Corn bread muffins

My husband loves it when I make very simple dinners. That's great, but sometimes I really WANT to spend 6 hours in the kitchen preparing an elaborate feast. We compromise by having more traditional basics on the week days and more intricately-crafted dinners on weekends (when I'm not too exhausted from marathon training runs).
On election night I knew I would be glued to the TV for most of the night, so I threw a chicken in the oven, tossed together some coleslaw, and whipped up these beautiful cornbread muffins. So simple, and yet extremely satisfying. The recipe comes from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, a favorite resource for all things baking-related.
My favorite thing about them is the real corn kernels peppered throughout, with their surprising burst of flavor and juiciness in every bite!

(adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 cup fresh or frozen(thawed) corn
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce

Preaheat oven to 400F.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the egg, milk, oil, applesauce and corn. Beat well to blend.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just enough to blend. Do not beat.
Fill the muffing tins, and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool pan on a rack for a few minutes, then turn muffins out onto a rack and finish cooling.
Makes 12 muffins.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are perfect for the days that are getting shorter, when Thanksgiving is not too far off.  A little break from pumpkin, but still festive.  Of course I would also make them throughout the year, but cranberry is reminiscent of the holiday season.  

Cranberry and white chocolate contrast each other so perfectly - white chocolate is smooth and sweet, while dried cranberries are chewy and more tart.  Put them together in an oatmeal cookie and you have yourself one enjoyable cookie!

(adapted from RecipeZaar)

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with silpats

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

Stir in oats, flour mixture, white chocolate, and cranberries and mix until combined.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, until just beginning to get a little color.

Steamed Pork Buns (Bao)

They may not look like much from the outside, but these soft buns filled with smoky-sweet barbecued pork are one of my favorite foods.  I fell in love with them in Singapore 12 years ago and have been a huge fan ever since.

When we go to dim sum, I always eat far too many of these, and I'm so happy I now know how to make them at home!  

(adapted from The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo)

Sauce:

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp ketchup

2 tsp sugar

pinch white pepper

2 tsp corn starch

1/4 cup chicken stock

Filling:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup diced onion

3/4 cup char siu pork, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 tsp Chinese rice wine

1/2 tsp sesame oil

dough:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

6 tbsp milk

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine sauce ingredients and mix well.  Set aside.

To make the filling: heat the vegetable oil on high in a large saucepan and spread to coat the pan thinly.  Add the onion, lower heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is light brown.  Add the pork and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add the rice wine and mix well.  Stir the sauce, pour into the pan, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.  Remove from heat, and stir in sesame oil.  Set aside, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until needed.

To make the dough: Mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar together in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the center, and add milk and water.  Stir until liquid is absorbed, then add the oil.

Knead for about 15 minutes, adding a little water if too dry or flour if too wet.  

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for one hour.

To assemble:  Roll the dough into a cylinder about 12" long and cut into 12 equal pieces.  Keeping the unused dough covered with a damp cloth, work with one piece at a time.  Flatten slightly, spoon about 1 1/2 tbsp into the middle, and pinch the dough together to enclose the filling.  Set onto a small square of wax paper, and repeat with remaining dough.

Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil.  Place a bamboo steamer on top and arrange the buns so they have room to expand (leave at least 1 1/2" between them).  Steam for 15-20 minutes, then turn off the heat, and serve.

Char Siu Pork

Char siu pork was like an exciting new taste discovery to me when I was just beginning to cook.  I needed some for a recipe, so we went to the Asian grocery store and bought some.  I was intrigued by the appearance of the bright red meat, and also by the sweet, smoky flavor.  I continued buying Char siu to use in recipes until this weekend.  I discovered that my favorite Chinese cookbook had a recipe, and it didn't look too difficult.  

I bought the wrong kind of pork (butt instead of loin), sliced it much more thinly than usual, and it was still absolutely wonderful.  I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to store bought!

(adapted from The Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo)

About 2 pounds of pork butt or pork loin

4 tsp soy sauce

1/3 cup honey

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp Chinese rice wine

4 tsp hoisin sauce

1/8 tsp ground white pepper

Cut the pork into slices about 1/2" to 1" thick.

Prick all over both sides with a fork.

Line a roasting pan with foil.  Place the pork in a single layer in the bottom of the pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients and pour over the meat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate 2 to 4 hours.

Heat the oven to 450 F.  Place the roasting pan on a rack in the middle and roast for about 25 minutes.  Turn the meat over and baste every 5 to 6 minutes.  If the sauce dries out, add some boiling water to the pan.  Some of the sauce may burn in the pan, but the meat should be fine.  Check for doneness by removing one piece of pork and slicing in the middle to see if it is cooked through.

Remove from the pan to cool.

Strawberry Jam Swiss Roll

My first rolled cake!

This is so easy and so pretty I'm not sure why I don't make it more often.  A simple vanilla chiffon cake spread with strawberry jam, rolled up, and dusted with powdered sugar.  It looks nice and elegant, but won't take hours of your time.  Next time I'll make an impressive filling, but today this was just right!

(from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup jam of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a 17 1/2 by 12 1/2 inch jelly roll pan with parchment and spray well with nonstick spray.

Sift together 1 cup of sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda onto a pice of waxed paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the yolks, oil, water, and vanilla.  Whisk in the dry ingredients gradually and set aside.

Beat the 6 egg whites with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer on medium until very soft peaks form.  Gradually add the sugar, and turn up to high.  Beat until the peaks are stiff and shiny.

Fold about a third of the whipped whites into the yolk mixture, then transfer all the batter into the whites and fold thoroughly (but gently).

Pour into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake for about 12 minutes, or until it pulls away from the sides and is just turning golden.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.

When cool, dust the cake with powdered sugar, cover with wax paper, and put the back of a sheet pan on top.  Flip over, and remove the parchment from the cake.  Then invert the jelly roll pan on the cake and flip over again, so the cake is on the inverted jelly roll pan with wax paper on the bottom.

Trim the edges, and turn the cake so that a long side is facing you.

Spread with jam and roll up, using the wax paper to help.  Lift the cake by the paper and place on a tray. Chill for about 30 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Maple Bacon Ice Cream

When I first saw candied bacon ice cream, I knew I had to try it. However, reading over the recipe, it seemed like it was missing something. Like maple flavor! I always love it when I have pancakes and bacon on the same plat, and the bacon gets coated with maple syrup.
So, I candied some bacon the way David Lebovitz instructs, then I mixed up some maple ice cream. Mix them together and what do you get? A surprisingly tasty ice cream!
As a side note - I didn't cut the bacon up into small enough pieces, so some of them were a little chewy in the ice cream. I also think I could have left the bacon in the oven just a little longer to make it more crisp, but I was paranoid about the sugar burning.

For the bacon, go here
For the ice cream:
2 eggs
3 tbsp sugar
2 cups half and half
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
pinch salt

Bring the half and half and maple syrup to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl.
Whisking constantly, pour about half the heated half and half mixture into the eggs, then transfer everything back into the saucepan. Add a pinch of salt.
Continue whisking as you cook the mixture over medium-low. Remove from heat when it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Chill in the refrigerator, or set in an ice bath and cool, stirring occasionally. Once cool, transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions.
Just before you are ready to stop the ice cream maker, mix in the bacon.
Transfer the ice cream to a container and put in the freezer to chill completely.

NOTE: After a night in the freezer, the bacon flavor kind of overwhelmed the maple...so I will try only 2 or 3 pieces of bacon, chopped fine, in my next batch.

Chapatis

I make Indian food probably once a week, and I'll usually whip up a batch of these chapatis to go along with it.  Another recipe from the brilliant Neela Paniz, they are easy to make and work really well for scooping up dal and other Indian dishes.  You'll need to find atta flour (also marked Chapati Flour)... which may require either a search online or a trip to your nearest Indian grocery store. I always choose the latter, and when we are in the Bay Area, I cannot leave without stopping by an Indian grocery store to pick up dal or flour or whole spices like fenugreek seeds or cardamom pods.

But about the chapati... it's excellent!

(from Bombay Cafe)

2 cups atta flour

3/4 to 1 cup warm water

ghee (optional)

Mix the atta flour and 3/4 cups warm water until you have a uniform dough that is not sticky.

Knead for about 15 minutes, adding water as necessary, until the dough is soft and elastic.

Cover with a damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes.

To shape the breads, sprinkle your work surface with flour.

Break off a one inch chunk of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand.  

On the floured surface, roll the dough out to a flat circle about 5-6" in diameter.

Heat a skillet over medium.

Place the chapati in the pan and turn it when you see small bubbles on the surface, about 1 minute.

Cook the other side for about 30 seconds.

With tongs, remove the chapati from the pan and place over an open gas flame for about 15 seconds, or until it puffs up.  Then do the same on the other side.

Remove from the flame, brush with some ghee if you like, and set aside while you repeat the process with the remaining dough.