Baklava

I took the opportunity of Thanksgiving in the U.S. to make baklava for the first time. It was as many had told me -- much easier to make than it looks. I love the crispy phyllo dough and honey-drenched walnuts inside. The only true challenge was in not finishing the entire pan myself. Better still, baklava freezes well, so you can make a batch and enjoy it at your leisure. Or, I suppose, share it with others.


Simple though it is to make, there are a few things you can do to ensure a successful, not-soggy baklava. First, it's unnecessary to saturate the layers of phyllo with butter. A thin layer of butter suffices (but don't skimp, either). Toast the walnuts, or whatever combination of nuts you choose to use, beforehand. I've never encountered nuts in a recipe that wasn't greatly improved by toasting them first. Be sure to make the sauce first, so that it can be cooled while you're assembling the the baklava -- while you can certainly pour the sauce hot over the baklava, a cool sauce will help ensure that the phyllo stays crisp. Chop the nuts as fine as you can without turning them into powder. Finally, when you're cutting the baklava into triangles/squares, don't cut all the way down to the bottom, so the sauce soaks into more top layers. And yes, it is best to pre-cut the baklava. Once it's baked the phyllo will shatter at the slightest resistance, which makes for a much less attractive finish.


Just out of the oven.


After sauce as been poured over the top.
Full disclosure: This recipe was a bit sweet for me. I tend to like my sweets very easy on the sugar. Next time I'd probably make half the amount of syrup, or cut the sugar at least by that amount. I'd leave the honey as it is -- baklava should taste richly of honey.


Ingredients

• 1 8oz package phyllo dough
• 1/2 lb chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp honey

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottoms and sides of an 8x8-inch square pan.
2. Toast the walnuts for 10 minutes.
3. Make the sauce by boiling the sugar and water until the sugar is melted. Add the vanilla and honey, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Place this mixture directly into the refrigerator and get it cooling.
4. Toss the chopped walnuts with the cinnamon and set aside.
5. Unroll the phyllo dough. Cut the stack of sheets to fit your pan, or keep them intact and use the "fold over" method when layering (leaving the overhanging dough where it is, then folding over when a new layer is required).
6. Layer two sheets of dough into the pan, then brush with the melted butter. Make sure you get the edges. You may need to occasionally reheat the butter in the microwave to ensure a liquid consistency. Repeat this layering until 8-10 sheets are layered.
7. As evenly as possible, sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of the walnut mixture onto a buttered layer of phyllo. Top this with two sheets of dough, brush with butter, then repeat with the nuts and keep layering. The top layer should be 8-10 sheets.
8. Use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into triangles or squares, nearly to the bottom of the pan.
9. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
10. Remove the baklava from the oven and pour the cooled sauce over it, getting it into every nook and cranny.
11. Serve when completely cool.

Seastack Cheese

I recently bought a small wheel of my favorite cheese: Seastack, made by Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend, Washington, a great little place about 40 miles from Seattle.



This is very indulgent of me, because eating a whole round of this cheese by myself is so decadent! Usually it's part of a cheese platter meant to be consumed by many more people.



Seastack is a soft-ripened cheese, such as Brie or Camembert, but much more strongly flavored. It almost has hints of a bleu.



In terms of texture, the cheese is semi-lactic, so it almost resembles velvety goat cheese.



See how it's melty at the edges and firmer in the middle? This means it's at the perfect temperature to eat. I let it sit out for about 45 min after taking it from the fridge.

Serious Eats wrote about this cheese, and according to the writer, a New Yorker, Seastack is "one of the best American cheeses available." Because it's a small-batch local cheese, only those of us lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest get to eat it. :D "The flavor is mushroomy and even almost nutty -- seriously delicious." Needless to say... I agree!



I'd love to hear about cheeses you enjoy, both local cheese and ones that are nationally available!

Chicken Stew

This is a perfect stew to make during the in-between time of summer and autumn, when it's getting cold enough that you want to sit down in a pair of warm pajama bottoms with a bowl of hot stew, but still have the last of the fresh basil to finish from the garden. It's that time in Seattle already.


I love stew. Just saying the word can sometimes make me hungry. It connotes something warm, filling, and delicious, a concoction of all the things I like to eat. This is the first time I've ever tried making chicken stew, as I usually go for beef stew, but something about chicken stew called out to me, so I had to make it.


In my mind, I wasn't thinking the stew would have a tomatoey base, but this was a very highly rated recipe by Giada De Laurentiis -- and now I know why. It's fantastic, and hit just the right spot. I used chicken leg quarters instead of breasts as the original recipe called for, and I wasn't sorry at all. The only thing about the recipe is that it calls for fresh basil, which is a bit odd for a stew. Not that it's not good, but basil is a summer herb for most people and stew isn't usually something people crave when the sun's beating down on them during those hot summer months. In the wintertime, unless you have an indoor herb garden you'll probably have to make do with store-bought basil, or simply leave it out.

Chicken Stew (recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large carrot, or 2 small, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 14.5oz can chopped tomatoes and diced green chilies
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 3 chicken leg quarters, skin on
• 1 15oz can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or other heavy pot) over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion and saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken; press to submerge.
3. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes.
4. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
5. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
6. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken legs. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew, then bring the stew just to a simmer. Ladle in bowls and serve.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Well, it's that time. Time to say goodbye to summer and all its wonderful produce. Like many, I want to preserve what I can, so that I can get a taste of summer in the long autumn and winter months to come. To that end, I've made a big batch of pesto (using walnuts instead of pine nuts, and without cheese) to freeze, and now also, strawberry jam.


What's the difference between freezer jam and regular jam? Essentially, cooking. The former isn't cooked, so it tastes more like fresh fruit, but it also needs to be stored in the fridge or freezer due to its highly perishable nature (whereas properly cooked jam can be stored at room temperature in a cupboard).


If you have the room in your freezer, freezer jam is definitely the way to go. It not only tastes more like fresh fruit, but is much simpler to prepare. No canning equipment necessary. All you need is the fruit, pectin, sugar, and some clean jars. Because freezer jam is more perishable than its cooked counterpart, you want to store them in small jars, so they can be finished in a reasonable time.


In order to control the sugar in your final jam, use "no sugar necessary" pectin, such as the Sure Jell kind I used. There may also be "freezer jam" pectins out there, but this one works for that purpose (the instructions include ones to make freezer jam). Using regular pectin would probably work, too, but if you're like me and don't like things to be overly sweet, you don't want to have to use a lot of sugar in order to activate the pectin. In fact, I actually used less than the instructions call for, which it explicitly warns not to do (so as not to compromise the jam setting). It worked fine for me -- I used just under 2 cups of sugar, though the instructions say to use 3 cups -- but your mileage may vary.


In order to make strawberry freezer jam, all you have to do is crush the fruit, heat up a sugar/pectin/water mixture, add one to the other, then ladle into clean jars. Couldn't be simpler. When you're heating up the pectin mixture, be sure to constantly stir. After it reaches a boil, you should let it boil for one full minute. It's considered boiling when you can't stir away the bubbles anymore.


Let the filled jars sit on the counter at room temperature for 24 hours to let the jam set, then viola! Delicious, homemade jam. The jam can be stored in the freezer for 1 year (thaw in the fridge) or refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. Once you've opened a jar, use it up within a week. (That's why smaller jars are better.)


The recipe that follows is specifically for strawberry jam -- and it's my reduced sugar version. Follow the instructions that come with the pectin for other fruit and best results.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Makes about six 8oz jars of jam.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (about a quart) strawberries, washed, hulled and crushed
• 1 3/4 cup organic sugar
• 1 package fruit pectin
• 1 cup water

Method

1. Using a potato masher, crush the strawberries in a large bowl. Leave it as chunky as you like -- depends on if you like large pieces of fruit in your jam. Do NOT use a food processor; this will liquefy the fruit.
2. In a large pot, mix the sugar together with the pectin until well combined. Add the water and stir. Heat over medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a FULL boil. Let it boil, stirring, for one full minute, then remove from heat.
3. Carefully and quickly pour the crushed fruit into the pectin mixture and stir for one minute, until well combined.
4. Ladle the jam into clean jars, leaving about 1/2-inch room at the top, then set the jars on a counter at room temperature for 24 hours. Store in freezer for 1 year (thaw in the fridge) or refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Once you've opened a jar, use it up within a week.

Rugelach

I was introduced to this Jewish cookie this summer by my best friend. It hasn't been an easy summer for me, as my mom was going through some serious health issues (though she's thankfully a lot better now). One of the things my friend did to help keep me sane, other than just be there for me, was bring me treats. One of these treats was rugelach from a bakery near where she lives.


I fell in love with them, especially the raspberry ones, and was determined to make my own. First, they were rather pricey. Second, they seemed pretty simple. And third, I needed to find a sure-fire way to be able to have them any time I wanted, once I left southern California.


I found plenty of recipes for rugelach online, but none of them seemed to fit the bill. Then, I was browsing a bookstore one day after returning to Seattle, and found The World of Jewish Cooking, by Gil Marks. In it was a recipe that I felt sounded very similar to the rugelach that I'd fallen in love with. And the pastry crust used cream cheese, which I already knew I was a fan of, from previous pie-making experiences.


I am pleased -- and amazed -- to tell you that these homemade versions are even better than the ones from the bakery. I wish that happened more often! The only difference is in appearance -- rugelach are traditionally crescent shaped, while the bakery version sold them in squares. I followed the instructions to shape them into crescents, though it would be very easy to roll them into squares, instead. In fact, it would be a lot less time consuming.


You can also shape the rugelach into small, medium, and large sizes -- I chose to make small, bite-sized ones; the recipe makes 64 bite-sized cookies, 48 medium-sized cookies, and 32 large cookies. Because you're working with four balls of dough, it's also easy to play around with fillings. I decided to make half raspberry and half chocolate (though to be honest, I still love the raspberry ones best). Also, for the filling, I used walnuts and granulated sugar, and omitted the optional raisins.

Rugelach (recipe from The World of Jewish Cooking by Gil Marks)

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins (optional)
• 1/2 granulated sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• About 1 cup apricot jam, raspberry jam, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, or 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Method

1. To make the dough: Beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the salt. Gradually beat in the flour.
2. Divide into 4 equal portions, form into balls, wrap, and refrigerate overnight. (For quicker use, place in the freezer for about 1 hour. The dough can be frozen for up to 4 months.) Let the dough stand at room temperature until workable.
3. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
4. On a lightly floured surface or piece of waxed paper, roll out each piece of the dough into a 1/8-inch-thick round about 15 inches in diameter.
5. To make the filling: Combine the nuts, currants or raisins, if desired, sugar, and cinnamon. Brush the dough rounds lightly with the jam, marmalade, butter, or margarine, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle evenly with the nut mixture.
6. For large rugelach, cut each round into 8 wedges; for medium, cut into 12 wedges; for small, cut into 16 wedges. Roll up the wedges from the wide end toward the point, pinching the point to seal. Gently bend to form crescents. (The rugelach can be prepared ahead to this point and frozen for several months. Defrost before baking.)
7. Place the rugelach on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let the cookies stand until firm, about 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.

Variation: Chocolate rugelach: Substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for the cinnamon and brush the dough rounds with the 1/4 cup butter or margarine (not the jam).

Oven-Fried Paprika Chicken

Some might say that I'm obsessed with finding the perfect oven-fried chicken recipe. It comes from loving fried chicken ... like, a lot. The last time I tried this was in January, with Pat and Gina's Oven-Fried Chicken.


I'm back with another recipe, this time from Tomatilla. This one uses seasoned breadcrumbs instead of panko, and uses buttermilk to keep the chicken moist (which is also Alton Brown's method of making traditional fried chicken). It's definitely one of the best oven-fried chicken I've eaten.


Making seasoned breadcrumbs is quick and easy, and helps you use the last of that old bread that's not much good for anything else -- but you can also use prepared breadcrumbs if you like. But it should be noted that for the purpose of making oven-fried chicken it never tastes as good as fresh breadcrumbs, partly because the prepared kind is usually too evenly ground and pulverized to be interesting.


As with the Pat and Gina recipe, this one calls for removing the skin from the chicken. I (reluctantly) did so -- and was pleasantly surprised that the buttermilk did, in fact, help keep the chicken moist. The chicken is scored and seasoned, so that when you bite into it, your mouth is full of flavor.


Coat each chicken piece generously. Do it as quickly as you can, because you don't want the breadcrumbs to get too soggy. Be sure you oil both the pan and the tops of the chicken, to help it attain a crispy texture in the oven.

Oven-Fried Paprika Chicken (adapted from Tomatilla)

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a loaf of dried-out old bread
• 2 tbsp herbs de provence
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 chicken (3-4lbs), cut into 8 pieces, or 8 pieces of assorted chicken parts
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup buttermilk

Method

1. Tear the bread into chunks, then pulverize in a food processor to get coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the herbs de provence, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and pulse a few times to get it all evenly distributed.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut deep slashes to the bone in each piece.
3. Put the chicken into a bowl and sprinkle the paprika over them. Rub thoroughly, making sure each piece gets some paprika, until it's evenly distributed. Pour in the buttermilk, making sure that each piece gets coated, and rub the buttermilk into the slashes. Let the chicken sit in the fridge for about an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. Spray or otherwise oil a large baking sheet with canola or olive oil.
6. Take each piece of chicken and coat it thoroughly in the crumb mixture. Place them in a single layer on the baking sheet.
7. Drizzle or spray some oil onto each piece of chicken.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bottom starts to turn brown. Flip each piece over and bake another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is a golden brown all around. Check for doneness -- when you cut into a piece near the bone, the juices should run clear. If they're tinged pink, turn the pieces again and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Tomato-Braised Oxtail Pasta

Oxtail is one of my favorite cuts of beef. It's still called oxtail, though it no longer refers specifically to the tail of an ox, but all cattle. When you slow cook it, in soup or by braising, the meat becomes extremely tender (and flavorful, being so bony), with delicious melty gelatin.


If you've never had oxtail, give it a try. If you've only had it in soup, try braising it. Typically I braise oxtail Chinese style, with soy sauce as the base. But it's equally delicious using a more Mediterranean method, such as the one I'm sharing here.

When you purchase oxtail at the grocery store, it'll usually come pre-cut into several chunks, in roughly 2-pound packages. Select packages that have meatier chunks, with fewer small-boned pieces. The muscle should look as all good beef cuts look -- a nice red, not pink or dark or spotted. If you're in an Asian grocery store, the oxtail will sometimes be available whole; have the butcher cut one tail into pieces for you.


This is a good dish to prepare ahead of time, because the flavors only improve with time, and keeping it in the fridge overnight makes fat removal easier.

Tomato-Braised Oxtail Pasta (a variation on Pioneer Woman's Short Ribs in Tomato Sauce recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ox tail, cut into pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 28oz can whole tomatoes
• 1 14oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Generously season the oxtail pieces with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the oxtail, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Toss the garlic and onions into the pot. Cook, stirring, for two minutes, then add tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, wine, red pepper flakes, and thyme. Combine.
4. Carefully place the oxtail back into the pot, covering the pieces with as much of the sauce as possible. Cover the pot and place it onto the middle rack in the oven. Cook for about 4 hours, at which time the meat should be very tender and will separate from the bone at the slightest provocation.  Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
5. If you're ready to serve, use a spoon to remove as much of the accumulated oil as possible (one of those fat separators might also work). Or you can remove the oxtail from the pot, place them in a separate container, and refrigerate. Do the same with the pot of sauce, though you can keep the sauce in the same pot. After a few hours, the fat will be hardened and easily removed. Then reheat the sauce with the saved oxtail in it.
6. Serve over your favorite long pasta, with chopped fresh parsley to garnish if you desire, and parmesan cheese.