Blonde Brownies

I made these blonde brownies as an All Hallow's Eve surprise for a cutie out in cali, but the postal service failed me and lost my precious box of baked goods somewhere in between here and there. I do know that they turned out well as I sampled the snacks before sending them off. It makes me sad/angry to know that those adorable little pumpkin decorations will go unseen, but at least I have the internet through which to show them off.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar (firmly packed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 ounces chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the brown sugar. When well combined, pour into a large bowl and let cool. When cool, add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Combine everything well.

Spread batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips generously over the top. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let blondies cool in the pan before cutting into squares.

French Onion Soup

This traditional French soup is sure to warm your soul on a cold winter (wait- isn't it still Fall?!) night. It is especially good when you use beef stock left over from a Rosh Hashanah brisket. Onions appear in almost everything I cook, but usually as part of the chorus. So here is a masterpiece solo for everyone's favorite chemical-warfare inclined vegetable.

7 medium yellow onions (sliced thin)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
2 quarts beef stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt
Pepper
Bread
Gruyere cheese (grated)

Melt the butter and oil together in a huge saucepan (at least 4 quarts). Cook onions over low heat in the covered saucepan for 15-20 minutes, until they start to sweat. Uncover and raise heat to medium. Add salt and sugar and cook for another 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for another 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, set your beef stock to boil. When the stock is boiling and the onions are ready, combine the two off heat. Add the wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer partially covered for 40 minutes or more.

Pour into soup bowls, float bread or croutons on top, and sprinkle with grated gruyere cheese. Broil just until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Bon appétit!

Kale with Pancetta and Cannellini Beans

Now for something a little more seasonal. We all know kale rocks because it's so healthy, but this dish is also really delicious. I swear.

2 slices pancetta (chopped into cubes)
1 1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 bunch of kale (roughly chopped)
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans
Salt

Microwave the chopped pancetta for 3 minutes, until pancetta is crispy. Drain the drippings. Set aside.

In a very large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook a minute or two more. Stir in the chopped greens. Add salt to taste, but be conservative as the kale will wilt down considerably and absorb a lot of flavor. Cover the pan partially and let cook until greens begin to wilt. Stir in the pancetta and cannellini. Partially cover again and cook for another 5 minutes. The dish is ready when the kale is nice and tender.

Fig Tart with Caramelized Onions, Rosemary, and Stilton

So long sweet summer. As my final farewell to the season of the sun I wanted to eat figs one last time before they disappear for a while. When I saw this recipe in the times I knew immediately I had to try it. Already too late in the season for the ubiquitous Black Mission Fig, I had to use the less sweet, but still delightful Kadota Fig. This tart turned out amazingly, and has served as the impetus for my new found affection for puff pastry (freezer variety - not making my own... yet). Look forward to more puff pastry treats in the future.

2 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions (halved lengthwise and then thinly sliced)
2 sprigs rosemary (more for garnish)
Pinch of sugar
1 teaspoons good balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour for dusting
3/4 pound puff pastry dough
1 pint (3/4 pound) fresh figs (stemmed and cut in half lengthwise)
1 1/2 ounces (6 Tablespoons) Stilton cheese (crumbled)
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
Good quality honey for drizzling (optional)

Preheat oven the 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start by melting together the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onions, rosemary, and a pinch of sugar to the skillet. Cook until onions are limp and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir well.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Add the onions to this mixture.

Line an 11x17 inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry dough until it is a 9x12 inch rectangle. Transfer pastry onto baking sheet.

Use a fork to spread the onion mixture evenly over the pastry, leaving a one inch border. Let excess egg remain in bowl as it will get used later. Arrange the figs, cut-side up, on top of onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts on top of everything. Use a pastry brush to paint the egg mixture onto the edges. Gently fold the edges over to give the tart a lip. Brush the lip with more egg mixture.


Bake about 25-30 minutes, until pastry has puffed up and turned slightly golden. Sprinkle with some more rosemary needles and drizzle with good honey, if desired.

I served mine warm right out of the oven, but I think it would be good at room temperature also. Three cheers for stilton, figs, and puff pastry. Yeah.

Butterscotch Cashew Bars

Today's food item of focus is the cashew. With an abundance of cashews in the pantry, I thought this would be a good starting point for my next baking project. I scoured the internet and was a little disappointed by how few recipes are out there for cashew centered baked goods. Butterscotch and cashews is an explosive flavor combination, and this recipe does a great job wedding them.

For shortbread layer:
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 cups flour

For butterscotch/nut layer:
11 ounces butterscotch chips
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon water
2 cups roasted, salted, whole cashwes

Preheat oven to 350 degress Fahrenheit.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Then, line the pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one down the width and one down the length. Spray the parchment with the cooking spray.


Beat butter, brown sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for a minute or 2, until combined. Add the flour, and mix in on low speed just until the flour is incorporated. Press the dough evenly into the pan, being sure not to apply too much pressure to the dough. Poke some holes in the dough with a fork. Bake between 30 and 40 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, melt together the butterscotch, corn syrup, and water over low heat. Stir until everything is melted together. Pour this mixture evenly on top of the crust. Sprinkle the cashews over the butterscotch. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven to wire rack and cool completely before cutting into squares with a very sharp knife.

This sweet-salty treat is seriously irresistible.

Chocolate Banana Cake

I first learned of kefir about two years ago when I started reading Harold McGee's book On Food and Cooking. I searched for it high and low, but discovered the only way to really try it was to find someone with a parent culture who was willing to give you some of the grains and have you make your own. About a year later, I did see a kefir beverage in a health food store in Berkeley, CA, but after learning how this stuff was meant to be brewed, I figured any commercially available version of it would not be as gnarly as the 'real' stuff.

THEN I moved to Hungary. Kefir originated thousands of years ago in the Caucasus Mountains. Nomadic tribes would ferment cows' and goats' milk with the grains and basically survive on the effervescent, slightly alcoholic, creamy beverage that ensued. Kefir grains were considered so valuable that they were used as a measure of a family's wealth. There are lots of myths surrounding the tale of how humans first discovered kefir grains. My favorite involves God giving the chosen people kefir grains as a kind of manna. Anyway, in the early 1900's the grains and secret techniques were acquired by some Russian physicians who, in turn, made kefir an enormously popular drink throughout Russia and it's areas of influence. In Hungary, kefir is available in every single market you enter. I enjoyed it and it's health benefits while I was living there, but due to a useless, if beautiful, antique oven, I never really got my bake on in Budapest.

Enter New York and Trader Joe's. Upon returning to the states, it was brought to my attention that kefir is now available at Trader Joe's! w00t w00t! I've been drinking it daily and making smoothies, but I knew I needed to try it out in baking. This cake turned out pretty good, but I'm thinking next time I'll use kefir to make pancakes, or maybe muffins.

2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup ripe bananas (mashed)
1/3 cup kefir
1 teaspoon vanilla
Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat the butter in an electric mixing bowl, gradually add the sugar, creaming together for a light and fluffy consistency. Add each egg separately, beating well after each addition.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over water that is just below boiling. Once the chocolate is well melted, add it to the creamed butter mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas and the kefir. Add the banana mixture alternately with the dry mixture to the butter and egg, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Pour this into a 11x9x2 inch pan, lined on the bottom with greased paper. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Cut into pieces.


A little more about kefir. The grains live forever and apparently they even multiply and grow quite rapidly. I'm thinking I'll find someone with grains so that I might start to make my own. I still imagine that the homemade variety has far more good bacteria and effervescent-fermented goodness than the supermarket breed.

Interestingly, I found a few sources claiming that the etymology of the word "kefir" is from the Turkish root "keif", meaning 'good feeling' (in reference to the incredible feeling of health and well being experienced after consuming it - a feeling I can attest to!). Ten points to anyone who can think of another word that has obviously evolved from this same root...

Lemon Squares

This one is my mom's specialty, and she finally let me in on her (not so) secret recipe. I think I could eat a million of these.

For shortbread crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar

For lemony goodness:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs (beaten)
6 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Powdered sugar (for sprinkling on top).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start by blending together the flour, butter, and sugar for the crust in a food processor. When the ingredients are well combined, press the mixture into a 11x9x2 inch pan. Pop in oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the shortbread is starting to turn slightly brown on top.

Next, mix together the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, flour, and baking powder. Mix well, being sure there are no chunks of flour or sugar remaining. Pour the lemon mixture on top of the hot shortbread. Bake another 25 minutes. Removed from oven and cool thoroughly. Sift powdered sugar in a thin layer over the entire pan. Cut into squares and dive into lemon ecstasy.