Sunday, November 30, 2008

Bittman's Corn Bread Recipe

I love corn bread, and I spotted this recipe on the NY Times the other day.
I would add a little more milk than prescribed, for a moister bread. Also, carefully monitor the cooking time- 30 minutes is slightly on the long side, don't want to dry out the bread more than is necessary.

I quadrupled the recipe in order to fill a 10" x 14" baking pan.

Corn Bread

- 1 1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk, more if needed

  1. Mix dry ingredients first, then add eggs, milk.
  2. Let stand 15 minutes, for corn meal to absorb liquids.
  3. Brush pan with oil, to get a nice crust.
  4. Bake 375 degrees F for ~ 30 minutes, or whenever a toothpick comes out clean.


Saturday, November 29, 2008

Banana Bread Part II

Just working on improving my basic banana bread- this one is much better.

Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf.

- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- vanilla
- spices
- salt
- 1.5 to 2 cups flour
- raisins, walnuts

  1. Mix ingredients together, adding in flour, raisins, walnuts last. May need to adjust flour quantities slightly to optimize texture.
  2. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1.5 hours, or until tester comes out clean.
  3. Enjoy!


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Cranberry Frangipane Tartlet with Berry Duo Coulis

I borrowed this wonderful no-shrink tart dough recipe from smitten; my only misfortune was blind-baking the crust slightly too long. The long refrigeration/freezing of the dough appears to prevent shrinking during baking; however, I put pie weights in mine just in case.

Tart Dough

- 1.5 cups AP flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick chilled diced butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- vodka

  1. After forming dough, put in refrigerator for 2 hrs.
  2. After rolling out dough into tart pan, freeze for 30 min to 1 hr.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 min.

Cranberry Frangipane Filling

- 1.25 cups almond flour
- almond extract
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 2 medium eggs
- fresh cranberries

  1. Mix everything but the cranberries together.
  2. Pour into tart shell.
  3. Press cranberries into surface of dough + filling.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 min.
  5. Serve with Berry Duo Coulis (cranberry + blueberry + Grand Marnier + softened in orange juice).
  6. Enjoy



It helps to have a squeeze bottle to dispense your sauces.

Red-wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Carrots, Celery Root Puree, Persillade

I tried out this dish, and it turned out quite well. I would advise braising for at least 3 hours; I did mine on the stovetop. The celery root puree complements the dish nicely, because the celery root is silky smooth, a sophisticated side of the beef ribs.

Celery Root Puree

- 4 cups skim milk
- 2 lbs celery root, peeled, chopped
- 1/2 lb yukon gold potatoes
- heavy cream
- butter
- salt/pepper
- sea salt

  1. Cook the celery root and potatoes in milk until tender. Season with sea salt, salt, and pepper.
  2. Drain, and puree.
  3. Add in butter to puree.
  4. Add in heavy cream to achieve desired consistency.

Persillade

- garlic
- parsley

  1. Finely mince garlic and parsley.
  2. Mix together.
  3. Garnish ribs.

Beef Short Ribs

- 2 packs beef short ribs (about 8 ribs), trimmed
- salt, pepper
- flour
- carrots, sliced
- leeks, coarsely sliced
- celery
- garlic
- tomato paste
- 1 quart beef broth
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 2-3 cups red wine
- shallots or onions

  1. Trim excess fat off of the ribs.
  2. Rub with salt, pepper, flour (to help retain juices during searing).
  3. Sear each side of beef ribs on high heat for 4 minutes each. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Turn heat to medium. Saute vegetables in pot (leeks, celery, garlic, carrots). Add a dash of tomato paste.
  5. Add wine, both broths, and ribs back into the pot.
  6. Every so often, skim the top of the sauce to remove fat.
  7. After about 3 hours (or until meat falls off the bone), remove the ribs yet again.
  8. Reduce the sauce to about 2 cups worth.
  9. Serve with celery root puree.
  10. Enjoy!



Don't forget to spoon some of that wonderful reduced jus on it!


Another view.