French Butter Cookies

For this year's Second Annual Make-Christmas-cookies-for-Chefski's-family (and mine!) Baking Day,  I decided to try something a little special, a little nostalgic, and I knew I'd found what I was looking for when I stumbled on a recipe for French Butter Cookies. You may remember these from that ubiquitous blue tin often sold in drug stores or ::gasp:: Woolworth's of yore. Buttery, even sandy-feeling (in a good way), these cookies take a bit of time and effort, but it was worth it just to hear my mother tell me how much she really liked them -- and she's not even a cookie person!

Here's how I adapted the recipes I found on Annie's Eats:

French Butter Cookies

For the dough

1 large egg

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour*

*For the Black n Whites, make one batch of FBCs as directed, and one using only 1 1/3 cups flour + 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

For finishing

1 large egg white + 1 teaspoon water, lightly beaten

Turbinado sugar for sprinkling 

Directions
1. Soft boil your egg by placing it in a pot of water, with about an inch covering it.  Bring the water to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the egg to sit in the boiling water for 10 minutes.
2. Next, place the the egg in a bowl of ice water and let stand for 5 minutes. This will make peeling the shell off much easier.
3. Separate the white from the yolk, and discard (read: eat) the white.
4. Place the yolk in a large bowl. Add the butter, sugar, and salt, and then with a hand mixer beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the bowl occasionally as the mix attempts to escape your bowl.
5. Add vanilla. I actually went up to 1 tablespoon for my cookies, and was so pleasantly surprised by the vanilla flavor that I'll definitely be doing this in the future.
6. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Using a spatula, press dough down into a ball.
7. If you're making the regular butter cookies, divide you dough in half, and then roll each ball into a log about 6 inches long, with a 3.75 inch diameter. Roll in parchment paper, twisting the ends closed, and chill in the freezer for an hour. As this point, you may freeze your dough, in freezer bags, for up to two weeks (this will definitely come in handy in the future).
8. After your dough has firmed, you may slice the dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Brush on the egg white mixtures and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. These cookies will be so sparkly and crunchy once baked!
9. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes at  350 degrees F. Enjoy.

Black and White Spiral Cookies

Basically the same ingredients as for the French Butter Cookies, and you'll need one batch (or a 1/2), but, as stated above, to make the "Black" part, sub in 1 1/3 cups flour + 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder in place of the 1.5 cups flour.

In my case, I couldn't find Dutch-processed cocoa, so I consulted baking 911 on how to substitute natural cocoa powder for Dutch (3 Tablespoons natural + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda = 1 Tablespoon Dutch).

Directions

1. If you made full batches of each, divide in half as directed for French Butter Cookies.  

2. Roll each out separately into rectangular sheets about 6 by 8 inches, and 1/4 inch thick. 

3. Place one chocolate sheet atop a vanilla sheet, then starting at the long end, roll the dough cinnamon-roll style, creating a tight log.

4. Chill in the freezer for 1 hour. Slice and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

5. If you've got extra chocolate dough, as I did, just roll those up a la French Butter Cookies, chill, slice, and bake on their own.

6. Allow to cool, pack up and deliver as gifts :)

φασολάδα (Fasolada: Greek Navy Bean Soup)

For the sake of transparency, I'll be upfront and admit it: I didn't follow the recipe. Sure, sure, I often make tweaks, but seriously, this time I was forced to take shortcuts because I just got back from proctoring an exam, have yet to grade them before the 48 hours I'm allotted to calculate grades is up, and I'm leaving the state for Winter Break in the morning. I wasn't going to go to Giant for this one, but I also didn't want to eat PB&J for dinner. So this is what I made, in such a reductive fashion that I'm not evens sure I can still call it φασολάδα (fasolada). 

φασολάδα (fasolada)
Adapted from Elly Says Opa!

What I did...

Ingredients:

1- 15.5 oz can Goya navy beans

1 - 15 oz can of diced tomatoes

a large pinch of oregano

a pinch of red pepper flakes 

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a medium pot, heat beans with liquid until boiling.
2. Add diced tomatoes, and the rest of the ingredients, mixing well to incorporate fully.
3. Keep heatin' til it's ready for eatin'!

And let me tell you -- this was delicious!

 

The recipe says something more like this...

1lb dried haricot/navy beans 

12 cups water

1.5 cups crushed tomatoes

3-4 bay leaves

1 Tablespoon oregano 

a pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1-2 onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. After rinsing and picking out any unsightly beans, place your beans in a pot and fill with water such that 3 inches or so cover them. Allow to soak overnight, then drain the water.

2. Add water to the beans so that they are, again, covered by a few inches. Bring the pot to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, drain the beans.

3. Add the 12 cups of water to the pot. 

4. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except for the salt (remember, beans, for whatever reason, refuse to soften post-salt!)

5. Once the pot comes to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer, and allow to cook for 1.5 hours. 

6. After 1.5 hours have elapsed, uncover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the beans have softened and the soup is thick (this is where you may need to add water). 

7. Add salt to taste.

Ensalada Rusa (Russian Salad)

Think Pink: Potato-Beet-n-Egg Salad

At every Dominican gathering, there are a few things you can always count on: Family, Food, and Music. That means pernil, platanos, and a personal favorite, ensalada rusa -- "Russian Salad." Now, I can't be sure how truly Russian this is, but what I can tell you is that it's a Dominican classic. I already know Mama Tilde will be serving this up for Nochebuena, Christmas Eve, which is when we traditionally eat the big holiday meal. I've always found it goes really well with Tilde's sometimes-dry-yet-somehow-still-succulent pork, taken in one forkful. It's also been very well-received by my Polish friends (one word: potatoes), so I'm thinking it's a keeper for when 'Chefski and I open up our fusion restaurant one day.

Other Dominican traditions include dressing the birthday girl 

to match her Dominican birthday cake!

(Caro, Age: 4) 

Sometimes my mother makes it without the beets, but I'm a fan of the pink hue the dish takes on with this addition, so I always add a can. You can also add peas or corn or carrots... whatever you like.

The Egg Salad of My Childhood

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes

5 eggs

1 can sliced beets

1-2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

capful of white vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Peel and halve the potatoes, and boil in a large pot of salted water until a fork pokes through them easily. Don't overcook, otherwise you'll have some mashed potatoes.

2. Meanwhile, hard boil your eggs (sometimes I do this in the same pot as the potatoes, so that they all cook simultaneously).

3. While your eggs are hard boilin', drain the can of beets and cut the slices into cubes. Throw those in a large bowl.

4. Once your eggs are ready, set them aside to cool. Once they aren't too hot to handle, peel the shells off and cut the eggs into cubes. Throw these into the bowl with the beets.
5. When the potatoes are ready, drain them of their water and run cool water over them (this is to make them easier to handle). You've probably figured out the pattern by now: slice and dice them into large cubes. Throw 'em in the bowl.

6. Add the mayo to the bowl, along with a bit of salt and pepper and the vinegar. Fold and stir everything with a large spoon or spatula. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

Sourdough Rye Bread

This is probably one of the best breads I've made to date (and by "to date," I mean sometime last summer). I was in the midst of my sourdough obsession, and by that point I'd made a regular white flour starter (traditional and tangy, the way you'd imagine "sourdough" would taste), a whole wheat starter (tangier and more like a paste than a gooey yet dough-like base), and a rye flour starter (the tangiest of the bunch, with a very earthy scent). This bread is made with the latter.

Although I have since had to discard all of my starters, this is the bread that really convinced me of the value of cultivating your own baking yeast--not in place of, but in addition to store-bought yeast. This bread is so hearty, almost salty, so good with butter, preserves, hummus, and alone. It's the kind of bread you try to tear into with your bare hands, but if you've got small ones like me, you'll need a knife and feel kind of like a wimp for it. It's the kind of bread you feel proud to make, and will long to make once more...

...as soon as you've settled in a place where you can capture some wild yeast from the air again...

It's the kind of bread that makes me feel like a cowgirl.

I like that.

Sourdough Rye Bread

Adapted from Breadtopia 

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup sourdough starter*

1 3/4 cups rye flour

1 3/4 cups bread flour

2 Tablespoons unsulphured molasses
zest of one orange

optional: (I'll try these next time)
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Directions 
1. Mix together water and starter in a large bowl.
2. Add molasses and orange zest.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all the flours and salt -- I used a whisk to get everything well incorporated
4. Using a large spoon, gradually stir together the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Once everything is well incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, stir together for another minute.
6. Allow to rest for an additional 15 minutes, then stir together again for another minute.
7. Cover with plastic and leave at room temperature for 12-14 hours.[Now, when I baked this loaf the 14 hour mark came at a bad time, when I was too tired to trudge through the next few steps, so I decided to turn this step into 24 hours at room temp, followed by overnight in the fridge. I had a yummy result regardless.]
8. Proceed to enjoy your life while this dough rises.
9. After the proofing time (those 12-14 hours), stretch and shape your dough into a round for baking. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 minutes (I mean, you've come this far, what's another few minutes, right?)
10. Since I don't have a proofing basket, I place a sheet of bounty in a bowl and dust it heavily with flour, then place the dough inside of it, just like I did when I made pumpernickel. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1.5 hours.
11. 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 475 degrees F.
12. Score your dough with a sharp knife (this allows for expansion and a nice pattern to emerge atop the bread), and bake until the internal temperature is 200 degrees F. This took about 4o minutes for me, but I like to check once it gets golden, took it out to cool a bit and thumped the bottom of the loaf -- a hollow sound usually means your bread is done.
 

Raisin' Hell: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Forgive the dark photos -- I took these way before I got my fancy-schmancy Nikon.

 

My first real attempts at baking were during senior year in college, and while I've never been too much of a cookie fan, I know other people are. It's probably something about how portable and usually portion-controllable they are. At least that's my guess. Plus, they're easy to make and give away, so I've tried to become adept at a few different kinds. I started with my favorite, the (usually) least sweet of all: oatmeal raisin. It's the kind of cookie you can trick yourself into believing is good for you. I mean, come on! Raisins? Oatmeal? How could it not be good for your heart?

I got this super easy recipe for oatmeal raising cookies from the same book I found the baguette recipe I'm fond of. They're chewy, only use a few ingredients, and have always been a hit as a gift. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Adapted from The French Don't Diet

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch, each, of baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
 
Preheat over to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl:
Blend the wet ingredients (butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla).

In another bowl:
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats, and raisins) and then fold them into the wet ingredients.

Scoop the dough, in ping-pong sized balls, onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden.

Allow to cool, then munch away.

Le Pain Quotidien's "Seasonal Fruit Crumble"

Last August when I was doing some late-summer cleaning in preparation for the various moves alluded to in my last post, I stumbled across this recipe card from Le Pain Quotidien. It was in the same pile as Ania's handwritten recipe for her delicious tomato-n-spinach pasta sauce. I have yet to make this fruit crumble, but I figured since I've enjoyed the food at Le Pain, I may as well save this recipe for future testing. Here it is (click the pic to enlarge):

Moves, Mice, and a Master-Mistress

It's all 'Chefski's fault. 

This Fall, he started his Docta-Docta training in the City-So-Nice-They-Named-Her-Twice.  

 
All right. I'm just going to jump right in here. It's been MONTHS since my last post and it has been killing my soul.

Seriously.

Killing. My. Soul. I've mentioned this before, but when all a gal like me does is use her brain to the point of exhaustion in an attempt to produce original thought, I get restless. I want to use my hands, knead some dough, let it rise, stir a pot, and make something good to eat. But I haven't really been able to do much of that in the last few months. Yes. Months.

But I've got good reasons. I swear!

There have been moves: from Washington to Washington Heights, to Columbia and Columbia Heights, from the District to the 'ville, from the Nation's Capital to the Capital of the World.

There have been mice: One even caught by yours-truly in a rat trap, properly double-bagged and disgarded whilst wearing latex gloves

And then there was this Master-Mistress of a Semester. For those of you who don't consider yourselves Shakespeare scholars, I direct you to Sonnet 20 and urge you to investigate the meaning of this hotly debated poem. For my purposes, all you need to know is that if you find yourself teaching 50 undegrads, applying to PhD programs, and taking three classes (one of which happens to be on Shakespeare), then you're entitled to invoke the androgynous, Janus-faced image of the Master-Mistress to describe how confusing, unsettling, yet awe-inspiring your life has been.

Now that I've put all that on the table, let's get back to cooking and baking! I've got a bunch of posts I'd been meaning to write up on meals made months ago, and several treats I've been dying to make once I gain access to a clean, reliable kitchen. Stay tuned.

The GWB will always be New York to me.