Party Pieces

I don't know about you, but I think there is something inherently exciting about hors d'oeurves. Intricate little bites of this and that, perfect to nibble while enjoying a drink and good company, seem more sophisticated in a group than they might be alone. Even pigs in a blanket seem retro-cool on a buffet table at a cocktail party. Preparing appetizers always makes me want to step into heels and tie on a lacy apron. (I realize this is not normal and I have, perhaps, been watching too many episodes of Mad Men. But I knew that when I started vacuuming in pearls.)

This particular hors d'oeurve has served me well at many gatherings. I started with a tried-and-true dough and cut back the sugar while converting the filling from sweet to savory. I enjoy the combination of goat cheese and pesto, but the recipe can easily be adjusted to accommodate other filling combinations. Pancetta and salsa verde also work well here.

Savory Rugelach

12 oz butter, softened

12 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

3 c. flour

8 oz goat cheese

4 oz pesto

1 egg, beaten

Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt until well blended. Add flour one cup at a time until just incorporated. Divide dough into four equal parts, wrap, and chill at least one hour.

On floured surface, roll each package of dough into a 10 inch circle. Spread dough with goat cheese and top with an even layer of pesto. Divide into 10 equal wedges. Roll tightly into wedges, starting with wide end of dough. Bend into a crescent shape. Continue with remaining dough and chill rugelach for 20 minutes. Remove to parchment lined cookie sheets and brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Note: Rugelach can be frozen, without egg wash, up to 3 weeks . Thaw in refrigerator before baking.

Monday Funday

via Cakespy

The object of my affection

This past summer, while visiting my brother in Japan, I experienced incredible new things and tasted a LOT of good food. I returned to the States with a few souvenirs and gifts, tons of great photos, and an obsession with all things litchi. I got my first taste of litchi (sometimes spelled lychee) the evening I arrived and spent the remainder of my trip scouring Osaka for anything that would give me a fix. Candy, juice, liqueur, baked goods......all litchi, all the time. It wasn't until much later that I realized I had never tasted the actual fruit on it's own! Fast forward to this week, when much to my delight I discovered a can of litchis in syrup at a local import grocery.

When I opened the can, the delicious aroma of litchi was strong. I reached in a popped a litchi into my mouth. The flavor was fantastic- no juice or candy can live up to the genuine article! Unfortunately, the texture of the fruit was exactly how I imagine it would feel to eat a human eyeball. The visual of the litchis, smooth white orbs glistening in a pool of syrup, did not help at all. Feeling crestfallen and a bit freaked out by this latest litchi experience, I decided the best bet was to turn it into sorbet. All the lovely litchi flavor, no creepy eye-fruit texture!

Litchi Sorbet

20 oz. can litchis in syrup

1/2 c. simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled to dissolve and cooled)

2 T. lemon juice

2 T water

1 T vodka or litchi liqueur

Drain litchis and reserve syrup. Puree fruit in a blender or food processor and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Whisk together litchi puree, reserved syrup, and remaining ingredients. Chill and freeze in an ice cream maker. Transfer to a freezer safe container with a lid and freeze until ready to serve.

Note: Try a splash of litchi puree in a glass of dry sparkling wine for a twist on a Bellini. Yum!

We now return to our regularly schduled programming

Happy New Year 2010! I am back after a bit of a crazy stretch of holiday work. Thank you for not giving up on me and coming back to read! I have a lot of projects I would like to blog in the coming months and I promise not to stay away so long again. For today, I have a very old favorite to share. This recipe is about as far from elegant as you can get, in no way made from scratch, and embarrassingly easy- but I have yet to meet a person who is not crazy about them. They are good on any occasion. College-era exploits have proven them excellent when enjoying a very late night or when recovering from one the following day. They are convenience cooking at it's most basic level, yet I am constantly asked for the recipe. These chocolate and peanut butter calorie bombs have become an unlikely tradition among my friends, who dubbed them with their present name. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... the Yummy Bars.

Yummy Bars

1 9x13 pan brownies (I use a mix for this. You should too.)

1 bag mini marshmallows

2 T. butter

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 c. peanut butter

2 c. rice krispies cereal

Bake brownies as directed. When brownies have finished baking, cover the top with a generous layer of marshmallows. Return to oven 3 minutes or until marshmallows have begun to melt. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When brownies are cool, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and peanut butter and melt, stirring, until mixture is homogeneous. Stir in rice krispies. Spread the chocolate mixture over marshmallow layer. Set yummy bars in refrigerator. Cut into squares to serve.

Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear

My timing on this post is a bit funny as this topic is suddenly all over my favorite food blogs, but you will have to trust me when I say that I have been making poached pears regularly over the past couple of months. Usually I do this when I am seduced into buying an undrinkable wine by a serious markdown. (When will I learn?) Rather than pouring it down the drain I use it as the base of poaching liquid for semi-ripe pears. These pears are delicious with yogurt, oatmeal, granola, whipped cream or creame fraiche, or, as I often do, eaten on their own over the kitchen sink. I tried to class it up a bit this time by making a cardamom panna cotta to serve alongside. I usually think of panna cotta as summery because it is cool and deceptively light, but the addition of cardamom brings in a warm fall/winter flavor. The tiny bit of crunch in the pears is a nice foil for the silky texture of the panna cotta. So, thanks for the inspiration, icky wine! I know what I am making next time I need a simple and pretty dessert. Now, if only I had dinner guests tonight...

Blushing Poached Pears

1 750 ml bottle red wine

1/2 c. sugar

juice and zest of one orange

2 star anise

4 cinnamon sticks, broken

1 t. whole cloves

1 T. whole allspice

4 pears (I prefer Bosc pears for this)

Peel, stem, and halve the pears. Using a spoon or a melon baller, remove seeds and soft core from halves. Set aside. Combine all ingredients but pears in a large pot. Heat to dissolve sugar. Add pears to pot and add water to cover. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cover most of the way with lid. Cook pears over low heat until fork tender, about 40 minutes. Remove to a container with enough poaching liquid to cover and chill.

Vanilla Cardamom Panna Cotta

Adapted from Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini

2 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. sugar

1 T. cardamom seeds

1 t. powdered gelatin (usually 1 envelope)

3 T. cold water

1 T. vanilla

Heat cream and cardamom seeds in a saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes. While cream in steeping, place gelatin and water in a medium bowl and allow to soften. Strain cream to remove solids and return to saucepan with sugar. Bring cream mixture back to almost boiling, then pour over gelatin, whisking to dissolve. Whisk in vanilla. Pour mixture into lightly oiled muffin cups. (This is the only time I like my silicone muffin cups! Makes unmolding a cinch.) You can also pour directly into serving glasses or bowls if you do not want a molded panna cotta. Chill overnight or until ready to serve.

*To unmold, run a hot knife around the edges of the panna cotta and invert. If they are stuck, apply a towel wrung with hot water to bottom of pan for a moment or two to loosen.

Monday Funday

And I thought I loved my KitchenAid. Via Chefsblade.

Dollars to doughnuts (or biscotti)

I think you can tell a lot about a person if you watch the things they buy. I was going to say something about priorities, but that is a bit of a strong word to attach to a thing of relatively minor importance. Priorities apply to family, friends, life choices, etc., not so much non-essential spending. But I do think you can learn where someones passions lie if you see how they shop. Do they never eat out but attend every concert that passes through? Forgo a vacation to detail a beloved car? I myself will fret over buying a sweater until it disappears from the sale rack but barely think twice about splashing out on an ingredient for a recipe. I suppose that is why I cannot bring myself to buy the cute hat I have been eyeing but I now have a giant jar of tahini in my fridge!

In this case, however, I am glad of my purchase, as I will absolutely be making these biscotti again. I was barely able to snag one out of the batch to photograph before they were gone. I have been testing some recipes for a dessert wine pairing and am fixated on the idea of using oranges and olive oil. The combination of flavors and ingredients in this recipe may look a bit strange, but they come together in a delicate and scented cookie. They are a nice reminder to relax and maybe even embrace my eclectic shopping lists- because really, a good recipe is better than a new hat any day of the week.

Olive Oil Biscotti

4 eggs

1 c. sugar

2 T. honey

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil (try to find one that is nice and fruity)

2 T. sesame tahini

zest of 3 oranges

1 t. orange flower water (optional, but it adds a lot)

3 3/4 c. AP flour

4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 t. ground cardamom

1 1/2 c. slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Place eggs, sugar, and honey in mixer bowl and whisk at high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. With mixer running, slowly add olive oil in a thin stream. You want the oil and eggs to emulsify into a smooth mixture, so take care not to add oil too fast. Add orange zest, tahini, and orange flower water. Whisk together dry ingredients. Switch mixer to a paddle attachment or use a spoon to blend dry ingredients into egg mixture. Mix just until dough comes together, then add almonds and mix to distribute them through the dough.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Working with greased hands, shape dough into four pieces. Shape dough into logs about 10 inches long and place 2 logs on each cookie sheet, flattening slightly if necessary. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove pans from oven and place on racks to cool. Turn oven down to 275 degrees. When dough logs are lukewarm, place each one on a cutting board and slice into biscotti about 1-1 1/4 inch thick. Place the biscotti, cut side down, back on baking sheets and toast in oven 20-3o minutes. Check biscotti every ten minutes or so and turn them once during this second bake. The biscotti should be dry and lightly tanned. Cool on racks and keep in an airtight container, if they stay around that long!