Entries Tagged as 'Comfort Food'

Homemade Chicken Stock

Monday, April 8, 2013

Homemade Chicken Stock - from agiltnutmeg.com

Nothing makes me feel more “Suzy Homemaker” than making homemade chicken stock.  You get more stock than you can use in a given time (freezer!), it tastes so much better than what comes out of a box and, incredibly, there’s almost nothing to clean up afterwards.  Throw the ingredients in a pot, turn on a movie for a few hours while it simmers, and voila: one step closer to being healthier and more homemade.

Homemade Chicken Stock
Loosely adapted from Martha Stewart

  • 1 roasted chicken carcass, most of the meat removed (*Note: this chicken was leftover from Easter; I brined it overnight in buttermilk and Williams-Sonoma Apples & Spice Turkey Brine)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 6 pieces
  • 1 large celery stalk, cut into 3 pieces
  • 1 medium white onion, peeled cut into 4 pieces
  • 3 large sprigs of parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon (at least) of other dried herbs: I used about 1/2 tsp of dried dill, 1/2 tsp dried tarragon and 1/2 tsp dried herbs de Provence (I used the herbs de Provence because I was out of dried thyme, which you can use instead)
  1. Combine all ingredients in a 6 qt stock pot, cover with water about an inch from the edge of the pot and bring to a fast simmer, but not a boil.
  2. Reduce heat to low, so that the simmer is very slow and leave uncovered for 2 hours.
  3. If foam appears, skim it off the surface.
  4. Once two hours is up, remove largest pieces of chicken and strain stock through a fine mesh sieve.
  5. Store in refrigerator until needed, or freeze if you won’t be using it in the next few days.
  6. Enjoy some tasty soups or risottos!  Best of all, you don’t always have to follow a soup recipe; throwing things together into a pot at random often delivers just as tasty a meal.  With the first half of this soup stock, I heated 5 cups of stock in a large pot, threw in 2 packs of ramen noodles (discarded the flavor packets), a few handfuls of sliced scallions, a few handfuls of frozen edamame, a Tablespoon or so of soy sauce and, after turning the heat off before serving, added some pre-cooked shrimp with the tails removed so they would heat up in the broth but not overcook.  Voila!  Asian-inspired almost-sort-of-but-not-really ramen soup that was super tasty.  Just decide on the flavor profile you’re craving and go wild!

Southern Caramel Cake

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Southern Caramel Cake from agiltnutmeg.com

My Aunt Fannie Mae is famous in my family for her Red Velvet cake.  As such, Red Velvet was the traditional Southern layer cake that I remember growing up with (well, that and the Coconut Cake we always had at Christmas, but that wasn’t homemade).  It wasn’t until recently that I started learning about other Southern layer cakes long steeped in tradition- Hummingbird Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and now Caramel Cake.  Out of those three I just listed, Caramel Cake “takes the cake” by far in my opinion (pun intended).  I mean, really:  it’s got fantastically fluffy yellow cake layered with frosting that tastes exactly like a Werther’s Original candy.  It was irresistible!  Granted, I don’t have an overly sweet-tooth, so only one slice was plenty for me, but that one slice was outstanding.  The one tricky aspect was the frosting-as it cools, a crystallized sugar crust forms on the frosting (delish!) instead of whipped soft creaminess of buttercream frosting, so you have to frost quickly and not aim for too smooth a finish.

Southern Caramel Cake from agiltnutmeg.com

Southern Caramel Cake
from America’s Test Kitchen Season 12

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks (16 Tbs) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbs) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened, divided into 8 Tbs and 4 Tbs
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray two 9″ round cake pans with baking spray.
  2. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt at low speed with an electric mixer.
  4. Add the butter, one piece at a time, until the chunks are no bigger than pea-sized.
  5. Add half of the buttermilk mixture to the butter-dry ingredients mixture and beat for one minute on medium speed until fluffy.  Slowly pour in the rest of the buttermilk and continue to beat on medium speed until just incorporated.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  While the cakes are baking, if you have just one bowl for your stand mixer and it is now dirty, take the time to wash it because you’ll need it for the frosting.
  7. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes before removing them from pans and letting them finish cooling on wire racks before frosting.  If your cakes rose a bit too much in the middle, let them cool and then level off the tops with a serrated knife before frosting.  I’ve also seen caramel cake with 4 very thin layers of cake instead of 2 thick layers.  To do this, equally cut the 2 individual cakes horizontally so that you end up with 4 thinner cake layers and frost a thin layer between each layer of cake.
  8. In a large saucepan, melt together the first 8 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar and salt.  When small bubbles appear around the edge of the pot after 5 or so minutes, whisk in the heavy cream and heat until the bubbles appear again a minute later. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract.
  9. Pour the sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl and turn the electric mixer on to low.  Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated.
  10. Bump the speed up to medium and beat the frosting mixture for 5 minutes, until it is pale brown and no longer hot (but still warm).
  11. Drop the 4 Tbs of butter in, one piece at a time, and beat for another 2 minutes until butter is fully incorporated.
  12. To frost, place one cake on your cake plate, dollop about 1 cup of frosting on top of the cake and spread it evenly over the cake.  Add the second layer on top and frost the top and side of the cakes with the remaining frosting.  As I mentioned above, frost quickly!  Test Kitchen says you can microwave the frosting for 10 seconds or so to soften it back up, if necessary.
  13. Since it tastes like a rich Werther’s Original candy, be sure to have a glass of milk on hand when you cut a slice.  Enjoy!

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies You’ll Ever Bake

Friday, March 15, 2013

Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever - www.agiltnutmeg.com

I love Oatmeal Raisin cookies.  “Love” may even be an understatement.  While other more flashy cookies may temporarily steal my attention, I will always come back home to Oatmeal Raisin.  Soft yet chewy, full of oats, raisins and spices…you really just can’t beat a good one of these.  When it came time to start baking my own Oatmeal Raisin cookies, I consulted the two sources I trust most: Cooks Illustrated and the back of the Quaker Oats Oatmeal canister.  Surprisingly enough, Cooks tells you immediately that the recipe Quaker Oats provides is pretty near spot on, with only minor tweaks-high praise from CI!  My only hesitation was that CI proceeded to take out most of the spices that I love, so I went back to Quaker’s recipe for help and remedied that.  The resulting cookie is incredible:  big, fluffy, chewy and I love being able to pick out the little specks of spice on the top of the cookie- dark brown nutmeg, light brown cinnamon and black vanilla beans.  Interestingly, I found these taste best after they “rest” for a day or even two days after baking; I don’t know the theory behind this, but just trust me.  These are outrageously simple to make and my sister and I both agree that they qualify as breakfast food (oats…raisins…yes).  So with that, I share with you my favorite cookie recipe of all time…

Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever - www.agiltnutmeg.com

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated and Quaker Oats
Makes approximately 20 large cookies

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 pound), softened but still firm
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or substitute extract)
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup raisins (or if you really love raisins, go up to 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until completely softened, 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add brown and white sugar and beat an additional 3 minutes, until fluffy.
  4. Add in vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are fully incorporated after each one.
  5. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon.
  6. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture until fully combined.
  7. Add in the oats and raisins to the batter and stir with the wooden spoon until both are incorporated evenly into the dough.
  8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and form about twenty 2″ balls on the baking sheets.
  9. Bake until the very edges of the cookies turn golden brown but no longer, about 20-22 minutes.  The cookies will look too light on top, but trust me.
  10. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.

Pi Day Redux

Thursday, March 14, 2013

3.14 = pi = PIE = THE MOST DELICIOUS DAY OF THE YEAR!  In celebration of 2013′s Pi/Pie Day, here’s a look back at my favorite pies over the course of A Gilt Nutmeg…

 

Black and White Banana Cream Pies

Black and White Banana Cream Pies - agiltnutmeg.com

Black and White Banana Cream Pies - agiltnutmeg.com

One of my favorites of all time, I themed these Banana Cream Pies for a friend’s party.  You really can’t go wrong with traditional “Nana Pudding” Nilla Wafers OR Oreos for a chocolate-covered banana twist.  In fact, why on earth would you choose?  Just make both!

 

 

Chocolate Coconut Pie for Passover

Coconut Chocolate Pie from agiltnutmeg.com

This Chocolate Coconut Pie was created with just 4 ingredients and is perfect for those people celebrating Passover but who can’t stand one more coconut macaroon.  With Passover in just a few weeks, this is definitely a recipe to tuck away for later.

 

 

Bourbon Honey Peach Pie

Bourbon Honey Peach Pie - agiltnutmeg.com

For those who haven’t been reading the blog as long, you may have missed my very proudest moment, when I won a blue ribbon at the Annual KCRW Good Eats Pie Contest for my Bourbon Honey Peach Pie.  It was entered in the Tim Burton-Inspired Category, hence the “James and the Giant Peach” decorations on top.  You don’t have to decorate yours with bugs, but this pie is truly one of the most outstanding recipes I’ve ever worked on.

 

 

Chocolate & Strawberry Pie

Coconut Strawberry Pie from agiltnutmeg.com

You can’t go wrong with a chocolate-strawberry combination, and this Chocolate & Strawberry Pie is ridiculously easy to throw together.  There’s a touch of alcohol and spice in the chocolate pudding-like filling, which elevates it to an entirely new level of decadence.

 

 

Boston Cream Pie

Boston Cream Pie

Okay, okay, you got me.  Boston Cream Pie is not a true pie, but darn if it doesn’t say “pie” in the name.  Besides, this is the recipe that taught me all about pastry cream and I happily jumped on that train and have never looked back.  I could eat pastry cream forever.  Seriously.

Steak and Guinness Pie

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Steak and Guinness Pie - from agiltnutmeg.com

One of my favorite parts about living abroad in the UK was the food.  Don’t worry, I understand that you may have done a double take at the statement I just made.  It’s true, though, I loved the simple, hearty, food-every meal you ate, you could so easily see it being made a century ago to feed a family in front of a large cottage fireplace.

Given that LA weather has been rather up and down in temperature lately, and in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s holiday, Steak and Guinness Pie seemed like a no-brainer.  I don’t think I’ve come across a more satisfyingly hearty dish in my kitchen.  Each bite is so full of flavor that you don’t need to eat half the pie to feel like you got a full meal out of it.  While I do love the entirely savory pie (the steak, mushrooms and onions), I think the next time I make this I’ll add in some small potatoes and sweet roasted carrots to increase the veggie count and to stretch the pie even further than the 4-5 servings we already got out of it.  I still carry a card I purchased in Ireland with a saying on it very fitting for a food blog: “May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.”  Slainte!

 Steak and Guinness Pie - from agiltnutmeg.com

Steak and Guinness Pie
Adapted from The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook via Never Enough Thyme
Serves 4-5

  • 2 pounds lean chuck steak
  • 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 5 Tbs oil, divided into 3 Tbs and 2 Tbs
  • 1 1/4 cups beef broth, divided into 1/4 cup and 1 cup
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste (Trader Joe’s has this great tomato paste that comes in a tube like toothpaste.  No more wasting whole cans of it for just 1 or 2 tablespoons!)
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 cup Guinness beer
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs of water
  1. Removing as much fat as possible (or as much as you can before you get frustrated and give up), and slice steak into 1″ chunks.
  2. Whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, add the steak chunks, and toss until steak pieces are fully coated by the flour mixture.
  3. In a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, heat the first 3 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.  Make sure the beef sizzles when it touches the oil before adding it to the pan and work in 2 or 3 batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan; try not to push the beef around until fully browned on the bottom so that you get that deep color on the meat and the fond in the bottom of the skillet.  Once the beef is cooked mostly through and browned all over, transfer the beef to a dutch oven, pour the oil out of the skillet and return it to the heat.  Pour in 1/4 of beef broth to the hot pan, scraping up the browned bits from the pan; pour the stock and browned bits into the dutch oven with the beef.
  4. Add the last of the oil to the skillet and saute the onion and mushrooms over medium heat about 15 minutes until browned; transfer to the dutch oven.
  5. In the measuring cup the beef broth is waiting in, whisk in the tomato paste and add mixture to the dutch oven along with the thyme and stout.  Bring the contents of the dutch oven to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, partially covered with the lid, for 90 minutes, then let mixture cool.
  6. Heat your oven to 425 degrees and make sure your puff pastry is completely thawed (it will break apart when you unfold it, otherwise).
  7. Transfer the cooled contents of the dutch oven to the dish you plan on baking your pie in, then drape the puff pastry over the top of the dish.  Trim the edges of the dough around the edge of the dish, leaving at least 1/4″ of hangover.  Wet your fingers and run them around the edge of the dish, under the dough, and press the dough against the wet edge of the dish.
  8. Use a knife to slice one or two slots into the crust for steam, then brush the top with the egg mixture.
  9. Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
  10. Serve hot and enjoy!

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup - A Gilt Nutmeg

 

This holiday, spent at home in Georgia, my little sister insisted that she wanted to make a recipe for mushroom soup she saw in the latest Cooks Illustrated.  I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t particularly excited about it, as mushrooms are not my favorite at all.  I’m really working hard on liking mushrooms, but the thought of  thick meaty slices of mushroom scared me: in soup there was nothing to hide them under!  Cut to Christmas dinner and I remember specifically saying “give me only a little, so I’ll have room for dinner” and then cut to me finishing that first bowl and scrambling to the pot to fill up my bowl beyond that tiny little first taste I had.  Somewhere during that taste, I had somehow forgotten that I don’t like mushrooms.

Folks, this is not your average mushroom soup; in fact, it’s not what you would expect from mushroom soup at all.  Instead of a heavy, thick, cream based soup that most of us are used to, this is a brothy soup that some how still tastes and feels creamy, despite having so little actual cream in it.  The mushrooms and wild rice are a wonderful texture contrast to each other (chewy vs soft) and also to the broth; the lemon zest and chives add an unexpected twist of bright flavor.  It’s salty and savory yet light and refreshing all at the same time.  Even if you’re a little hesitant to give mushrooms such a spotlight, you should give this soup a try for a delicious surprise -and if you do love mushrooms, all the better!

Note: I couldn’t find dried shiitake mushrooms, except for in large packages that cost $12 or more.  Instead I just bought 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms for a total of 60 cents and set them out on a saucer on my countertop to dry over the course of a week or so.  Low tech, but it worked, so I can’t complain.  To turn the mushrooms to dust, CI suggests a spice grinder or a blender.  I have neither of those, so I used a flat nutmeg grater to great effect.  My boyfriend used the top of my pepper grinder to grind up the little bits that were too little to grate without scraping my fingers.

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
Barely Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, Jan 2013
Serves 6-8

  • 1/4 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and grated to powder (see note above)
  • 4 1/4 cups water
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled, plus 4 cloves, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced 1/4″ thick (you can buy two bags of Trader Joe’s presliced mushrooms)
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 1 teaspoon tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup dry sherry or dry vermouth
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  1. Set oven to 375 degrees and while it’s heating, bring the water, thyme, bay leaf, garlic clove, 3/4 tsp salt, pepper, and wild rice to a boil in an ovenproof dutch oven.
  2. Add the wild rice, bring back to a boil, then cover and move the pot to the oven to bake for 40 minutes (or until rice is tender and chewy).
  3. Over a large mixing bowl, pour the dutch oven’s contents into a fine mesh sieve.  Pull out the bay leaf, thyme stem and garlic clove and discard.  Pour the rice liquid into a 4 cup measuring cup and add water until you have 3 cups of liquid total.
  4. Put the now-empty dutch oven on the stove and melt the butter over medium high heat.  Add the mushrooms, onion, 4 minced garlic cloves, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and tomato paste and let brown, stirring every once in a while.  I thought it was taking too long and realized my heat was too low- as soon as I turned the heat up, I got the deep brown bits (called fond) on the bottom of the pan I was looking for.
  5. Add the sherry (or vermouth, which is what I substituted) and scrape up the brown fond on the bottom of the pan and continue cooking until almost all of the liquid gone from the pan.
  6. Add ground shiitake mushrooms, rice liquid, chicken broth, and soy sauce and bring the pot to a boil.  Lower the heat so the pot comes back down to a simmer and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and 1/4 cup of water until dissolved, then stir into the soup pot and let cook for 2 or 3 more minutes.
  8. Turn off the heat and stir in the rice, cream, chives, and lemon zest.  Serve hot and enjoy!

 

Peach Pound Cake

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

peach pound cake

Okay, okay, I’ve been AWOL.  The truth is…summer finally got to me!  Summer in LA is a very slow starter and it doesn’t even get legitimately warm enough for beach weather until August.  Of course that means that my apartment in Beachtown, which doesn’t need air conditioning 11 out of the 12 months of the year, is all of a sudden sweltering.  Standing in the hot kitchen was, truthfully, the last thing I want to do, especially when I could hop on my beach cruiser and head down the breezy coast instead.  But I’m back and I want to share one last grab at Summer’s bounty with this Peach Pound Cake!

I hope that you’ve still got a handful of peaches hanging around at the grocery store, even if Fall apples are breathing down their necks, ready to take their spot in the produce section.  This cake is a cinch to throw together, has a tasty sugar crust and features my favorite summer fruit, so get on it while you still can!

Peach Pound Cake
Adapted from The Fresh Market, via Annie’s Eats

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup sugar set aside
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup flour set aside
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 large fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with baking spray and sprinkle generously with the 1/4 cup of sugar that was set aside.  Make sure to evenly cover the whole pan with sugar, shaking and tilting the pan to cover every inch.  Gently dump out the extra, without knocking too much of what’s already stuck to the pan.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the remaining sugar and butter, beating for 5 minutes.  While that’s beating, in a separate medium bowl, whisk together the 2 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and beat until well combined.
  4. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, stopping after the streaks of flour have disappeared.
  5. In a small bowl, mix the 1/4 cup of flour, nutmeg and cinnamon, then toss with the peaches until the peaches are evenly coated in the flour-spice mixture.
  6. Fold the peaches into the batter (it will be quite a thick batter, so it’ll take a little bit of elbow grease) and transfer the batter to the prepared bundt pan, spreading so that it’s evenly distributed in the pan.
  7. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
  8. Let it cool on a wire cooling rack before slicing.  Enjoy!

Maple-Cider Glazed Bacon

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

maple cider glazed bacon

So when I said “I have bacon for you this Friday” I bet you didn’t think I meant “1 1/2 weeks later on a Wednesday”, did you?  Stuff got in the way, but here’s the bacon!  It’s outrageously good, so you should probably just quit whatever you’re doing and head to your oven right now.  Seriously, look at the picture below:

Could there be bacon any more glossy and translucent?  Look at that glaze!  It’s practically shellacked on.  Best of all, this bacon is baked in the oven so you don’t have to think twice about it while you’re still cooking eggs or something.  While not as covered in spices and herbs as other glazed bacon I’ve come across here in LA’s trendy restaurants, this bacon has a sweet/savory finish that is still going to leave you fighting over that last piece.  And, of course, if you want to experiment with all those herbs and spices, go for it!  I bet thyme or some Cajun seasoning would be great!

Maple-Cider Glazed Bacon
Makes 1 package of bacon
Was initially my own creation, but then I found The Spontaneous Hausfrau
already thought of it, so I have to give her credit for helping with ratios

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (try to find the real thing here, not the corn syrup version)
  • 1 package of your favorite bacon
  • salt & pepper
  1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. In a small saucepan, boil the apple cider and maple syrup until reduced to about half.  Let it cool slightly as you’re laying out the bacon.
  3. Cover a rimmed baking sheet in tin foil and arrange your bacon in rows on the sheet.  You don’t want them overlapping, but if you want to fit a whole package, you’ll likely have to pack those babies in pretty tightly next to each other.  Personally, I know the bacon is going to be sizzling in its own grease in the oven and I love that thought, but if that’s not your thing, you can arrange the bacon on wire cooling racks on your baking sheet so that the grease drips off as it bakes.  Just know that some of your glaze will drip off too!
  4. Using a basting brush, generously brush about half the glaze over the top of the bacon, then grind salt and pepper over the top of the bacon.
  5. Bake for about 10 minutes until the bacon is sizzling and darkening in color.  Flip the bacon slices and baste with the remaining cider.
  6. Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until the slices are darkened and crispy on the edges.
  7. Let the baking sheet cool for about 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack.  If you want to mop up some of the grease in the pan with paper towels, go for it.
  8. Once the bacon is a little cool and the glaze has had a chance to cool and stick to the bacon, line a plate with a stack of paper towels and move the bacon slices out of the baking pan and onto the paper towels.  Gently blot the slices (if you press too hard the paper towel may stick to the glaze) and then move to a warm plate for serving.  Enjoy!

White Cheddar Poblano Grits

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

white cheddar poblano grits

My dear readers.  I am about to share with you one of my favorite recipes of all time.  I don’t know if words can even describe my love for this recipe, but I’ll try…  I first discovered it a few summers ago when a group of friends and I went to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs for a bachelorette weekend away.  If you’ve never been to Palm Springs, imagine being put into a blazing hot oven, but there’s a pool.  I think it was 114 degrees when we were there and barely a drop of shade.  The heat just emanates off of every surface.  This may not sound like a very good weekend to you, but with nothing else to do but lounge in the pool, it somehow all equals up to be one of the most relaxing weekends you can have.  On our last morning there, we got breakfast by the pool and their “Poblano Cheddar Grits” caught my eye.  I knew I was in trouble after my first bite-I so carefully savored every tiny morsel that all of my friends actually left me at the table to go pack instead of watch me lick the bowl of this rich, flavorful, new favorite breakfast.

Back home, weeks later, I was still dreaming about the grits.  A trip back to the Ace was not in the question, so I went about trying to recreate them.  Searching for a recipe for White Cheddar Grits on Google actually brought up a recipe from a great restaurant in Atlanta, The Flying Biscuit.  Their Creamy Dreamy White Cheddar Grits are pretty famous and I was delighted to have a recipe from such a familiar place close to home to start as the basis of my recipe-they’re heavily decadent and snow white unlike any other grits recipes I’ve seen.  I quickly researched roasting techniques for some Poblano Peppers and voila!  Bacon is a requirement to crumble over the top (I’ve got some amazing Apple Cider-Maple Glazed Bacon for you on Friday) and I really can’t imagine a better breakfast.  Thanks to the Ace Hotel for introducing me to one of the recipe loves-of-my-life.

 

White Cheddar Poblano Grits
Adapted from The Flying Biscuit Cafe and Inspired by The Ace Hotel, Palm Springs
Serves 2-3 as a main dish, more if a side

  • 2 poblano chile peppers
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
  • heaping 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 cup quick grits
  • 1/2 - 1 cup grated white cheddar cheese (to taste-1 cup is very cheesy) (I prefer mild white cheddar cheese over sharp)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
  1.  Roasting poblanos can happen one of two ways:  first, rub with olive oil, then grip them tightly in a pair of tongs and hold over your gas burner’s flame, turning until all sides are blackened and bubbly.  Only attempt this if you have metal tongs (my plastic coated ones may or may not be slightly melted now).  The other method involves rubbing them with olive oil, then placing in your oven set to broil, turning every few minutes until all sides are blackened and bubbly.  Either way, once blackened, put the peppers into a paper bag while you make the grits-they’ll sweat in there and the skin will be super easy to remove later.  Also good to note: the oven method will result in softer peppers in your grits, the gas burner method will result in slightly more crunchy peppers.
  2. In a medium-large saucepan, bring the water, half and half, and salt to a boil.
  3. Slowly pour the grits in, whisking the entire time.  Lower heat and let thicken 7-10 minutes, whisking frequently.
  4. While the grits are cooking, take the peppers and remove the outer burned skin so all you have left is the soft pepper flesh underneath.  Remove the seeds and ribs and slice into strips and then 1″ pieces.  If you prefer, you could roughly chop for smaller pieces.
  5. Stir the cheese into the grits until melted, then stir in the butter until also melted and smooth.
  6. Add the poblano pieces and stir gently in.  Taste to see if you want more salt or a little more white pepper.
  7. Serve with some delicious crispy bacon to crumble on top and enjoy!

Black & White Banana Cream Pies

Friday, August 3, 2012

banana cream pies - angle

One of my all time favorite desserts- ALL TIME, I tell you- is Banana Cream Pie.  I suppose purists might object to my using Jell-O pudding as a base, though, so maybe we want to call it Banana Pudding Pie?  The jumping off point for this is, of course, the infamous Banana Pudding of the south-loads of fluffy Cool Whip, mounds of vanilla pudding, banana slices and lots of Nilla Wafer cookies lining the pan, softened from sitting in the pudding.  Personally, one of my favorite secret tricks is to use half vanilla pudding and half banana-flavored pudding, to up the flavor notch just a little bit, but plenty of people prefer using just the traditional vanilla.

banana cream pies - overhead

When my friend told me she was throwing a surprise party for her boyfriend with a game theme and that his favorite dessert was Banana Cream Pie, the wheels started turning immediately.  We needed two pies, but how about we theme them to the evening and make “Black and White” Banana Cream Pies, to match the dice and dominoes?  All I would need to do is switch out the Nilla Wafers for some Oreos for a fun chocolate-covered banana twist!  Turning Banana Pudding into pies is extraordinarily simple, and just takes the extra step of crushing the cookies and baking them into a crust.  You really can’t make a simpler pie-plus, whatever doesn’t fit in the pie plate goes into a spare bowl to hide in the fridge and voila, Banana Pudding for yourself for later!

banana cream pies - oreo focus

banana cream pies - nilla wafer focus

Sure, you could make a traditional homemade pudding or use homemade cookies or easily whip up your own whipped cream, but I wouldn’t dream of using anything other than Jell-O instant pudding, Cool Whip and Nilla Wafers.  They all magically combine to form an impossibly light fluffy cloud of banana-vanilla-y sweetness on your tongue that is unmatchable.

Notes: The recipe below is for two pies, plus a small bowl of leftovers.  If you want to make just one pie, choose only one of the cookies to make into crust and buy two of the smaller boxes of pudding (around 3.5 oz) instead of the large boxes (around 5 oz).  You may have extra leftover pudding but, really, is that ever a bad thing?

Black and White Banana Cream Pies

Makes two 9″ pies

  • 1 large box (about 5oz) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
  • 1 large box (about 5oz) Jell-O Banana Flavor Instant Pudding
  • 1 box of Nilla Wafers
  • 1 tray of Oreo Cookies
  • 8 Tablespoons butter, divided into two bowls (4 Tablespoons each), and melted
  • 6 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4″ thick slices
  • 1 large container (16 oz) regular Cool Whip
  1. Set your oven to heat to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and both packets of instant pudding.  Whisk for 2 minutes total until all of the lumps are gone.  Set the bowl in the fridge to set.
  3. Set aside 6 Nilla Wafers and 6 Oreos for decoration later.  In a food processor, process the Nilla Wafers until fine crumbs.  Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and process for a few more pulses until the crumbs are evenly coated.  Transfer the crumbs to a small bowl.  Wipe out the food processor bowl and repeat with the Oreos.
  4. In a 9″ glass pie plate, press about 2/3 of the Nilla Wafer crumbs evenly into the bottom and up on the edges of the plate, about 1/4″ thick.  Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes and set on a wire cooling rack.  Repeat the process with the Oreo crumbs in another pie plate.
  5. To assemble the pies: Once the crusts are cool and your pudding is set thick, arrange an even layer of banana slices in the bottom of each crust.  Gently spread a layer of pudding, about 1 cup, over the bananas and to the edge of the crust, being careful not to push the banana slices around.  Spread about 1 cup of Cool Whip over the pudding in an even layer all the way to the edges of the crust.  Sprinkle a generous handful of cookie crumbs over each pie (matching the Oreo crumbs with the Oreo crust and so on, obviously).   If you have a deep dish pie plate, repeat the process, spreading the layers all the way to the crust, but if you have a normal, more shallow pie plate, like I used above, pile the layers a little higher in the middle and don’t spread them all the way to the edge.  This way you get some height, and still get all the pudding, but it doesn’t drip over the edges and make a mess.
  6. Verrrrrrrry carefully use a sharp knife to cut the Nilla Wafers in half.  Arrange them on top of the pie and sprinkle the top with a small handful of crumbs.  Repeat with the Oreos, but separate the layers and discard the cream before cutting.
  7. Refrigerate until chilled, at least an hour, but I prefer overnight so that the flavors have a chance to meld with each other.
  8. Settle down with a large slice and enjoy on a hot Southern Summer evening!