Food is Food

Hello Internet People. I'm sorry I've been a little absent, but this has been a busy and emotional week. Therefore, I present to you this scatterbrained post of odds and ends...

Many of you have been curious about the infamous "cookie stacking" Instagram post (infamous, really Siri?). The origin of this layered dough can be found in this recipe for Peanut Butter Honey Cookies. I was instantly intrigued to see if by stacking two blobs of dough on top of each other, the result would be a cookie that spread less, as suggested. Well, perhaps I did something wrong, but my cookies just ended up looking like butts, so... delicious recipe, however. Honey? Peanut Butter? Yes.

Last Thursday I was all set to appear on the Today Show, and you may have caught a glimpse of me even, however, breaking news about the Pope's whereabouts interrupted my segment. Of course, I didn't mind in the slightest, and it was actually very exciting to witness... yet another reminder of how surreal it is to be a small part of a news institution like Today. If you're interested in the recipes I was planning on preparing, you may click here: Buffalo Chicken Dip and Ultimate Queso Dip.

Last night, I was very honored to be a part of the launch of Keurig Kold, a revolutionary new drinkmaker that brews perfectly chilled beverages like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and so, SO much more. It is available for purchase today on their website... check it out!

And finally, I wanted to repost this recipe in honor of a great woman, Lucy. If you've been following my blog for awhile then you probably know this sandwich, but to have known the woman behind it was something else. The heavens above gained a beautiful soul. Team Lucy forever!

This roasted butternut squash soup is probably my favorite fall soup of all time, which is why I’m so shocked we haven’t posted a video for it before. It’s cheap, easy, nutritious, and absolutely delicious; and should probably go into the once-a-week rotation for a few months at least.

As I mention in the video, there’s really no great reason to simmer this for an hour like I did, but I think it does help harmonize the flavors, not to mention humidify your home. A cold, rainy day just looks better through steamed-up windows.

If you’re feeling like something a bit more substantial, try this topped with a handful of crispy bacon. Of course, I wouldn’t say no to some diced ham either. Add a hard roll, and you can’t get a better autumn meal. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

For the sage brown butter:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

6-8 large sage leaves (or a lot of tiny leaves like I used in the video)

For the soup:

3 1/2 pound butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 cup sliced carrots

6 garlic cloves, peeled
sage-infused brown butter

2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

6 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar)

cayenne to taste

creme fraiche and chive to garnish

I made this side dish to go with bbq pork and a cole slaw, and it turned out to be so delicious I couldn't even take a photo before it was pretty much gone. As any food blogger knows, that means it was huge successful. I did have some on my plate so I managed to snap this measly pic - but I have to make it again, for sure. And soon! It's a perfect fall side dish and goes well with just about anything.

I really didn't measure my spices - I just can't be bothered but just sprinkle on a bunch and I'm sure you'll be fine. I used mostly cumin and chili, and just a little coriander and garlic.

Sweet and spicy carrots with feta

1 kilo of carrots (about 2 pounds) - ideally organic, they have much more flavor
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp runny honey
salt
cumin
ancho chili powder
ground coriander
garlic powder

150 g feta cheese

Peel the carrots and cut into smaller pieces - I split most of mine in 2 or 3 pieces and then halved them. Place in a large oven proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and honey, and sprinkle on all the spices. Give it a good toss.

Bake at 175°C for about 30-35 minutes. The carrots should be fairly softened.

Crumble over the feta and bake for about 10-15 more minutes. And serve. You're done!

Even though I often joke about naming dishes a certain way to help with the search engines, I rarely actually do. Mostly because I don’t get a bonus for extra traffic, but with this borscht-braised beef short ribs, I fully admit to intentionally not using the “B” word.

I would hate for someone who thinks they hate beets to not even watch the video. I figured if we could trick them into at least seeing the dish in all its colorful glory, they’d simply have to give it a try. Unless they don't like beets, and gorgeous things.

By the way, I can totally relate to the “I don’t eat beets” people, as I am one. I’ve never been a big fan, but in certain things, like borscht, I love them. With that simple soup as an inspiration, I thought the flavors would work nicely with the rich, fatty short ribs, and they sure did.

Will this be enough to change your mind about beets? There’s only one way to find out. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 3-inch pieces, seasoned generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf

1 cup cubed carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 pound beets, cut in large pieces (about two large ball sized beets, cut in eighths)

2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

- Optional step: when you taste your finished sauce, if you want to add some acidity to balance the sweetness, adjust with a splash of white vinegar.

- Garnish with sour cream and chives

About a year ago I was in Toronto with some journalists, including one from Germany. He had been to the US many times but it was his first trip to Canada. He remarked that he thought Canada would look different somehow. The truth is, when you travel to Canada from the United States, it doesn’t always look very different. Especially on the surface. The U.S. has a lot in common with Canada, but there are some subtle (and not so subtle) differences. One difference? Candy bars!

The candy bars in question are made by Nestle and Cadbury, but they are not the same as candy bars in other parts of the world, and none of the ones I brought back from my last trip across the border are available in the US, not that I know of anyway. I’m not much of a candy bar fan, and these are everyday, available-in-the-supermarket candy bars, but I still think it's fun to try something different now and again.

So what are they like?

The Coffee Crisp is my favorite. It’s light and crunchy, a bit like a Kit Kat bar but with a distinct coffee flavor. It's made in Canada and has layers of vanilla wafers and a coffee filling. There was actually a campaign to bring this bar to the U.S.

The Wunderbar was recommended to me by another traveling companion and pal, the Global Gumshoe. It has many of the flavors of a Snickers bar and the texture of a Butterfingers bar. It has a light crispy crunch, and mild peanut flavor but no crunchy nuts. It is very thick and chewy with caramel.

Mr.Big is a bit like a lighter version of the Wunderbar, cararmel, peanuts, crisp vanilla wafer and rice crisps, but much more delicate. And well, bigger.

The Crunchie is another top pick, a bit like a Violet Crumble it’s a honeycomb toffee bar, though the chocolate coating is milk chocolate and very sweet. The airy texture and richer flavor are very appealing.

What candy bars do you like to bring home to the US? Or from the US if you live abroad? Let me know in the comments.

Curious about my trip to Canada? Check out this terrific video of Nova Scotia from the Global Gumshoe --and see if you can spot me!

Titus and Dante wanted to make a cake. I had them make this classic quatre-quarts plus a little vanilla, but you can add whatever you'd like. For vanilla though, use vanilla extract or the scraped out seeds from a fresh vanilla pod if you have it - that's the best.

This is, literally, easy as cake. Easy enough for kids, for sure. And delicious! Leftovers? Well, this keeps well-wrapped in the fridge for several days. Or you can toast a slice or two, top with with berries and whipped cream perhaps?

Titus' Vanilla Cake

200 g eggs (3 or 4, depending on how large they are)

200 g sugar

200 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 g butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in flour and baking powder, and the melted butter and the vanilla. Pour into a well-lined cake pan and bake in a 200°C oven, for 30-35 minutes. Check to make sure it's baked through.

I was going to say that one of these days we’ll actually make a proper Peking duck recipe, but that’s probably not going to happen. That takes multiple steps, several days, and requires a place to hang the ducks to dry. Most modern homes don’t have a duck drying room.

However, using this relatively quick and simple technique, we can achieve something kind of similar, which many people would say, all things considered, is even better. Well, maybe not “many people,” but I would say that. These were really, really good.

Regarding the Chinese five-spice seen herein; mine contained cinnamon, anise seed, cloves, ginger, and fennel; but these ingredients can vary. Believe it or not, despite the name, many contain more than five spices, as things like pepper, nutmeg, orange peel, and cardamom, are also common additions. The good news is, for something like this, any combination of those will work.

If you’re not into lettuce cups for whatever reason, you can also use this technique for serving whole duck legs. The only difference is, don’t cut them up. Since this is something that can be made well ahead of time, it works nicely for large groups. Just simply reheat, and crisp up the skin before serving. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 whole duck legs

1 tbsp veg oil

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice powder

3 green onions, cut into large pieces

5 garlic cloves, halved

For the sauce (everything here is to taste, so please adjust):

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 lemon juiced

Serve in lettuce cups, garnished with cucumber, green onions, and sesame seeds.

I am a zombie. Yesterday morning, Carson and I woke up, flew to LA, attended the Emmy's, and then flew home on a red-eye last night. Essentially, we spent 12 hours in Los Angeles and another 12 hours on a plane in a 24-hour timespan. I am a zombie. BUT, it was allll worth it because The Voice won an Emmy!!!! I was so proud of Carson and everyone that works so hard on the show, and it was very exciting to be there in person to cheer them on. Tonight starts a new season, so tune in!!

Moving on to this ridiculously delicious banana bread that I made on Saturday morning in guilty preparation for leaving my children. I think it worked, because they barely missed us and made us pretty cute "welcome home" signs. Go, banana bread, go! I tried out a couple of new techniques after seeing this recipe. First, I caramelized the bananas by roasting them in the oven with a little honey and cinnamon. Then, I browned the butter and let it cool slightly before adding it to the batter.

By doing these two things, the banana bread tasted sinful. Almost as if I had added rum or peanut butter. It has a caramely, slightly nutty flavor, and it's perfectly moist and plain old delicious. No need to bake this out of guilt, just bake this! And watch The Voice tonight! Ok, I'll take a nap now...

Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

Printable Recipe

4 ripe bananas

Honey

Cinnamon

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

6 T unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel bananas, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in oven, and cook for 20 minutes, until bananas begin to caramelize. Remove, and set aside to let cool. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

While bananas are roasting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, until it begins to brown and let off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat, and set aside to let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg). In a larger bowl, add the bananas and mash. Stir in the butter, vanilla, sour cream, brown sugar and eggs, and combine until just smooth. Add the dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Pour batter into a greased bread pan, and bake for one hour.

They say Auguste Escoffier created this dish in honor of the opera, La Belle Helen, but we chefs know the real reason. How else are you going to use up bruised pears in such a delicious and beautiful way? Okay, so maybe that wasn’t his motivation, but as you’ll see in the video, it sure does work great.

The recipe is very straightforward, so instead we’ll go into your options for the chocolate sauce, as well as what to do with all that extra simple syrup. We have two chocolate preparations that will work for this (and have been linked). The first would be our easy hot fudge recipe; and the second, and more traditional choice, would be the classic chocolate ganache.

If you follow the link to the later, you’ll be taken to our Boston Cream Pie video, where you’ll see the technique for creating a classic ganache, but you’ll probably need to adjust the ratio of cream to chocolate. Generally it’s equal parts chocolate and cream, but if you want something more pourable, then 2 parts cream to 1 part chocolate (by weight) would work better.

As far as the extra vanilla poaching liquid goes; you’ll want to strain it, pour it into some cool looking bottles, and give it away as edible gifts. The taste is incredible. Better than the pears, if we’re being honest, and would make a fantastic holiday treat for the wannabe mixologists in your life. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 poached pears:

6 cups water

zest and juice of one lemon

4 bosc pears, cored and peeled (you can also use Anjou or Bartlett)

1 split vanilla bean, or a few teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 cups sugar

Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, depending on size and firmness

Food is Food

Category

Blog Archive

Cookie Stacking and Other Things...

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup – Legend of the Fall

Sweet and spicy carrots with feta

Borscht-Braised Beef Short Ribs – It Sure Beats Beets

Canadian Candy Bars

Next Up: Something with Beef Short Ribs

Titus' Vanilla Cake

Crispy “Peking Duck” Lettuce Cups – Faster, Easier, and Better?

Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

Poached Pears “Belle Helene” - Why Escoffier Really Created This Dish

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