Braised Pork Sandwiches with Broccoli Rabe and Provolone

This recipe appeared somewhere in my social media browsing and it look so good, and the timing was right, so Lara and I decided to just go for it! It was a good choice!

The recipe was super simple, as are most roasts/braises, and absolutely delicious, especially with such a great piece of pork from my favorite butcher. Look at the fat on that thing!

Lara made this on a Monday she had off. Throw everything in a pan and let it cook until done. Easy! She had to adjust the cooking method because the original recipe calls for this to be made in the slow cooker, but it was easy enough to adjust for the oven. Just be sure to watch the pork near the end of the braising time to ensure the water hasn’t all evaporated. After 3.5 hours most of the water was gone and the pork was looking very dark, in a good way, but it would have been easy to go a little too far.

I would definitely not skip the broccoli rabe either, it was a great addition, especially with all the lemon - Don’t Skimp on the Lemon!

One recommendation; the recipe calls for you to serve this on a hoagie roll. I didn’t have any but I had plenty of sourdough so I used slices of that instead. This was tasty, but very messy. The pork is so VERY juicy and fatty and so the slices of bread kind of fell apart while eating. A sturdy hoagie or something similar would do a much better job holding up to this type of sandwich.

A great make ahead meal for a crowd.

Braised Pork Sandwiches with Broccoli Rabe and Provolone
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar

• 1 head of garlic, halved lengthwise through root end

• 3 sprigs rosemary

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more

Broccoli Rabe and Assembly

• Kosher salt

• 2 bunches broccoli rabe, woody ends trimmed

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 4 seeded semolina or hoagie rolls

• 4 ounces sharp provolone, thinly sliced

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions
Pork
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine pork, oil, vinegar, garlic, rosemary, honey, fennel, red pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp. salt, and 1 cup water in a Dutch Oven. Turn pork several times with tongs to coat and mix ingredients. Place lid on the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven and braise until pork is very tender and shreds easily, about 3 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on the roast in the last hour of cooking to ensure the liquid has not all evaporated. Add more water as needed.

Transfer pork to a medium bowl and let rest until cool enough to handle. Pour cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan; discard solids. Let liquid settle so fat rises to the top, then pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat. Bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about a third, 12–18 minutes.

Meanwhile, shred pork with your fingers or 2 forks, discarding any large bits of fat. Season with salt.

Set aside 1 cup cooking juices for serving, then add shredded pork to saucepan with remaining juices and toss to coat and rewarm pork.

Do Ahead: Pork can be cooked 2 days ahead. Shred and add to reduced juices, then let cool, cover, and chill. Reheat over low.

Broccoli Rabe and Assembly
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Fill a large bowl with ice water and have at the ready. Add broccoli rabe to pot and cook just until stems are tender, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer broccoli rabe to bowl of ice water and agitate to rapidly cool down. Drain and pat dry on paper towels. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into 1" pieces on the diagonal, all the way from stem to leaves.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring often, until garlic is golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add broccoli rabe; season with salt. Cook, tossing constantly, until leafy bits are just starting to crisp slightly, 5–10 minutes.

Divide pork among bottoms of rolls or on a piece of toasted bread. Top with provolone, shingling slices. Spoon broccoli rabe over, then squeeze lemon wedges over broccoli rabe. Close up sandwiches and cut in half. Serve with reserved juices for dipping.

Do Ahead: Broccoli rabe can be blanched 1 day ahead. Pat dry, cover, and chill.

Open Crumb Sourdough Bread

I’ve been following Full Proof Baking on Instagram for a while now and find her breads absolutely beautiful! I finally sat down and really looked at her method (video available on her YouTube page) and attempted her Basic Open Crumb Sourdough. I had tried her 50% whole wheat sourdough a few weeks back and it failed miserably for some reason even though the whole process seemed to go very well. I figured I’d step back and start at the beginning with a more basic recipe with a lower percentage of whole wheat. I’ve now made this bread twice. The first time it turned out pretty well, but the crumb was a little uneven and it didn’t look like it really rose fully, the bottom of the loaf was a little dense. Second attempt went a lot better. I didn’t really change a lot, figuring practice and repetition is really what will make a successful loaf.

One thing I did change slightly was at the end of the overnight proof. She calls for you to bake the bread straight from the fridge while it is still cold. I feel like when I do this sometimes it doesn’t work. It seemed to me that my bread needed just a little bit more rise before baking. So on the second attempt I took the bread out when I turned my oven on to preheat. So it was out for 45-60 minutes in a fairly warm room (with the oven on to 500 degrees). I feel like this gave it just a bit more lift without overproofing. There is the possibility that I am in fact overproofing and that’s why it’s not getting enough lift but I just didn’t think so.

I’m going to keep playing with the recipe, and my technique, but this second attempt was a definite success! I’m excited to keep experimenting!

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Basic Open Crumb Sourdough Bread
Recipe from: Full Proof Baking
Note: A 20% Whole grain wheat bread. The higher hydration makes the dough ingredients easier to mix by hand. 

Specs:

• Baker’s Percentages: 20% whole grain hard red spring wheat, 79% bread flour, 1% whole grain rye (from levain)

• 20% levain inoculation

• 2.1% sea salt

• 80% final hydration

Levain: (5 hours)
5 hour young levain built 1:2:2

• 15 g mature starter + 30 g water + 30 g bread flour 

Keep at 80% F until more than tripled in volume, approximately 5 hours at around 80 degrees.

Autolyse (2-4 hours)
This is a pre-soak of flour and water to jump-start gluten development and increase dough extensibility which can be great for maximizing open crumb in the final loaf of bread. 

• 70 grams whole wheat flour

• 255 grams bread flour

• 253 grams water

Add water to flour mix and stir until there is no more dry flour remaining. Let sit for 2-4 hours. At this point there should be much more extensibility in the dough. 

Add levain to Autolyse:
Add 65 g (20%) levain (brings final hydration to 80%) to the autolyse.

Add the levain right on top of autolysed dough. Begin hand mixing to get it into the dough. Shouldn’t take long, approximately 3-4 minutes. A short mix prevents over-oxidizing of the dough. Once fully mixed, form a taught ball of dough, let rest 30 minutes before adding salt. 

Add salt:
After resting for 30 minutes, add 7.5 grams fine grain sea salt (around 1 teaspoon) . Wet your hand and dimple in the sea salt. Then pinch and mix it in. The salt helps tighten the gluten structure and adds strength to the dough. It also slows fermentation. This is also the last step where you can easily easily add more water to the dough. If the dough feels a little tight you can add a small splash of water as needed. This is mainly done by feel. Takes about 5 minutes to fully incorporate the salt. Then let the dough rest for another 30 minutes. 

Perform a Fold:
Next perform a fold: Lightly mist the counter with water. Wet your hands with water and flip the dough out onto the counter. Using a bench scraper, pull the dough from the top down folding the dough onto itself. Repeat this process on all four sides of the dough. Flip the dough over, round it up and return to the bowl. Cover and let rest 30 minutes. 

Lamination: 
Mist the counter with water again. Transfer dough to counter. Lift and gently stretch the dough out from the center with wet hands. Work delicately and slowly. Try not to pull from the edges but pull from the center out, you don’t want the dough to tear. Form a large, thin rectangle of dough. Pick up one edge of the dough and fold into the center approximately ⅓ of the way across, being sure to eliminate any large air pockets. Then fold the other side into the center over the first section. Finish by folding the top down halfway and then the bottom over the top forming a square in the end. Move your dough to a small square Pyrex-type dish. Let rest 45 minutes. 

Stretch and Folds: (strengthening the dough)
The number and frequency of the folds is dependent on the length of bulk as well as your dough’s extensibility and how the dough develops over the course of the bulk. For this dough 3 sets of coil folds performed at 45 minute intervals is typically enough.

With wet hands reach under the dough and pull it up slowly and evenly, detaching the dough on the side farther away from you. The dough will naturally wrap itself under. Rotate the dish and perform the same coil fold again on the other three sides. The top part of the dough is the part detaching from the dish and coiling under. 4 total coil folds. While doing this be sure to pop and large air pockets as these are not signs of fermentation, they are pockets introduced during mixing and lamination. Cover and let rest 45 minutes. This bulk fermentation should be around 75 degrees F.    

Perform the next stretch and coil folds on all 4 side of the dough. If your dough still seems a little loose you can perform another 1-2 stretch and folds during the bulk fermentation. Let rest 45 minutes. 

Perform the last set of stretch and folds. Note the temperature (again, around 75 degrees is ideal). Let bulk fermentation continue for another 1.5-2 hours (this is where you can add in another series of coil folds as needed). 

Shaping: 
About 90 min later, about 6 hours after adding levain, the dough should be around 74-75 degrees F and is ready to shape. Dough should appear puffy and somewhat light, with some roundness at the edges. Overall it should have grown approximately 50% in volume since adding the levain. 

Flour the counter top with flour. Release dough from top of dish and flip the dish over and allow it to release from the dish onto the counter. Use a bench scraper to tuck flour under the edges of the dough. Then remove the excess flour from the workspace. 

Use the scraper to help pick up the side (top) flap of your dough and gently pull out just a bit before folding up on top of the center of the dough (about ⅓ of the way in, like a letter). Gently pat the dough during this stage to remove any large air bubbles to ensure a more even crumb. Repeat the fold with the other side of the dough, folding it into the center. Then lift the top of the dough and begin to roll down onto itself. Use your thumbs to gently but firmly tuck the dough in creating a more taught surface on top of the dough. Once you roll fully up and get to the seam, seal the edge using your fingers. The use your fingers to pinch the edges to seal.

Dust the top of your dough with brown rice flour (this is ideal to prevent sticking to your banneton) and keeps the dough dry and prevents the surface from getting tacky. Use your scraper to flip over the dough so the seam side is up and the top of the dough is facing down. Gently lift and transfer the dough to the banneton. Cover and move on to the proofing stage. 

Proof: 
Let the dough sit at room temperature for an initial short proof (15-20 mins), then move to the fridge for an overnight retard for approximately 12-16 hours at 38 degrees F. Anything less then 39-40 degrees will prevent any significant rise. Any warmer and you may over proof/over ferment. 

Bake: 
The next day it’s time to bake. I use the Dutch oven method currently. Preheat oven with Dutch Oven in it for 1 hour at 500 degrees. Transfer dough, cold from fridge, to piece of parchment paper. Score at 45 degree angle. Transfer to preheated Dutch oven and put the lid on. Place in oven and turn temperature down to 450 degrees. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and return the bread to the oven and continue baking another 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Decrease the temperature to 425 degrees and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. You can remove the bread from the Dutch oven for these last 15 minutes if desired. I find it helps the crust brown up more then it does when left in the pot.

Remove bread from over and place on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool at least 2 hours before cutting, but waiting until bread is completely cooled is ideal.

Digestive Cookies (with sourdough option)

Coronovirus and COVID19 are upon us. State order starting yesterday is to shelter in place and only essential business are to be open. Phew. What a crazy time we’re living in. What better way to get through this then with some baking.

Lara baked up these cookies/biscuits yesterday. We’ve both really love any digestive biscuit, who doesn’t? They really are just cookies, which this Bon Appetit recipe endorses and calls them what they are.

These baked up very nicely, crispy and light with a lot of good whole wheat flavor. While they are not necessarily sugary sweet in the way a classic cookie is sweet, they definitely are sweet and overall delicious!

I also have made these with some alterations as a way to use up my leftover sourdough starter. I’ve posted this option below as well. Both are delicious! There’s a lot of room for variation with this recipe!

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Digestive Cookies
From Bon Appetit
Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• ½ cup (33 g) wheat germ

• 6 Tbsp. (75 g) sugar

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 1⅓ cups (167 g) whole wheat flour, plus more for surface

• ¼ cup (65g) milk

• 2 oz. chocolate (any percentage), chopped (optional)

• 1 tsp. refined coconut oil (optional)

Directions
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Process 1⅓ cups whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in a food processor until butter virtually disappears and you have a fine, floury meal. Add milk and pulse until a damp and crumbly dough forms. Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and gently knead just to bring it into a ball; flatten into a disk.

Lightly flour surface and roll out dough until just shy of ¼” thick. Lightly flour a 2-inch round cookie cutter and punch out cookies, dusting with more flour as needed to avoid sticking. Dust any excess flour off of cookies with a dry pastry brush. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently knead scraps together, reroll, and punch out more cookies.

Prick each cookie 3 times with a fork and bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until bottoms and edges are browned, 15–18 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets (cookies will crisp up as they cool).

If using, melt chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each burst, until mostly melted and smooth, about 1 minute total. (Alternatively, melt in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted; do not let bowl touch water.) Stir chocolate mixture until fully melted, then continue to stir until slightly cooled and thickened, about 3 minutes. (This makes it easier to get a thick layer of chocolate on the cookies.)

Using a small offset spatula or butter knife and working one at a time, spread a scant 1 tsp. chocolate over the flat underside of each cookie. Using the edge of the spatula and starting from one side and working your way to the other, gently and quickly press a few lines into chocolate as desired. Chill cookies on baking sheets until chocolate is set, about 10 minutes.

Sourdough Digestive Cookies
Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• ½ cup (33 g) wheat germ

• 4-6 Tbsp. (50-75 g) sugar

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 102 grams whole wheat flour

• 130 grams discarded sourdough starter

Directions
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Process whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in a food processor until butter virtually disappears and you have a fine, floury meal. Add sourdough starter and pulse until a damp and crumbly dough forms. Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and gently knead just to bring it into a ball; flatten into a disk.

Lightly flour surface and roll out dough until just shy of ¼” thick. Lightly flour a 2-inch round cookie cutter and punch out cookies, dusting with more flour as needed to avoid sticking. Dust any excess flour off of cookies with a dry pastry brush. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently knead scraps together, reroll, and punch out more cookies.

Prick each cookie 3 times with a fork and bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until bottoms and edges are browned, 25-30 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets (cookies will crisp up as they cool).

Cornmeal Honey Digestive Cookies
Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• ½ cup (33 g) wheat germ

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 100 grams whole wheat flour

• 3 tablespoons (27 grams) coarse cornmeal

• 54 grams honey (3 tablespoons) honey

• 130 grams discarded sourdough starter

Directions
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Process whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in a food processor until butter virtually disappears and you have a fine, floury meal. Add sourdough starter and pulse until a damp and crumbly dough forms. Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and gently knead just to bring it into a ball; flatten into a disk.

Lightly flour surface and roll out dough until just shy of ¼” thick. Lightly flour a 2-inch round cookie cutter and punch out cookies, dusting with more flour as needed to avoid sticking. Dust any excess flour off of cookies with a dry pastry brush. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently knead scraps together, reroll, and punch out more cookies.

Prick each cookie 3 times with a fork and bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until bottoms and edges are browned, 25-30 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets (cookies will crisp up as they cool).

Paprika Potato and Bell Pepper Soup

The picture of this potato and pepper soup in my new magazine (177 Milk Street) was so bright and sunny that I kept coming back to it even though a potato soup isn’t generally something I’m drawn too. I decided to go for it last weekend, to get outside of my comfort zone and try something I typically wouldn’t. I’m glad I did. It is a beautiful soup. Burnt orange and creamy. It’s not flashy flavor-wise, but I found it well-balanced and comforting. The potato gives it great body and mouth-feel, and the pepper and paprika shine through and turn it this beautiful color. Finishing with a couple tablespoons of lime juice gives it the perfect amount of acidity. The only thing I would probably want to change is adding a little bit of heat which would be easy with a red jalapeño or fresno chili.

The toppings are important in this recipe as well. I used both feta, and plain yogurt and they were both great options for that creamy tang on top. The cilantro adds freshness. I did not have avocado or green onion, but I’m sure they would be great as well.

Overall a fairly simple recipe that turns out a large quantity of beautiful creamy soup. Recommended!

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Paprika Potato and Bell Pepper Soup
From 177 Milk Street Magazine, March-April 2020
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced

• 3 red or orange bell peppers, stemmed, seeding and sliced

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped, stems and leaves reserved separately

• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts reserved separately

• 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 2 quarts (64 ounces, 8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth or water

• Kosher salt and ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• Crumbled or grated queso fresco, to serve

• Dice avocado, to serve

Directions
In a large Dutch over over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, bell peppers, cilantro stems and scallion whites. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 6-9 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and cumin, then cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the potatoes, broth and 1 tablespoon of salt.

Bring to a boil over medium-high, then cover, reduce to low and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer, until a skewer inserted into the potatoes meets no resistance, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes.

Using a blender and working in batches, puree the mixture until completely smooth. (Alternately, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot.) Return the soup to the pot and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

Off heat, stir in the lime juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup topped with the cilantro leaves, scallion greens, queso fresco and avocado.

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

I had the itch to bake something this week. I had two sad looking apples sitting on the counter, and a package of almond paste in the freezer, leftover from Christmas, so when I found this recipe I knew it was meant to be! This is a beautifully simple cake and turned out exactly as I had hoped. The almond flavor really shines through and the almond pastes gives the crumb a little “stickiness” that I enjoy. Topped with thinly sliced apples, the combination couldn’t be more delicious, or beautiful. Highly recommended.

German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
From 177 Milk Street
Ingredients

• 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour [I used 110 grams all purpose and 20 grams whole wheat]

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 cup (214 grams) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling [I cut back to 3/4 cup, 160 grams]

• 4 ounces almond paste, broken into small pieces

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 small granny smith apples, about 12 ounces total, peeled and cored and halved lengthwise [I used the apples I had, I think one was a red delicious and one was a golden delicious]

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan parchment paper and spray with cooking spray, then dust with flour; tap out the excess and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the 1 cup of sugar, the almond paste and salt on low until the paste has broken into crumbly bits, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Reduce to medium, then, one at a time, add the eggs, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition.

Scrape down the bowl, then add the vanilla and continue mixing on medium until well-combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce to low, add the flour mixture and mix just until the batter is evenly moistened, about 10 seconds; it will be thick. Using the spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and give the batter a few folds to ensure no pockets of butter or flour remain. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread in an even layer, smoothing the surface.

Slice each apple half lengthwise into ⅛-inch-thick half circles; do not separate the slices. With your hand, gently press down on each half to fan the slices. Divide the fanned apples into 8 equal portions without undoing the fanned effect. Slide a thin spatula or butter knife under the apples, then slide the slices off the spatula near the outer edge of the cake with the slices fanning outward from the center. One at a time, position another 6 sets of slices on the cake, creating an evenly spaced spoke pattern. Place the last set of apple slices in the center. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over the top.

Bake until the edges of the cake are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen, then remove the pan sides. Serve warm or at room temperature; dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs

Made this for dinner on a whim the last night of my vacation, after getting home from Arizona the night before. Something light and fresh sounded great. This was a wonderful salad, without cheese! I couldn’t believe it. Rarely do I make a salad without cheese on purpose!. It would be an easy salad to make ahead. There is so much flavor, and what I especially liked was how acidic it was. There are a lot of acidic components which really add a punch of flavor. I think it would be great with a piece of grilled fish. I just had it with some toasts which was also good. Definitely something to make again.

There are a lot of places you could go with this one, changing the flavors a little bit here and there. I did make some changes based on what I had.

What did I change/do differently: I used less olive oil than the recipe called for by a long shot. Didn’t have smoked almonds, so used toasted walnuts instead. Didn’t have thyme, but did have parsley, cilantro and mint so in that all went. Added a little smoked paprika since I didn’t have any smoked almonds. Used regular curly kale not lacinato. I only used a small amount of honey, maybe 1-2 teaspoons, not 2 tablespoons. Added sweet red pickled peppers, sliced thin, for a little extra flavor, color and acid. I also think some olives would be a lovely addition.

Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs
From 177 Milk Street
Ingredients

• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

• 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar

• Kosher sald

• 2 Tablespoons of honey

• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Ground black pepper

• 1 cup smoked almonds

• 4 ounces white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

• 2 bunches lacinato kale, stemmed, washed, spun dry and thinly sliced crosswise (10 cups)

• 1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Whisk in the honey, 5 tablespoons of the oil and ½ teaspoon pepper; set aside.

In a food processor, process the almonds until coarsely chopped, about 8 pulses; transfer to a large bowl. Add the bread to the processor and process to rough crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add the thyme, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Process until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Transfer the crumb mixture to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add the kale and mint to the bowl with the almonds and massage the greens until the kale softens and darkens, 10 to 20 seconds. Add the dressing and crumbs and toss to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper

Christmas Party Cupcakes

The Christmas party for my work was postponed until January. We’re going through a big EMR switch, and that, combined with everyone’s busy holidays led to a January party. Fine by me! I volunteered to make cupcakes for dessert after some of my coworkers mentioned that they would price out cupcakes from some local bakeries to buy for dessert. I figured I could just do it, especially since my day off is Thursday and the party was Friday. I figured I could make a few dozen the day before and we’d be set.

I made two types of cupcakes, red velvet and a dark chocolate with chocolate frosting. I’d made the dark chocolate ones before (the original recipe is for a dark chocolate cupcake with a ganache center which I have done and it is amazing, but I made it simpler this time and omitted the filling and they are still delicious!) but I’d never made a red velvet cupcakes, although I have made a red velvet cake multiple times so not too different.

Both turned out really well. I ended up making a double batch of each recipe. I think I made the red velvet a little smaller than they were supposed to be because I ended up getting 30 cupcakes and a mini loaf cake (just for fun!). The chocolate cupcakes made a perfect two dozen.

I made the cream cheese frosting a few days in advance and it was just fine, I didn’t even need to re-whip it. With that being made ahead of time, it took me about 5 hours from start to finish to make these all. That was with a quick 20 or so minute break for lunch.

Overall, two nice recipes, perfect for a celebration with friends and co-workers! I love being able to share my joy of food, baking and cake with others!

While both recipes were good, I would say that the chocolate cupcakes were pretty amazing (even without the ganache filling), and the red velvet were average. The red velvet had nice flavor, but I wasn’t blown away by the final result. Perfectly acceptable, but nothing beyond that. The recipe also had quite a few steps including whipping the eggs whites separate. While I would happily make and eat these cupcakes again, I would be more likely to look for a different recipe next time (this review does not apply to the frosting, which was so good! But cream cheese frosting generally is!).

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Cupcakes 
From America's Test Kitchen (and see previous blog post as well)
Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Ganache Filling [I omitted this time, but highly recommend]

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine

• 1/4 cup heavy cream 

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar 

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine

• 1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa 

• 3/4 cup hot coffee 

• 3/4 cup (4 1/8 ounces) bread flour 

• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar 

• 1/2 teaspoon table salt 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 

• 2 large eggs 

• 2 teaspoons white vinegar 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions

FOR GANACHE FILLING: Place chocolate, cream, and confectioners’ sugar in medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high power until mixture is warm to touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth; transfer bowl to refrigerator and let stand until just chilled, no longer than 30 minutes. (Do not chill for longer than 30 minutes. The ganache gets too hard and sinks to the bottom of the cupcake during baking. Still just as delicious, but quite messy, and not as easy to eat. I found 20-25 minutes to work well.)

FOR CUPCAKES: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-size muffin pan (cups have ½-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners. Place chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour hot coffee over mixture and whisk until smooth. Set in refrigerator to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into cooled chocolate-cocoa mixture until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until cupcakes are set and just firm to touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 1 hour. 

TO FROST: Mound 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting on center of each cupcake. Using small icing spatula or butter knife, spread frosting to edge of cupcake, leaving slight mound in center.

Mocha Frosting
From Cook's Country 
Makes about 4 cups
This recipe makes enough frosting for two 9-inch layers, a 13 by 9-inch sheet cake, one Bundt cake (made in a 12-cup Bundt pan) or 24 cupcakes. The frosting can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Before using the frosting, let it stand at room temperature until softened, about 2 hours, then whip with an electric mixer briefly to re-fluff.

Ingredients

• 24 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 sticks), cut into pieces and softened 

• 3 tablespoons heavy cream 

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar 

• 3 tablespoons cocoa 

• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso 

Directions
CREAM BUTTER In an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter, cream, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed until combined. 

WHIP FROSTING Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. With motor running, slowly add confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and instant espresso and mix until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

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Red Velvet Cupcakes
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, room temperature and separated

• 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour (alternatively you can use 1 and 2/3 cups [192g] cake flour and omit the cornstarch below)

• 1/4 cup (32g) cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 4 teaspoons (6g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup (105 grams) canola or vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

• 1 ounce red gel food coloring (I used Wilton brand)

• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, room temperature

• Cream cheese frosting for topping (See below)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a one to two muffin pans with cupcake liners (the recipe makes about 14 cupcakes). With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Sift the flour and cornstarch together to make sure it is evenly combined. Whisk this, along with baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat on high for 2 minutes. Add 2 egg yolks and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vinegar and the food coloring– until you reach your desired color.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold whipped egg whites into cupcake batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
From Sugar Spun Run
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened

• 8 oz cream cheese softened

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 cups (500 grams) powdered sugar

Directions
Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use an electric mixer) and beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free. Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined. Use to frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes.

*Note: I made a double batch of frosting and it was enough to frost my 30 cupcakes with a small container leftover. I’d probably made a 1.5 batch if I was frosting 2 dozen cupcakes, and the full batch would then be plenty for a dozen cupcakes.

Kale and Leek Strata with Ricotta

For brunch on Christmas day this year, I went sweet with cinnamon rolls and Lara went savory with this yummy strata. She adapted it from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it originally from Gourmet. I posted the original recipe below but Lara did a lot of adapting and replacing ingredients. The core of the recipe was the same though as she followed the basic custard as posted in the original. However, she replaced the spinach with kale, the onion with leeks (approximately 2 medium), and the gruyere with ricotta mixed with lemon zest and salt (approximately 12 ounces of ricotta).

The leeks were sautéed until nice and soft. Once they were pretty much done the kale was added, some on heat until wilted down, and then a little more added off heat to wilt just slightly but still maintain some texture. I don’t really have a measurement of kale, she just added it until it looked right! However much or little you want. She then layered it as done in the original recipe; bread, then leek/kale mixture, and then blobs of yummy ricotta. We had leftover baguette so used that for the bread. Ended up using a little extra bread, more like 12-14 ounces. This type of recipe is very flexible!

Spinach and Cheese Strata
From Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Gourmet, February 2003 Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped

• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)

• 6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)

• 2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)

• 2 3/4 cups milk

• 9 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions
Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for eat least 8 hours or up to a day.

The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.