Coconut Hot Chocolate

Because I have the sniffles today I deserve this, don't you think?

Note: This is very rich even using "lite" coconut milk, and especially with whipped cream (I didn't do the meringue) on top. I could barely drink half of it myself. I think little girls would love it in small tea cups. Who knew coconut milk could even be used in hot chocolate? I want to try this with white chocolate. The end.

From the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/dining/111arex.html

Ingredients:

For the hot chocolate:
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 15-oz. can coconut milk
1/4 C. dark brown sugar
Pinch kosher salt
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the meringue:
1 large egg white
3 T. superfine sugar.

Directions:

1. Whisk cocoa into 1/3 cup boiling water.

2. In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, brown sugar and salt. Simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Whisk in hot cocoa and chocolate until smooth. Stir in vanilla.

3. In bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg white on medium speed until it begins to foam, about 1 minute. Add superfine sugar tablespoon by tablespoon as mixer is running. Beat until egg white stiffens to soft peaks and is shiny, 5 minutes. Dollop onto cups of hot chocolate.

Yield: 2 (-4) servings.

Pumpkin Scones

I previously posted a pumpkin scone recipe on this blog from the NYTimes, but didn't do it justice as I lacked some key ingredients. Annie had her own recipe for pumpkin scones, and it has been waiting in my lineup of recipes to try now since April. Now that the raisin scones are gone, I needed a new breakfast meal which for me means another new batch of scones. After this one, only one more new recipe to go! (Ok two. I just found another one.)

These scones were good but not as good as I think they could have been, perhaps the glaze ups the oomph a bit? I think they were better than my other pumpkin scone recipe. Perhaps they are competing for my attention with the pumpkin cornbread, which just keep getting better, and my sudden urges for dark dark chocolate every evening which I think it just a manifestation of my missing of the Robber. The butterscotch and pumpkin combo is interesting, but not life changing. At any rate, I think I might make this pumpkin base again, but put in toasted pecans or walnuts or chocolate chips instead.

Adapted from the Joy of Baking by Annie:
http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/07/pumpkin-scones/

Notes: I never make the glazes/washes/toppings but I did sprinkle some Demarara sugar on the top of the scones right before baking. I doubled the cinnamon as I do in any cinnamon recipe and doubled the butterscotch chips as I double every scone add-in. And I sliced up the scones before baking. Whatever.

Ingredients:

For the scones:
2 C. all-purpose flour
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
8 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3-½ C. butterscotch chips
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 C. powdered sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
2 T. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk just to combine. Add the cold butter chunks to the bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the largest butter pieces are no bigger than peas. Mix in the butterscotch chips.

3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir together gently just until the dough comes together. If necessary, knead a bit with your hands, but be careful not to overwork the dough or you will end up with a tough scone.

4. Transfer the sticky mass of dough to the prepared baking sheet. Pat the dough into a 8 or 9-inch round. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. Slice the dough round into 7 or 8 wedges.

5. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and spices in a small bowl. Add the milk and whisk to combine, until a thick glaze is formed. (If necessary, add a bit more milk to achieve a consistency good for drizzling the glaze.) Use a whisk to drizzle the glaze over the finished scones (I use a plastic baggie with a tip cut off). Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Black Beans With Roasted Tomatoes and Feta

I went through a two and a half month phase there where I didn't cook anything new at all. The cooking bug died in me. I ate. I slept. I worked. In different proportions. I worried about what I ate. But now that I am forced into feeding myself and only myself for a month here in Rochester, the desire to cook has returned again and with it, the digging into my file of recipes to try. This is one I found a while back but didn't make because when I asked the Robber if it sounded good he said, "Meh." There is nothing like a "Meh" for quashing one's plans. But as the Robber is not here I decided to make it for myself along with some pumpkin cornbread (previously posted on this blog) and eat it ala ratatouille-and-cornbread style, which is my new favorite way to eat roasted vegetables.

Truthfully speaking, this dish was a little "meh"-- good, but not great. Better with the cornbread, though perhaps not quite the exact right combination. Easy on the tastebuds, healthy feeling, and certainly worth making and eating again, but nothing stunning.

Notes: I doubled the feta and grape tomatoes (and oil but not the sugar)-- more out of what I bought than any rhyme or reason. When I roasted the tomatoes I was dumb enough not to put foil or parchment on the pan and a few of the tomatoes and some seeds stuck to the pan and now I am soaking it and paying the price. So next time self, foil it first.

From Super Natural Every Day by way of Annie:
http://annies-eats.com/2011/11/02/black-beans-with-roasted-tomatoes-and-feta/

Ingredients:

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 T. olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt (I used sea salt)
2 tsp. sugar
3-4 C. cooked black beans (2 cans, rinsed and drained)
4 oz. crumbled feta
Juice and zest of one lemon
3-4 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. To roast the tomatoes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and sugar on a rimmed baking sheet and toss well to coat. Bake for about 40 minutes, tossing once or twice during cooking. Remove from the oven and let cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beans, feta, lemon zest and juice, scallions, and roasted tomatoes. Toss well to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve cool or at room temperature (on an open slice of pumpkin cornbread, if you desire).

Pear, Gorgonzola, and Mesclun Salad

Mesclun, according to Wikipedia, is just essentially mixed greens. In case you were wondering.

Salad and I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship. Truth is, I love salad and hate lettuce. I don't know where this came from. The salad of my youth was a side dish and was simple-- iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, possibly some radishes-- and I was happy with that. But the salads of my adulthood have become more complex, cumbersome affairs that I am more likely to want to eat as a main dish rather than as part of a whole meal.

As a result, if a salad is as simple as this one, I find it lacking which is really too bad because the simplicity of this salad is nice-- just pear, gorgonzola, lettuce. And even that would have been too fancy for the old family budget. Yet, I want it to have chicken, toasted walnuts, and chopped dried apricots.

Because I think that salad-- meaning the below plus the above-- would be divine.

Note: I made a half-batch, and lacking vinaigrette, tossed a teensy amount of orange oil with some olive oil and a little nutmeg over it all which was just fine, and maybe drove the wanting for apricots.

From Mark Bittman's Thanksgiving in three hours:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/19/dining/the-minimalist-give-thanks-in-three-hours-from-scratch.html?pagewanted=4&src=pm

Ingredients:

4 large pears, about 2 pounds
1 T. lemon juice
6 oz. Gorgonzola or other creamy blue cheese
12 C. mixed greens, washed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces

1 to 1 1/2 cups any vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Peel and core the pears; cut them into thin slices, and toss with the lemon juice. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

2. Crumble the Gorgonzola into small bits; cover and refrigerate until needed.

3. To serve, toss the pear, cheese and greens together with as much dressing as desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 12 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 215 calories, 15 grams fat, 11 milligrams cholesterol, 425 milligrams sodium, 4 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrate.

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.

Raspberry Chocolate Tea Scones

So while it is true that a) I haven't baked a scone since September and was well over my scone fest and b) I have come to believe all you need is a few good scone bases to use and then you just throw whatever you want IN the scone, I have still come to this. I am still trying new scone recipes. Not that I don't have a few great bases-- I do-- and eventually I'll record which of the recipes I've blogged are the best and which are duds. But there is something still so tempting to me about new scone recipes. Maybe this one will be amazing! I say, and I fall for it all over again.

Sad to say, however, that this Eggs On Sunday recipe (like the other raspberry chocolate recipe on this blog) was a disappointment in terms of the scone base. Raspberry and dark chocolate, always a good idea and especially redeeming in January, but the scone underneath couldn't quite pull it off and ended up being too chewy and bland for my taste. So why blog this? you ask. Because this blog isn't meant to be life changing, it's meant to be life recording.

Note: I used Hershey Bliss dark chocolate cut up into small chunks (divine) instead of mini chocolate chips, and I also used fresh raspberries cut in half that I threw in the freezer for ten minutes or so before putting into the batter. And I omitted the egg wash, of course.

Which all that I present to you the recipe found online here:
http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/raspberry-chocolate-tea-scones-recipe/#more-3286

Ingredients:

2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
4 T. unsalted butter, chilled and chopped into small pieces
1 C. miniature chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1 C. frozen raspberries, chopped (keep frozen until you’re ready to add them to the dough)
3/4 C. heavy cream
1 egg, separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add the chopped cold butter and rub with your fingers into the flour until the bits of butter are roughly the size of peas. Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks.

3. Separate the egg; reserve the white for later use (you’ll use it to brush on the tops of the scones before baking.) In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the cream, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the chopped frozen raspberries to the flour mixture. Pour in the cream, and using light, quick strokes, stir with a fork until just moistened (there may still be some flour on the bottom of the bowl.) Use your hands to gather the dough into a ball and knead it lightly a few times, just to gather it together. Don’t worry if there’s still a little flour remaining on the bottom of the bowl.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two balls. Gently flatten each ball into a 1-inch high disk, and cut each disk into 6 wedges (for 12 scones total-- I made 8.) Place on baking sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg white; sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and scones are cooked through.

Vichyssoise

Or Cold Leek and Potato Soup, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. R. made this for our family's Christmas dinner and claims she didn't follow the instructions well and of course served it hot rather than cold but it was so delicious that my non-soup-enthusiast husband demanded that we blog and save this recipe. So here goes:

Ingredients:

3 C. peeled, sliced potatoes
3 C. sliced white of leek
1 1/2 quarts of white stock, chicken stock, or canned chicken broth
Salt to taste

1/2 to 1 C. whipping cream
Salt and white pepper

2 to 3 T. minced chives

Directions:

1. Simmer the vegetables in stock or broth instead of water as described in the master recipe. Puree the soup either in the electric blender, or through a food mill and then through a fine sieve.

2. Stir in the cream. Season to taste, oversalting very slightly as salt loses savor in a cold dish. Chill.

3. Serve in chilled soup cups and decorate with minced chives.

Serves 6-8.


Other Variations from Mrs. Child:

"Using the master recipe for leek and potato soup [above], a cup or two of one or a combination of the following vegetables may be added as indicated. Proportionas are not important here, and you can use your imagination to the full. Many of the delicious soups you eat in French homes and little restaurants are made just this way, with a leek-and-potato base to which left-over vegetables or sauces and a few fresh items are added. You can also experiment on your own combinations for cold soups, by stirring a cup or more of heavy cream into the cooked soup, chilling it, then sprinkling on fresh herbs just before serving. You may find you have invented a marvelous concoction which you can keep as a secret of the house."

To be simmered or cooked in a pressure cooker with the potatoes and leeks or onions at the start:
-- Sliced or diced carrots or turnips
-- Peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
-- Half-cooked dried beans, peas, or lentils including their cooking liquid

To be simmered for 10-15 minutes with the soup after it has been pureed:
-- Fresh or frozen diced cauliflower, cucumbers, or broccoli, lima beans, peas, string beans, okra, or zucchini
-- Shredded lettuce, spinach, sorrel, or cabbage

To be heated in the soup just before serving:
-- Diced, cooked leftovers of any of the above vegetables
-- Tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and diced