food – Flash In a Pan

Super Thick Brownies, 4-Ways

August 12, 2016February 15, 20171 Comment

Fudgy, super-thick, decadent brownies.
4 easy variations to the batter base to suit every craving + mood.

There are days when only baking (and more truthfully, devouring) a slab of warm, chocolatey goodness will set things right again.

Combined with a fit of mercurial indecision and a wild burst of energy, these days yield FOUR pans of brownies (and very happy neighbors).

Ingredients

18 oz (3 cups) chocolate chunks, divided
2 sticks butter
1-1/4 cups white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Melt the butter and pour over 2 cups of the chocolate chunks, the white sugar, and the brown sugar. Mix until combined.
Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add the vanilla.
Mix together the dry ingredients separately, then add to wet mixture. Don’t over mix!
Incorporate the remaining chocolate chunks (1 cup).
Spread into a buttered 9×13 pan. Top with additions if desired (see notes below).
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until center is set. Do not use the toothpick test – it will result in overdone, dry brownies!

Cheesecake Brownies

1 (8 oz) pack cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup flour

Mix cheesecake batter from ingredients above. Swirl into the brownie batter in the pan, dragging a knife through the mixture for a marbled design. Bake.

Salted Caramel Brownies

1 cup sugar
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt

Heat sugar on medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. Boil until a nice golden color is achieved, but be careful not to burn. Slowly add the butter, then drizzle in the heavy cream- slowly because the mixture can splatter like hot oil. Remove the sauce from the heat and mix in the salt. Either top the raw brownie batter with the sauce then bake, or drizzle on brownies afterwards. The former will yield brownies with a baked in caramel flavor; the latter are messier but will retain the consistency of the sauce on top.

S’mores Brownies

1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers
2 cups marshmallows

Sprinkle marshmallows and graham cracker pieces over brownies halfway through baking time (after about 15 minutes), returning to oven for remainder of baking time.

Alternately, spread half of batter in pan, top with graham crackers and marshmallows, then remaining brownie batter. Bake as normal.

Lemon Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust

June 7, 2016February 21, 20176 Comments

This lightly citrusy cheesecake is tall and decadent, creamy without being too heavy, and absolutely sure to impress. Both people who swore they hated cheesecake and those that hated lemons (who hates lemons?!) sang this cake praises.

It’s not difficult to make, but keep in mind that it does need to be made a day ahead of serving in order to chill.

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

5 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 large eggs
3 cups (24 ounces) sour cream
2 tablespoons (packed) finely grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lemon twists (garnish) – I used this recipe by blogger HomemadeToast

Method

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir the cookie crumbs and the butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press the mixture onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter removable-bottom cheesecake pan. Use a tall pan (at least 3 inches) because this recipe makes a very tall cheesecake. Also, I like to line the bottom of cheesecake pan with parchment. Bake the crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Stack 3 large sheets of foil on work surface. Place same cake pan in center. Gather foil snugly around pan bottom and up sides to waterproof.

Filling:

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar, then the salt. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in the sour cream, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour the filling into the pan.
Place the wrapped cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up sides of the cake pan. Bake the cake until the filling is slightly puffed and moves only slightly when pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove the cake pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 2 hours. Then chill uncovered until cold; cover and keep chilled at least 1 day and up to 2 days.
Run a knife around the sides; carefully loosen pan bottom from sides and push up pan bottom to release cake. Place cake (still on the pan bottom, unless you’ve lined the pan with parchment) on a platter. Garnish with lemon leaves or twists.

LemonCheesecake-01

Game Time

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016Leave a comment

A few craft store supplies can seriously elevate your entertaining ‘game’. White tape and sticker numbers transform a green tablecloth. Diamond-shapes cut from construction paper, folded in half and glued over yarn, make an impressive pennant banner. Brown felt, white paint, and hot glue are that’s necessary to create these DIY football koozies.

I love these Super Bowl Bingo cards from Play.Party.Pin!

Dreaming of Summer

November 23, 2015January 7, 2016Leave a comment

I’m just beginning to feel winter in the air, but I’m already longing for hot summer days. Here’s a throwback to a job I did a couple months ago illustrating the step-by-step process of making ice cream sandwiches.

88fcb8835631401563cb41d62643e3af

Tea Therapy

April 28, 2015March 22, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a coffee person.

NOT a tea person.

But tea would undoubtedly win the beauty contest…

Tea Therapy-Ingredients — White hibiscus buds, Green & white teas, Lavender blossoms, Rose petals, and Chamomile flowers

“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone,
“so I can’t take more.”

“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter:
“it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

“Nobody asked your opinion,” said Alice.”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Whitefish Salad

March 23, 2015March 24, 2015Leave a comment

Show up as early as you can get yourself to drag out of bed.

Wander around the industrial section of Greenpoint at dawn.

Sneak into the unmarked, graffiti-ed door, looking behind you as if you were trying to throw the mobster trailing you off your scent.

Buy pastrami lox and whitefish from the no-nonsense, lab-coat clad fishmonger – after much sampling, of course.

Rendezvous with the friend responsible for the bagels + cream cheese.

Plot your next Acme Smoked Fish heist between ravenous bites.

The following recipe is a variation of this recipe by Bobby Flay.

Whitefish Salad

3/4 cup good-quality mayonnaise (I used olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 pounds smoked whitefish, skinned, boned and flaked
1 large stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bagels, for serving (I used baked spaghetti squash)
Pickled Red Onions, for serving, recipe below

Pickled Red Onions:

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

Whisk together the mayonnaise (or olive oil), lemon zest and juice until combined. Add the whitefish, celery and onions, and gently mix until combined; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Pickled Red Onions:
Combine the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put the onions in a medium bowl, pour the vinegar mixture over and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 48 hours before serving.

Greek Brunch

March 20, 2015Leave a comment

tzatziki

sheep’s milk yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, vinegar, dill, garlic, salt

taramosalata

carp fish roe, potato, olive oil, lemon juice

melitzanosalata

eggplant, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, parsley

Tsoureki, a sweet bread similar to brioche, is traditionally topped with red-dyed eggs for Easter.

Watermelon Salad with Mint + Feta

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice OR white wine vinegar
kosher salt + freshly ground pepper, to taste (careful with the salt- the olives and feta will be plenty salty)
1 8-pound seedless watermelon, cut into chunks (10 cups)
½ pound feta cheese, crumbled (2 cups)
1 ¼ cups pitted kalamata olives
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

Whisk the vinegar, salt+pepper, and olive oil together. Toss with the watermelon, feta, olives, onion, and mint.

Guinness Float

March 10, 20155 Comments

Beer float? Strange, yes – but interesting enough to be worth the risk. Really.

This version uses Guinness and coffee ice cream; neither are crowd-pleasers, so experiment with flavors and brews to your heart’s content.

guinness-float This concoction barely calls for instruction, but here goes:

Scoop some ice cream into a frosted mug.
Slowly pour the beer, stout, or ale over the ice cream.
Top with chocolate or caramel syrup.

guinness-float

Chag Hamantashen Same’ach – Happy Purim!

March 6, 2015March 6, 2015Leave a comment

I’ll go-ahead and admit it: before I moved to NYC, the only Jewish holiday I could name was Hanukkah.

As an attempt at some justification of this inexcusable ignorance, .03% of the population of North Carolina (where I spent a decade of my formative years) is Jewish.

Side effect: I lived a Hamantaschen-deprived life.

Hamantachen are cakey sugar dough cookies with a filling, most traditionally poppy seeds or prune butter made & eaten to celebrate Purim. Purim is a holiday similar to Mardi Gras in that it is celebrated with lots of heavy drinking and masquerading. It celebrates the story of Esther, whose bravery saved the Persian Jews 2,500 years ago.

The hamantaschen recipe below is my friend Jill’s, by way of her Jewish boyfriend’s grandmother. Those are her hands in the photos, too!

Dough

3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling (see recipes below) + Finishing

Choice of filling: poppy seed filling (most traditional), prune butter, apricot butter, apricot jam, strawberry jam or even chocolate chips
1 large egg, beaten
cinnamon/sugar mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover 2 baking sheets w/parchment or foil.
Either by hand or with a mixer, combine the oil, eggs, vanilla, water, sugar, baking powder and flour and knead until a soft dough forms. Roll the dough out into a very thin layer. Dip the rim of a 3 or 4 inch cup or glass in flour and use like a cookie cutter to cut the circles. Re-roll the scraps of dough and reuse.
In the center of each circle drop a teaspoon of your filling. Shape into a triangle by folding 2 sides of the circle to the center, and pinch together at the corners. Make sure corners are tightly pinched so they don’t open during baking.
Place hamantaschen 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar.
Bake 20 minutes.

Makes 4 dozen. Hamantaschen freeze well.

Poppy Filling

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 lb. poppy seeds

Pour boiling water on poppy seeds and drain.
After poppy seeds have settled to bottom, chop up fine.
Add egg and sugar, stirring well.

Prune Filling (Lekvar)

2 cups dried prunes
1 cup water
¼ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 dash clove
1 dash cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar

Combine everything into a saucepan (except brown sugar) and cook on low heat, stirring every few minutes. Heat to boiling.
Lower heat to simmer, cover pan and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Mix in the brown sugar. Cook, reducing the liquid and stirring every few minutes being careful not to scorch the mixture. Mash with a wooden spoon until the prunes are soft and broken up and mixture is about the consistency of oatmeal (about 20 more minutes). It will thicken more when cooled.

Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks and also freezes well.

The Spatchcock

May 12, 2014September 5, 2014Leave a comment

First spatchcocked.

Now on exhibit, bare-skinned and splayed. Disgraceful.

Spatchcock in Process — Spatchcock in process: removing the backbone

To spatchcock, the spine is completely removed from a bird so that the butterflied body can be flattened for cooking, usually on a grill.

My favorite explanation for the odd-sounding term is the theory that it is a combo of the words “dispatch” and “cock.” Fitting, since this is undeniably the quickest way to get the job done, with golden crisp skin and absolutely no dry meat, and the biggest miracle of it all…

A perfect bird in 80 minutes.

My single complaint about this experience is that manhandling bird carcasses pushed the limits of my work space. By NYC standards, my kitchen is plenty large, but flattening out a turkey calls for some serious real estate.

Supplies

Actual, real-thing poultry scissors – even kitchen shears probably won’t get it done
Step stool – to get the leverage needed to break the breastbone
Strong stomach – this is no job for the squeamish

I love Serious Eats’ nuts+bolts explanation and recipe on this technique, which I used as the foundation of my own spatchcocking experiment. Their gravy recipe is no less impressive; it is certainly the best gravy I’ve ever made.