Cooking with Food52 Genius Recipes by Kristen Miglore

[Chris Hennes]

I got Food52 Genius Recipes a couple weeks ago, and this is the first thing I've cooked from the print version...

 

Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake

Dorie Greenspan

Available here

 

 

 

I think this recipe actually appears in Around my French Table, too. It's an excellent apple cake, particularly interesting in that it doesn't have any spices in it. It is dense with apples, with just enough cake batter to hold everything together. Aesthetically it's a challenge to slice when it's warm, so I suggest letting it cool, then slicing, then reheating if you want it warm.

[ElsieD]

I read this yesterday morning. I have the book, had some apples, and the cake was made by noon. There are just the two of us and this morning we shared the last sliver. It is fantastic, and thank you for posting this.

Edited to add: I suggest lining the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment as mine had a tendency to stick.

Edited October 20, 2015 by ElsieD (log)

[Shelby]

My copy of the cookbook should be here tomorrow

[Shelby]

Got my book yesterday.  I really like it.  As I was thumbing through, a recipe jumped out at me:

 

Crepes

From Kenny Shopsin  

 

Page 26

 

 

I was so excited.  For those who don't know of him, he owns Shopsin's Diner in NYC .  If I ever get to visit the Big Apple, his diner will be the first place I go.  I highly recommend his book Eat Me .  There is also a film documentary that is very entertaining.  Kenny is very smart, imaginative and quirky (to say the least lol).  

 

Anyway, I've been hungry for crepes ever since Kim Shook posted her dinner the other day.  So, I dove in.

 

Probably the most simple recipe in the book....and maybe one of the most genius.

 

It uses flour tortillas which you dip in egg and cream and then throw in a hot skillet.

 

 

Brilliant.

 

I would say they are a tad thicker than some crepes, but for me, dead easy and very crepe-y.

 

 

 

 

[MollyB]

One of the first recipes I made from the book is the Cliff Old Fashioned, from Dave Arnold, and it's fabulous. It's an old fashioned made with a coriander & red pepper simple syrup. I've had a bottle of the coriander syrup regularly in my fridge since I first made the drink over the summer.. We like it made with Bulleit rye. 

 

I recently tried the Chicken Thighs with Lemon, from Canal House, and wasn't quite as excited by that recipe. We made it exactly as written, with just preserved lemon in the sauce, not adding any of the suggested additions. It was very good and easy, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to make it again. It's possible that really good chicken would make a difference; we used grocery store chicken thighs. 

[Shelby]

Classic Guacamole

From Roberto Santibanez

Pg. 45

 

 

I wasn't expecting too much from this recipe.  I mean, how different can a standard guac. be?  I was pleasantly surprised.  Roberto's main points are to use a mortar and pestle to make a slurry out of onions, jalapeños,  cilantro and salt. I don't have one of those awesome tools so I just used a knife and mushed and chopped.

 

 

Then he cuts up the avocado making sure to leave the cubes intact.  I always like my guac. more chunky than smooth so this appealed to me.  Next he folds the onion/cilantro/pepper/salt slurry gently into the cubes crushing some of the avocado only so that it makes it a "dip, not a salad".  Finish it with squeezes of fresh lime juice and more cilantro.

 

 

 

[cakewalk]

Lime and cilantro.

[Anna N]

Shelby, you may keep your guacamole but those crepes, oh my! Were they filled with anything? Just added flour tortillas to my shopping list.

[Shelby]

Shelby, you may keep your guacamole but those crepes, oh my! Were they filled with anything? Just added flour tortillas to my shopping list.

Oh they were so good.  Yes, I filled them with diced ham, spinach, mushrooms and a few onions.  I put a spoon or two of béchamel sauce down, then the filling and then rolled them up.  Topped with more sauce and baked for about 20 mins.  

 

I had the rest for breakfast the next day.

[ElsieD]

Got my book yesterday.  I really like it.  As I was thumbing through, a recipe jumped out at me:

 

Crepes

From Kenny Shopsin  

 

Page 26

 

PA210857.JPG

 

I was so excited.  For those who don't know of him, he owns Shopsin's Diner in NYC .  If I ever get to visit the Big Apple, his diner will be the first place I go.  I highly recommend his book Eat Me .  There is also a film documentary that is very entertaining.  Kenny is very smart, imaginative and quirky (to say the least lol).  

 

Anyway, I've been hungry for crepes ever since Kim Shook posted her dinner the other day.  So, I dove in.

 

Probably the most simple recipe in the book....and maybe one of the most genius.

 

It uses flour tortillas which you dip in egg and cream and then throw in a hot skillet.

PA210853.JPG

 

 

Brilliant.

 

I would say they are a tad thicker than some crepes, but for me, dead easy and very crepe-y.

 

 

PA210855.JPG

PA210860.JPG

Shelby, do you soak the tortillas or just dip them?

[Shelby]

Shelby, do you soak the tortillas or just dip them?

Whisk one egg with 1 TB. of heavy cream in a wide bowl.  Lay the tortilla in and push it down so that just the bottom part gets covered.  Heat 1TB. of butter in large skillet until bubbling.  Put tortilla in, wet side down.  Pour the remaining egg mixture over and spread it around the top.

 

(The book says Kenny uses his fingers and I found that method the easiest, too.  Make sure you don't get the egg mixture in the pan where there is no tortilla or it ends up too eggy.  I didn't pour every bit onto the tortilla because mine got too eggy when I flipped it over.)

 

As soon as the bottom of the crepe is brown and "mottled", flip it over and cook until the same way on the other side.  About a minute.

 

Kenny says he adds a bit of vanilla to the egg mix if he's making dessert crepes.

 

That all being said, the next time I make these I'm going to try just soaking the whole tortilla at once and see if that works, too.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Shelby (log)

[ElsieD]

Thank you, Shelby. I just bought some more tortillas today. We have a small chain of stores that sell tortillas under their name and they are thinner than the more common bakery ones. I look forward to trying this.

[Shelby]

Thank you, Shelby. I just bought some more tortillas today. We have a small chain of stores that sell tortillas under their name and they are thinner than the more common bakery ones. I look forward to trying this.

Oh I think the thinner ones will work great.  Just don't over-soak.  I also forgot to add that the 1 TB to 1egg ratio is for one crepe.  

[Anna N]

Bumping this up  and assuming that recipes that are not in the book but are on the Food 52 website will still qualify. 

 

Canal House marinated zucchini (click).  I made this yesterday. Did not have baby zucchini so sliced zucchini I had into planks.  After an hour of marination  at room temperature  I can only say I was deeply disappointed but I put a lid on the container and tossed them into the fridge.   This morning I decided to clean out the fridge in preparation for a month long absence. I expected to throw out the zucchini but I decided to give them a taste first. Wow! Really good. 

 

3 minute hash browns (click).  

 

 

For some of us the appeal of hashbrowns is the contrast between the crispy outside and the creamy inside. For some (those that like only muffin tops or only brownie edges) then these are da bomb. If I had just one more potato in the house I would try them again using duck fat instead of butter. Unless you have the appetite of a sparrow you can only make enough for one serving for one very restrained diner.

 

2 ingedient biscuits (click). I am not going to suggest that these are the epitome of true Southern biscuits or even close. But for the convenience of remembering two ingredients, equal by weight, to produce just a few biscuits this recipe works. For a time when there are absolutely no carbs in the house but you have some self-raising flour and some cream…

 

 If you guessed I was bored yesterday 

 

Has anyone else made anything from the Food 52 site genius recipes that really impressed?

 

 

 

 

[Deryn]

Manitoulin blog upcoming again, Anna?

 

I really need to read Food52 more often. Those hashbrowns look scrumptious. Thanks.