Pear Shaped

 Hands down, my favorite meal is breakfast.  Back when I was a kid, I didn't love breakfast as much as I do now, but that's probably because my mother insisted on serving us eggs "country style".  Country style is just a fancy way of saying runny, and I didn't (and still don't) like runny eggs.

But I digress.  Now that I've learned that eggs don't have to be jiggling on the plate, I actually really like them.  I also love all the things that go with eggs: bacon, toast, potatoes, and yes... muffins.  I love a good muffin.  For me, a good muffin has nice texture, a little crunch, and isn't too sweet. Muffins are after all,  a breakfast food.

But just how many banana nut and blueberry muffins can a girl make, before she finds herself longing for something just a little different? A long time apparently.  I've been making banana muffins for what seems like forever.  Don't get me wrong.  I love a good banana nut muffin, but I do often long for something a little different.

Thanks to Smitten Kitchen, my wish was grated in the form of these absolutely delicious pear hazelnut muffins.  Pears?  You thought pears were only for baby food, but you would be wrong.  Their soft, sweet taste permeates these tender muffins.  The hazelnuts give an appealing crunch, and the chocolate well, that just adds a little something-something extra.

Don't let the fact that you'll have to grate the pears on a box grater keep you from whipping up these muffins.  The grated pear adds some nice texture as well, so don't cheat and do it in the food processor.  It's only a cup, so it's not like it's even worth dirtying the processor bowl anyway.

These muffins are a whole new way of looking at pears.

Recipe:  Pear and Hazelnut Muffins
Adapted from Whole Grain Mornings and Smitten Kitchen

Yield: 16 muffins (I sent a dozen to the office with Ted because I would have eaten all of them had they had remained in the house.)

Ingredients:

2 small-medium firm pears
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus more for cups if you're not using liners)
2/3 cup (125 grams) natural cane sugar, such as Turbinado, light brown or granulated sugar (I used Turbinado)
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup (75 grams) rolled oats
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (120 grams) toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (85 grams) bittersweet chocolate chunks (optional, but not optional for me.)

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line it with papers.

Peel the pears, then halve and core them. Grate pears on the large holes of a boxed grater into a large bowl. You should have about 1 cup grated pear. Stir in melted butter, sugar, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices, salt, all but 1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, and chocolate chunks, if you’re feeling extra indulgent. Gently fold this dry ingredient mixture into the wet batter until just combined; do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups almost up to the top and sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup hazelnuts. Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce the heat to 375°F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out batter-free.

Cool muffins in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Muffins will keep for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

Not Just For Business News

We get home delivery of The Wall Street Journal every Saturday.  During the week, Ted reads it at the office so I don't usually see it.  Once in a while he'll being it home, but for the most part, I'm a Saturday only Journal reader.  (Yes, you're right.  I could read it online, but I'd rather complain that Ted doesn't bring it home for me.  You know how I am.)

And besides, it's fine with me because Saturday's edition  is the best anyway.  Saturday's edition has the Off Duty section.  There's something of interest on every page.  There's even a recipe or two, which I absolutely love.  I mean, come on.  Recipes in the WSJ.  A stroke of genius, if you ask me.

This week's recipe, from food writer Peter Berley, is for a winter root vegetable soup.  The nice thing is that it's a perfect way to use up whatever's lurking in your kitchen: sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, celery -- you get the idea.  Mix and match two pounds worth of oddball root veggies and you're halfway done.

I added half the creme fraiche called for in the recipe and, believe me, it was plenty rich.  I also cheated on the walnuts.  I had a package of candied walnuts from Trader Joe's.  They worked like a charm, although I may just have to give these a spin as well.

Either way, The Wall Street Journal serves up not only the business news,  but dinner as well.

Recipe:  Winter Root Vegetable Potage With 
Crème Fraiche and Honey Crisped Walnuts

Ingredients:

For the honey-crisped walnuts:
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
3 tablespoons honey
Fine sea salt

For the soup:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
2 pounds assorted root vegetables, peeled and roughly chopped  (I used carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, parsnips, and rutabagas.)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly toasted and finely ground
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup crème fraîche, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Make honey-crisped walnuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small baking dish or pie plate with butter. Add walnuts to pan and drizzle evenly with honey. Roast walnuts, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, about 14 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate, season lightly with salt and let cool.

Make soup: Heat oil and butter in a heavy, lidded 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, ginger and salt to pan, stir well, cover and simmer over medium-low heat until garlic and onions are soft, 15-20 minutes.

Add root vegetables, fennel, turmeric and cayenne. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Pour in stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are very tender, 30-40 minutes. Add crème fraîche and simmer 3-4 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or, working in batches, a food processor or stand blender) to purée soup until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. Garnish with honey-crisped walnuts, parsley and crème fraîche.

Stirring Things Up

I am not a stir fryer.  In fact, I am not much for Asian food in general.  Ted considers my lack of interest in Japanese, Chinese, and Thai food to be among my greatest failings.  I figure if this is my greatest failing, I'm in pretty good shape.  Besides, that's why I had kids.  Both Charlie and Kate are more than happy to join Ted for sushi or noodles.  Me... well, not so much.

Sure, I can get into an occasional California roll, but aside from that, I'm mostly ambivalent.  Maybe it's my upbringing.  We were just not sushi people.  My mother's idea of exotic cuisine was Italian food.  Asian food was just a little too out there for Patti.

Oh sure, once in a while my family would do Chinese.  This basically meant that we would load the family into the Country Squire station wagon, and go out to the local Chinese restaurant.  My mother, who was always in charge of the menu and making the really big decisions (along with pretty much every else), would order the most basic and benign shopping mall Chinese food on the menu.  There was a fair amount of chow mien and fried rice gracing our table.  We considered ourselves to be really adventurous if we strayed a little and ordered something with a little chili pepper next to it on the menu.  That item was going to be spicy and thus, far more exotic.  Spicy food, according to my mother, was always more exotic than non-spicy food.

But back to today.

I don't often make Asian inspired recipes, but every once in a while, I just go for it.  The thing that's appealing to me about these recipes is that they are often really quick and rely on just a few ingredients.  Such is the case with this recipe from February's Food and Wine.

Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry was delicious.  It was light, which was a definite plus since I'm still acutely feeling the effects of a far too gluttonous December.  And it was easy which, in my estimation, makes any recipe taste better.

While this recipe lacked a little chili pepper next to its title, I think my mother would have labeled it exotic, it being a stir-fry and all.

Recipe:  Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry
(Food and Wine, February, 2014)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or trimmed thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Steamed rice, for serving

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 3 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 3 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Transfer the chicken to a platter, top with the sliced scallion and serve with rice.

Breaking Bread

Back in the olden days, when my kids were little and I spent a lot of time hanging out with my friends and their little ones, I learned to bake challah.  I haven't done much challah baking since then, but now that I have plenty of time of my hands, I thought why not? It's not like I have anything else all that pressing to do.

Baking challah again brought back lots of really nice memories.  Back then, before Ted moved me  across the country to Pittsburgh, my friend Deborah and I used to spend a lot of time together with our kids.  We did it under the guise of it being good for the kids to socialize. In fairness, I think it was our socializing with one another that was really beneficial.  Having little kids is hard work, and a little lonely if you don't have your support group up and running.

Anywho, Deborah and I used to tackle lots of projects together.  I think it was our way of feeling like we were actually doing something besides drinking coffee and eating coffee cake. One of the things we tried was baking bread.  We also once tried making our own bagels.  Suffice it to say, it's really worth paying whatever they cost in the bagel shop because making homemade bagels is a ton of work and the bagels really are not as good.

But I digress.  Unlike bagels, homemade challah really is worth the effort.  It's delicious and for the most part, it's a hands off operation (which leaves plenty of time for drinking coffee and eating coffee cake, if you're so inclined).  Yes, there's a little kneading (think of it as exercise), and braiding (think of it as artistic), but mostly making your own challah is a lot of waiting.  Having children who took a zillion lessons, made me an excellent waiter.

I hadn't baked challah in years, but on Friday I got the bug to do it.  There aren't any special ingredients involved -- just yeast, water, eggs, and flour -- so I had no excuse not to get to work.

The challah came out great.  And the resulting french toast over the weekend was delish as well.  But what was really nice were the memories that sweet smell of baking bread brought back.

Recipe:  Ima's Challah
(Food 52)

Makes 2

Note:  Prepare yourself.  This recipe looks far more complicated than it actually is.  Read through it before you start.  Most of the directions deal with the braiding, which really isn't all that complicated at all.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons instant (powdered) yeast
6 cups flour -- either all white or half white whole wheat
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup mild honey, plus an extra tablespoon for egg wash, if desired
2/3 cups flavorless vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs, plus one yolk for egg wash, if desired
1 pinch ground cardamom, optional

Directions:

Put 1 cup warm water in a small bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar, sprinkle the yeast over top, swirl the bowl just to combine, and leave it to proof for five minutes.

While yeast is proofing, mix flour, salt, 1/4 cup of sugar and cardamom, if using, in a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.) Stir to incorporate or blend on low speed.

In a medium bowl, mix remaining water, honey, oil, and eggs. When yeast has finished proofing, add it to the flour, immediately followed by wet ingredients. Mix with a large wooden spoon or on medium-low speed in the mixer, just until combined, about 30 seconds. Switch to dough hook and begin to knead on low speed, making sure to incorporate what's at the bottom of the bowl if the dough hook misses it. If kneading by hand, stir using spoon until dough becomes to thick to stir. Empty dough onto well-floured surface and knead by hand. Knead dough until smooth and no longer sticky, adding flour with a light hand as needed, 7-10 minutes.

Split the dough into two equal pieces. Set each in a large oiled bowl, cover both bowls with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size. If using white flour, this should take about 2-2.5 hours. If using white whole wheat, it will take closer to 3.5 or 4. Feel free to let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight instead; if you do this, be sure to set out the dough in plenty of time before shaping, so it can come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375. After the rise, the dough should be soft and pliable.

Separate each mound of dough into three equal balls, for a total of six. Roll each ball into a log almost 1-foot long. Braid the logs together to create your loaf. For the nicest-looking braid, do not pinch the top edges of your logs together before braiding; simply place one log over the next and braid until you reach the bottom, then pinch those edges together. Then, flip the unfinished loaf the long way, so that the unfinished edge is now at the bottom and the loaf has been flipped over and upside down. Finish braiding and pinch these edges together. This way, both ends look identical. Tuck the very tips beneath the loaf when braiding is finished. Repeat with second loaf.

Put each loaf on its own silpat-lined baking sheet. If using eggwash, mix yolk with a 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon honey. Brush over loaves. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until challot are golden and baked through.

What To Cook When You're Not In the Mood To Cook

There are some nights that I'm just not into the whole cooking thing.  I have to admit, this is happening more and more often now that Ted and I are just Ted and I.  The truth is, sometimes it just doesn't feel like it's worth it to cook a whole thing.

Ted likes his meat plus two.  I, on the other hand, could eat Goldfish crackers for dinner and be just fine with that.  Ted says he doesn't care, but I know he looks forward to dinner every night, so what's a girl to do?

A girl, specifically this girl, cooks.  That's what she does.

Here's the thing.  I feel like if I start giving into the not being in the mood to cook thing, I may never cook again.  Okay, maybe I'd occasionally cook, and for sure I'd cook when the kids came home, but the rest of the time?  Maybe not so much.

So as you can see, my challenge is to come up with something really easy, with very limited prep, to make for dinner on those nights I'm not into cooking.

Enter scallops provencal.  Truly, scallops provencal are so easy that they barely qualify as cooking.  And they'll look like you've gone to a whole lot of effort.  In my case, everyone is happy.  Ted gets his nice end of the day dinner event, and I get no more than 15 minutes in the kitchen and lots of kudos for a delicious dinner.

Throw a nice little salad together, and maybe a little couscous or some such something, and you'll look like you slaved for hours.

That's how to cook when you're not in the mood to cook.

Try this nice Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries alongside the scallops,

Recipe:  Scallops Provencal
(2004, Barefoot in Paris)

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions:

If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Riff On A Classic

Lest you think I've gone completely off the deep end with far flung ingredients like cauliflower, I thought I'd post this riff on the classic coffee cake.  I love coffee cake in any form, and one that claims to have a great crumb, and is both rich and moist, demands at least a try.

Let me just put it out there that this is still a coffee cake, so if you're looking for a mock coffee cake, (i.e. one that has no carbs or calories), you might want to skip this post and tune in again tomorrow.  But if you're into cake that calls for yogurt instead of the classic sour cream, read on.

I have to admit, I was dubious.  I grew up on sour cream coffee cake with the classic streusel topping.  I really had no need to improve on what clearly is coffee cake perfection.  But I'm an adventurous sort, and this recipe did pique my interest.  (I like to throw in SAT words like pique occasionally because they amuse my friend Deborah, who loves vocabulary, syntax, and punctuation  almost as much as I do.)

But back to the cake.  The cake is made with plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  I only had non-fat greek yogurt in the house so I used that.  The resulting cake is moist and dense without being heavy, and has a crumb to die for.  And I'm a sucker for a good crumb.

As much as I hate to admit it, this cake could be as good as the classic court cream coffee cake.  Nonetheless, I think the next time I make this I'll double the streusel, because I love streusel almost as much as I love a good crumb.

Recipe:  Yogurt Coffee Cake
(Two Peas and Their Pod)

Note:  If you're so inclined, double the streusel.

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% plain Chobani)
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the streusel:
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For the cream cheese glaze:
3 ounces softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk, or enough to make it a glazing consistency

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and Greek yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. To make the cream cheese glaze, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat until smooth and until you have a glaze consistency. Drizzle cream cheese glaze over cooled cake and serve.

Feel the Braise

As many of my loyal readers (and maybe even some of my not so loyal readers) know,  I am a big fan of braising.  Especially in the winter.  And given that this winter is shaping up to be pretty awful, I'm feeling the braise more often than usual.  Honestly, grilled fish just isn't going to do it for me when it's -5 outside.  Even if it's a hearty fish.

Yesterday as I suited up to go to the grocery store, it occurred to me that I should at least attempt to make a list.  In making said list, I had to give a little thought to what we would have for dinner.  Enter the braise.  Yes, something braised would be perfect.

Over the holidays I picked up The New Slow Cooker cookbook and I hadn't made anything out of it yet.  Why not make tonight the night?

Figuring out what to make was harder than I thought it would be.  There were so many appealing options to choose from.  After narrowing it down, I settled on this Beef with Endive and Sun-Dried Tomatoes recipe because (1) it sounded really good; and (2) I knew I would be able to get everything I needed at my local grocery store.

Make sure to brown the meat well.  It'll leave lots of nice little brown bits in the pan...

which will  make for a pick braising liquid.

At this point, I was svitzing (sweating) because I had on a coat, scarf, etc. and I was in the house.  Note to self: Next time make the list before putting on the winter gear.

Now I'm going to tell you how easy this recipe was to make (which it was).  And next I'm going to tell you that it was delicious (which it was).  Ted loved it.  In fact, he raved.  In my house this is a big deal.  This is because to say Ted is a little spoiled by what's put on the table in front of him every night would be an understatement of epic proportions.   And, in any case, he does not rave all that often.

I served this with simple boiled white potatoes with a little butter, salt, and parsley.

The perfect dinner for a cold winter night.

Recipe:  Beef with Endive and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Adapted from The New Slow Cooker, by Brigit Binns (Weldon Owen, 2013).

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef bottom round, trimmed of most fat and cut into large chunks
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
5 Tbs olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 1/3 cups beef stock
1/4 cup white wine
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbs sherry vinegar
2 Tbs walnut oil
2 large heads Belgian endive, cored and sliced
1/2 cup green olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Season the beef generously all over with salt and pepper. In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, add the beef and sear until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Using a slotted spoon transfer the beef to the slow cooker.

Pour off most of the fat from the pan and return to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the beef stock and wine and stir to dislodge any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme springs and bay leaves and transfer the contents of the pan to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low according to the manufacturer’s instruction for 5 to 6 hours. The beef should be tender and moist.

Just before the beef is ready, in a bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, walnut oil, the remaining 3 Tbs olive oil, the 1.4 tsp salt and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Add the endive, olives, tomatoes, lemon zest and parsley and toss to mix thoroughly.

Shred the beef using two forks. Transfer to individual plates or a serving platter. Moisten the beef with a little bit of braising liquid, if desired. Top the shredded beef with the endive salad mixture. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.