Homemade Nutella!
Oh man, I am excited about this one!
Whilst perusing my new farmer’s market last weekend I spotted some locally grown hazelnuts. I somehow talked myself out of getting them with thoughts like “you have a freezer filled with nuts” and “you’re on a budget.” But a week later I woke up and begged John to drive me back to the market so I could get some. I just couldn’t stop thinking about them! And when I am thinking about hazelnuts, I am thinking about nutella, that sweet chocolate hazelnut spread that dreams are made of. I personally think of nutella as culinary crack, but I never buy it because of all the yucky stuff and puffed up oils inside of it. BUT WHAT IF I COULD MAKE MY OWN?!?! And what better way to try than with some locally grown heirloom hazelnuts?
So, first I roasted the hazelnuts, until I could smell them.
Then I unsuccessfully attempted to rub their skins off. Either I am not very good at this, or this particular variety is very attached to it’s skin. I gave up and tossed them in the food processor. I blended them for a good 5 minutes, until I had a smooth and liquid butter.
Then I mixed in cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. I blended that for 15 seconds and then drizzled in the canola oil. And there it was. Beautiful nutella.
Except it was a tad grainy, since I am not a commercial nut factory. So I strained it, which took some muscle (this stuff is THICK) and I had to call in the reserves.
And then we ate it. On some banana bread that I just HAPPENED to have lying around. And it was delicious. Like a nuttier, more intense version of nutella. A grown up version, if you will. I smell christmas presents…
In case anyone’s curious about the actual nuts, I used Duchilly Hazelnuts from Holmquist Hazelnut Orchard. As someone who grew up munching on local pecans, I am a BIG fan of locally sourced tree nuts. So I’m very excited to have found a yummy hazelnut farm, I suspect there will be lots of hazelnut desserts in the near future!
NUTELLA RECIPE:
2 cups hazelnuts
6 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
– Roast hazelnuts in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.
– Put roasted hazelnuts in food processor and puree for 5 minutes, until very smooth.
– Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Puree for 15 seconds and then stream in canola oil.
– Strain and spoon into jars.
– If you plan on having it around for more than a few days, store it in the refrigerator. Because it thickens when cold, you will need to bring it to room temperature before using.
Pie Dough. The Movie. Except Without Pictures.
Wow.
Remember that hole Orangette fell down? I was warmly welcomed into it this week! I have been working every single day and therefore have had literally no time for cooking at home. It’s my first day off in 7 days (and we’re talking 11 hour shifts here! (which I LOVE, in case Brandon or Molly are reading)), so I will be spending the day with John, exploring this fine city (finally!) and shopping for things to fill up our house. But people want some pie dough! So pie dough it is. Except my pie dough is kind of labor-intensive, so I’m just gonna tell you about it rather than actually make and document it. I think I can get away with this, and you’ll understand how in a second.
So. My pie dough technique is not a traditional one. If you’ve spent some time with sweet doughs (of the non-yeasted variety), you know they basically differ in 2 areas: the ratio of fat to flour, and how that fat is incorporated. Traditional pie dough involves a ratio of 3:2:1, with the fat cut into small chunks (it’s called the biscuit method). Those fat chunks will melt into pockets when the dough bakes, causing flakes. Puff dough involves a ratio of 1:1, meaning there is exactly the same amount of fat as there is flour. That’s what makes it so sinful and delicious. That and the fact that the butter is encased in the dough and then rolled out and folded repeatedly, stretching the butter into sheets, which cause the dough to rise up as the butter melts in the oven. There is also what’s called a “quick puff”, which is a tad less work than traditional puff. In a quick puff dough, you mix large chunks of butter into the flour and mix with just enough water for it to clump together. Then you roll and fold it as if it were puff pastry.
My pie dough falls in the middle. I use the 3:2:1 ratio, but I treat the dough like a quick puff. There are other techniques (I use this one when making galettes, because I don’t want such intense flakes there), but I like this one the best for pies. I also use a 9″ fluted quiche pan, because A) I don’t have the patience to shape beautiful edges and B) those beautiful shapes will melt out of a truly flakey dough anyways.
Quick notes: Since quiche pans are quite a bit larger than traditional pie pans, you’ll need more dough than a normal recipe, and a bit more filling. Also, since this dough gets worked more than a traditional dough, I HIGHLY recommend using pastry flour rather than all-purpose, to keep it from getting tough and chewy. Because this technique takes a while and is pretty labor-intensive, I usually make rather large batches that I portion and freeze for later use. Just pull the dough out of the freezer and into the fridge 1 day before you want to bake it.
So. Let us begin. At the beginning.
PIE DOUGH RECIPE (one 9″ pie):
9oz pastry flour
6oz unsalted butter, cold
3oz water, cold
1/2 tsp salt
– Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place in the fridge to firm back up. It should be VERY cold.
– Dissolve the salt in the cold water and place in fridge.
– Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.
– Put half of the chunks of butter into the flour and mix in medium low speed. Using the paddle attachment, mix for 1-2 minutes, until the butter starts to break down into small pieces. At this point you are trying to coat the flour with the butter, which will help shorten the gluten in the dough, making it more tender.
– Put the other half of the butter in the flour-butter mixture. Mix for only 15 seconds, just to coat the butter.
– Pour in the water in a quick stream. Mix JUST until there isn’t a lot of dusty loose flour. I sometimes mix the rest of the loose flour in by tossing it around with my hands. You may need to add a bit of extra water, like another tablespoon or so. You want to see big butter chunks, but you want the dough to hold together.
– Pour the dough onto a parchment-covered sheet pan and pat into a rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
– Roll the dough into a long rectangular strip. Try to keep neat corners by using a bench scraper. Fold the strip into a book fold – there are picture directions for that here. It is OK that the dough looks all crazy right now, it will get smoother with each fold. Place back on sheet pan, wrap in plastic and put back in fridge for 30 minutes.
– Do that last step 2 more times.
– If you are making dough for more than 1 pie, chop up the dough into portions now. Let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour.
– Roll the dough into a disc that will fit into the pie pan. Gently place in the pan and smooth out the bottom. Use fingers to press sides into fluted edge. It is important to work fast while being careful to not stretch the dough, which will cause to shrink up. Place it in the freezer for 20 minutes. This will also help prevent shrinking. Go ahead and turn on the oven to 400 (375 convection). At this point I’m going to pull pics from old posts…
– Pull the pan out of freezer and place an 8″ round piece of parchment on top of the dough. It should fit neatly in the dough shell. Put an 8″ cake pan on top of the parchment. You should have just a little bit of space between the cake pan and the dough, because the dough will expand to hug the cake pan as it bakes. Fill the cake pan with beans. Then place something heavy on top of that (I use a round pizza stone). I know this seems excessive, but seriously that pie dough wants to puff up.
– Bake it at 400 for around 45 minutes, with a rotation after 25 minutes. It should be set up and almost cooked through, so that when you pull out the cake pan it doesn’t start rising or sinking at the sides. Lower the temperature by 50 degrees and bake for another 5-15 minutes, until the dough is fully baked and golden brown. It should look something like this.
– Let it cool on a rack and then fill it up with yummy stuff!
WHEW…That was a lot of typing! Good Luck!
Crabby Crabby
Hello from Seattle! It’s officially been 5 days and I still love it. The city and my new Ballard neighborhood continues to surprise me with awesomeness, and after 2 days at Delancey I feel like I’ve finally found my people. Homemade fabulousness like vinegars, ricotta salata, sausage (I get to break down giant pig parts!), pickles and ginger beer are everywhere. And then there’s dessert! So many ideas! It’s all so damn perfect and fun that I kid you not when I say I’ve been looking both ways extra hard when crossing the street, because it seems like the luck has to run out eventually.
I’m still setting up my new house, so I haven’t had much time to explore Seattle. But there was one thing that needed to happen as soon as the kitchen was put together: Purchase a crab. I know technically we had crab in San Francisco, but it just feels like once I’ve bought, cooked and eaten a crab here, then I’m home. Lucky for me crab season has just begun!
I bought one at the Pike Place Market, which is probably not that best option available here, but it was so perfect and Seattle-esque. I was busy (working!) at night, so I was thinking breakfast. And by breakfast I mean crab cake eggs benedict. We had the fish(monger?)guy scoop out the yucky bits, but we cracked into it ourselves. Which would have been easier with some proper gear, but we had some time to kill so we went at it with our hands. Actually my friend Scott, who traveled up with us from San Francisco to help up get settled in, did the cracking. He now tells me that a crab cracker is highly recommended.
I wanted a light crab cake, without a lot of bread filler so the crab flavor comes through. I tossed the meat with garlic, lemon, jalapeno, dijon, mayonnaise, egg yolks, salt, pepper and cayenne.
I formed little patties and set them in the fridge for a bit.
While they were chilling, me and Scott made a lemony hollandaise sauce. I have to say, hollandaise sauce is one of those things that just REALLY tastes better when made yourself. Maybe it’s watching all that clarified butter go in. It just makes it taste so much more decadent.
Once my sauce was finished, I tossed the cakes in panko crumbs and fried them until they were crispy and browned.
We toasted some muffins and poached some eggs while the crab cakes stayed warm in the oven. Then we stacked them all up and poured on the sauce. And wow. WHAT a breakfast! A fantastic breakfast for a fantastic new beginning. NOW it feels like I live here.
CRAB CAKES RECIPE:
8oz crab meat
1 garlic clove
1/ 2 lemon juiced
1 lemon zested
1 small jalapeno
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 TBSP mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper
pinch cayenne
panko crumbs
oil for frying
– Mix everything but the oil and panko together in a bowl.
– Form patties and let them sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
– Coat cakes with panko crumbs.
– Fry in oil for 2 minutes on each side, until browned.
– Place in 300 degree oven for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking.
Hello Seattle! And Thomas Keller’s Leek Bread Pudding.
I love it. All of it. I know it won’t last long, but the sun has been shining (in that low to the ground winter up north sort of way, but still) since we arrived and there’s talk of snow (!) next week. We’re finally emerging from a mountain of boxes, IKEA furniture, keeping the kitty from having a nervous breakdown and all the random details of moving and I am just beaming. Our new house is adorable, we ate dinner at Delancey last night, and I start my new job there tomorrow.
SO! EXCITED!
But for now, another post about Thanksgiving. Yes…I’m aware that that happened a week ago, but I have been a little busy. And without a kitchen and/or pots and pans. So, anyways, Thanksgiving. I have no love for turkey roasting. I’ll eat it once it’s there, and I enjoy the gravy making part, but I’m just not that into turkey. This year I hosted a dinner and my close friends Jennifer and Tom volunteered to roast the turkey. This made me extremely happy, because it allowed me to focus on the parts I DO love, like veggies and pie. To switch it up a bit, I decided to forgo a stuffing and replace it with a savory bread pudding. It was a risky move, since there were some stuffing lovers in the mix, but it worked out very well. I poked around in my cookbooks and found a recipe for leek bread pudding in Thomas Keller’s new book “ad hoc at home” (which is now officially my favorite of his). It looked absolutely perfect. And I just love leeks.
First I sauteed the leeks in butter for a while, until they were nice and squishy.
Then I layered a baking pan with the cheese, toasted brioche cubes, fresh thyme and the cooked leeks.
I poured a custard into the pan, and pressed all the bread in, making sure everything was wet. I let it soak for about an hour.
Then I baked it until it was bubbly and set in the middle. And it was fabulous. There was so much cream in the custard that it was super rich, which is not so perfect for every day, but just right for a Thanksgiving tummy blowout. Next time though, I’m kinda thinking bacon.
LEEK BREAD PUDDING RECIPE (Thomas Keller):
2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices leeks (white and light green parts only)
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
12 cups 1-inch cubes crustless Brioche or Pullman sandwich loaf
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
3 large eggs
3 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup shredded Comté or Emmentaler
– Preheat the oven to 350°F.
– Put the leek rounds in a large bowl of tepid water and swish so that any dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl. Set a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, lift the leeks from the water, drain, and add them to the pan. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. As the leeks begin to soften, lower the heat to medium-low. The leeks will release liquid. Stir in the butter to emulsify, and season with pepper to taste. Cover the pan with a parchment lid, and cook, stirring every 10 minutes, until the leeks are very soft, 30 to 35 minutes. If at any point the butter breaks or looks oily, stir in about a tablespoon of water to re-emulsify the sauce. Remove and discard the parchment lid.
– Meanwhile, spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until dry and pale gold. Transfer to a large bowl. Leave the oven on.
– Add the leeks to the bread and toss well, then add the chives and thyme.
– Lightly whisk the eggs in another large bowl. Whisk in the milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg.
– Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread half the leeks and croutons in the pan and sprinkle with another 1/4 cup cheese. Scatter the remaining leeks and croutons over and top with another 1/4 cup cheese. Pour in enough of the custard mixture to cover the bread and press gently on the bread so it soaks in the milk. Let soak for about 15 minutes.
– Add the remaining custard, allowing some of the soaked cubes of bread to protrude. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top and sprinkle with salt.
– Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pudding feels set and the top is brown and bubbling.
The Henderson Family Chocolate Meringue Pie
It’s not so big here on the west coast, but in the South every family has a chocolate meringue pie recipe. It’s a source of pride, even if it involves cool whip and instant jello pudding (yuck!). This pie has been in my family as long as I have (I suspect longer), and I am proud to say that it is about the only thing my father makes from scratch — well, except for the crust, but one day I’ll show him the light. It’s a fairly simple pie, but it does take a little while to set up, so it’s best to be made in the morning or the day before it’s to be eaten.
First, since this pie will not be baked, a completely baked crust.
Then I made a chocolate pudding, which mostly involves a lot of stirring. Since there are egg yolks in the pudding, I poured it through a sieve.
And then filled my pie shell.
Then I made a meringue (actually my friend Pantea made the meringue, because it was Thanksgiving and I was doing 13 other things).
We used our fingers to pull strands of meringue into points, and then torched them until they were nice and golden. A word of warning: this is a messy pie. But it’s worth it.
CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE :
1 single crust pie pastry
Pudding:
2 cups sugar
6 TBSP flour
6 TBSP cocoa
1 tsp salt
6 egg yolks
4 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz unsalted butter
Meringue:
5oz egg whites
10oz sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
– Roll out pastry into a 12-13 inch circle, transfer and center into 9 inch pie pan. Place in freezer for 20 minutes.
– Line with foil, fill with weights (dried beans) and then bake in 400 degrees oven for about 20 minutes, or until beginning to brown and look set. Lower temperature to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and continue baking for another 10-20 minutes, until fully baked. Set on wire rack to cool.
– Mix sugar, flour, cocoa and salt in medium bowl. Mix in egg yolks. Mix in milk 1/2 cup at a time, to prevent lumps.
– Pour mixture into heavy bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. How long this takes seems to depend on whether the gods are smiling on you that day. But it should be really thick and starting to boil.
– Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Pour through sieve into bowl.
– Pour into cooled pie shell and chill in fridge for at least 4 hours to firm up.
– Place sugar and egg whites in kitchen-aid bowl. Place bowl in pan of simmering water and heat, stirring constantly, until the whites reach a temperature of 140. Remove from heat and whip on medium high until the meringue has cooled and tripled in volume. Beat in vanilla extract.
– Spread over cooled pudding and shape. Use a propane torch to toast meringue edges. Keep in fridge until ready to eat.
Thanksgiving Peanut Pie
Ahhhh…Thanksgiving. I just love Thanksgiving. The whole ritual of spending a whole day (sometimes 2! sometimes 3!) planning and creating a meal to eat with your loved ones, it just makes me glow. Like everyone, I have my traditions, particularly in the pie department. But this year I decided to try something new. I had bought this can of Lyle’s Golden Syrup ages ago, in a sentimental moment (it was big in Australia). I, of course, never used it because, well, it’s British and I don’t have any British cookbooks. Several years ago a peanut pie recipe caught my eye. I mentally bookmarked it, but never found the right time to make it. It’s funny, I’ll try all kinds of things with cakes, but I tend to get a little rigid with pies. They’re just SO much work! But anyways, this year I decided would be the one, the year I made peanut pie for Thanksgiving instead of pecan pie. It was a bold move. John was terrified since he feels a deep and personal connection with my pecan pie. I almost backed down, until I ran across a recipe for a peanut pie that called for golden syrup. It was basically a sign. So I made it.
First I pre-baked a shell. I tossed some dry roasted peanuts inside.
Then I made the goo filling, which I poured on top of the nuts.
And then I baked it for 45 minutes or so, until it was set in the middle. To be honest, I wasn’t totally in love with this pie. It kind of tasted like a Baby Ruth candy bar. After years of oohing and aahing at the idea of peanut pie, I had some serious expectations. But in the end, I had a hard time fighting off the “I’d rather be eating my pecan pie” feelings. But then again, I make a mean pecan pie.
NORTH CAROLINA PEANUT PIE RECIPE (adapted from Scratch Bakery):
1 fully baked pie crust
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 TBSP all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 large eggs
1 cup golden syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
– Preheat oven to 350.
– Rub seeds from vanilla bean into brown sugar to break up clumps.
– Whisk brown sugar, flour, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in medium bowl.
– Whisk eggs in another medium bowl to blend.
– Add brown sugar mixture to eggs.
– Add golden syrup, apple cider vinegar and melted butter to eggs and whisk to blend.
– Pour peanuts in pie crust. Pour in filling.
– Bake pie until filling is set, about 40 minutes.
What Hamburger Helper Wanted To Be When It Grew Up
I know, this post is really pushing it. Some of you will forever think I am just plain gross. It’s thanksgiving week and I’m posting a recreation of a classic Hamburger Helper dish. What can I say? I’m at home sick (it’s been a week, I’m dying here!), I’m moving to Seattle in 5 days, I want comfort food and I can’t help it, sometimes I just like to reverse engineer recipes. A year ago the chef at the restaurant I worked at cooked a family meal that smacked of Hamburger Helper, and since then I’ve been obsessed with recreating Cheeseburger Macaroni. But of course I needed to up the game, so I made it Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni. Well…duh…I think that was an obvious move. Definitely not a date night dish, but great for those nostalgic moments (I can admit it, I grew up in Alabama eating some pretty trashy food). Don’t judge me too harshly.
I started by slowly cooking the bacon, to render its fat. I probably cooked it for about 15 minutes on medium low.
Then I added a diced onion, a carrot, a green bell pepper and a jalapeno. I know technically there weren’t vegetables in the Hamburger Helper version, but come on people, we’re adults now. Kind of. I cooked those on medium until the onions started to turn translucent. Then I threw in 2 minced garlic cloves and cooked it all for a minute more.
Then I added some ground beef and chili powder. I cooked it all until the beef was nicely browned.
Then I added in tomato sauce, tomato paste and worcestershire sauce. I cooked that for about 10 minutes.
Then I added the sour cream and cooked it a few minutes longer. This is the part where it looks seriously unappetizing. But if you can hang in there, it’s worth it.
I turned off the heat and stirred in the cooked macaroni and the shredded cheddar cheese. I stirred it for a good while, to melt the cheese into the sauce. Then I added salt and pepper to my liking. And then I ate it. I’m not gonna lie, this recipe makes quite a lot of pasta. Probably enough to feed 6-8 people. But this one time, when I was testing out the recipe, 4 of us ate the entire thing. And then ate an apple pie. Shameful.
Bacon Cheeseburger Macaroni Recipe:
3 slices bacon, diced
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrot (optional)
1 jalepeno, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP tomato paste
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
12 oz macaroni, cooked and drained.
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
– Cook bacon on medium low heat until it is halfway cooked and releases it’s fat.
– Add onions, bell pepper, carrots and jalepeno and cook until onions are translucent.
– Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
– Add ground beef and chili powder and cook until browned.
– Add worcestershire, tomato paste, and tomato sauce and cook for 10 minutes.
– Add sour cream and cook for 5 minutes.
– Add noodles and stir well.
– Add cheese and stir well.
– Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Homemade Power Bars!
Things are a bit hectic around here these days. Moving is HAPPENING! We finally signed a lease on the cutest little house in Seattle, so now it’s packing, goodbye party planning, psychotic cooking of everything in the fridge so we don’t have to take it with us while trying to eat our way through a long list of restaurants and debating whether we can actually afford to replace all the furniture that we never liked anyways. And on top of all that, I’m sick with a cold. So what do we need for all of this? ENERGY! Homemade power bars have been on my list for a while. I actually made them for a hike that never happened, so they came in quite handy all week! Oh yeah, and they’re super easy. I used Heidi Swanson’s recipe from “Super Natural Cooking”, but then adapted it to the ingredients I had on hand. And I added in some maple syrup and upped the salt, because that’s how I roll.
First you throw a bunch of stuff in a bowl: oats, walnuts, flour, cereal, currants, ginger and coconut. Toss them around to coat everything in the flour.
Then I put the rest of the ingredients (rice syrup, maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt) in a saucepan and simmered them until they thickened.
I poured the hot syrup on top of the oat mixture and stirred it all around to coat.
I pressed it into a sheet pan and let it cool down for a few hours.
Then I cut them into cute little bars! I have to say, at first bite we were like, “Meh, tastes like popcorn”. But then we just kept eating them and by the end we were convinced they were good. Not really sure what that means. Definitely worth making but I suspect I’ll be changing them up a bit next time.
Power Bars Recipe (adapted by Heidi Swanson):
1 TBSP mild oil
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened brown rice cereal
1 cup dried currants
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
– Grease a pan with the oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.
– Mix the oats, walnuts, flour, cereal, currants, ginger and coconut together in a large bowl and set aside.
– Combine the rice syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until the syrup is evenly incorporated.
– Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.
Just Another Dirty Southern Brunch
Sometimes I just have these cravings…Southern cravings. They come on fast and hard and suddenly I just NEED to recreate something from my younger days. Yesterday I was entertaining friends for brunch. The night before, I was flipping through cookbooks, trying to find something complex and interesting to make. I was feeling particularly uninspired until I passed over a recipe for angel biscuits, which are basically biscuits leavened with yeast along with the more traditional baking powder. My mouth instantaneously started drooling as I recounted the feathery light biscuits the South is known for. And then there was nothing else I could possibly cook. There was no complicated quiche, no perfectly stacked benedict and certainly no fancy-pants pastry that could substitute for that biscuit. Thus, it was on.
And of course, where there’s biscuits, there’s bacon gravy.
But the biscuits. Did I mention they have yeast in them?
And of course, lard. Yes, I keep a block of lard in my freezer.
I rubbed the lard with some butter into my flour mixture.
And then poured in the yeast and some buttermilk.
I mixed (but just barely) that into a dough, pressed it out and stamped out my biscuits.
Then I let them rise by the fireplace until they were nice and puffed.
And then baked them until they had a nice crispy crust. And oh boy, they were yummy. Pretty much the perfect biscuit. So good that it almost seemed like a waste to pour gravy all over them. Not that that stopped me.
But could I stop with the biscuits and gravy? No. I wanted more. I wanted dirty. I wanted pimento cheese. Chances are that if you live on the wrong (or right) side of the mason-dixon line, you’ve never heard of such a thing. Let me tell you, it is kinda gross. And delicious. Think cheddar. Mixed with roasted peppers (In the South they have these jarred pimentos, I have no idea what makes those so special or why you can only get them there). And mayonnaise. Oh yes, I went there.
But since I DO have my limits, I at least made my own mayonnaise. Because that jarred stuff gives me the willies.
In a big bowl I threw in shredded cheddar, finely diced roasted red peppers, paprika, cayenne and some black pepper.
And stirred in my mayonnaise. Like I said, Dirty. It was not a brunch for the delicate eater, and I suspect I actually scarred Tessa (even though I totally caught her dipping a finger in the pimento cheese when she thought no one was looking), but it was worth the heartburn.
ANGEL BISCUITS RECIPE (adapted from Edna Lewis):
1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP salt
4 oz lard, cold
4 oz butter, cold
melted butter for brushing the biscuits
– Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the room temperature buttermilk.
– Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt i a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Using your fingers, rub in the lard and butter, being careful to keep large flat pieces.
– Stir in the yeast and buttermilk and mix until just blended.
– Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times, to make smooth. Roll to a thickness of 1/2″ and stamp out biscuits.
– Place biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
– Brush tops with melted but and bake in a preheated 450 oven for about 12 minutes, until golden brown.
Bourbon Pecan Praline!
Yesterday a friend emailed asking me for a good southern praline recipe. I vaguely remembered someone making it at Tartine and found the recipe in their cookbook. I know, being from Bama I should consult some relative back home, or at least some dusty old stack of secret southern recipes. But the last recipe for candy my grandmother shared called for paraffin wax (like IN the brittle – YUCK!) and I have my limits. After typing up the recipe for her, it was all I could think about. I had all the ingredients already, so it seemed like a waste to NOT make some…
I started by toasting the pecans for a few minutes, to perk them up.
Then I mixed the sugar, cream, butter, salt, molasses and bourbon in a largish pot.
I let that boil, stirring occasionally, until it reached 240 degrees.
I let it sit in the pot cooling, still stirring occasionally, until it reached 210 degrees. I stirred in the toasted nuts, making sure to get them well coated. Then I poured the mixture out on a sheet pan. I let it cool for 1 minute to start setting up, then sprinkled sea salt on top. Because I like my candy salty. You can omit that step if you prefer unadulterated sweetness.
After it cooled completely I broke the praline into chunks. And then started passing it out to anyone who walked by. Because this stuff is like crack. Pure candy crack. Definitely dangerous, definitely best to share it before I scarf it all down myself! And did I mention that it took like 20 minutes? So really, there are no excuses.
BOURBON PECAN PRALINE RECIPE (Tartine Bakery):
2 cups (10 oz) pecan halves
3 cups (21 oz) sugar
1 cup (8 oz) heavy cream
4 tbsp (2 oz) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsulphered molasses
2 tbsp bourbon
sea salt (optional)
– Preheat oven to 325
– Spread pecans on baking sheet and toast for 4 minutes. Let cool completely.
– Line another baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
– In a deep heavy bottom saucepan, combine sugar, cream, butter, salt, molasses and bourbon
– Cook over medium high heat, stirring to break up lumps.
– Bring to boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until it registers 240 on thermometer.
– Remove from heat and let cool until it reaches 210.
– Add the pecans and stir vigorously (you have to work fast because it will start to thicken).
– Pour mixture onto the sheet pan and let it cool for 1 minute.
– Sprinkle on sea salt.
– Let cool for an hour and then break into chunks.
I made that! 
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