ginger scookies

I’m on a ginger kick again. I feel like I’m making up for 25 years without tasting fresh ginger and packing as much of it into my life as I can. This weekend I found a recipe for ginger scones and decided to try my hand at the buttery treats. Let’s just say I haven’t quite honed my skills, hence my invention of the scookie (scone+cookie).

Saturday morning I chopped up some candied ginger and got moving. The dough is made in the food processor, which makes the whole process pretty easy. Once I was ready to toss in the butter I realized the recipe called for it to be frozen… oops. In the back of my head I knew that was probably pretty important, but I’m impatient and I decided to hell with it. I tossed the butter in and moved on with the process.

Just like I do with my biscuits, I used my roll and slice method and got nine lovely, round scones without any excess dough to deal with. I popped them in the oven and crossed my fingers. About halfway through I checked on them and guess what… I should have frozen the butter. My scones ended up more like cookies, big and flattish. Whoopsy! I let them cook a little more and then pulled them out of the oven to cool.

They were certainly a little flatter than I wanted, but oh boy, that first bite was delicious! They practically melted in your mouth as soon as you took a bite (with all the butter and cream in them, it kind of makes sense). Instead of using lemon zest as the recipe called for, I used a tiny bit of lemon extract and it was super tasty. The scookies were delicately laced with little chunks of ginger held together by a lemony goodness. Not quite what I had in mind when I started, but certainly tasty.

Ginger Scones
or if you mess it up like I did you’ll get Ginger Scookies
based on this recipe from epicurious

2 1/4 cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar + more for sprinkling on top
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest (about 1/2 lemon) or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
4 1/2 ounces candied ginger, finely chopped into 1/4-inch pieces to equal 2/3 cup
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing the tops of the scones

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400° F.

1
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder, and pulse or mix on low to incorporate.
2
Add the lemon zest and butter, and pulse on and off, or mix on low, untl the mixture is pale yellow and the consistency of fine meal.
3
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger.
4
Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Using one hand, draw in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
5
Wash and dry your hands and dust them with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead a few times to gather it into a ball.
6
Roll the dough into a log about 2-3 inches round. Cut 3/4 inch slices and place about and inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
7
Brush the tops with the remaining cream.
8
Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the surface cracks and they are slightly browned.

Filed under eat and make and sweets by kelly. December 8th, 2008 . 1 Comments

happy friday!

Woohoo, it’s Friday again! It’s bound to be a busy weekend here, but that just means you get more to read in the coming weeks.

Here are some things to look forward to on eatmakeread:
-holiday treats! I’ll be posting a few holiday treats & packaging ideas each week leading up to the new year. Please feel free to share your ideas!
-more craft shows + a special interview
-fried chicken tour Some friends and I are working on a fried chicken tour of NYC, yikes clogged arteries!
-plus the usual kitchen experiments!

Cheers! Have a great weekend!

Filed under read by kelly. December 5th, 2008 . 1 Comments

brooklyn craft shows & shopping, round 1

I’m so excited for all the great holiday craft shows that are happening this month in Brooklyn. The first event, Park Slope’s Snowflake Celebration, isn’t a craft show but more a celebration of locally owned shops. Tonight and next Thursday, December 11, Brooklyn shops (mostly along 5th & 7th ave) will stay open late and offer discounts and snacks.

This Sunday is packed with three awesome craft shows. First, Lena Corwin will be selling her wares along with 8 other artists at A Special Holiday Shop (1-5) . Just a few blocks away the Brooklyn Flea teamed up with Time Out New York for Gifted (Dec 7, 17, 21 11am-6pm), a craft show featuring 40 vendors selling everything from vintage goods to homemade food. Finally, Brooklyn Based and Third Ward present the Holiday Handmade Craft Fair (12-7),  a show packed with music, tasty food, vintage cookware & handmade crafts. Whew, I don’t even know where to start!

Buy handmade!

Filed under events by kelly. December 4th, 2008 . 1 Comments

food timeline

here’s some interesting info to feast your eyes upon. some of my favorites on the timeline are doughnuts (17th century), taffy, toffee & butterscotch (1817), vernor’s ginger ale (1862), & chicken & waffles (1938).

Filed under read by kelly. December 3rd, 2008 . 2 Comments

portobello pizza

There’s this couple at the greenmarket who sell the most amazing variety of mushrooms. I’ve never been a huge mushroom fan, but walking by their booth, it’s hard to resist the little forms full of character. This weekend we walked away with a few portobello mushrooms and a recipe for portobello pizza. After selecting our portobellos, I asked the mushroom man what he suggested I do with them. His favorite thing to do is sautee a little onion and garlic in olive oil, then add the mushroom and let it heat up for a minute or two, then add a little mozzerella to make a portobello pizza. Does that sound good or what?

Well of course I had to come home and make that. I thought the recipe could use a little pizazz, so I decided to add some hot salsa on top. And since I had a ripe avocado, I made some guacamole and added that to the mix too. It’s a little bit of a wacky combo, but let me tell you, it’s super simple and awesomely delicious. Portobellos are my new friend!

Portobello Pizza

4 portobello mushrooms
4- 1/4″ slices mozzarella cheese
1 clove of garlic
1 small shallot
salsa of your liking
guacamole
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1
Saute the shallot in the olive oil over low heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic.
2
Place the mushrooms round side down and cook for 2 minutes.
3
Flip the mushrooms over and place cheese over top. Cover the pan and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt.
4
Remove from pan, spoon some salsa and guacamole on top and eat up!

Filed under dinner and eat and make by kelly. December 3rd, 2008 . 8 Comments

no knead bread, original recipe

I received a new dutch oven for my birthday (thanks Kristi & Dave!) and I thought this cold and rainy weekend was the perfect opportunity to try out the original no-knead bread recipe. I’ve had pretty good success with the quicker versions and I was curious to see if this longer one would be worth the extra time.

I started the dough Saturday afternoon and left it a covered bowl until Sunday morning. I gave it a little attention, then to let it rise again for 2 hours. Just before I was ready to bake it, I put my dutch oven in the oven so it could warm up. After about 15 minutes I dropped my ball of dough in it, put the lid on and let it work some magic in the oven. A half hour later I checked on it and removed the lid. No long after, I had a lovely loaf of bread.

The bread had a nice golden and crunchy crust, with a soft white interior. It had a really nice, nuetral flavor with a few air bubbles inside. All in all, the bread was really good, but I’m not sure it tasted any different from the quicker versions that have come out since the recipe was originally published. I’m sure there are some people who could tell the difference, but for me, I think I’ll stick to the quicker no knead bread recipe.

No-Knead Bread

Filed under bread and eat and make and read by kelly. December 2nd, 2008 . 1 Comments

huevos rancheros

It’s no secret that I love mexican food, so when my friend Jillian sent me this recipe a while ago I kept it bookmarked for the perfect occasion. She visited me this weekend and I thought there’d be no better time to try it out.

I collected all my ingredients over the weekend, modifying the recipe slighty by getting smaller tomatoes and fewer peppers, then stuck them all in the fridge until Sunday morning. After a nice leisurely start to the day, I started prepping to make the salsa. I soon realized that this wasn’t going to be a quick and easy brunch. After chopping up the tomatoes, peppers and onions, then adding a few spices, I popped the whole thing in the oven for 40 minutes. Once my timer went off, I took my salsa out and let it cool, then I prepared some tortillas to go in the oven to get a quick crispiness. After the salsa cooled a little bit, I tossed it in the food processor.

Then things got a little tricky. The recipe says to make wells in the salsa and then crack the eggs into the them. I don’t think I used enough tomatoes to produce the proper amount of salsa, because my wells were quite shallow. When I cracked my eggs into them, they kind of ran over the all the salsa. I just went with it and let the eggs cook until the whites looked opaque. I then split the mixture into 3 parts and topped each tortilla with an egg surrounded by salsa.

I was a little nervous that this wasn’t going to turn out. It had taken a long time to make and the eggs gave me problems, but when I took the first bite I was super relieved. It was fantastic. I think it was the first egg dish I’ve made that tasted restaurant quality. The salsa was very well rounded and complemented the eggs perfectly. I also loved placing it on top of a crispy tortilla because it not only gave the dish a little crunch, but made it a little more finger friendly. The downside of this recipe is that it takes about an hour or so to make and dirties a lot of dishes. That being said, I’d definitely make this dish again, but I think next time I’ll make more salsa so I can save some for the next time. Delicious!

huevos rancheros
based on this recipe, originally from America’s Test Kitchen

Salsa
2 cups cherry tomatoes,  cored and halved
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and halved
1/2 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
salt and pepper

tortillas
4 flour tortillas
olive oil
salt

4 eggs

1
For the Salsa: Toss the first 8 ingredients together in mixing bowl, then spread out onto a baking pan and roast in preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.
2
Take out the roasting vegetables for the salsa and let cool for 10 minutes.
3
Raise temperature in oven to 450 degrees.
4
For the Tortillas: brush both sides of the tortillas with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on baking pan and cook in oven for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Flip over and cook 2-3 minutes more.
5
Continue the salsa: 1st pulse onions and peppers in food processor for 10 seconds. Add the tomatoes and pulse an additional 10 seconds. Add cilantro and lime juice.
6
For the eggs: Heat salsa in frying pan to simmer then turn off heat. Make 4 wells in the salsa crack the eggs into them (or first crack each egg into a bowl to be sure not to get any shells into the salsa). Season each egg with salt and pepper and heat on medium low 3-4 minutes for runny eggs or 5-7 minutes for well done eggs.
7
Place tortilla on plate, top with egg and salsa. Eat up!

Filed under breakfast and eat and make by kelly. December 1st, 2008 . 4 Comments

new masthead

My lovely husband has been hard at work designing a new typeface and I kind of fell in love with it. Lucky for me, he designed the letters for my masthead before any others… woohoo! I thought while I was at it I’d jazz up the colors a bit for a more wintry feel.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Thanks Aaron!

Filed under make by kelly. December 1st, 2008 . 3 Comments