12 February 2012

12 November 2011

Crisp Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

-NYT October 4, 2011

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
Inspired by two recipes in Maida Heatter’s “Book of Great Cookies,” these crisp treats are the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted.

5 ounces (1 1/4 cups) whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Heaped 1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter, with no salt or sugar added, plus 2 tablespoons for filling the cookies

5 ounces (3/4 cup) raw brown sugar

1 egg

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

2. Cream the butter and 1/2 cup of peanut butter in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the raw sugar and beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gradually add the flour mixture, beating at low speed.

3. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on your work surface and spoon the dough onto the paper in a strip 12 to 14 inches long and about 2 inches thick. Fold the paper over the dough and shape the strip of dough into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate several hours or, preferably, overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with racks positioned in the middle and lower portions. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove the log of dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. Rewrap one half and return to the refrigerator. Cut the remaining half into thin rounds, no thicker than 1/4 inch, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart, with the rows staggered. Place 1/4 teaspoon of peanut butter in the center of each round. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and slice in rounds. Place each round on top of a peanut butter-topped round. When all of the rounds are covered, lightly flour your fingertips and seal the cookies by pressing down gently all the way around. It won’t matter if the top cracks a little. Your rounds should be about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly colored and semi-firm to the touch, switching the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before eating. They won’t be crisp until they cool.

Yield: 24 to 28 cookies

Advance preparation: These will keep for 3 or 4 days, if you can keep them around for that long.

Nutritional information per cookie: 131 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 18 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 116 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein.

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

03 October 2011

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Bread

-Bon Appétit | October 2003

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9 1/4x5 1/4x3-inch loaf pan. Line bottom and 2 long sides with waxed paper. Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin, then vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each. Fold in cranberries and nuts. Transfer batter to pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread at short ends to loosen from pan. Turn bread out onto rack; peel off waxed paper. Cool bread completely. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature.)

23 July 2011

Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler/Cake

-NYTimes/Melissa Clark, 22 July 2011

Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus cooling

3 cups fresh nectarines or peaches in 1/2- inch slices, or a combination (about 1 pound)
5 ounces sugar (about 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces flour (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons Demerara sugar.
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the fruit slices, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer, then take the pan off the heat.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it smells very nutty, turns golden, and flecks of dark brown appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the brown butter into an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter, use a spatula to even out the batter but be careful not to mix it into the butter. Scatter the nectarine slices and juice on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with the almonds, nutmeg and Demerara sugar. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

01 July 2011

Baked Sea Bass With Potatoes, Tomatoes and Onions

-NYTimes/Bittman, 3 Jul 2011

Baked Sea Bass With Potatoes, Tomatoes and Onions
By MARK BITTMAN
Time: 1 hour

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

6 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 medium onions, thinly sliced

Salt and black pepper

9 unpeeled garlic cloves, crushed

6 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish

6 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus more for garnish

6 whole small sea bass or other fish (about 4 pounds total), scaled and gutted.

1. Heat the oven to 350. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the oil in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Spread half the potatoes in the pan in a single layer, followed by half the tomatoes and half the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and repeat the layers. Scatter the garlic, thyme and rosemary on top and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, rinse the fish with cold water to remove any blood or traces of viscera. Make three deep, parallel crosswise cuts on each side of each fish. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Uncover the roasting pan and lay the fish on top of the vegetables. Raise the oven temperature to 375. Bake until the fish is opaque and flakes easily near its backbone, about 12 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon oil, garnish with more thyme and rosemary sprigs and serve.

Yield: 6 servings.

04 June 2011

Cornmeal and Flax-Crusted Cod or Snapper

-NYTimes, Martha Rose Shulman, 30 May 2011

1 1/2 pounds snapper or cod fillets

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fine cornmeal (if you have only polenta or coarse cornmeal, you can grind it to a fine powder in a spice mill)

1/4 cup flaxseeds, untoasted or toasted, coarsely ground

1/4 cup all-purpose flour or rice flour

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil

Lemon wedges for serving

1. Heat a large, heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat (unless you’re planning to cook the fish later).

2. Pat the fish fillets dry, and season with salt and pepper. In a wide bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flaxseeds, and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place the flour on a plate or in a baking dish. Beat the eggs in a wide bowl. Dredge the fillets first in the flour -- tap them to remove excess flour -- then in the egg, then in the cornmeal-flax mixture. If not cooking right away, place the fish on a baking sheet, uncovered, in the refrigerator.

4. Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to the hot pan. When it is rippling, carefully add as many fillets as will fit your pan. Cook four to five minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of the fillets) or until nicely browned. Remove from the pan, and keep warm in a low oven while you repeat with the remaining fish and oil, as necessary. Serve hot, with lemon wedges.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: You can prepare this through Step 3 several hours before cooking the fish.

Nutritional information per serving (based on 2 tablespoons oil): 364 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 153 milligrams cholesterol; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 138 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 39 grams protein

08 May 2011

Soba noodle salad with broccoli and spicy tofu

-adapted from Cooking Light, May 2011

8 oz firm tofu, drained and cut into .75 in slices
olive or peanut oil
soy sauce
hot chile sauce
8 oz broccoli, sliced lengthwise
1 bundle soba noodles (can substitute linguine, udon or other chewy noodles)
rice wine vinegar
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 t sesame oil
1/2 c thinly sliced radishes
2 T cashews or almond slivers, toasted.

Preheat oven to 350 and boil water for noodles. Marinate tofu in 2 T olive or peanut oil, 2 T soy sauce, 1 t Sriracha, for at least 15 minutes. Reserve marinade. Spread tofu out on baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10'.

While tofu bakes, cool noodles in boiling water until al dente or slightly firmer than al dente. One minute before noodles finish cooking, toss broccoli into cooking water. Plunge noodles and broccoli into ice water to stop cooking.

Combine tofu, noodles, broccoli, 3 T rice wine vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, radishes, 3 T olive or peanut oil, 1 t Sriracha, and reserved marinade. Top with nuts.