Pull-Apart Challah

Makes: One round pull-apart challah

30 minutes active time; 2 hours, 10 minutes wait time; 35 minutes bake time (all told 3 hours, 15 minutes)

Special equipment: A 9x2-inch round cake pan and a digital thermometer

Note: Feel free to sub canola oil for butter and water for milk

2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 cup warm water

4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, cut up

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2/3 cup (163 grams) milk

2 large egg yolks

3-3¼ cups (420-455grams) bread flour

About 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, softened, for bowl and pan

¼ teaspoon sesame seeds, optional

Glaze: 1 egg yolk whisked with 1/2 teaspoon cream and a pinch of salt

1. Proof: Drop yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Test water: A drop should feel neither hot nor cold on the wrist. Pour in water. Let stand until yeast turns foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Scald: Meanwhile, measure the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, cut-up butter, and salt into a bowl or quart-size measuring cup. Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Set over high heat and watch closely. In 2-3 minutes it will bubble, foam, and rise up dramatically. Immediately pull pan off heat and pour milk over butter, sugar, and salt. Let stand until butter has melted and milk has cooled down. With a fork, mix in the egg yolks, further cooling mixture. You’re after the same tepid temp as in step 1.

3. Knead: Pour milk mixture over yeast, then drop in 3 cups flour. Mix with a fork until it’s rough going. Snap bowl onto mixer stand and, using the dough hook and low speed, knead a full 10 minutes. It will quickly form a soft dough that cleans the sides of the bowl and wraps around hook. (If the dough looks more like a swamp monster than a ball, sprinkle in the remaining flour, a little at a time, until you achieve the ball look.)

4. Rest: Smear a clean bowl with about 2 teaspoons softened butter. Gently stretch dough and tuck it underneath itself, shaping the ball. Rub ball with about 1 teaspoon softened butter. Settle ball into bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let dough rise until doubled in size and until a thumb pressed in the center leaves a distinct imprint, about 50 minutes. Slide hands down the side of the bowl and under the dough, deflating dough. Stretch and tuck dough into a ball again, rub with a little more butter, settle it back into the bowl, and let dough double again, about 40 minutes. Deflate.

5. Shape: Adjust one oven rack to the center position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rub remaining softened butter along bottom and sides of the cake pan. Divide dough into 16 portions. Stretch and tuck each into a ball. Settle into prepared pan (1 in the center, surrounded by 5, surrounded by 10). Brush glaze over challah. Sprinkle with seeds, if you like. Let rise until puffy, about 40 minutes.

6. Bake: Bake until bumps turn rich brown and the space between the bumps turns golden brown, and until bread reaches an internal temperature of 195 degrees, about 30-32 minutes. Turn out bread and let it cool on a rack.

Granola

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes

4½ cups rolled oats

½ cup sliced almonds

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitos)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I like Diamond Crystal)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Prep: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Mix: In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, pecans, and pumpkin seeds.

3. Boil: Measure butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, water, and salt into a medium saucepan. Bring to an energetic boil. Pull off heat, stir in baking soda; mixture will foam up. Pour hot syrup over oat mix. Fold with a soft spatula to coat dry ingredients.

4. Bake: Heap mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Press granola firmly into a giant slab. Bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool. Break up into clumps.

5. Store: Tumble into an airtight container; seal. Keeps at room temperature for 2-3 weeks.

Provenance: Adapted from the granola recipe from Hotel Fauchère, Milford, Pa.

Strawberry Almond Hometarts

Makes 6 tarts

 

4 ounces/113 grams almond paste

¼ cup strawberry preserves (I like Bonne Maman brand)

1 ounce/28 grams freeze-dried strawberry slices

Pie Pastry, recipe follows

Egg wash (1 egg yolk whisked with 1 teaspoon water)

Glaze (optional), recipe follows

 

1.     Roll: Sandwich almond paste between 2 sheets of parchment. Roll and trim to a 7½ x 8-inch rectangle. Spread evenly with the preserves. Dot with a few freeze-dried strawberries. Chill, uncovered. When cold, slice in half the long way and in thirds the short way, yielding 6 tiles, each 2½ x 4 inches.  

2.     Fill: (Note: if at any time pastry turns uncooperative, slide pastry, parchment and all, onto a baking sheet and slide sheet into the fridge for a few minutes.) Set one half-block of pastry on a floured sheet of parchment. Using as much flour as needed, roll out and trim to a 10½ x 10-inch rectangle, positioned horizontally. Using the tines of a fork or docking tool, speckle with holes. Brush off excess flour. Brush with egg wash. Slice top to bottom into three 3½-inch-wide strips. Center one marzipan tile on the bottom half of each strip. Fold each strip in half, top to bottom, forming three 3½ x 5-inch tarts. Press the edges firmly to seal. Press the edges again with the tines of a fork. Brush tops of tarts with egg wash. Repeat with remaining pastry and tiles. Chill tarts, uncovered, at least 2 hours.

3.     Crisp: Bake tarts, separated by a couple inches, on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees until golden brown and flakey, about 34-36 minutes. Cool. When cool, drizzle with glaze, if you like.

 

Pie Pastry

(adapted from BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, by Stella Parks)

1¾ cups/211 grams all-purpose flour such as Gold Medal, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons/17 grams corn flour (or fine cornmeal)

1 tablespoon/16 grams granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

14 tablespoons/200 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

 1/2 cup ice-cold water

1.     Mash: Sift flour, corn flour, sugar, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Drop in butter cubes and toss to coat with flour. Using a strong thumb, mash each flour-dusted butter cube against the side of the bowl once. Drizzle in the water. With a soft spatula, bring the pastry together in a rough, ugly ball.  

2.     Fold: Generously flour a work surface and roll the ball onto it. Sprinkle with more flour. Roll into a 10 x 15-inch sheet, positioned vertically. Fold the top edge down and bottom edge up to meet in the center. Fold left edge to meet right, as though closing a book. Fold top down to meet bottom, forming a thick block. Cut the block in half. 

Glaze: Sift ½ cup organic confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Drop in ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk, drizzling in water, until glaze reaches a pourable consistency. If you like your glaze pink, crush a few freeze-dried strawberries to a powder and whisk in.

 

 

 

Cherry Crisp

Prep: 30 minutes

Bake: 45 minutes plus cooling

Serves: 8

 

Bottom:

1 pound sweet dark cherries, pitted and halved

1 pound fresh apricots, pitted and sliced 1/2-inch thick

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons kirsch (optional)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Top:

1 cup all-purpose wheat flour

2/3 cup quick-cook oats

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

1.  Toss: Heap all bottom ingredients in a large bowl. Fold gently with a flexible spatula.

2.  Mix: Pile all top ingredients into a stand mixer. Mix on low to moist clumps.

3.  Fill: Give fruit one more fold. Tumble into a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Tumble clumps over fruit; pat down, gently.

4.  Bake: Slide into a 350-degree oven and bake until fruit bubbles and top turns crisp, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a rack (takes a couple hours). Nice slightly warm, with vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry cakes

Makes four 4-inch-square cakes, serves 16

 Softened butter, for pan 

2 ¼ cups/315 grams cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal

1 ¼ cups/290 grams cultured buttermilk

2 large egg whites

1 whole large egg

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar

4 ounces/113 grams unsalted butter, softened

Seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean pod

13 ounces/370 grams strawberry preserves (I like Bonne Maman brand)

Vanilla buttercream, recipe  follows

2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

About 12 fresh mint leaves

For serving: 4 quart-sized berry baskets

1.     Prep: Butter a half-sheet (12-x-16-inch) pan.

2.     Mix: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. In a measuring cup with a spout, whisk together buttermilk, egg whites, whole egg, and the vanilla extract.

3.     Beat: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and medium speed, beat butter fluffy, about 2 minutes. Cascade in sugar, still beating. Beat in vanilla seeds. Switch to low speed. Shake in about one-third of the dry ingredients; mix. Pour in about half the liquid ingredients; mix. Mix in remaining doses of dry and liquid ingredients. Increase speed to medium-high and beat batter for 2 minutes.

4.     Bake: Scrape batter onto prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake at 325 degrees in a standard oven or 300 degrees in a convection oven (low fan) until cake turns barely golden, feels springy to the touch, and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 20-22 minutes. If your oven is uneven (like mine) rotate the pan after about 6 minutes of baking time. Let cake cool in pan. Turn out.

5.     Stack: Set aside 3 tablespoons of the strawberry preserves. Spread cake evenly with remaining preserves. Chill until set, about 30 minutes. Using an offset spatula, spread with buttercream. Slice cake into 12 4-inch squares. Stack up four sets of three squares, buttercream-side up. Line the berry baskets with parchment paper, set one cake stack into each.

6.     Gild: Zap the reserved preserves for a few seconds. Strain over sliced berries. Scatter on zest. Toss. Heap berries onto cakes. Scatter on mint leaves. Enjoy.

 

Vanilla Buttercream

12 ounces/ 339 grams unsalted butter, softened

4 large egg whites

1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1.     Beat: Using a stand mixer and the paddle attachment, beat butter soft and fluffy. Set aside.

2.     Heat: Settle egg whites, sugar, and salt in a clean mixer bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg mixture reaches 165 degrees, about 5-6 minutes.

3.     Whip: Use mitts to return bowl to the mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip on high speed to a glossy meringue. Lower to medium speed and whip until no longer hot. Add the reserved butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, whipping until buttercream smiles thick and smooth. Whip in vanilla extract.

 

 

Candied flowers

1 teaspoon cold water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 pasteurized egg white*

Clean, dry, organic violets, pansies, rose petals, small whole roses, lavender blossoms,

mint leaves or other edible flowers and leaves

Superfine sugar**

  1. Mix: Use a fork to stir water and vanilla into egg white. Mix, as opposed to froth, the egg.

  2. Paint: Use a pastry brush to paint one flower with egg white mixture on both sides.

  3. Gild: Drop the painted flower into a bowl of superfine sugar. Toss to coat.

  4. Dry: Set sugared flower on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining flowers. Let dry 24 to 48 hours. When dry, use to decorate a fanciful midsummer cake, cupcake, ice-cream bowl, cheese plate or anything else.

*Look for a carton stamped “pasteurized” or buy pasteurized egg whites by the pint.

**Stocked next to the regular sugar. Or make it by buzzing sugar in the blender or food processor. Stop

when sugar is finer than granulated sugar and grainier than confectioner’s sugar.

Coffee macarons

Makes about 4 dozen

 

Christina Ha, ower of Macaron Parlour in Manhattan, taught me this recipe. Measure by weight, if you’ve got a kitchen scale. If not, use the spoon-in, level-off method of measuring.

 

2 cups/175 grams almond flour

1 2/3 cups/175 grams confectioner’s sugar

4 egg whites/130 grams egg whites

13 tablespoons/175 grams granulated sugar

1/4 cup/60 grams water

Activated charcoal, for black color

Coffee buttercream, recipe follows

 Edible pink luster dust, if you want to add pink cheeks

  1. Sift: Sift almond flour and confectioner’s sugar through a medium-mesh seive into a large bowl. Pour in 2 egg whites (65 grams) and mix to form a paste.

  2. Whip: Settle remaining 2 egg whites (65 grams) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip to soft peaks. Turn off mixer, leaving bowl and attachment in place.

  3. Boil: In a small saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. No more stirring. Bring to a boil. Mixture will boil rapidly, then slow to big lazy bubbles. When it reaches 245 degrees, pull pan off heat and start the mixer on low. Carefully pour in syrup, aiming for the side of the bowl. Beat until the meringue is glossy white and no longer too hot to touch, about 2 minutes.

  4. Fold: Mix 1/3 the meringue into the almond mixture. Scrape in the rest of the meringue and, using a soft spatula, gently fold in. Scoop out about ½ cup batter and set aside in a small bowl. Keep folding the batter in the big bowl. When the batter looks glossy, you’re almost done. Fold over some batter. If it stays put, it’s not mixed enough. If it sinks in and disappears, it’s over-mixed. If it melts away only at the edges, you’ve hit the sweet spot.

  5. Color: Drop some activated charcoal into the small bowl of batter and fold to the sweet spot.

  6. Pipe: Scrape pale batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip. Scrape dark batter into a small pastry bag fitted with a fine plain tip. Pipe 1-inch circles of the pale batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat. (For uniformity, you can first trace circles onto a sheet of paper and slip it under the parchment as a guide.) Smack the pan from underneath a few times to help the circles flatten out. Use the dark batter to pipe eyes, noses, ears, and tails.

  7. Dry: Allow macarons to rest until no longer sticky to the touch, about 10 – 20 minutes.

  8. Bake: Bake at 320 degrees F until macarons are dry to the touch on top, the feet stick to the parchment or silpat and there’s a bit of wiggle between top and bottom, about 9-10 minutes. Slide parchment or silpat off baking sheet and let macarons cool.

  9. Fill: Flip over parchment or silpat and peel off cooled macarons. Match up same-sized pairs. Pipe buttercream onto the flat side of the bottom halves. Press on the flat side of the top halves. Paint on a bit of pink luster dust, if you like. Settle in an airtight container. Refrigerate or freeze, 24 hours or more. Bring to room temperature. Enjoy. 

Coffee Buttercream  

1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso

1 tablespoon hot water

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

 

Dissolve instant espresso in hot water. Set aside.

Settle whites, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over (but not touching) a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg mixture is hot to the touch, about 2 minutes.

Return bowl to the mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed to form a glossy meringue. Lower to medium speed and beat until no longer hot. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until thick and smooth (don’t fret if mixture looks curdled, just keep beating). Beat in reserved espresso mixture. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip.

 

Meringue mushrooms

½ cup egg whites (from about 4 eggs)

or

½ cup aquafaba (drained from a 15.5-ounce can of chickpeas)

14 tablespoons (one cup minus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch of kosher salt (skip if beans are salted)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up

 

1.     Prep: Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

2.     Whip: Pour egg whites or aquafaba into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk in cream of tartar and salt (if using). Using the whisk attachment, whip to soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Turn off mixer.

3.     Boil: Measure sugar in a very small saucepan. Stir in about ¼ cup water—enough to create a liquid. Set pan over medium-high heat and cook (no stirring!) until syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 240 F, about 3 minutes. Pull pan off heat.

4.     Whip: Flick mixer to medium-high speed. Mindful of spatter, slowly pour in hot syrup. Continue whipping until bowl is cool and meringue is glossy and sturdy, about 3 minutes. Whip in vanilla extract.

5.     Pipe: Scrape meringue into a pastry bag fitting with a plain ½-inch tip. Pipe domes (about 1½ -inches in diameter) for caps and (separately) short columns for stems. 

6.     Neaten: If your domes sport points on top (mine always do), dip a finger in cool water and pat gently. You may also want to flatten the tops of the stems to create a smooth surface for later gluing stems to caps. Dust a few flecks of cocoa over caps.

7.     Bake: Slide pans into the oven and bake until crisp, about 2 hours. Let cool.

8.     Glue: Zap chocolate to melt, in two 1-minute bursts. Stir smooth. Using a small pastry brush, paint the flat surface of one dome with chocolate. Press on a stem. Set aside to dry. (A bowl of granulated sugar makes a good spot for drying. Nestle in mushrooms, rounded caps down, stems up, until set.) Repeat with remaining caps and stems.

 

IMG_5722.jpeg

Tax crunch crunch

Makes: 1 big bowl

Prep: 30 minutes procrastination

Bake: 1 hour

1/2 cup slivered almonds

3 tablespoons corn (or other neutral) oil

3/4 cup popcorn kernels

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.  Toast: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter on almonds. Slide into the oven and toast, shaking now and then, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside almonds. Lower heat to 250.

2.  Pop: Stir together oil and popcorn in a large heavy pot. Cover, leaving the lid a sliver ajar, and set over medium-high heat. Cook, shaking regularly, until popping sound slows, 5 minutes. When quiet, tumble popped corn into a very large mixing bowl. Discard unpopped bachelors.

3.  Thicken: Measure butter, sugar, corn syrup, water and salt into a large saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Cook without stirring until caramel reaches 240 degrees, about 2 minutes. Pull off heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Caramel will foam up. Stir in nuts.

4.  Mix: Pour hot caramel over the popped corn. Fold together with a soft spatula. Turn out onto 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets.

5.  Bake: Slide sheets into the 250-degree oven and bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until crisp, 1 hour. Cool and crunch.

Matzo Toffee

1 cup/110 grams chopped pecans (better yet pecan “chips,” which are already uniformly chopped)

1 1/2 cups/12 ounces/340 grams/3 sticks unsalted butter

6 sheets matzo (the thin, crispy, salted sort are nice if you can find them)

1 1/2 cups/340 grams packed dark-brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

12 ounces/2 cups/340 grams semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

About ¾ teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon 

Best consult a higher authority about kosher and kosher-for-Passover standards.

1.     Toast: Heat oven or toaster oven to 250 degrees. Scatter pecans onto a rimmed baking sheet or toaster-oven tray. Crisp, shaking pan now and then, until nuts darken slightly and give off a delightful toasty scent, about 20 minutes.

2.     Melt: Drop butter into a large saucepan. Set over medium heat until melted. Brush a little of the melted butter onto a large (about 20 x 14) rimmed baking sheet. Line with parchment paper, allowing ample overhang (to prevent caramel from creeping under parchment). Brush parchment lightly with melted butter.

3.     Sort: Line up matzos on buttered parchment, touching, but not overlapping (if you have to crack off a couple edges to make it all fit neatly, do what you must). Set an oven rack in the center of the oven. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

4.     Thicken: Whisk brown sugar, salt, and vanilla into remaining butter. Set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; boil until thick, foamy looking, and 245 degrees, about 2 minutes. Pour over matzos. Spread evenly with an offset spatula.

5.     Bake: Slide pan into oven and bake until caramel darkens a bit and matzos are covered with bubbles, about 3 – 5 minutes. Carefully pull pan out of oven and set on a cooling rack.

6.     Gild: Scatter molten surface with chocolate. Let melt (actually chips retain their shape but turn glossy; fascinating), 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread chocolate (satisfying, right?). Cast on toasted nuts. Scatter lightly with flaky sea salt. 

7.     Cool: Let rest just until set, about 15 minutes. Lift parchment by its overhang, and set toffee (paper and all) on a cutting surface. With a heavy knife, slice into matzo-sized squares. Let cool completely. Wrap each in parchment, return to matzo box and bring along to your seder as a hostess gift. 

 

 

  

 

 

Very lemon loaf

About 2 teaspoons salted butter, softened, for pan

About 2 teaspoons flour, for pan

4 - 6 lemons, scrubbed

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 8 tablespoons sugar, divided

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 whole large eggs plus 1 large yolk

1 cup (full-fat) sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

1.     Prep: Butter and flour a loaf pan (about 9 x 5 x 3-inches). Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     Juice: Zest and juice lemons; measure out 2 tablespoons zest and ½ cup strained juice. Sift together flour and baking powder.

3.     Buzz: Measure 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar into the food processor (set aside remaining 7 tablespoons). Drop in zest and salt. Buzz to fine lemon-scented sand.  Drop in butter and process to a paste. Pour in ¼ cup lemon juice, the eggs, yolk, sour cream, and vanilla; process smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Slide in flour mixture and pulse just to combine. Don’t fret over a few lumps.

4.     Bake: Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake until cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick stabbed in the center comes out flecked with crumbs, about 55 – 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides to loosen edges. Turn out onto a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

5.     Glaze: While cake is baking, make glaze. Pour remaining sugar and remaining juice into a small saucepan. Simmer until sugar has dissolved and syrup thickens a bit, about 3 minutes. Brush glaze over top, sides and bottom of warm lemon loaf. You may not need all the glaze. When cool (or just barely warm), slice and serve.

 

 

Flourless Brownies

Prep: 15 minutes

Bake: 35 minutes, plus time to cool

Makes: 16 2-inch square brownies

 

This is a brownie of contrasts: sugar-crunch bottom, fudgy center, crackly top.

 

Salted butter, softened, for the pan

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, for the pan

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

2 whole large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup almond meal (aka almond flour or ground almonds)

 

  1. Prep: Rub some of the softened, salted butter along the bottom and sides of an 8-inch baking pan, as glue. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. Butter the parchment paper across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and tap pan to spread sugar over the butter. Heat oven to 350.

  2. Zap: Tumble chocolate and cut-up butter into a mixing bowl. Zap to melt, about 2 minutes. Stir smooth.

  3. Mix: Using a wooden spoon, stir in, in order: eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar and almond meal. Stir until batter is thick and glossy, about 1 minute. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

  4. Bake: Slide pan into the middle of the oven and bake until top of brownie is glossy and puffed in the center and a toothpick poked in the center comes out speckled with crumbs (not slicked with batter), about 35 minutes.

  5. Serve: Cool in pan (about 1 hour or as long as you can stand). Grasping the paper overhang, lift brownie out onto a cutting board. Slice into 16 squares. Enjoy … obviously.  

Banana bread

Blend until creamy:

   1/3 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)

   1⁄2 cup sugar

   3⁄4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Beat in:

   1 egg, lightly beaten

Sift before measuring:

   13⁄4 cups flour

Resift with:

   11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

   1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda

Mash 2 or 3 ripe banans to make:

   1 cup banana pulp

Add the sifted ingredients in 3 parts to the sugar mixture alternately with the banana pulp. Beat the batter after each addition until smooth. Scrape into a buttered loaf pan, about 9 x 5 x 3 inches. Spread smooth.

Scatter on:

   1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts

Bake at 350 degrees until brown on top and done in the center (poke with a toothpick; it should come out clean), about 50-55 minutes.

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Tomato tart

¼ cup (loosely packed) slivered basil

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Tart pastry (recipe follows)

1 ¼ pounds beautiful, ripe tomatoes (a mix of colors and sizes is prettiest), sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

 

1. Mix: Toss together basil, thyme and cheese.

2. Roll: On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 13-inch circle. Fold in quarters and unfold onto a parchment-lined baking pan.

3. Fill: Spread herb and cheese mixture over pastry, leaving a 2-inch border bare. Cover with tomatoes, overlapping the slices slightly. Drizzle tomatoes with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Shape: Fold the pastry border up and over the tomatoes, forming a 9-inch rustic tart.

5. Bake: Slide pan onto a lower rack of a 425-degree oven and bake until pastry is golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Slice and savor.

Tart pastry: Measure into food processor: 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Pulse once to mix. Drop in 1 stick unsalted butter (cut into 5 chunks) and pulse about 5 times, until lumps range in size from crumbs to beans. Dump flour mixture into a large bowl. Drizzle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, folding pastry with a flexible spatula, until pastry clumps. You’ll need about 5 tablespoons water. Pat into a disk. Dust with flour. Wrap and chill at least 1 hour. 

Melon Ice

2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1⁄8 teaspoon peppermint extract

6 limes

2 1⁄2 pounds (with rind) seedless watermelon

1⁄2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons Lillet Blanc

1 pinch kosher salt

 

1. Melt: Tumble chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and zap on low power until just melted, about 1 minute. Drop in peppermint and work smooth with a soft spatula. Scrape into a small zip-top bag.

2. Shape: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Snip a corner off the bag and squeeze drops of melted chocolate onto the paper, forming 60 or so seed shapes. Slide sheet into the freezer and let set, 5 minutes.

3. Slice: Cut each lime in half across its equator. Run a grapefruit knife around the interior rim, separating flesh from rind. Lift out flesh, leaving 12 lime shells.

4. Pulse: Scoop out watermelon flesh. Use the food processor to pulse to bits, along with flesh of one lime. (Save remaining lime middles for another project.) Press purée through a medium-mesh sieve into a quart-sized measuring cup. There should be about 2 cups juice. Stir in sugar, wine, and salt.

5. Swirl: Churn in an ice-cream maker. Slide most of the chocolate seeds into the melon ice on the last turn.

6. Freeze: Scoop ice into the lime shells. Sprinkle remaining chocolate seeds on top. Set filled limes on an empty ice-cube tray or into a muffin tin to pre- vent tipping. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Scoop up with a spoon inside or slurp Popsicle-style outside.

Chicken pot pie

Prep: 45 minutes

Bake: 25 minutes

Serves: 6

 

4 strips bacon, sliced thinly crosswise

8 ounces button mushrooms, halved

1 onion, quartered and sliced

3 carrots, sliced into coins

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons port

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

3 ounces sugar snap peas, thinly sliced crosswise

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 Pinch nutmeg

Herb pastry (recipe follows) or prepared puff pastry,

1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, optional

 

1.  Sizzle: Cook bacon over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet until crisp, 10 minutes. Scoop out bacon bits with a slotted spoon; drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

2.  Brown: Scrape mushrooms, onions and carrots to the skillet with the rendered bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are beautifully browned, 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme, cook 1 minute. Deglaze with port. Scrape into a large bowl. Stir in chicken and snap peas.

3.  Thicken: Melt butter over medium heat (feel free to use the same skillet, but note that cast-iron will tint the sauce an odd gray). Whisk in flour, cook 1 minute. Slowly add broth, whisking thick, 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour sauce over chicken and mix.

4.  Fill: Scrape chicken mixture into a deep 9-inch pie plate (or other oven-safe pan). Cast on bacon. Roll out pastry. Cover, crimp, vent. Brush with beaten egg (or don’t, for a more rustic look). Bake at 400 degrees until top is crisp and middle bubbles, 25 minutes. Enjoy warm.

 

Herb Pastry: Measure 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons fine corn meal, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme) and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt into the food processor. Buzz to mix. Add 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut up) and 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening. Pulse until mixture looks crumbly and darkens a bit. Turn out into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with up to 3 tablespoons cold water, folding with aflexible spatula until pastry clumps easily. Press into a disk, wrap in waxed paper and chill while prepping pie (at least 30 minutes).