Persimmon Bread

In December and January you can find very good-looking persimmons at your local Farmer's Market. Not knowing which persimmons I should buy to make Persimmon Bread, I asked the farmer selling this fruit which type to buy.

There are two kinds of persimmons usually found in Santa Barbara farmer's markets: Fuyu and Hachiya.
The Fuyu Persimmons can be eaten right away in its crunchy form. Eat it like an apple or slice it and use in a salad. Speaking of Persimmon salad, I am determined to find the recipe used by the Huntington Gardens' Tea Room. They make a divine persimmon salad in what I believe is a parmesean vinaigrette.

The Hachiya persimmon is meant to be ripened until it looks extremely bruised and almost black in color. After at least a month of leaving the Hachiya on my kitchen counter I gave up and settled for a slightly soft, somewhat bruised persimmon. The food processor took care of the rest. I will warn you that you want to get them very ripe so you may want to put them in a paper bag with an apple for as long as it takes. After you puree the fruit (according to instructions) you are ready to make Persimmon Bread.

JAMES BEARD PERSIMMON BREAD on David Lebovitz's blog.

Notes: I added Courvoisier Cognac and skipped the raisins all together. After tasting it I can't imagine using whiskey and that many raisins. The Cognac was strong and overwhelmed the persimmons (as would any liqueur) but it was delicious nonetheless.

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

There is nothing like a good muffin in the morning.

My main muffin problem is that most of my recipes (at least the ones I haven't worn out) are either too rich, too healthy (a.k.a bland), or too savory for breakfast. I have a few muffins that I make regularly but I was looking for something new.

Of course the first place I looked was on food blogs. I found a great recipe on Weekly Dish under Jennifer's muffin category. The recipe sounded simple and used buttermilk (truly the best baking ingredient besides chocolate). They were such a hit with my husband and mother-in-law that I made them again a week later. I wouldn't be surprised if I make them yet again when my parents come to visit this weekend. They're so easy yet so moist and divine. It's a very versatile recipe, too. This past time I added fresh blueberries and you could add practically any fruit (dried or fresh) that you like. Or skip the fruit and just add chocolate.

Festivals

You thought I was going to write a post about local festivals, didn't you? Well, I'm actually referring to the Jamaican fry bread called festivals. What a great name. I can definitely see this "bread" at a street fair or festival. These fried delights are light, crispy, and the perfect snack. I made them alongside jerk chicken and tostones for dinner. They would be great for a party or as an appetizer.

The recipe I used is from Steve Raichlen's The Barbecue Bible. Even though I accidently forgot the sugar in the recipe (3 T.) they turned out great. I suppose I would describe these as being similar to a churro. If you dust them with sugar and cinnamon they would make a nice dessert.



They look a bit like chicken nuggets but I promise you there is no chicken inside. Just a lot of fried goodness.

Southern Biscuits

Biscuits are my favorite easy-to-make breakfast item. Recently I've been trying new recipes and found 2 that I really like. The first one is the Buttermilk Biscuit recipe from Baking Illustrated (recipes from the magazine Cook's Illustrated). The second recipe also uses buttermilk and is from my mom's huge pile of family recipes. These biscuits are light, fluffy, and flaky.

SOUTHERN BISCUITS

2 cups flour*
2 t. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/3 c. shortening (or butter)
2/3 c. buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a bowl. Cut in shortening thoroughly until mixture looks like meal.
3. Stir in almost all the buttermilk. If dough is not pliable, add just enough milk to make a soft, puffy, easy-to-roll dough.
4. Round up dough on a lightly floured board. Knead lightly 20-25 times, about 1/2 minute. Roll a little less than 1/2" thick. Cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

*note: if you're using self-rising flour omit the baking powder and salt.

Apple-Oat Muffins

Last Christmas I got my mom a subscription to Vegetarian Times because she was trying to cook more healthy meals with less meat. Well, that gift idea failed because she just passed the magazines off to me without trying any of the recipes. So she gets to wait and see if the recipes turn out well for me before she tries to make them.

Most recipes in Vegetarian Times are super simple or they require vegan products that I won't spend the money on . However, occasionally I find something delicious to make.

Before I went on bedrest I made a batch of Apple-Oat Muffins from VT that were delicious and much healthier than the average muffin.

Apple-Oat Muffins
01-MAR-06, Vegetarian Times

Makes 12 -- Low-fat

This muffin is so delicious and moist, it’s one of our top 5 favorite recipes in the issue. The batter fills the muffin cups more than most recipes, but it won’t overflow when baked.

2 cups peeled, finely diced apples, such as McIntosh (2 to 3 medium apples)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 oz. plain low-fat yogurt (1 cup)
1/4 cup non-fat milk
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 12 standard muffin pan cups with cooking spray.

2. Place diced apple on paper towels to drain; pat dry. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl, and stir with whisk. Combine yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla and egg in small bowl and stir to blend. Make well in center of flour mixture; add milk mixture, stirring just until moist. Mix in apple.

3. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups. Bake 20 minutes, or until muffins spring back when pressed lightly in center. Remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.

PER SERVING: 174 CAL; 4 G PROT; 3 G TOTAL FAT (0 SAT. FAT); 32 G CARB.; 19 MG CHOL; 248 MG SOD.; 1 G FIBER; 16 G SUGARS

Cheesy Ghosts and Bats

Happy Halloween!

These cheese crackers (appropriately shaped as ghosts and bats for Halloween) are divine. They're made with a pastry-like dough so they melt in your mouth and are quite addictive. These are sure to be a hit with kids and adults. Although you can skip the cookie cutters if you like and just make them into cheese straws or rectangles for the adults.

Cheese Straws/Crackers

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 pound butter

Finely grate cheese; combine with other ingredients and beat until creamy, adding a few drops of water if neccessary to form a firm dough. Divide dough in half. Roll each section 1/4" thick. Cut into strips about 6" x 3/8". Twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; chill in freezer 15 minutes or longer to maintain shape. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 5-6 dozen cheese straws.

*The food processor works great for this dough or you can blend my hand and then add a tablespoon of water. If you plan on using cookie cutters then roll dough into a disc and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling and cutting out. My crackers were fairly thick so they took about 18 minutes to bake. Bake until slightly golden but not brown.

Brownies, Walnut Chews, and Beer Bread

Double Chocolate Brownies

The other day I was trying to decide what to make for my friend's birthday. She loves food almost as much as I do and definitely has a sweet tooth. I know that she loves almond croissants, chocolate, and bakery items but isn't as fond of desserts like cookies. Since I had already gotten a birthday box (so cute! from Michael's) to put the dessert in, I had to make something that would fit. Plus her husband and daughter are a bit picky so I knew I couldn't make anything too fancy.



After deciding on brownies I tried to find a good recipe but none of the recipes I had looked good. I like a good chewy, fudgy brownie that isn't too dry or cake-like. Martha had several brownie recipes on her site so I finaly settled on the double chocolate brownies.

This was the first time I had ever used parchment paper (I finally found it for cheap at Target. Reynold's now makes it in a roll) as I usually use my silpats for anything that needs a nonstick surface. While I love my silpats, they don't work for brownies and bar cookies so I'm thrilled that I now know where to get parchment paper nearby. It makes such a HUGE difference when cutting them and keeping the brownies in perfect squares.

Walnut Chews

Right before Lisa stopped running her blog, Comfort Food/In a Nutshell, I copied down a recipe that she had made. She had started a nut theme and one of her first posts on nuts was for Chewy Walnut Squares from Tina Salter's Nuts: Sweet and Savory Recipes from Diamond of California.

Chewy Walnut Squares:

makes 16

1 c. chopped walnuts, 1/2 c. flour, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 c. packed brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread walnuts on a baking sheet or in a shallow pan. Bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. Leave oven set to 350 degrees.

Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with a 16-inch sheet of aluminum foil; press foil firmly to make a snug fit, and let excess foil drape over edges. Coat foil generously with vegetable oil spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat brown sugar, vanilla, and egg until smooth. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts; batter will be quite stiff. Scrape into pan, spreading evenly.

Bake until lightly browned at the edges and the top no longer looks wet, 20 to 22 minutes. (The center will appear soft and underbaked but will firm as it cools.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Grasp the overhanging foil and lift from pan in one piece; place on a work surface. With a long, sharp knife, cut into 2-inch squares. Peel squares from the foil and serve at room temperature.

Store airtight at room temperature up to 5 days.

Notes: These bars are incredibly addictive. I am using all my willpower to keep from eating them all before my husband gets home. I used walnuts from a local farm near my mom's in the Santa Barbara wine country. This one farm also makes walnut oil that must be divine if it's as incredible as their walnut. They honestly taste nothing like the walnuts you buy in the store. It's not just that they are super fresh. They have a special almost "smoky" flavor. I couldn't find a website for the walnuts but I found the website for the company that makes the walnut oil.

Thanks to Lisa for originally posting this recipe. Since her blog is no longer published I decided to repost the recipe so you could all try it.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

There are many recipes for beer bread out there but I think this one is perfect because it's so simple and fast. Plus it's easy to memorize.

Thanks to Susan from Farmgirl Fare for posting both the original beer bread recipe as well as coming up with this alternative whole wheat version. Check it out. I decided to make the whole wheat version one night because we were out of milk for the following morning and my husband must have milk with his cereal. So I took the lonely bottle of beer in the back of the fridge and made the whole wheat version since it lasts longer in your belly. I'm sure the original beer bread recipe she posted with cheddar cheese is just as good. I liked the whole wheat version because we could eat it with cheese, jam, butter, or Nutella. It was so satisfying with Nutella. Just two thick slices can keep you going all morning long.

Popovers

Growing up I always loved eating popovers but never enjoyed making them because they took forever to bake and you had to lower the temperature. Then I discovered a recipe for popovers in Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties! that only takes 30 minutes and requires no fuss.

Ina Garten's POPOVERS
makes 12

1 1/2 T. unsalted butter, melted (plus softened butter for greasing pans)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 t. kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk at room temperature

(how easy is this to remember?!)

Preheat oven to 425.

Grease popover pans with softened butter (I used veggie oil spray). Preheat pans.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek!

Serve hot or reheat before serving.

NOTES: If you don't have popover pans be sure that you buy regular size pans (each pan makes 6 popovers so you'll need 2) and I recommend nonstick. I found mine at Williams Sonoma but I'm sure they sell them many places.

Serving Suggestions: You can serve popovers as a sweet breakfast filled with lemon curd, jam, powdered sugar, fruit sauce or you can have them for brunch or lunch with cold chicken salad (I once ate them with this great mango chicken salad), egg salad, etc. They are also good plain.

Elephant Ears

I finally did some cooking and baking last night for the first time in a while. I was very proud. Since I'm still not feeling too well I kept it simple and made a simple chicken dish, mud pie, and Elephant Ears.

If you make them thin enough, these Elephant Ears are crispy and almost as comforting as cinnamon rolls (with, I'm sure, a lot less fat). They only make 4 so make a double or triple batch if it's for more than 2 people.

ELEPHANT EARS

Makes 4.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 cup milk
3 T. sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
sugar, for sprinkling

1.) Preheat oven to 425.

2.) Grease cookie sheet or use a silpat.

3.) Heat butter until melted; set aside. Stir flour, 2 T. sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and 3 T. of the melted butter until dough forms.

4.) Sprinkle a surface (I use my silpat) lightly with flour; turn dough onto surface. Knead 10 times. Roll dough with a rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle, 9X5". Brush with remaining melted butter, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with mixture of 3 T. sugar and the cinnamon.

5.) Roll dough up tightly, beginning at narrow end. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Cut into 4 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Place cut sides up on cookie sheet; pat each into a 6" circle. Sprinle liberally with more sugar.

6.) Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet with spatula. Let cool on wire rack.

Warning: While these are tasty, they are not actually Elephant Ears. They are a bit more like simple cinnamon rolls. If you make them really thin they may crisp up a bit more than mine did.

Bunny Biscuits

Last night at 2am I was dying of hunger and was craving biscuits so I pulled out my Joy of Cooking to help me decide exactly what kind of biscuits to make. When I opened up to the page about biscuits I found a drawing of the perfect Easter biscuit: bunny biscuits!

These would be a huge hit with kids and were a huge hit with my husband. (chuckle)



BUNNY BISCUITS
adapted slightly from Joy of Cooking
c. 1973

1.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.) Prepare fluffy biscuits:

-Stir together: 1 3/4 cups flour, 2 1/2 t. double-acting baking powder, 1 1/4 t. salt, 1 T. sugar

-Cut in 6 T. chilled butter

-Add 3/4 cup milk

Stir lightly into the flour mixture, using a fork. Turn dough onto a floured surface (I use a silpat). Knead lightly for 1/2 minute.

3.) Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut it out with 2 sizes of cookie cutters (one 3-inch and one 1.5-inch cutter). The 3-inch cookie cutter will be used for the bottom or "rear" of the bunny. The 1.5-inch cutter will be used for the bunny's head. Then use the smaller cutter to cut out bunny ears from the sides of your rolled out dough. Roll leftover scraps of dough into balls for the tails. Overlap each part of the bunny so that it bakes together.

4.) Bake on a pizza stone or cookie sheet with a silpat for about 15 minutes or until golden.

St. Patrick's Day Bonanza: Irish Brown Bread

You know that saying that "man cannot live by bread alone"? I disagree. This woman can live on bread. Especially freshly baked bread.

Tonight I made Irish Brown Bread in honor of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. I assumed it was the same as Boston Brown Bread but now I realize it's not Boston Brown Bread without molasses (that seems to be the key ingredient). So that will be another loaf for another day. Tonight we celebrate the Irish.

A Slice of Irish Brown Bread with Celtic Cheddar Cheese

Sally Lunn Bread

I used to make Sally Lunn bread all of the time growing up but somehow forgot about it since I've been in CA. So I just got the family recipe from my mom and made it today. In the past I always baked it in a loaf pan but today I followed the directions and baked it in a brownie pan. I think I prefer it in a loaf pan.

This bread is slightly sweet and is perfect for breakfast (with jam) or dinner (with butter).

SALLY LUNN BREAD

2 c. flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites, beat until stiff, not dry
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift and measure the flour. Add the baking powder, sugar and salt and sift again.

3. Beat the egg yolks and add the milk. Combine the egg mixture with the dry ingredients. Stir lightly just to blend the two mixtures. Add the melted butter.

4. Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, and fold them into the batter. (The egg whites should be beaten and ready or the baking powder starts to work before you get the whites incorporated).

5. Bake in a buttered 8 in square pan for 30 min. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve piping hot.

Quick morning or dessert biscuits

Summer Berry Shortcakes
from The Way to a Man's Heart

(shortened/adapted from original)

2 c. AP flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
6 T. unsalted butter, diced
1 cup heavy cream (or milk)

1.) Preheat oven to 425 and grease baking sheet (or put stone in oven, if you use a pizza stone like I do).

2.) Stir together first four ingredients in large bowl. Rub in butter with pastry blender or fingers.

3.) Using a fork, lightly stir in all but 1 T. of the cream/milk, little by little, to make a soft dough.

4.) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6-8 times, until smooth. Pat dough into rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit or cookie cutters.

5.) Spray stone with cooking spray and place uncooked biscuits on top. Brush with remaining cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden.

6.) Serve with whipped cream and berries. They also taste great with jam or nutella.

Makes a great quick dessert or breakfast. Enjoy!

Pear and Walnut Scones

Note: I've been posting a LOT this week so make sure you scroll down to see what other meals were cookin' in my kitchen.

I've been wanting to make the Sublime Scones from Eating Well's February/March 2005 issue for a while now. They cut back on butter and replaced some of it with reduced fat cream cheese (I admit it, I used regular cream cheese since it's cheap at Trader Joe's). The lower fat recipe that they came up with only has 233 calories, 3g sat. fat, and 3 grams fiber compared to 328 calories, 10g sat. fat, and 2 grams of fiber in the original.

I was disappointed in their height when they came out of the oven. I think they were supposed to rise a bit more. Otherwise, they tasted pretty good (not the best scones I've ever had, though). The pear added a nice moistness to the scone.

A few notes:

1.) When they say to "knead" the dough--don't worry about it too much. It's nearly impossible to need because of the stickiness and texture. I managed to do it but not the same way I would normally knead scones.

2.) Use a pizza slicer to cut the dough into six wedges.

3.) I used a pizza stone (which I always use for biscuits, breads, scones, etc.) and, if you have one, I recommend you use it too. It makes a huge difference. Be sure to preheat your stone.

4.) I found that 15-20 minutes was a better time estimate than 20-30. Then again, I only put six wedges on the pizza stone at a time.


PICTURES from STEP 3:







FINAL RESULT:

Homemade Croutons

Yesterday I had a half of a leftover baguette from Bread and Cie which I decided to turn into croutons as to not waste the bread. The baguette was completely hard so I had to put it in a 350 degree oven in a paper bag with water sprinkled on top (for about 10 minutes). I then cut off a piece for myself to enjoy with some roasted garlic and brie and cut up the rest of the baguette into cubes.

I let the cubes dry out on a cookie sheet for a few hours while I ran errands. I then tossed them in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil, a tiny amount of homemade pesto, salt, pepper, and some Italian seasonings. The newly flavored bread cubes went into a 350 degree oven until they turned a nice golden brown.

Normally I don't eat croutons because they're not very good for you. If you make them yourself you can control all of the ingredients, though. Plus it's a great use for stale bread. So far we've used them in a homemade ceasar salad and in my gazpacho (I make gazpacho about once a week). They would be great in a hot soup too.

The best part is that I made these croutons for about a buck and they are just as good as the La Brea Bakery croutons that cost almost 7 bucks for a small bag.

PS. Nothing goes better with a ceasar salad than Stella Artois.

Mini Cinnamon and Sugar Muffins

A few weeks ago I bought cute mini muffin tins decorated with snowmen and was dying to use them. So I found a recipe in my Martha Stewart Living 2003 Annual Recipes book for Mini Cinnamon and Sugar Muffins. They were extremely simple to make and took maybe a total of fifteen to twenty minutes to make. I was also able to save a lot of the leftover cinnamon and sugar mixture for the snickerdoodles I'm going to make.

At first I was disappointed by the muffins because they looked pretty plain but I was very pleased once I tried one. They're suprisingly moist and flavorful. I didn't have buttermilk which the recipe called for so I just substituted the 1/2 cup of buttermilk with 1/2 cup of lactaid milk (which I use when making baked goods for myself) and 3/4 T. lemon juice. Then I put it in the microwave for a few seconds because I was told that it works better when slightly warmed. Apparently this worked perfectly because the "buttermilk" really made the recipe work.

I have a question for all of you food bloggers out there. I would love to share this recipe with you but I'm not sure about copyright laws. Am I allowed to post a recipe from a book (especially since I pretty much followed the recipe exactly)? If so, is there anything special I should do when posting the recipe?

Thanks!