Sourdough biscuits

When you combine Gus, bacon fat, and caramelized onions, there can only be one outcome: triple happiness.

I needed to feed Gus this weekend, and feeling lazy to make bread, I decided to give these sourdough biscuits a try. I got the recipe from the King Arthur Flour catalog awhile back because they were very intriguing (cue in imaginary beard stroking). The sourdough starter is not used for leavening, it's just for flavor. Then to "kick it up a notch" (a la Emeril), I substituted most of the butter out with rendered bacon fat I've been saving in the freezer for biscuits one day. 

And finally that day had come!

These biscuits came out completely fabulous. Smoky bacon flavor, sweet caramelized onions, flaky/tender biscuit. There was a hint of sourdough flavor at the end, but nothing too overt. We just ate them straight, but they would be great as an accompaniment to soup or eggs as well!

You can find the recipe here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/caramelized-onion-sourdough-biscuits-recipe. I used a 1/2 cup measure to measure out the bacon fat, and then added butter on top to reach the 1/2 cup volume called for. I chilled the butter/bacon fat before using. Also, the dough was sort of wet initially so I just lightly sprinkled both sides of the dough ball with flour before kneading and it was just right to bring it together. I patted the dough down into a rough square and just cut it into nine squares, rather than deal with round biscuit cutters and re-rolling dough.

I can feel my arteries clogging as I eat these, but hey, it's not every day you have a jar of bacon fat waiting for a higher purpose!

Roomie Weekend: Pittsburgh Edition

Another year has come and gone, and we've once again convened to eat and chat our way through a weekend! We were pretty lazy as a group to take pictures this time (we were probably eating too fast), so the best one I have is the group picture shown above. We were exploring the Cathedral of Learning and found these cool fold down desks that were inlaid in the seat backs of these benches. I believe it was the Syrian room. 

So there was a quick rundown of our weekend:

Saturday morning--meet up at my apartment. Dara arrived earlier so we took a trip to La Gourmandine bakery in Lawrenceville to get a bunch of tasty French pastries

Saturday afternoon--we met up with some Pittsburgh friends and had a BBQ, including burgers, roasted veggies, salads, and brownies. 

Saturday evening--took a breather after returning from the BBQ, and then late evening we got takeout from Spice Island, a Burmese restaurant in Oakland. Pad Thai, mohinga (fish stew with noodles), mango pork stew, chicken noodle soup, tea leaf salad, and fried tofu salad!

Sunday morning-afternoon--we took a huge long walk to Squirrel Hill to eat at the new Everyday Noodles! We got an ox tail noodle soup, wonton noodle soup, minced pork noodles, and a tray of soup dumplings, and they were all fabulous! We took some yummy bubble tea to go as well. We continued our walk and checked out CMU and the Carnegie Library on the way home.

Sunday evening-- after a break, we drove out to Highland Park to eat at Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant. We had two types of okonomiyaki, the Japanese cabbage pancakes, and a couple of tasty appetizers. We finished off the evening with a trip to Tazzo D'Oro coffee shop.

Monday--We ate Gus-crumpets and rolls at home with some clotted cream and homemade jams for breakfast, and then after sending Jess off at the bus stop, Dara and I did a little bit of shopping and picked up a Primanti's sandwich and some cookies at the Strip District. At home, we shared the pastrami sandwich, and polished it off in no time! Then Dara was off too, and that concluded our epic Pittsburgh roomie weekend!

Until next time!

The first doctor

Welp, I'm back! The defense was March 6, and this past Thursday I finally turned in all my final documents and fees, so I am officially getting my PhD!! Woo!

I did some baking in the last few weeks, recipes to follow shortly.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement, and I am looking forward to my next phase of training and the resuming of baking/blogging here! Onward to doctor #2!

Short haitus and entering a new phase

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post a quick note that I will unlikely be posting here or on the other blog for a bit of time, as I am trying to finish my thesis and defend in the next month or so. I have been baking on occasion (Gus must be fed, after all) but I have been returning to old tried and true recipes, so nothing new to report here.

I expect to have some more free time in March-April, although after that I return to medical school so I cannot predict whether I will be able to post with any regularity. However, I have a long term commitment to this blog and to you guys, so whenever I have the chance can make new and exciting baked goods, I'll be sure to share them with you!

Alrighty, see you on the other side!

Mixed Berry Jam

This was one of the most popular gifts I made this holiday season, so to share the joy of the tart, not-too-sweet, deep antioxidant-packed power of this jam, here is the recipe below. I used all frozen berries for mine: 2/3 frozen blueberries (bought from Costco, wild blueberries from Maine), and 1/3 a mix of frozen berries from Trader Joe's (mix of regular blueberries, cherries, and raspberries). I'm sure fresh sweet berries would be fabulous as well. Enjoy!

Mixed Berry Jam (adapted from The Art of Preserving)

Makes 6-8 half-pint jars (total volume of 48-64 ounces)

Ingredients:

3 lbs (12 cups) of berries (can be raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, in any ratio you want; frozen berries work great and are cheaper during off-season months)

3 cups (1.5 lbs) sugar (cannot decrease)

3/4 cup lemon juice

1 package pectin (you can find this at the store usually near the JELL-O/gelatin)

Instructions:

If canning, sterilize jars and canning lids/seals. You can do this by boiling in water for at least 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large non-reactive saucepan, toss together the berries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until jam has thickened, about 15 minutes. Add package of pectin, stir to completely dissolve, bring back up to a boil for 1 minute. The jam should be very thick now.

Ladle the jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top. Wipe the jar rims clean, place the seals, and tighten lids. If canning, place filled jars in boiling water bath and boil for 10 minutes. Once they come out, you should hear the lids pop as they create a vacuum and seal as they cool off. If they do not seal, you can follow the directions below.

If you are not able to can, or the cans processed above did not seal, you can store in fridge or freezer. Make sure to boil-sterilize the jars you wish to use to store the jam in before filling just to be safe, and then fill the jars, secure the lid, and store in fridge for up to 1 month, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

For complete information on how to home can safely, please go to this website for details: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

Browned Butter Banana Muffins

I'm not a huge fan of banana bread. I'll eat bananas occasionally, but banana bread has been a slow and acquired tolerance. Any tolerance I have is actually due to this recipe, which comes from Food Network celebrity Claire Robinson.

This is a very simple recipe, just 5 ingredients (or 7 if you have to make your own self-rising flour). The browning of the butter really elevates the flavor profile of the muffin, and the large amount of bananas in this recipe to flour makes this very moist and fresh tasting. If you don't like banana bread but are ok with bananas, give this recipe a try; it may become your go-to banana recipe as it has become for us.

Browned Butter Banana Muffins (adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup agave nectar or honey
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 & 3/4 cups self-rising flour (see note below)

Note: You can make your own self-rising flour. Add 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon salt for EACH cup AP flour; make as many cups as you will need, mix evenly, measure out volume called for in the recipe and save the rest.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line/grease a 12 cup standard size muffin tin. 

Peel the bananas and place them in a large bowl. Add the agave nectar or honey and mash with a fork or potato masher until only a few lumps remain. 

Melt the butter in a light-colored skillet and then continue cooking on medium heat stirring constantly with a heat-proof rubber spatula. After all the water has cooked off, the bubbles will start to get big and crackly and then the butter will turn from pale yellow to amber, with solids accumulating at the bottom of the skillet. At this point, add about 1 cup of the mashed banana mixture and mix to combine. Cook a few more minutes until the banana-butter mixture has turned a darker shade of golden-brown. Take off heat.

Add cooked butter-banana mixture to the rest of the banana mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in the egg. Fold in the flour in two batches until just combined. Do not overmix. Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for ~25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the centers are springy when poked. 

Cool muffins in pan for five minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Some deflating may occur. Serve immediately or place in freezer bag and freeze for future defrosting and eating.

Morning glory breakfast cake for the new year

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 is a wonderful year for everyone. 

To start the new year off on a healthy note, I bring you this veggie and fruit-packed wholesome breakfast cake. For those of you who may be familiar with Morning Glory muffins, this is the cake version of that hippie health food favorite. 

Despite the health food origins, the cake is surprisingly light and flavorful and tasty. The cake itself is lightly sweetened and the fruit add just a touch more natural sweetness. It definitely is a breakfast or snack you can feel good about!

Morning Glory Breakfast Cake (adapted from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

2 large eggs

2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 & 1/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt or buttermilk (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)

3 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup wheat bran

2 large carrots, peeled and shredded (about 2 & 1/2 cups)

1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and shredded (about 1 & 1/4 cups)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins

1 tablespoon granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for topping (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment (or grease and flour it).

Toast the oats and nuts on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Let cool and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking soda). Add the bran and oats and nuts and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix together the other add-ins (shredded carrot and apple, blueberries, dried fruit, and coconut).

With a mixer, beat together the eggs and brown sugar until light and frothy. Beat in the buttermilk or yogurt, molasses, and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture and mix until mostly combined. Pour in all the rest of the add-ins and fold until just mixed evenly. Spread batter evenly in the pan, and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top, if desired. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees or until a cake tester comes out clean in the center of the cake. If not done, continue baking and test again at 5 minute intervals. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once cool, cut and serve or wrap individual servings in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight bag/container.

Pumpkin, Round 2: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Well, the pumpkin granola was only Part I. In reality, I had my eyes set out on using up that last can of pumpkin pie filling (not puree) waiting patiently in the pantry with a recipe I found on Libby's website, Pumpkin Granola Muffins. Since I had also needed to get rid of the extra puree leftover from the pumpkin cookies, the granola was a two-fer: it used up the puree and also produced the granola that I needed for the pumpkin muffins!

While I was at it, I figured I would try to adapt the recipe to make those oh-so-popular Starbucks copycat-recipe cream cheese pumpkin muffins. So I found a filling recipe to use and then added a bit of espresso powder to the muffin batter to pay homage to the pumpkin spice latte muffin recipes I've also seen lately. 

These muffins were moist and had good texture from the granola, and the creamy ribbon of cream cheese running through the muffin was a great complement. Although it's a lot of steps, the recipe makes a lot of muffins (24), which is great for sharing and having enough left over to stash in the freezer for breakfasts!

 
Pumpkin Latte Granola Muffins with Cream Cheese (adapted from a combo of Libby's, Annie's Eats, and Baking Bites)

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see here for a recipe)
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granola

1 30-ounce can Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix (NOT puree)
2 large eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup light-flavored oil (such as canola or light olive oil)

Instructions:
Combine the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar in a medium bowl and mix until well blended. Scrape the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and form a log, wrapping tight and reinforcing with a layer of foil; freeze for at least 2 hours until at least slightly firm. If you don't have 2 hours, throw the whole bowl in the freezer and keep it there as long as you can before using, preferably at least 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange 2 oven racks to upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 standard muffin trays with 24 paper cups, or grease the trays.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, espresso, and salt. Stir in granola. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin pie mix, eggs, and oil. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture and fold until just moistened. 

Take cream cheese mixture out of freezer. If you had time to do the logs, cut the log into 24 evenly sized pieces. If cream cheese was chilled in the bowl, use 1 rounded teaspoon for each muffin to start. Fill muffin cups half full (~2 tablespoons), then add cream cheese to each cup, and lastly top each with more muffin batter to cover. I found using a tiny cookie scoop for the cream cheese and a medium scoop for the muffin batter worked really well. Use a wooden skewer to tease the batter to the edge of each cup, covering the cream cheese entirely. 

Place one muffin tray on each oven rack and bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, rotating the two pans at the mid-way point. A wooden skewer should come out clean for muffin batter, although may have a bit of cream cheese smeared on. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer muffins to wire rack to cool completely. Serve on the same day or else freeze in airtight bag/container for future consumption.
 

Pumpkin, Round 1: Granola

Happy holidays! I am still trying to catch up on recipes from the last couple of months, sorry for the delays!

Back in mid-Fall, I had half a can of pumpkin left over from making the pumpkin cookies, but I didn't want to make just any old pumpkin bread with it. I scanned though my Google Reader and found this gem of a recipe from Sugarcrafter and set out to make this as my next installment of my granola addiction.

Because the pumpkin makes up a good portion of the wet ingredients, this granola is more on the chewy side, and not as crispy-crunchy as other recipes. It's very fragrant and deep flavored, great on yogurt, and it is a good recipe to use up some leftover canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Spice Granola (adapted from Sugarcrafter)

Ingredients:
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan (8x8 or bigger).

In a large bowl, combine the oats, spices, seeds, and nuts. Stir to distribute spices evenly. In another bowl, combine the honey, pumpkin, and brown sugar, whisking until the brown sugar is moistened and fully incorporated.

Pour pumpkin mixture over dry ingredients and toss with a spatula until evenly distributed. Press the mixture down in the baking pan into an even layer. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Stir the granola and distribute the more browned edges into the center. Press down again into an even thin layer and bake another 15 minutes. The whole mixture should have taken a deeper shade of brown and look drier. If there is still a significant amount of moisture, give everything another flip/stir and return to oven for 10 minute intervals until it's golden brown and toasty.

Cool completely and store in airtight container. This tends to clump together due to the pumpkin's moisture, so it's better to store in the fridge or in a bag in the freezer to preserve crispness and minimize clumping.

Applesauce cake with Oatmeal Streusel

So awhile back, my friend Shannon gifted me a great big jar of applesauce from her last big batch, and I used some of it for some awesome baked oatmeal, but I was even more excited to try out an applesauce cake recipe with the remainder!

This cake is lightly sweet, very moist, and oh-so-fragrant from the ample oat-cinnamon streusel lining the bottom and rippling through the middle of the cake. It kept very well for several days in an airtight container, and if anything, developed more apple-y character and moistness over time! It is a splendid anytime cake and very versatile.

Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes)

Ingredients:

Streusel-

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits or grated and chilled

Cake-

2 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Instructions: 

For the streusel, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chilled butter in a bowl and work all the ingredients together with your fingers quickly, until everything becomes a damp crumbly mess and the chunks of butter are no larger than pea-sized. Refrigerate until later.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan with butter or shortening and dust with a couple tablespoons of flour, knocking it around the entire surface of the pan to coat and dumping out the excess flour.

Sift together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix together with mixer until just combined. 

Retrieve the streusel from the fridge. Pour half the batter into the prepared bundt pan and sprinkle the surface with half of the streusel mixture. Repeat with the remaining batter and streusel. Bake at 350 degrees for ~1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack or your serving/storage container and allow to cool completely. 

Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Or store in fridge/freezer.