Veg Out

Image found here.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about incorporating some more vegetarian meals into my diet. I actually quite enjoy making (and eating) meatless meals, I just don't seem to come across very many vegetarian recipes that inspire me. I'd love to hear your suggestions. What are your favorite vegetarian meals? Do you have any great recipe sources?

I've had my eye on this Curried Lentil Soup for ages. Wouldn't it be nice to curl up with a big bowl of that, some crusty French bread, and an episode of Downton Abbey?


P.S. This face made out of vegetables is freaking rad. Note to self: Spend more time playing with food.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy happy Thanksgiving, dear friends! I'm going to sign out early this week to enjoy some much-needed time with my loved ones...and, of course, to eat a completely unreasonable amount of food. I hope your holiday is warm, lovely, and plentiful. xo, Jessica

P.S. For those of you who like to nerd out on Thanksgiving food as much as I do, I'm including my menu below. I'm attempting to "take it easy" this year- i.e. pare down the menu to the essential favorites, and spend more time enjoying my family and less time in front of the stove.

Thanksgiving 2012

Salted Roast Turkey with Chipotle Glaze

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onion Gravy

Herb and Onion Stuffing

Braided Onion Bread 

(I promise I'll share this recipe soon. It might be my favorite thing on the Thanksgiving table...and it definitely should be made more than once a year.)

Mystery Brussel Sprout Dish, brought by a friend

(I'm hoping maybe it's something like this. But, really, I'll take brussels however I can get them.)

Cranberry-Peach Compote

(I'll share this one soon too.)

Deepest Dish Apple Pie

(From the new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. I've taken to calling it "Mile High Apple Pie." Has a nice ring, don't you think?)

Hot Apple Cider

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Banana Pancakes

A couple weekends ago, I woke up with this song in my head and the most incredible craving for banana pancakes. As soon as the idea of hopping out of bed and whipping up a batch popped into my head, I couldn't let it go. I started doing some mental inventory: Bananas? Check. Eggs? Check. [The excitement was mounting] Syrup? Check. [Yes, yes!! It's really going to work!] Buttermilk? Buttermilk?? [Cue huge letdown]

And then I remembered: didn't I see a delicious looking recipe somewhere for pancakes that didn't call for buttermilk? Why yes, yes I did- but it called for using vinegar to sour the milk. I knew people did this as a substitute for buttermilk, but it kind of freaked me out, and I always assumed the real deal would be superior. Here's the moral of the story: I was wrong. 

Using self-soured milk consistently produced the most delightfully tall, fluffy, restaurant-quality pancakes I've ever made. Do you remember the elementary school experiment someone inevitably did for the science fair every year? The one where you build a fake volcano, add baking soda and vinegar, and watch it "erupt"? That's, more or less, what's going on here- only not so dramatic. The vinegar in the soured milk meets the baking soda in the dry ingredients, and begins to form little carbon dioxide bubbles. All those tiny pockets of trapped air in your batter ensure that the finished product is perfectly light and fluffy. Fear not: there's no icky, sour, vinegary taste, just a batter that bubbles up (almost like yeast batter) and produces lofty, golden cakes.

Now, if you've never put bananas in your pancakes before, I suspect you've been harboring an uncomfortable feeling that you're missing out on something incredible, and you would be right. I also suspect that this recipe is all the nudging you'll need, so I'm not going to bother trying to convince you. You know what to do.

 

Note: If you've been hiding a sadly neglected cast-iron skillet in your cupboard, now is the time to pull it out and fall in love all over again: it will give the perfect crispy edge to your pancakes.

Fluffy Banana Pancakes

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Makes about 16 4-inch pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk (ideally 2%)

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour                                       

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. fine sea salt

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup salted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 ripe bananas

Combine milk and vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to sour.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the eggs, vanilla, and butter into the soured milk, then pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and whisk gently, just until everything is evenly distributed. There will be some lumps. Set your batter aside to puff up and bubble a little more (resist the temptation to stir away the bubbles- those are the loft in your pancakes!).

Slice the bananas onto a small plate or bowl so they're ready to go in the next step.

Heat a large (preferably cast-iron) skillet over medium heat and brush with vegetable oil. Scoop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the skillet. Add several banana slices to each pancake, pressing down slightly to adhere bananas to batter. This batter is quite thick and won't spread much on its own, but adding the bananas seems to spread it out just the right amount (if you don't use the bananas, you can spread the batter gently with the back of a spoon, if you desire). Cook for several minutes, until bubbles appear between the banana slices. Flip and cook a few more minutes on the other side, until golden brown. Make sure you scrape off any sticky banana residue in between batches and re-oil the pan.

Enjoy!

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Homemade Doughnuts

Let me just begin this post by saying I'm sorry. And you're welcome. I apologize in advance for the amount of broccoli you'll have to eat to counterbalance these bad boys; and yet, I suspect even as you reach for your third helping, you'll be praising my name for bringing your attention to the most crispy-creamy-tender-chewy-glazey-golden-confection you'll ever make.

While store-bought is ordinarily kind of a dirty word in my mind, there are a select few things that I strive to make homemade versions of that are as delectable as their commercial counterparts; the list includes: Oreos, and a perfect, glazed, yeast doughnut. I crossed the first one off the list with Deb's absurdly delicious recipe (actually, she overshot the mark a little and made them out-of-this-world-better-than-store-bought), and now, finally, I can put a giant, proverbial check mark next to these holey wonders. They're tender, chewy, pillowy, and airy, with enough crispiness on the edges to keep your teeth entertained. The glaze adds just the right amount of sugary sweetness, and shatters delightfully as you bite down; in other words: eat your heart out Krispy Kreme.

The only thing is, this recipe makes a lot of huge, insanely delicious doughnuts (or even more small ones if you choose to use a smaller doughnut cutter), and while they are passably decent on the second day, they lose their incredible texture after day one. So here's what I'm thinking: have a doughnut party! These things are worthy of a celebration all their own, and if you need another excuse, heck, it's Fall, and a doughnut party sounds cozy. Invite your friends to don their plaid flannels, and come on over while these babies are still warm and glistening, and your house smells like a doughnut factory. And if it seems like your party is a bit on the small side and you might have extras...well, feel free to invite me. :)

Crispy, Creamy Doughnuts

From Allrecipes.com

Makes about 14 large doughnuts and doughnut holes.

For Doughnuts

2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105°-115°)

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening (I use this organic, non-hydrogenated stuff)

5 cups all purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying (I used canola)

For Glaze

1/3 cup salted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 Tb. hot water (more or less, as needed)

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for at least 5 minutes, until foamy (this is called "proofing" your yeast). If mixture doesn't foam, toss it and start over with new yeast.

In a large bowl, mix together the proofed yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of flour. I opted to do this in my KitchenAid stand mixer, but you can also do it by hand. Beat in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is no longer super sticky. You may be tempted to use more than 5 cups of flour, but I strongly recommend that you don't- more flour will result in a denser, breadier texture. Knead for a few minutes (by hand or with dough hook) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a very large, greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm place to rise. Let dough rise until doubled (generally about an hour, but keep an eye on it). You can tell the dough is ready if you poke it and the indentation remains.

Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface, and gently roll out to approximately 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter (I have this one. You could also use this one if you want smaller, more Krispy Kreme sized doughnuts). As you're cutting, make sure you press straight down with your doughnut cutter, and don't twist it from side to side. Twisting can seal the edges of your doughnut, and prevent it from rising fully (this is true for biscuits as well). Remove the doughnut holes, and space them out so you have a few inches between all the doughnuts and holes (I put mine too close together, and had to cut them apart. They puff up like crazy!). Cover loosely with a cloth, and let them sit out on a floured surface to rise until doubled.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time, until icing is thin enough for dipping, but not watery. Set aside.

Pour oil into a dutch oven or large pot (I used my cast iron dutch oven and it worked like magic), and attach a deep fry thermometer to the side. Heat oil to 325° (it's not an exact science, but try to keep it as close to 325° as you can. I found 350° browned them a little too quickly, but if the temp is too low, the doughnuts will absorb the oil and feel greasy). Prepare some cooling racks (I recommend lining a cookie sheet with paper towels and placing it under the racks to catch drips), and get ready to rock.

Very gently pick up a doughnut with a wide spatula, and slide it into the hot oil. They may deflate a little as you slide the spatula under them, but don't worry, they puff up again beautifully once they're in the oil. I was able to cook two at a time in my 5-quart dutch oven. The doughnuts will cook very quickly- less than a minute per side...or until they are as golden as you like them. Turn them over as they rise to the surface (these OXO tongs are invaluable for this part) and fry the other side until golden. Remove from oil and set on wire rack to drain.

If your glaze has developed a sugar crust by this time, just heat and stir for another moment to re-liquefy it. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and place them back on the wire racks.

Repeat this process until all your doughnuts and doughnut holes are fried and glazed, and you are in olfactory heaven.

P.S. For the record, I actually love broccoli.

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Flag Cake

I realize this is only my fourth post on this blog, but I think I may have to retire after this one. I've outdone myself. Peaked too soon. This cake is officially the coolest thing I've ever made.

In all seriousness, this project was a major motivator for starting my blog before the 4th of July. I actually made it last year, and there was no way I was waiting another year to share it with you! (For the record, I think I'm gonna cut myself a break this year and make something a little lower maintenance, like this.)

I won't pretend it isn't a serious undertaking, but if you've got it in you, make a flag cake!! It is such a fun project, and the delighted, awestruck looks on the faces of family and friends when you cut it open are well worth the effort.

These crumbs remind me of fireworks!

Here's the lowdown:

• I followed these instructions, pretty much to the letter, except I opted to use this basic vanilla cake recipe instead of a boxed mix (you know, because this project wasn't time consuming enough already). In order to make the day-of as relaxed and easy as possible, I made the cake layers ahead of time and froze them, so all I had to do in the morning was assemble and frost!
• I used this "seven minute frosting" recipe, which holds up really well in the heat and tastes deliciously like marshmallows (though it invariably takes more than seven minutes to come together).
• I strongly recommend using a gel food coloring to get those super-saturated colors without overwhelming your batter with liquid.
• The cake bunting is made from triangles I cut out of scrap fabric, sewed together, and tied to two wooden skewers (if you look closely at the bunting and my outfit, you might see some familiar fabric...). If you're not sewing-inclined, here's one on Etsy that's very similar to mine.

If you're going to go all-out-crazy-patriotic with the dessert, you might as well look the part.

Now add a beautiful day, and a mean game of croquet...

friends and family...

and you've got a recipe for a blissful day.

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Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart

This recipe may or may not have led to my first incident of theft. 

Theft is probably too strong a word, it was more like…pilfering. In any case, I spotted this in an old issue of Sunset magazine at the gym last winter, and it stopped me dead in my (elliptical machine) tracks. I briefly considered coughing and ripping the page out, then decided that was probably even more uncouth, and just took the whole darn thing. I don’t know why I felt so guilty about it; I’m pretty sure those magazines are there for the taking. Still, I snuck it under my jacket lest anyone try to stop me on the way out.  I was NOT GOING HOME WITHOUT THIS RECIPE.

It was everything my summer-starved mind was craving: fresh berries, a light, creamy filling with just enough crème fraîche to give it a bit of tartness and character, and a buttery, crumbly crust more akin to a shortbread cookie than a pie crust. It doesn't hurt that it comes together ridiculously quickly and easily, and if you take the few extra moments required to arrange your strawberries in concentric circles with cut sides alternating up and down, you’ll breeze into that summer barbecue looking like a culinary wizard.

Surely that's worth a little light pilfering.

Note: This recipe would be delicious with all manner of fruits: blueberries, raspberries, peaches, heck, even cherries if you can be bothered to pit and slice them. Promise me you'll try it with strawberries first though, and do it soon while they're at the pinnacle of juicy-sweet-red-ripe-perfection. You won't be sorry.

Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart

Tweaked, just barely, from Sunset Magazine, April 2010

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Scant 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (you could also use salted butter and skip the 1/4 tsp. salt)

1 tsp. vanilla extract, divided

1/2 cup crème fraîche

1/2 cup whipping cream

12 oz. strawberries, hulled and sliced

Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, pulse flour, 2 Tbsp. of the sugar, cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until crumbs form and dough just begins to come together. I almost lost faith that it was going to come together at this point, but give it a few extra pulses if necessary, and I promise it will! Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9 inch round tart pan with a removable bottom (I'm sure you could get away with using a 9" springform pan, or even a pie dish in a pinch, but a fluted tart pan gives everything such professional polish, and they're not very expensive. I have this one.)

Bake until edges are just golden, 20-22 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then carefully push crust from pan rim and set on a plate.

Filling

In a medium bowl, beat crème fraîche, whipping cream, remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla on high speed until thick. Spread in cooled crust. Arrange strawberries in concentric circles, alternating cut sides up and down. I briefly considered straining and heating some strawberry jam to use as a glaze, but was so glad I opted not to- it is just perfect the way it is, and I fear a glaze would make it cloyingly sweet. Might be worth considering if your fruit is not particularly sweet or flavorful, however.

Can be made up to 4 hours ahead, and stored, loosely covered, in the refrigerator.

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