Cherry Pie

Servings: 12
Preheat: 425
Prep Time: 4 hours
Source: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cherry-pie-recipe-1913275

Killer cherry pie. I modified recipe slightly

Ingredients: 

4 lbs fresh cherries (a full tub from Costco)
1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Your favorite pie crust or pie dough recipe for 2 crust pie (see Pate Brisee recipe)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, to dot
1 tablespoon demera sugar, to sprinkle

Directions: 

This step can be done the day before. Pit cherries. Cut in half to ensure that no pits remain. Place cherry halves in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, drain cherries and cook juice further to reduce the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust with milk. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape.

Bake for about 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375. Bake another 35-50 minutes until crust is brown and filling starts to bubble. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 3 hours.

Gwyneth’s Chicken Burgers, Thai Style

Servings: 4
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Source: People Magazine, April 24, 2013

Ingredients: 

1 1b. ground chicken (preferably dark meat)
2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 shallots, very finely minced
1 tsp. very finely minced red pepper, or red chili if you like it hot
2 tsp. fish sauce
½ tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. canola, grapeseed or safflower oil

Directions: 

1. Thoroughly mix the chicken with the garlic, cilantro, shallots, red chili, fish sauce, salt, and pepper. Form the mixture into 4 burgers, each about ¾-inch thick.

2. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Rub each burger on both sides with a bit of oil and grill for about 8 minutes on the first side and another 5 minutes on the second, or until nicely marked and firm to the touch.

Spiced Plum Cake with Toffee Glaze

Servings: 10
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 1 hour
Source: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/spiced-plum-cake-recipe-with-toffee-glaze/

This cake uses cardamom in both the batter and the streusel almond topping. I buy the cardamom in pods and remove the husks, then grind the seeds myself. The flavor is much better than buying pre-ground cardamom. If you wanted to use another spice, whatever favorites are in your spice drawer, you could certainly call into play. I do like the cardamom a lot, though, and urge you to try it.

Purple plums aren’t usually sold by variety in France, but tart ones work best, such as Santa Rosa plums. You could use other kinds of plums, such as Italian prune plums (quetsches), although I prefer to use the tartest ones I can find. If you wanted to experiment with other types of fruit, this cake probably lends itself to others.The toffee is drizzled over the top in a modest quantity. But if you are a toffee-lover, you can certainly double the amount and really go for it. Buttermilk is called lait ribot or lait fermentè in France and is available in some supermarkets and Arab markets. You can make a good substitute by using a scant 1/2 cup (125ml) of whole milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar added. Let stand for 10 minutes, then use the soured milk just like buttermilk.

Serving: The cake is best served at room temperature. It can be served without accompaniment, or with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Storage: The cake will keep for up to three days at room temperature. I would not recommend freezing it.

Ingredients: 

Topping
5 medium plums (12 ounces, 340g)
1 cup ( 85g) sliced almonds blanched or unbalanced
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup (60g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons melted butter salted or unsalted

Cake
8 tablespoons (4 ounces, 115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups (175g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder, preferably aluminium-free
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup (125ml) buttermilk (see headnote)

Toffee Glaze
2 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Butter a 9-inch (23cm) springform cake pan.
2. Halve, pit, and cut the plums into 8 slices.
3. In a small bowl, make the topping by mixing together the sliced almonds, 2 tablespoons flour, light brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoons (each) cinnamon and cardamom, and melted butter, until everything is evenly mixed. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or by hand in a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom, and salt.
6. Add to the eggs to the creamed butter one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition to make sure they’re mixed in. Add the vanilla extract. Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
7. Spread the batter into the prepared cake pan. Strew the plums over the top in an even layer, then spread the almond topping over the plums. Bake until the center just feels set, about 55 minutes to one hour. (A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean of any cake batter.) If the top is browning too fast, drape a sheet of aluminum foil over the cake pan and finish baking. Let the cake cool completely then remove the sides of the springform pan.
8. To make the toffee glaze, mix the butter, dark brown sugar, cream, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan Bring to a boil, stirring gently. Reduce the heat and cook at a low boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and drizzle the toffee over the cake.

Tarragon Tartar Sauce

Servings: 4
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Source: https://food52.com/recipes/18172-pan-fried-red-snapper-with-tarragon-tartar-sauce

Best tartar sauce ever.

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons minced cornichons (Maille Original is good)
2 pickled onions from the cornichons jar, minced
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions: 

Combine all the tarragon tartar sauce ingredients into a small bowl. Mix to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper, stir well and taste again. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. Place the tartar sauce into the fridge to keep it cool.

Cardamom Citrus Fruit Salad Recipe

Servings: 4
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Source: Simply Recipes

Delicious Citrus Fruit Salad

Ingredients: 

1 large ruby pink grapefruit
3 navel oranges or a combination of naval oranges, blood oranges, mandarin oranges and/or tangerines
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

Directions: 

1 Peel the fruit. Cut away the membranes of the individual segments with a sharp knife. Collect the peeled segments in a bowl.

2 Drain off any excess juice from the fruit into a small saucepan.

Add the lime juice, honey, and cardamom to the saucepan.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

3 Pour over fruit mixture and gently fold in so that all the fruit is coated. Let stand for 15 minutes or chill until ready to serve.

Colpa Degno (Flourless Triple-Chocolate Cookies)

Servings: Makes 2 dozen cookies
Preheat: 375
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Source: Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook

We named these chocolate-packed rounds colpa degno because the term roughly translates as “worth the guilt.” Created by Megan Fitzroy Phelan, currently an owner of Longoven Restaurant.

These cookies are small and addictive and so delightful that they are worth any remorse you might feel from eating a half dozen or so.

Ingredients: 

1 2/3 cups (185 g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 scant cup (40 g) unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 g) coarse sea salt
Whites from 2 large eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons (6 g) vanilla extract
1/2 cup (100 g) milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup (100 g) dark chocolate chips

Directions: 

Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt with a fork in a medium bowl to combine. Whisk together the egg whites and the vanilla with the fork in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg whites; stir the mixture with the fork until it just begins to come together. Add the chocolates and stir until well combined. The dough will be extremely sticky and as dark as black licorice.

At the bakery, we use a #60 scoop (like a small ice cream scoop) to scoop and ball these, but an ordinary 1 tablespoon measuring spoon works well too. Pack the batter into the spoon by squashing and dragging the spoon against the inside of the bowl to make sure the rounds of dough are tight and compact—if the dough is too loosely packed, the cookies tend to really spread out and separate as they bake. Place the rounds of dough on the parchment-lined cookie sheet a good 3 inches apart and bake for about 12 minutes or until the tops are glossy and set. When the cookies are done, they will be quite gooey, but they will continue to cook as they cool. Once they’ve cooled off enough to eat, they should be soft and chewy—if they’re hard or crisp, they’ve baked too much. Cool the cookies on the paper, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough. Serve these cookies the day they are made.

Pizza Dough With Yeast

Servings: 2 16″ pizzas or 4 12″ pizzas
Preheat: 550
Prep Time: 8 hours
Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013151-pizza-dough-with-yeast?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1

Adapted and modified from Oliver Strand’s recipe on NYTimes. Converted recipe to grams, cranked up heat to 550, and decreased yeast to 1/4 tsp.

The baking technique is from “The Elements of Pizza” by Ken Forkish.

Ingredients: 

340g “00” flour like Delvina or King Arthur Italian Style
283g King Arthur’s bread flour
472g water
14g salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
Additional flour, for dusting
Olive oil for bowl

Directions: 

Sprinkle yeast on top of water and let dissolve while combining flours and salt in a bowl. Add yeast and warm water to flour mix and mix until no dry spots appear. Turn dough onto a counter and knead by hand for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and let rest covered with plastic wrap for 3 to 4 hours or overnight in fridge.

Set pizza stone 8″ from broiler. Preheat oven to 550F with pizza stone 45 minutes in advance. Turn on broiler about 10 minutes before shaping pizza dough.

Use dough scraper to turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut dough into 2 pieces. Put one piece back into the bowl. Flour a wooden pizza peel.

Spread the dough out with your fingers, adding flour on either side as necessary to facilitate the shaping of the dough. Lift dough on to peel, reshape as necessary.

Quickly add toppings, including cheese, and spread to within 1/2″ of edge. Confirm that the dough will slide off the peel by giving it a few good shakes. If not, work some flour under the dough.

Turn off broiler and turn oven on again to 550. Slide pizza from peel on to stone and bake for 5 minutes.

Turn on broiler again and broil for about 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted, the crust is golden, and there are spots of char. Remove from oven and add any fresh greens like arugula, basil, lox, etc.

If you are going to make a second pizza, slide stone out of oven and wipe off burned flour and cheese, return to oven, and reheat stone surface under a broiler for a few minutes.

New York-Style Pizza Sauce Recipe

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Servings: Makes enough for 2 to 4 (12-inch) pies, depending on how much sauce you like
Preheat: 0
Prep Time: 1 hour
Source: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/print/new-york-style-pizza-sauce.html

This creates a slightly sweet, intense tomato sauce typical of New York-style slices. It’s also good served with pasta.

Ingredients: 

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium cloves garlic, grated on microplane grater (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
2 (6-inch) sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions: 

Process tomatoes and their juice through food mill, pulse in food processor until pureed, or puree with hand blender. Puree should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16 of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.

Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Discard onions and basil stems. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Black-and-White Cupcakes

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Servings: 12 cupcakes
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Source: Dorie Greenspan https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019058-black-and-white-cupcakes

There’s a lot to like in a little cupcake. There’s the joy of having a cake all to yourself. The pleasure of getting creamy frosting and tender cake in every bite. And the fun of decorating, or not: Plain is good, too. This cupcake has two more things going for it: It’s easy enough to make with kids or to have kids make themselves, and it’s both childishly appealing and sophisticated — the cake is not very sweet and the chocolate frosting is deep and rich. There’s enough frosting for each cupcake to be finished with a few thick swirls. If you have turret-type topknots in mind, multiply the recipe. Whatever you do, keep mixing the frosting after the cold butter goes in so that it thickens enough to spread.

Ingredients: 

FOR THE CUPCAKES:
1 ¾ cups (238 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons (133 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
3 large eggs
1 large yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 milliliters) buttermilk, shaken
1 cup (170 grams) mini chocolate chips

FOR THE FROSTING:
9 ounces (255 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
Sprinkles, optional

Directions: 

TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds, and heat to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake papers, or grease the tins.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Working with a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the whole eggs and the yolk one at a time, mixing well after each goes in. Beat in the vanilla.
On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions and the buttermilk in two, scraping the bowl, as needed, and beating until the batter is smooth. Mix in the chips.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 20-22 minutes — rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes — or until the tops feel springy to the touch (they won’t color much) and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature. Frost, and cover with sprinkles, if you’d like, before the frosting dries.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and fit it into a saucepan of simmering water — don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the heat, whisk in the sugar and let rest on the counter for 3 minutes. Bit by bit, whisk in the cold butter, mixing until smooth and thickened just enough to spread. Use immediately.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Servings: 12 biscuits
Preheat: 425
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Source: BON APPÉTIT October 2000

“My boyfriend and I were vacationing in Boulder, Colorado, when we discovered Dot’s Diner, a cozy place that serves wonderful breakfasts,” writes Kimberly McClain of Harris, Iowa. “The biscuit that came with my meal was baked to perfection. I would drive all the way to Colorado just to go to Dot’s again.”
This classic recipe produces biscuits with a lovely light texture.

Ingredients: 

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Using fingertips, rub 3/4 cup chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until evenly moistened. Gently knead no more than 10 times. Pat out to 1/2″ thickness. Using 1/4 cup dough (juice glass) for each biscuit, drop biscuits onto baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm.