Posts tagged ‘food52’

Sep 20

Creamy Baked Eggs

I am so sorry that my posts are few and far between. I feel like I am fighting my way back from a sort of dark abyss. I appreciate so much that you have stuck with me despite my lack of posts (totally inactive). It had been a long time since I had entered a contest at Food52 and missed it and the community. The most recent contest is “Your Best Creamy Breakfast”. Well, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and of course anything creamy is definitely something I can get behind. Thinking about what to make brought me to my childhood, on special occasions my Mom made baked eggs or shirred eggs. This is my updated version of my Moms recipe. I was lucky enough to be picked as a finalist and would appreciate so much if you would cast a vote for me, click here and it will take you to the voting page on Food52. Thank you again for being so wonderful!

Creamy Baked Eggs

Recipe by sdebrango

Serves 2-4 depending on appetite

Béchamel

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 1/2 cup warmed whole milk

salt and pepper to taste

The rest

4 large eggs

5 oz baby spinach cleaned

4-6 slices bacon cut into bite size pieces

10 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese

Handful toasted breadcrumbs to coat pan or pans

Make béchamel or white sauce. Add butter to small heavy bottom saucepan, melt on medium low heat, add flour and whisk cooking for about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the warmed milk whisking constantly and cook until it thickens. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside

Heat a saute or fry pan on medium high flame and add the bacon bits, saute until lightly browned. Remove the bacon leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. Remove and set aside. Place the tomatoes in the to pan and cook until they start to blister and soften, set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degree’s. NOTE: if bacon doesn’t produce enough rendered fat add a little olive oil.

Assembly:

Butter pans,( I used 2 individual oval pans), ramekins or cocottes. Sprinkle bottom with toasted breadcrumbs. Divide the spinach between the pans, add the bacon bits and tomatoes. Spoon 3 heaping tbs of the béchamel on top. Create a well and gently nestle the eggs in the well. Spoon more béchamel around the eggs. Place your pans on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, the eggs will not be completely set, that’s ok you are going to finish in the broiler. Remove from oven and adjust to broil setting. Cover top with grated cheese and place in broiler close to flame for about 1 minute or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Note: You can assemble this the night before and bake in the morning.

Serve with toast!

Apr 9

50 Comments

Too Busy To Blog, Say What?…. A Published Recipe And Mary’s Box Of Goodies

Things have been crazy busy on my end and I have totally neglected the blog. I have ideas and things I want to do but simply have not had time to cook or bake except for charity auctions and you’ve seen all of that before, redundant posts are not something I like posting. I am planning another collaboration with Teagan which is always fun, I hope you all like those, I certainly do. Another giveaway is also in the works, and will be coming soon you may be able to guess what it is.

The food I have been making is pretty boring and not really blog worthy, there is nothing different or unique about it. I got back on track after Holiday food splurges with my change of diet and on the plus side have lost some weight which was important for me. I do a low carb low sugar meal plan with lots of vegetables and some protein. Work has been busy, that’s a good thing since I’m an Independant contractor and my livlihood is dependant on how much business I bring in.

So in the interest of keeping my blog alive I decided to reach into the recesses of my collection of recipes and post something from the past. If I were asked what my favorite recipe is it would be hard to pinpoint but this one is right up there at the top. I posted this recipe on Food52 years ago and last year found out that they are including it in their new cook book Ice Cream and Friends. I received my copy about a week ago and I have to say it’s a gorgeous book with amazing recipes from the Food52 Community and the founders Amanda and Merrill. The recipe they included is Brooklyn Blackout Semifreddo Cake. I dreamed this one up for a contest, the theme was frozen desserts. This was my homage to the famous cake conceived at Ebingers Bakery right here in Brooklyn NY, sadly Ebingers went bankrupt in 1972 and the building is now condo’s but the cake lives on at bakeries and recipes can be found all over the internet. A Brooklyn Blackout Cake is chocolate x100 deeply rich chocolate cake, chocolate pudding filling used also to frost it and cake crumbs pressed onto the sides.

Last week I also received a Spring box from Mary Frances, you all know Mary right. Her blog Love The Secret Ingredient has some amazing recipes and she also has a thriving business Mary’s Secret Ingredient, a seasonal box of goodies is mailed to you and part of the proceeds are used to feed hungry children, Mary has heart along with some great recipes and a creative business sense. I will use some of the products to create a recipe soon but here is a peek at the box.

Mary’s Secret Ingredient Spring Box

I will leave you with a photo of the goodies that were auctioned on Instagram, all the proceeds went to help a sweet little pug that needed life saving surgery, any of you that are pet parents know how expensive it is to take your dog or cat to the vet, no one should have to decide on whether or not their pet lives or dies because of money and we as a pet community on Instagram raise funds to help out those in need. I am currently finishing the baking and the box will get mailed this week. Full disclosure Easter Bunny Percy will not be included with the box of goodies. I think he makes a very handsome bunny!!

Mar 30

68 Comments

Pancakes

I added blueberries

A basic pancake recipe should be in everyone’s repertoire and for many years I have used the pancake recipe in a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook, it’s good but I am constantly searching for a recipe that is even better. The pancakes should be tender and fluffy and light. I’ve tried separating the eggs and beating the whites, folding them into the batter and that works well but let me be honest, in the morning I don’t really feel like the extra work. I saw this recipe on Food52 by The Kitchn and the pancakes looked great I was intrigued by the directions, you do separate the egg, but add the white to the batter unbeaten. It didn’t really seem like that would produce a pancake that met my expectations but I had to give it a try.

I’ve mentioned before that I am an Air Bnb host and I had guests from England, they chose pancakes from the menu for breakfast and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try this recipe. The batter took only a few minutes to put together, it calls for full fat buttermilk which is kind of difficult to find. The buttermilk most readily available is reduced fat and the smallest size available is a 32 oz carton, the unused milk is frozen in an ice cube tray and stored in a freezer bag. I always have a jar of homemade creme fraiche in the refrigerator, so to make full fat buttermilk I add creme fraiche. The recipe calls for 2 cups of buttermilk and to make it full fat I used 1 3/4 cups buttermilk and 1/4 cup creme fraiche. You can also make buttermilk by adding lemon juice or vinegar to whole milk.

This is now the only recipe I will use for pancakes. I have removed the bookmark from my Betty Crocker cookbook, these pancakes are wonderfully light, fluffy, tender and tasty. I cut the recipe in half, I didn’t want that many pancakes and accidentally added the whole tsp of baking soda and baking powder (pre-coffee and very early) instead of cutting the amount in half and the results were great so I will continue to double the leavening agents when I make this recipe.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Food52 Genius Recipes – The Kitchn

Makes 18-20

2 1/2 cups flour (Editor’s note: in testing, we used 300 grams unbleached all-purpose flour)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, separated

2 cups buttermilk (for extra, extra fluffy pancakes, seek out thick, whole milk buttermilk)

1/2 cup whole milk

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla (Not in the recipe but I added and it does make a difference)

Canola or unrefined peanut oil for frying

Heat the oven to 225° F and prepare a large baking sheet by setting a cooling rack inside. Place both in the oven.

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk, milk, and vanilla. Add the melted, cooled butter and whisk until well combined.

Pour the yolk and milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until barely combined. Add the egg whites and stir just until a thick batter is formed. Set aside for 5 minutes. Note: I added extra milk as the batter was too thick, I only added enough to thin a bit approximately 1/4 cup added a tbs at a time.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, film with 1/2 teaspoon of neutral oil such as canola or peanut oil. After about 30 seconds, when the oil shimmers but is not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and use a soup spoon to drop in heaping spoonfuls of pancake batter.

The batter will spread into a pancake about 3 inches wide. Cook for about 2 1/2 minutes. (If the pancake scorches or the oil smokes, lower the heat.) When the bubbles that form on the edges of the pancakes look dry and airy, use a thin spatula to gently lift one side and peek underneath. If the pancake is golden brown, flip and cook on the other side for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown.

Remove from the skillet to the baking sheet in the oven. Wipe any stray crumbs or scraps out of the skillet with a paper towel, add a little more oil, and continue to cook the remaining batter.

I added blueberries after I had spooned onto the griddle.

pancakes and fried egg

Apr 8

72 Comments

A #Not Recipe With Zoodles And The Real Deal At Food52 Pasta Night

Zoodles

This a #not recipe. I’m having fun posting on Food52’s new app and decided to share this, it’s really more of an idea than a recipe I guess you could say.

It started with zoodles, you know zucchini noodles, some oven roasted tomatoes, burrata and shaved parmigiana. Simple right?

Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add some garlic sliced thinly and cook until garlic is softened but not brown. Add the zoodles, season with salt and pepper and may be a little crushed red pepper and toss them around in the olive oil and garlic until the zoodles are warmed, I let them cook about 5 minutes. Remove and place in your bowl or on your plate.

If your burrata is not room temperature put in the microwave for about 20 seconds. In the same pan heat your tomatoes if they have been refrigerated or if you made the tomatoes and they are still warm just spoon on top of the zoodles. Take some of the lovely burrata and place on top of the tomatoes, spoon some of the tomato juices that are mixed with olive oil on top of the burrata. Shave some parmigiana or romano on top and enjoy.

Make sure each layer is seasoned with salt and pepper.

This dish is low carb, delicious and nutritious and also really quick and easy to put together.

Pasta Night

Last night I went to the Food52 HQ in Chelsea to enjoy an evening of great food and company. First of all the offices that house Food52 are incredible, light filled, lofty and beautiful. The space is designed so well, it works beautifully and gives the feeling of home rather than office. I could not get any photo’s of the completed pasta dishes for ambiance the light was very dim and it just didn’t work with my iphone. The tables were set up communal style, the dishes and flatware were exactly what you will find in the food52 shop, beautiful. Their kitchen is a dream, so beautiful and practical at the same time.

Filming for snap chat

Menu, drool worthy food

Gorgeous kitchen

Food and drink

My fizzy aperol cocktail

I love everything but for me the star of the show was dessert, so simple but the combination was amazing. Olive oil gelato, crumbled biscotti, beautiful sliced oranges all of this drizzled with good olive oil and chiffonade of basil. Profoundly delicious. I begged for the gelato recipe and Amanda said it is a community recipe that will be in the new Ice Cream cookbook. Really it’s the best olive oil gelato I have ever had.

Apr 1

101 Comments

Lemon Posset, A Vanilla Shortage And Fiesta Friday

Last night I had company for dinner, I’ve known about this for a while and had grand plans to make a lovely meal but unfortunately, I have been sick for the last few days, a stomach virus. I haven’t eaten much of anything and generally felt really bad. I was not really inspired to cook. I opted for a starter salad, simple roasted chicken with roasted vegetables, let the oven do the work I say. My plan was to make a lemon meringue tart but I didn’t have the energy so I remembered this quick and easy recipe by Mrs. Larkin on Food52 for lemon posset. A magical concoction, tart and sweet and creamy and a lovely light dessert. It couldn’t be simpler to make and most of the time it’s sitting in the fridge setting.

vanilla

I have been stocking up on vanilla extract. Have you noticed rising prices? Evidently there was a bad crop in Madagascar which basically decimated the entire vanilla crop leaving a huge shortage, there is always high demand for vanilla, it’s in almost everything. This has caused prices to rise, I went to several sites and noticed a price change of anwhere from 2-10 dollar price increase per bottle. I usually use Nielsen- Massey, it’s my vanilla of choice but have been know to use the big bottle from Costco which is good as well as King Arthurs brand of vanilla extract. So I found the 4 oz bottle at the same price at my usual shopping site and bought 4 bottles which should last until the next crop which they are saying should be ok.

This Fiesta Friday which by the way is #113 I am bringing Lemon Posset and a bottle of vanilla extract as a hostess gift for Angie. Our lovely co hosts this week are two of my favorite bloggers welcome Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Laurie @ ten.times.tea.

Lemon Posset

Serves 4 – Recipe by Liz Larkin for Food52

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

5 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest of 1 whole lemon (I added that it’s not in the recipe)

Place cream and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring so that the sugar dissolves. Let boil for 5 minutes watching carefully and adjusting temperature so it doesn’t boil over. After 5 minutes remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest. Let sit for about 15 minutes to cool. Pour into serving dishes, sprinkle top with a little more lemon zest and refrigerate at least 4 hours, I like overnight. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, I put a few raspberries on top as well.

Mar 15

98 Comments

A Pi Day Surprise

Yesterday was Pi Day, to celebrate Pi we cooks and food lovers take just a little liberty and make it all about Pie. Now I just love pies, fruit pies, cream pies, tarts, galettes, savory tarts and pies. They are all good. I love making pastry crust, I always have frozen pie dough in the freezer in case I need it.

I was busy, lots going on with work. I didn’t check my spam folder as I normally do every day until later in the afternoon and when I did I saw an email from Kate at Food52, she wondered if I would be home today between 1-5PM, they wanted to deliver a surprise. Honestly, I was flabbergasted and intrigued. I love surprises and rarely get one. At 5PM on the dot one of the Food 52 staff hand delivered this pie in this amazing pie box (which I have been meaning to order and now I need to get another one or 2), how cool is that? It made me feel really really good, they thanked me for being a long time member, it made me feel so special. Thank you Food52 for making my day!! Oh and I can’t forget to mention the pie was a salted honey pie, with an amazing flaky buttery crust. SO DELICIOUS!! I ate way too much pie!!

Pi Day Surprise

I also want to update everyone on sweet Percy, he is doing really really good. He was a little under the weather yesterday, I think it was the rain and cool temps but today he is doing great. He is very happy in Brooklyn and has adjusted to his new life, made lots of doggie friends and is getting to know his neighborhood.

Rolling in the grass

Handsome boy

Jan 8

82 Comments

Making Levain, A Gift For Nando A New Kitchen Toy, Community Pick On Food52

I follow a lot of blogs, love them all and wish I could make every recipe on all of them. Sometimes I see a recipe and think this is something I have to make right away, usually it’s a recipe that challenges me. This is the case when I saw Ginger’s great recipe on her wonderful blog Ginger And Bread she posted a recipe for WholeWheat Sour Dough Bread, which is baked in a cast iron dutch oven and looks so crusty and delicious I had to make it. The challenge for me is making levain, I have never made it before and a good friend sent me some that she made which I promptly killed in what can only be characterized as a slow painful death. So far Ginger’s levain recipe has proven to not only be simple but it actually works and I have not killed it. Now I did not own a cast iron dutch oven but have wanted to get one for a long time so I decided to buy one (ended up with two) I went to my favorite home goods store Williams Sonoma and found a great deal on both, a Le Creuset oval Cocette, (4 qt) in a lovely shade of green and then I saw a very reasonably priced Lodge round cast iron dutch oven, the Lodge is on back order but I got the Le Creuset today. Love it and I will use it to make this wonderful sour dough loaf. I will post the photo’s of the bread after I make it, hopefully tomorrow. The dough is doing a slow rise in the refrigerator overnight.

Le Creuset

So here is my levain, rather shaggy looking right? This is Day 6, my kitchen is quite cold so it didn’t rise very much but Ginger said thats ok, be patient.

shaggy levain day 6

On Day 8 I put the levain in the refrigerator for 2 days, when my dutch oven arrived I took it out, fed it again (1 cup flour and 5 tbs water) and let it sit in the oven with the light on. Here is how it looked when I got it out the next day. Can’t wait to make the bread.

fed and puffy

My really good friend Jocelyn (Daisey Angel’s Mom) got Nando a gift, he is blind and lately is not getting around very well and she found this amazing device called Muffins Halo. A woman with a blind dog invented this to keep them from knocking into walls and bumping their heads. Ingenious right? Here is Nando with his Muffins Halo on, he is still getting used to it but already he is not bumping his head when he wears it. This was the best gift ever.

Nando not happy at first in his Halo

He can drink his water with it on he’s liking it

Finally I was so happy to see that my recipe for White Pasta With Garlic Parmigiano Breadcrumbs was picked and photographed by Food52. That was such a nice surprise today. I love this recipe, it’s so easy and delicious. I posted this recipe a while back on the blog, had not really thought about it until I saw the contest for Best Family Recipes. This was something my Mom used to make only without breadcrumbs that was my idea. It’s so simple pasta, ricotta, milk and parmesan cheese. It’s great like that but thought bread crumbs pan toasted with butter,olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and grated cheese would be wonderful on this simple pasta dish.

Photo by James Ransom for Food52

White Pasta my photo

Oct 9

82 Comments

My Meatloaf Is A Finalist On Food52!

photograph by James Ransom for food52

I am thrilled and honored to be a finalist in the contest “Your Best Dinner That Makes A Good Lunch”. I love this meatloaf recipe l it’s simple and straightforward. I am keeping this post short and sweet as my happiness for being named a finalist is overshadowed by grief and worry, My sweet Izzy is very very ill and I have to make a very difficult decision. Click here to vote and here to check out Food52. Thank you so so much. I really appreciate it.

Izzy please keep her in your thoughts and prayers

Apr 2

47 Comments

Tiger Cake – Alice Medrich

I saw this cake yesterday on Food52, first of all I am a sucker for a marble cake always have been and then when I saw that it is made with olive oil I knew I had to make it. A cake made with oil would be incredibly moist and have a very tender crumb, both are requisites for a really good cake, IMHO. I also love recipes by Alice Medrich, she knows a thing or two about baking. With a little spare time today I undertook this cake, now I have made marble cakes before and you usually drag a butter knife around the batter to give the marble effect, well you don’t do that with this cake. You pour your batters separately, layering them and just bake it like that. I was a little skeptical. I had to force myself not to get the knife and start swirling,

Ready to bake

Tiger Cake – Alice Medrich

Makes 1 cake in a 10-to-12 cup tube pan
1/2 cup (25 grams) natural cocoa powder (non-alkalized, non-Dutch processed)
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/3 cup water
3 cups (385 grams) all-purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
5 cold eggs
1 cup cold milk
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 10-to-12 cup tube pan with oil spray and dust it with flour.
In a medium large bowl, whisk the cocoa, sugar, and water until well blended.
In another medium large bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder thoroughly and sift onto a piece of wax paper. Set aside.
In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, and pepper until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until the mixture is thick and pale, 3 to 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and add one-third of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Stop the mixer and add half of the milk. Beat just until it is blended. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour.
Add three cups of the batter to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended. Pour one-third of the plain batter into the prepared pan and top with one third of the chocolate batter. Repeat with the remaining batters. Don’t worry about marbling the batters—that happens during the baking.
Bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Slide a skewer around the tube and a thin metal spatula (or knife) around the sides of the pan. Lift the tube and slide the spatula under the cake to detach it from the pan bottom. Transfer the cake to a serving platter. The cake keeps for several days, at room temperature, under a dome or wrapped in plastic.

Just out of the oven

Came out of the pan like a dream

As you can see from the photo’s below, it swirled nicely on it’s own. I like the cake. It has good crumb, baked nicely. I think it would be great with a chocolate glaze drizzled on top or with some ice cream.
The next time I will add more salt, like at least 1/2 tsp, and maybe some orange zest. Note: I forgot to add the white pepper.

So pretty

Tiger Cake

Feb 19

35 Comments

Hearty Kale Salad With Kabocha Squash,Pomegranate Seeds And Toasted Hazelnut And An Award

Kale Salad

I love healthful food, I really do but my style of cooking isn’t really super healthy. I try, I really do but unfortunately I fall short most of the time. Incorporating raw foods, salads into my diet is challenging sometimes. A friend and I hosted a dinner party the other night and we wanted to do a low carb, healthful meal. I found this recipe on Food52, Gena Hamshaw is vegan and has some amazing, balanced healthful dishes. I took one look at this salad and knew it would be on the menu that evening. What does it contain? Lots of super foods, Kale, pomegranate, hazelnuts and Kabocha squash. The kale is massaged with a little of the dressing to soften, then you toss with the rest of the light lemon dressing. It’s delicious, honestly, really really good. I had everything for the salad except the squash so I subbed sweet potato which I prepared in exactly the same way as you would the squash.

Serves 4-6

1 Large bunch curly kale, stems removed and discarded, torn into bite sized pieces, washed, and spun dry
1 Small kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), halved and seeded and cut into 1.5 inch pieces ( I used 1 medium size sweet potato using the same method as described in step 1)
4 tablespoons Olive oil, divided into 1 tbsp and 3 tbsp
3/4 cups Pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup Skinned hazelnuts
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1 teaspoon Maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon Sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until golden, stopping halfway through to stir.
While squash is roasting, place the hazelnuts in a shallow baking dish (or a pie pan) and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes, or until they are golden. Check them frequently and remove them the moment they start to get brown. Once they’ve cooled a little, chop them roughly and set aside.
Whisk together the remaining olive oil, mustard, lemon, maple syrup, sea salt, and pepper. Pour 3 tbsp over the kale to begin with, and “massage” the kale well with your hands, till it’s coated in the dressing and taking on a soft, almost wilted texture. Add the remaining dressing as needed and according to tastes. Add pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts.
Once the squash has finished cooking and has cooled for 10-15 minutes, add it to the salad and serve.

I am so thankful that Cambios de humor nominated me for the Shine On Award. Thank you so much, I am so honored to have been included in your list of nominee’s. Please visit her blog, you will love the honesty and humor in her posts. Thank you again!!