gift this: best ever nut brittle

Like a lot of people, I'm going to try and cut back on Christmas gift spending this year. One of the best ways to show people you love them without spending a fortune is to cook treats for them (you know, you don't really love someone unless you fatten them up a little - one more proof point that I'm of Italian descent). My dad used to bring home the best nut brittle about a week before Christmas, from some vendor who gave out tins of it to all their clients. This stuff was like eating a heath bar - if you hadn't seen food in a week. I'll work on a chocolate-sided version next time, but for now, my research led me to this recipe by Tina Ujlaki (adapted from famous pastry chef Karen DeMasco). I adapted it further by trying a combination of almonds and pine nuts. I knew it was a winner when my dad said he'd gladly eat 2 pounds of it in one sitting.

Grocery list: 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 12 ounces nuts (slivered almonds and pine nuts were my choice, but you could use roasted salted cashews, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, or any combination), sea salt.



Mix the sugar, butter, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.



Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At first, it will be very light colored, but as the heat rises it will start to turn caramel-y. Using a candy thermometer is absolutely critical, because if you don't boil the caramel long enough (i.e. get it up to 300 degrees exactly), it will be chewy when it cools instead of snapping apart into pieces.



When it is finally 300 degrees (the original recipe said to boil for 10 minutes, but I think it took me at least 15 minutes to get the caramel to 300 degrees), turn off the heat and quickly stir in the 1/2 tsp baking soda.



Carefully stir in the baking soda; it will bubble for a few seconds.



I finally got to use my new kitchen scale - measure out 12 ounces of some combination of nuts.



Stir the nuts into the caramel mixture.



Spread the brittle onto a large rimmed nonstick baking sheet. This takes some muscle, since the mixture is thick and cooling quickly. Once it's evenly distributed, sprinkle sea salt over the top. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes, then break into big pieces. The original recipe notes that this brittle can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month - although I can't imagine this lasting for longer than 3 days once you've tasted a bite.

chicken pot pie

It would be really unfair to judge this chicken pot pie by the photos. Here's what happened: I saw some great pictures of a chicken pot pie in Bon Appetit, then did some research in my New Best Recipe book. I made a sort of hybrid of both recipes, a full batch - but split it into 2 smaller baking dishes, and froze one of them. All the photos were from prepping them in the original batch, but then the first one was so delicious and I was so starving that I just forgot completely to take a final picture. So a couple weeks later, I bake the second one (great to have a backup for the photo-op, so I thought), and while it was just as delicious, something weird happened with the inside bubbling up over the crust, so it was ugly as sin. Anyway, that's why you shouldn't judge. Try this, okay? It's amazing.

Grocery list: (topping) 1.5 cups AP flour, 4 T shortening, 8 T butter, 3-4 T ice water; (filling) 1.5 pounds chicken, 1.5 c chicken broth, 1 onion, 3 carrots, 1 celery ribs, 4 T butter, 1/2 flour, 1.5 c milk, thyme, 1 cup chopped mushrooms, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup white wine, 3/4 frozen peas (thawed), fresh parsley.



Start by making the crust in a food processor. Note - the butter and shortening should be really cold, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, before putting into the processor. Mix the flour and a pinch of salt in the processor, then cut the shortening in with short pulses. Then add the butter and keep pulsing until it has a cornmeal consistency, and dump everything into a bowl.



Mash 3 T of ice water into the crust with a spatula (add another T if it doesn't stick together).



For a ball and flatten into a disk; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll it out on a floured surface until it's a little bigger than the size of your baking dish.



You can make your own chicken broth by poaching the chicken in water over a slow boil (throw in salt, peppercorns, garlic cloves, some thyme, some extra chunks of celery or carrot if you have them) for about 20 minutes. Set aside 1.5 cups of the broth and shred the chicken. Prep all the vegetables by chopping into small 1/4 inch pieces.



In a large dutch oven, saute the carrots, onions and celery (I added mushrooms too) in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.



Add a few sprigs of chopped thyme. Then, stir in the white wine, and season well with salt and pepper.



Stir in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. It should reduce down by about half within 5 minutes.



Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave, then stir in 1/2 cup flour to make a paste. This will help thicken the filling.



Stir in the heavy cream and bring back to a simmer, then stir in the chicken pieces. Mix in the flour/butter mixture one spoonful at a time, stirring well, so the filling thickens.



Pour the filling into 1 or 2 baking dishes, then cut your crust to cover it. Poke a few holes through the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling (or in my case, till the filling bubbles all the way over and looks terrible but still tastes delicious).

peach & blackberry cobbler

This isn't my Gramma's recipe, but I still think she'd approve of this well-researched version from The New Best Recipe cookbook. The biscuit topping is made with yogurt, which I've never tried before. This gives it a chewy texture, less crumbly and, well, biscuit-y, than I'm used to. I love mixing in a handful of blackberries to keep the peaches from being too sweet.

Grocery list: (filling) 2.5 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 T fresh lemon juice. If you're going to use blackberries, you don't need quite as many peaches - I used 5-6 peaches and a quart of berries. (biscuit topping) 1 cup AP flour, 3 T + 1 tsp sugar, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 5 T cold unsalted butter (cubed), 1/3 c plain whole milk yogurt.



Start by prepping the peaches and berries and transferring to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and let stand 30 minutes, stirring several times.



Drain the peaches and berries in a colander over a bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup of drained juice w/cornstarch, lemon juice, and pinch of salt. Toss the peaches and berries with the juice mixture and pour into 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake about 10 minutes at 425 degrees (till peaches bubble at the edges).



While the filling is baking, make the topping by first pulsing the flour, 3 T of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a food processor. Add butter cubes and pulse until it has the consistency of coarse meal.



Pour into a bowl and stir in yogurt with a spatula just until it holds together (careful not to overmix). Even though the recipe called for plain whole milk yogurt, I had some vanilla I needed to get rid of and didn't have any problems.



Pull the peaches out of the oven, break the dough into 6 equal sized mounds, and place evenly apart over the filling so they aren't touching each other. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp sugar, then bake at 425 degrees until topping is brown, 16-18 minutes.



Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, until it's just warm.

best fried chicken in the universe

The September 2008 Bon Appetit is shaping up to be the best cookbook I've ever purchased - what is this, my 6th recipe from that issue, and counting? They featured Thomas Keller's recipe for fried chicken, and the pictures of all these kids eating drumsticks had me thinking, I've got to try this. So I cross-referenced with my trusted resource, New Best Recipes, but for the most part followed Keller's recipe (scaled down to about 1/3 of the original - which called for 3 chickens!). Just like the rosemary garlic roast chicken I've blogged before, brining is the key. This is by far the BEST FRIED CHICKEN I have ever tasted.

Grocery list: (for the brine) 1/3 cup kosher salt, 3 T honey, 6 bay leaves, 10 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1 T whole peppercorns, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 thyme sprigs, 3 parsley sprigs, zest & juice of 2 lemons, 1 3-pound chicken (or 3 pounds of chicken parts like thighs and drumsticks); (for frying) 2 cups AP flour, 2 T garlic powder, 2 T onion powder, 1.5 tsp paprika, 1.5 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 1.5 T kosher salt, 2 c buttermilk, 4 cups peanut oil.



You have to start this recipe either the night before or early the morning of - in the 12-24 hours before dinner window. Put all the brining ingredients in a large bowl with 8 cups very hot tap water, and stir to dissolve the salt. Chill until the brine is cool or room temperature.



Rinse the chicken parts and submerge them in the brine. Cover with saran wrap and chill for at least 12 hours, and no more than 24 hours. About 2-3 hours before you start cooking dinner, drain the chicken and pat the pieces dry, removing any bits of herbs that stick to the skin.



Next, set up your assembly line. You'll need 1-2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Mix all the dry ingredients for the coating in a bowl (flour + spices), and put the buttermilk in a bowl next to it.



Dip a piece of chicken in the flour mixture first, then in the buttermilk, then back in the flour mixture again. You want a pretty thick coat - don't shake off the excess - because some will fall off anyway during the drying process. Place the coated chicken pieces on the lined baking sheets and let stand to dry. The Keller recipe says they can dry at room temperature for 1-2 hours, but the New Best Recipe says to refrigerate them for a couple hours (your own comfort level with room temperature poultry is the determining factor I guess).



In a heavy skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat until it registers 320-330 degrees. The oil should be at least 1.5 inches deep. Add 4-6 pieces of chicken at a time, carefully lowering each piece into the hot oil with a slotted or wooden spoon. It's also safe to keep a splatter screen in the other hand, shielding you from the pan just in case. Fry for 7 minutes, then carefully turn each piece over and cook for another 6-7 minutes.



Transfer the chicken pieces to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with more kosher salt. The New Best Recipe gives a helpful tip for placing the first batches of chicken in a warm oven on a cookie drying rack over a baking pan, so they stay warm and crispy (instead of on paper towels, where the crust can get soggy and stick to the paper towels).

homemade everything: my gramma's influence

I just returned from a weekend at my grandparents' house in rural North Carolina - a sprawling farm on the Pee-Dee River we call "Neal's Hill". Just the other night a co-worker's wife was asking me how I came to love food and cooking so much... If I had to pick any single influence, I'd say my Gramma. Although I don't cook mainly southern food, I appreciate the process of making things from scratch, and from the freshest possible ingredients, because of her. When I was young, I'd spend at least a week each summer down on Neal's Hill, and Gramma and I would go out and pick apples, peaches or blueberries and bake cobblers or pies. When Gramma pulled out her old church cookbook this past weekend, I was so excited - what pie was she going to make this time??



It turns out she made this delicious blueberry "pot pie" - kind of custardy when baked. I can't describe how good fresh berries from her garden taste.



Gramma slices up these fresh tomatoes she grows into thick pieces for...



...cucumber sandwiches! I'm not sure if this is a Southern thing, or just a Gramma thing, but she makes these cucumber and tomato sandwiches with slices of cheddar cheese and some mayo, salt and pepper - juicy and crunchy and the *perfect* lunch for a hot summer day.



My gramma grows and cans her own green beans. I took it for granted growing up that this would always be available - it wasn't until I went off to college and realized that most people only had canned vegetables.



My gramma is so multi-talented - she's really gotten into throwing her own pottery the last couple of years. My mom and sister always go straight to her new pieces when we walk in the door to see what all she's been working on (and inevitably try to convince my Gramma how deserving we are of some new bowl or platter). The coolest pieces in my kitchen are these homemade pottery dishes my Gramma made. This past trip I scored a new serving bowl, and a small lidded casserole dish. You'll definitely see these featured on the blog in the future...



And how cute is this little card my Gramma started putting in her new pieces? Her work is now being commissioned by local churchgoers and friends, and now she's got some pieces on display at the local art center. I had such a great time when I visited, as always, and I'm already wondering when I can head back...

old school apple pie

When I was growing up, one of my favorite things *ever* was spending time with my grandparents, who live on the Pee Dee River in rural North Carolina. They grew (and still do, although less volume) every fresh vegetable imaginable, and had all kinds of fruit trees right by the house - figs, peaches, pears, apples, etc. My Gramma and I would bake all kinds of cobblers and pies, which, looking back on it, probably planted the seed for my love of cooking. These days it's fun to impress A and his family (all from Pittsburgh) with recipes that aren't so common outside of the southeast -- recipes taught to me by my Gramma. One of A's favorites is this apple pie.

Grocery list: shortening, flour, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, golden delicious apples (6 cups sliced -- about 5-7 apples depending on size).



The most authentic southern pie crust is simple, although it pains me every time I have to purchase shortening (crisco - yes, really). Cut up 3/4 cup of shortening into little pieces in a bowl, then add 2 cups of flour and 1 tsp salt.



Mix with a fork until the consistency is that of little clumps of dough. Add 1 T of ice water at a time, working with your hands, until you can form the dough into a ball (usually about 3-4 T of water). Knead until smooth, then split into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.



Next, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and make the filling. Peel and slice the apples to make 6 cups. Add 3/4 c brown sugar, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup flour, plus 1-2 T of cinnamon. Pour 2 T of melted butter over the mixture. Work the apple slices with your hands until they are coated with the filling.



To finish the crust, roll out the ball of dough on a floured surface until it's 2 inches wider than your pie pan on all sides. Place the dough into the pie pan and add the filling.



Roll out the top crust till it matches the shape/size of the pan, then transfer carefully to cover the pie. Work the bottom and top edges together, pressing around the perimeter of the pan.



Cut slits into the top so steam can escape; pat a few teaspoons of butter on the top and sprinkle with sugar. Bake covered with foil for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.



Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

old school mac-n-cheese

My mom used to make macaroni and cheese with hot dogs when we were kids, so it's a true comfort food for me. the hot dogs are definitely optional, but if i want a grown-up mac-n-cheese dish i usually take an entirely different approach. Grocery list: hot dogs, pasta (elbow or penne), milk, cheddar cheese, butter.

Start by boiling the noodles (2 cups elbow noodles, more if you're using a bigger pasta like penne or ditali). Slice 4 hot dogs and spread in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pyrex dish. I just discovered this brand called Maverick Ranch, and their hot dogs are all beef, no hormones or antibiotics or preservatives -- and they taste SO much better than the cheaper kinds. Cook the noodles till they are al dente, or even 1 minute shorter than al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Grate about 4 cups of cheddar cheese. Reserve a handful or 2 for sprinkling on top, and the rest will go into the cheese sauce. To make the sauce, melt 4 T butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in 4 T flour, and a dash of ground white pepper and ground mustard. Stir as a paste for about a minute, then slowly start adding milk a little at a time, continuing to stir. You'll eventually add 2-3 cups milk. Bring the white sauce almost to a boil, then add in the cheddar, and season with salt and pepper. When the cheese is melted, remove from the heat.



Layer the noodles over the hot dogs, then pour the sauce over. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees, until bubbly and the cheese starts to brown on top.