Thai Spicy Eggplant With Basil

I have had some disastrous eggplant experiences (bitter, tough, under-seasoned) so I am always wary of buying them in the store. I know that I ruin them more often than make something tasty out of them but I couldn't pass up these teeny tiny adorable eggplants when I saw them in the Korean market. This is probably my favorite preparation of eggplant though and it worked out very well for me this time. This is what I constantly order when we get Thai carryout (although I'm sure this recipe is nowhere near authentic) and I wanted to see if I could make a reasonable approximation of it at home. I found this particular recipe at vegetariantimes.com.

I always have a basil plant on hand because they are like 3 bucks (only slightly more than you would pay for a bunch of cut) from traitor joes and even with cats occasionally munching on the leaves they usually have a good run of about 6 months in my house before they die.

Another good tip is to salt the cut eggplant with coarse salt and let it drain in a colander for an hour, then rinse thoroughly before you use it.





Ingredients:

2 Tbs. peanut or vegetable oil

½ to 1 tsp. crushed red pepper, or to taste

3 baby eggplants, cubed into bite-sized chunks

1 medium-sized onion, diced

1 medium-sized red bell pepper, seeded and diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 Tbs. white vinegar

3 Tbs. dark soy sauce, such as tamari

2 Tbs. dark brown sugar

20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Preparation:

Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet or wok-shaped pan over high heat. Add oil and crushed red pepper, and let sizzle for 10 to 15 seconds.

 Add eggplant, and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

 Add onion, bell pepper and garlic, and stir-fry for 3 minutes more. Add vinegar and soy sauce. Sprinkle with sugar, and toss for 1 or 2 minutes longer.

Remove pan from heat, add basil leaves and toss to combine with eggplant. Serve over hot cooked rice.

AUBERGINES OR COURGETTES?!

Hot Cross Buns

So I was sitting around on Easter, because of my heathen leanings I was barely aware that it was Easter, when I started to get a load of phone calls from family members wishing me happy Easter and telling tales of baked hams and homemade sweet Easter cheeses. It suddenly felt very inadequate to sit around and eat salmon and brown rice while watching reality tv.

I remembered something that could potentially save the day. I had recently seen a show where Paul Hollywood and this adorable old British dame make a few really fusty British Easter recipes--including a huge pavlova with lemon custard and little egg white nests stuffed with chocolate eggs. Most of these recipes were dubious and impractical, full of marzipan, dates, currants, sugared primrose, and handmade puff pastry. They took hours and appeared to be throwbacks to a time when sugar was so scarce that, on special occasions, bakers would throw every single sweet thing available into a cake and assemble it in the most impractical/religiously symbolic way possible. The only recipe that looked even remotely appealing was for hot cross buns. I love baking bread and I love cinnamon. These would surely save my Easter at the last minute.


Here is a photo of the lemon curd pavlova from the program.

They did turn out beautifully. I felt very festive and connected to all other bakers and home cooks who must have also been baking this recipe on Easter. Again, be wary of my metric conversion. It helps if you have done bread before and you can recognize when the dough is too dry or wet. I omitted raisins (or 'sultanas' as they are adorably referred to in the program) because there is no reason to ruin a perfectly good bun with a failed grape. I added quite a large granny smith apple for tartness. I also doubled the cinnamon and added ground ginger. Make it to your taste of course! Many reviewers of the recipe said it could use more spice so keep that in mind.








Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:
for the buns:
1 1/4 c. full fat milk
3 1/2tablespoons of butter
2 c. white flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 tablespoon oil
7g yeast sachet
1 egg beaten
zest of 1 orange
1 apple peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg

for the cross:
1/3 c. of flour
water

optional glaze:
3 tablespoons apricot jam, heated and strained

Directions:
1. Bring the milk to boil, remove from heat and add the butter. Leave to cool until it reaches hand temperature. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture, then add the egg. Using a wooden spoon, mix well, then bring everything together with your hands until you have a sticky dough.

2. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead by holding the dough with one hand and stretching it with the heel of the other hand, then folding it back on itself. Repeat for 5 mins until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1hr or until doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves a dent.

3. With the dough still in the bowl, tip in the apple, zest, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Knead into the dough, making sure everything is well distributed. Leave to rise for 1 hour more, or until doubled in size.

4. Divide the dough into 15 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange the buns on one or two baking trays lined with parchment, leaving enough space for the dough to expand. Cover, but don't wrap with more cling film, prove for 1 hr more.

5. Heat oven to 400F. Mix the flour with about 5 tablespoons of water to make the paste for the cross. Mix it into a thick paste and spoon the paste into a ziplock bag, snip a tiny hole in the tip and pipe the cross across all buns. Bake for 12-15 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven until golden brown.

6. Optional: Gently heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve to get rid of any chunks. While the jam is still warm, brush over the top of warm buns and leave to cool.

White Bread

I really love bread. I love kneading it, I love the smell of it while it's in the oven, and I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when it's completed. I always get an overwhelming feeling of loneliness when someone tells me that they are eliminating gluten from their diet for non-essential reasons--they are missing out on some of life's great joys. That's my little soapbox bit. Eat bread and be happy, or do something else.

So I was watching this BBC show on bread-making. The guy's ridiculous name, Paul Hollywood, and the fact that he looks like an ultra-handsome version of my ex-stepfather (I instantly distrust people who sing very well or who have bewitching crystal blue eyes) made me wary of trying this out but he seemed knowledgeable and the recipe looked good. Plus, men baking is adorable. The bread itself also has a stupid name, a bloooomer, but it's just a white bread with some olive oil mixed in. He has a series and I'll probably try a few more of his breads out this month.

The big take-away bits from this were: 1. Use cold water and regular yeast--you get better flavor when the yeast takes longer to develop and cold water slows things down (as opposed to warm water which speeds it up and pretty much every bread recipe will tell you to use). Throw away your rapid rise packets! 2. Kneading your bread in a little puddle of olive oil instead of flour prevents you from adding too much flour while you knead (too much flour will make a cute little brick that only smells like bread). 3. The method for spraying the loaf with water and dusting with flour just before baking makes a really nice crisp crust.

Fair warning: This will take almost 5 hours to complete. If you have a day when you just don't feel like leaving the house then that's your day.  I feel that my bread did not get as puffy as his but the amount of air he can knead into the dough in 10 minutes and the amount I can knead in with my jello arms in 10 minutes probably varies by a bit. It still had great texture and flavor.








Recipe:
4 and 1/4 c. white flour (plus extra for kneading)
1 tsp salt
1 7g sachet of yeast
1 and 1/2 c. cold water (the conversion came out as slightly less than 1.5 but just use enough to make your dough stick together)
4.5 tbsp of olive oil (plus extra for kneading)

Procedure:
1. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl (don't let the salt and yeast touch). Add the oil and a cup of water.
2. Mix the ingredients together with your paws. Gradually add the rest of the water or as much of it as you need to until the flour leaves the side of the bowl and you have a soft, rough dough.
3. Pour a little oil onto a clean work surface. Knead the dough in the oil for 10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and silky. Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until tripled in size (about 2 hours).
4. Once risen, place the dough on a floured surface. Knock the dough back by folding it in on itself repeatedly. Do this until the air knocked out and the dough is smooth.
5. To shape, flatten the dough into a rectangle. With the long side facing you fold each end into the middle then roll like a Swiss roll so that you have a smooth top with a steam along the base. Gently roll with the heal of your hands.
6. Place on a tray lined with parchment, cover and leave to prove for 1-2 hours at room temp or until doubled in size When you feel you have about 10 minutes left to go preheat your oven to 425 so it's ready to go. Also you can put a little pan of water in the bottom to create a steam bath for the bread.
7. Lightly spray with water and dust with a little flour. Make four diagonal slashes using a sharp knife across the top.
8. Place the loaf on the middle shelf and bake for 25 minutes at 425. Lower to 400 and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Snickerdoodles

The delicious cookie with the undignified name! I made some rolo-filled snickerdoodles at Xmas time with my sisters and they were great--very chewy and delicious. I went in search of a non-stuffed recipe and I found these. They are very good and my husband raved and ate half of them in one night. They aren't as chewy as the other recipe (some could argue that the other recipe was too hard/chewy but I do like that texture more than most but I also like burnt popcorn so what the hell do I know), they're more tender but still have a little chew to them. I have made these twice and would do so again if I need a reliable crowd-pleasing type of cookie for a bake sale or gift. I gave a batch to our neighbors after they let us tromp around in their back yard looking for our wayward cat.

I did reduce the sugar (by 1/4 cup) in the recipe the second time. I found them a little sweet. I would also recommend doubling the recipe as it only yields 16-18 small cookies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar(or do 1/4 cup if you prefer)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For rolling:

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.

5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.

6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

Ddeok Gook

I try to make this traditional Korean dish for New Year's Day every year. In addition to it tasting really good, I like to be able to cook food that my husband loves/reminds him of childhood. Don't be afraid of cooking with the anchovies--they look like odd little fish mummies but you strain them out of the broth (then feed to cats) and they really set off the flavor of the small amount of beef in the recipe. I was just listening to a radio show with Bridget Lancaster and Jack Bishop who explained why they make it so much better:

"Glutamates ... [are] savory compounds; your taste receptors will pick that up and say, wow, that's nice and savory. But anchovies, in particular, they contain something else. It's another compound called a nucleotide — and a nucleotide plus a glutamate basically is a savory explosion. It really amps up the flavor of the glutamates 20, 30, even perhaps 40 times. So if you're tasting beef on its own, or soy sauce, or any of those glutamate-rich ingredients, your tongue will say, wow, that's very beefy. You add something with nucleotides in it, say anchovies, and you'll say this is the best beef stew ever. It tastes so much more meaty than meat."

I ordered the Cook's Illustrated "Science of Good Cooking" and I'm sure that will give me a nice review of  all of this. I think the glutamate/nucleotide phenomena explains why Korean food is so impossibly good. Warning: Whenever you start cooking a new type of food you usually have to spend quite a bit initially to get all of your ingredients. I anticipate that you will need to drop about $20 at an Asian market to get everything. This, kids, is why I rarely make Indian food at home X)

I used the rough instructions that my Mother-in-law gave me (she doesn't write anything down) and this basic fooddotcom recipe to fill in the blanks. You need to marinate the beef while the rice cakes soak. I get very thinly sliced beef from the Korean market (no idea what cut but when you're slicing it very thinly, marinating, and putting it into a soup it doesn't really matter). I usually marinate the big slices, they are about the size of playing cards and 1/8 inch thick, and then cut them into tiny strips after I have browned them. Cutting into strips before marinating works too but I find that cooked meat is easier to cut into very thin strips.

Ddeok Gook:

1 package thin sliced korean rice cake (I used about half of the package which is probably a little too much)
1/2 cup dried anchovy (myeol chi - I think the Japanese word is naboshi)
6 cups water (I just filled a large pot I have, I think I used closer to 8 or 9 cups)
2 green onions, chopped
4 ounces beef, cut into thin strips 

2 eggs, gently beaten (season with a little salt)
2 sheets nori (seasoned kim , dried laver seaweed) 

Beef Marinade:
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions:

1. Soak the rice cake in cold water for 30 minutes.

2. Marinate the beef in the soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, sugar, and minced garlic.

3. Saute the beef in a skillet, then set aside.

4. Put the 6 cups of water and the dried anchovies in a pot.

5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Strain out the anchovies and return the broth to the pot.

7. Add the rice cakes to the broth.

8. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium.

9 Cook for 5 minutes, until tender (check them often, the original recipe said 10 to 15 but mine were already soft after a few minutes).

10 Add the green onions.

11 Pour the egg in a little at a time.

12 Let it set a bit, then stir- if you stir right after adding the egg, the broth gets milky (this happened to me but it does not effect the taste imo).

13 Put into bowls.

14 Garnish each bowl with some beef and some strips of kim.

Lobster Risotto

This is one of those recipes that seems very intimidating, but it's actually just requires a few more steps than your average dinner and it gives a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you're done. Risotto is one of the cheaper meals you can make and it never fails to impress people (see the charming post-it my husband left for me on the stove the next morning). You essentially just need arborio rice, stock, and parmesean cheese. I would definitely put mushrooms in this next time though. I have never regretted putting mushrooms in a risotto. I omitted them on my first try here because the original recipe, from the nytimes, didn't have any and thought it might distract from the delicate flavor of the lobster. I think it would have been even better with mushrooms though.

It was surprisingly affordable: I found lobster tails on sale for for $10/2 this week--I think this recipe cost me less than $15 dollars to complete and I was able to use the leftovers to make fried risotto "cakes" with egg on top the following night.

The first step in all this is to poach the lobsters. Defrost the two tails and then boil a pot of water, enough to cover the tails when submerged. Wrap the tails tightly in plastic wrap and poach them for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.




I took kitchen shears and cut the underside of the tail and cracked it open to pull out all of the meat and set aside for later. Reserve the tails for making the stock.



Lobster Stock:
Shells from cooked lobsters, rinsed
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns.

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the lobster shells and sauté for 1 minute. Add enough water so that the pot is 2/3 full, then add the onion, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for several hours or overnight. (The longer it simmers, the better.) Using tongs, remove and discard the large shells, then strain the stock through a fine sieve twice. Makes 6 or more cups.



Lobster Risotto
About 6 cups lobster stock
¼ cup butter
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
Salt
2 cups arborio, carnaroli or other short-grained white rice
Meat from 1 cooked lobster, chopped
2 tablespoons minced chives
½ cup grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper.

1. In a medium pot, heat the stock and keep warm.
2. In a large, wide saucepan, melt the butter in the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add a large pinch of salt, then add the rice and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of broth and simmer, stirring until the broth is almost absorbed. Add more broth, a cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Stir often. Cook until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the lobster meat until heated through, then add the chives and ¼ cup of the Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with remaining Parmesan. Reserve excess risotto for eggs over (easy) lobster risotto patties (recipe here). Serves 4, plus leftovers. All recipes adapted from Sam Sifton.
NOTE: For a meatier risotto, cook an extra lobster or two.

Biscoff Oatmeal Cookies

I recently found a stock of crunchy Biscoff spread at our discount grocery store. If you've never been on a Delta flight or had a Biscoff (or Speculoos cookie) elsewhere, the best way I can describe it is like a cross between gingerbread and shortbread. It's a little spicy and buttery and people go mad for them. To make the spread they just crush the cookies and mix with oil, it comes in creamy and crunchy, like peanut butter. I have been excited to try baking with this spread but I could never find it.

My next recipe idea for this stuff would be a Nutella cake with a crunchy Biscoff buttercream--I also think Biscoff cookies would make a lovely crust for a cheesecake. 

I found this recipe at twopeasandtheirpod.com. I changed a few things the second time I made them: I doubled the amount of salt--I like a lot of big grains of sea salt in cookies, I toasted the oats in the oven and then processed them in the food processor to deepen the flavor and break up the big chewy oats. That's just my personal preference though.








Biscoff Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (toasted and processed if you like)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Biscoff Spread
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, Biscoff spread, sugar, and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extra and beat until smooth.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Chill the dough 30 minutes in the refrigerator (do not skip this step--it helps keep the middles of the cookies chewier). When you have about 10 minutes left you can preheat your oven.

5. Form the cookie dough into rounded tablespoons and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are golden and just firm around the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove with a spatula onto a cooling rack.

French Onion Soup

I saw a similar recipe on some BBC cooking show. I found a recipe on their website that I liked slightly better because of the amount of red wine and balsamic vinegar and adapted it. It's relatively easy although cutting the onions is a pain. The recipe calls for five onions but I think that European onions must be much smaller. I found that four big ol' merican onions was more than enough to fill my stock pot after I sliced them on the mandolin. I increased the saute time on the onions as well because the first time I made this the onions weren't soft enough for my liking. I used bullion cubes instead of stock because I didn't have any.









Ingredients:
4 large onions (sliced thinly on a mandolin if possible)
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of butter
2 or 3 glasses (not cups--I think a glass is 4 ounces--I put about a cup in total) of red wine
4 cups fresh beef stock
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I might go down to 3 1/2 next time)
8 thick slices of bread
284g/10oz Gruyère, grated (I grated gouda that I had at the time and it was very nice with the soup)
2 shots of brandy (optional)
salt and pepper
flatleaf parsley (optional)

Peel and thinly slice the onions and garlic. Then using the butter sauté in a large pan for 15-20 (do 30 if you like softer onions in the soup) minutes, until brown. Stir well before adding the red wine, stock, vinegar and brandy. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Toast the bread (I just sliced a baguette and put the slices in the toaster).

Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Keeping the soup in the pan, top with the sliced bread and a sprinkle of cheese. Place under the grill until it turns brown and the cheese has melted.

Scatter with fresh chopped parsley and serve from the pan at the table

Cinnamon Coffee Cake With Crumb Topping

I have been wanting a cinnamon cake with the crumb topping, it sounded really good and I found it, surprisingly, on a site that wasn't smitten kitchen--here. I like that it is similar to my other go-to yogurt cake but it has a little something extra. I feel like my crumb topping came out a little weird. I probably over-mushed the crumbs and ended up melting the butter into big globs, so, um, don't do that. It did give the middle a kind of "smile" effect which was cute (though my placement of the crumbs was completely random, so I doubt I could replicate it) but you could probably get the distribution better if you have smaller crumbs.

The next time I make this I will probably double the crumbs inside and add a layer of apples that have been dusted with cinnamon sugar. It seems like very a nice recipe for fall so I better get cracking. I will also make it in a bigger pan because as-is, the recipe overflowed from my 9 inch loaf pan into the bottom of my oven. It was messy, for me, but came out delicious. Like most yogurt cakes, it is much better the next day.











Cinnamon Coffee Cake With Crumb Topping
Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups full fat Greek vanilla yogurt

Crumb Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cut into tiny pieces

1 - 2 hours prior to making this cake, make sure you place the butter and eggs on the counter and bring them to room temperature. 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the pan and set to the side.

2.  In a large bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set to the side.

3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugars with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy on low-medium speed. This should take roughly 5 minutes. Once the butter is creamed, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

4.  With the stand mixer set to low, add the eggs one at a time. Add the yogurt, and mix until combined. Slowly add the flour and mix until the ingredients have become moistened. Turn off the stand mixer, and continue to mix the batter with a spatula, folding a couple of times, making sure not to over combine. The ingredients should be well moistened, with no visible signs of flour.

5.  Spread half of the cake batter into the loaf pan.

6.  In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Combine with a wire whisk. Cut the cold butter into small cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture and work in using your fingers. You should have tiny pea size pieces of butter remaining throughout the sugar.

Crumble half of the mixture into the pan. Pour the remaining batter on top, and then top with the rest of the crumb.

7.  Place the pan into the oven on the middle rack and bake for 60 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a wire wrack for one hour.

Lasagna Bolognese

I've really been wanting to try this recipe for Lasagna Bolognese from smitten kitchen. It tastes amazing with the Bolognese sauce. It is a bit of a pain to make but I like it better than the traditional ground meat and ricotta/cottage cheese recipes. You will need to make the Bolognese and Béchamel sauces ahead of time. You can make the Bolognese well ahead of time, even freeze it, but the Béchamel I would make the same day. I am too lazy to make my own noodles. The boxed kind came out just fine.







Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles (I used barilla flat lasagna noodles)
4 c. Bolognese sauce
2 c. Béchamel sauce

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350. In a 9x13 pan, drizzle and spread 1/4 heaping c. Béchamel sauce, to prevent the noodles from sticking. Layer noodles in and top with 1 c. of Bolognese sauce. top this with 1/3 c. of Parmesan cheese, then top with 1/2 c. of Béchamel. Repeat this three more times. It will look like this:

1/4 c. Bechamel
Noodles
1. c. Bolognese sauce
1/3 c. Parmesan
1/2 c. Béchamel
Noodles
1. c. Bolognese sauce
1/3 c. Parmesan
1/2 c. Béchamel
Noodles
1. c. Bolognese sauce
1/3 c. Parmesan
1/2 c. Béchamel
Noodles
1. c. Bolognese sauce
1/3 c. Parmesan
1/2 c. Béchamel

Bake the thing for 30-45 minutes, I only did 35. Allow to set for 10 minutes before serving.

Jib is un-cleaning my plates :3
:3

Béchamel Sauce

This is another sauce you will need for the lasagna recipe that follows. I think this would be great with seafood or vegetables on pasta. It was my first time making it but I think it came out creamy and delicious.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon table salt
1 clove minced garlic
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

 Directions:
1. Melt your butter in the bottom of a medium-to-large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add your flour and stir it into the butter until smooth. Cook the mixture together for a minute, stirring constantly.

2. Pour in a small drizzle of your milk*, whisking constantly into the butter-flour mixture until smooth. Continue to drizzle a very small amount at a time, whisking constantly. Once you’ve added a little over half of your milk, you’ll find that you have more of a thick sauce or batter, and you can start adding the milk in larger splashes, being sure to keep mixing.

3. Once all of the milk is added, add the salt, garlic, nutmeg (if using) and few grinds of black pepper, and bring the mixture to a lower simmer and cook it, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Bolognese Sauce

I love cooking with wine. I don't really know/care much about drinking it but it tastes wonderful when cooked. I have been wanting to make a lasagna and this recipe is for a sauce that will be great on its own or in the lasagna recipe that will follow. I made the sauce already and it yields 8 c. so you can use 4 c. for the lasagna and freeze the rest. It is great reheated, unlike many things. I stole the recipe for this sauce and the lasagna, which has bechamel instead of ricotta, from Deb at smittenkitchen.





Bolognese sauce (yield 8 c.)
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 large or 2 slim carrots, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground chuck, brisket or round or combination
1 1/4 cups tomato paste (12 oz)
2 cups red wine
Water as needed
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs thyme, tied in a bundle (I used dried thyme and I think it still came out wonderful)

1. In a food processor, pulse onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until finely chopped.

2. Heat a moderate-sized Dutch oven (4 to 5 quarts) over medium-high heat. Once hot, coat the bottom of the pan with two to three tablespoons of oil. Once it is hot, add the chopped vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until they are evenly brown, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. "Evenly brown," is a relative term. I wouldn't worry about it too much, just try to cook off the moisture and brown them.

3. Add the ground beef to the vegetables and season again with salt and pepper. Brown the beef well and again, don’t rush this step. Cook for another 15 minutes.

4. Add the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red wine, using it to scrape up any stuck bits in the pan. Cook the wine until it has reduced by half, about 5 more minutes.

5. Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything, bringing it to a low simmer. Simmer for 3-4 hours, adding a cup of water whenever you see the level gets too low.

French Yogurt Cake

Yesterday I was out watering my husband's puny poplar tree that he finally transplanted to our backyard after an 8 month stint in a re-purposed plastic cat litter container on our balcony. I couldn't believe that the angry thorn bushes I have been seeing all year had mysteriously transformed into something useful and desirable. Hundreds of juicy blackberries in various states of ripeness had appeared entangled in the thorns. This set into motion an unstoppable series of events which, naturally, culminated in us eating cake in bed at 11pm. I spent an hour harvesting a respectable mixing bowl full of only the ripest berries, I was only slightly bloody and very juicy afterwards. These berries were small and flavorful, not like the big mushy guys you get in the plastic tub.

But wait! The magical yardberries are only half of the story! I had read about this cake in several "nonfiction," if editorialized books written by non-French people, depicting highly romanticized versions French everyday life. In every book a chic French mother is teaching her chic, well-behaved French 6 year-old to make this cake on a Sunday afternoon in the South of France. If I hadn't actually been to France I would swear that it was a fictional place, like Narnia--the adorable made-up language, the fanciful delicacies, the charming/unpredictable inhabitants. I wanted to bake this cake but there are hundreds of different recipes for it and I was a little overwhelmed; different sizes, different pans, different proportions of ingredients, almonds/no almonds? nutmeg?  My quest to find the most authentic perfect, delicious recipe proved too much for me until the miracle of the berries gave me the push I needed to just f*cking pick a recipe already. I could have gone with Deb or Clotilde but something made me pick the bonappetit recipe for it. Don't judge me.

My favorite part of this recipe is making the lemon-scented sugar. You zest one lemon and then rub the zest into the sugar until it releases its oils and smells like...just...wonderful. We ate the cake warm with ice cream and berries but I feel that it tastes even better if it is allowed to cool completely.




by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
 May 2012
French Yogurt Cake

Ingredients:
 Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
 2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 special equipment 8 1/2 x 4 1/4-inch loaf pan

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°. Coat pan with vegetable oil spray. Dust with flour; tap out excess.

Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

 Using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend.

Fold in dry ingredients just to blend. Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; let cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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Unrelated Fanciness and Fancifulness:
On Saturday I made the most unnecessary, extravagant baking-related purchase of my entire life. In the name of silliness I bought rosewater, pepperment extract, butter flavoring, a ridiculously priced flask of vanilla, parchment paper, goat cheese, and petit fours. "That's right, my good man, and wrap them all up in this Grocery Outlet bag that I had the foresight to bring with me". Mostly I just wanted to show off this dessert even though I didn't make it. Though I bet that I could easily make a much uglier version.