The Posts I Cook From: 2011

About 20 years ago I had a friend in England who I wrote letters to.  Every time one of us wrote a letter we began with a paragraph apologizing for taking so long to write.  Until one day we decided that was a colossal waste of our time.  We knew that both of us were busy, or just lazy, and there would be lapses in our correspondence, so we could just assume the apology was not necessary, and implied.  I have been busy in the kitchen since I last wrote.  I am also happily writing as I have a new freelance food writing assignment.  I will tell you more about it later, for now I am a little afraid of jinxing it.  So just know I have news to come in the next few months, and I promise some blog posts.

Last year I did an end of year round up of The Posts I Cook From: 2010, in order to declare this a blog tradition here is the one for 2011.  These are the recipes that I pull out my computer to make, where I actually follow my recipe.  The times that I do not wing it in the kitchen.

Red Cabbage Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

This dressing served with shredded red cabbage has become a staple in my house since I first made it last winter.  Not just a recipe I prepare because my CSA gifts me with cabbage and carrots, as I find myself intentionally buying red cabbage to make this salad on a regular basis.  Even Sebastian, my 9 year old, will eat it on occasion.  When he does he never fails to point out that really, he does not like raw cabbage.  I think the more of it he eats, the less he should be making that claim.

Par Boiled Brown Rice

I have referred to this post and the steps for par boiling brown rice on numerous occasions since posting it here.  However for complete truth in posting I found Saveur's perfectly cooked brown rice instructions and my loyalty has now shifted.  However I am including it here because I did cook from this post in 2011, and this was a great way for me to show you this other method.

Sour Cream Spelt Waffles

These are my favorite waffles, they are the easiest to make because the egg whites are not whipped, and  they are rich and delicious.  Ever time I make them Julian gets mad that once again I have not made Sugar Waffles, and then he sits down and eats a whole pile of them.  Many nights when I cannot think of something to make for dinner these waffles end up being served, and nobody complains.  (All right Julian complains, but there is no way I am making a yeast waffle that has to rise for over an hour and is studded with sugar for dinner.

Baked Apple Puff

I don't really cook from this post, Lewis does.  However this is still a family favorite.  Although everyone but Lewis prefers it without the apples, just plain with fresh lemon juice squeezed over the top.  Mornings where Lewis is particularly hungry he makes one plain and one with apples, then he is guaranteed more then his fair share of the apple one.

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are now my go to blueberry muffin recipe.  The ones I make when I pick far to many berries at the U-pick farm, or I just have a craving.  They are balanced and sweet enough with a rich nutty flavor from the browned butter.

Armenian Lamb Sausage Pasta

This will always be my favorite pasta sauce, better then any I have had in a restaurant.  Now I finally have the recipe written down so maybe someone else in my family could make it some time, it is easy enough.

Whole Grain Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Popovers are one of the breakfasts that my children cheer about every time I serve it.  Having the post to cook from means I have all my notes and adjustments easily available.  The amazing thing is how little butter is in them, just enough to grease the tins.

Eggs Benedict With Whole Egg Hollandaise

For the times I really crave eggs benedict this is my go to recipe.  The whole egg hollandaise is just as rich and creamy as the egg yolk only version, but this way I don't have to worry about using up the egg whites (or should I say wasting).

Sour Cherry Raspberry Lime Jam

This is one of my children's top jam flavors of 2011.  One I will be putting up multiple batches of every summer to make them happy.  This recipe also ensures their happy cooperation in mom's sour cherry picking insanity.

Sour Cherry Petit Petit Jam

One person I gave a jar of this jam to said she and her parter almost came to blows over the last spoonful.  Deep, rich, cherry flavor to spread on toast or warm up and drizzle over ice cream or cheesecake.

Baked Tomatoes with Cheese

I love this recipe enough that in the last month I tried to recreate it with frozen tomatoes.  I would not recommend trying them that way.  Instead you should bookmark the recipe for the height of tomato season.

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices

I cannot wait for green tomatoes to appear on my plants so I can make this again!  A use for green tomatoes that is not just because I am desperate to use them up, but instead one I am looking forward to eating.

Steakhouse Style Sear Roasted Strip Steak

Ever since trying this technique for making steak I have not bothered with any others.  In my house we share one small steak for dinner, so this makes the most of it.  Evert time I have made it, no matter how distracted I am, the result is perfect.

Tuscan Cannellini Beans with Sage and Onion

I made this dish again at Thanksgiving and everyone agreed they were a welcome addition.  Okay, my nieces may not have agreed.  But then again my brother made them pasta with nothing on it to eat for dinner that night while everyone else feasted.  So that may be a sign that this dish is full of flavor and satisfying.

Chocolate Marmalade Sandwich Cookies

I made these cookies again as soon as the first batch was eaten.  The second time I used David Lebovitz's chocolate tempering instructions and I was successful.  I also made the cookies by rolling out the dough and cutting them out with a square cutter.  I found this much easier and the cookies were just as good.  I would have taken new photos of them, if they weren't eaten so fast.

Sour Cream Spelt Waffles

For the past few weeks every time I sit down to write a new post I can't think where to start, what words to use, what to say.  I realized part of the problem is my life and mood right now do not match a lovely dinner centered around Deborah Krasner's recipe for Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs.  That chicken recipe won the right to be published here, however for at least a little longer it will have to wait.  This blog is more than the food I feed to my family, it is also about the stories we make every day around the food we eat.  So I am going to post that recipe when the time is right.  When it fits back into the story of my life.

My life is preparing for change in the coming months and for dinner I have been looking for comfort at the table and ease in the kitchen.  I have to admit I also wanted no whining from the short gourmands.  When I say I wanted ease in the kitchen, I really mean I had no interest in making dinner.  But somehow saying, there is nothing for dinner tonight time for bed, never seems to go well.  So the other night I made waffles for dinner.

I know many of you are now questioning my sanity.  You are picturing many bowls, separating the eggs, beating the egg whites and shaking your head as you wonder why I would prepare waffles when I didn't want to cook.  However the beauty of these waffles, besides from how they taste, is they are an easy cheaters way out of the kitchen.  If you mix the wet ingredients in your glass mixing cup they only use one bowl.  I still love my Sour Milk Butternut Squash Waffles but they are much more work and frankly taste better when made by my friend Tavi.

To feel more like I was giving my children a balanced dinner I prepared macerated strawberries to serve with them.  Which is a fancy way to say I took strawberries, sliced them and sprinkled them with sugar; after a few minutes the strawberries release some of their juice and become a perfect waffle topping.  This simple preparation and the end result is most impressive if you tasted the berries I used before macerating.  Usually I stay away from strawberries this time of year.  However I have been shopping at Costco to buy fruit for the preschool food program I am establishing.   I feel like a bad mother buying blueberries, melon, mangoes and kiwi for other peoples children and then going home and telling my children just to eat another storage apple.  So this last week I bought strawberries the size of my head and fed them to my children.  The one I tried tasted like cardboard, although a special variety of cardboard that has less flavor then usual.

These waffles are based on Art Smith's sour cream waffles from Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family.  I found the recipe on 101 cookbooks and have been tweaking the recipe for several years now.  I played with the type of flour, sometimes I sub some of the butter and sour cream for butternut squash puree and I simplified the technique.  When prepared with the butternut squash puree they are even better when frozen and then reheated in the toaster.  The squash puree makes them moister and softer so the final heating crisps them up.  They are a little soft when fresh from the waffle iron made with squash but when served with macerated strawberries nobody at the table will complain.

The first time I used spelt in these waffles it was also in response to dinner time guilt.  I was feeling like if I was going to make waffles for dinner I should try to make them as healthy as possible.  However to my happy surprise everyone prefers them with the addition of spelt flour.  Spelt adds a sweet nutty flavor and a pleasant texture to the waffles.  However if you do not want to buy one more flour, these waffles will still be wonderful made with half white and half whole wheat flour.

Spelt Sour Cream Waffles (or use Greek Yogurt)


1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder (this is  not a typo, it really is one Tablespoon of baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream or Greek Yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter melted

Begin heating your waffle iron as you prepare the waffle batter.  Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Measure the milk in a large glass mixing cup and add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, eggs and extracts to the milk.  Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork or by holding the handle of the whisk between your palms and rubbing your hands back and forth to spin the whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk briefly to start to incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients before adding the melted butter.  Mix the batter until it is all incorporated and smooth.  Do not mix any longer once it is smooth, over mixing can toughen the waffles.

Spray the waffle iron grids with cooking spray and ladle batter into the center of the iron.  A trick I finally figured out not to have waffle batter overflow out of the iron while baking is not to worry about making perfect waffles which are filled all the way to the edges.  If you slightly underfill the waffle grids it won't drip out.   I know this isn't rocket science, and yet for me it really was ground breaking.  If you aren't as gluttonous it may not be an issue.

Cook until the waffles are golden brown to your liking and serve hot, with macerated strawberries, maple syrup or the topping of your choice.




Spelt Butternut Squash Sour Cream Waffles (or use Greek Yogurt)
I doubled the quantities for this recipe because they work so well as frozen toaster waffles for a quick breakfast (or dinner)


1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder (this is  not a typo, it really is two Tablespoon of baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sour cream or Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup butternut squash or pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional)
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter melted

Begin heating your waffle iron as you prepare the waffle batter.  Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Measure the milk in a large glass mixing cup and add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, butternut squash puree, eggs and extracts to the milk.  Whisk the wet ingredients with a fork or by holding the handle of the whisk between your palms and rubbing your hands back and forth to spin the whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk briefly to start to incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients before adding the melted butter.  Mix the batter until it is all incorporated and smooth.  Do not mix any longer once it is smooth, over mixing can toughen the waffles.

Spray the waffle iron grids with cooking spray and ladle batter into the center of the iron.  A trick I finally figured out not to have waffle batter overflow out of the iron while baking is not to worry about making perfect waffles which are filled all the way to the edges.  If you slightly underfill the waffle grids it won't drip out.   I know this isn't rocket science, and yet for me it really was ground breaking.  If you aren't as gluttonous it may not be an issue.

Cook until the waffles are golden brown to your liking and serve hot, with macerated strawberries, maple syrup or the topping of your choice.

To freeze: separate waffles into individual waffles and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen place in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  Toast waffles from frozen to serve.

Liege Sugar Wafles

For the past month Julian and Sebastian have been trying to work out what Julian wanted for breakfast on his birthday. Clearly they really are my children. There was talk about breakfast sandwiches, although that idea was really from Sebastian as Julian takes them apart and complains. They also mentioned french toast and chocolate croissants. Then 3 days before his birthday I made Liege Sugar Waffles and the boys began lobbying to have them for breakfast on Julian's birthday. The recipe calls for Lars Belgium Pearl Sugar but I substituted Lars Swedish Pearl Sugar because I had a package of it gathering dust in my cupboard for over 4 years now.

Both sugars will not melt in the heat of the oven (or waffle iron). The Belgium sugar is larger so the sugar will create pockets of crunchy, caramel sweetness in the waffle. With the Swedish sugar the sweet pockets were smaller and gave more of an overall sweet caramelized flavor to the waffle. That flavor combined with the almost deep fried texture and richness from the cup of butter in the batter was irresistible. So much so that my photo shoot the first time I made the waffles got interrupted by a thieving boy. They were so good, we forgot to save any for Lewis. Okay we remembered, but only after we had eaten all of them.

I made them with Swedish Sugar again this morning as the Belgium Sugar is not available locally. I will look for it the next time we are in New York City. I am sure both will be delicious. To make them for Julian's birthday I mixed up the dough the night before and let it rise slowly in the fridge overnight. This morning we took it out of the fridge and set the bowl in a bowl of warm water to bring it back to room temperature. It worked perfectly and then we delivered our children in their sugar comas to school.

To celebrate Julian's 5th birthday let me share this photo from when he was 2. This photo was taken on vacation in Cape Cod. The extension cord is one he claimed for himself that he found under the bed at the cottage we were staying at. It was his comfort object that week. Some children love dolls, some children love trains or cars, for Julian it has always been electricity. After he fell asleep we would tip toe back into his room and wind up the cord so he would not strangle himself in his sleep. Not letting him have the cord was never a possibility. Instead, as good parents, we bend out prongs and ask people from other countries to send us surge protecters and power cords. At 5 he is still strong willed and still loves cords and wires, and I am just proud that he is still alive. Good luck to his Kindergarten teacher next year, I hope she can keep up with him.

Liege Sugar Waffles

2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 package)

1/3 cup tepid water (105° to 110°)

1 1/2 Tbsp granulated white sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 eggs

1 cup butter melted and slightly cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pearl sugar (either Swedish or Belgium)*

Mix the yeast, water and granulated sugar in a small bowl and let it stand at room temperature until really foamy. This took about 5-7 minutes when I made them. Mix the flour and salt together in the bowl of your stand mixer and make a well in the center of the flour/salt mixture.

Pour proofed yeast into the well and mix with the flat beater blade on medium speed, adding the eggs one at a time. After each egg is well incorporated add the next one. Drizzle the melted butter in slowly while the mixer is still running to give the batter a chance to absorb it. Once the butter is fully incorporated add the vanilla and mix well. The batter should be thick and very sticky when you are done.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and put the cover on it or cover with a plate. If you wish to eat them that day allow to rise at room temperature until the batter has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. If you plan on eating them the next morning put the bowl in the fridge and take the bowl out of the fridge and place in a larger bowl of warm-hot water to allow to come to room temperature, stirring to allow all of the batter to warm up.

Mix in the 1 cup of pearl sugar and allow to rest for 15 more minutes. Preheat your waffle iron while the dough is resting. I used this waffle iron and thought they were the perfect size. Any waffle iron will work though although a belgium waffle iron would be best.

For my waffle iron I used 2 Tbsp of batter per waffle. If you have a regular sized waffle iron experiment with what sized Liege waffles you prefer. Some recipes call for only using a 2 inch ball of dough in the center of the iron. These waffles are very rich and a full sized waffle might be too much. Do not grease the waffle iron before cooking, trust me these are self releasing.

* If you do not want to buy the specialty sugar crush about 60 sugar cubes in a plastic bag using a rolling pin, saucepan or meat mallet. Sift the crushed sugar and measure 1 cup of the large pearl and chunk pieces. This sugar will melt in the waffle iron so the taste will not be exactly the same but there will still be pockets of sweetness.

If you use crushed sugar cubes remember to clean the waffle iron right away while the sugar is still warm as the melted sugar will harden as it cools and be very hard to clean.

Butternut Squash Sour Milk Waffles

Julian turned 4 on Sunday. I try to make birthdays special for my children from the time they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed at night. Special does not mean a pile of presents, they are doing far too well with being materialistic without that. Obviously food is a large part of what I think makes a special day. Breakfast can be hard, we regularly have waffles, pancakes, crepes, homemade scones, french toast... So what would make this breakfast special? First I bought a whole mess of out of season fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, raspberries and blackberries. I think that alone would have done the trick. Both boys fell on the platter of fruit with glee, eating until it was gone.

The other thing I did to make it special was make a new waffle recipe. To be completely honest I have been itching to try this recipe all week. I found it while skimming through Marion Cunningham's Breakfast Book looking for muffin inspiration. This recipe is for sour milk waffles or pancakes but it was the waffle idea that I really wanted to try. This recipe calls for separating eggs, whipping egg whites, etc so it needed to wait until a Sunday, and a slower pace.

I made a few changes to the recipe to suit our tastes and we all loved the results. One of the changes I made was adding some butternut squash puree. Before my CSA I used to add canned pumpkin puree to waffles. They make them moister and if you don't use pumpkin pie spice they even appeal to avowed pumpkin haters (like my husband). You can use either here. The waffles were light and flavorful, a little crispy on the outside with a soft and tender inside. The sour milk added a really mild background tang that was delicious and hard to place. I highly recommend them. The fresh fruit was a really nice complement, as of course was the butter and real maple syrup we poured on top.

While we were eating breakfast there was snow falling outside. My boys tried to order mother nature to stop snowing, shortly after it began to snow harder. Lewis and I told the boys they insulted mother nature. By the afternoon the snow stopped and we went to Shelburne Farms to check out the maple sugaring and visit the animals. The day was warm enough for sugaring (close to 40°) but it was windy and felt cold. Already my body is getting used to warmer temperatures and I cannot handle the cold in the same way. The sap was running, but slowly and we got to pour some in to a collection bucket and really explore the process. Then we went and saw the chickens and the new baby lambs. It was a beautiful visit, one I think the boys will remember for a long time.

This is the farm barn at Shelburne farms in the distance with a maple tree and a sap bucket in the foreground.

Stand of maple trees and sap buckets. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.

Another view of the farm barn at Shelburne farms, this time you can see Sebastian on the left and Julian on the right running of to visit the animals.

The rooster and a chicken coming down the ramp to free range. We are planning on getting some hens this spring so we were all very interested in the chickens. I even picked one up, which was a big step for someone originally from New York City.

This is one of the lambs that is being bottle fed because it's mother abandoned it. Julian was enthralled with how soft they are.

Butternut Squash Sour Milk Pancakes or Waffles

Sour the milk by adding 1 Tbsp white vinegar to every cup of milk, stirring and then letting it stand for 10 minutes. To make butternut squash puree I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and strings and then brush the cut halves with olive oil. I then roast them cut side down at 350°, or whatever temperature I have the oven at for another dish, until the squash is tender and soft. Next I either scoop out the pulp or peel of the skin and puree with an immersion blender (a food processor or regular blender would also work well). I then like to return the puree to the oven to cook off some of the liquid. This usually takes about 15 minutes to half and hour. I freeze any excess in 2/3 cup portions for waffles, and other baked goods.

3 eggs, separated (medium or large)

2 cups sour milk (directions above)

2/3 of a cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached al purpose flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Beat the egg yolks well in a mixing bowl. Mix in the sour milk, squash puree and vanilla extract. Add the sugar, salt and baking soda to the egg yolk and milk mixture and mix well. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and set aside.

Add the flours to the yolk mixture and beat until smooth. Add the melted butter and mix until well blended. gently fold the egg whites in to the batter.

To cook as waffles add batter to a hot greased waffle iron, I used a belgium waffle iron. After adding the batter gently spread it in the waffle iron so it is even.

To make pancakes cook on a hot greased griddle or skillet.