Halloween

October 28, 2018January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 3 Comments

The dying lawn has received its annual farewell with a confetti of fallen red and gold leaves. Our quiet street outside my kitchen window is slick with intermittent drizzle. The sky is a muted white, a complete cloud covering above–the underpainting for stark brown lines of trees. A skeleton sits in a shallow grave on our front lawn. Fun-sized chocolate candies are scattered among the house. It must be Halloween.

No where to go this Sunday. No place to rush off to. We stay inside while our bodies and minds are allowed the space they need (following a very busy summer into early fall schedule) to settle and restore; to quiet down.

Last January I submitted my last post to Madison Magazine, completing the end of my contract. For the first time in three years, I did not renew. With the exception of continuing my daily journal-writing practice, I promised myself I wouldn’t write for several months. I had decided that I was constantly putting my words out, leaving little time for replenishment. Instead I read novels and put the cookbooks down. I read less of the New York Times Food section and more of the Science Times. I purged my cookbooks and sold what no longer suited me. I cleaned the house. We had a yard sale offering what we had outgrown.

I had coffee with friends without looking for a story about the shop. I let my subscription to Bon Appetit magazine run out. And I cooked plain food for my family–mostly without recipes and mostly from what we had on hand in the freezer or pantry.

I worked my shifts at the bakery and simply did the work that was in front of me, without stressing over deadlines or questioning what it was I was doing with my life (Ok, at first I did do a little of that). But mostly I just trusted myself and waited patiently for my hunger to return.

And now I am feeling hungry; for food I make with my own two hands in my home kitchen for my family and friends. I am hungry for the family table, for a little more slow-down time–for glowing candles and a wreath of pine, birch, acorns. For the scent of cider warming on the stove with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel. For apple cakes and beef stew.

Roasted Butternut Squash soup with pear, ginger & jalapeño

November 3, 2016January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 4 Comments

The first time I made this soup it was Fall 2008 but chances are pretty good that it was several years before that when I clipped the recipe from Country Living magazine. This soup reminds me of long days in our first home with a baby or two. Of stroller walks on colorful tree-lined streets to Whole Foods Market–all of us bundled against the crisp air.

When what I was hoping for was a long stretch of nap so I could make this soup and have it on the table for dinner –whatever time that could be. When the sound of a train whistle in the distance announced that the husband would be rounding our corner at any moment, hungry and tired, carrying the scent of a lower Manhattan autumn day. Of Penn Station roasted nuts and subway steam pushing up through rusty sidewalk grates.

These days I am inclined to take my bowlful of soup outside, along with my long quilted winter coat, a heavy blanket and wool mittens and sit on the front porch glad for the twilight and the chill against my cheeks.

1 large butternut squash or 2 small ones (3-4 pounds total)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)
1 chopped shallot (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded and chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
11/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (about 2 cups: I used Bartlett)
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (leaves only)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place seeds up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in a 400° F oven. Add about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan and roast until tender, until easily pierced with a fork. Should take 45 minutes to an hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the seeds with a spoon. Scoop out the flesh, leaving behind the peel, and mash coarsely. At this point you may refrigerate the squash overnight and continue making the soup the next day.

In a Dutch oven or 6-quart saucepan, heat oil and add onion, shallot, ginger, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until onion is soft and begins to turn light brown (10 minutes or so). Add pears and cook another 5 minutes. Measure 3 cups of mashed squash and add to the Dutch oven and cook another 5 minutes.

Stir in the stock, honey and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Purée in batches in a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender–way less work and mess–and return to the pot. Stir in cream and keep warm. Do not boil.

Sunday’s Caramel Tart

October 25, 2016January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ Leave a comment

This morning I’m up at 5 to see the husband and Auggie off on a long drive north for a day of championship mountain bike racing. As soon as I hear the truck pull out of the driveway, I pour a cup of coffee and take the caramel tart I made yesterday out of the refrigerator.

It was late last night (know that these days “late” for me means somewhere around 9 pm) when the tart had cooled enough to be put in the fridge for at least a 2-hour chill. By that time I was tucked in and fast asleep.

When the Hubs saw the pre-baked tart shell he said, “Is that for apples?” When I answered No, that it would be filled with caramel. He whined, “Caramel?”

Yes Dear. Caramel. Dorie Greenspan’s from her book, Baking Chez Moi. And with that, he was back in the living room watching the Badger football game. He was going to be okay.

So this morning, alone, hours from daylight, I peel back the layers of Saran wrap, quietly cut a slice and enjoy every smooth mouthful all along considering this a very good first breakfast (no need to set a good example–there no signs of Fritz or Harriet stirring in their beds at this point).

It tastes as it should (I am encouraged), a rich caramel filling uncomplicated in its most basic buttery-ness. The shortbread crust is pleasantly sweet with good crunch and somewhat forgiving in that, by choosing to piece the dough together in the pan rather than rolling it out, I’m sure I overworked it a bit.

The first time I made the caramel for this dessert, I forgot to add the warm cream at the end. This soon became a clumpy mess (alarmingly so) when I attempted to add the caramel mixture (minus the cream) to the bowl of creamed-together sugar and eggs. I had to start over which wasn’t too bad–well having to get dried caramel off of the pan, and off the spatula and whisk was a pain in the ass–but then it was only a matter of boiling sugar, water and a few drops of lemon juice to get things rolling again.

One more misstep ensued. In my haste to get this into the oven and get dinner started, I forgot that this recipe calls for a 9-inch tart pan and I have an 8-inch. Because I overfilled the pan, the baking time increased by almost twice as much, which resulted in a slightly browned top (not the autumnal sunset color I was hoping for). At least I remembered to place the tart on a parchment-lined baking sheet otherwise I’d be subjecting my family to the assaulting stink of burnt sugar for a long, long time.

Still Dorie’s caramel tart, of which I adapted not a single thing, tastes divine as it should. A dollop of chantilly cream and a few shavings of bittersweet chocolate on top solves the less-than-perfect aesthetic issue. I would serve this smoldering dessert to dinner guests without apology.

If you’d like the recipe, feel free to leave me a message in the comments. I’d love to share it with you.

Epicuriously yours,

Kathy

#MadLunchSquad

October 20, 2016January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ Leave a comment

Last month I announced on Facebook that I was hoping to gather interested friends to have lunch with me at a newly located restaurant in Madison. I made a reservation for five and in no time I had received confirmation from four individuals allowing me to easily fulfill the reservation. Ruth Reichl, the award-winning author, one-time New York Times restaurant critic and the last editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine, promised me in an interview I conducted with her a couple of years ago that foodies find foodies. I feel it’s time I find mine.

What’s great about this group is that its purpose is to be fluid and ever-evolving, quite possibly never the same group twice. I announce the restaurant on my FB page and friends can decide if they’re interested in that particular menu of the month. There is so much diversity in Madison’s food scene that there is sure to be a restaurant offering for everyone interested in going out for lunch and meeting new friends.

That’s what happened last month at Madison RED, a favorite sushi restaurant. Although I knew all the women sitting around the table, few of them knew each other. Before we even ordered our rolls we had come to be fast friends and actually came up with a name for ourselves. We are Madison’s Lunch Squad.

Because I couldn’t help but take a few notes, I thought I’d share with you my impression of the new space.

Farewell to RED Sushi, the cozy raw joint of King Street and Hello to the lady in red–Madison RED Dine Lounge, now on West Washington Avenue. Dressed to the nines in red, black and gold; draped with sparkling stainless chandeliers, the new restaurant looks as if it has matured from what was once an intimate locale just off the capital square.

The bar now is an expression of sophistication and good taste, sweeping through the room like the train of an elegant evening gown, adorned with intimate booths cradling smartly-dressed guests. Chopsticks pirouette over creative rolls and sashimi, seared filet mignon and halibut. On a recent lunch date with friends, we each enjoyed the two-roll lunch special for $13. A toothsome favorite was the tropic bintoro roll (see above)—spicy, buttery albacore tuna, sweet tempura-battered mango, cuddled with smooth avocado.

Both raw and cooked as well as vegetarian rolls are offered. Whichever rolls you choose, consider getting the pork bun as an appetizer and the sweetly seasoned seaweed salad with crunchy cucumber slices involved in your dining daydream.

See you this month at a yet to be disclosed location!

#Madlunchsquad

Peanut Butter Cookies-The Sugar Season Has Begun

November 7, 2015January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 3 Comments

I have many random things to tell you and somehow my meandering thoughts have to lead you to this amazing peanut butter cookie recipe. Where to begin…well for one, I’ve been reading so many tips and strategies for making this blog kick ass. Reading, reading, snore, reading some advice, like “allow your readers to enter into your life…make them feel as if they know you…maybe share a little more…” The take-away, tell your story–throw your family and friends under the bus in your writing.

“What is your niche? Define your niche. Now define your niche even more. Good, now shrink it down even more…”

“Post more frequently, include stellar photos, comment on other blogs. Before hitting ‘publish’ ask yourself if your readers will answer ‘Yes!’ to the following: Is this post relevant to me? Is this valuable to me? Can I trust this?”

It’s a lot to think about, too much to analyze and leaves me with the question, What if my blog is average? Could I be happy with that? Fuck NO! Can I swear on my own blog? I don’t even know!

My husband and three kids are my world and they are the reason for this blog. Those of you who have been with me since my first post (April, 2012) know that I am living with four really picky and unreasonable eaters (my middle son, of whom from this day forth shall be known to all as “Fritz,” is open to new recipes and unfamiliar flavors with the exception of bananas and Indian food–he won’t even try it…yet).

My oldest son, my teenager–we’ll call him “Augie,” won’t try a single new food. But wait! A few months ago, he tried, for the first time, brisket! Of all things! And, it was at a friend’s house. Did you hear my voice get low and deep with indignation just now?!

Like all good mothers, I blame myself. He was my first and everything I fed him was organic and sterilized and didn’t contain any GMOs or pesticides or high-fructose corn syrup. I didn’t allow him to put Heinz ketchup on his mini grass-fed burgers that I shaped using only my thumb and index finger.

The girl. The baby of the family. The one I’ve renamed for this blog, Harriet. I believe I still have a chance with this one. “What’s that smell?”she’ll ask in a way that makes me think my turkey meatloaf baking in the oven isn’t triggering her gag reflex. Will she taste it though? Nope. She’ll stick to her bowl of plain pasta (no butter, no sauce, no cheese, everything that says I love you, Harriet she denies night after night).

Some of you know him. Some of you love him, despite knowing him. He’s the Hubbas. And sometimes he can be a giant ~~pain in the~~ kid when it comes to trying new foods. We’ve been together for twenty-three years now and you know, he really had me duped in those first years–taking me on dates to schwanky restaurants in NYC, telling me things like, “I’ve tried alligator.” Blah. Whatever. Now I say things like, Why won’t you try this hummus I made for Pete’s sake?! Honestly, he’ll try pigeon and a gray spoonful of rabbit pate at a fancy restaurant on the rare occasion that we dine to that fancy extent, but he’ll sit there at our kitchen table and pick out every little teensy tiny piece of onion or garlic or tomato from my tomato sauce.

Of course, he has good qualities. We’ve been married for sixteen years and I haven’t been in a coma for any of them. He’s crazy. He thinks I need prescription drugs or at the very least, a therapist, and yet, this is our glue. Together we make a pretty great life for us and for our kids. I told him the other day, “You know, I appreciate that every day you keep showing up…just wanted you to know that I notice these things.” We are a dysfunctional combo at times, but after all these years, we keep showing up every day. So we’ve got that.

I’m letting loose, dear readers. You want some pretty great recipes? You will have them. I will do all the research for you, I will blow things up in my kitchen so you don’t have to. But I promise you, it will come with a tale or two of chaos.

How can I get to that peanut butter cookie recipe from here? I know! Sometimes, just before dinner is ready, pots are bubbling on the stove, the table is set, the Hubbas will eat a spoon of peanut butter from the jar which says to me, “Maybe I shouldn’t eat what you’re making for dinner on an empty stomach.” Hmph!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate

I gleaned this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, of which Deb, the author based on NYC’s Magnolia Bakery. Not only does this recipe have peanut butter in it but it also has those addictive peanut butter chips. Double peanut and if that’s not crazy enough, there are chocolate chips as well. And, if you happen to have any peanut butter cups leftover from Halloween (I know, who am I kidding?) chop up a handful and toss them in.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (commercial brand only–no natural, organic…)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I chopped bittersweet chocolate–Ghirardelli 60 % instead of using chips for more even distribution)
For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine

Preheat the oven to 350 °

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Grab another large bowl into which you will beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and make sure it’s mixed in well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Then the flour mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a wooden spoon stir in the peanut butter chips and the chocolate chips/pieces.

Place the tablespoon of sugar on a dinner plate, then using an ice cream scoop, drop rounded spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the plate of sugar. Roll them around and space apart by several inches onto an ungreased (parchment-lined is even better) cookie sheet. Using a fork or the back of an offset spatula and gently press down. Do not smush the cookies. We don’t want pancakes.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake. In my opinion, a slightly, chewy, under baked cookie is way better than a dry, over done one.

Smitten Kitchen offers, “Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.”

Cool on the sheets for 1 minute, then move the cookies over to a cooling rack and watch them be devoured by your family (and you) before they have cooled completely.

** I doubled the recipe. Then dropped ice-cream-scoop-size portions onto a cookie sheet. Froze them like that, uncovered, then placed them in a Zip-loc baggie. I can now bake a couple at a time any time I want. Baking time will take longer.

Damn! That’s good pumpkin bread

October 7, 2015January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 1 Comment

It doesn’t take long for me to jump aboard the pumpkin band wagon. Once the month of October hits, all I see is orange: orange leaves, orange sunsets, orange food.

This damn good pumpkin bread is decadent and moist and was the offering in last week’s Give It Away— half of what I bake each week goes to whomever you tell me could use a little something sweet in their day–and was delivered by me to a lovely and very happily surprised mom/grandma.

The aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg simmering down with pumpkin in the kitchen is so warm and soothing that it takes the sting out of summer’s leaving. You’ll find the traditional pumpkin bread ingredients in this post with a few surprises (okay, cream cheese!). However, and this is a big HOWEVER, leave it to Cooks Illustrated to find a way to make pumpkin taste even more autumnal and less like the can from whence it came. This recipe has you cooking the pumpkin down with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, the season’s beloved trinity of spices, into an almost custard before combining with the remaining ingredients.

This makes two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaves or one 9×5-inch loaf pan with extra batter to make muffins.

Damn, that’s good pumpkin bread!, adapted from Cooks Illustrated October 2012 issue:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter pans (bottoms and sides). After you butter the pans you can lay a piece of parchment paper in the bottom and butter again.

For the Streusel:

5 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
*1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

*lay a single layer of walnuts in a non-stick pan on top of the stove and warm until you can smell them. Stay close, they can burn quickly. Take off the heat and when cool, turn them out onto a cutting board and with your chef’s knife, give them a rough chop. Leave them as big or as small as you would like them to feel in your mouth.

Into a small bowl mix all this together using your fingers (not hands) until you see what looks like wet sand.

For the pumpkin bread:

Into a medium bowl, whisk together:

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Next, into a medium saucepan, combine:

1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg (ground is fine)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Cook the pumpkin mix on medium heat, stirring constantly until reduced to a cup and a half. This took me approximately 8 minutes. I set a timer.

Then remove the pot from the heat and stir in until combined:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces (at room temperature)

Important: Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes. This will melt the cream cheese.

In the meantime, whisk together:

4 large eggs (at room temperature)
1/4 cup buttermilk (give the container a good shake first)

After those 5 minutes, add the egg mixture to the pot and give it all a good whisking!

Finally,

Gently fold in the flour mixture just until combined. Small lumps of flour will remain. Do not over mix. This will make the difference in your pumpkin bread turning out moist and light. No gummy texture!

Ready to Bake:

Scrape batter into pans. Fill each no less than half-way, but leave 1/2 inch of space from the top.

Into the oven. Start checking for doneness after 25 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. About 35 minutes.

Give It Away Now

September 28, 2015January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 4 Comments

Back in November of this year, I wrote a post about Banana Bread, a Spoon and Some Bourbon and probably the best recipe I found for it. It called for Bourbon, an ingredient I didn’t have on hand, nor did I keep it in the house at the time. I made it without and it was delicious. But I have some now, some Bourbon and last week I baked a couple of mini loaves with it and it’s good. The banana flavor is more concentrated, more caramel-y. And, this may be the Bourbon talking, but more in love with this recipe am I.

Here’s a ~~problem~~ opportunity. I love to bake. Why? For the good, good smells it puts in my house. Aromas that wipe out, if only momentarily, the stink of football equipment and teenage sneakers. For the meditative quality–I cannot talk to /think about you, this or that because I’m measuring, kneading, counting, and God help me–figuring out some stuff that looks a lot like math in my head–temperatures, timing, doubling and what not.

For the challenge of producing something that will take me back to the comforts of my mother’s kitchen. But baking a couple times a week means indulging in too much of a good thing and therein lies the ~~problem~~ opportunity to give it away. And so in a moment of enlightenment (probably from all that baking meditation I’ve done) I figure that I need to spread the love –give half of everything I bake away.

But I can’t do it alone and I need you to write to me and tell me who could use a little something sweet in their day. So here’s my thought. I’ll bake and then post the offering on The Little Blue Apron’s Facebook page. You private message me (first “Like” my page to be sure to get my updates) with your top pick of who needs a sweet pick-me-up and I’ll deliver it before 3pm that day with a note from you (on a little birdie note card) unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

Here’s what happiness looked like last week.

That’s all. That’s One Love y’all.

Kat

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Swirls of Ice Cream & Rainbow Sprinkles

September 17, 2015January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 4 Comments

What’s been going on in my kitchen lately? A lot of dreaming along with quick looks of longing from me in the direction of my silent stand mixer. Warm August afternoons when I didn’t dare turn on the oven. Long days that turned quickly into nights of cool sheets gathered around my exhausted body.

Chatter of children growing older. Sons making reasonable arguments for more independence and freedom from their mother’s watchful eyes. And the youngest, the daughter, in a daring feat on the monkey bars miscalculating a brave leap across four bars and breaking her arm completely. A playground accident setting off a long night of ambulance rides and emergency rooms. An open fracture requiring surgery at four am and a three-day stay in a children’s hospital. Casted from her hand to her shoulder in mid-July. A summer of swimming and soccer ends abruptly, becomes one of inside art projects, card games along with her intermittent melt-downs ending in tears.

Imprisoned in fiberglass, she shouts

“It’s hot!”

“It itches!”

And rubbing it hard back and forth against the kitchen table where I sit trying to describe something I had eaten recently for the magazine, she rages, “I want this off!”

And the boys, the 10-year-old and the 14-year-old talking over her, at me, telling me that they are leaving, heading off somewhere to ride their bikes.

The door slams shut. I don’t think I heard what they said–where they were going. But now my broken 8-year-old has climbed into an awkward pile upon my lap. And I rock her while looking for a place against my body where I might keep her arm safe.

Why didn’t I make something in the kitchen with her? In all that time we spent together in the cool house? I don’t know. I thought about it. But this summer, comfort didn’t come in the form of creating meals together. In moments of calm, it came in swirls of ice cream and rainbow sprinkles.

Every Girl’s Gotta Have a Theme Song & A Great Recipe for Pie Crust

November 11, 2014January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been baking pies since the nineties, as well as sweating over making my own pie crust. But I am here today to tell you how silly it is to fear something that is so simple to make. I’m writing this post not just for you, but for me as well. Because even though I finally feel like I can do it — make my own darn good pie crust, I’m telling you, that the very next time I decide to bake a pie, I’m going to sweat a little.

What is it that has so many home bakers so nervous? I can’t tell you how often I hear, especially at this time of year, “I can’t make pie crust.” You can. And so can I, make really great pie crust that’s flaky and tasty. Now let’s get on with our flaky, tasty bad selves and get over our pie crust making fears once and for all!

Let’s begin with vodka and the genius’ behind the Cooks’ Illustrated Foolproof Pie Dough that appeared in the November 2007 issue. Now, full disclosure here…I never actually saw this issue, but I did hear about it around the foodie water cooler.

It seems that a little vodka added when mixing the pie crust will boost the crust’s flakiness, and that good pie crust can really use the extra liquid when bringing the dough together. Unlike water, however, vodka will evaporate when baking, leaving behind a very tender and flaky crust. Important Note!! Remember that even though the finished baked pie crust will have no trace of alcohol in it, the raw crust is very boozy. Keep this in mind if your kids, like mine, like to take a nibble at the pie dough scraps left behind on the table.

I’ve got to credit Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/ again for this one. I found the Cooks Illustrated recipe on her site, because, much to my disappointment you cannot get recipes off the Cooks Illustrated website unless you pay for an online subscription, which, by the way, doesn’t just come along with the magazine subscription, of which I pay for and look forward to finding in my mailbox every month. I’m just saying I think it’s a disservice to home bakers, but we do have our ways of getting the recipes we need.

Time to break this down. This pie crust recipe has only seven ingredients, one of which is water. Easy right? And you probably have all of these in your kitchen right now: all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, vodka (Go, check your freezer. I’m sure it’s still there from that last party you threw. I’ll wait….).

A food processor is great, if you have one, but an even better appliance to have that will make this pie crust the best ever and make you a culinary sorceress among friends? A refrigerator/freezer! We’ve all got one. See that!

And away we go!

Foolproof Pie Dough — Cooks Illustrated, November 2007 as it appears on http://smittenkitchen.com/.

Makes enough for a one 9-inch double-crust pie

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening (I keep mine in the freezer and use it straight from there.), cut into small bits
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup water ( I took my water from my Brita and kept it in the measuring cup in the fridge until I needed it.)

First, slice the butter and cut up the shortening into small bits, then put it all back in the fridge until you need it. Mix the flour salt and sugar in a large bowl until combined.

Add butter and shortening and blend using a hand-held pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With a rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

To freeze: Triple wrap each disk and place in the freezer.

You have just made pie crust! All your ingredients were icy-cold and you barely touched it at all with your warm hands. It is going to be great.

So, let’s get rolling! Take only one disk out of the fridge at a time. The best method I’ve learned and the one that works well for me is rolling each disk out between two sheets of clear wrap. If your clear wrap isn’t wide enough, you might want to overlap two sheets on the bottom as well as two sheets on the top. Give your dough a couple of good whacks with your rolling pin then begin to roll back and forth a couple of times to get it going. Then, and this is from Julia Child, lay your pin about 1/4 way from the bottom of the dough and roll up, stopping about an inch from the top, give your dough a 1/4 turn clockwise and repeat with one smooth motion toward the top. Repeat, always a 1/4 turn and always clockwise until you have a pretty nice looking circle about 12 inches in diameter.

Gently peel back and remove the top piece of plastic wrap. Begin to roll it up onto your pin while removing the bottom piece of plastic wrap. Gently, unwind it from your pin laying it down into your pie plate. Carefully lift up the edges of the pie crust while lightly pressing the crust down into the bottom edges of the pan. Easy does it.

Now back into the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill it with something delicious. Repeat for the top crust. Don’t forget to vent. I used a small leaf-shaped cookie cutter to let the steam out of this apple pie.

Voilà!

Banana Bread — A Spoon and Some Bourbon

November 5, 2014January 16, 2019 ~ Katherine ~ 2 Comments

Oh Friends, I am writing to you in a state of pure olfactory pleasure — as my kitchen still carries the scent of perfectly baked banana bread from one heck of a winner of a recipe. Thank you! Thank you!, Deb Perelman of the absolutely delightful website titled: Smitten Kitchen and author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

The recipe I gleaned from Perelman’s site did not disappoint. The banana bread was moist, tender — not heavy at all, nor overly sweet and most deliciously seasoned with the spices of autumn — cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. Ohhhhhhh yummmmm.

Banana bread is one of those desserts? breakfast treats? quick breads? all of the above, Darlings, that we’ve all grown up with, right? Who has not taken a bite of banana bread, better yet, who hasn’t smelled it baking? It’s warm, it’s comforting, it is forgiveness itself when one, let’s say, has a rough morning getting the little beasts to school. Please interpret “beasts” as my beautiful children, of whom I adore. I do. I adore them.

But this morning, I’m not gonna lie. It just wasn’t perfect. It was pretty much ugly and awful. The kind of send-off that deserves some kind of recovery, some rehabilitation, gentle reflection — all in the form of baking banana bread in the aftermath of the tornado that was this morning’s drama-filled preparation for an otherwise ordinary school day. Yes, banana bread was the drink (alas, no, I could not find any bourbon in the house, so this time, this. Time. I left it out.), it was the Valium, it was the long run for some. Baking this little something sweet was how I worked it all out. It quite literally calmed my nerves while keeping my mind focused and my hands busy.

Ahhhh…..banana bread, which now that I think about it, begins by taking a few ugly, over-ripened bananas that seem to deserve no better than a dip in the garbage can. And yet, even in all their brown-spottiness, these bananas when mixed with some butter, some sugar, flour and spices bloom into something of joy and peace. Something deliciously soothing.

So, if you’re not as of yet acquainted with Ms. Perelman, I urge you to go, now, and take a little stroll through the lively streets of her website. This woman, out of her tiny Manhattan apartment, works on recipes from reputable sources such as Cooks Illustrated. Perelman then gives you her version of which recipe works best as tweaked by her, our culinary curious friend. She pretty much does all the work for us — takes away the guess-work as to whether or not the glossy recipe sitting in front of us will really work in our humble home kitchen.

Oooh, I think I’m going to change this blog’s byline to: With Love From Your Curiously Culinary Friend or Dame. I like the word, Dame… from my humble home kitchen to yours.

Here’s the recipe that worked very well for me as of this very morning:

Jacked-Up Banana Bread as it appears on the website: http://smittenkitchen.com/

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup (75 grams) melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup (145 to 190 grams) light brown sugar (I agree with Perelman and used the lesser amount. I also packed the sugar, but next time, for kicks I’ll weigh it out and see what the difference is.)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla
1 tablespoon (15ml) bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon (3 grams) cinnamon
Up to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ( I grated a fresh one, I’m sure ground is fine.)
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cups (190 grams) flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan ( I used two mini loaf pans instead). Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Note: It took just 35 minutes in my oven to bake the two mini loaves. After 20 minutes my home smelled divine. Stay around as your banana bread bakes, check after 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Be careful that you don’t get a false, too moist reading by spearing a banana. Use your nose to guide you. When it smells like banana bread baking in your kitchen, it’s soon to be done.

Voilà!

weighing ingredients rather than measuring is a game changer

“You carry all the ingredients to turn your existence into joy. Mix them, Mix them!” — from Hafiz, To Build a Swing