Fun Buns

Here is another buttermilk recipe; the third I've made this summer - starting with buttermilk fried chicken, then the buttermilk pie and now these.  This recipe was the easiest of all with a quick 6 minute knead using the dough hook on my mixer and then letting the dough rise a couple of times.  The results made me smile.  The rolls turned out so big and fluffy.  They are a very bready roll, not particularly light in texture but very tasty.  Now I can't wait for winter so I can start making hearty soups and stews again, with these delicious rolls as an accompaniment.

Buttermilk Cluster

1⁄4 oz. active dry yeast
1⁄2 tsp. sugar
1 3⁄4 cups buttermilk
1 tbsp. honey
5 cups flour
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
Unsalted butter, for greasing
1 egg

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, sugar, and 1⁄4 cup water heated to 115°; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in buttermilk and honey; add flour and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 6–8 minutes. (Sprinkle in a little water if dough seems dry.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to let dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

2. Heat oven to 400˚. Grease a 9" round springform pan with butter. Uncover dough; divide into 12 portions. Roll each dough piece into a ball; transfer ball to pan; repeat with remaining dough. Cover pan with plastic wrap and set aside to let dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 tsp. water. Uncover dough and brush egg mixture over the top.  Bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dough registers 190°, about 35 minutes. (Mine took 45 minutes).  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Buttermilk Pie

Sounds strange, doesn't it?  A buttermilk pie....what in the world would that taste like?  I had recently made fried chicken which called for a buttermilk soak overnight and had a 1/2 quart of the stuff leftover.  I have heard about this Southern specialty before so thought I would give it a try.

This is basically a custard pie but instead of the normal cream or milk based custard filling, it utilizes the slightly tangy and may I mention, lower fat buttermilk.  This was a very easy pie to make as I cheated and used a pre-made frozen crust.  Here's the verdict from our house:  I liked it alright though not enough to make again and The Husband gave me his version of a thumbs down by stating he wouldn't care if he ever had a piece of that pie again.   So, if the unusual ingredient of buttermilk turns you on, knock yourself out making this easy to bake pie.

Buttermilk Pie

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp flour, plus a little for dusting
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
nutmeg (optional)
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs slightly and add sugar and flour.  Then add melted butter and mix well.  Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix.

Dust the unbaked pie shell with a little bit of flour.  Pour batter into shell and place on a baking sheet.  Dust the top if desired with a sprinkle of nutmeg.  Bake until custard is set, approximately 1 hour.  Cool before cutting into slices.

Someone Had A Birthday

Isn't it nifty? The Husband turned fifty!  And to celebrate this monumental occasion, I made him some of his favorite candy - Peppermint patties.  This is a recipe I obtained from the now defunct (and sorely missed) Gourmet magazine a few years ago.  These are so simple to make and the results far surpass the silver foil covered patties in the store.   Happy Birthday dear!!
I made some revisions in this recipe when I made them and instead of rolling out the fondant and cutting with a cookie cutter, I just rolled it into a log, cut it into 1/4inch slices and then flattened those into rounds.  I also used coating chocolate instead of the tempering method as described below.  I just find that too tedious to deal with. I also need to work on my dipping techniques so I can perfect some fancy swirls or a signature mark of some sort.  Practice makes perfect.

Happy Birthday Husband!!

Peppermint Patties

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (less than 1 pound), divided
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat-free)
10 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Beat 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, shortening, and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer (with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium speed until just combined. Knead on a work surface dusted with remaining 1/4 cup confectioners sugar until smooth. Roll out between sheets of parchment paper on a large baking sheet into a 7- to 8-inch round (less than 1/4 inch thick). Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top sheet of paper and sprinkle round with confectioners sugar. Replace top sheet, then flip round over and repeat sprinkling on other side.

Cut out as many rounds as possible with cutter, transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather scraps, reroll, and freeze, then cut out more rounds, freezing them.  (Or do as I did and just roll the kneaded fondant into a log about 7-8 inches long, freeze for 15 minutes or so, then cut into 1/4 inc slices and smash those down into a circle.

Melt three fourths of chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove bowl from pan and add remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool until thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch into chocolate registers 80°F.

Return water in pan to a boil and remove from heat. Set bowl with cooled chocolate over pan and reheat, stirring, until thermometer registers 88 to 91°F. Remove bowl from pan.

Balance 1 peppermint round on a fork and submerge in melted chocolate, letting excess drip off and scraping back of fork against rim of bowl if necessary, then return patty to sheet (to make decorative ridges on patty, immediately set bottom of fork briefly on top of patty, then lift fork straight up). Coat remaining rounds, rewarming chocolate to 88 to 91°F as necessary. Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

A Favorite Cookbook

Cooking vegetarian isn't something I choose to do that often, but when I do, Mollie Katzen's original Moosewood Cookbook is one of my go to cookbooks.  I'm sharing two recipes today; one for baked falafel (or as The Husband says " You can't say falafel without saying awful"), and lemon-tahini dressing. 

Unfortunately, I totally blanked out as I made the lemon-tahini sauce which is the recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook that I wanted to blog about so I have no pictures today.  I will provide you with the recipe along with some excellent baked falafel.  This is an experiment that went very well.  Usually falafel is fried in oil but I tried instead to bake them and see what happened.  They turned out to be slightly crisp using just a tad bit of olive oil on the bottom of the baking dish.  A much healthier alternative to the original method.

I just love falafel and lemon-tahini together with veggies as a sandwich in pita bread along with some cucumber tzatziki sauce as I have blogged about previously, or just falafel mashed up over a bowl of brown rice with the lemon-tahini sauce over the top.  It's a very filling alternative to a meat based meal.

Baked Falafel

1 15-19 oz can well drained and rinsed chickpeas
2 finely minced green onions
2 finely minced garlic cloves
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp tahini
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil evenly in baking dish.

Mash chickpeas with a potato masher, then add onions and garlic and blend together.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. 

With floured hands, shape mix into ping-pong size balls and place in baking dish.  Bake 15-20 minutes on one side, then turn them over and bake another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Lemon-Tahini Sauce

3/4 cups tahini
3/4 cups plain Greek style yogurt
1 medium clove of garlic, minced well
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 finely minced green onion
3 Tbsp finely minced parsley
Salt to taste
dash or two of cayenne pepper
dash or two of paprika
1 tsp ground cumin

Beat all of the ingredients together well, using a whisk or wooden spoon.  The more you whip it, the thicker it becomes.  Serve at room temperature over falafel, sauteed vegetables or if thinned, this makes an excellent salad dressing.

Creamsicle Ice Cream

You all remember those little cups of ice cream from the school cafeteria with half vanilla, half orange sherbet, don't you?  Well here is an ice cream that tastes just like those cups of yummy and it's so easy to make.  No cooking or fussing with a custard base.  This is made by just mixing 5 ingredients together, throwing them into the ice cream maker and 25 minutes later, voila creamsicle ice cream.  Enjoy!

Creamsicle Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups cream

1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients together until sugar is dissolved.  Chill in refrigerator for a couple hours until very cold.  Mix in ice cream maker as directed by manufacturer. 

Southern Fried Chicken

I have a few favorites I like to watch on the Food Network and one of them is Alton Brown.  His show Good Eats is always so informative.  I'll admit some of his costumes, stunts, and props get on my nerves, but I have learned some helpful cooking tips and better understand some of the chemistry involved in food preparation by watching his show.

One of his recipes I recently tried was for real, honest to goodness southern fried chicken.  Frying chicken is something I have only tried a couple of times because quite frankly, it's a pain in the you know where.  First of all there is the messy dredging in flour.  Then you have the buckets of oil that must be used and finally, there is the cleanup of spattered grease afterward.  It also takes a lot of time standing over the frying pan; at least 12-15 minutes per side for at least 2 batches if you do it properly and don't crowd the pan.

That being said, I did give it a whirl this weekend and was most happy with the results.  I must admit that I didn't follow Alton's recipe exactly.  Included in the buttermilk marinade, I added a couple big squirts of hot sauce to add a bit of heat.  I also used peanut oil instead of vegetable oil and cooked the chicken with the oil at 350 degrees instead of his recommended 325 degrees.  The chicken cooked perfectly through and the crispy crust was very tasty.  Served with sweet corn on the cob and you have summer on a plate!

Southern Fried Chicken


1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt (Do not use regular salt or it will be much too strong)
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

Ah.......Summer

I think there is nothing more to say.

Pina Colada
(1 serving)

3 oz light rum
3 Tbsp coconut cream
3 Tbsp crushed pineapples

Put all ingredients into an electric blender with 2 cups of crushed ice. Blend at a high speed for a short length of time. Strain into a glass and serve with appropriate tropical garnishes.

Tastes Of The Past

As a teenager, my younger sister Peggy, my best friends Patti, Debbie and I would often scrape our money together and go to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant for a delicious meal.  This restaurant was the quintessential Chinese restaurant with red leather banquette seats, Chinese lantern lights hanging from the ceiling and painted rural Chinese scenes on the walls.  It was on the same block in town as the bakery, five and dime store and the hardware store. 

I can only remember two things for certain that we would consistently order and that was the delicious barbequed pork egg foo yung and egg rolls.   The egg foo yung would arrive with three overstuffed patties filled with bean sprouts, onion and slivers of overly pink pork all encased in fluffy scrambled egg with a dark sauce-like gravy to put over the top. 

In all the years since, I have never tasted egg foo yung quite as good as that.  I thought that perhaps I could make my own and see if I could come anywhere close to those delectable eggy patties.  I think I came pretty darn close on my first attempt.  I actually bought some BBQ pork from a Chinese restaurant then went to the local Asian store to buy some sprouts and water chestnuts. 

This is a fairly simple recipe to make and much of the chopping can be done ahead of time.  When I make this again, I think I will try pouring the egg mixture into a round 4" ring mold to cook so the patties are a little more uniform in appearance.  Serve with white or fried rice and a green veggie such as broccoli or beans and you have a great dinner.

Barbequed Pork Egg Foo Yung

8 oz. bean sprouts, washed and drained
1 cup finely diced Chinese style barbequed pork
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup diced canned water chestnuts
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Gravy

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water.

Stir bean sprouts, water chestnuts, pork, eggs, green onions and salt together just to blend.  Heat oil in large frying pan over medium high.  Pour 1/2 cup egg mixture into pan.  Push cooked egg up over pork/veggies with broad spatula to form a patty.  Fry patty until set and golden brown, turning once about 4 minutes.  Repeat with remaining egg mixture, adding more oil as needed.  Keep patties warm in a 300 degree oven.

Heat chicken broth, soy sauce, salt and pepper to boiling.  Mix cornstarch and water; stir into broth mixture.  Cook and stir until thickened, about 10 seconds.  Serve with Egg Foo Yung patties.  (Makes 5-6 patties)

Popeye Would Be Proud

We harvested our first spinach from the garden.  Oh the poor garden!  This has been a cruel year so far with The Husband doing all that hard work of tilling the soil and planting and here it is mid-July with things looking so pathetic.  I still have hope that we will have a nice hot September and get a few ears of corn and some beautiful red tomatoes.

But the spinach took off very well despite the cool weather and I picked a large bowlful on the first go-around and it was beautiful. This was the first year we've attempted to grow a leafy green, but it certainly won't be the last.  I share with you a quick and tasty salad that is made with common pantry items with the addition of a couple strips of bacon.  It is delicious and really shows off the flavorful spinach very nicely.  I'm so lucky to have someone who doesn't mind all the work a vegetable garden entails!
Wilted Spinach Salad

6 cups (5 oz) fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried and chilled
2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup minced red onions (I substituted green onions)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp good quality aged balsamic vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced (optional)

Remove stems and veins from spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces then place in a large bowl.

In a small frying pan, fry bacon until crisp; transfer to a paper towel to drain.  Leave approx. 1 teaspoon bacon fat in pan.  Add olive oil, onion, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook 2-3 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar; swirl to incorporate.

Pour warm dressing over spinach and toss gently to wilt.  Sprinkle bacon over spinach and top with hard boiled egg slices if desired.  Serve immediately.

A Delicious Mess

Strawberry season finally, finally arrived here in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon after what seems to be the wettest, cloudiest Spring imaginable.  The strawberries grown in this neck of the woods are so superior from any I have had from other parts of the West (sorry Washington and California).  They are so sweet and red through and through and when you bite into one, the juice just oozes out all over your fingers.

It's a short season though so buying and using them as often as possible in a variety of ways is always a goal of mine.  This recipe called Eton Mess is one I have never tried but I saw Jamie Oliver make once on his wonderful cooking show called Jamie at Home.  It apparently is a dessert which originated at Eton, an elite all boys school in England and is served at cricket games in the early summer when strawberries are in abundance. 

It couldn't be easier, especially if you buy your meringues already made from a bakery.  I chose to make my own using this recipe from an earlier blog entry of mine. 

Eton Mess
(serves 2)

1/2 cup whipped cream and 2 Tbsp sugar beaten until cream holds soft peaks
4 cookie sized meringues, broken up into bite size pieces
1 pint of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

Gently fold meringue pieces and sliced strawberries into the whipped cream and spoon into bowls.  Serve immediately so meringues don't dissolve.