Everything Bagels

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Bagels are one of the final frontiers of baking I have yet to dabble in. We love a good bagel, but they’re hard to come by in the DC area. Whenever we go to New York we bring empty containers and fill them with bagels from our favorite shops and gift them to relatives and co-workers.

Recently the Washington Post charted a path to homemade bagels that made it seem more approachable. Sadly, the bagels just didn’t have the right chew or flavor, even when doused in everything seasoning. I’m going to blame my amateur bagel skills rather than the recipe, as many did receive good results with their recipe. I think the key is to develop the gluten more by rolling them more consistently. In the meantime, I have my eye on the more tricky looking ChefSteps version.

Grab the recipe from Washington Post’s RecipeFinder here →

Yummyholic Totoro Cookies

Totoro Cookies

Last month my friend Stephanie came down from Pittsburgh with a delicious surprise — these custom cookies from local artist Jasmine (Yummyholic).

Not only were these Totoro cookies spot on in terms of appearance, when I finally was able to bring myself to eat them, they tasted great! I’m picky when it comes to baked goods, especially cookies, and these were soft and chewy yet firm. Surprisingly, the dough didn’t taste store-bought but instead had a nice, light citrusy touch! These also weren’t total sugar bombs and had a perfectly balanced level of sweetness.

If you ever find yourself in the Pittsburgh area, don’t hesitate to get some treats. Yummyholic’s site is currently expanding, but will be back soon with an online store. In the meantime, check out her Instagram for photos to tide you over.

P.S. Sweets in the background: Fleurir Chocolates; Olivia Macaron

A New Addition to the Family

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Yep, I am going to completely blame this un-intentional hiatus on the fact that in the past few months we’ve not only fostered and re-habilitated a tortie from the streets of Baltimore but adopted another cat of our own.

After losing Leopold, we were paired with a skittish declawed tortiseshell named Cindy Lou Who. We taught her to trust humans again and she regained her confidence; in return she helped our hearts heal and filled some of the emptiness losing Leo left. After 3 months we met with a family that was interested in adopting her and the next day she went to her forever home. On the day we transferred CiCi (as we affectionately called her) to her new family, we picked up Rémy (formerly Patrick) from the cat shelter. In truth, we had been courting him and visited him several times in the weeks leading up to his formal adoption.

Saying Goodbye to CiCi at the Shelter
Bringing Rémy home

As you can see, Rémy loves being the center of attention, which can make being on the computer difficult at times (he’s still learning what “Work from Home” means). As he continues to settle in and gets into his routines, I’ll return back to mine ^_^

Earl Grey Madelines

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For this month’s Secret Recipe Club I spent a long time perusing Susan’s Australia-based blog, My Whole Food Family, bookmarking recipes such as Cappuccino Brownie Bites,  Palmiers, Pear Tea Cake,  Christmas Cake, and Caramel Cheesecake. I had my heart set on re-creating this daring Bûche de Nöel and even bought a silicone mold for it, but time got away from me.

But then I remembered that over a year ago I had purchased a madeline pan from World Market and still had not used it. Additionally, I had all of the ingredients for these Earl Grey Tea Madeleines on hand, including a brand new tin of Cream of Earl Grey.

I took a batch of these over to our veterinarian as a thank you for all of their help during Leopold’s last days.

These madeline cake-cookies were the perfect treat for tea-time. The fruit zest is bright and the madeline texture is springy without being greasy. The tea flavor was lost on me, but it might have been the tea I used (even though I added more than the recipe called for) or the fact that my lemon zest was extra “zesty”. The original recipe calls for the zest of half a lemon, but the recipe printed in Bon Appétit lists only a packed half teaspoon, which I would recommend to have more balanced flavors.

If you are planning to make these, remember to allow the batter to chill!
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Earl Grey Tea Madeleines With Honey

By nicole Published: January 25, 2016

  • Yield: 12 Servings

This recipe, from Dorie Greenspan, was originally published in Bon Appétit in 2005 and appears in her book Baking: From My Home to Yours, and as part of Tuesdays with Dorie.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Melt 5 tablespoons butter in saucepan over low heat. Mix in tea and allow to infuse for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Use a sieve lined with cheesecloth or a canning funnel with strainer to separate the tea and release butter into a small bowl.
  3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.
  4. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and zest together until pale and thick, 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add honey, vanilla, and lemon zest; beat 1 minute longer.
  6. Gently fold in dry ingredients, then tea-flavored butter.
  7. Press plastic wrap onto surface of batter; chill batter at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. Alternately, you can fill molds with batter and then chill.
  8. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F.
  9. Brush twelve 3x2-inch madeleine molds with butter. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Place pan on baking sheet.
  10. Drop 1 scant tablespoon batter into each mold (batter will spread while baking, filling molds completely).
  11. Bake madeleines until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 10-12 minutes.
  12. Sharply rap pan on work surface to loosen madeleines, then turn out onto rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusting with powdered sugar if desired.

Romesco Sauce

Back in August of last year our cat Leopold had a scary incident where he couldn’t walk. After a visit with the neurologist and a MRI we decided that he was having a feline vestibular episode. While we were monitoring him for the week while he was visiting with the doctor and recovering, we were under a sort of house arrest and made a few recipes, including 45-second strawberry frozen yogurt. We also made a big pot of this romesco sauce to get us through lunches and dinners.

This sauce is very simple to make, yet has a depth of flavor that tops jarred sauce. We used it as pasta sauce, topped chicken with it, and even spread it on sandwiches.

Romesco Sauce Recipe

By nicole Published: January 15, 2016

    Inspired by Food52's non-recipe

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Quarter 4 or 5 medium-sized tomatoes and 2 peppers, if roasting. Toss with olive oil and top with sea salt.
    2. Roast the tomatoes at 300° F. When the tomatoes start to brown, throw a couple handfuls of skinless, dried nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, and/or walnuts) into the baking dish. Roast nuts until they smell toasted.
    3. When the tomatoes are golden brown and nuts are nearing the toasty finish line, toss a couple of unpeeled cloves of garlic into the same baking dish and let them cook with the tomatoes until everything is ready.
    4. Throw the tray of tomatoes, nuts, and garlic, as well as the peppers, into the food processor and pulse. Drizzle in a half cup of extra-virgin olive oil while you continue processing. Add a splash of vinegar. Taste and add salt to your liking. Drizzle in more olive oil if you want your sauce thinner. Add another splash of vinegar if you want to give it an extra bite.