Adventures in the Kitchen» Cookbook

Hazelnut Popovers and a Thanksgiving Giveaway

cheri — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:10:04 +0000

I have a Thanksgiving giveaway to celebrate Thanksgiving week here at Adventures in the Kitchen. I received a copy of Diane Morgan’s new cookbook The New Thanksgiving Table by Chronicle Books.

I loved it so much I asked the kind people at Chronicle if they would share a copy with one lucky reader and they said yes. Just leave a comment sharing your favorite side dish. If you twitter you get a second entry by leaving another comment, If you subscribe you get a third.

I tried the Spinach Salad with Bosc Pears, Cranberries, Red Onion, and Toasted Hazelnuts and I am dying to try the Framboise Cranberry Sauce. The recipe I ended up making was Hazelnut and Fresh Herb Popovers. Remember, I shared my love of popovers from my childhood here. I ended up using a bit of sage and loved the combination.
Diane shared her trick of putting the muffin pan in the oven to heat up for ten minutes and then brushing the tin with melted butter just before you pour the batter in. That was the hot tip as mine fell out of the pan and that has not always happened for me in the past. Popovers get puffy and crisp by starting out with a hot oven and then part way through turning down the heat. The other trick is to not open the oven door. Resist that urge to peek!

Hazelnut and Fresh Herb Popovers
from The New Thanksgiving Table
Chronicle Books, 2009

Makes 12 popovers
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups milk
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a medium bowl combine the flour, hazelnuts, pepper, and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth. Add the eggs and blend into batter. Add the fresh herbs and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Let the batter stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Whisk before using.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450F. Have ready a standard 12 cup muffin pan, preferably nonstick.

Place the muffin pan in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove the hot muffin pan from the oven. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the muffin cups with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups. Without opening the oven door at any time, bake the popovers for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350F and continue to bake the popovers for 7 to 10 minutes longer until puffy and golden brown. Turn the popovers out of the pan, loosening them with the edge of a paring knife, if necessary. Serve immediately.

The popover batter can be made up to 2 hours in advance. The popovers are best when baked right before serving.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:32:50 +0000

Things has been going so well. I had had stopped the cookbook madness. Have I confessed that I have a few cookbooks. It is a problem really. But I was had been resisting the urge when I entered bookstores, for over six months. Then I discovered this new cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and it was over.

Baked is a bakery in Brooklyn that has been featured on Martha Stewart Living and Oprah. The pictures are beautiful and make you want to bake all the recipes in the book right now. Well, I gave it a try today, cooking a few and will be sharing them with you this month.

I had never seen Pumpkin Whoopie Pies before but they looked like the perfect thing to bake for our first rainy day. I was out of ginger so I substituted Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie Spice for the spices. They turned out great. The creamy filling and pumpkin cookie is a great combo. I’ve wrapped them up to bring to work tomorrow.Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon cloves
2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk to sugars and oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling. They will look more like mini cakes then cookies, so don’t panic about that.

Cream Cheese Filling

3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese an beat until combined.
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful no to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.

To assemble:

Turn half the cooled cookies upside down. Spoon filling onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoppie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Meyer Lemon Risotto

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:27:59 +0000

At my local farmers market this weekend almost every stand featured Meyer Lemons. I bought a bag with plans to use them in several recipes. Meyer Lemons are sweet lemons that are thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.

One of the ways I love to use them is in a Lemon Risotto. It is the mix of lemons, parmesan cheese and the fresh herbs that make it a great dish served with a salad or as a side to grilled chicken or beef. Last night I was teaching a cooking class and made it to serve with Bistecca di Fiorentina.

Based on a Patricia Wells recipe in her Trattoria Cookbook.

5 cups chicken stock

Sprig of fresh mint

Sprig of fresh rosemary

Sprig of fresh sage

Grated zest of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 shallots, minced

Kosher salt to taste

1 ½ cups italian arborio rice

½ cup good quality dry white wine

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, heat the stock and keep it simmering while you prepare the risotto.

Stem the fresh herbs. Combine the leave with the lemon zest and, with a large chef’s knife, chop finely. Set aside.

In a lg. saucepan, combine 2 tbsp of the butter, the oil, shallots, and salt over moderate heat. Cook, stirring, until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, and stir until the rice is well coated with the fats, glistening and semi translucent, 1 to 2 minutes.

When the rice becomes shiny and partly translucent, add a ladleful of the stock. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice has absorbed most of the stock, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring frequently until the rice is almost tender but firm to the bit, about 17 minutes total. The risotto should have a creamy, porridge like consistency.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the remaining butter, lemon zest and herbs, lemon juice, and the Parmesan. Cover and let stand, off the heat for 2 minutes, to allow the flavors to blend. Taste for seasoning.