Recipes That Rock: 2010

[Kouign Aman]

This one is for those with a surfeit of oranges:

4 oranges, cut off the skin and pith, slice into thick rounds

3T honey (orange blossom is my choice)

1T orange flower water

1 cinnamon stick (I use a tiny bit of ground instead)

Heat the last three in a saucepan and bubble together 1 min.

Pour over the oranges.

Can serve immediately, or refrigerate for serving later.

After 24 hours, they are candy-sweet, so if you prefer contrast (tangy fruit plus sweet), make them not so far in advance.

These go nicely at a buffet, and are very pretty on the table.

[Kerry Beal]

This one is for those with a surfeit of oranges:

4 oranges, cut off the skin and pith, slice into thick rounds

3T honey (orange blossom is my choice)

1T orange flower water

1 cinnamon stick (I use a tiny bit of ground instead)

Heat the last three in a saucepan and bubble together 1 min.

Pour over the oranges.

Can serve immediately, or refrigerate for serving later.

After 24 hours, they are candy-sweet, so if you prefer contrast (tangy fruit plus sweet), make them not so far in advance.

These go nicely at a buffet, and are very pretty on the table.

And a great way to do something with all those oranges I take the peel from to make candied peel.

[Emily_R]

Just made by far the best zucchini pancakes I've ever had. The addition of parmesan, lemon zest, and lots of fresh herbs took these over the top. I increased the amount of herbs dramatically -- recipe calls for 1/4 tsp of fresh oregano and thyme, but you wouldn't even taste that small an amount of fresh stuff. I used closer to 1/4 cup. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly and it was perfection -- right down to the minutes for the cooking time. Served them with a light lemon-dressed salad and it was the perfect summer dinner!

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/08/the-crisper-whisperer-zucchini-pancakes-recipe.html

[Emily_R]

Hi all --

Its about time someone revived this thread -- surely people have been making some fantastic recipes! I'm here to prod people to make that Scalloped Tomatoes recipe I posted above while summer tomatoes are still around. I made it again last night as a side dish with roast chicken, and it rocked my world yet again.

Emily

Edited September 27, 2010 by Emily_R (log)

[llc45]

Ok -

Love this thread but guilty of not contributing. Just made this again recently due to massive quantities of zucchini and love it as much every time: zucchini cheesecake.

I had some boursin I had to use up so replaced some of the other cheese. The fresh dill makes it! Served with a tomato and slivered fennel salad.

[kayb]

Sorry Cathy. No poblanos in the great frozen north. I wish we could. What would you use instead? About the closest I can come...and miles from home to buy one...assuming they even have one...is a Cubanelle. Rats.

Darienne -- try this link and order them. Dried, true, but better'n nothing.

http://latinmerchant.com/productlist.asp?cat=Peppers&SubCat=Dried%20Peppers&subCatID=20

[Darienne]

Sorry Cathy. No poblanos in the great frozen north. I wish we could. What would you use instead? About the closest I can come...and miles from home to buy one...assuming they even have one...is a Cubanelle. Rats.

Darienne -- try this link and order them. Dried, true, but better'n nothing.

http://latinmerchant.com/productlist.asp?cat=Peppers&SubCat=Dried%20Peppers&subCatID=20

We can get some dried peppers thanks. Can't recall if Poblanos are available or not. Right now I am in the land of fresh poblanos and have a couple ready to use tomorrow.

[ScottyBoy]

I guess I'll add my upside down fig cake since it's the season. It's the first recipe I posted here and it sounds like my description was followed by a user and the results turned out great.

1 1/4 sticks butter

1/2 C light brown sugar

2 T honey

10-12 fresh figs stems off and halved

1 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

pinch of kosher salt

3/4 C sugar

1 cap full vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

Oven to 350

Butter a 9x2 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a sauce pan, incorporate sugar, honey and cook until smooth. Pour into the cake pan. Place the figs cut side down all over the pan.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a stand mixer whip the remaining 8 tablespoons butter, sugar and vanilla for like 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until smooth. Lower the speed and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 parts alternating with the milk. Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, use the toothpick test. Let it cool for another hour before flipping over onto a plate to un-mold. EAT!

[Rover]

Earlier in the year, I tried Nigel Slater's A Stew of Oxtail and Onions for a Cold Night and I loved it. It's a completely different take on the conventional flavours for braising oxtails and I must have made it 3 or 4 times this year; now that cooler nights are here, I thought of it again. The dish definitely deserves a place in this thread. The recipe comes from "Tender - Volume I", but here's a link http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/24/foodanddrink.shopping21 from The Guardian - 3rd recipe in the article.

Another terrific discovery this summer was Michael Ruhlman's Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Zest and Thyme Marinade http://ruhlman.com/2010/04/marinades-grilled-pork-tenderloinwith-lemon-zest-and-thyme-marinade.html Michael butterflies the tenderloin resulting in a very quick way to grill the pork and it's delicious. I've successfully frozen the tenderloin in the marinade and now routinely keep one in the freezer ready to grill.

Edited to correct links.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Rover (log)

[nakji]

I found a great recipe for pork, fennel, and onions from Nigel Slater - the man does have a way with twists on simple food.

I want to include in this topic a recipe I just made from Madhur Jaffrey's Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail, a book I picked up at the library over the summer and have been cooking from with great success.

I had a cabbage left over at the bottom of my veggie bin that I wanted to clear out before this week's CSA comes in. Madhur lists a recipe for cabbage sabji which rocked my Sunday evening.

Basically, a shredded cabbage and a thinly sliced onion get tossed in a wok with a teaspoon or so of turmeric, a little salt, a couple of teaspoons of chopped ginger and garlic, and a chopped tomato. You add about a half cup of water over the lot, cover it, and put it on a medium flame until it starts to steam. Then you turn down the heat, cover, and keep cooking until it's mostly cooked and limp. Then, cover off, you cook it until the water has evaporated. Then add into the pan four tablespoons of your oil of choice. I used peanut, which gave it a really rich flavour. Then you fry it until the edges of the cabbage get a little browned. About 20 minutes of cooking time gives you cabbage crack.

[chezcherie]

i picked up a novel the other day called good enough to eat by stacy ballis.

ok, it's chick lit. generally speaking, i am generally not a fan. but it was well-written for that genre, and full of delicious food descriptors, which i thoroughly enjoyed.

i bought it for reading on an upcoming international flight, but ended up breezing through it in one day. so that's saying something. i went to the author's website, and found more lovely food musings, including a recipe for bacon jam. hello, lover. BACON JAM.

http://thepolymathchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/10/feasting-friday-welcome-to-my-bacon.html

just made a batch. smelled like heaven while it simmered. cant wait to serve it on a cheese plate.(or a sandwich. or a spoon.) my tweaks---used no olive oil (why would i need that when there is so much delicious BACON grease??) used red onions. used sherry vinegar. might consider some dried cherries or cranberries, or possibly chopped nuts next time. good stuff.

[Emily_R]

Nakji and Chezcherie -- both of these recipes (the indian cabbage sabji and the bacon jam) sound fantastic! Can't wait to make them!

[nakji]

I am actually eating the sabji again right now for lunch. Got another cabbage in the CSA this week, and thought, "Why not?" It's so good, I didn't even get a complaint from my husband, and he hates repeats.

This time I had it along with a dal recipe from Vij's Indian cuisine. Nothing groundbreaking, but together - awesome October food.

[Sarah Pourciau]

This may be old news to everyone on egullet except for me, but I tried Jaymes' salsa this year for the first time (I thought the recipe was in recipe gullet, but I just checked now and can't find it; it definitely comes up in the "favorite blender recipes" thread), and I've been making it weekly now for months. Or rather: weekly unless I run out before the week is over, in which case--even when I have three other homemade salsas hanging out in the fridge awaiting my attention!--I make more. I can no longer stand to be without it, so this thread seems like a good opportunity to say: thanks Jaymes!

[baconburner]

Hi

French toast. Prepare as usual with egg vanilla etc. The secret is to roll the bread after in Corn Flakes to make a crust and fry in butter. Dust with icing sugar friut on top and use real maple syrup.

Treat yourself

Cheers

baconburner

[nakji]

This may be old news to everyone on egullet except for me, but I tried Jaymes' salsa this year for the first time (I thought the recipe was in recipe gullet, but I just checked now and can't find it; it definitely comes up in the "favorite blender recipes" thread), and I've been making it weekly now for months. Or rather: weekly unless I run out before the week is over, in which case--even when I have three other homemade salsas hanging out in the fridge awaiting my attention!--I make more. I can no longer stand to be without it, so this thread seems like a good opportunity to say: thanks Jaymes!

It bears repeating: I never buy bottles salsa anymore, and my husband was addicted to Old El Paso. Jaymes's salsa is the way forward.

Recipe here.

[Emily_R]

Hi all --

I'm never sure if dessert recipes are accepted here... But I recently created a recipe so good I just had to post... I was in DC last weekend and had the most amazing cookies -- called Chocolate Salty Oat Cookies -- at this tea shop called Teaism. I got home and knew I needed to try to replicate them. After heavily adapting several oatmeal cookie recipies online -- I succeeded! These are dense, a little chewy, chocolaty, salty, and pretty much addictive. Everyone I've given one to has nearly swooned. Here's the recipe...

Chocolate Salty Oat Cookie

3/4 cup butter

2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt 85%)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 cup dutch cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp Morton Kosher salt

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup unsweetned flaked coconut.

3/4 cup (or maybe it was a cup? I didn't measure this) chopped semi-sweet chocolate (I used chopped callebaut)

Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate together. Add sugars and combine. When cool enough, add in both eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl -- add to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Add the rolled oats and coconut and mix, then finally add the chopped chocolate. Chill dough for at least a half hour -- while oven preheats to 375.

Place golf-ball sized hunks of dough on a baking sheet with silpat, and flatten slightly (dough balls should still be quite thick). Sprinkle tops with more kosher salt and coarse sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw). Bake at 375 for around 12-13 minutes -- they shouldn't be browned much at all, so that they don't dry out...

Emily

Edited October 16, 2010 by Emily_R (log)

[Rover]

Tarte Nougat Pommes (Apple Nougat Tart). This is my dark horse, best apple tart recipe of the year - very simple, delicious and quick. It was devoured at the speed of light at a dinner party last night. http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2010/09/tarte-nougat-pommes-apple-nougat-tart.html

[Emily_R]

As soon as I saw this recipe on The Wednesday Chef -- for Soft Zucchini with Harissa, Olives and Feta -- I knew it would be amazing... And it is! I didn't have any olives, but honestly it didn't need them. The only other change I made was to add some lemon zest in addition to the juice. I served this alongside yogurt marinated chicken kabobs and couscous, and which made for a whole Meal That Rocked!

http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2010/10/gabrielle-hamiltons-soft-zucchini-with-harissa-olives-and-feta.html

[kayb]

Dear sweet baby Jesus. Bacon jam. I may never be the same.

[achevres]

Emily_R: Those chocolate salty oat cookies look wonderful -- I like everthing in them. Do you use old-fashioned or instant oats?

[Emily_R]

Achevres -- I used old fashioned oats. And the good news is I can now report that the dough freezes great -- I took some dough out of the freezer on Friday, let it thaw a bit, baked, and they were just as good as the first batch! Let me know if you make / like them!

Edited November 16, 2010 by Emily_R (log)

[Anna N]

This recipe for Hundred Corner Shrimp Balls caught my eye when I ended up with two enormous bags of shrimp from Costco that were the wrong size for our favourite shrimp fritter recipe from Monica Bhide. I was a bit reluctant to serve them as almost any other deep-fried shrimp concoction gets thumbs down from my husband so enamoured is he of Monica's shrimp. But finally we have a contender. No it won't replace our favourite but these were awesome and will make regular appearances on our menu. If you decide to try them be sure to make the accompanying Apricot Dipping Sauce.

Here's a link to Monica's recipe for those who are interested.

Edited to add link.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Anna N (log)

[jscarbor]

Earleir in the fall I made a goat cheese and fig on a toast point with a pprt wine fig jam and topped w Tabasco cured pork belly. It was not very easy to eat but it was a fine creation.

[Katie Meadow]

That's an interesting variation on what I had the other night: I brought coppa and home-made mostarda di cremona to a friend's for an app, and he contributed a soft spreadable goat cheese and his version of toast points, which were squares of rustic white bread grilled on the barbie. The mostarda was made with dried figs, cherries and apricots and fresh pears. Goat cheese, cured pork and tangy fruit makes a super combo.