, and continue to cook for a few minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, then increase heat to medium-high to boil. Reduce the heat to low to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries and apples have cooked down, about 40 minutes.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Ladle the chutney into container(s) to store. Allow to let cool completely to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.

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The Perfect Fall Salad - For Breakfast!

I briefly mentioned my vision of a breakfast salad last week, chock full of various flavors and textures, including bacon fat roasted walnuts and a fresh pear dressing. Little did I know when I was dreaming this up that it would quickly become a favorite for breakfast! I served this up for brunch one weekend morning and even got the man stamp of approval! It not only has a nice variety of colors in the fruits and vegetables, but the mix of soft, juicy, crunchy, and meaty textures keep you coming back for more.

The ingredients in this salad are very versatile and are easily mixed and matched for other salad creations. Feel free to sub in whatever's fresh, in season, and/or on sale that week to suit your preferences. The salad is just as lovely without the bacon as well for those who are vegetarian or vegan. My favorite part? The ingredients are simple to prep and prepare ahead of time which means I can throw this together in a minute.

Fall Breakfast Salad

Ingredients

• 2 C salad greens of choice
• 2 strips crispy bacon, chopped
• 1/4 C pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 Hachiya persimmon, diced
• 2 tbsp Bacon Fat Roasted Vanilla Cinnamon Walnuts
• 1 tbspPear Vanilla Salad Dressing, or to taste

Method

1. Layer salad greens with bacon, pomegranate seeds, persimmon, and walnuts. Drizzle with salad dressing.

Yield: 1 serving

I've been calling this my "breakfast salad" since its inception, but the portions can easily be reduced or increased to suit any meal.

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Pear Vanilla Salad Dressing

The second foundational element of my breakfast salad is a great salad dressing. I wanted something sweet and fruity and not so savory for the breakfast table. Salad greens are already savory enough! I settled on using pears, being perfectly in season these days.

It's a simple dressing that I made in my VitaMix just to make sure the fruit was broken down completely. A food processor would work just as well. I hesitate to call this a vinaigrette because it's a rather thick and creamy dressing, yet has no creamy ingredients. Feel free to play with the liquids to pear ratio if you'd like something a bit more runny, but I quite like that this dressing sticks to the greens!

Pear Vanilla Salad Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 pear
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or champagne vinegar
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1 tsp maple syrup, agave, or honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean, optional

Method

1. Place all ingredients in VitaMix or food processor.
2. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.

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Diwali Sweets - Cardamom Rosewater Laddu

I had the chance to try a bunch of new Indian sweets today to celebrate Diwali. So many delicious sweets! I especially loved the cardamom in many of them.

I've had this recipe, made it several times, and really enjoy it. It's got a heavy Indian influence with flavors of cardamom, coconut, and rosewater which can be a very exciting combination if you are not accustomed to the flavors. Originally referred to as a "raw gulab jamun", this is much more like a laddu/ladoo in spices, texture, and sweetness than anything else. I recommend using a VitaMix dry blade to make the flour, otherwise you'll need to purchase the oat and coconut flour and sub in. I also really like the flavor of cardamom and don't mind larger chunks of the seed in with the balls; feel free to use ground cardamom if you want it a little more uniform.

Cardamom Rosewater Laddu

Adapted from Ani Phyo's Raw Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

• 1/2 C oat flour, from 1/2 C ground oat groats
• 3/4 C coconut flour, from 1 C ground coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, or ground cardamom
• 1/2 C almond meal
• 1/2 C agave nectar
• 1 tbsp melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp rosewater

Method

1. Grind the oat and coconut flours using a VitaMix dry blade.
2. Transfer flours to a food processor, or wet blade VitaMix container. Add the remaining ingredients and slowly pulse mixture until combined. This will form a sticky dough.
3. Remove dough from food processor / blender to a bowl. With clean hands, take about 2 tbsp of dough at a time and roll into a ball. Continue until all dough is used.

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Vanilla Cinnamon Walnuts Roasted with Bacon Fat

I had a rare moment this weekend when I shot of inspiration hit me like a lightning bolt. I knew I wanted to make a breakfast salad and I knew mostly what I wanted to put on top of it. This is the first post of a few dedicated to this salad.

I took inspiration from Elena's Pantry and her Vanilla Roasted Walnuts, a recipe which I adore. But it needed something extra to set it apart, make it worthy of breakfast, you know? So the natural move is to incorporate bacon fat because bacon makes everything better. Even these nuts.

Vanilla Cinnamon Walnuts Roasted with Bacon Fat

Ingredients

• 1/2 C raw walnuts
• 1 tbsp bacon fat
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Seeds of half a vanilla bean
• 1 tbsp agave nectar

Method

1. Place a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the bacon fat to the pan. When melted, add the walnuts to the pan, stirring a bit to distribute.
2. When the nuts begin to get some color, add the cinnamon and vanilla bean seeds, stirring to fully incorporate. Continue to roast, stirring occasionally, but making sure not to let the nuts burn.
3. Finally, add the agave to the pan and stir vigorously. Remove nuts from pan and allow to cool.

After the nuts cool, you can really taste the bacon fat on these! Certainly not vegan, but oh so delicious. They'd be great on their own, served with drinks, and of course, on a salad. These would make a great gift for the bacon connoisseur in your life, too. You can thank me later.

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Ruhlman's Twenty Chapter 5: Acid

I'm not typically one to reach for acids when cooking; in rare cases, I will use lemon juice or rice vinegar, though I am quite addicted to dijon mustard on sandwiches...

Given that it's one of the five taste sensations, perhaps it's time I pay more attention to this element in my cooking?

Lessons Learned:

• Acids come in the following forms: vinegar, citrus juice, pickles (fruits or vegetables), sour fruits, wine, mustard, sour vegetables, and cultured dairy products.
• Acid is used in cheese making, forming the curds from the milk.

Related Recipes:

• Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka
• Strawberry Black Pepper Dessert Sauce

My favorite "lesson" in all this is the possibility of using vinegar in desserts--cider vinegar tart sounds intriguing and delicious!! This is definitely going on my list to make

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Vegan Cashew Sour Cream

I used to hate sour cream, but in recent years started to love it. The thing I don't love about it, though, is having to buy so much in a container! Most times I just want a small dollop to put on chili or quesadillas, you know? I will admit, cashew sour cream doesn't have quite the same flavor on its own, it does have a similar mouthfeel when accompanying other items.

I got this recipe quickly when I was in the kitchen one day from the Whole Foods app, but scaled it down for my own needs.

Vegan Cashew Sour Cream

Adapted from Whole Foods Market

Ingredients

• 1/2 C raw cashews
• Boiling water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch salt

Method

1. Place the cashews into a bowl or glass measuring cup and pour enough boiling water over the top to cover by about an inch. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, then drain.
2. In a high speed blender, blend the drained cashews, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Serve.

This recipe makes about half a cup, which was enough for several bowls of chili!

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