EJS's Legendary Challah

This is a guest post from ELS. You can find her complete recipes and stunning photography at Adventures of an Arbophile. Check it out!

Challah Bread:

1. Mix 1.5 tablespoons yeast in 1 3/4 cups luke warm water with 1 T sugar - let sit for 5min while beating eggs.
2. Beat 3 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs well in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add risen yeast mixture and combine with 1/2 c more sugar, 1 T salt, and 1/2 c canola oil.
4. Add flour until can't mix anymore with a fork or spatula, then use hands to knead in remaining flour on a counter top (~6-7c total) - should feel pliable but won't bounce back when poked.
5. Put dough in bowl, and then in warmed oven, covered with a dish cloth for ~2 hours or until has doubled in size.
6. Punch in middle and knead another few minutes. If you want to add fresh herbs or spices, now is the time to do it. (HIGHLY recommended: any fresh herb combo, rosemary-parmesan, cinnamon-sugar, honey-sage).
7. Follow ChaiTime directions on cutting and braiding http://chaitimeblog.wordpress.com/2006/09/03/video-braiding-a-six-strand-challah/
8. Place on 2 greased or floured baking sheets (parchment paper works too). 
9. Cover and let rise in a warmed oven for another 45min.
10. Rub all over with an egg wash (well beaten egg + 1 T water). Crack sea salt over savory loaves.
11. Bake for about 35 min on 350-375. You'll know it's done when you tap on the bottom with a wooden spoon and it sounds hollow.
12. Enjoy with loved ones.

Challah Queen.

Goodies for Ms. Mara's Graduation party. Cake recipe here.

The beautiful graduate!

Classic apple pie

Tis' the season... all the aspen are lustrous yellow, the nights are cold, the deep cloudy skies are magnificent. Perfect time for snuggling up on the couch with warm tea, apple pie ala mode, and a good book (or episode of Mad Men?). 

Happy Fall :-) 

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
3 TBS sugar
8 TBS cold butter, cut in cubes
3 TBS cold water


Apple Filling:
6-7 small apples, peeled and sliced
3 TBS brown sugar
juice form 1 lemon
generous cinnamon 


Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter cubes until pea size. Add water. Form into ball, wrap in plastic, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out your dough. Add filling. This dough recipes gives you just enough to make a lattice cover (but not a crumb more). Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake at 350 for ~50 minutes, or until golden brown. 

**for your listening pleasure while you bake**

Chocolate Avocado Mousse Pie

And the avocado makes another appearance in my latest dessert. I now have an entire label (on right navigation bar) dedicated solely to avocados. I won't gush about how sublime avocados are since I've done that in previous posts. I'll just gush about how delicious this pie was. Smooth and creamy filling, chocolatey but not overly rich, flakey and crisp crust. Great dessert for the end of summer. 

  The pie crust was gift from Erin. If you need a trusty pie crust recipe, use the recipe from my pop-tart post.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse:

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados (the ripper the better)
• 3/4 c cocoa
• 3/4 c honey 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Scoop out avocado flesh and beat with mixing machine until creamy. I've use a food processor for this in the past but I think the hand held mixer worked a lot better. Add cocoa, honey and vanilla. Beat on high until fluffy and smooth. Bake pie crust at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before filling with mousse. Decorate, if you feel so inclined. 

Chocolate Coffee Birthday Cake

Erin's Birthday came a week early, so we celebrated with cake. Really, everyday of the year is worth celebrating with cake. Birthdays, half birthdays, Fridays, paydays, lawn mowing day, Mondays...etc. 


Recipe by Craving Chronicles

Cake Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk to combine. Add coffee and whisk just until combined. Batter will be thin and runny.

Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 30 minutes, then flip out onto a rack to cool completely.   


Icing Ingredients


1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa
3-4 cups confectioners sugar

Homemade Orange Rhubarb Pop-tarts

All this week I've been craving pop-tarts like a 9 year old jazzed up on pixie sticks. Here's a yummy alternative to the store bought pop-tarts (plus an opportunity to try some unconventional flavors). Recipe from The Arugula Files.


The tart is just a simple pie crust recipe:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

1 Combine flour, salt, and sugar; mix. Add butter and cut with two butter knives until

mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, stir until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water.

2 Place dough in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

3 Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. 

4 Using a large knife cut dough into little rectangles, roughly 5 X 8 inches. 

Filling:

• large bundle rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces

• juice of one orange; zest of half an orange 
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar 
• 2/3 cup water
• A few tablespoons turbinado sugar (for sprinkling on top)
• 1 egg for egg wash (whisk the egg)

1 In a large sauce pan add the ingredients, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low.  Cook until the mixture reduces and resembles jam filling. 

2 Add a spoonful of filling onto your pockets. Brush edges with egg wash. Close pocket and seal with a fork. 

3 Brush pop-tarts with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar

4 Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes

Icing:

1 egg white

1 cup confectioner sugar

1 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

Whisk together; drizzle on tarts; enjoy!

Prize Cake

This is a classic Mary Reel Recipe-- vanilla and coconut cake with a chocolate-coffee icing. Enjoy!

Cake:

1 3/4 cup sifted cake flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening (butter)

1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

2 eggs unbeaten

2/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup bakers coconut

• Sift flour, baking powder and salt
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs beat well after each. Add flour alternating with milk.
• Mix in vanilla and coconut.
• Line two 8'' pans with wax paper.
• Bake 25-30 min at 375 degrees F.

Frosting:

3 cups sifted confectioner sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

1/3 c butter

3/4 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 1/8 cup cold water

1/4 tsp vanilla

 

 

...and Happy (belated) Easter

Chocolate Torte

Photo courtesy of Mara.

Finding this recipe (and the blog it came from) was like striking gold. This will now and forever be my go-to-chocolate-cake recipe. First of all, it's divine. It has a light and spongy quality yet decadent and rich, but not over powering. It's not overly sweet, but dark with many deep dimensions of chocolate. Second, it's one of those desserts that you have no desire to over indulge in. It's texture and flavor spark an intellectual frenzy in your mouth. After one bite I just stopped, breathed, tasted, contemplated, breathed again, smiled, and licked my lips clean. It's a dessert that makes you think, not mindlessly shovel more into your mouth. Third, it's gluten free, which I know is not really any healthier than regular baked goods, but something about it's lack of flour just makes me feel better about eating it (...never mind the large amounts of butter it contains). The lovely and endlessly talented Ms. Mara helped me christen this recipe, made for our beloved friend Kristin's going away dinner. Kristin is equally lovely and talented and currently being fabulous in Morocco. So with out further ado: 

Ingredients

250g dark chocolate

125g butter

200g light brown pack sugar

100g ground almond

5 eggs ( separated )

Oven temp 180c, 8" round tin with removable base

• Grease tin with butter and line bottom and sides with parchment paper
• Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. It is okay to let the bowl touch the water as long as the water isn't too hot. Stir to combine and let the bowl cool down.
• Add sugar and ground almond and stir with a whisk until there are no lumps, add in egg yolks one at a time. Mix well. 
• In a clean stainless steel bowl, whisk egg white until firm peak forms. ( I usually add 1-2 tablespoon of granulated sugar after soft peak forms ) 
• Gently fold in chocolate mixture in 3s. 
• Scrap mixture onto tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until firm
•  Leave cake to cool in tin completely before removing. Dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder. 

creamy quinoa pudding

Recipe from The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook

3/4 c quinoa

2 c soy milk

1 1/2 TBS fine sugar

1 cardamom pod, lightly crushed

juice and finely grated zest of small orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cinnamon stick

2 TBS honey

1 pomegranate, seeds scraped out

1. rinse quinoa, place in saucepan with 2 c water, bring to boil, cover , lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. add soy milk, sugar, cardamon, orange zest, vanilla and cinnamon to quinoa. return to boil, then reduce to low and cook, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes, until creamy and liquid almost absorbed. set aside.
3. place orange juice, honey and pomegranate seeds in a small saucepan and simmer 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced. 
4. serve warm drizzled with syrup.

If anyone know the secret to dissecting a pomegranate, I'd like to know!

Deer, Beer & Bacon (in that order)

To follow up the chocolate cheese and wine cupcakes I tried Maple Caramel Pumpkin Bars with Bacon. Now I may have out done Paula Dean on this one... It was interesting to say the least. The recipe is from noblepig. The pumpkin cake itself was very good, and the caramel icing was fantastic. The maple flavored bacon accented the cake's flavor and added a crunchy complexity to the texture. I took this to a deer burger party, so I figured it would fit well either way. 

Chris got a free deer courtesy of the lovely hunters at BARC, one of the many perks of being a fellow employee.  With the help of Volvo, he made pulled-deer, deer steaks, deer burgers, and deer jerky. The steak was phenomenal. I've never had deer before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't really know what "gamey" tastes like and still don't because but these burgers were definitely not.

Cabbage from Christopher's Lab

Master chef, slaving over a pot of boiling water.

Bars:
8 oz. bacon, diced
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons bacon drippings
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans 

Preheat oven to 350^o F.  Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.  Cook bacon in a saute pan over medium heat until crisp; drain on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and table salt for the bars in a medium bowl; set aside.  Whisk together pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, egg, melted butter, bacon drippings and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.  Stir in flour mixture and pecans.

Spread pumpkin batter evenly into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting:
 2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
4 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
Sea salt

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add sugar and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved, then adjust heat to medium and boil 2 minutes longer. Add maple syrup and boil, swirling the pan occasionally, until sauce is thick, smooth, and coats a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes longer.

Pour hot caramel into a clean stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium-high speed, scraping down sides occasionally, until sides of bowl are no longer hot to the touch and closer to room temperature and caramel is thick. Add cream cheese, one cube at a time, until frosting is smooth.
 

Wine and Cheese Cupcakes

Yes I did and yes, you're titillated. We all love wine, cheese and dessert--why not knock them all out with one recipe? These cupcakes are for celebrating 22 years of Philip Clements! Phil, a fellow foodie, deserved something a little extra than the standard birthday cake recipe. Found this from one of my favorites, the cupcake project.

Wine and Cheese Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes + a small loaf size cake

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 oz Camembert cheese
• 1 3/4 C sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 C dry red wine 
• 1 C walnut halves

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In another medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
4. Mix in the vanilla.
5. Alternately mix the dry ingredients and the red wine into the butter mixture until just combined. 
6. Fold in the walnuts.  (You can chop them if you prefer, but I liked the nice big chunks.)
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

Red Wine Chocolate Ganache

This recipe should make enough to easily frost 12 cupcakes. 

• 2 oz dark chocolate, chopped into a few pieces
• 1/2 C unsalted butter
• 2 oz red wine (I used a Shiraz)

1. Place the chocolate and the butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave for 10 seconds and then remove and stir.  
3. Repeat step 2 until the chocolate is all melted.
4. Slowly pour in the wine and mix thoroughly.
5. Place in the refrigerator until it hardens enough to easily spread (about 10 minutes).
6. Spread on cupcakes, use as a dip, or eat by the spoonful.