i think hedda made these tonight

Cripsy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

The original recipe didn’t have white chocolate in it, but it really works wonderfully in here. Even if you’re a dark chocolate fan. Watch out, use the good stuff and this may even convert you.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (not “white chocolate” chips; they’re almost always artificial. I am adamant about this.)

1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

My Alice Waters' Saturday

Green Garlic Soup
from Chez Panisse Vegetables
As we researched recipes and information for our Garlic article we stumbled upon recipes for green garlic. Much of the information we gathered came from a newsletter called Food & Farm notes written by Terra Brockman. Terra's brother is Henry Brockman who is proprietor of an organic farm (Henry's Farm) in Illinois that produces over 500 varieties of organic produce. We thank Terra for her work and her recipe contributions.


green garlic photo by: gourmetsleuth.com

I N G R E D I E N T S
1 pound green garlic (about 8 to 10 plants)
1/2 pound Henry¹s new potatoes ***I used almost 1 lb of fingerling & yukon gold from the farmers market***
2 medium onions
1/4 pound unsalted butter
Salt
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Cut the garlic into thin rounds or half-circles. Unless very tough, the lower foot or so of the stem and leaves are fine to use. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Peel and chop the onions into small dice. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot, add the onions, and cook slowly until translucent and tender. Salt, and add the garlic and potatoes. Cook these together for 5 minutes, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the soup until the potatoes are tender. Check the seasoning. This soup can be served rustic and chunky, or puréed.

If I have time. for mother. on sunday. she loves sweets.

Polenta Cake with Rhubarb Blackberry Compote and Rhubarb Ribbons

Ingredients
Cake:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
marscapone or plain yogurt to top

Rhubarb Compote:
5 stalks rhubarb, chopped 1/2"
3 Tablespoons sugar (or more depending on your taste, I like 'em tart)
1 basket blackberries

Rhubarb Ribbons:
2 rhubarb stalks
sugar for dusting

Blackberry Kir Royal:
1 basket blackberries
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons sugar
Champagne

Instructions
Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper circle and butter the top of it. In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour with the cornmeal, baking powder and salt. If you're feeling really adventurous sift it all together.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar with a hand held mixer or standing mixer. I let the butter and sugar cream for at least 3 minutes until it has doubled in volume.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
4. Beat in the dry ingredients in three installments on low speed alternating with buttermilk, until just blended but uniform in texture.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool. While the cake is warm, invert it onto the rack and peel off the paper.
Compote:
1. Chop rhubarb into 1/2" pieces and place in a small pot. Sprinkle sugar over and cook on medium-low heat until rhubarb is cooked through but not totally mushy. About 5 minutes. There will be a lot of juice that makes a nice sauce for the cake. Mix in some blackberries after the compote has cooled.
Rhubarb Ribbons:
1. Cut rhubarb stalks into 4 to 5 inch pieces. With a mandonline slice the rhubarb segments extra thin, about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Place slices on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Generously sprinkle sugar over both sides of the slices. Bake in a low temperature oven of 200˚F until slices are stiff and glossy. They should not brown. About 20 minutes, but keep your eye on them.
Blackberry Kir Royal:
1. Put blackberries in a small pot with sugar and water. Cook on medium heat until the juice is as thick as olive oil. Take off heat and strain, reserving the juice only. Once cool pour a Tablespoon of blackberry syrup into a champagne flute and add champagne to taste. Note: if the syrup gets too thick it will not easily mix with the champagne. If this happens add a little water to dilute it.

EfM dip dip dip with pita

the women loved this. but the three guys aren't too adventurous.

smash some chick peas in a bowl
add some Greek yogurt
lemon juice
minced garlic
olive oil
sesame oil
feta, crumbled
finely chopped green onion
chopped arugula
s and p
grated cucumber


serve with pita

it's basically the sandwich filling before, with sesame oil added - GOOD

soft scrambled eggs with fresh ricotta

i just had this for breakfast. ricottaless, i used chevre with herbs, and half a whole wheat flat bread ("wrap"), with two eggs. parfait. i made it for diana a few days later, on fresh pita leftover from her exit show, and she swooned.

Bon Appetit 2008

4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese*
4 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick slices whole grain bread or 8 whole grain baguette slices, lightly toasted and buttered
Whole chives (optional)
Preparation

Whisk eggs, chopped chives, and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel in medium bowl until well blended. Melt butter in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When foam subsides, add eggs and stir with heatproof silicone spatula until eggs are almost cooked but still runny in parts, tilting skillet and stirring with spatula to allow uncooked portion to flow underneath, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add ricotta and stir just until incorporated but clumps of cheese are still visible.

Arrange 2 toasts or 4 baguette slices on each of 2 plates. Spoon scrambled eggs atop toasts. Sprinkle with more fleur de sel and pepper. Garnish with whole chives, if desired.
*make some by cooking whole milk and buttermilk til it curdles and drain - what's left is the ricotta. or use half as much sour cream.

picnic fare

Lemon Chicken

Here is the secret to fabulous lemon chicken - use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or legs, but thighs are easier to eat). Lemon is acidic and greatly benefits from the balance of the stronger flavor of the dark meat in thighs and legs, and the fat from the chicken skin. You don't have to eat the skin (my father doesn't, he gives them to me, score!), but cook with them on for the flavor.

What we most love about this recipe is that it is a classic American lemon chicken recipe without being too lemony. In other words, it doesn't make your lips pucker, it has just the right amount of lemon flavor to it)

* 3-4 pounds chicken parts (thighs and legs recommended), skin-on, bone-in, trimmed of excess fat

* 2 Tbsp lemon zest
* 1/3 cup lemon juice
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
* 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
* 1 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon black pepper

* 2-3 Tbsp melted butter
* Lemon slices for garnish

Method

1 Place lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, whisk to combine. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut into each chicken piece one or two times by about 1/2 an inch. (This will help the marinade penetrate.) Place the chicken pieces and the marinade in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Rotate the bag so that all chicken pieces are coated with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (in case of leakage). Let marinate for 2 hours.

2 Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a single layer in a large baking dish, skin side up. Reserve the marinade. Use a pastry brush to brush a little melted butter on to each piece of chicken.

3 Bake for a total of 50 to 55 minutes, until the skins are crispy brown, and the chicken is cooked through, juices running clear (breasts have an internal temperature of 165°F and thighs 175°F). Half-way through the baking, at about the 25 minute mark, baste the chicken pieces generously with reserved marinade.

Depending on the size of the breasts, they may be ready before the thighs, so if you are cooking a mix of chicken parts, keep that in mind, you may have to take them out of the oven before the thighs.

Let rest, covered in foil, for 10 minutes before serving.

4 Pour the juices from the pan into a serving bowl. Use a tablespoon to skim the fat off the top (save the fat for cooking with later, or discard, but do not discard down the drain or it will solidify and clog your drain). Serve the chicken with the juices on the side or a little poured over the top of the chicken.

Serves 4. Serve alone or with steamed rice

le diner ce soir, pas le dejeuner

c'est ce que:

except i'm not sure that makes sense....

a boyfriend at the digital media exit show on friday brought pita he's baked. so good, i've been having pita for breakfast and lunch and dinner. mostly with cream cheese and marmalade after toasted.

i had to go to lowes and so i thought: wow, a greek lamb sandwich from athens, right next to lowes.

then i remembered the stack of pita in the fridge.

this ensued:

warm pita, split and spread liberally with tzaziki (greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, grated cucumber, s+p), stuffed with

some arugula
some garbanzo beans (i was wishing for falafel, this was okay as a sub)
chopped sweet onion (just a little)
some fat free feta
some more tzaziki on top

deliciouso!or however one says it in greek

and after ncsi, i plan to prepare the aforeposted chicken dish. cause i got the thick slab of prosciutto and some chicken at publix.

so eat! opa!

Cornish Game Hens Canzanese

I'm trying this when I get the chicken.

I made the baked pasta several posts ago twice and it was great.

The orzo pasta (last post) became part of a dish later when i had a hankering for jambalaya after work. Olive oil with onion, green pepper, garlic, celery, fresh tomatoe. creole seasoning. halved and sliced chicken sundried tomato sausage, white wine, pasta. add peeled shrimp. lots of lemon. some hot sauce. this was good.

2008: Cornish Game Hens Canzanese

By Zak Pelaccio, chef and owner of Fatty Crab

For the hens:

2 Cornish hens (1 ¾ pounds each), quartered

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ pound thinly sliced lardo, pancetta or prosciutto, diced

5 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

3 sprigs rosemary

3 dried red chilis, broken

1 cup white wine

½ stick butter, cubed and kept cold

For the salad:

1 ½ ounces thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, cut into thin strips

½ pound arugula

1/3 cup fresh currants

Extra-virgin olive oil

Fleur de sel.

Season the hens with salt and pepper. Spead the lardo in the base of a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 2 of the garlic cloves, and cook, rendering the fat, until the lardo just begins to brown. Discard the garlic.

Increase heat to medium-high and add the hens, skin side down. Cook until skin is golden. Add 2 of the rosemary sprigs, the chilies and the remaining garlic. Turn the hens and add ¾ cup of wine. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes. Remove the breast pieces and let the legs simmer for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the salad: combine the prosciutto, arugula and currants in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss to mix. Season with fleur de sel, and add more olive oil, if needed.

Remove the lid from the skillet and discard the rosemary. Return the breasts, skin side up to the skillet and pour in the remaining wine. Boil down the juices and baste the hen parts for 1 minute. Pull the pan off the heat, add the butter and swirl to incorporate it.

To serve, sprinkle the hens with rosemary leaves from the remaining sprig, spoon over a little sauce and accompany each piece with some salad. Serves 4.