Muddle and Twist

Who wants cake?  Or should I ask, 'who wouldn't want cake?' because I can't imagine someone turning down a slice of cake. The home cook-centric site, Food52, opened a challenge called Recipe Off-Roading where taking liberties with the recipes and/or ingredients was encouraged.  Four of Food52's  most popular recipes were chosen for the challenge--Marcella Hazan's Four Ingredient Tomato Sauce, Martha Stewart's One Pan Pasta, Food52's co-founder, Amanda Hesser's Peach Tart, and New York City restaurant Maialino's Olive Oil Cake.  Cooks signed up naming which of the four recipes they were taking off road.  I chose Maialino's Olive Oil Cake.  I LOVE olive oil cake.  It's an easy recipe that doesn't require a mixer and comes together quickly. 

After tossing ideas around with a friend about what to change, I decided to change the flavor profile just a bit.  The Maialino's cake uses Grand Marnier, I used bourbon and muddled bitters, giving the cake the hint of an Old Fashioned.  My favorite quality of a good olive oil cake is how it improves over time.  While it's great on the day baked, go back a day or two later and it's amazing.  The bourbon and bitters really came through on the second day.  I also made the recipe in standard muffins and minis--a way to indulge without feeling guilty. 

Be sure to check out the article showcasing all 71 off-road variations--including mine!  If you haven't made an olive oil cake yet, get yourself in the kitchen soon!   

Bourbon Old Fashioned Olive Oil Muffins
Makes about 24 standard muffins

• 2cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2cups sugar
• 1 1/2teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2teaspoon baking powder
• 2sugar cubes
• 8dashes Angostura Bitters
• 3eggs, large
• 1 1/3cups olive oil
• 1 1/4cups milk
• 1tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1/4cup orange juice
• 1/4cup bourbon
  
  Powdered sugar for dusting, optional

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. With a mortar and pestle, muddle 8 dashes of bitters with 2 sugar cubes. In a large bowl, add sugar cubes, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.  In a medium bowl, add olive oil, milk, bourbon, orange juice, orange zest, and eggs. Whisk well to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Line two 12-muffins tins with paper liners or grease and flour pans. (Non-stick cooking spray with flour works well too.  Gradually add wet ingredients to dry, mixing batter with a wooden spoon. Once all wet and dry ingredients are well-mixed, spoon batter into each muffin well to 2/3 full.  Bake for 30-35 minutes. Start checking at 30 minutes. The tops may not crack like a cake will, but do check for the tops turning golden to light golden brown. Also check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into centers of each. It will come out clean if done.  Allow muffins to cool in pans for 20-25 minutes before turning out. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

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In Search Of

If you're old enough to remember the show that was hosted by Leonard Nimoy,  you're old enough to understand the importance of searching for the unknown, the unexplained, the mysterious.  But what am I in search of?  No, not extraterrestrials, not what happened to Amelia Earhart, not the truth about the Bermuda Triangle.  More pragmatic, more practical, but still mysterious.  It's pizza.  More accurately, perfect homemade pizza dough.  Okay, maybe not perfect.  Maybe pretty damn close?  Can someone lead me in that direction?  It seems like it would be so simple.  A mix of water, salt, flour, oil, yeast.

I try recipe after recipe, not tied down to one formula.  I skimmed Jim Lahey's My Pizza (having made his no-knead bread, I'm behind this man).  I think about the tools I use, the ingredients I have on hand, what I can tweak, what I should tweak, what I accidentally discovered (hello overnight cold rise!), and why I always forget I own a pizza stone.

I haven't tried Jim Lahey's yet.  That's next on the list.  The latest recipe I used was Alice Waters' recipe from The Art of Simple Food.  It's good.  Very good.  Alice's recipe got the overnight cold rise and since the recipe makes enough for two pizzas, the first was traditionally baked in the oven, the second was actually 'baked' in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop.  More like fried, with a touch of olive oil, then after adding some caramelized onion, cheese, and porchetta (Oh, porchetta!), I threw it under a broiler until the cheese melted and the crust charred.

The other recipe is from a book I bought awhile ago called,  The Cook's Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking by Carla Capalbo.  I bought it at the used bookstore around the corner and it's turned out to be a great little find.  Lots of practical, not over the top recipes and in the year or so that I've had it, I refer to it more times than I thought I would.  This version also got the cold rise treatment and was made solely by the cast iron/stovetop/broiler method.  Thanks to a pizza craving when Los Angeles had one of its ugly heatwaves last month, I couldn't wait for the temps to drop to satisy the craving, and that's when I tried the stovetop method.

I loved using my cast iron skillet so much, that I'm throwing cast iron pizza into the regular rotation.  For some reason, it just seems like it takes less effort.  Which, in looking at it objectively, doesn't.  Two steps compared to throwing it on a sheet and slipping it into the oven.  I don't know.  They're both good.

Porchetta and Caramelized Onion Pizza
Dough recipe makes enough for 2 10-inch pizza

Alice Waters' Pizza Dough Recipe

2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup rye flour
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup olive oil

Stir together the yeast and 1/2 cup lukewarm water.  Add the rye flour and 1/4 cup of the ap flour.  Let this sit in a bowl until bubbly, about 1/2 hour.  In another bowl, mix the remaining ap flour with the salt.  After the yeast mixture is foamy, add the flour and salt mix, along with the olive oil and cold water.  Mix dough and turn out onto a floured board, kneading for about 5 minutes until dough is soft and elastic.  If your dough is wet, add a little more flour, tablespoon by tablespoon until the right consistency is met.

Here you can either put the dough in a bowl, covered and let it rise for 2 hours in a warm spot or put the dough in the refrigerator for an overnight rise.  Just remember to take it out a couple of hours before you want to use it.  

Toppings:

6 oz porchetta, sliced paper thin
1/2 cup onion, caramelized
1/2 cup Grana Padano, grated
1/2 cup Asiago, grated
2 tbsp basil, chiffonaded
red pepper oil, for drizzling (optional)


Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees (if baking in the oven).  Stretch dough to roughly 10-12 inches. Sprinkle dough with cheeses and basil.  Spread caramelized onion and porchetta over dough.  On a pan, with a thin layer of coarse cornmeal, place pizza and put in oven.  Bake for 8-12 minutes.  When removed from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining basil and drizzle the oil.  

If you opt for the cast iron skillet method, make the dough big enough to fit into your pan.  Put pan over high heat and add a little oil (about 1 tsp or so).  Add dough and allow to cook, flipping over every few minutes.  Turn on your stove's broiler to its highest setting.  Top dough with porchetta et al and put pan under broiler.  Keeping an eye on the pizza, remove when you see a little char on the crust and porchetta edges look crispy.  

Basic Pizza Dough
From 'The Cook's Encyclopedia of Italian Cooking'
Makes roughly 2 10-inch pizzas

2 1/2 tbsp fresh cake yeast or 1 pkg dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
pinch of sugar
1 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

In a bowl, mix the water and yeast.  Stir in the sugar and let stand until yeast dissolves and begins to foam, 5-10 minutes.  Mix in the salt and about a third of the flour, stirring and gradually adding the flour until dough easily pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth, about 8-10 minutes.  In a lightly oiled bowl, place the dough inside and cover with a moistened and wrung out dish towel.  Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45-50 minutes.  Punch down the dough and knead for a minute or two.  Dough is ready for toppings.  Bake using either method above. 

Notes:  both recipes actually call for unbleached flour.  Obviously, all purpose will work the same.  I tend to have either or on hand, so use what you've got.  As for the rye flour, if you don't have any, swap regular flour for the 1/4 cup called.  I had it on hand and think it adds a subtle touch that you can't quite place your finger on.  Feel free to use whole wheat if you don't have rye.  The second recipe calls for cake yeast.  If you can find it, I highly recommend using it.  It's a hit or miss find for me, so I use the dry yeast.

New Old Tools of the Trade

Ever since high school, I've been a collector of vintage.  What I collect has changed over the years.  It started with clothing and handbags, scarves, and jewelry. I went through a very long phase of wrought iron candle holders and candelabra.  Then came the kitchen- and dinnerware.  This phase has lasted the longest.  I've started and stopped collections.  Salt and pepper shakers were my first, because they're small.  But seriously, how many sets does one person need?  I've sold most of them, except for the milk glass range set and a 'fancy' silver pair.  Of course, I should apply that thinking to my current 'accidental' collection of pitchers and creamers.  I can't resist the pureness of a white ironstone creamer, or the charm of a bright red cap on a clear glass pitcher.  I love enamelware and glassware.  Anything in aqua makes me weak in the knees.  I have a set of Sasha Brastoff's 'Surf Ballet' in aqua and platinum that I cherish.  That's my 'good' china, the set I would have registered for...if I had been getting married in 1954.  I can see that dinnerware displayed in a blonde Heywood Wakefield hutch, situated in a dining room flooded with light.  Someday.  When I have the house and the hutch.

I love mid-century pieces.  Stainless steel and rosewood serving trays and platters from Denmark.  Pyrex and Fire King casseroles for roasting chicken or baking lasagna.  Silver-trimmed Dorothy Thorpe old fashioned glasses to channel a 'Mad Men' vibe.   And the cookbooks.  Oh, my god...the cookbooks.  This blog has been a thrift shopping bonanza for me.  Know why?  Props!  An interesting plate, an embroidered tablecloth, a glass juicer.  Sometimes I'll be setting up a photo wishing I had a certain colour plate or working in the other direction, I'll be at the thrift store, pick up an item, and imagine it in a future shot.

I try to be practical (justification!).  I look for pieces that I will actually use on a regular basis.  I don't like anything too fine or delicate (hence the pieces of restaurant ware--they take a beating).  So imagine how happy I was when I came across one of my newest finds, an old enameled dutch oven.  Yes, I already had a dutch oven.  All 5-quarts of it are great when I'm making no-knead bread or a large amount of stock.  I wasn't really on the look-out for another one, but when the opportunity arises, well, who am I to say no?  This one...well, she's a looker.  She's a vintage Cousances (bought out by Le Creuset).  Cobalt blue, 18 cm, a little discoloured on the inside from use, but the enamel is still shiny and only a nick or two in the enamel on the rim and one of the handles.  A perfect bargain at $8.00.  A perfect size for me.  A perfect size for making soup.

Maybe I'll share photos of the blog props after I do some rearranging.  Maybe I need to rotate what I have and freshen up the kitchen.  Maybe I need to purge some of the collection.  Or maybe I just need to keep finding things to make in my new old tool.

Pesto Broth with Butternut Squash Ravioli
Serves 2

For the pesto:

4 oz basil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2/3 cup pine nuts
Olive oil

For the soup:

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
4 tablespoons pesto
2 cups spinach
4 oz ravioli or other cooked pasta
Parmesan, grated, for topping

To make the pesto, remove any thick stems from basil and throw half the amounts of basil, pine nuts, and cheese in a food processor with the garlic and black pepper.  Pulse a few times to mince the ingredients and pour in some olive oil.  Stop every few pulses to scrape down the sides and mix everything together.  Add the remaining ingredients, pulse repeatedly, slowly adding more oil until it reaches a consistency you're happy with.  

Heat the stock over medium heat.  Add the pesto and whisk to mix in.  Add the spinach and let wilt before adding the pasta. Simmer for 5-8 minutes.  Ladle into soup bowls and top with grated cheese.

Note:  I used a butternut squash ravioli from Trader Joe's.  You'll find it in the refrigerated section.  You could easily use tortellini.  If you want to use a plain pasta, I would use a cut like ditalini.  

Isn't she pretty?

It all started last Summer when Dad sent me that green pitcher. 

A Small Bite Before the New Year

This is it...the last day of 2012.  The morning started off on an odd note...there was a weird power surge on my block.  Everything powered down and right back up and you could hear...something.  Don't ask me what caused it, because I have no idea.  I went outside this morning, saw my next door neighbour and asked him if he had the problem too...just to make sure it wasn't only me.  It seems only fitting...an odd occurrence for an odd year.

But it's time to move on and count down the few hours that remain until 2013 arrives here.  New Year's for me is still based on East Coast time, so I'll have my glass of cava at 9pm, watch the ball drop in Times Square, and most likely be in bed before it's midnight in Los Angeles.  Go ahead, say it...I really know how to party.

It's going to be a quiet night.  I'm still debating on what to make for dinner.  There's an excellent chance that dinner will be lots of nibbles.  A carryover from my last life...where my partner and I usually stayed in on New Year's Eve and had a table full of small bites, antipasto, and hors d'oeuvres the we grazed on over the span of the evening.

I have eggplant dip in the fridge, fresh ricotta I made the other day, and wine biscuits on the counter.  With as many times as I've made them, I'm surprised I haven't really mentioned them more on here.  One of my BFF's asked me to make wine biscuits for the birthday party she threw herself yesterday.  I had them ready last Thursday, but since I can't have them sitting around without being continually tempted, I made more yesterday afternoon before the party.  I replaced the ones I ate over the past couple of days, added a few more, and kept a little for myself.  They really are amazing little cracker-like biscuits and a perfect project if you have the remains of a bottle of wine sitting around.  For some of you, that may not happen, but when I open a bottle of red, I usually spare the half cup required for this recipe.  I've been meaning to try them with white wine, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

This recipe comes thanks to the wonderful King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion (I also think they have the recipe posted on their website).  I've done a little adapting, making them more savoury than sweet.  I use a lot of black pepper in them, loving the bite it gives them.  They pair fabulously with ricotta, drizzled with a little olive oil, scatter them onto a cheese plate, or do what I do...eat them by the handful on their own.

Happy New Year, everyone...I wish you all an amazing, successful, and prosperous year!

Wine Biscuits
Adapted from the King Arthur Baker's Companion

2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4-6 teaspoons sugar (I use 4, if you want them sweeter, use more)
2 teaspoons black pepper (I use about 3 tsp)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons red wine
1/4 cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)

Whisk the olive oil and wine together.  In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients, then mix in the wine and oil.  I mix it by hand, but you can use a mixer.  Bring your dough together, then chill for at least an hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Split the dough into three pieces.  Roll out each piece and cut out biscuits with a 1 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  You can also use a larger size if you want.  Place biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 25 minutes, about 30-35 minutes if you make them larger.