Well, it's that time again. There are lots of retrospectives and “Best of 2011” right about now. In my case, here is my annual round-up of all the top recipes I tried over the past year (drum roll please):
We made these on a snow day during an especially cruel New England winter. This is the ultimate french toast recipe in my humble opinion. There's something about the eggy, buttery brioche with swirls of cinnamon, brown sugar and raisins that elevate the ordinary french toast to a whole new level.
2011 was the year of the meatball at our house, having tried multiple different meatball recipes in search of the perfect meatball recipe. Surprisingly, this traditional Chinese pork meatball topped them all. We had this as part of our Chinese New Year feast, but this can definitely be a quick weeknight meal.
In an attempt to overcome my fear of baking, I bought Joanne Chang's Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe to challenge myself to bake more. My first (and most successful) recipe I tried had to be these bad boys. Takes a childhood favorite to new culinary heights. This has been a go-to treat at parties and hostess gifts.
It was an epic celebrity chef cook-off... in my imagination at least. I tested two different BBQ chicken recipes - one by David Chang and a second one by Martha Stewart. They were both pretty amazing but the ultimate champion was Martha. Pantry staples and kid-approval made this the recipe the winner of the BBQ Throwdown.
I had the opportunity to debunk all those crazy Chinese myths about lamb when I decided to compete in Boston’s first American Lamb Pro-Am. The challenge: create a dish using leg of lamb. The result: pretty darn amazing Moroccan inspired lamb pot stickers. This dish challenged me both as a blogger and a home cook. And it was honestly the most satisfying both as a food blogger and home cook. It pushed me to be creative and to stand out. And gave me the opportunity to meet some fabulous food bloggers and top Boston chefs. I continue to be amazed by how supportive and talented the food blogging community can be. And how supportive and patient my family has been throughout the year. And this, my friends, is why I look forward to continue blogging in 2012.
Happy New Year!
We had our first big snow storm of 2011 blow through here earlier this week. The Boston area got hammered - with almost two feet of snow dumped on our house and neighboring towns. It came to no surprise to hear school would be canceled on Wednesday. This would be my Kindergartner's first official Snow Day. We hooted. We hollered. We slept in. And continued with our day.
But then we got the call that school would be canceled for a second day. Crikey! I needed to come up with some new activities and meals that would make the second snow day just as memorable and fun as the first one the day before. After a busy morning traipsing through the many, many inches of snow and shopping for a new sled, it was time to make use of the leftover Monkey Bread and make lunch (sort of).
First, what the hell is Monkey Bread you ask? I was first introduced to this utterly additive breakfast treat by my MIL. It is typically made with frozen pastry dough, rolled into little balls, covered in cinnamon and sugar, and baked in a cake pan. It is a sticky, gooey mess, but oh so delicious.
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| Russo's Monkey Bread |
Russo's makes their own Monkey Bread - except they make it with brioche, bake it in a loaf pan, and add raisins, cinnamon and sugar. They call it cinnamon raisin bread, but ask for Monkey Bread and they know exactly what you are looking (jonesing) for.
So here's a French Toast recipe using Monkey Bread that is to die for. And a great way to celebrate a snow day with the kids.
Monkey Bread French Toast
adapted from Alton Brown's French Toast Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 (1/2 inch) slices day old monkey bread (or brioche or challah)
4 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS
1. In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
4. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup or fruit.
The Good: Easy to make and so delicious. It also freezes well and is great for those quick, non-snow day mornings.
The Bad: Because the way monkey bread is made, pieces can sometimes break apart. Best when it is stale or left out overnight.
Grade: A+. We love this recipe and make it on special occasions. Perfect fuel too for a full day of sledding and making snowpeople!
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| making the custard |
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
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| might need to soak a little longer depending on how thick (or stale) the bread is |
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| move soaked bread onto a cooling rack over a sheet pan |
3. Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
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| Cook until golden brown (just as you become really really hungry) |
4. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup or fruit.
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| Love this - check out my boy licking the maple syrup off his french toast :) |
The Bad: Because the way monkey bread is made, pieces can sometimes break apart. Best when it is stale or left out overnight.
Grade: A+. We love this recipe and make it on special occasions. Perfect fuel too for a full day of sledding and making snowpeople!
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| Looks okay, but what did the others look like? |
Okay, so Sticky Buns Saturday was really not my first kitchen failure. But it was the first #fail that I am admitting to and documenting. Let me start from the beginning...
I am not a baker. If I see "lightly flour work surface", beads of sweat start to form on my brow. So when I came across the Barefoot Contessa's Easy Sticky Buns recipe, I thought this was something I could do (duh, the word "Easy" is in the recipe name). Described by Ina herself as "OMG are they good... my friends go crazy when I make these." How could I go wrong, right?
Easy Sticky Buns by Ina Garten
click here for the recipe
- Place rounded tablespoon of butter and sugar mixture in muffin cups and distribute pecans evenly (so far so good!)
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| 1 1/2 sticks of butter in these cups - arteries are clogging just looking at this! |
- Sprinkle sheet of puff pastry with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins and roll (easy!)
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| snug like a jelly roll |
- Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces (I can do this!)
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| these are pretty even on my floured work surface |
- Place each piece, spiral side up in muffin cups (I think I got this.)
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| Starting to look like sticky buns! |
- Bake for 30 minutes, until sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top (Crap! What happened?!)
Well, either the oven temp was off or I got distracted and let these guys bake too long (which do you think?). I was able to salvage one or two, but the consistency matched how they looked - like mini hockey pucks studded with little black rocks disguised as raisins and pecans. The oven was also a crusted mess of butter-sugar mixture.
The recipe really is easy and only a dope like myself can screw this one up. But I am not deterred and will be making this again. But next time I will keep track of the baking time like I should be doing. And maybe look into purchasing an oven thermometer too!
My oldest really despises zucchini. And more often than not he will scowl if there's a hint of zucchini in a dish. I think it's the texture of cooked zucchini - a little squishy, mild and soggy. He will actually gag if he takes a bite. Please. It was if I was poisoning him! And my youngest won't eat anything unless it is the color white. It's hard not to use zucchini in the summer. They are so abundant around these parts. And pretty versatile too.
It recently dawned on me that my boys have never tried zucchini bread. Who doesn't like zucchini bread? Sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla? It really is a dessert than bread, right? I thought I'd try to make it a bit more healthy by testing out a recipe from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine for Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins.
Zucchini Raisin Bran Muffins
Adapted from Gourmet, 1993
Makes 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup miller's bran
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup raisins
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl whisk together the flours, the bran, the baking powder, the salt, the cinnamon, and the cloves.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla.
3. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, beat in the milk, and stir in the raisins and the zucchini.
4. Divide the batter among 12 well-buttered or paper-lined 1/2-cup muffin tins and bake the muffins in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and let them cool.
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| Is there anything better than the smell of fresh baked muffins in the morning? |
The Good: Tasty and pretty filling thanks to the bran and whole wheat flour. Both boys loved them. Great for little hands (grating zucchini, measuring, and mixing) too.
The Bad: Came out on the dry side. Will try adding more milk next time.
Grade: B+. A healthy and delicious way to use up some of that summer bounty.
