Whenever I visit home, I can’t help but spoil my parents with baked and cooked treats, because when they come home after a long day and smell something delicious in the air, they get the most precious looks on their faces that show me that their worries from the day have abated ever so slightly. And if it’s that easy to make someone happy, why not do it everyday?

I try to make sure that they not only get some sweets, but some healthful foods in their diet to keep them strong and healthy. These modified Salmon Cakes full of Omega-3 fatty acids fall into the healthful food category. I topped these salmon cakes off with a Cucumber Yogurt Salad that lent the dish a refreshing twist. I’m never precise whenever it comes to cooking, so here’s a rough recipe to follow if you’d like to try it out yourself!

Salmon Cakes
Makes 3-5 portions

• 3 fillets of fresh salmon
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 cup whole grain bread meal*
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste

* Basically take a couple slices of whole grain bread and leave out to dry. Alternatively, lay the slices on a baking tray and bake in a 175 degree F oven until they’ve dried out. You can also add some herbs to this mix as you like.

1. Steam the 3 salmon fillets until tender. Set aside to cool.
2. Combine the pine nuts, walnuts, and bread meal in a food processor and process until fine.
3. Thoroughly drain the bell peppers by squeezing them within a cheese cloth.
4. Add the bell peppers, onions, lemon juice, and garlic to the salmon fillets in a large bowl.Using a fork, mix to combine until the salmon flakes. I like some sizable chunks of salmon in there. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that you will be adding the bread meal and eggs to the mix, so compensate for that by adding just a bit more seasoning than you think is necessary.
5. Crack in the 2 eggs and gently combine. Add the bread meal as necessary until the salmon cakes reach your desired consistency. If the salmon cakes are difficult to handle, you can also put them in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to make handling easier.
6. Spoon up ~4 tablespoons of salmon cake into the palm of your hand, roll, and press gently until you make a patty about .75 inches thick.
7. Heat a pan with just a touch of oil, butter, or cooking spray and place the patties on the pan. Cook over medium-low heat until cooked through and golden on each side.
8. Serve warm.

Cucumber Yogurt Salad

• 2.5 cups Greek style plain, fat-free yogurt
• 2 cups cucumbers, diced
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Combine everything in a bowl. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for ~8 hours.
2. Serve cool.

Take a good look at this woman. She may look like the most wise, strong, and loving mother in the world. And, well, that’s because she is. But I’m sorry to tell you, she is a chronic “storer.”

Yes. A storer. She has the amazing resourcefulness to find the best deals within a 40 mile radius and an even more astounding ability to pack it all away … a great skill to have in post-war Korea, but not necessarily a survival tactic necessary in the land of plenty (and Costco’s). Nevertheless, so it is.

Many a times during my childhood did I pop open my mother’s trunk after a shopping trip to find totes upon totes of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and health foods galore only to have my mother reply to my gasp, “But they were on sale!” Well, there must have been a special on apples recently, because what I found upon opening the refrigerator on my recent visit home were not one, nor two, but three bags of apples sitting unapologetically on the shelf.

Others might have seen waste, but in my “fatty” eyes, all I saw were dancing visions of experiments with Fall recipes. To start with, I baked up a dependable Apple Crostata that filled our home with wafts of nutmeg and cinnamon that announced my arrival home to my Dad’s nose. The recipe is quick and easy, and the butteriness of the flaky crust and the sweetness of the filling are wonderfully offset by the splashes of freshly squeezed lemon and grapefruit zest added to the filling.

Apple Crostata

And the beauty of it all is that there are still plenty of apples and some other goodies to experiment with in the coming days! We have a can of pumpkin puree with an impending expiration date and a can of adzuki red bean paste sitting on the pantry shelf that are crying out to be used. So look forward to some fun recipes coming your way soon!

Apple Crostata

For the crust:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar*
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter chilled and diced
2 tablespoons ice water

For the egg wash:
1 egg white
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

For the filling:
3 small apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the crumbles:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter, chilled, and diced

*I substituted each unit of sugar with half a unit of Splenda brown sugar blend, and everything baked up just fine

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Give the flour, sugar, and salt a quick mix to combine
2. Add the chilled butter to the dry ingredients, and use the back of a fork to crumble the butter into the dry ingredients until small clumps form
3. While continuing to mix, add the ice water in a steady stream and continue to use the back of the fork to incorporate everything. Stop right before the dough becomes a solid mass.
4. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 1 day
5. As you wait for the dough, prepare the filling by tossing the apples with the lemon juice and grapefruit zest. Set aside.
6. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmet. Add the butter and use the back of a fork to make the butter crumble into the dry ingredients once more.
7. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the chilled crust dough out on a  lightly floured surface into an 11 inch round
8. Transfer the crust dough onto a baking sheet. Add the apples to the center of the dough, leaving a 1.5 inch border along the edges. I like to create a small mound, so there are more apples in the center of the dough.
9. Sprinkle the crumbles atop the apple filling
10. Fold the crust over onto the apples along the edges of the mound, pinching as necessary to cover up holes
11. Brush the egg white onto the crust edges and sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the crust
12. Pop in the 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden
13. Cool and serve warm or at room temperature

As you may know, D and I have been in pursuit of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe for quite some time now. We chanced upon a recipe (detailed in an earlier post) that we deemed perfect. Since then, it has been our go-to recipe for our chocolate fixes. But in recent days, I must admit that we’ve “stepped out” on our recipe as we’ve been sampling some others. Admittedly, I feel terribly guilty for being unfaithful to our dependable and age-old recipe. But a girl has needs! You understand, don’t you?

We recently tried out two recipes: the self-proclaimed perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (courtesy of the NY Times) and a crispy, chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe (courtesy of Artisan Sweets). This past weekend, we got to try out both of them.

The crispy, chewy chocolate chip cookie had a texture to die for. Crispy on the circumference and along the bottom edge, but chewy and meltingly tender throughout, it surely lived up to its name.

But the “perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe” ultimately won out. The cookies from this batch are so distinct and superior in their taste and texture that they are a bit difficult to describe. Like the crispy, chewy chocolate cookies, the perfect chocolate chip cookies had a multidimensional texture. But while the crispy, chewy cookies were crispy in a “snap when you crack the cookie in half” type of way, the perfect chocolate chip cookies, while giving you that satisfying crisp upon first bite, still gave way meltingly gently. More importantly, the flavor of the cookie was well-rounded with toffee, almost caramel-like undertones and was accented by sweet bursts of chocolate and hints of sea salt in every bite.

We have a huge batch sitting in the fridge that we cannot – must not – should not finish on our own. So please do drop by and I’ll bake some up fresh – just for you. For those of you who are not in close proximity to 1d41, apologies! But do not fret, I will post recipes ASAP with some insights of my own. In the meantime, you can find the original recipes here:

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies – NY Times

and

Crispy, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy!

Homemade Oreos

Think about some of your favorite childhood memories, and odds are that one (if not two or three) will have something to do with an Oreo. Don’t believe me? Give it a try. In my case, I remember …

… those commercials of kids and grandparents making airplane Oreos, zooming them around, dunking them into glasses of ice cold milk, giggling, and biting into them as the kid and granddad share a secret smile.

… that game gracie and I always played, where we would  each twist off a side of an Oreo, hoping to get the most cream, because that would ensure that our crush was crushing on us, too – obviously.

… and sneakily twisting open an Oreo, eating the filling, sticking the cookies back together, and running away with the sweet taste of victory lingering in my mouth.

So when I ran across this recipe for homemade Oreos, a wave of whimsy rushed over me, and I just knew I had to try it out. The recipe produced a cookie that was reminiscent of an Oreo, but the strong form of cocoa powder I used gave the cookies a more mature twist. After having done one trial run with the recipe, I think I’ll modify it the next time around in two key respects: 1) reducing the amount of sugar used, and 2) using the slice and bake method used on refrigerator cookies instead of dropping the dough so that I can better control the thickness of the cookies (if they get too thick, they get too intense). Additionally, I might consider shaving off a couple minutes from the baking time to produce softer, chewier wafers that might complement the creaminess of the filling even better.



Homemade Oreos
Adapted from SmittenKitchen
Serving size: 24-36 cookies

Chocolate Wafers
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 tspn baking soda
1/4 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 large egg

Filling
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tspns vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar together.
2. Cut the butter into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. The dough should be crumbly. Add the large egg. Continue mixing until a mass of dough forms. It will be very dense.
3. Roll the dough into a log 2 inches in diameter, and slice the cookies to 1/4 inch in thickness. Place cookies on parchment paper. about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes for crispy cookies, and 6-7 minutes for chewier ones.
4. While the cookies are baking, prepare the filling by creaming together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Start on low and gradually increase speed.
6. Transfer the filling to a piping bag. Once the cookies are baked, let cool. Then put a dollop (or two) of frosting on one cookie. Sandwich it with another cookie.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

A pavlova and its namesake

If there is one thing in life you can always depend on, it is your oven … breaking the very moment you stick a perfect pavlova in it. In C and my case today, it was our oven door that broke apart. Quite literally. But a silly little thing like a broken oven door wasn’t going to stand between us and our pavlova. Had we listened to C’s dad’s adage, “You’ll never run into trouble as long as you leave the house with 3 yards of rope,” we would have been in tip-top shape. Since we lacked any length of rope, however, C and I improvised, using tape to create a little contraption.

60 minutes later, our oven was still broken, but we didn’t care. We had the most perfect pavlovas ever: delicate on the outside; gooey, marshmallowy, and utterly heavenly inside; and topped with whipped cream and tart kiwi slices on top.

The only con about these pavlovas is that they are so light and yummy, you’ll eat the entire batch before you even know it. Luckily enough, our ideals of beauty are changing during these tough economic times <http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-13/hot-and-heavy/>. So lay aside those worries about calories (at least until the Dow’s climbed into the teens), and enjoy to your hearts’ content, ladies!



Perfect Pavlova

Meringue
3/4 tspns pure vanilla extract
1 tspn white wine vinegar
3/4 tbsp (11.25 ml) cornstarch
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt

Topping
Whipped cream
Tart fruit of your choice (berries are marvelous and kiwis are also delightful)

Before you start:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, make sure your utensils are spotless and wipe them down with vinegar and salt, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper

1. Measure out the wet ingredients (vanilla and wine vinegar) in a small ramekin or bowl
2. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a separate small ramekin or bowl
3. Separate the egg whites of 3 cold eggs and set aside until they get to room temperature
4. Start to beat the egg whites and salt on low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium. Once soft peaks begin to form, start to add the sugar and corn starch mix to the eggs a couple tablespoons at a time as you increase the speed to medium high. Continue beating.
5. 4-5 minutes after all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, add the vanilla extract and vinegar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form and the egg whites take on a brilliant-white glossy appearance.
6. Pipe or spoon generous servings of the meringue onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper to make 3 inch rounds. Space each pavlova out about 1/2 an inch. Use the back of a slightly wet, clean metal spoon to create a well in the middle of each pavolva. This will hold the filling.
7. Put the pavlovas in the oven on the center rack and reduce the temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for about 50-60 minutes. Take out of the oven before they turn tan-colored or start to crack.
8. Fill the well in each pavlova with whipped cream right before serving and top with a tart fruit of your choice.

Maybe it was because fat snowflakes were holding us hostage in our rooms all day as they covered the Square, but I was feeling particularly energetic and antsy the other night. I needed a release, and there really is no better release for energy than kneading dough. So I looked up some recipes for quick breads, and came across two self-proclaimed “Irresistible” and “Amazingly Easy” recipes for Irish Soda Bread. While the Irresistible Soda Bread did, indeed, look irresistible, I opted for the Amazingly Easy recipe since it called for kneading while the Irresistible did not. Such misnomers!

Prep and baking was relatively straightforward, and the outcome was a moist, rich dense bread with a flaky crust. The interior was subtly flavored by buttermilk, with bursts of sweetness from the raisins. All of this was rounded out by the nuttiness of the walnuts I threw in just for fun. I might improve upon the recipe next time by cooking at a lower temp for a slightly longer period of time and adding some orange zest to cut through the bread given how dense and rich it is. (A million Irish grandmothers are probably turning in their graves as I write!)

Here is the recipe (Adapted from MP Welty)

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tblspns white sugar
1 tspn baking soda
1 tblspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 cup raisins
1 cup roasted walnuts
zest of one orange
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in softened margarine and mix until combined.
3. Make a well in the dry mixture and stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Mix until combined. And raisins, walnuts, and orange zest.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an ‘X’ into the top of the loaf.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.