Monday, July 27, 2009
Cranberry Bread
From Everyday Food Magazine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan<
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 bag (12 ounces) cranberries
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for topping (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan (8-cup capacity), and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine butter, egg, and milk. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and whisk to combine; fold in cranberries.
Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top with turbinado sugar, if desired. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let bread cool 30 minutes. Invert onto rack, then immediately turn right side up to cool completely.
I used re-hydrated dried cranberries for this recipe and omitted the turbinado sugar for the topping because I didn't have any. A good snack or breakfast option.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Strawberry Pie (Tart) with Chocolate Crust
Ever since I saw this post by Evan Kleiman, I knew I had to make this pie. How can one go wrong with strawberries and chocolate?
Thankfully, I had a chocolate tart crust mix from William-Sonoma in my cupboard so I made this in a tart pan instead of a pie dish.
I'm a little proud of this creation because I really didn't have a recipe to follow with measurements and all. Per Evan's instructions on her blog, she cooked some strawberries with some sugar and lemon zest on the stovetop. I cooked my strawberries with some lemon zest and 1/4 cup of sugar.
Then, we whipped a cup of heavy cream with some confectioner's sugar (I just eyeballed the amount of sugar). Here's my Evan whipping the cream-- I have to say he is getting quite good in the kitchen being careful not to make a lot of mess.
I then folded in half the strawberry mixture into the whipped cream. I spread the other half of the strawberry onto the cooked tart crust and layered the strawberry whipped cream on top.
I love watching Evan lick the bowl.
Yum!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Korean Style Broiled Short Ribs
From cooks.com
2 lbs. short ribs
4 to 5 tbsp. sugar or honey
3 tbsp. oil
6 tbsp. soy sauce
2 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of salt and pepper
1/4 c. rice wine or sherry
Have ribs cut into 2 in square serving pieces. Score both sides of each piece deeply with knife. Cut away excess fat. Add sugar and oil to ribs. Mix well. Let stand.
Marinate 2 to 3 hours. Broil on both sides. Combine remaining ingredients; mix well with ribs. Serve hot.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Supernatural Brownies
From Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers, by Nick Malgieri via The Splendid Table.
Makes about twenty-four 2-inch-square brownies
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I used unsweetened chocolate)
4 large eggs (I used 3 eggs 'cause that's what I had on hand)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
One 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil
1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and turn off heat. Combine butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over pan of water. Stir occasionally until melted.
3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in flour.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust and batter is moderately firm. Cool in pan on a rack. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or refrigerated until next day.
5. To cut brownies, unmold onto a cutting board, remove paper, and replace with another cutting board. Turn cake right side up and trim away edges. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares.
Serving: Serve the brownies on their own or with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.
Storage: The best way to store brownies is to wrap them individually and keep them at room temperature in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover. Or freeze them.
Note: If you have a 12 x 18-inch commercial half-sheet pan, you may double this recipe easily.