Cinnamon Buns

Even though it's still 80 degrees in New York, something about October signals fall. Maybe it's the leaves turning brown and landing in the gutter. Or maybe it's the neighbors, who already have their stoop decked out in fake spiderwebs and plastic bats. Or maybe it's the way the breeze swoops in, cooler than the sunshine and humidity would predict, reminding us that winter really isn't that far off.

In any case, I decided to make cinnamon buns. I've always wanted to and finally found a reipe that seemed relatively easy to put together. In fact, this recipe was more difficult in execution than it seemed it would be. The dough is very sticky and split apart when I rolled it out and again when I rolled it up. Removing the baked buns from the pan "without seperating" was mere wishful thinking on the part of the recipe writers, or maybe they just had a really big spatula. Instead of emerging as eight rolls all stuck together, I ended up with a jumbled mass of bread and melted sugar. Still, it must be said that these buns are all kind of delicious. The biscuit part is very nice, and the filling crisps up into sort of a toffee on the outside. I don't know who ever thought to christen these rolls a breakfast food, however; they are so sweet my teeth hurt.



Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing

Melted butter is used in both the filling and the dough and to
grease the pan; it’s easiest to melt the total amount (8
tablespoons) at once and measure it out as you need it. The
finished buns are best eaten warm, but they hold reasonably well
for up to 2 hours. Makes 8 buns.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted, for pan

Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed, 5 1/4 ounces)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted

Biscuit Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus
additional flour for work surface
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

Icing
2 tablespoons cream cheese , softened
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar (4 ounces)


1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425
degrees. Pour 1 tablespoon melted butter in 9-inch nonstick cake
pan; brush to coat pan. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking
spray; set aside.

2. To make cinnamon-sugar filling: Combine sugars, spices, and salt
in small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter and stir with fork or
fingers until mixture resembles wet sand; set filling mixture aside.

3. To make biscuit dough: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking
soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and 2 tablespoons
melted butter in measuring cup or small bowl. Add liquid to dry
ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed
(dough will look very shaggy), about 30 seconds. Transfer dough to
lightly floured work surface and knead until just smooth and no
longer shaggy.

4. Pat dough with hands into 12 by 9-inch rectangle. Following
illustrations below, fill, roll, cut, and arrange buns in buttered
cake pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons remaining melted butter. Bake
until edges are golden brown, 23 to 25 minutes. Use offset metal
spatula to loosen buns from pan; without separating, slide buns out
of pan onto greased cooling rack. Cool about 5 minutes before icing.

5. To make icing and finish buns: While buns are cooling, line
rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup); set
rack with buns over baking sheet. Whisk cream cheese and buttermilk
in large nonreactive bowl until thick and smooth (mixture will look
like cottage cheese at first). Sift confectioners’ sugar over;
whisk until smooth glaze forms, about 30 seconds. Spoon glaze
evenly over buns; serve immediately.


STEP BY STEP: Rolling Up Cinnamon Buns

1. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle evenly
with filling, leaving 1/2-inch border of plain dough around edges.
Press filling firmly into dough.
2. Using bench scraper or metal spatula, loosen dough from work
surface. Starting at long side, roll dough, pressing lightly, to
form a tight log. Pinch seam to seal.

3. Roll log seam-side down and cut evenly into eight pieces. With
hand, slightly flatten each piece of dough to seal open edges and
keep filling in place.
4. Place one roll in center of prepared nonstick pan, then place
remaining seven rolls around perimeter of pan.



*Cooks Illustrated 2002

Portobello Mushroom Spaghetti

I want to say thanks to my pal at On the Hob for rescuing me from my dining dilemma tonight: what to do with the giant Portobello mushroom I bought? Couldn't stuff it, couldn't make a sandwich, no point in roasting... Her solution? Saute it with a little balsamic vinegar. It worked like a charm. I added zucchini (or courgette as some people I know like to say), tomatoes, and Italian parsley and served it over spaghetti. Here's how the whole thing turned out:




It was quite a nice dinner, and I liked using up odds and ends that were already in the fridge and cupboard. I also have to thank Jamie Oliver for the pasta serving suggestion that appears in this month's Gourmet: swirl the spaghetti in a ladle or large spoon and then plate. It was so much easier than shlurping with a fork or tongs and looked pretty, too. It's nice to see something in Gourmet that's actually practical and useful for the home cook and not just theoretical inspiration...

Summer Bean Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

I've been making a variation of this salad all summer. I don't think I've ever actually made it as directed below, but it's the kind of thing that lends itself to variation. I love the crunch of cucumber, the sweetness of fresh corn, and the sweet-tartness of fresh summer tomatoes. The part that pulls the recipe together is the yummy lime vinaigrette. The proportions are spot on and this is a great way to use up limes if, like me, you bought 15 one day when they were on sale at 15/$1.


Summer Bean Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Salad
3/4 cup uncooked small macaroni
1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
3/4 cup diced peeled avocado
1/2 cup chopped seeded poblano chile
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
Vinaigrette
2 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (3/4 tsp), minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool completely.

• Combine the tomatoes, avocado, poblano, cucumber, onion, cilantro, and beans in a medium bowl, stirring to combine.

• Combine zest, juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, salt & pepper in small bowl, whisking well. Add pasta and lime vinaigrette to veggie mixture; toss to combine.

*From Cooking Light magazine

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

For my birthday a very smart man got me David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. It's a compendium of amazing ice cream recipes, varying from chocolate and vanilla to basil and avocado. For my inagural taste test, I decided on fresh peach, which seems like a great way to eat in season. I've never been a big fruit ice cream person, but maybe with my tastes changing in other ways, ice cream is not far behind?

This recipe was really delightful. It has tangy, sour notes but tastes strongly of fresh peaches, too. It was pretty foolproof to make (especially compared to some of the recipes in the book) and uses less cream than many ice creams. It was certainly better than some of my invented creations, though I have to say that I thought of malted milk ice cream before I saw the recipe in the Lebovitz book! I'll be interested to see if his version beats mine (probably).

I stuck to this recipe pretty closely. I didn't have sour cream so I substituted cream cheese and half & half. I also used two peaches and one nectarine -- perhaps these substitutions are why my ice cream tasted rather tangy. A bit more cream cheese, and I would have had Peach Cheesecake ice cream -- not altogether a bad idea.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

1 1/3 lbs peaches (3 or 4 large)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
a splash of fresh lemon juice

- Peel the peaches, slice them in half and remove the stone. Chop them into small-ish chunks and cook them with the water in a saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring once or twice, until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in sugar, then cool to room temperature. You can use an ice bath to speed this process up.
- Puree the cooked peaches and the final four ingredients in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still piecey. Alternately, you can mash the cooked peach with a potato masher or similar.
- Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator or over an ice bath (the colder the mixture, the quicker and better the ice cream will freeze), then freeze in your ice cream maker.

Double Chocolate Souffles with warm fudge sauce

A few Christmases back, I got a souffle pan, but the prospect of making a souffle always seemed so daunting, so I never used it. Then I saw a long article in Cooking Light a while back, all about how to make the perfect souffle. Included were several recipes for unique and low-fat dishes. Armed with a good recipe and new, adorable candy-colored ramekins (the Christmas souffle pan is in storage, alas), I tried my hand at my first souffle.

I halved this recipe and it fit into four little ramakins. I think this recipe would also work as-is for a normal souffle pan. The resulting desserts turned out rich and very chocolatey, which is great considering they're pretty low-fat (about 9 grams of fat, 300 calories each, including 2 tablespoons of sauce). For a chocolate souffle, I'd say that's pretty good. The souffle is better than the sauce, though, which tasted too flour-y to me. If you didn't mind a few extra calories, I'd make a regular chocolate sauce and maybe add a dollap of sweetened whipped cream on top. I'm leaving out the chocolate sauce recipe as it wasn't so good; you'll have to substitute your own.

Souffle:

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 large egg whites

- Move oven rack to the bottom of the oven, and remove the middle rack. Preheat oven to 425.
- Lightly coat 6 eight-ounce souffle dishes with cooking spray or a little butter. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tbsp of sugar.
- Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat.
- Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in vanilla and egg yolk.
- Place egg whites in a large non-reactive mixing bowl and beat at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form (but don't overbeat!!). Gently fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining.
- Sharply tap dishes2 or 3 times on counter to level. Place dishes on baking sheet; place sheet on bottom rack of oven. Immediately reduce temperature to 350. Bake 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick insterted into the side of the souffle comes out clean. Don't peak while they're cooking or they won't rise properly!
- Serve warm, straight from the oven when possible, with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Roasted Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce

After a long hiatus of few cooking adventures, some exciting things are happening in the kitchen. Most thrillingly, I bought an ice cream maker at a thrift shop in the West Village. It's your standard we-got-married-twenty-years-ago-and-haven't-used-this-thing-once-let's-finally-get-rid-of-the-clutter ice cream maker; I think it's the same model my dad and I had back in the late 1980s for girl scout ice cream chemistry projects. It's never been used, so at $8.00, quite the bargain. For quite some time now I've been ready to spend $30 or $40 for the priveledge of making my own delicious frozen confections.

My first attempt at making mocha frozen yogurt tasted like, well, yogurt that was cold. The book is wrong when it says, "Just pour in any flavored yogurt, turn, freeze, and voila!" What I made did not taste at all like any frozen yogurt I've had anywhere. I think the key is to add sugar, and maybe to use Greek yogurt, which is milder and creamier. In any case, I'm moving on to regular ice cream tonight or tomorrow, and hopefully that recipe will yield better results.

I've also been thinking for a while now about an eggplant dish I had at an Afghan restaurant while I was in California last Christmas. It was soft eggplant smothered in a creamy sauce, and it was delicious -- unlike any eggplant I've ever had. This week I found myself in possesion of a few little Chinese eggplants, so I decided to try to replicate the dish as best I could. I think it turned out lovely, though not quite what I had in California. I roasted the epplants with a few chopped onions in the oven, then made a variation on a yogurt sauce from a cucumbers-in-yogurt recipe. Finally I added some chickpeas to the mix to make it a full dinner (I guess I would have used lamb if I ate that) and served over brown rice. While I doubt this dish is authentic to Afghan, Moroccan, Turkish, or any kind of Middle Eastern cuisine, it was my own take and pretty good in the end.


Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

For the Eggplant:

2-3 small Chinese eggplants or 1 large European variety, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper

- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Toss the vegetables with the oil and seasoning. Scatter in one layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, then flip the veggies and bake another 10-15 minutes, until they are soft and crisp at the edges. Remove from oven.

For the Yogurt Sauce:

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (preferably Greek)
Juice of one lemon (2 tbsp)
1-2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cracked pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp dried seasoning (I used sage but dill or parsley is preferable)

- Mix all ingredients. Let sit for at least 10-15 minutes to meld flavors.
- Pour over the eggplant and onion.
- You will use only about a third of the sauce; the other two-thirds can be mixed with cucumbers for a side salad or with warmed chickpeas for a main course. This dish should be served at room temperature or slighly warm but not hot or cold. Serves 2 with leftovers.

*Yogurt sauce recipe adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Lovely as a side dish with chicken or lentils, roasted vegetables hit the spot on a cold winter's night. But they don't have to be limited to side dish status -- I piled mine into a goat-cheese omlette. The creamy cheese is a wonderful foil for salty, strong-flavored veggies. Serve for lunch in your Northern California backyard, with a crisp beer and a little side salad, on a sunny March day!



Use any combination of root vegetables or squash that takes your fancy... The cooking time won't vary too much. By cooking hard roots like beets the same length of time as tender squash like zucchini, you guarrantee the same relative texture; that is, the roasted beets will still be firmer than the roasted zucchini, but none should be over or under-done.

Vegetables:
1 medium sweet potato
1 large zucchini
1/2 large onion
2 large carrots
2 medium beets

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp dried sage
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Wash and peel vegetables, then roughly chop them; it's good if the pieces are relatively uniform in size. Put vegetables in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over vegetables, then toss so all are evenly coated with dressing.
Spread in a single layer (or as close as you can get) on an unoiled 11x17 baking pan, or use two baking sheets (Pyrex glass pans work fine as well). Bake for 40 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until crispy, browned, and tender.

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics