Lime Cinnamon Macaroons

These are a tropical explosion of flavor...a lovely twist on a classic cookie.

Crunchy edges dusted with cinnamon give way to a soft, chewy interior of lime and coconut. Big flake coconut makes these cookies substantial and less stringy than their shredded counterparts.

The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan's cookie cookbook, my cookie bible since loosing Baking Illustrated in the mail. It makes me very happy and I was smitten with all of her macaroon variations...especially this tropical theme on macaroons.

They'd make lovely non-traditional christmas cookies (since they're basically a chewy meringue, they keep very well, other than becoming a bit soggy on the edges). But they also just make a nice tupperware-full of cookies to dip into day and night.

I swear, the flavor combination (which is not something I usually wax on about with cookies, being more concerned with texture and richness and chocolate intensity :) ) is addictive!

Lime Cinnamon Macaroons
Yield: aprox. 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites
• 3 1/2 cups (5.25 ounces) dried flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons lime zest (from 1-2 limes)
• cinnamon (either powdered, or stick to grate with a microplane)

Method:

1. Combine egg whites, coconut, sugar, and salt in a large metal bowl. Set the bowl over a large skillet of gently simmering water, stirring as the mixture heats. Keep stirring until the mixture is very hot to touch, is slightly thicker, and has turned from transparent to opaque, approximately 5-7 minutes. Set aside for half an hour to let the mixture thicken further.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put racks in upper and lower thirds.
3. Mix in vanilla extract and lime zest. Spoon out pretty heaps of batter, about 2 tablespoons each, 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or silpat, or greased foil). 
4. Bake 5 minutes, rotating top/bottom and front/back halfway through. Lower oven to 325 degrees F and continue to bake 10-15 minutes, rotating again. Bake until cookies are deeply golden on the tips and around the edges, lowering oven to 300 if it seems like they are cooking too fast. 
5. Let cool on baking sheets or on racks with just parchment. Wait until the cookies are completely cool before peeling off the cookies. Grate cinnamon over the cookies or lightly dust with powdered cinnamon. Though the cookies are best the first day, since they are crispy on the edges, they keep well 5 or so days in an airtight container.

Recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich.

Ginger Veggie Udon Soup

It's a warm fall in SF, but a little veggie soup never went amiss. This one is gingery/miso-y, with yummy soft udon noodles. It would be great for fending off a cold, with all the vitamin-filled veggies, lime juice, miso, and ginger. Knock on wood...

I bought a pack of udon noodles from the Japanese supermarket, and couldn't even read the numbers to tell how long to cook it for...Google Translate to the rescue! Their app allows you to take a picture of text and it will translate!

In a nutshell: You simmer the broth for about 15 minutes, and while that's happening boil the noodles. Chop up a whole lot of veggies in small strips, then cook some with the broth and leave some raw to be softened by the residual heat of the broth. It takes less than half an hour and is immensely satisfying.

Get your bowl, plop in a bunch of noodles, add raw carrots, then pour the broth over the whole thing. The result is a fresh, bright, light soup. Finish it all off with a squeeze of lime, green onions, and some sort of spicy situation if you want (I used a serrano chile, seeds removed and chopped fine).

To make it heartier, you could always add a soft boiled egg or some tofu. I'll probably do this with my leftovers!

Ginger Veggie Udon Soup
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• Broth:
• 3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled (use a spoon to scrape off the skin) and chopped into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 1/2 large carrot, chopped into 1/2 inch rounds
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 5 cups vegetable stock or water
• 10 sprigs cilantro
• Other ingredients:
• 7 ounces udon (find in a Japanese supermarket/specialty store or online)--rice noodles or soba would also be good!
• 1/2 head of broccoli (mind was leftover from roasting a head)
• 1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 large carrot (the other half), cut into matchsticks
• 1 rounded teaspoon red miso paste
• 5-6 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
• *Note: use whatever veggies you have leftover! Thug Kitchen suggests thinly sliced snowpeas in place of the red pepper, but I bought red peppers at Costco so....
• For serving:
• lime
• serrano chile or sriracha
• sesame oil (I didn't do this but it sounds good!)

Method: 

1. In a medium/large pot, heat over medium heat and then add the carrot and ginger chunks. Cook without oil, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until the carrots start to brown. Add garlic and stir again for about a minute to take the edge off. Add the stock or water and cilantro and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While you're waiting, cook the noodles according to the package. Mine went for 5 minutes into boiling water and were rinsed after cooking. Set the noodles aside (it's okay if they don't stay hot).
3. Chop up the rest of the veggies! Once the stock is done with its 15 minutes, remove the ginger, garlic, cilantro, and carrot as best you can. 
4. Add anything that you want to cook a bit to the stock now: broccoli if it's raw, red peppers, etc. I left the carrots raw, but you do you. Cook for just long enough for the veggies to lose their rawness--a couple of minutes. 
5. Stir the miso paste and a ladle or two of stock together in an extra bowl, then dump back in the soup. and stir to combine.
6. Put some noodles and carrots in a bowl, and ladle the soup over everything. Serve with garnishes or an egg as desired! (if you let this sit for a minute the carrots and noodles can warm up a bit).
7. Enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Thug Kitchen.

Soda Bread: Or, reconnecting with my roots

Have you seen that video of the two Irish rowers being interviewed at the Olympics? It's great. "...got to put on the podium pants as well, so that was quite nice" like yes you did! They keep it real on the urine sampling too.

Well, I'm part Irish, and though I've never been to Ireland the rowers have me feeling a bit proud of me heritage. So, I made Irish soda bread, and loved it. It's a round loaf of bread risen without yeast--just with baking soda and buttermilk...basically, a large biscuit with slightly less butter, but you can slather as much as you want on a slice.

The bread is best the first day, but toasted the second day with butter and jam it does quite nicely for elevensies. The recipe I used calls for whole wheat flour and wheat bran, which adds a nice nutty heartiness to the bread.

Brown Soda Bread
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (6 7/8 ounces) whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) cake flour
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the loaf
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place a rack in the upper middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment, silpat, or greased foil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all of the flours, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and kosher salt. Rub in 2 tablespoons butter with your fingers until the mixture looks sandy/like crumbs.
3. Add buttermilk and mix together with a fork until the dough comes together in shaggy clumps. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead just a few turns, until it comes together into a lumpy but cohesive dough (Baking Illustrated says 12-14 turns).
4. Pat into a 6 inch diameter round and place onto prepared baking sheet. Score with a serrated knife in a cross, cutting about 3/4" into the loaf (pretty deep). 
5. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown on the outside and a tester comes out clean from the middle. If you're using an instant-read thermometer, cook until the center is 190 degrees F. 
6. Brush with melted butter immediately after taking the loaf out from the oven. Let it cool on a wire rack until room temperature, 30-40 minutes, before slicing in.

Recipe from Baking Illustrated.

Candied Ginger

Ginger makes me happy,

Ginger makes me smile,

Ginger every way and day,

Full of spice and guile.

I love ginger. It all started with ginger ale, then pickled ginger with sushi. Then I discovered ginger beer (which is a lovely non-alcoholic beverage), then I turned 21 and discovered that gin goes particularly well with all non-alcoholic ginger beverages. When I am at a loss and at a bar, gin and ginger ale it is. 

So when I went to Whole Foods about a month ago and impulsively picked up a package of candied ginger, it was pretty clear I would enjoy the confection.

Here's what I didn't expect: I could not stop dipping into the bag for a tiny treat...even after breakfast I sometimes grabbed a piece while loading my bowl and spoon into the dishwasher. 

It's spicy, it's sweet, it's crunchy on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside (apparently the most addicting texture...just think about oreos!). 

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that ginger has a laundry list of health benefits. It's good for stomach problems/nausea, is anti-inflammatory, and has immune-boosting properties. (Obviously these things are secondary to the deliciousness of candy!).

To make this treat at home, I turned to the teachings of food alchemist and chemist Alton Brown. You start by boiling the ginger alone until tender, then drain (saving the cooking liquid) and return to the pot with an equal weight of sugar and a bit of liquid. Dissolve the sugar, boil off the water, and wham bam alacazam out of a ginger flavored sky...

You think it's going to caramelize. It really does look like the beginning of caramel. But somehow, crystals start and once they start they spread. Soon the whole mess is white and snowy and ready to dry into crisp, sweet bites.

Candied Ginger

Yield: as much as you like! Plus some great byproducts*

Ingredients: 

• Ginger Root (1 lb is good if you can think to buy that much), sliced into 1/8 inch coins
• Water
• Granulated Sugar (aprox 1 lb for each lb of ginger)

Method:

1. Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil for every pound of ginger (it's going to boil for a while, so enough to cover and then some). Add the ginger and cook for 35 minutes or until a fork can pierce through as it would a cooked carrot.
2. Meanwhile, put foil on a baking sheet and lay a rack over. Spray lightly with non-stick spray.
3. Drain the ginger, saving the cooking liquid. Weigh the ginger and add an equal weight of sugar, then return to the pot and add a few tablespoons of cooking liquid (per pound--get the idea?).
4. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium/medium low until the water has evaporated and crystals form, 20-30 minutes. Transfer the ginger to the prepared rack, separate the pieces, and allow to cool.
5. Store in an airtight container with a paper towel. Keeps well, though it won't last in this house!

*Byproducts of candying ginger:

P.S. The cooking liquid from the ginger is incredibly strong ginger "tea" concentrate...try adding some to cold water, black tea, or mixing with hot water and honey (and rum? or gin? for a hot ginger toddy!). It's super strong, so a little goes a long way!

P.P.S. The sugar that falls off the pieces is also delicious-in tea or coffee, on cookies or muffins, etc.

Spaghetti Fritatta

Eggs are a supreme comfort food.

Cheese? Pepper? This sounds like a cacio e pepe...just wait. We're gonna add pasta.

Pesto pasta, crisped in a pan which will now not really ever be the same for the power of cooked-on starch. But, your taste buds will thank you for crispy pasta suspended in perfect, soft, comforting egg. It's like the best part of rice-a-roni, you know those cooked pasta bits which have been sauteed in butter...

This fritatta isn't fancy. But it feels beautiful, steaming and messy and crispy and delicious.

The recipe comes from a book called Twelve Recipes, a book which is teaching me how to cook this summer.

Spaghetti Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream (the original recipe calls for olive oil, but I had cream and thought it a better idea)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• pepper
• leftover pasta (greens are also nice!)

Method:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, put a thin sheen of oil and then all your leftover pasta. Saute, pressing down into a cake to get the bottom crispy.
2. Meanwhile, whisk all other ingredients until smooth. 
3. Once the pasta is crispy, pour the egg mixture in and cook until the edges are cooked and the center is still a bit wet, about 6-8 minutes. Then, flip the frittata out onto a plate (yes, you can do it!), re-oil the skillet, and slide the wet mess of fritatta back into the skillet. If it breaks, just nudge it back together.
4. Cook another couple of minutes, or until you peek in with a knife in the middle and it is cooked to your liking.
5. Slice and serve! (Or serve cold later, or room temp...it's really good however you have it! The leftovers make good breakfast.)

BONUS: I also made Joy's Brown Butter Banana Skillet Cake with Strawberries and Pecans! It is awesome and a great way to make friends with your landlords. Invite them up for cake...don't nobody not like cake.

Pizza Grilled Cheese

This grilled cheese. This made me no longer want to bake a cake. It was so good, so complexly flavorful and exciting and fun to make that I lost desire to throw myself into making a cake.

I also lost stomach capacity.

But not to worry! Cake will be back soon.

This recipe is brought to you by the struggling basil plant on our back porch, pine nuts the people we're subletting from (our superletters?) left behind, and parmesan cheese nubs. It's also brought to you by good, crusty bread.

Shoutout to my sister-in-law's dad, who subtly packed up leftover bread after a 4th of July BBQ and handed me the bag on my way out. I have been the beneficiary of their kindness and food many times--some kale from their garden made its way into my eggs the other day, too!

Anyway. This grilled cheese is brought to you by the letter A, as in mozzArella, which I never know how to spell. It's brought to you by the glory of butter sizzling in a skillet. By the power of a bit of olive oil and a lot of heat to bring out extraordinary sweetness in otherwise ordinary tomatoes.

Another single meal, but easily adaptable to however many mouths there are to feed. FYI: I plan to put the extra pesto on pasta tomorrow night, then put the pasta in a frittata the following night. It's a piggyback kind of return on investment. Knock yourself out!

Pizza Grilled Cheese
Yield: one sandwich, easily multiplied

Ingredients:

• a bunch of basil
• olive oil
• salt
• a garlic clove
• a few tablespoons grated parmesan
• a scant quarter cup pine nuts

• 1 small tomato
• 5 or 6 small balls of fresh mozzarella, or a few slices of a big ball
• two slices crusty bread
• butter

Method: 

1. Roast tomato: slice it up, put on a sheet pan (foil makes clean up much easier!). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and put under the broiler. Keep an eye on it while you make the pesto, below. Roast until soft, with browning edges. Take out and set aside.
2. Make the pesto: [Note: I used a mortar and pestle but this can easily be adapted to a food processor.] Pound the garlic clove with a pinch of coarse salt until it's entirely broken down into a paste. 
3. Toast pine nuts for a few minutes in a skillet on the stove, then add to the mortar. Grind up. Add the cheese and grind again. 
4. Then, coarsely slice the basil, add, and grind more. Drizzle in olive oil and keep grinding until its consistency is to your liking. Taste, add salt/pepper, cheese, etc.-whatever you think it needs.
5. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread, then layer on the pesto, cheese, and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes, until golden brown
   and starting to melt, then flip. If your cheese looks like it needs some help melting (though putting hot tomatoes on it helps that along a bit), throw a lid on the pan while the second side cooks to capture heat.
6. Cut and serve. Pick your jaw up off the table so you can keep chowing down!

Inspired by Food52 and Joy the Baker.

Millionaire Shortbread

Happy Fourth of July!

Here's to food and family and fireworks.

I actually made these a couple of weeks ago, and they were the first thing I brought in to work. Food is universal--everyone eats, and most people like sweets!--so it was a great way to meet more people and share something enjoyable in the middle of the work day.

Though I brought them in when I arrived that morning, I didn't announce their presence until 2 o'clock or so. You gotta wait until the hunger and fatigue strikes, then BAM! make some friends! They're a layer of shortbread, followed by a dulce de leche-like caramel filling, and a chocolate ganache on top.


Anyway, everyone raved. And people were super impressed with the diamond cutting pattern.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: it takes the same amount of effort as cutting regular squares.

But people think they're fancier. Just like spreading sauce artfully on a plate, or swirling frosting on a cake. Food psychology is almost as cool as food science!

Each layer is simple to make, so though there are three, there's not a ton of waiting between steps. The whole shebang took me about an hour, or a bit over. The original recipe calls for cooking the caramel to a precise temperature, but I did it by look and feel and it still turned out delicious. Make these...and revel in sinking your teeth into something decadent, sweet, and beautiful!

Millionaire Shortbread
Yield: as many diamonds as you can cut! (9x9 inch pan--I split between two smaller pans with similar area)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon ice water
• 1 egg yolk

• 1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup (or dark corn syrup, or honey, or agave...)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Method:

1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x9 inch baking pan with slings of aluminum foil (greased) or parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter, then cut in with a pastry cutter, two forks, two knives, or however your soul tells you is right. I like to grate frozen butter on the biggest holes of a box grater and then fluff everything together!
3. Add ice water and egg and mix with a fork until the dough starts to come together in clumps. Press into the pan and bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. While the shortbread is baking, get the caramel ingredients ready. Dump everything except the vanilla together in a medium saucepan. When the shortbread has about 5 minutes left, turn on the stove to medium heat and whisk while the sugar dissolves and the caramel cooks. Let it cook until the mixture starts to boil around the edges, then keep whisking constantly until the caramel is thick and browning (you'll feel it get thicker). Stir in vanilla extract, then pour over the shortbread.
5. Let the shortbread and caramel cool for about 15 minutes, then microwave the chocolate and cream together for 30 second bursts, until the chocolate is melted. Stir to combine, then spread over the caramel. 
6. Put the pan in the fridge to set, at least an hour, and then pull out by the foil sling and cut as desired (I suggest diamonds!). Serve and impress, eat and delight!
7. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

From Brown Eyed Baker

Chocolate Pudding

This.

THIS.

This took less than half an hour. It's rich, but not too rich. Very chocolaty. Simple, comforting. Magic as the cornstarch thickens sweet, cocoa-lush milk.

I put a few raspberries on top, because I didn't have the courage to pour straight cream like Alice suggests. But I'm sure it's divine.

A few days later, sitting in the fridge (I too, am a lover of pudding skin), it becomes fudgy, almost like pot de creme or a thick custard.

So deeply chocolate. If you're used to making this, try this instead. It will blow your mind off with endorphins!

Chocolate Pudding
Yield: 6 pots of pudding

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (66 grams) sugar 
• 1/3 cup (28 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably natural 
• 2 tablespoons (17 grams) cornstarch 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1 3/4 cups milk (whole is best but don't sweat it. Or, figure out the percentages) 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 3 to 4 ounces (85 grams to 115 grams) dark chocolate, very finely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• rum, if you want!

Method:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt) in a medium saucepan. Add a splash or two of the milk and whisk to combine into a smooth paste. Then, add the rest of the milk and cream and whisk to combine.
2. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and bubble (about 5 mins). Make sure to scrape the corners of the pan. Heat and stir for an additional minute after the mixture starts bubbling.
3. Take the pan off the heat, then add the chocolate. Stir to melt and combine. Add the vanilla (and rum if desired) and stir to combine.
4. Divide into 6 ramekins, teacups, or whatever small vessels grace your kitchen. Refrigerate or eat warm, with or without cream/whipped cream.

From Food52, recipe by Alice Medrich (Chocolate Goddess)

*Note: this recipe is called "Chocolate Pudding You Can Serve Naked (or Top With Cream)"--I would not suggest that you parade around au natural offering people pudding. I would instead suggest serving it without accompaniment, or putting a bit of cream on top :).

Cauliflower Rice

Reviews of Cauliflower Rice:

carbfanatic
3 stars:
This is good, but it's not rice. It's not short, long, or really, any kind of grain. But, it takes to butter and cheese well, so in that sense maybe it's a kindred spirit.

moms4health
4 stars:
I love how I can make healthy "rice"--and my husband doesn't even know the difference! It's hard to keep a family healthy but this trick to sneak some extra veg into their tummies is great!!

paleoluver
4 stars:
Sometimes you're really looking for a way to not eat grains, but like, eat grains. This is the way. Follow the light, and find the truth.

samcheezburg
1 star:
Rice? Nope. Vegetables. And I thought rice was white? I don't want any cruciferous vegetables up in here!

If this "rice" could talk, it'd tell a story. Of converts and of skeptics. If it had an amazon page, the comments field would be a firezone.

To be honest, I'm in the carbfanatic camp. It's not rice. It's a bit closer to couscous. If you dress it up enough, it tastes okay. But I kind of would rather it pretend to be mashed potatoes and be entirely pureed or something. And adding butter and cheese negates the health aspect just a bit...

I tried it out though, because the internet was raving. And I had an enormous half head of purple cabbage to use. So give it a shot, and see which camp you end up in!

Recipe at the Kitchn (FYI I sauteed it as suggested and first put a poached egg, parmesan, and butter on top. The second night I made stuffed peppers with tomatoes, cayenne/chili, and cheese.

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Grab a spoon and sneak a taste. Lick the whisk. "Clean" the spatula before it heads into the dishwasher.

I am 21 today! My friend Isabel and I made a cake today in honor of the occasion. She has a beautiful kitchen with two of everything. Two dishwashers! 

"Do you put your dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter next to the sink when the dishwasher is running?"

"We usually just put them in the other dishwasher"

It's a really good place to be, food-wise. And everything-wise. I might also mention her dad made a killer steak dinner the other night, grilled outside, and a delicious meatball dinner tonight.

Anyway, so I think...being 21 is mostly exciting because you can have a drink in public. 

And weirdly this transition happens all of a sudden, boom, on your birthday. Because obviously yesterday I wasn't mature enough to drink and today I am. Yesterday, I couldn't have walked into some bars and ordered a ginger ale, and today the government just decided they don't care any more! Fully grown up and ready to get a horizontal driver's license and all. But not after any drinks.

I think making a wish might be the best part about birthdays. I mean, you can wait for 11:11 every day but the birthday wish is the most potent of all wishes. It has power to make or break that year., depending on how good a wish you make. Breathe with your whole body, expand your rib cage, relax your diaphragm, and blow! You better get every last candle or you will have missed out on the best wish of the year.

"you have 21 candles in your house?"

...nah, I think I'll just use 8.

Is that cheating the wish fairy?

CHEERS!!

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Yield: 1 cake much too large for 3 people. But really, as much as you want, because this recipe scales well.

For the cake:

1. Make a double batch of this Wacky Cake (my favorite, so easy and actually vegan too), mixing ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Pour it into a greased and floured 9x13-in baking pan or evenly divide between two 8-in round pans.
3. Bake as directed, then let cool and unmold.

For the frosting:

1. Whip 2 sticks salted butter in a stand mixer with whisk attachment until fluffy. 
2. Melt 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, let cool, then add to butter and mix again. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix again.
3. Slowly sift in 2 rounded cups of powdered sugar, mixing as you go. Whip until fluffy!

If you used a 9x13 pan, just cut the cake in half and frost like a rectangular layer cake (this is what I did). Swirl the frosting with a butter knife if you like, then cut in and dig in!

P.S. Shout-out to the "It was my birthdaaayyy..." segment of Slumber Party with Alie and Georgia, one of the most entertaining podcasts out there. If you haven't tried it, give a listen!

Popovers

POP!

Pop goes the weasel!

Pop on over for a spot of tea, love!

I gave my peonies a bit of water, and they popped right back up.

All good things pop. Bubble wrap. Impatiens seed pods. Popcorn. The fanciest of Christmas cards. A splash of color with that dashing pocket square. What some people call soda. 

These popovers are among the better things in life. Crunchy on the outside, stretchy and soft on the inside, with big holes for marmalade. A short list of ingredients, combined in a blender. 

I will admit, I kind of messed these up. I didn't have faith that they would pop because they were hard to fill evenly, and the oven wasn't the right temperature (my fault), but lo and behold, they popped and were lovely.

Thank you, Mom, for ensuring me that they would pop. You were, as always, right.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Joyful Holiday Season!

It's the star on top of the Christmas tree!

Make these for family, make them when you want to feel impressive. Make them when you need to pop! 

Popovers

Yield: 6 popovers or 10 popovers made in a muffin tin

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (original recipe calls for whole milk, but any will do)
• 1 cup (5 ounces) flour
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil for the pan

Method:

1. In a blender, blend eggs and milk until smooth. Add salt, flour, and butter and blend again until smooth and bubbly. Scrape down the sides of the blender to make sure no flour lumps are stuck, then blend again and leave to rest on the counter for half an hour.
2. While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put a half teaspoon of oil into each cup of the popover pan or the outer 10 cups of a muffin pan. During the last 10 minutes of resting the batter, put the pan (with the oil in it) into the oven to heat through. 
3. Quickly, take the pan out of the oven and fill the cups evenly (just the outer ones if you're making these in a muffin tin). This is tricky, so work carefully and start by underfilling. It can help to pour the batter into a measuring cup with a spout before filling. 
4. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees without opening the door. By this point, the popovers will have popped! Bake another 15 minutes at this lowered temperature, or until golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving with jam, marmalade, or simply plain.

Recipe from The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook.

P.S. I also highly recommend these cookies from Joy the Baker!

Cocoa Candied Almonds

This story starts at costco, as all good stories do. They were out of the roasted, salted almonds in the two pound box, so...
My dad bought the 3 pound bag of raw almonds.

Figuring we could bake with them, or roast them ourselves, or whatnot.

This is dangerous. We ate more than a pound in probably 2 weeks, and there are 3 of us. And I'm sure I ate more than a third of that, too.

They're sweet and salty, crunchy, a treat but still a snack, and eminently grabbable on a pass through the kitchen.

All it takes is a little bit of aggressive whipping of egg whites and sugar to make the crunchy meringue that will shield the nuts in a protective, chocolaty armor. Cocoa powder adds that somethin'-somethin' and mm mm good factor. Joy adds a hint of cayenne, which you can do, but we don't eat spicy things at home so I added a bit of cinnamon instead.

So run to your nearest bulk nuts seller (ewwwww) and make these in your kitchen today. They will last longer than cookies, but not that much longer. They will sustain the 3pm hunger crash. They will satisfy the chocolate cravings.

[You know they say that if you're craving chocolate, your body really wants the fat from the cocoa butter, and that you can "satisfy" that craving with peanut butter? Um, I think these are an even better option.]

These almonds make a great World Cup snack, too!

Cocoa Candied Almonds
Yield: a two week supply for 3 ravenous people

Ingredients:

• about 3 cups raw almonds (I used a bit more, probably 4 cups, and there was PLENTY of meringue for all of them)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used dutch process, because guess what? We have a costco thing of that too.)
• a pinch of cayenne or cinnamon, according to your tastes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. [I forgot to do this step, and they turned out great, so if you don't have time, skip this:] Roast almonds on a baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the meringue.
3. Put butter in a rimmed baking sheet (lining with foil makes for easy cleanup later) and melt in the oven for 5-7 minutes, making sure that the milk solids don't burn. Remove and set aside.
4. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl and with a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until frothy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until white, glossy, and almost at stiff peaks.
5. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, cocoa powder, and spice, and mix again (slowly at first) to combine.
6. Add the almonds and stir to coat evenly. Spread in the baking sheet with the melted butter in an even layer. 
7. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the coating has darkened in color and is crisp and dry. Remove and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook (love.)