Carrots are a fabulous vegetable eaten raw or cooked low and slow, like in stews and soups. But cooking them just to the point where they lose their crunch, but aren’t mushy, can be challenging.
This special recipe to the rescue.
This recipe was printed in the NYTimes by Dorie Greenspan. It is from Joanne Chang’s Flour Bakery + Café in Boston. Anyone who follows Dorie knows that her recipes are written in such detail they are fool proof.
If you’ve had the chance to eat any of Chang’s baked goods from one of her nine well known Flour bakeries in Boston/Cambridge, you know that everything she makes is special. This recipe with her unique technique for mixing in the butter in two stages makes for an incredibly tender, flaky scone.
If you have a mixer with a paddle attachment, the entire recipe can be made with that attachment. The technique is a little different from most scones. Rather than mix all the butter into the flour until it is the size of peas, half is mixed in until incorporated, like sand, the the other half is only mixed in for 10 seconds. That allows for most of the cubes to remain whole, which means lots of flaky batter with dots of melted butter in the baked scones. They are so delectable, you won’t need to serve them with more butter.
Before I made them, I thought that a glaze of powdered sugar blended with maple syrup would be too sweet. But not to worry. The scones aren’t very sweet, so the glaze blends into the batter perfectly.
The whole-wheat flour mixed with the all-purpose flour is paramount. It really adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the scones.
Although nothing beats a just baked warm scone from the oven, these reheat beautifully, even two days later.
Be sure to leave plenty of room between the scoops for the scones to expand. Eight to a half-sheet are perfect.
SCONES
1 ⅔ cups/240 grams whole-wheat flour
1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ cup/120 grams crème fraîche, Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
½ cup/120 milliliters maple syrup
⅓ cup/80 milliliters buttermilk, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 cup/125 grams fresh blueberries
GLAZE
½ cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, briefly mix both flours, the baking powder, baking soda and salt on low speed. Add half the butter and paddle until fully mixed into the flour, 2 to 3 minutes. (This will coat the flour with butter so the scones are tender.)
Add the remaining butter to the bowl of the stand mixer. Pulse the mixer three or four times to mix the pieces into the dough while keeping them whole. (This step will give you small pieces of butter in the dough, which will help the scones be a bit flaky.)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, maple syrup, buttermilk and yolk until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the blueberries. With the mixer on low, pour the blueberry mixture into the flour mixture, and paddle on low for about 10 seconds to get some of the liquid mixed into the flour. Stop the mixer, and mix the rest of the loose flour into the dough by hand: Gather and lift the dough with your hands and turn it over in the bowl several times until all the loose flour is mixed in. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 1 day. (This gives the flour time to fully absorb the liquid.)
Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and position a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a 1/2-cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop, scoop out 8 mounds of chilled dough, and place them on the baking sheet a few inches apart. Bake scones for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking time, until the scones are evenly golden brown and firm when you press them.
While the scones are baking, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and enough maple syrup to make a thick, spreadable glaze. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Rewhisk before using.
As soon as you remove the scones from the oven, use a pastry brush to brush them with the glaze while they’re warm. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes, then serve.
This is a beautifully complex soup with lots of flavors and textures: a miso-ginger broth with a variety of greens, ramen noodles, and fragrant, small ginger-spiked meatballs.
It’s obvious why the recipe is so popular. It’s dinner in a baking dish, with the addition of cooked pasta thrown in. The original recipe consists of a block of feta, tomatoes, olive, salt and pepper that is baked, and then tossed with fresh garlic, cooked pasta and basil. It's not only a super flavorful dish but it's also beyond easy to make. It's one of those perfect dinners that you can prepare without really having to pay attention to it.
Caramel is the trendiest ingredient. With the addition of salt and soy, it is even used to dress up fish. My latest obsession is to coat pears with it. I admit to experimenting with this recipe many times before I was satisfied with the result, but even the imperfectly coated pears were delicious.
I was hoping to make the caramel in the same pan the pears baked in, but that didn’t happen. Instead, after the pears are baked, you need to transfer the juices to a small saucepan and reduce them with some cream until thick enough to coat the pears. The amount of cream is really up to you—a little more or less will work, too.
First cut the pears in half through the stem end, core and cut out the stem. If you want to fancy them up to look like the photo, make cuts about 1/3-inches apart almost, but not completely through the pear. You still want each half to be in one piece. I do this only because I like the way they look after they are baked. The same with the sugar and cinnamon I sprinkle on top before baking. I like the way it gives them a beautiful bronze glow.
Although I prefer Bartletts, D’anjou also work well. To test for ripeness, press gently near the stem. You don’t want them ripe. Once they have turned yellow, they are too ripe to bake. If they are very firm and green, keep them on the counter overnight. They ripen very quickly at room temperature.
So, before pears are replaced by peaches, grab some firm, but ripe ones, and bake up this recipe. You can always use caramel ice cream topping, but then what would you do with all those delicious juices the pears exude during baking?
Make cuts almost, but not all the way through the pears. This gives them an attractive appearance once baked.
Baked Pears in Caramel Sauce
2 large ripe but firm pears, Bartlett preferred
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup whipping cream
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel pears, cut in half lengthwise, and remove cores. Lay each half-cut side down. Slice the pear almost, but not entirely through to the bottom. This gives them an attractive look after baking.
3. Melt butter in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the pears lightly with butter.
4. Stir brown sugar, and vanilla into remaining butter. Spread on the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.
5. Arrange pears cut side down in brown sugar.
6. Stir together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over tops of pears.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until pears are tender when tested with a knife. Remove pears to plates.
8. Pour syrup into a small saucepan. Add cream and bring to a boil. Boil slowly until thickened slightly. Spoon over pears.
Makes 4 servings.
It’s seldom that I taste a chicken dish that I think is worthy of a dinner party—especially when the chicken is on the bone. There is something about chicken on the bone that seems so casual, but this recipe is an exception. This chicken with its burnished mahogany glaze, deep flavored spices, served with an exceptionally vibrant green sauce, is truly outstanding.
GET INSTANT SUCCESS WITH THESE BITE-SIZE APPETIZERS
These new, lactose-free popovers can be baked large to serve in place of bread or in mini muffin tins for appetizers. They each have their own personality, just like our kids.
Legend has it that the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, whom the Romans renamed Venus, sprang fully formed from the sea, giving birth to the idea that bivalves enhance amorous occasions. Rather than take a chance you’ll miss the Valentine’s Day passion boat, dive into your romantic repast with these fabulous baked oysters.
I was testing a recipe from Bon Appetit, reducing it in half to serve the two of us. It’s a very simple dish to prepare, perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. It is so good, however, you might think about doubling the recipe and serving it to friends. The flavorful vinaigrette with its tangy red wine vinegar and sweet mint pushes it over the top.
Any recipe that comes across my desk with coconut milk and cumin grabs my attention. I am extremely partial to Indian and Thai flavors and this recipe is no exception.
This is a traditional tiramisu with equal parts Zabaglione (an Italian custard flavored with sweet marsala), mascarpone (a double or triple whipped cream cheese) and whipped cream. It must be refrigerated overnight before serving, but recently I made an amazing discovery.
If you think a crisp is a pie with an upside down identity crisis that belongs only with homespun dinners, take another look. This scrumptious combination of sweet pears and tart cranberries baked under a crunchy cashew coating can hold its own against any right-side-up pie or high falutin torte. And as further distinction of its personality, it makes a delectable breakfast entree.
These are the world’s easiest brownies, bar none. You only need 3 ingredients—a jar of Nutella, 5 eggs and 1 cup of flour. Plus, after you’ve finished combining the ingredients, you have only one dirty bowl and a mixer to wash (I use my electric hand mixer.)
No one will ever guess that one of the main ingredients in this cake is a yellow cake mix. That’s because it is completely overshadowed by the earthy sweet taste of pumpkin, accented with warm cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. As you can see in the photo, the cream cheese, powdered sugar topping glistens after it’s baked.
This is not just another burger. This one is layers of fabulous textures and flavors—soft brioche buns, Parmesan crisps, creamy mayo, charred burgers, red wine-glazed onions, tender lettuce, another Parmesan crisp and soft bun.
One of my favorite pastry chefs just wrote a cookie book that if you like to bake, you’ll want to get. It is called Craving Cookies by Helen S. Fletcher. Her website is pastrieslikeapro.com. Her book has more how-to tips and photos than any cook book I’ve seen in a long time. That is because Helen and her husband, a retired photographer, wrote, styled and photographed everything.
The recipe is from Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame in San Francisco. It had garnered one of Food & Wine’s top best recipes and after one bite your taste buds will tell you why this is Vietnamese cooking at it’s best. The dish is intensely sweet, hot and totally tantalizing.
Let's get one thing out of the way. This is NOT another Kale Caesar. It has some similarities, but this salad is so much more exciting. One bite and you'll understand why I call it baby kale's newest BFF.
Melon wrapped in prosciutto has been around for centuries. In Medieval times melon was considered such a highly dangerous fruit due its cold and juicy nature that cooks would counterbalance it by wrapping it in something dry and warm. I’ve gussied up my version to make it au courant.
When you hear guacamole, you think avocados. But surprisingly, peas add a delicious sweetness and offer other advantages: They don't turn brown when mashed ahead and you can always find them ripe.