North Fork Table & Inn Scones

Let's just face it: I have come to expect scones as my every day breakfast food. Now that I am eating at the hospital cafeteria for most of my meals-- including breakfast-- I have a lot more options. Yogurt. Eggs. Bacon. Bagels. Croissants. But what do I go to still on an every day basis? Yes, the scone-- although the hospital scones are not quite as tasty as some of the ones I've made. Anyway. But the other thing I like about scones is that I can make a batch for a night when I am on call and they are good for dinner when I'm coming on, for a midnight snack, for a 1 am snack, for a 2 am snack.... and then they are still good to share with the morning team coming on. Hence my scone craze is still alive and well despite my new lifestyle.

Here are some scones I made for my most recent night shift. They were alright. By all standards I'm sure they are amazing, but for me-- just alright. I think what I want out of a scone is changing. I want less chewiness and either more flakiness or more cakeiness but not chewy. And these were chewy. Perhaps because I made them with dried apricots and not with raspberries like Deb of Smitten Kitchen did? So take it for what you will, you will most likely find them amazingly delicious, unless you have made all the other scones on this scone-filled blog, then you will find them delicious but not stand-out-ish.

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/the-north-fork-and-its-scones/

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C. pastry or all-purpose flour
1/4 C. sugar
1 T. aluminum-free baking powder*
1 tsp. baking soda
12 T. butter, in 1/2-inch cubes
1 C. golden raisins plus 1 T. caraway seeds -or- 1 C. fresh fruit of your choice
3/4 to 1 C. buttermilk (use the smaller amount if using fresh fruit, the larger if using the raisin-caraway combo)
Turbinado or sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional, not in the original recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Place cubed butter in freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.

3. Add butter to the flour mixture and cut in until you have pea sized specks of butter. Add the fruit/seeds and the buttermilk and stir until just moistened.

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple times. Roll or pat dough out to approximately one-inch thick round and cut into 8-12 wedges.

5. Optional: Brush buttermilk over the top of the scones and sprinkle with turbinado or sanding sugar.

6. Bake on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Note: If you use fresh fruit in a scone, it’s very important that you use an aluminum-free baking powder, otherwise the aluminum may precipitate out causing your scones to turn a bluish-gray color. They will still be edible, but may taste a bit tinny or simply look less appetizing.

Gingerbread Raisin Scones

My last scone recipe! For...... now!

I have made some edits from the reviewers on Epicurious, so the recipe reflects what I did and is just a little bit different from the one at the link below. Also, the Epicurious people all hate raisins and lurve candied ginger, so that is an option for the future. They also suggest using 1/2 whole wheat flour, but as I was out I wasn't able to try this.

I ended up freezing these scones for at least a month before I ate them and they got rather flat from being squished in the freezer and then I cooked the first one too long and burned the edges a bit. So it's hard to tell how much I would love these fresh. The flavor was quite good-- just like a big gingerbread cookie-- and I actually liked the raisins, even if the texture suffered from the flattening above. I think these deserve another chance-- perhaps I'll make them again closer to Christmas.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gingerbread-Raisin-Scones-1109

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour

1/3 C. packed dark brown sugar

1 T. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

6 T. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/3 C. milk

1 large egg

3 heaping T. light unsulfured molasses

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 - 1 C. raisins (I used baking raisins)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease baking sheet or cover with parchment paper. Blend first six ingredients together. Add butter and cut in or use food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add raisins and stir until raisins are lightly coated with flour.

2) Beat milk, egg, molasses, and vanilla in smaller bowl. Add wet ingredients into flour mixture, stirring just enough to thoroughly wet dry ingredients.

3) Gather dough into ball. On lightly floured surface, press dough into 1-inch-thick round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: The Epicurious reviewers all liked brushing the tops of these with milk and then sprinkling on cinnamon sugar or lots of white sugar, so I did that and then froze them so they probably weren't as pretty as they might have been unfrozen. Sprinkling with turbinado sugar might also be fun.

Birthday Carrot Cake Ala The Robber

The Robber made me this delicious carrot cake for my birthday with maple cream cheese frosting. He tried to find a recipe that was lighter so the whole affair wouldn't seem quite as heavy as carrot cake usually is. I'm not a carrot cake expert, so I'm not sure how it stacks up to other cakes but it was very, very good. I am certain the Robber loved it even more than I did. I think he is hoping I will make it for him for Easter. "Carrots are what the Easter bunny eats, right?" So this will be making a comeback in our house.

From the Food Network, adapted by the Robber:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

12 oz. grated carrots, medium grate, approx. 6 medium carrots

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/3 C. granulated sugar

1/4 C. dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

6 oz. plain yogurt

6 oz. vegetable oil

Optional: 1/2 C. raisins (plumped by soaking for 1/2 hr in warm water)

Optional: 1 C. chopped, toasted pecans (can also add to surface of cake)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan (Or two 9" pans for two layers). Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl and add in grated carrots. Toss until the carrots are well-coated with the flour.

3. In separate bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt. Drizzle in the vegetable oil and combine. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.

4. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost after the cake has cooled completely.

Raisin Scones

I had to make more new scones because I am back in Rochester. Where the scone craze began. And where it is snowing. And where the Robber is not. I need something to make my soul cheerful. At some point during my original scone phase I searched Epicurious and made a list of all the best looking scone recipes and I have a few left over that I haven't made yet, this being one of them.

The good news is that this scone, unlike its most recent predecessor, was a happy surprise. The scone dough itself was pleasing and the subtlety of the raisins and the lemon together (the golden raisins and the lemon are a must) was wonderful. If I wanted to take it to the next level I might add a little candied ginger, but it's not really necessary.

Notes: I almost doubled the amount of both kinds of raisins (a good move), used whole milk instead of cream, and omitted the egg wash. I rolled the dough all out together into a round disk and cut it into eight scones and where most scone recipes say make twelve and really make eight, this really should make twelve. The eight scones are ginormous (but so happy and good....)

Find it on Epicurious here:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Raisin-Scones-102461

Ingredients:

4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. white sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1/2 C. golden raisins
1/2 C. raisins
1 C. whipping cream
2 large eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1 T. grated lemon peel

1 large egg
2 tsp. water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.

2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in raisins.

3. Whisk cream, 2 eggs, vanilla and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined.

4. Gather dough into ball and knead lightly. Roll out dough on floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. Using 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps; reroll and cut out additional scones. Place scones on prepared baking sheets, spacing apart.

5. Whisk remaining egg and 2 teaspoons water in small bowl to blend. Brush egg mixture over tops of scones. Bake scones until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature.) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Scottish Oat Scones

Never mind me, just stocking up on more scones to last me through the PICU. These are from Epicurious, and per the reviewers, I doubled the sugar and only used about 1/3 C. of melted butter and omitted the cream of tartar and they were still plenty sticky. Most of the reviewers omitted the raisins, but I had them so I threw a whole cup in. We'll see how they turn out!

From Epi-land, oh so grand:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Scottish-Oat-Scones-1585

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. all purpose flour

1 1/4 C. old-fashioned oatmeal

1/4 C. sugar (I doubled this)

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. cream of tartar (I omitted this)

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 C. unsalted butter, melted (I used about 1/3)

1 egg, beaten to blend

1/2 C. raisins (I doubled this)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease cookie sheet.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Mix together butter, milk and egg in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Mix in raisins.

3. Shape dough into ball. Place on lightly floured work surface. Pat out to form 3/4-inch-thick circle. Using sharp knife, cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared cookies sheet.

4. Bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.)

(I of course froze these after the mixing step in individual scones without patting out.)

Pumpkin and Ginger Scones

The second recipe of my scone experiment/binge. This one comes, yes, from Recipes For Health and Ms. Shulman. How she suckers me in! I was at the less-fancy Wegman's, which didn't have crystallized ginger, so I substituted 1/2 cup baking raisins and 1/2 chopped walnuts for the ginger. Not the same effect, I know. And maybe raisins are weird with pumpkin? But they wanted using and I had them, so I guess I will find out when I bake up one of these! I also cut this into 8 instead of 12, because it just seems like a more reasonable scone size, and they are a little easier to freeze when cut larger.

Here is the link to the recipe in the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/health/nutrition/26recipehealth.html?ref=pumpkin

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup pumpkin purée, well drained, canned or made from 1/2 pound fresh

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup chopped candied ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Sift together the flours, salt, ginger, baking powder and baking soda. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

2. Add the butter to the food processor, and pulse several times until it is distributed throughout the flour. The mixture should have the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (I just do this step with a cutter, since I don't have a food processor.)

3. Beat together the pumpkin purée, buttermilk and maple syrup in a small bowl, and scrape into the food processor. Add the ginger, and process just until the dough comes together.

4. Scrape onto a lightly floured surface, and gently shape into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into six squares, then cut the squares in half on the diagonal to form 12 triangular pieces. Place on the baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

To roast the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the pumpkin pieces on the baking sheet, drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive or canola oil on top, cover tightly with foil and place in the oven. Roast for 1 1/2 hours or until thoroughly tender. Remove from the heat, transfer to a strainer or a colander set over a bowl or in the sink, and allow to cool and drain. Peel the pieces, and purée in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Nutritional information per serving: 143 calories; 4 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 223 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein

Carrot Cake Muffins

Another one in the series of my new obsession with healthy-ish breakfast foods, thank you Martha Shulman. I didn't have high hopes for this recipe, because I hadn't like the matrices of the past few NYTimes muffins I had made. Yet I was surprised as these were not boring, but rather delicious. They definitely took longer to make, as all I had were baby carrots and I had to finely grate them-- a whole bunch of them-- instead of using a fat carrot or two. Do people actually use real carrots anymore? Baby carrots are so much easier to eat, and sweeter. But even with the work since I am satisfied with the result, I am happy. Can I mention the turbinado sugar inside the muffin? What an idea! So good. Gave the muffin just the right level of sweetness.

Original recipe from Martha Shulman found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/health/nutrition/01recipehealth.html?ref=recipesforhealth

Notes: I used 1/3 cup pecans, 1/3 cup raisins-- just the regular kind, not golden raisins. I'm not a big fan of raisins when I eat them plain, but whenever I bake with them I want there to be more, so I think you could easily put in 2/3 cup raisins and still have room in the matrix for 1/3 cup nuts. I also didn't have any allspice, and the muffins taste great without it, but next time I will definitely throw in the allspice as I am such a spicy fan.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. whole-wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 eggs

1 1/3 C. buttermilk

1/3 C. raw turbinado (brown) sugar

1/3 C. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 C. golden raisins tossed with 1 tsp. flour or 2/3 C. chopped pecans

1 1/2 C. grated carrots

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Oil or butter muffin tins.

2. Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Using a whisk or a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the raisins or pecans and the carrots.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of the muffin tins.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield): 239 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligram cholesterol; 38 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 323 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Bread-Pudding-with-Caramel-Sauce-104182#ixzz19q6PWaRp

From Epicurious. Bob loves this, the reviewers love this, why not?

Ingredients:

Bread pudding

2 cups half and half
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp each allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 cups 1/2-inch cubes egg bread (about 10-ounces)
1/2 cup golden raisins

Caramel sauce

1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Directions:

For bread pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, dark brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Stir in golden raisins. Transfer mixture to 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake pumpkin bread pudding until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare caramel sauce:
Whisk brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in cream and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding. Serve warm with caramel sauce.

Notes:

I cooked the sauce for longer-- boiled it for about 30 seconds or so and this made a thicker sauce for the pudding. I used half a loaf of Texas toast (about 11 oz.) which was a good ratio of bread and pudding. I also omitted the raisins and used a 9 x 9 pan.

Rooftop Couscous

A couscous I dreamed up using what Jane had lying around in her Manhattan apartment:

Cook some couscous. (Jane did this, I didn't watch how much she put in.)

Saute some chopped carrot in olive oil, after a while add in chopped onion and minced garlic. Right before they are done, add in blanched or sliced almonds until oiled and barely browned.

Chop raisins. Drain and rinse red kidney beans.

Mix everything together with the couscous, seasoning with salt, cumin, nutmeg, and ginger. Delicious!