Za’atar

Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love to use herbs and spices. It’s not that I am against mild food. It’s just that my tastes prefer stuff that’s more assertive or interesting.

I’ve tried all sorts of spices and blends for all sorts of foods. One of my favorites is Za’atar, an Arabic specialty.

There are lots of ingredient combinations to make this recipe but invariably, basic Za’atar is a mixture of sumac, sesame and thyme (in the Middle East it is made with an herb called za’atar that tastes like thyme). Some recipes include ground up pistachios or other nuts; some call for ground cumin and/or dried oregano or marjoram. 

I fell in love with Za’atar years ago. It is so incredibly useful that I have several different versions of it in my spice cabinet. I sprinkle it on hummus and eggplant dip. I make homemade flatbread crisps with it (brush pita rounds with olive oil, add a few sprinkles of Za’atar and bake in a 400 degree oven until the bread is crisp). I’ve added it to marinades for grilled chicken, sprinkled it on top of roasted winter squash and beets.

Recently I decided to sprinkle Za’atar onto challah rolls. I got the idea from a colleague of mine, Melinda Strauss, who wrote about Za’atar braided bread on her blog, Kitchen Tested.

It was an inspired thought on her part. So I proceeded to make my usual challah rolls, brushed the unbaked surface with vegetable oil, sprinkled with spice and baked.

Voila! More than delicious bread for sandwiches or for breakfast with eggs or to eat with Shakshouka or buttered and nibbled with coffee. You can figure all that out.

Za’atar

2 tablespoons dried sumac

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Mix ingredients well. Makes about 1/3 cup

Roasted Cornish Hens with Baharat and Mango

The first time my then-boyfriend-now-husband Ed decided to buy a birthday gift for me he wanted it to be something very very special. We had been seeing each other for some time and things were now “serious.” The gift had to be good.

So he consulted with his older, married sister who advised him to get something “personal.”

Which he did.

He gave me two spice racks filled with spice bottles (27 for each rack, which equals 54 bottles of spice).

His sister was appalled.

I was thrilled beyond belief.

To me, the spice racks plus 54 bottles was personal. Even then I loved to cook and invent new recipes and taste new ingredients and use all sorts of seasonings.

He knew me. 

That was, still is, critical to any lasting relationship.

I can’t remember all the spices (and dried herbs) he chose, but of course there were the usual cinnamon, ginger and cloves; rosemary, thyme and oregano.

These days, years later, my spice racks are still filled. And I still use many of the “usual” — freshly grated nutmeg for cake, ground cumin to jazz up lamburgers and such.

But the bottles number way more than 54 (I have a whole “seasonings” cabinet now). Because there’s a world of spices, herbs and interesting blends to try that we didn’t know about then and that I want to experiment with.

Like Za’atar. I have 3 or 4 different versions of commercial blends. Same goes for Ras el Hanout, Dukkah and Baharat. And others.

I also have many other spice blends that are homemade (I spoon them in a small spice bottles so they look store-bought).

Today is my birthday. I don’t know what birthday gift is in store for me this year.

I do know that the older you get the more you think about birthdays past.

So I am remembering that first one with Ed. His gift, those spice racks and bottles, started us on a delicious culinary journey together.

We’re still travelling.

Mostly I am still enjoying the pleasure of knowing that Ed got that gift so right.

Roasted Cornish Hens with Baharat and Mango

2 large Rock Cornish hens (about 1-1/2 pounds each)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-1/2 teaspoons Baharat

1 cup mango juice 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry the hens. Rub the skin with the vegetable oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and Baharat. Place the hens breast side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Pour the juice over the hens. Roast for another 15 minutes, baste and turn the hens breast side up. Raise the heat to 425 degrees. Roast for 15 minutes, baste the ingredients and roast for another 10 minutes or until the hens are cooked through and the skin is crispy. Makes 4 servings

Mary Todd Lincoln Courtin’ Cake

I saw the movie “Lincoln” and loved it, despite the inaccuracies. But the brouhaha about the details got me to thinking about other factual errors concerning Lincoln including the myth about Mary Todd Lincoln’s “Courtin’ Cake,” sometimes referred to as Mary Todd Lincoln White Cake.

The story goes that Mary baked this cake for Abe while they were courting and that he liked it so much that either it got him to propose or that she made it frequently after they were married. And so on and so on.

None of it has actually been documented. And in fact, Mary came from a wealthy, slave-owning family and so it is doubtful she ever cooked before she was married.

Well, I say, who cares?

Cake is cake and this one, attributed to her, is a particularly delicious one. I don’t care if she got the recipe from a cookbook or a bakery or whatever. Or whether she ever actually baked it or it was baked for her and Mr. Lincoln by someone else.

There are many variations on Mrs. Lincoln’s recipe. Some are for layer cake with marshmallow frosting but most are bundt types with just a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar as decoration. I like those best. This cake is rich and moist, almost like a tea bread, and icing or frosting might be overkill.

This is a good cake anytime, for “courting” (does anyone use that term anymore??) or a party or even a wedding or bridal shower.

Mary Todd Lincoln Courtin’ Cake

1 cup chopped almonds

2-1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

6 large egg whites

confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan and set aside. Place the almonds in a food processor and process until the almonds are very finely chopped and uniform in consistency. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Sift these ingredients another two times. Mix in the ground almonds and set aside. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating after each addition until the mixture is smooth and uniform. Stir in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they stand in stiff, glossy peaks. Fold into the batter. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a cake rack and cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto the cake rack to cool completely. Decorate with sifted confectioner’s flour. Makes one cake

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

If summer comes can fruit crisps be far behind?

I think that Percy Bysshe Shelley’s hair would stand on end if he read that last question (my paraphrase of the last line of his “Ode to the West Wind”).

I know he wasn’t thinking about food when he wrote this poem.

But his message was inspiring, positive and uplifting: warm, sunny days invariably follow a cold, dark, harsh winter. There are good times and bad, our lives are filled with both suffering and silver linings. So, keep the faith.

Here we are, right at the very start of a light-filled, sun-drenched season. When a harvest of juicy, flavor-filled local fruit is beginning to appear at the market. It’s ours for the eating, our silver lining after the ice-and-snowy days behind us.

We should take advantage while it lasts. 

How about a luscious Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp?

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

filling:

4 cups 1” sliced rhubarb (1-1/2 pounds)

2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, optional

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel

topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

6 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the rhubarb, strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon peel in a bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Place the mixture into a deep baking dish. Make the streusel: Combine the brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour and oats in a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients until they are crumbly. Spoon the oat mixture on top of the fruit. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Makes 6-8 servings

German Apple Cake

German Apple Cake 

I was away recently, traveling through Germany and the Czech Republic, which means two things.

First, it was a great trip and I had a good time, learned a lot, saw a lot and met a lot of nice people.

Two, I gained weight.

Of course I gained weight. That’s what happens on a vacation.

Is it just me or does everyone add a few pounds this way?

I gained weight even though I walked probably 6-8 miles each day. Think of what would have happened if I taxi-ed all over the place!

But when you’re in a place that’s famous for its Apple Kuchen, schlag, dark beer and potatoes, well, you’re gonna gain weight. Especially if you like Apple Kuchen, schlag, dark beer and potatoes.

Which I do.

Okay, so I have to lose four pounds that got added on over 22 days.

But how do I do that when I felt absolutely compelled to try out recipes for Apple Kuchen?

Like the kind we had at a marvelous little coffee house in Potsdam.

The cake was tender and vaguely lemony, with a layer of soft baked sliced apples and crusted with mocha-brown crumbles of streusel.

Perfect.

Like this:

German Apple Cake

Streusel:

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Place the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and mix until well blended. Pour in the butter and blend it in. Let stand for 4-5 minutes, then crumble the mixture using your fingers. Set aside.

Cake:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 2 tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the streusel and set it aside. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel in the bowl of an electric mixer. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and stir only to combine: do not overbeat. Turn the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with the apple slices. Cover with the streusel. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove the outer ring from the pan and let the cake cool completely.

Makes one cake

Grilled Lamb Kebabs

Lamb Kebabs

'Tis the season to be grilling.

Finally.

After a long, cold, snowy winter that seemed as if it were going to last forever, I didn’t even mind spending over an hour cleaning the grill. Btw, along those lines, let me recommend Greased Lightning, a product that is the most amazing cleaner there is (please don’t tell me if it’s toxic, carginogenic or anything else horrendous because this stuff is so wonderful I can’t imagine not using it).

So I’m ready for Memorial Day weekend, when my cousins come, we sit and do nothing at all for three days and eat good warm weather food and grill almost every meal.

Here’s one of our weekend dishes:

Grilled Lamb Kebabs

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless lamb

• 3 tablespoons orange marmalade

• 2 tablespoons apricot jam

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh hot chili pepper

• salt to taste

Place the lamb in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the marmalade, jam, mustard, garlic, ginger, rosemary and chili pepper. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Mix well and spoon over the lamb. Toss the meat in the jam mixture to coat all the pieces. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Preheat an outdoor grill (or oven broiler). Thread the meat pieces onto 4 skewers. Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning the kebabs occasionally, or until nicely browned. (You can use an oven broiler.)

Makes 4 servings

Portland Chef-Moms

saintcupcakeblog:

Whoa!

What a crazy honor to be featured in the Oregonian’s run down of mom-types who also cook for a living. 

Read all about it here.

My friend Jami Curl, “Chief Baking Officer” of St. Cupcake Bakery has it right! Teach your children the joys of cooking. They learn so much — and not just about food.

Btw, isn’t her son gorgeous?

Banana Bread with Ginger and Cranberries

I wish some publisher would contact me about doing a Banana Bread Cookbook. Because I have enough good recipes to fill a book.

Well, banana breads and also cakes, muffins and so on.

I don’t actually eat any of this stuff because I am allergic to bananas, but I always buy bananas because I like how they smell and also because my husband says he is going to eat them but then never does. Or he eats one and I’m left with 4 or 5 more.

I do have tasters though. They tell me whether the recipe is good. And I give whatever banana baked thing I’ve made away to cancer patients and their caregivers at Stamford Hospital at our every-two-week Tea sponsored by the local Hadassah group. I’ve been getting great reviews from everyone.

The one I sent this week is a dairy-free version, made with Earth Balance Buttery Spread and Oat milk (you could substitute coconut milk and, if there’s no nut allergy, almond milk).

I made this cake two ways, once plain and once with dried cranberries and chopped crystallized ginger. Everyone preferred the second one. Here’s the recipe:

Banana Bread with Ginger and Cranberries

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread

1/4 cup coconut oil

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup oat milk

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan. Mix the flour, salt, ginger and baking soda together in a bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the buttery spread, coconut oil and sugar until well blended. Add the bananas and blend in thoroughly. Add the eggs and beat well. Stir in the oat milk and blend thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and beat until the batter is well blended. Fold in the cranberries and crystallized ginger. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a cake rack to cool completely. Makes one bread, serving 16-18

Tomato Salad with Herb-infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

Tomato Salad with Herb Infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

Why would anyone make homemade croutons when there are so many packaged varieties to buy?

For me it’s because the store-bought ones I’ve tried are oversalted, over garlicked, overgreased and hard as rocks.

And I trust my own instincts about whether my leftover bread is stale but still fresh enough to be useful rather than some commercial firm’s where they’re looking to get every penny’s worth.

Besides, croutons are incredibly easy to cook and they are so versatile and tasty you can feel like a genius after you make a batch and use them for some recipe or other. And also because you can use almost any kind of bread, any kind of cooking fat, any kind of seasoning, depending on which recipe you will be adding them to.

For example — I make basil-infused croutons for fresh tomato soup, chipotle seasoned croutons for pea soup. I prefer traditional garlic and herb croutons for Caesar Salad.

I’ve also made buttery cheese-croutons, which are wonderful as toppers for vegetable casseroles and have even stuffed some into an omelet when I was at a loss for some other ingredient. I’ve made a variety of croutons with fresh herbs to use as a bed for stirfried vegetables.

There’s no end to the possibilities.

Croutons are supposed to be the crispy, luxurious, contrasting crunch and flavor your tongue savors as it tosses around soft lettuce leaves or buttery avocado or tangy salad dressing. The hard-as-rocks kind from the package are always too distracting. 

Tomato Salad with Herb-infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

• 4 slices 3/4-inch thick Italian bread

• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter

• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large clove garlic, sliced

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

• 1/2 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil

• 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut the pieces into small cubes. Heat the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the garlic slices and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic slices turn lightly brown. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the bread cubes, basil and thyme, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat all the pieces. Place the cubes on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the cubes are crispy and golden. Set aside. Place the tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, red onion and croutons and toss ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and pour over the salad. Toss and taste, adding more olive oil or vinegar as needed. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2-4 servings

Herb and Chorizo Gougeres

My mother always said “don’t try out new recipes on guests.” Because what if the recipe doesn’t work or we don’t like it and so on and so on and then there might be nothing to eat.

Well, first, there is never nothing to eat at my house. Because my mother’s other advice (shown by example) was to have a freezer full of food “just in case.”

Second, because I like to try new recipes and who else could I try them on if not for the people who dine at my table?

Usually what I do when I have a dinner party is to make one new dish. All my friends know there will be some experiment or other for them to taste and comment about.

But next Sunday I am having lots of people over to celebrate the birth of our granddaughter Carina (I am a little slow, she is now 7 months old) and several of the dishes I will be serving are experiments.

Only I took my mother’s advice. I tried them out first so I know they work.

One of the hors d’oeuvre I worked on was gougeres, the wonderful, crispy baked French cheese puffs. I’ve made them a zillion times, so no problem there. 

But I needed to make them dairy-free.

How do you make gougeres without butter and cheese?

I substituted Earth Balance buttery sticks for the butter. And instead of mixing in grated cheese I added finely chopped chorizo sausage (I used Jack’s Gourmet), which gave the puffs the characteristic tangy taste needed for a good gougere.

Voila! Followed my mom’s advice and have plenty in the freezer just in case.

Here’s the recipe:

Herb and Chorizo Gougeres 

1 cup water

1/4 pound (1/2 cup) Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cut into chunks

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs

1/2 cup finely chopped chorizo (one Jack’s Gourmet chorizo)

pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the water and Earth Balance in a saucepan over medium heat. When the Earth Balance has melted, add the flour and salt all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended and begins to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the herbs, chorizo and cayenne pepper and blend them in thoroughly. Lightly grease and flour a baking sheet. Drop 1-inch mounds of dough from a teaspoon onto the sheet. Leave space between the mounds for the puffs to rise. Bake for 20 minutes or until the puffs are lightly brown and crispy. Lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the puffs in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes about 60