Asparagus with Parmesan and Poached Egg
1 bunch asparagus, woody parts of the stem removed
1 egg per person
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

Turn your oven to broil. Put a shallow pot of water to boil and bring it to a simmer. Break off the tougher part of the asparagus. Toss the asparagus with some olive oil and spread them in one even layer on a baking sheet. Once your water is simmering, put the asparagus under the broiler. Broil for 5 – 7 minutes, shaking the baking sheet occasionally to toss the asparagus. You want the asparagus to brown slightly, but not overcook.

When the asparagus is nearly done, poach one egg per person. I’ve had the most success using a shallow pan with just a few inches of water, plus a tablespoon of white vinegar. Crack the egg in a small cup. Before you add the egg, swirl the water. Slowly pour the egg into the water and let it sit for about 30 seconds, then carefully brush the white around the yoke using a spoon. Cook the egg for another 2 minutes and then remove it with a slotted spoon.  If poaching eggs just isn’t your thing, a fried egg would be delicious also.

Place the asparagus on a plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the egg over the asparagus. Grate a generous amount of parmesan cheese over the entire dish and enjoy immediately.

-Emily

These french baguettes are very different from my sourdough. Where baguettes are light and delicate, my bread is dense and toothy. This baguette recipe is quick—thanks to commercial yeast—uses all purpose flour and doesn’t require any special equipment, which makes it pretty ideal for most home cooks. On top of that, your house will smell amazing while the loaves are baking. This recipe makes three 14″ long baguettes, which you’ll easily eat all of.

Four-Hour Baguette, from Saveur May 2012 Issue
1 1/2 cups tap water, heated to 115 degrees
1 t active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t kosher salt
canola oil, for greasing the bowl
1/2 cup ice cubes, for making steam in the oven for a good crust

In a large bowl, whisk together the water and yeast. Let sit until foamy. Add the flour, stirring with a fork or your hands, until a dough forms. Let the dough rest 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, sprinkle in the salt and knead it in. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Don’t forget to grease the bowl, this is a very sticky dough. Place in a cold oven to rise. Let dough sit for 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a 8″ x 6″ rectangle. Fold the long sides into the middle and then fold the short side into the center. Return the dough seam side down to the greased bowl. Cover and let rise again in the cold oven for an hour.

After an hour, remove the dough from the oven. Place a cast-iron skillet in the bottom rack. Position another rack above the skillet and place a baking stone on that rack. Heat the oven to 475 degrees.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into three equal pieces and shape each into a 14″ long rope (the length of a standard baking sheet). Flour a sheet of parchment paper and place it on a baking sheet. Place the dough ropes on the sheet evenly spaced apart. Lift the paper between the ropes to form pleats so they don’t stick together as they rise. Place two kitchen towels on each long side of the baguettes to support the loaves as they rise. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let double in size, about 50 minutes.

By this time your oven will be hot. Uncover the loaves, remove the towels and flatten the paper to space out the loaves. Use a razor blade to score the loaves with several long diagonal cuts. Carefully, with the loaves still on the parchment paper, slide them onto the hot baking stone. Place the ice cubes in the skillet and close the oven door. The ice will create steam which helps form a nice crust on the bread. Bake the baguettes 25 – 30 minutes, until browned.

Cool on a rack or enjoy straight out of the oven with some salted butter. Jordan and I ate an entire loaf just standing at the kitchen counter, they go down that easy.

These baguettes were delicious don’t get me wrong, but the flavor wasn’t very complex. Next time I’m going to try adding a bit of sugar to the yeast and water and try for a slightly sweeter baguette.

-Emily

Now to thank your mom for all her hard work all year long, you probably should make something yummy for her this Sunday. Here are a few of my favorites …

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. This recipe is great because you get to enjoy fresh cinnamon rolls in the morning without waking up at the crack of dawn to make them. You make the dough and assemble the rolls the night before and the next morning let them rise briefly and then bake.

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake. This cake is delightful. Moist and tender with hint of citrus and olive oil. You can substitute any variety orange for the blood oranges. She’ll love it!

Miykaelah’s Madelines. The cutest cookies in the world. Yes they require a special pan, but they are so tasty and so adorable—totally worth it.

Jordan’s Favorite Chocolate Cake. If your mom is the chocolate type, make her this. It is the best chocolate cake we’ve found yet. We had a ricotta filling between the layers in this particular post, but cream cheese icing, buttercream icing or just fresh fruit would be wonderful.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! I’m off to Humboldt to see my lil’ sis graduate from college (WOW!) and spend time with my mom and grandmas (YAY!).

-Emily

Like I said, perfection.

This recipe is adapted from David Tanis’ book The Heart of the Artichoke. It is actually an Italian digestif, typically made with grappa and served along with your check in restaurants. We decided to make it with gin, having no familiarity with grappa, and served it before the meal.

Berry Aperitif, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis
1 cup mixed berries (We used blackberries and raspberries)
2 T sugar
2 cups gin

Put the berries in a large measuring cup. Sprinkle them with sugar and mush them sightly with your hands. Add the gin. Let refrigerate for several hours. Serve cold in small glasses, making sure to get a spoonful of berries in each glass.  I also think this would be great mixed into other cocktails or topped off with club soda.

Happy Spring!

-Emily

This is what a leisurely weekend looks like around these parts.

For the burgers, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis
This recipe makes enough to serve six.
2 lbs ground lamb
1/2 onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
six burger buns

Mix lamb, grated onion, grated garlic, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to let the flavors come together. Grill the burgers over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes per side.

For the cucumber yogurt sauce, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis
2 cups greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into half moons
2 T mint, thinly sliced
2 T chives, chopped
2 T dill, chopped
zest and juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving. We used this as a burger condiment, but I also had some as a salad the next day. Equally delicious.

Again, no finished product photo. My apologies!

-Emily

Very Spring Salad, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis
a few handfuls of arrugula
a few handfuls of lettuce
1 bunch radishes, cut into thin slices
1 small bulb fennel, cut into thin slices
2 oranges, cut into segments
2 T mint, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper

Toss the arrugula and lettuce together. Place in a platter or large dish. Slice radishes, fennel and mint finely. I used a mandolin to slice the radish and fennel. Sprinkle them on top of lettuce. Segment out the oranges and place on top. I segmented the oranges over the salad platter so that the juices from the orange fell into the salad. Just before serving, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now, isn’t that an adorable radish?

-Emily

I wish I could claim that the inspiration for this amazing ice cream was my own. But alas, it was inspired by dessert at The Boxing Room. A few months ago, I had the best day ever. It started by sleeping in with my boy and my puppy. Then the boy went to work and some lovely old friends picked me up. We drove over to the house (complete with back porch!) of some really wonderful new friends. We sat on the back porch and devoured a cooler of fabulously fresh oysters and some wine and cheese. Something like 100 oysters split between six people! Did I mention it was 70 degrees and we were sitting outside in the sunshine? Yep, this is all true.

We wrapped up the oyster feast and then I came home to change. I put on a pretty dress and met Jordan at the San Francisco ballet. He looked really handsome in his fancy clothes. We enjoyed the ballet and then went out to dinner at The Boxing Room, a fabulous southern restaurant with emphasis on the creole just around the corner.

After some soul-satisfying creole cuisine, we had dessert … cinnamon toast ice cream. It was amazing—a hint of vanilla, a hint of cinnamon and a hint of buttered toast. But how did they get the buttered toast flavor? I had to know and so I asked the waiter. He said the chef soaked brioche in the custard overnight to infuse the buttered bread flavor into the ice cream. Genius.

Fast forward two months and we’re here. I merged two of David Lebovitz’s recipes for the custard and followed the bread soaking advice of our waiter. The results are phenomenal. Ice cream that tastes like buttered toast? Yes, sign me up.

Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream, adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and The Boxing Room in San Francisco
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 t vanilla extract
3 slices brioche bread

Heat the whole milk, sugar, salt, vanilla bean and cinnamon sticks over low heat until it is just about to simmer. Turn off the heat, cover and set aside for the vanilla and cinnamon to infuse for about an hour. After an hour, reheat the milk to just simmering. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Temper the eggs by pouring the hot milk into the bowl slowly while whisking. Put the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Heat over low heat until the custard begins to thicken and is just about to boil. Strain through a mesh strainer back into the bowl and whisk in the cream. Once it has cooled slightly, add the vanilla. Cool the custard over an ice bath. Cut the brioche slices in half and then submerge them in the custard. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, strain out the brioche and squeeze the out custard that is has absorbed. Freeze in an ice cream maker. Ta-da! A miraculous ice cream that tastes just like cinnamon toast, but much richer.

-Emily

Ps. Apologies on the lack of a final product photo. It was too quickly eaten, but you can use your imagination.

Because it takes about three weeks total to prepare, pancetta is certainly a commitment—of both time and closet space. But it is worth it, especially if you have a few friends to split the resulting 8 pounds of pancetta with.

Home-cured pancetta is complex. It is herby and slightly sweet, porky but also a little beefy. We were surprised by how many different flavors the pork belly acquired during the three-week curing process.

We followed the recipe from Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. You can also find a step by step guide of the recipe complete with videos from Chow. Because their instructions are so thorough, I am going to skip the detail and just go with a photo overview of the process.

First you rub the slab of pork belly with herbs (rosemary, thyme, juniper berries), pepper, sugar and salt.

Make sure you really massage those seasonings into the belly.

Then wrap the pork belly in large plastic bags and put it in your fridge under a heavy pot or pan. Refrigerate it for a week, flipping it once a day.

After a week of refrigeration, take the pork belly out and wash of the seasonings. Pat it dry and sprinkle a bunch of cracked peppercorns on the inside. Roll it up nice and tight and truss those puppies.

Hang in a cool, dark place with some air circulation (and out of puppy’s reach) for two weeks. Ours replaced our jackets in the hall closet. Oh it just made us smile when we opened the door to grab our shoes and saw two gigantic logs of pork hanging there.

After two weeks, cut the pancetta down and slice off any little bits of mold. Slice into one-inch thick slices and share with your best foodie friends!

So far we’ve made spaghetti alla carbonara and pasta with vodka sauce. I’m thinking pancetta wrapped asparagus next. Any other ideas for me?

-Emily

Scrambled eggs with Asparagus and Cheddar, adapted from A Taste of Spain by Jose Andres
A few stalks of asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup shallot, sliced (onion or green onions would work great also)
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 T olive oil
4 eggs
2 T milk
salt and pepper
1 T butter
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated (any cheese would probably be just fine)

Whisk together eggs, milk, a good pinch of salt and some pepper. In a nonstick saute pan, saute the asparagus, shallot and garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes until the asparagus is just tender. Remove from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat to low and add the butter.

When the butter is foamy, pour in the eggs. Scramble them taking care to not let the eggs burn or over cook. Runny scrambled eggs are a good and tasty thing. When your scrambled eggs are just cooked, scoop them into a bowl and top with the cheddar and asparagus. Enjoy with some fresh fruit, leftover potatoes, and coffee.

-Emily

I used Judy Rodger’s recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Her roasted meats have never let us astray. For this recipe, you’ll want to salt and tie the meat a day or two in advance, but it will only take about an hour to cook and rest. It is crucial not to overcook the lamb and loose the tenderness of a young lamb.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Spring Vegetables, from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook
One 3-4 lb leg of spring lamb, off the bone
1 branch rosemary, leaves stripped off
6 cloves garlic, smashed
salt
kitchen twine

For the sauce
2 T butter
2 T flour
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 chicken broth
salt and pepper

For the vegetables
2 bunches carrots, sliced in half lengthwise
2 bunches spring onions, sliced lengthwise thinly
2 bunches beets, cut into quarters
olive oil
salt and pepper

One day before you plan to cook the lamb, salt both the inside and outside of the lamb leg. Judy recommends a scant 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt per pound of meat. I followed this recommendation and it was perfection.  On the inside of the leg, press the garlic cloves into the flesh and sprinkle with the rosemary. Tie up the leg like a typical roast. Wrap lightly in the paper from the butcher or plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Two hours to three before you plan to cook the lamb, take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. This is also a crucial step. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, scrub and slice the vegetables. Toss them with some olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange them in a roasting pan with room for the roast in the center.

Once your roast has come to temperature, place it and the vegetables in the oven. A 3 – 4 pound roast will cook for about 40 minutes. You’ll want the internal temperature to 124 degrees at the thickest part of the leg for a just-pink roast. I’d recommend you check it a few times while cooking.

Once your roast has reached the correct temperature, remove it from the oven and place on a cutting board. Tent it with foil and let it rest for 15 – 20 minutes while you make the pan sauce.

Remove the veggies from the pan and place in a serving dish. Turn your oven to warm and put the veggies inside.

Place the roasting pan over two burners over medium heat. We didn’t have much fat in the pan so we added some butter. Once the butter is foaming, add the flour and cook until light brown. Deglaze with some red wine. Add the chicken broth and let the sauce reduce until thickened slightly.  Season with salt and pepper and pour into a serving dish.

Slice the lamb into 1/2 inch slices. Serve with veggies and a spoonful of sauce. We also served mashed potatoes to sop up that glorious lamb sauce. Super easy, minimal active cooking time and a crowd pleaser.

-Emily