Buttermilk Waffles

I could not be more thrilled that the weekend has arrived - we've got a fun one planned!  Iron Man 2 came out yesterday and we've got tickets to see it at the IMAX theater in a few hours.  First, though, we're going to pop in the first Iron Man since we haven't watched it in forever, so it's a double feature day for us.  Afterward, I'll be spending the day cooking and baking in preparation for the brunch we're hosting for our moms tomorrow.  I'm excited about the menu and hopefully they'll enjoy it too!  Next week I plan to share some of the recipes I'll be trying so be sure to check back. 
  
I won't be serving these waffles at our brunch but if I did, I think they'd be a big hit!  I made the waffles last week after having seen the recipe in a recent issue of Cook's Illustrated.  There are a few keys to the recipe.  First, the seltzer water - it gives the waffles a light, fluffy interior.  A lot of recipes will have you separate eggs, whip the whites and fold them into the batter to achieve this same lightness, but using the seltzer water is much faster and easier - both important factors when it comes to breakfast in my opinion.  The recipe also utilizes powdered buttermilk, which I always keep on hand anyway for baking.  I used to find myself throwing away too many half-empty quarts of buttermilk, so I began buying powdered buttermilk about a year ago (this is the brand available in stores by me).  The powdered buttermilk will keep in your fridge for quite a while (at least a year) so I think it's a great thing to have on hand if you bake a lot.  You'll notice that this recipe calls for transferring the cooked waffles to a rack in your oven for a few minutes before serving.  While you can skip this step, I found it really did make a difference in achieving a nice crisp exterior so I would recommend waiting those couple of minutes.  Another perk of waiting - you can keep the first waffles warm while you finish up the rest of the batter! 



Our waffle iron is one of the most underutilized appliances in our kitchen; I think we've probably used it about 5 times since we received it for our wedding over 3 years ago.  Recipes like this one motivate me to pull it out more often for sure though.  I froze my leftover waffles then toasted them straight from the freezer and they were fantastic - dare I say I even liked them better than I liked the ones I ate immediately!  They were wonderfully crisp on the outside and so light on the inside.  Topped with a healthy drizzle of maple syrup, the waffles were a delicious breakfast that I could pull together in no time!

Buttermilk Waffles
from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried buttermilk powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups unflavored seltzer water

Preheat your oven to 250 F with a rack in the middle position.  Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, buttermilk powder and baking soda.  Whisk sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and oil in medium bowl to combine.  Gently stir the seltzer into the wet ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet - the batter should be lumpy with streaks of flour so don't overmix it.

Heat your waffle iron and bake the waffles according to your manufacturer’s instructions.  Transfer cooked waffles to the rack in the warm oven and hold for up to 10 minutes before serving.

Marathon Recap and Baby Onesie Sugar Cookies

Last Sunday we got up bright and early to head down to Providence for Shane's very first full marathon!  He's completed two half-marathons but it's a big jump up from 13.1 miles to 26.2!  He trained intensely all winter and was ready for the big day.  I was excited that he chose a race that was so close to home - generally we wind up driving at least an hour each way on race days, but Providence is only about 15-20 minutes away so it was a real treat!



When we got there, we met up with Shane's coworker, Mark, who was also running his first marathon!  I stayed and chatted for a few minutes then wished them luck before heading off to start my walk over to the 1.5 mile marker, where I hoped to catch some photos of the runners as they passed by.   



I enjoyed the walk - it was a warm May morning (if not a bit humid) and since it was so early I felt like I had the city to myself.  I made it to the 1 mile marker, where I saw a few of the policemen who would be leading the way ahead of the first runners (that's them on the motorcycles).



Unfortunately, I didn't make it all the way to my viewing location before the first wave of runners was upon me.  In addition to the marathon, there was also a half-marathon going on, and all of the runners started at the same time.  3000-ish determined people running toward me - it was kind of scary and there wasn't much room for me to get out of the way, especially as more people began to use the sidewalk! 



Shane's parents had successfully made it to the location I'd been trying to reach and his dad snagged this shot of the pack!  Originally, I'd planned to take shots at this 1.5 mile mark then walk back to the finish to see Shane as he completed the race.  Shane's parents surprised us by coming to the start of the race (we thought they were going to hang out by the mile 9/mile 19 markers) and we all decided to hop in the car and make it to as many stops as we could along the race course!  Lots of fun ensued :)



Here we caught up with him at the 5 mile mark, where obviously he was still feeling pretty good!  For much of the race, the course ran along the road so we would stop and get out of the car to shout some encouraging words at Shane as he passed and take a few photos then hop back in the car and see him just a few hundred feet later as we drove by.  We made so many stops that the strangers running alongside Shane started to recognize us as his cheering section!



This is around the 10 mile mark.  Shane and Mark ran together for a good portion of the race and Shane's dad caught them running in step.  At this point, Shane still looks pretty happy.



On the left side of this shot that's Shane's mom (well, her arm) you see with the orange bell.  I picked that cowbell up at a half-marathon Shane ran in Hartford last fall and it's really come in handy - it allows him to pick us out of the crowd when he's running!  I don't really feel comfortable ringing it though and since I was trying to take pictures, Shane's mom diligently rang it all day!  I believe we're around mile 17 here.  Shane said he hit the wall around mile 15 (which also coincided with the weather warming up quite a bit) so I think he was glad to have us along the route to provide motivation.



Between miles 22 and 23 and still going strong!  The cheering section grew as we met up with my mom at this point.  Much of the race was run on the East Bay Bike Path, which was particularly beautiful along this stretch of the race by the water. 



We made it back downtown to see both Shane and Mark finish!  Shane crossed the line around 4:20 and Mark finished a few minutes ahead of him - impressive showings for both of them in their first marathons I think!  Congratulations guys!  It was a great day - big thanks to my mom and Shane's parents for coming out to watch and cheer.  Also, thank you to Shane's dad for allowing me to share several of his race photos on the blog today!



Shane was sore for a few days, but the recovery really hasn't been as bad as I expected.  He was already talking about signing up for another race later the same day.  Mark declared himself retired from marathons when I saw him at the finish but seems to have softened his stance this week.  Shane is convinced he can talk him into running another with him in the fall. 



When we got home that afternoon I finished up some onesie sugar cookies I'd started the day before for a good friend of mine who recently found out she's pregnant with her first baby!  Though I have a few favorite sugar cookie recipes, I departed from those here to try one I'd seen on Martha Stewart recently.  You can find that recipe here.  I enjoyed the hint of lemon flavor in these cookies, but the texture wasn't my favorite.  The cookies were almost too chewy.   



While I was generally pleased with the way the cookies turned out, I continue to believe that royal icing is best left to folks with more patience than me.  My friend liked the cookies though and that's all that matters! :) 

Baked Kale Chips

I acknowledge that I may be the last in a very long line of bloggers who have posted about kale chips recently.  They've popped up on a number of my favorite sites and every time I've seen them I've thought to myself "oh right, I still didn't make those yet."  I'm not sure what took me so long.  I've never had kale in any form so I wasn't trying to convince myself that baking it in this manner might be the cooking method that converted me to a kale lover.  I suspect my procrastination had more to do with some serious skepticism.  You see, people were saying that these kale chips were crisp and salty and perhaps even a bit reminiscent of potato chips.  I'm not a veggie hater by any stretch of the imagination, but a leafy green veggie being compared to a potato chip - it seemed unlikely in my mind!



Eventually, I think my curiosity finally outweighed my skepticism and I picked up a bunch of kale while I was out shopping.  It was relatively cheap so even if I didn't like the chips, I knew I wouldn't feel guilty about having tried.  Because I'd seen the chips on so many blogs I had to figure out which "recipe" to use.  I say "recipe" because for the most part it's just a matter of washing the kale, tearing it into chip-sized pieces, tossing with olive oil, baking and sprinkling with salt - really more of a method than a recipe.  I tore my chips into fairly small pieces and they baked in about 13 minutes.   



My biggest concern about the chips was that they'd be bitter.  I'd heard that kale can have a bitter flavor and I knew that would not appeal to me.  Fortunately, it was not the case here.  The chips really were quite crisp and satisfied my craving for a salty treat.  They're paper thin and delicate, much more so than potato chips.  I really enjoyed the first few I ate, but I found that I'd had my fill after a couple of handfuls.  I'm glad to have tried them, but I don't think they're going to become a frequent treat here.  That said, I am planning to try preparing the rest of my kale in another manner soon.  If anyone has a favorite kale recipe I'd love to hear about it!    



Baked Kale Chips
from Steamy Kitchen

4 giant handfuls of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces - tough stems removed (about 1/3 pound)
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

Rinse the kale thoroughly.  Put the leaves in a salad spinner and spin to remove all of the water.  Dump the water from the spinner and repeat one or two more times to ensure the kale is completely dry.  Place the kale on the prepared baking sheet. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the kale leaves and use your hands to toss and coat the leaves with the oil. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until the leaves are crisp.  Be sure to check the kale often toward the end of its baking time as you don't want to let the leaves turn brown, which will make them bitter.  You'll know the kale is done when the leaves are crisp and fragile.  If they feel soft, give them another minute or two and check again.  Once they're done baking, remove them from oven and sprinkle with kosher salt before serving.
 

TWD: Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

This week's TWD was chosen by Becky of Project Domestication: burnt sugar ice cream.  I have to thank Becky for this selection for a number of reasons.  First, the recipe was relatively uncomplicated and I really needed that this week.  I'm not sure I could have handled anything with lots of components and tricky steps - I've been off my game for a few days and am still trying to find my mojo and get back into the swing of things.  Aside from this ice cream, I haven't baked in 4 or 5 days, which may not seem like much, but around here it's an eternity!  Also, I know I promised photos from Shane's first marathon and a race report and I'm still going to deliver, it's just going to be a few days later than I'd originally hoped.  Stay tuned! 



Becky's ice cream selection was also very timely as the month of May seems to have brought some July weather to Rhode Island along with it.  We've had a few hot and humid days and what could be better on a day like that than ice cream?  The only downside?  We haven't turned our a/c on so the house has been fairly warm, which made photographing this ice cream difficult.  By the time I scooped it into the bowl and got it set up for its photo, it was soupy and not terribly attractive (see, for example, the second and fourth photos of the post).  I kept popping it back in the freezer, but I'm impatient so never really left it in there long enough to get completely hard again. 



A few months ago I made the caramel ice cream from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home and while it was quite good, I didn't love the flavor enough to eat it by itself - it was definitely more of an accompaniment to other desserts.  Dorie's recipe included very similar ingredients, the main difference being that Thomas Keller's recipe is far richer - a higher cream to milk ratio and more egg yolks.  I was hoping Shane would help me eat the ice cream this week but I only made 1/2 batch so there wouldn't be as much and I also added M&M's to the recipe - chocolate in a recipe greatly increases the chances that Shane will at least try it!  I also used half and half in place of some of the cream and milk and then used extra 1% milk to get the ratio of cream to milk correct.  As Dorie warned, my caramel did seize when I added the milk and cream, but it smoothed out with a little heat and some diligent stirring.  I strained the custard before adding the vanilla just in case any bits of hard caramel remained.  Finally, I froze the M&M's for a few hours before folding them into the ice cream (thanks to a tip here) in an attempt to keep them from bleeding (for the record, they still bled, but not as much as they do when I don't freeze them).



I tried to make ice cream sandwiches with some of the fabulous chocolate cookies Margot sent me, but the ice cream kept melting so I had to stick with eating it out of a bowl :)  The verdict?  Shane and I both liked the ice cream, but it's probably not a recipe I'd make over and over again.  It's essentially the same verdict I reached on Thomas Keller's version.  I think perhaps we're just not big enough fans of caramel to appreciate the flavor.  That said, just about all of the TWD folks who made this one and posted on the P&Q's couldn't say enough good things about this ice cream, so don't let me deter you from giving it a shot!  Thanks again to Becky for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe for the ice cream on her blog or on page 432 of Dorie's book.

SMS: Peanut Butter Truffles

This week's SMS was chosen by Mara of Love Your Mother Earth: peanut butter truffles.  While I like chocolate, I often find truffles way too rich so I rarely, if ever, eat them.  They're super easy to make though and are easily transportable (and thus easy to give away) so I had no problem baking along with Mara this week. 



Truffles are often just made from two ingredients - chocolate and heavy cream!  You heat the cream to scalding and pour it over finely chopped chocolate, then stir until smooth.  The mixture is chilled until it is firm enough to scoop, then formed into little balls and sometimes garnished - cocoa powder and melted chocolate are popular coatings.  The main difference in this recipe was that peanut butter was heated along with the cream and the combination was poured over the chopped chocolate.  Also, softened butter was whisked into the chocolate/cream/peanut butter mixture before it was chilled.  In other words, this recipe is VERY decadent!



I made half of the recipe and wound up with 27 truffles.  Ideally I would have coated them all with chocolate to give them a smooth, satiny finish, but I was short on time.  The author recommends rolling the truffles in chopped roasted salted peanuts so I gave that a shot.  Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting the peanuts to stick to the truffles so I probably wouldn't go that route again, unless I first dipped the truffles in melted chocolate.  I simply rolled the remainder of the truffles in confectioners' sugar; I passed on the cocoa powder coating as Shane said it tasted like chalk the last time I tried. 



Shane brought half of the truffles to work and came home with an empty container so I guess they were a hit, though I didn't receive any specific feedback.  The other half of the truffles went home with my mom and I haven't heard whether she liked them either so big fail on outside opinions this week :)  I tried one and I was disappointed that the peanut butter flavor wasn't more prominent.  In fact, if I hadn't known there was peanut butter in the truffles, I probably never would have guessed.  Were I to make them again, I think I'd double the amount of peanut butter - if they're going to be called peanut butter truffles I think they need a lot more peanut butter flavor!



Busy day today - Shane is running his very first marathon!  The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, if not a bit on the warm side, but I'll take it over rain.  I'm quite excited to go and cheer him on and hopefully I'll have photos to share tomorrow :)  Big thanks to Mara for hosting this week's SMS!  You can find the recipe on her blog or on page 215 of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.  

Vanilla Pretzel Cookies

One of the things I like most about Cook's Illustrated (aside from the fact that their recipes generally work) is that they explain their process of testing the recipes and how they arrive at the final version, including why they use certain ingredients or a particular method.  I've picked up so many little tidbits here and there that have helped me to become a better baker and cook.  When I decided to make these cookies, I started by reading through the recipe and when I saw that it called for including a fully cooked egg yolk in the dough, I was especially grateful that I could go back through the article preceding the recipe to understand why.  Otherwise, it probably would have been the sort of question that sent me running to Google to search for an answer.  Best I can recall, I've never hard boiled an egg and included its yolk in my cookie dough!



It turns out that cooking the egg yolk before adding it helps to eliminate moisture in the dough to achieve a sandy, crumbly cookie.  I loved the texture (as well as the flavor!) of the baked cookies - they reminded me of delicate shortbread cookies - so I'll gladly go to the trouble of cooking the egg next time I make them.  What I'm still a bit skeptical about, however, is whether it's really necessary to press the yolk through a fine-mesh strainer before incorporating it into the dough.  I'll likely try skipping that step because I found it to be a huge pain and I think I could achieve a similar consistency by mashing the yolk well.

Shaping the cookies into pretzels is a bit more work than just slicing and baking the rounds (which you could also certainly do here) and at first I wasn't sure it was worth the effort.  I found, though, that I got into a groove after making my first 5 or 6 pretzels and things started to move more quickly.  What really sealed the deal was the cuteness factor after I pulled the first tray of baked cookies from the oven.  The sanding sugar provided just a bit of sparkle and since the dough held its shape beautifully in the oven, the cookies looked just like little mini pretzels!  This recipe makes a lot of cookies (CI says 80 but I think I was closer to 60) but like most butter cookies, these keep well - about a week in an airtight container. 

Vanilla Pretzel Cookies
from Cook's Illustrated

1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (2 3/4 oz) sugar 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
4 teaspoons turbinado (or other sanding) sugar

Place the egg in a small saucepan.  Cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, fill a small bowl with ice water.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the egg to the ice water and let stand for 5 minutes.  Crack the egg and peel away the shell.  Separate the yolk from the white; discard the white.  Press the yolk through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low then add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. Stop the mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.

Divide the dough in half; roll each piece into log about 6 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper and twist the ends to seal and firmly compact dough into a tight cylinder.  Chill for 30 minutes.

With racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, preheat to 350 F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Slice the dough into 1/4-inch rounds, and roll each round into a ball.  Roll each ball into a 6-inch rope, slightly tapering the ends.  Lift one end and cross it over so that the end rests near the center of the rope to form half of the pretzel shape.  Cross the other end of the rope over to form the second half of the pretzel shape.  Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the cookies with egg white mixture and sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar.

Bake until the centers of the cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.  Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Basil

Lately I've been trying to incorporate some new foods into my diet, mainly in place of other items that have less nutritional value.  First up was quinoa, which looks a lot like a grain and is cooked similarly but is actually the seed of a plant that is related to leafy green veggies like spinach.  I'd seen a ton of recipes floating around the web incorporating quinoa that I couldn't wait to try, but first I cooked it simply in a saucepan on my stove-top.  Unfortunately, when I took my first bite, I hated it (sorry to be brutally honest).  I can't even put my finger on what bothered me (I rinsed my quinoa, but it definitely still tasted bitter to me though that doesn't entirely describe the problem), but I knew this wasn't a food I could grow to like, no matter how I prepared it.  Nutrition is nice, but if something doesn't taste good, I'm not going to eat it. 



Undeterred, I moved on to pearl barley.  I really enjoy risotto and I'd seen quite a few recipes substituting barley for the arborio rice so I figured why not give it a shot?  Pearl barley isn't a whole grain, but it's still healthier than white rice (there's a nice discussion on barley and where it falls on the grain spectrum here).  This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's new book, Fresh Flavor Fast, and the original version included corn and basil.  It's asparagus season though and I've been on an asparagus kick so I swapped the corn for some asparagus that I roasted with a bit of olive oil.  Like most risotto recipes, this one was a bit time-consuming but simple enough as long as you stirred occasionally.  The verdict?  The risotto was creamy and definitely warmed me up on a chilly afternoon.  As for the barley, it was tender yet chewy with a slightly nutty flavor.  Did I love it?  Not exactly - I still prefer arborio rice, but I can definitely see myself using it in place of the arborio from time to time in risotto dishes.  I'd like to try some other applications as well so if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know!

Barley Risotto with Asparagus and Basil
from Fresh Flavor Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine

2 cans (14.5 oz each) low-sodium vegetable (or chicken) broth
4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb roasted asparagus
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated (about 2 oz) parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring broth and 4 cups water just to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the barley; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.  Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 2 cups of the warm broth mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until almost completely absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Continue adding broth mixture 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing liquid to be almost absorbed before adding more, until barley is tender and mixture is creamy, 40 to 50 minutes (you may not have to use all the broth).  Add the asparagus; cook just briefly to reheat if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the basil and parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with extra cheese if desired.