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Recipe: Spiced Holiday Walnuts

Laura Weiss — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:35:05 +0000

Photo: By Family O’Abé via Flickr.

These dressed-up walnuts from Chef Renee Marton are great for the holidays, or any time of year for that matter.

Spiced Holiday Walnuts

Ingredients

2 pounds walnut halves

2 egg whites

½ cup granulated sugar

1.5 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

zest of one orange

Method

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Line two baking trays (with sides) with parchment paper or foil.

Whisk egg whites until very frothy and fold in spices. Toss walnuts gently with mixture until coating is evenly spread throughout the nuts.

Spread on baking sheets evenly, keeping walnuts flat.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until toasted and medium brown.

Cool on baking sheets for 30 minutes, then remove walnuts by “peeling” then off the paper.

Store in a closed container—will stay fresh for about a week. These nuts can be frozen.

Thanksgiving Recipe: Sweet Potatoes But Hold the Marshmallows Please

Laura Weiss — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:24:45 +0000

Photo: By Sifu Renka via flickr.

Sweet Potatoes, a New Way for Thanksgiving

by Chef Renee Marton

I’ve never been a fan of sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, although I know many people love them.

Here’s a sweet potato recipe that might just make you dump that bag of marshmallows. It’s adapted from a recipe by June restaurant’s Chef Vuoc Long in Seattle. This recipe yields about 4 to 6 servings. It is a little more work than the traditional dish, but really worth the effort.

3 to 4 sweet potatoes (2 pounds after cooking)

2 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 to 5 cups flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced shallot

2 to 2 1/2 cups brown chicken or turkey stock

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen pearl onions

½ cup butter

1/4 cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped mint

Boil potatoes in salty water until tender. Peel them. While still warm, mash them with salt and pepper, eggs, cheese, and enough flour to make pliable dough, which you roll out into a long cylindrical strip, about 1 inch in diameter.

Cut the strip into one inch pieces and blanch them in salted water until they float to the surface. Reserve them on a plate until you have finished blanching all the pieces of sweet potato dough.

In the meantime, melt the butter and olive oil in a wide saucepan. When butter is sizzling, add shallots. After one minute, add garlic and stir together. Then add dumplings and crisp them a little in the butter/oil mixture, shaking the pan so all sides heat up and crisp. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Then add pearl onions and peas. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken the stock and create a “sauce.” When ready to serve, add parsley and mint. Taste for salt and pepper.

You can add strips of Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Blueberry Pancake Eating Contest at Fairway Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:51:57 +0000

Blueberry pancakes are a snap. But if you’re too lazy to make your own. Or if you’ve turned your spatula into a back scratcher and your frying pan into a planter, then this Fairway blueberry eating contest is for you.

And if I’ve shamed you into cooking up some blueberry pancakes, here’s a great recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I use whole wheat pastry flour to make them extra-healthy.

A Man-Pleasing Recipe for Father’s Day: Bacon Chive Rice

Laura Weiss — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:31:51 +0000

Bacon. Photo: by shawnzam via flickr.

This man pleasing bacon and rice recipe for Father’s Day—or any day you want to please your man—comes from a 1971 booklet called Man-pleasing Recipes, published by the Rice Council of America.

The cover photo, explains Chef Renee, shows a huge rare roast beef, along side a casserole of colorful seasoned rice. You can also pair this bacony rice with gazpacho and a salad.

As for the bacon? A recent study revealed that Americans eat more bacon today than at any time in the last 15 years!

Bacon Chive Rice

INGREDIENTS

3 slices bacon, diced

3 cups cooked rice

¼ cup chopped chives

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

METHOD

Cook bacon until crisp. Add rice, chives and seasonings. Blend well and heat thoroughly.

Makes 6 servings.

Mother’s Day Cupcakes with Organge Buttercream Icing

Laura Weiss — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:31:44 +0000

Orange Cupcake. By abakedcre via flickr.

Chef Renee concocted these cupcakes, sure to please Mom on her special day. Combine with a gift certificate to a day spa, and you’ll have one happy mother.

Orange, Pecan and Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

pinch salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup coarsely ground pecans (don’t overprocess, or they will become oily)

Zest of 1 orange

4 eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup shredded coconut, toasted (5-7 minutes at 350F)

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (same as above)

METHOD

Line two cupcake pans with cupcake papers (24 cupcakes)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric beater, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reducing the speed of the mixer, alternatively add the flour with ground pecans and orange juice. Mix until just blended.

Portion the batter between the cupcake holders. Don’t overfill the cups– the cupcakes will rise, and you need room for the icing later. Bake 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not overcook.

Transfer cupcake pans to racks and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

Fast Orange Buttercream Icing

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened

4 oz. granulated white sugar

2-4 oz. orange juice

1 egg yolk

pinch of salt

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Zest of 1 orange

In a food processor or with an electric mixer, add the butter, egg yolk and granulated sugar. Blend until well incorporated and fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar and 2 ounces of orange juice in alternating amounts. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you work. Add salt, vanilla, orange zest and liqueur.

If the mixture is not easily spreadable, add the other 2 ounces of orange juice, one ounce at a time. Mix well, and taste for seasoning.

Decorate each cupcake with the icing, and sprinkle with toasted pecans and toasted coconut.

Triangle Factory Fire Anniversary: My Grandmother Survived to Become the World’s Worst Cook

Laura Weiss — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:32:29 +0000

Fireman try to put out the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The 100th anniversary of the tragic fire is March 25.

Family legend has it that my grandmother, Fannie Chapkowitz Binnenbaum, survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. She is said to have jumped into a fireman’s net and walked home where her mother, unaware of the tragedy, brusquely ordered her back to work.

Later, Fanny went into the bootlegging business. In the back of her candy story in Brooklyn, she made bathtub gin for the mob. I suppose you could call her an early mixologist.

Her Friday night family dinners were legendary. Legendarily bad, that is. Her kreplach lodged like

Rugelach. Photo: King Arthur Flour

bird shot in your stomach. Her chicken swam in a pool of grease. Her apple pie, which she would make from the half-rotten apples that dropped from the tree in our backyard possessed the texture of cardboard and the bitter after-taste of overripe fruit. She didn’t believe in adding sugar. Nor did she infuse her leathery rugelach with anything other than stale raisins.

Still, she cooked well when it really counted—special peanut butter cookies designed especially for me; I couldn’t eat ice cream until age three and she tried desperately to come up with treats to compensate.

Much later, when she was in a nursing home, her Triangle Fire experience rendered her a minor celebrity. She would have reveled in the commemorations occurring this week.

Here’s a recipe for rugelach. Thankfully, it’s from Ina Garten, not from my grandmother.

Best Blueberry Pancake Recipe

Laura Weiss — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 22:29:43 +0000

Blueberry pancakes. By jpwbee via flickr.

Who needs to go out for brunch when you can whip up a batch of these fabulous blueberry pancakes? I go very heavy on the blueberries so by the time these rounds of deliciousness are cooked they’re infused with a a blueberry-rich sauce. Plus, you can pat yourself on the back for making a healthy breakfast. Blueberries are high in anti-oxidants, and these pancakes are made with whole wheat flour. Regardless, this brunch dish will wow your guests.

Blueberry Pancakes Recipe

Serves 6 people

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 baskets of fresh blueberries or use a bag of frozen if fresh ones aren’t in season

2 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 c granulated sugar

1/2 tsp table salt or sea salt

2 1/4 c buttermilk or soy milk if you’re lactose intolerant

2-3 large organic eggs, lightly beaten (If you like your pancakes lighter, add the 3 eggs)

2 T butter, melted

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt.

Add in the buttermilk, eggs, butter. Stir together with a wooden spoon. It’s ok, if it’s a bit lumpy.

Heat oil or butter in a frying pan until it’s hot (don’t burn the butter). Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the pan. Sprinkle blueberries on side of pancake facing up. Gently lift the pancake to make sure it’s nicely browned, then flip and finish cooking 3-4 minutes.

Serve hot with butter and real maple syrup.

Recipe: Thanksgiving Squash Soup

Laura Weiss — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:05:47 +0000

Squash soup. Flickr via by Andy Ciordia

Squash soup—it practically screams autumn and Thanksgiving—is a great way to start your Turkey Day feast. Here’s a recipe from Chef Renee.

Plus, she’s built in a bonus. The soup should be made the day before. So you get to cross one item off your Thanksgiving prep list!

Thanksgiving Squash Soup with maple cream drizzle

Serves 8

This soup is better if made the day before serving.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Prepare the squash:

4 pounds of squash—any combination of pumpkin, acorn, butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into chunks.

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar or dark honey

2 teaspoons kosher salt

10 twists fresh pepper

1 branch rosemary, leaves removed

Toss all the ingredients together and roast on an oiled baking sheet for 30-40 minutes, until squash is soft. Reserve.

Prepare the soup base:

2 large white onions, peeled and cut into large dice

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into medium dice

4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

1 large sprig of thyme

1 stick cinnamon or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 stick butter, sweet

¼ cup olive oil

2 quarts chicken stock, (you can use water if you prefer)

METHOD

In a large stockpot, heat butter and oil until sizzling. Add onions and carrots and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until they start to soften. They should not brown.

Add garlic, ginger, thyme and cinnamon. Sauté until garlic and ginger are soft.

Add squash and 2 quarts chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until everything is very soft—about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let soup cool for one hour.

Puree soup in a blender or food processor, in batches. You can add more chicken stock to thin it.

Pour soup through a strainer to remove the thyme, ginger and cinnamon stick.

Refrigerate overnight.

Maple drizzle

1 small container sour cream

¼ cup maple syrup

1 cup toasted pecan halves, cut in quarters

pinch salt

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving soup.

Reheat soup slowly until simmering. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve with a drizzle of maple cream

Upper West Side: Recipe Has Best Lunch Deal in Town

Laura Weiss — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:12:35 +0000

Pumpkin Gnochi. Photo: Intrepidation via flickr.

If you’re looking for a cheap and scrumptious lunch, treat yourself to the two-course special at Recipe on Amsterdam Ave. and 82nd Street.

For $ 11.95 a friend and I had fried pumpkin gnocchi with shredded chicken, turnips, and brussel sprouts, then red snapper resting on a bed of creamy polenta studded with calamari, mussles and other seafood. Both were delectable, though the red snapper beat out the gnocchi by a hair. It was the kind of thoughtfully prepared meal with great ingredients that you’d travel below 14th Street for—and wind up paying triple the price.

Recipe
452 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024-8604
(212) 501-7755

Rosh Hashanah Dessert Recipe: Plum Cake from Melissa Clark, with Chozen Ice Cream

Laura Weiss — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:34:24 +0000

For Rosh Hashanah, ditch the traditional honey cake and try Melissa Clark’s plum cake, maybe with a scoop of Chozen’s intensely rich kosher ice cream, on top. (Mix up your holidays and pick Matzoh Crunch.)

Clark has a new cookbook out–In he Kitchen with A Good Appetite–which I’ll review later this week. Meanwhile, she continues to write her breezy recipe column every week in the Times. Last week, she offered up a recipe for plum cake to for Rosh Hashanah. It sounds divine, and maybe even a little nutritious.That’s appropriate, after all, for wishing your loved ones a happy, healthy new year!

Click here for the recipe for Crunchy-topped Whole Wheat Plum Cake.