Honeyed Plum Gratin

Because it sounded like a good idea, yes? But instead it was tart, I'm not sure the broiler worked, and left the fruit in this odd curdl-ey sour soup. Maybe I used the wrong pan for the half-recipe I made? I think I will stick to sauteeing next time. At least plums are a good idea, and I tried these new red apricot-y plums that were so delicious. So delicious. Goodness, how I love fruit right now.

From Mark Bittman (sometimes I'm learning he and I don't see eye to eye):

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/11/magazine/mag-11eatpie.html?ref=magazine#Honeyed_Plum_Gratin

Ingredients:

6 C. sliced plums (about 3 lbs.)

2 tsp. sugar

1 2/3 T. cornstarch

1 T. butter

1 C. sour cream

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Toss sliced plums with 2 teaspoons each of sugar and cornstarch.

2. Sauté in butter until tender and beginning to thicken, about 5 minutes.

3. Spread in a 9-by-13-inch pan.

4. Whisk together sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, honey and remaining cornstarch.

5. Drizzle over the plums and broil 4 to 6 inches from the flame until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Salted and Browned Honey Butter

The accompaniment to the Sally Lunn bread suggested by Smitten Kitchen. Why not? It wasn't my favorite, but the Robber seemed happy to spread it around on his bread and biscuits, so I'm sure he'll continue to enjoy what is in the fridge. I, of course, wanted it to have cinnamon.

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/03/sally-lunn-bread-honeyed-brown-butter-spread/

Ingredients:

1 stick, 8 T. of unsalted butter divided in half

1-2 T. honey (I used 1.5)

Few pinches flaky sea salt (I used salted butter and ignored this)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt half your butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. 

2. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. While it is cooling, leave the other half of the butter out to soften slightly (semi-firm is fine).

3. Whip softened butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the room temperature browned butter, honey and salt continue whipping until combined. Chill butter in fridge until a nice spreadable consistency, or until needed.

Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Cornbread

I made this with the Robber to eat with Pluto's ratatouille as part of our favorite cornbread and ratatouille meal. Smitten Kitchen is right: the goat cheese doesn't really stand out and the texture of the cornbread is more cakey and moist than dry like a traditional cornbread. Truthfully I like my standard cornbread better with the ratatouille flavors, but this cornbread had a hold on me. I couldn't stop snacking on it. I made it in a 9 x 13 glass pan and left out the corn. I loved the onions on the top and would double them in the future, but the Robber didn't care for them and would leave them out in the future. Hrrrmmmm. Oh well. I definitely won't be making this every time I make cornbread because it is so much more work than my standard recipe, but I won't be forgetting about it either!

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/caramelized-onion-and-goat-cheese-cornbread/

Ingredients:

1 C. coarse cornmeal

2 C. buttermilk

1-2 T. oil, butter or a combination thereof

1 C. onion in a 3/4-inch dice

1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 T. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

6 ounce log of soft goat cheese, at room temperature

2 T. honey

1/4 C. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Optional: 2 1/2 C. fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 T. bacon fat, vegetable oil or butter

Directions:

1. The night before baking the cornbread, soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. (I just mixed them together at the beginning and let sit while preparing the rest of the ingredients.)

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Heat a large saute pan to medium and coat the bottom with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil, butter or a combination thereof. Add the onions and cook them until they’re well-caramelized with browned edges. Season with salt and set aside.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. (Or you can do this while you are cooking the onions.)

5. In a large mixing bowl, beat the goat cheese until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and scraping down the bowl between each. (It may look a little curdly at this point, don’t worry. It all comes back together in the oven.) Add the melted butter, honey, sugar and cornmeal/buttermilk mixture and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined and then gently stir in the corn kernels, mixing them until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

6. Place one tablespoon of bacon fat, vegetable oil or butter in a 10 inch round cake pan (you can also use a cast-iron skillet, 9 by 13-inch baking pan or a 12-inch square pan). Place the pan in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the fat gets very hot. With good pot holders, remove the pan and tilt it to grease the corners and sides. Pour in the batter, spreading it evenly and sprinkle the caramelized onion evenly over the top.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cornbread is firm and springing (the baking time will depend on the size and type of pan) and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing it into squares or wedges. Serve immediately.

Soft Yogurt Sandwich Rolls

When I told the Robber I was making a new roll recipe he said, aghast, "Why are you betraying your ancestors?" It is true that my family's regular roll recipe is so delicious that to turn from it to even one more recipe seems extreme, but I am the kind of cook that likes having two or three options for every one dish-- at least at this point in my life. And the description of these rolls seemed so enticing, and the way of making it relatively easy, that I was suckered in-- with good results. These rolls are delicious and soft and excellent for sopping up delicious beef stroganoff sauce at a picnic. They are denser than my regular rolls and chewier. I think I'll keep them in the mix because they are good and because they use alternate ingredients-- yogurt and honey instead of milk powder and eggs-- which may come in handy on a milk-powderless day.

From A Hint Of Honey:

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2009/04/soft-yogurt-sandwich-rolls.html

Ingredients:

3 1/2-4 1/2 C. all-purpose flour (white or wheat, I used 4 C. total before kneading)

1 T. active dry yeast

3 T. honey

1 C. warm water

1 C. plain yogurt (nonfat is fine, so is Greek)

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey and the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on the top of the surface and let sit for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy. Stir in yogurt, oil, salt and alternately with the flour (I stirred in two cups of flour with the salt, then the yogurt and oil, then the remaining flour).

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Turn risen dough out of bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Gently deflate, pressing into a rectangle. Divide dough into a dozen even pieces. Shape each piece into a round roll. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or coated with cooking spray. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 25 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until rolls are golden on the top and the bottom. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container or in the freezer.

Yield: One dozen rolls.

Banana Cream Pie With Candied Walnuts

Since marrying the Robber I have been on a quest to find a banana cream pie I could really get behind. You see, the Robber loves loves loves banana cream pie and to the vast vast vast majority of cream pies I say: meh. There is nothing exciting a banana cream pie has to offer. No thrill of taste. No comforting sigh. Mostly just bland custard and too-soft bananas.

But the quest. The sacrifices we make for marriage. And finally, this pie, and this triumph. Yes! This pie is triumph! For the first time in my life, I have met a banana cream pie I could eat over again, get excited about making again, savor in my sleep. I have found you banana cream pie, and now I will never stray again. The search is over. I found this pie on pieloveyou.blogspot.com, but it comes by way of Bubby's Homemade Pies, a cookbook based out of a restaurant in Lower Manhattan. I made my own crust for it, but I'm sure it would be just as delicious with the crust suggested which is below.

Note: I made a full batch of the candied walnuts, which I used for both the pie and a salad. For the pie only I think you could use a half batch and have plenty.

You can find the recipe online here:

http://pieloveyou.blogspot.com/2010/02/banana-cream-pie-with-candied-walnuts-4.html

For the candied nuts:

1/4 C. honey (any type)

1 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 C. raw, unsalted walnuts or pecans

1) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together honey, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, nuts and mix well.

2) Spread the coated nuts on a large, well-greased, baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. Stir and scrape them up every 5 minutes with a spatula. Return to pan until they smell good and are a deep glossy brown. Be careful not to burn them.

3) Remove the pan from the oven and scrap the nuts up while they are cooling and spread onto a plate so they won't stick together. When the nuts are cool, dry and set, store them in a container in the refrigerator and store up for 3 weeks.

For the sour cream crust:

1 C. all purpose flour

1 pinch salt

8 T. (one stick) cold, unsalted butter

1/2 C. very cold sour cream

1. Combine flour and salt and cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add the cold sour cream and mix by hand to combine until it it forms a ball. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2. Roll chilled disk into a 12-inch round on a well-floured surface. Place into a 9 inch pie pan and cut overhang down to a 1/2 on all sides. Fold under to create a thicker lip on pie edge and decoratively pinch sides. Once set, chill in freezer for 15 minutes before cooking.

3. While re-chilling the pie, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line pie with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and decrease temperature to 300 for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

For the vanilla pudding:

2 C. whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

1/2 C. sugar, divided

pinch of salt

1/2 C. egg yolks (about 6 yolks)

1/4 C. cornstarch

4 T. (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1. In a large, heavy, non-reactive saucepan (aluminum reacts and will cause a pudding to turn dingy grey), combine the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the vanilla bean and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth.

2. Have the whisk, a ladle and a large glass or ceramic dish handy. Heat the milk mixture in the saucepan until it just comes to a boil, whisking it a bit as it gets steamy. When you see the first bubbles boiling up, take the pan off the heat and place it on a potholder next to the egg mixture. (To make life a little easier on yourself, put the egg bowl on the right if you're right-handed, or on the left if you're left-handed. Use your stronger arm to whisk; use your weaker arm to ladle the hot milk.

3. During the next steps, stir constantly or the eggs will coagulate and you'll have scrambled eggs. This is quick work. Take a ladle full of hot milk and pour it in a thin stream into the eggs, whisking constantly. Continue stirring, and add a few more ladle fulls of hot milk to the eggs in the same way. The tempered eggs are now ready to add back into the hot milk.

4. To do this, whisk the hot milk constantly and pour the tempered eggs in slowly. When fully combined, put this mixture back on the stove top over medium heat and continue to whisk constantly.The mixture should be ready to come back to a boil very quickly.When the custard nears the consistency of pudding, take very short pauses in stirring to look for signs of a bubble surfacing (it is more like a single volcanic blurp). Don't look too closely, or you'll risk getting spattered with hot pudding. Just stir, pause briefly, stir, and so on.

5. When you see the first blurp, remove the pan from the heat immediately and whisk in the cubes of butter.Whisk until fully combined and immediately pour the pudding into a large glass or ceramic dish to cool it down. While the pudding is still very hot, stretch plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Smooth out any air pockets to make the pudding airtight. This will prevent a skin or condensation from forming on top of the pudding. Refrigerate the pudding until completely cold — at least 4 hours.

6. Stir the cold pudding and retrieve the vanilla bean. Squeeze out the excess seeds (those little black specks) in the interior of the pod with your thumb and forefinger — pinch and slide your fingers down the length of the bean, freeing the black seeds as you go. Do this with each half of the bean, returning as many seeds as possible to the pudding.

Putting it all together:

4-5 medium sized bananas (select ripe bananas without any sign of spots or green near the stem)

1 1/2 T. of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 C. sour cream

Vanilla pudding

Candied nuts

1. Slice the bananas 1/4 inch thick to get 4 cups and immediately toss in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Stir the vanilla extract into the sour cream and gently fold into the bananas. Layer the coated bananas in the pie crust and flatten them. Pour the pudding on top and smooth it with a spatula.

2. Cover the pie in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting. Serve the wedges of pie cold sprinkled with candied walnuts.

3. Store loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Roasted Applesauce

This is the featured recipe on the Epicurious home page this week. I am a big fan of homemade applesauce, but it takes such a long time to peel the apples and then stir it for a really long time while the apples soften on the stove. Perhaps by roasting the apples I could save a little time? I think in the end that turned out to be true, and I find the sweetness of this applesauce to not be overbearing but quite pleasant. Roasting may be my new go to method of making applesauce.

Note: Of course I six-tupled the recommended amount of cinnamon.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ROASTED-APPLESAUCE-50149126

Ingredients:

4 1/2 lbs apples, cored and peeled

2 T. lemon juice

3 T. butter

1/4 C. honey

1/4 C. maple syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Chop cored and peeled apples into 1-inch size pieces and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice.

2. Place a thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat and place the butter in it and melt. The butter will foam but it will subside. When the butter smells nutty and takes on a light tan color remove it from heat immediately and place the butter in a cold glass container to stop the cooking process (I skipped this step).

3. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large pan toss together the apples, butter, honey, maple syrup, salt, and cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing the apples every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking.

4. Using a fork or potato masher mash the apples. Serve hot/warm/cold or store in the fridge for up to two weeks for later use.

Apricot and Yogurt Parfaits

I've been dying to make something with apricots and I've been eating a ton of Greek yogurt lately so I thought why not? But perhaps this wasn't the way to go. I burned the puree a little and it wasn't sweet enough for me. I think I'll add some more sugar and some cinnamon to my puree before I eat another round. Or maybe in the future I'll get gutsy enough to make it again. If I do, I will simmer the apricots on a lower heat and stir them more often. :) And eat them with someone else, instead of alone on a Saturday night.

(Post edit: So I took about 3/4 of a cup or so and heated it up and threw in at least 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1 T. sugar and lo and behold, somehow the same combination but with warm puree and cold yogurt and the cinnamon made what was blah blah blah before to something lovely and comforting, so I am repentant but definitely in favor of more sugar and the cinnamon despite the added calories. Yes.)

From Recipes For Health:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/health/nutrition/24recipehealth.html?ref=nutrition

Instructions for the puree:

2 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe apricots

3 T. sugar, preferably organic, or mild honey like clover

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, drop in the apricots and boil for 20 seconds. Transfer to the ice water with a slotted spoon or a spider, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Drain, slip off the skins, cut in half and remove the stones.

2. Place the apricots and sugar or honey in a large, heavy saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the apricots have broken down into a thick purée. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool in the pan. When cool, use a rubber spatula to scrape the purée into a jar or a container. Cover and refrigerate.

Yield: 2 cups.

Advance preparation: This will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per 1/4 cup: 82 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 19 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 milligram sodium; 2 grams protein

And for the parfait. . .

Ingredients:

1 cup apricot puree

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

2 cups low-fat (2%) thickened yogurt or Greek-style yogurt

1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, toasted or raw

Directions:

1. Make the apricot purée as directed. If desired, add to it 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

2. Spoon 1/4 cup thickened yogurt into the bottom of each of four tumblers or parfait glasses. Top with 2 tablespoons of the apricot purée. Make another 1/4 cup layer of yogurt on top of the apricot purée, and finish with another 2-tablespoon layer of apricot purée. Cover tightly and chill for at least one hour. Just before serving, sprinkle finely chopped almonds over the top.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: The assembled parfaits will hold in the refrigerator for a day. Sprinkle on the almonds just before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: 165 calories; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 24 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 39 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein

Pumpkin Cornbread

Another NYTimes recipe. I had borrowed a cast-iron skillet from a friend for our anniversary, and returned it at a Memorial Day BBQ party hosted at the same friend's house with this baked inside. I didn't eat a lot, as I am consuming smaller amounts lately, and was obligated to eat a slider instead. I will tell you that if I had to choose between the slider-- blue cheese, red onion, arugula, sauteed pear, and bacon on a beef patty-- and the cornbread I would go with the slider but what I had of this cornbread I actually really liked! It was sweeter than most cornbreads I like, but the texture was somehow better than average and the flavor was pleasing. I would make this again if I had leftover pumpkin. I still have leftover pumpkin from making this, but not enough for a second batch.

From Ms. Shulman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/health/nutrition/24recipehealth.html?adxnnl=1&ref=pumpkin&adxnnlx=1307197081-rY2NSKzWU7DKm9XVT9z6aQ

Note: I made also the Indian Pumpkin pudding from Ms. Shulman's batch of pumpkin recipes. It looked so promising and was-- in truth-- so disgusting. Way way too sweet for me and I just felt sick eating it and threw it out. A sad waste, but that's part of cooking, yes? You have to try new things and then decide whether to try again or move on. I'll just move on this time.

Ingredients:

1 cup drained pumpkin purée, canned or made from 1 pound fresh pumpkin (see below)

1 cup low-fat milk (I used buttermilk)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. mild honey, such as clover

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups stone ground yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 T. unsalted butter (I also sprinkled the top pre-baking with some turbinado sugar)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and place inside a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a 2-quart baking dish.

2. Whisk together the pumpkin purée, milk, olive oil, honey and eggs.

3. Place the cornmeal in a large bowl, and sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix together. Do not overwork.

5. Remove the baking dish or pan from the oven, and add the butter. When it has melted completely, brush the sides of the pan with a pastry brush; tip the excess melted butter into the batter, and quickly mix it in. Scrape the batter into the hot pan, and return it to the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before serving.

To make the pumpkin purée: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the pumpkin pieces on the baking sheet, drizzle 1 tablespoon of canola oil or olive 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 them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Yield: 12 servings.

Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of days if well wrapped. It does not freeze well.

Nutritional information per serving: 141 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 39 milligrams cholesterol; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 320 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein

Candied Nuts

Bob wanted to make some candied pecans for a spinach salad we were making, so I tasked him with looking it up on the internet and making it happen. This is what he found:

http://comfybelly.com/2009/04/crunchy-pecans-and-spiced-nuts/

We omitted the nutmeg, and tripled the cinnamon, and the result was much to Bob's liking and overall a very good addition to our salad. The nuts came out a little sticky, and perhaps would be less so if we had used syrup rather than honey. I guess I'll have to make these again and find out!

Ingredients:

1 cup of nuts
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of butter, melted
3 tablespoons of honey (or maple syrup)
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix all the ingredients together until well-coated.

3. Place nuts on a stick-free baking sheet (I recommend parchment paper) and bake for about 15 minutes or until the nuts start to brown.

4. Cool for 10 minutes, or until dry, and enjoy!

Savory Cornbread Muffins With Jalapenos and Corn

When I clicked on my link to this recipe found in the NYTimes, a little box popped up informing me that I only had 2 of 20 articles left for free this month. Boo you NYTimes! Boo! I am a little bitter about them making me pay for digital access, but I guess all is fair game and who am I to get access to such never-ending everything for free? I have only been religiously reading their paper for over ten years now. I am sad.

But anyway. The muffins. Not my favorite, either, although I might make them again to serve with a potato soup and some collared greens. The article suggests serving them with soup and salad for lunch and I suspect that might be their best use. They are not bad, just not my favorite. They are a rare savory muffin, which makes them different than most muffins which are sweet, and thus versatile in helpful ways. I served them at a visiting teaching breakfast with the Southwest Potatoes also recorded on this blog, and other women brought orange juice and fruit and so all in all it was a well-put together meal and very tasty, but the muffins are not good enough as a stand alone item to bring as a potluck item. Only as part of a synchronized meal. I think they might be better with white instead of wheat flour, as over all the muffin has a heavy and not chipper feeling to it and if I make this again I think I will try it. I did add the cheese-- sharp cheddar-- and would do so again.

From Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/health/nutrition/02recipehealth.html?ref=recipesforhealth#

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably organic stone-ground
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons minced jalapeños
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third. Oil or butter muffin tins.

2. Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the sage. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and honey. Whisk or stir the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the corn kernels, minced jalapeño and optional cheese.

3. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

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

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield; does not include optional cheese): 161 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 362 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein

Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes with Apricots and Almonds

From the Minimalist Blog at the NYTimes. Mark Bittman has this way of convincing you that really, oatmeal cardmom apricot almond pancakes aren't any harder than the usual kind. And don't they look even more delicious in the picture?

I don't always fall for what he passes off as "minimal," but this one taunted me into trying it this Sunday morning. I brought extras to my little teacher development class for a lesson and they were generally well received, although I don't think anyone is a permanent convert from the regular pancake.

I recommend following his suggestion and serving with honey, although maple syrup works too but it has a tendency to overpower the subtle flavors more than the honey. They are not too sweet alone and would also be overpowered served with very sweet fruit like pineapple or canned peaches. Fresh bananas and milk might be a better choice. These would well for a small brunch with friends.

If I made this again, I might increase both the cardamom and the apricots.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

Vegetable or olive oil, for frying
Honey, for serving.

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the flours, oats, almonds, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; stir in the cooked oatmeal and the apricots until just incorporated. Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently; don’t overmix. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter; add a little more milk or whole-wheat flour as needed.

3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of vegetable oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until they’re browned on the other side, a couple of minutes more. You may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on the heat source and pan. As they finish, transfer them to a plate in the oven while you cook the remaining batter. Serve with honey.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Old-Fashioned Ham with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

I used this recipe for my second annual ham for Mormon med school dinner. Seems it is always my turn at Christmas, and I always end up baking a ham. Last year's ham was such a success that I wanted an equally good recipe but something different. So I settled for this more classic take on ham from Epicurious. Original recipe here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Old-Fashioned-Ham-with-Brown-Sugar-and-Mustard-Glaze-241636

Many of the reviewers suggest mixing all the glaze ingredients together and pouring it on top of the ham but no consensus is reached. I did not mix and found assembling the glaze components on the ham to be a bit tricksy, and in the end after baking and before serving I roughly scraped off the glaze components anyway. So take that for what you will.

The reviews of this ham were raving, as they were for last year's ham, so I may be the new official ham-baker around Rochester.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 10-pound smoked ham with rind, preferably shank end
1 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider
1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place ham in large roasting pan. Pour apple juice over ham. Cover ham completely with parchment paper, then cover ham and roasting pan completely with heavy-duty foil, sealing tightly at edges of pan. Bake ham until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of ham registers 145°F, about 3 hours 45 minutes. Remove ham from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.

2. Remove foil and parchment from ham. Drain and discard liquids from roasting pan. Cut off rind and all but 1/4-inch-thick layer of fat from ham and discard. Using long sharp knife, score fat in 1-inch-wide, 1/4-inch-deep diamond pattern.

3. Spread mustard evenly over fat layer on ham. Pat brown sugar over mustard coating, pressing firmly to adhere. Drizzle honey evenly over.

4. Bake until ham is well glazed, spooning any mustard and sugar glaze that slides into roasting pan back over ham, about 30 minutes. Transfer ham to serving platter; let cool at least 45 minutes. Slice ham and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Notes: I could not find a non-pre-fully-cooked ham, so I essentially skipped most of step 1. I did cook the ham in the apple juice at 225 for 30-45 minutes, just to get it a little warmed up and let it absorb some of the juices. Then I did the glaze at described above. I didn't really measure the brown sugar, just used what I needed to pat sugar all over the slidy mustard. I think it would be equally good with non-whole-grain dijon mustard and that it might be a little easier to work with.

Had lots of ham left over even with people eating a lot so I froze it in slices. We'll have to see how well that ends up going.

Cornbread Stuffing

Again from the NYTimes this Thanksgiving. I usually don't like stuffing, but somehow I got it into my head that I would like stuffing if it involved cornbread so I couldn't resist trying this recipe, even though all the Robber wanted to eat was Stove Top. I made him make his own, while I made and ate this lovely recipe. So glad I gave it a try, as it is delicious!

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably organic stone ground

1/2 cup all purpose flour or whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt or buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon mild honey

2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 9-inch cast iron skillet, a heavy 2-quart baking dish or a heavy 9-inch square baking pan in the oven while you prepare the batter.

2. Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir the mixture with a spoon or whisk to amalgamate. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, yogurt (or buttermilk), milk and honey. Whisk the cornmeal mixture into the liquid mixture. Do not overwork the batter.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, and add the butter to the pan. Swirl the pan so that the butter melts quickly before it gets too brown, then quickly whisk the butter into the batter. Brush the sides of the pan with any butter remaining in the pan.

4. Quickly scrape all of the batter into the hot pan, and place in the oven. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It will be quite brown on the edges. Allow the bread to cool in the pan, or serve warm.

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings. This is easily doubled for a larger quantity of stuffing. Bake it in a 3-quart baking dish (it will take about 45 to 50 minutes) or in two 9-inch pans.

Variation: Sage Cornbread

Stir 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon rubbed dried sage into the batter before turning into the pan.

Cornbread and Sage Stuffing

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or 1 tablespoon each olive oil and unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

Salt to taste

4 stalks celery, cut in small dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons rubbed sage, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground pepper

A double batch of cornbread (see above), crumbled (you can do this in a food processor fitted with the steel blade)

1/2 cup milk, or as necessary, for moistening

4 tablespoons unsalted butter if baking separately

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil (or oil and butter) over medium heat in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet, and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about three minutes, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the celery. Cook together for another few minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the garlic, and stir together for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Transfer to a large bowl, and add the remaining ingredients. Combine well. Taste and adjust salt. Moisten as desired with milk.

2. Stuff the cavity of the turkey, or transfer to a buttered or oiled 2-quart baking dish. Dot with butter. Cover with aluminum foil, and heat through in a 325-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Yield: Makes enough stuffing to fill an 18-pound turkey.

Advance preparation: You can make the cornbread several days ahead and the stuffing a day ahead.

Notes: I made the cornbread two days in advance and crumbled it one day in advance without problems. I used the whole 1/2 cup milk to moisten it, as I like a softer stuffing. I forgot the sage in the cornbread but used the full complement of fresh sage in the stuffing, and I think it might have been overwhelmingly sagey otherwise, so I was just as happy to have done it that way. You can bake it in a 13 x 9 glass pan.

Lemon Mousse

From the Moosewood. Made for someone I like, and who is going to have to endure a lifetime of references and homages to the Moosewood, too many spices, and sour cream or ginger in everything.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 C. confectioner's sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C. water
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbs. light honey
1 tsp. freshly-grated lemon rind
1/2 pint heavy cream (cold)
1 1/2 tsp. - 1 T. orange extract

Directions:

1. Sift together cornstarch, sugar, and salt -- into a small saucepan.

2. Whisk the lemon juice and water into the sifted mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat -- until thick. (About 5 minutes.) Remove from heat.

3. Beat the egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle a little (1/4 C.) of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks (still beating), then return the yolks to the hot mixture, whisking constantly. Add honey. Return to heat and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat just 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Transfer to egg yolk bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature. (Stir it intermittently as it cools, to keep it smooth.)

4. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into lemon mixture, along with lemon rind. Chill about 1 hour.

5. Beat the heavy cream, with the liquer, until stiff. Fold into the mousse. Chill at least 2 more hours before serving.

Takes about 5 hours to prepare and chill. Makes 6 small servings.

I plan on serving this with a little additional whipped cream on top and some fresh blackberries and raspberries.

Apple-Cheese Pancakes

A delicious Sunday morning treat from our favorite: The Moosewood!

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese (ricotta is obvi the way to go)
1 heaping, packed cup grated apple (and kind by delicious-- I always use honeycrisp!)
3/4 cup flour (you can use 1/2 cup white and 1/4 cup wheat)
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. sunflower seeds or chopped almonds (almonds, again, obvi)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg or allspice
4 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Mix everything together except the egg whites.

2) Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into batter.

3) Fry pancakes in butter on both sides until brown.

4) Serve with maple syrup or preserves, sour cream or yogurt, fresh fruit, cinnamon sugar. (Mix and match!)

Mollie says: Serve these pancakes for breakfast brunch or lunch. They could even be a dessert after a light meal. The recipe makes enough to satisfy four reasonably hungry sorts.

I've made these twice now, a year apart from each other. The second time I made larger pancakes and enjoyed the effect. Note: You have to flatten the batter out in the pan or they won't cook all the way through! Delicious when toasted the day after. I might make these for PBL one of these weeks.

Moosewood Noodle Kugel

Oh Moosewood. How I have missed you long these summer nights, when feasting from the freshness of the earth I have not had your recipes to guide my hand!

I'm back in Rochester and that means back to the Moosewood and my Vegetable Tuesday adventures. I'm easing back in. This recipe is one I tried last year but never blogged. It is easy and produces a simple, rich dish you can serve as a dessert or an entree. Once you've had a noodle kugel it quickly becomes a comfort food, something you can eat on cold or sad nights and feel warmth inside of your stomach and a little boost to the soul. I'm always surprised to find out that few people seem to have experienced kugel before, but I am always happy to introduce them to such a fabulous new food.

Ingredients:

4 cups raw wide flat egg noodles, boiled in salted water, drained, and buttered

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
few dashes salt

2 medium cooking apples or 2 fresh, ripe peaches, sliced

1 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1) Combine bread crumbs to brown sugar in a separate bowl and set aside as crumb mixture.

2) Combine eggs to salt in a blender and beat together until smooth.

3) Combine buttered noodles, egg mixture, and peaches together. Spread into a well-buttered casserole dish.

4) Top with the crumb mixture and dot with butter. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 375F.

5) Serve warm or chilled.


You can omit the sour cream and the butter on the noodles or on the top. The dish is plenty rich enough without it! You can also probably use neufchatel instead of cream cheese for a more low fat version. I like to use wheat noodles in this dish, I feel like it gives it a deeper, healthier flavor. You can also use different flavorings-- for this one I used almond extract and added some sliced almonds to the crumb mixture on the top.

Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

New Moosewood Basic Cornbread

From Mollie Katzen's The New Moosewood Cookbook.

Fortunately, I was raised on bread made with home ground corn, with a coarser meal. Unfortunately, this means I will never be completely happy with cornbread made from any other ground corn. I find the grind too fine and the bread texture too cakey.

Nevertheless, this recipe produces a cornbread that in the absence of home satisfies the cornbread craving. It's better than most other recipes I've tried, and even better than using store-bought cornmeal in the original family recipe. This cornbread is sweeter than our family recipe, but that can be remedied by omitting the honey or sugar. Today I used buttermilk, which I had left over from the cupcakes.

Ingredients:

butter or margarine, for the pan
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 egg
3 Tbs. honey
3 Tbs. melted butter or margarine

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square pan (or a 9- or 10- inch cast iron skillet) with butter or margarine.

2) Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Combine the wet ingredients (including sugar or honey) separately. Stir the wet mixture in to the dry, mixing just enough to thoroughly combine. Spread into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 20 minutes, or until the center is firm to the touch. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Creamy Rice Pudding

This is another recipe from Moosewood-- turns out the Moosewood is giving me serious inspiration to do some cooking! I made this on a lonely Saturday night when I needed some comfort food.

Original recipe:

Ingredients:

2 C. cooked rice (1 C. raw, cooked slowly in 2 C. water until well-done)

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salk
handful of raisins or chopped dates

1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash or two of nutmeg
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 C. of yogurt, sour cream, or whipped cream

optional: 1 C. grated apple, 1 C. fresh peach slices, 1/2 C. chopped nuts

Directions:

Beat eggs, milk and honey together in a blender. Combine with cooked rice and remaining ingredients, except yogurt, sour cream, or heavy cream. Spread into a buttered 8" square pan (or its equivalent) and bake at 350 F. Stir well every 8-10 minutes during baking. Remove from oven after 25 min. It'll still be loose, but will solidify as it cools. After it has cooled 10 minutes, stir in the yogurt, sour or heavy cream. Eat it hot, warm, or cold.

My comments:

I omitted the raisins and pureed a large honeycrisp apple in the blender with the eggs and milk. I also used 1/2 C. yogurt and 1/2 C. unwhipped heavy whipping cream. This was so easy to put together and absolutely delicious. It hit the spot just right. In the future if I use an apple maybe I will omit the lemon. I think the best thing about this recipe is that it can be varied easily to produce many different kinds of rice puddings using the basic formula and just adding different optional ingredients.