eat make read

Growing up, I remember spending a weekend afternoon spent rolling out pretzel dough into loooonnnng tubes, then trying my best to twist them into perfect pretzel shapes. I’m pretty sure there were some wacky looking pretzels that came out of the oven, but who cares what they look like when I had soft, warm pretzels to look forward to. With memories like that, it’s hard not to try to recreate it.

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Oh boy, I cooked up a storm this weekend and it felt amazing! I’m still figuring out our new kitchen, trying to deal with it’s quirks while basking in its glories (i heart dishwashers!!). These lovely little honey wheat crackers were the first in a long line of recipes I whipped up and man are they tasty… I couldn’t help myself from snacking on them throughout the day. There’s just something about honey and wheat that just makes me a happy lady.

If you’ve never made your own crackers, let me introduce you to the easiest thing ever. Toss equal portions of whole wheat flour and white flour in the bowl on a food processor (if you don’t have one, don’t fret, you’ll just have to use a little muscle). Add some butter, honey, a little cream and a pinch of salt and press go. A ball will quickly form and you’re almost ready. Even with my new love, mr. dishwasher, I’m always looking for ways to cut down on dirty dishes, so I just flour a baking sheet and plop the dough right on it. Next just roll the dough out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick, then using a pizza cutter, score a grid pattern into the dough. Pop it in the oven and shazam… you are a mere 10 minutes away from tasty, homemade crackers.

While I let my crackers cool, I pulled out one of my favorite cheeses, Bucheron, from the fridge to enjoy alongside the sweet, wheaty crackers. The crackers are light and slightly flaky, and the flavor is the perfect balance of a little sweet and a little nutty with a hint of salt which goes so perfectly with the smooth, slightly sharp nature of Bucheron. But beyond being delicious, I absolutely love this recipe because it’s so flexible. As long as you keep similar proportions, the variations are endless. I’ve substituted the butter for olive oil and tossed in a little rosemary and had myself some tasty rosemary crackers. Try adding chopped nuts, use different flour or herbs or whatever floats your boat… chances are it’s going to be tasty.

honey wheat crackers
adapter from mark bittman’s parmesan cream crackers

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, more as needed
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half, more as needed

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
1
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour.
2
Put flour, salt, honey and butter in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup cream or half-and-half and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky.
3
Roll out dough on the lightly floured baking sheet until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on.
4
Bake until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.
5
Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.

Yield: About 4 servings.

It’s no secret that I love popcorn. It’s just so delicious and versatile, what’s not to love? I also love polka dots because they’re a simple, happy pattern and always manage to put a smile on my face. A while ago I came across a recipe for popcorn balls and immediately thought popcorn polka dots! Awesome! Popcorn balls are one of those childhood snacks that I haven’t thought about since, oh, third grade, but I thought with a little tweaking they could be the perfect party snack.

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This month’s Food and Wine magazine is full of features and stories that got me really excited about being in the kitchen. One was that brussels sprouts recipe I tried last week, another is an article about a company based here in New York called Hot Bread Kitchen. The company was founded by a former United Nations immigration-policy expert who wanted to improve the lives of immigrant women in the United States. She did that by opening a bakery that teaches women culinary skills while also focusing on and teaching eachother about the breads of their homelands. Such an awesome idea, and let me tell you, the breads are fantastic! My favorite has always been the lavash, a large crispy cracker that is perfect for an afternoon snack or with a little cheese at the park.

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The other day I was browsing my usual blogs and came across a recipe for biscotti over on Small Measures. I rarely eat biscotti and certainly have never made it, but after reading the raves and perhaps salivating a little too much, I thought it was as good a day as any to try it out. With ingredients like fig and pistachio, it had to be good. And it was.

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Oh. Boy. I am pumped about this recipe. A while ago this idea popped into my head while eating a basket of popcorn at one of my favorite pubs. Maybe it was the popcorn, probably it was the beer, but all of a sudden I had the idea to cook popcorn in bacon fat. But that could be a little boring, so I thought maybe I should add a little maple syrup into the mix to jazz it up. Whooo, boy. This is the stuff happiness is made of.

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If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you’ll probably have noticed I’m a fan of party nuts. While they’re great for parties, they also work well for picnics… they’re easy to transport and don’t require utensils. I mean, what more could you ask for? This particular variety is really quite delicious. They have some of my favorite flavors all wrapped up in one bite, sweet, spicy and nutty.

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Man oh man, you can sure tell it’s tomato season over here. Tomato this and tomato that, I’m finding all sorts of was to use them. After making the incredibly delicious foccacia bread earlier this week, I had quite a few leftover tomatoes. I decided to follow Whitney’s lead and slow roast the remaining beauties using a super simple recipe from Orangette.

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I saw this article in the New York Times about granola made with olive oil a while back. It sounded tasty but I was in no hurry to make it. Then I picked up a bag of Early Bird Granola, the granola in which the aforementioned recipe is based on, and I suddenly realized why that olive oil granola warranted a whole article in the food section of the Times. Ummm… this stuff is crazy awesome. Like jump up and down in the kitchen and hand me that bag. I pulled up that article and got to work making my own batch. The result is a salty and sweet concoction that is one heck of a way to start the day.

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As August creeps it’s way onto the calendar so does the humid, hot weather. Along with the heat, August also ushers melons. I saw the first ones this weekend at the market and immediately scooped one up to make some refreshing popsicles. These watermelon pops which are jazzed up with a little mint and coconut water make even the hottest day feel cool and refreshing, if only for a few minutes.

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