This Little Piggie GOT IN MY BELLY!

PIGS IN HERBED BISCUIT SNUGGIES

Who can resist a freshly baked buttery biscuit? You know what would go great with that? Hot, juicy sausage. And a kicky sauce.

What we really have here is a truly wonderful, fairly versatile, nom nommily irresistible biscuit recipe that you'll see in various incarnations throughout this blog. In this case, it's seasoned with dried thyme, rolled thin, & cut into strips before shrouding its piggie victims & being baked to perfection.

THE PIGGIES
I suppose any precooked cocktail weenie will do for this recipe, but I just tried the nitrite-free ones from Trader Joe's, and they were great. They come about 36 to a pack, and one pack should be plenty for this biscuit dough recipe. I doubled it for a party last week, and they sold like hot cakes.

HERBED BISCUIT DOUGH

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

3/4 cup cold, well-shaken buttermilk

1 tablespoon milk or cream for brushing biscuits (optional, but nice)

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, & baking soda together in a medium bowl. Rub the thyme between your fingers & into the bowl to release its aroma. Stir to combine.

Add the cold butter pieces, and "cut" into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. The goal is to get the butter bits coated in flour & small enough to resemble rolled oats. It's best to leave a few bigger lumps than to get it all too fine. What you're doing is creating layers of cold butter wrapped in flour. When this dough bakes, you'll get golden, flaky layers of goodness. The more you work the dough, the tougher & heavier it will bake up. That's bad. With biscuits, less is more.

Add the cold buttermilk, and using a spatula, fold together to create a uniform dough. DO NOT OVERMIX. It's ok if you have some patches of flour, and some wet spots. Just get it into a lump, and turn it out onto a well-floured work surface. If the dough is wet, dust it with more flour. Gather the sides into its center, like you're folding a packing box. Flip the ball over, make sure you have enough flour to keep it from sticking, and start to press it into a flat disc. Using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough to about 1/4" thick. Keep the dough moving & dusted with flour to prevent sticking.

Once you have a nice flat sheet of dough, use a pizza cutter or knife to cut strips about 1 1/2" wide x 2 1/2" long (or something just narrower than the cocktail weenies you're using, and just long enough to wrap around one once). Test one out before cutting the rest of the sheet. Then go for it. Wrap up as many weenies as you can get out of one sheet of dough, and place them about 1" apart on a baking sheet. At this point, if you'd like, you can brush the piggies with a little milk or cream before baking. This will give them a glossier crust, but is not necessary. Save the trimmed scraps to reroll for a 2nd batch.

Bake at 425' for about 10 minutes, or until the biscuit dough is deeply golden. Serve immediately with your preferred sauce. I just tried the following, and it was a big hit.

HOT PIGGIE SAUCE

1/4 cup sweet & hot mustard (a smooth variety like Russian or Chinese is best)

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup hot sauce (like Tapatillo)

chipotle hot sauce to taste

Shake the mustard & buttermilk in a jar, or whisk to combine. Stir in the Tapatillo. Adjust the seasoning with the chipotle hot sauce. The piggies are on the sweet side, so a sauce with a kick is preferable. The sauce should be runny enough to coat the piggies, but not run all the way home.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Jewels in a Delicate Tart Crown

In 1994 I went to work in a French pastry shop and met my mentor & friend, Jule Vranian, who left me with a wealth of fool-proof recipes that I will continue to make until my wheels come off.

Although she & her husband Steve (then executive chef at Stars, now at Gianni's) moved back to Minnesota years ago, I think of them often. Jule's charismatic personality & positive attitude have left an even greater impression on me than her remarkable desserts. At a time when I was new to so many things, she taught me to be strong, decisive, relentless in my pursuits, and most of all, to laugh - at everything.

This tart embodies Jule's style to a T. You won't believe that something so easy to make could yield such an elegant result. I suspect that Jule's Midwestern roots have something to do with it.

Brown Butter Blackberry Tart
(serves 8-10)

Nutty brown butter, fresh vanilla bean, and lemon zest elevate blackberries to next level status. This time of year, pick your own berries, pluck a lemon off your tree (or a friend's), and serve your tart al fresco to complement a spring or summer meal. At first glance this may look like a complicated recipe, but though the descriptions are long, they are meant to help build & guide your technique. The recipe itself is quite basic, so more experienced cooks can gloss over the prose & just go for the gold.

Short Dough For the Shell (11" Tart Pan)
6 oz softened, unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks or 12T)
3 oz sugar (a scant 1/2C)
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
9 oz unbleached all-purpose flour (~2C scant, spoon sifted)
3/4t baking powder
1/2t vanilla extract

Combine the salt, flour, & baking powder & set aside. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the butter & sugar until light & fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl to homogenize the batter, & beat in the egg yolk & vanilla (about 1 minute). Scrape the bowl again & stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Gather the dough into a ball & turn it out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Press it into a disc about 1/2" thick, wrap it tightly, & refrigerate for about an hour.

The Press Method
Alternately, you can take the soft dough (do not chill it) & immediately press it into the pan by dropping small balls of dough around the pan & flattening & pressing them together to form a flat unified base.
The Roll Method
Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator, & on a lightly floured surface, roll out to about 1/8" thick. Keep the dough moving & dust with extra flour to prevent sticking. Lift up one side of your rolled out disc, & flip it over your rolling pin. Slide the tart pan under the disc, & lower the dough over the pan. Don't worry if it cracks or breaks, just press it back together. Gently press the dough into the pan, using your fingers to ensure a smooth edge along the pan walls. Patch any holes with extra dough. Rolling your pin over the pan walls to cut off extra dough & create flush sides.

Place the tart shell on a sheet pan & freeze while making the filling. Preheat the oven to 350'.                    

The Filling
3 extra large eggs
1 1/4C sugar
1T lemon zest
1/2C unbleached all-purpose flour
6 oz unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean

6-8 oz fresh or frozen blackberries

In a heavy saucepan or skillet on medium-low heat, melt the butter with the vanilla bean, swirling the pan to avoiding burning the butter, while slowly browning it (about 8-10 minutes). The butter should have a nutty aroma & a deep golden color, but not burn, or it will taste bitter.

Let the butter cool a bit while you prebake the tart shell. Remove your tart shell from the freezer & bake for about 12-15 minutes until lightly golden. Because the filling is very moist, prebaking the shell will ensure you get a nice golden crust, and not a soggy mess.

Now, back to the batter...Whisk together the eggs, sugar, & lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, then strain the butter through a fine sieve, & stir to combine. The mixture will be glue-like, & thicken slightly as the flour absorbs the liquid.

Once your tart shell has cooled a bit, scatter in the blackberries, and pour on the nutty, vanilla batter. When it bakes it will puff up a bit, but it won't rise over the pan, so use all the batter, filling your tart shell nearly to the top (but not higher than the sides of your tart shell). Bake at 350' on a sheet pan for about 40 minutes (or until the batter has puffed up & is uniformly golden). Cool the tart in the pan for at least 20 minutes before removing the outer ring of the tart pan. Dust with sifted powdered sugar right before serving (if you do it ahead of time the sugar will melt.) If by some bizarre stroke of luck you should have leftovers, keep them in the fridge, but the tart shell will suffer from the moisture & cold. So just eat it all at once!

A NOTE ABOUT THE DOUGH: If you're short on time or completely intimidated by making your own tart shell, you can buy a prepared, uncooked pie shell, then prebake it, fill it, and bake it following the directions above.

A NOTE ABOUT VANILLA BEANS: Because vanilla beans are expensive, you can use a dry pod saved from another recipe. For example, to get the most from one vanilla bean, split a fresh bean & scrape out the seeds. The seeds can be added to a pastry cream, whipped cream, ice cream base, pudding, or many other recipes. The scraped bean still holds a lot of fragrant vanilla oil & extra seeds stuck to its walls, so when you soak it, the flavor is transferred into the surrounding liquid. Use beans to flavor cream or milk for a recipe, soak in vodka to create your own extract, or dry and store them in sugar to add a special touch to your baking. In this case, a hollowed bean has plenty of juice left to flavor your butter. If all of this is too much for your brain, but you still want to stretch out each bean, just use half of one in the recipe.

Yo! This Is My Jam!

Tis the season for berries, & stone fruits, & fresh herbs - oh my!

This is the start of my favorite time of year for fruit, and I'm chomping at the bit to make all sorts of fresh & easy desserts with them. My hands-down winner for best fruit is the apricot, but they're not quite ready yet, so today we talk strawberries. (The photos are from a later batch made with apricots. The process is the same with most fruits.)

For Easter my Mom went a little nuts and bought enough strawberries to fill a field. They were ripe & beautiful, and two days later they were on life support. Knowing that freezing them was just a cryogenic delay from composting, I suggested we make jam.

This pectin-free recipe works with just about any fruit, and can be elevated with complimentary herbs such as basil, lemon verbena, and mint. The process allows the fruit to set naturally, and best of all, you can skip the tedious "canning" process, and just keep the finished product in the refrigerator.

Equal weights of (cleaned - no pits, etc.) fruit & sugar results in a very thick, sweet jam. If you prefer, you can use any ratio between that and 65% fruit to 35% sugar, yielding a much more fluid jam. So far I've only made this with refined sugar, but will be trying a more natural option next, and will report back.

Slightly underripe fruit has more natural pectin, and ripe, or overripe fruit has more sugar, so choose your sugar percentage accordingly.

To make things a little easier for you, here's a recipe including ratios of fruit to sugar (45% being ideal).

2 1/4C sugar (50% ratio); 2C sugar (45% ratio); 1 3/4C sugar (40% ratio); 1 1/2C sugar (35% ratio)
1 pound of cleaned fruit

To this you can add 1T of lemon juice, and 1-2t chopped fresh herbs. I happen to think that basil works well with strawberries, and lays a foundation of complexity for other recipes such as my Strawberry Jam Buttermilk Ice Cream. You can also double this recipe if you wish. 1 pound of fruit should yield about 1 1/2 pints of jam.

Directions:
In a large, heavy-bottom pot, stir together your fruit & sugar until combined. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fluid. Bring to a boil, stirring to avoid sticky spots. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and set aside for at least 8 hours to macerate. If you need to, after 8 hours you can refrigerate it before the next step.

After the 8-hour resting period, it's time to cook down small amounts of the jam. This will further thicken the sugar & pectin, creating the jam-like consistency you want.

In an ~8" nonstick skillet, add 2C of the fruit & liquid, & cook on medium-high heat until it thickens slightly & slides off the spoon/spatula in sheets (about 5 minutes). Ladle the jam into containers, & refrigerate once cool.

Even if I'm not sealing the jars, I like to use glass jars, as they protect the flavor better than plastic, and look nice when given as gifts. Just store the jam in the fridge and eat it within a few months. If you prefer, you can jar the jam according to manufacturer instructions & store at room temperature.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line, and I'll do my best to help you out.

Adapted from recipes by Sylvia Thompson.

I Now Pronounce You Strawberries & Buttermilk

Imagine freshly-made strawberry jam. Now imagine it whipped into a ridiculously easy, yet scrumptious strawberry buttermilk ice cream. The resulting flavor is ridiculous. Luscious strawberry & tart buttermilk combine in such a wonderful way that I've had to bolt the freezer shut to avoid eating the entire batch in one sitting.

This is how I did it. It was so easy to make, even if you don't have an ice cream maker you can fudge this & get decent results. Here are directions for both:

2C strawberry (or other) jam
2C buttermilk
1C cream or milk*

Stir the jam into about a cup of the buttermilk to dissolve the sugars & blend out the color. Stir in the rest of the buttermilk & cream.

*Note: Using cream will make your end result creamier. If you like, use milk, or all buttermilk for more tartness, so long as your "milk" adds up to 3C.

In a Machine:
Pour into your ice cream maker & freeze until nearly set. It should look very thick. Remove the paddle & quickly stir in any clumps of fruit to distribute them evenly into the ice cream. Immediately transfer to a quart-sized container & freeze to set.

I've used the carton from a quart of buttermilk, and it works great!

If you don't have an ice cream maker, try this method:
Combine the jam & milk(s) as above.
Pour into a shallow container & freeze until firm. (This could take a couple hours depending on your freezer.)
Working Quickly: Scrape into a bowl, & beat with a hand mixer (or a wooden spoon) until fluffy.
Spread back into the shallow container & refreeze until firm.

Add Basil for a Fresh, Unexpected Twist

I've also made this ice cream with basil to cut the sweetness & compliment the strawberries & buttermilk. I really liked this version. Two hours ahead, roughly tear up about 12 basil leaves & soak them in the cream. After steeping the cream for 2 hours in the fridge, strain out the leaves, squeezing them well. Combine the flavored cream with the buttermilk & jam, & prepare the ice cream by either method above.


Keep trying new things, and as always, feel free to drop me a line with questions or comments.

I Got The Ice Cream, and You Don't Got None... Until Now

Making your own ice cream is easy. That is if you have a good machine and follow a few simple techniques, which I will do my best to describe for you. As with any of my blogs or recipes, feel free to ask questions.

DON'T SKIMP
Start with fresh ingredients. Ice creams are generally made with whole milk, cream, eggs, and sugar. Fresh ingredients = tasty, creamy goodness. Anyone can buy ice cream. If you're going to make it, do it right. You won't be disappointed.

BE CONFIDENT
Read through the recipe a few times and measure out all of your ingredients before cracking an egg or turning on a burner.

BEFRIEND YOUR ICE CREAM MAKER
Read the instructions for your ice cream maker. I use a Cuisinart Automatic ICE-20 Series. It is incredibly simple to use, and produces a good result. This machine requires that I freeze the freezer bowl overnight. The bowl contains a cooling liquid between a double-insulated wall to create fast & even freezing. It's kind of like a coolant/ice pack in a bowl form. When you pour in your custard and switch on the machine, the bowl turns, moving the custard through the mixing arm so your ice cream freezes evenly. Depending on your recipe, and the machine you use, you can have ice cream in less than an hour (about 30 minutes for preparing the custard, and 30 minutes for freezing). Some recipes can use extra time in the freezer once the mixing is done, so it's best to make your ice cream a day in advance, or in the morning for that night's dessert.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL CUSTARD
Nearly all ice creams begin with the preparation of a custard. This requires more patience than ingredients, but if you take it slow, you should be able to kick some custard booty.

GET ORGANIZED
Find the right saucepan for the job - a 2-4 quart pot with a heavy bottom is best. Have a whisk and a spatula on hand. If the handle of your pot gets hot, have an oven mitt nearby. You'll need a medium-sized mixing bowl, and a large sieve or fine strainer (not a colander). You can get by without a sieve, but I find them handy to strain out any lumps. You should also have a container handy for freezing your finished product. I like to use large yogurt cartons. I eat a lot of yogurt, and make a lot of ice cream, so this works out nicely.

COOL IT DOWN
You also need to set up an ice bath to cool your custard before you can freeze it. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water. Set a smaller metal bowl (one that holds at least 1-1/2 quarts) in the ice water. Before you start your custard recipe, pour 1 cup of the cream into the smaller bowl (the one sitting in the ice bath). This way, when you add in your hot custard later, the cold cream will help cool it down faster. Set a fine strainer or sieve on top of the bowl. You will be straining the hot custard in a few minutes.

A Basic Custard Recipe (aka Vanilla Ice Cream):

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk

1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks (save the whites! I have a great recipe for chocolate cookies. Or make an omelet!)

In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Warm the cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. If using a vanilla bean, cut the bean down its length with the tip of a knife. Turn the knife over, and using the back of the knife, scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the bean to the hot cream mixture, cover it and let it sit for 10 minutes. If you're using vanilla extract, pour it into the chilled cream and give it a stir.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

NOW FOCUS. IT'S ABOUT TO GET INTERESTING.
Rewarm the cream mixture over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Do not walk away from the stove. This happens very quickly. In a steady stream, pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over LOW heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof rubber spatula until the custard thickens slightly (it should be thick enough to coat the spatula and hold a line drawn through it with a finger), 4 to 8 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 175° to 180°F at this point. Don’t let the sauce overheat or boil, or it will curdle. Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath.

Cool the custard to below 70°F by stirring it over the ice bath. Refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Make sure to take out the vanilla bean before freezing).
Transfer the just-churned ice cream to an air-tight container, and freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks.

There. Wasn't that easy? Now that you can make this, you can make just about any flavor you want.
Check back here for more recipes, tips, and ideas. And look over on the right for some helpful references.

Chicken Empanadas & Guacamole

This is Paula Deen's empanada recipe. I chose it for my class because it uses prepared refrigerated pie dough (easily purchased at most grocery stores). You can make your own pie dough (or various empanada doughs), and also make different fillings. This filling is pretty simple to prepare, and can be made ahead of time. Unbaked empanadas can be frozen and baked at a later date.

GET IT TOGETHER

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken (see preparation below; make a day ahead, or at least 1 hour ahead)

8 ounces jalapeno jack cheese, shredded

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts

Water

PREPARE THE CHICKEN

Remove 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs from their package; rinse in cool water, and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle lightly with olive or vegetable oil. Heat a large frying pan and add the chicken. Cook the first side on medium heat, until the chicken is brown on the bottom and starts to cook around the sides. Flip the chicken, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook until the chicken feels firm at the thickest part (about 4-5 more minutes). Remove the chicken from the pan and allow to cool on a plate. If using the next day, store the cooled chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator until needed.

PREPARE THE EMPANADA FILLING

Preheat oven to 400'. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or line with foil).

In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 pie crust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter (or a glass). Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water (if you don't have a brush, use your finger). Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

GUACAMOLE
If you have one, use a molcajete. Otherwise, use knives to chop the garlic & onion, and a fork to mash the avocado.

2 large avocados, peeled and seeded
2 cloves of garlic, mashed or finely chopped
3 tablespoons onion, finely diced
1/2 a lime
salt & pepper
cumin (about 1/4 teaspoon)
diced tomato (about 1/2 of a tomato)

Combine the avocado, garlic and onion in a bowl. Mash the avocado, but leave it somewhat chunky. Stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper, and cumin to taste. Top with diced tomato and serve. Refrigerate leftover guacamole in a tightly sealed container. A layer of plastic wrap pushed down onto the guac will help keep it from getting brown. Store up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian Chili & Jalapeno Cornbread

This chili recipe is easily altered, depending on what you have around. Make more, make less (if you can), or change the types of beans and vegetables. The cornbread is a variation on a recipe I found on a cornmeal package. I prefer finely ground cornmeal for a really soft bread. The cheese helps make it moist and extra delicious.

CHILI

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers (about 2 medium)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1 16-ounce can tomato sauce

TOPPINGS
Chopped fresh cilantro

Sour cream

Grated Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever you prefer)

Chopped green onions

Preparation:

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle chili into bowls. Add toppings if you wish. Serve with cornbread (recipe below).

JALAPENO CORNBREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cornmeal (fine grind, like Arrowhead Mills brand)

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups milk

6 tablespoons butter, melted

4 tablespoons honey or sugar

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

2-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400’F.

Grease a 9x13" pan with oil or butter.

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.

Combine eggs, milk, oil/butter (melted), honey/sugar in a separate bowl. Beat well.

Combine all ingredients, until just moistened. Stir in the jalapenos and most of the cheese (leave a little aside to top the batter before baking).

Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over batter, and bake approximately 20 minutes, until edges are golden and center is set (springs back to the touch).

Cool bread in pan(s) at least 10 minutes before serving. Wrap leftover bread (once cool) in plastic and store at room temperature up to 3 days.