Pro Bono Baker

Apple and Almond Oatmeal Clafoutis

The Kitchn looked at make-ahead breakfasts this past week, and pointed me toward this recipe at Chocolate & Zucchini for Oatmeal Clafoutis.  I never like to eat too soon after waking up on a weekday morning, so having something quick and portable to throw in my bag saves me time and money.  This is a great recipe to make a big batch of on a weekend morning to freeze for the week.  It calls for relatively few ingredients and was in the oven before my coffee had finished brewing.  Next time, I am making a double batch.  

I made a few changes to the recipe.  I'm not a fan of raisins in most baked goods, so I omitted any dried fruit. I also don't peel fresh fruit unless there is a good reason to.  I think the apples with their peel work wonderfully here and look visually pleasing as well. For the nuts, I used about half a cup of sliced almonds.  This recipe accepts modifications and substitutions well and your final product can highlight what you have on hand.  Next time I am going to try adding some frozen berries to the mix. The clafoutis taste great either warm or cold, so these are a great breakfast option even for those without a microwave at work.

Easter Recipes

 

I'll be spending Easter with my family this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park at our beautiful local Opera House with my mother, going for a long run on low-traffic rural roads, meeting the new baby my cousin and his wife recently added to the family, and spending time with my paternal grandparents who just returned from their winter sojourn in California. And all this will take place before Easter Sunday.  

Growing up, Easter was the big holiday that my family hosted.  We are light on culinary traditions, but the house was always full of family and well-hidden Easter baskets. Our numbers have dwindled over the years as people move away or add to their own families.  This year we are having a small group and my mother is hoping no one fusses too much over the food. She has the menu mapped out, but I may still try to sneak one or two of my favorite recipes into the spread. How does one best travel by train with a popover pan?

For those of you planning your holiday table, here are a few recipe ideas that may complement your main course.

Sides

Beet, Arugula and Goat Cheese Crostini

Boozy Fruit Salad

Broccoli and Red Onion Salad

Grape and Almond Salad

Napa Cabbage Salad

Pea and Chive Soup

Breads

Cheddar Gougères

Chive and Sour Cream Waffles

Greek Easter Bread (pictured above)

Popovers

Potato and Cheddar Biscuits

Desserts

Almond and Pear Tart

Clementine Cake

Petrie Family Applesauce Cake

Raspberry Chocolate Torte

Orange-Raspberry Scones

We celebrated Nick's birthday this weekend with a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, a party at home with some friends, and a superb dinner at the Publican. As the weekend rounded out, fresh baked scones seemed like the ideal accompaniment to our snowy Sunday afternoon.

Orange-Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

2 C flour
2 Tbs sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 Tbs baking powder
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 C cold milk or cream
2 Tbs raspberry jam

Method

Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, two tablespoons of sugar, baking powder, orange zest, and salt. Rub in the butter with your hands (or cut in with a pastry cutter if you prefer) until it resembles a coarse meal.

In a second bowl whisk the eggs, milk and jam.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix into a shaggy dough.

Knead gently a few times and separate into 3 balls.  Form each into a 6-inch round (about 1-inch thick) and cut into 4 wedges.  Evenly space the wedges on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a golden brown crust forms.  Serve warm if possible.

Snapshots of Portland

Without taking up too much of your time, I wanted to share a few more photographs from my August trip to Portland.

Matt and Anastasia's rehearsal dinner was held at Mother's Bistro.  This charming restaurant was the perfect venue.  The late afternoon light made the chandeliers sparkle.  I really like this photo of my grandfather, Landon Petrie, and his amused expression. 

Matt and Ana were married at the Hoyt Arboretum.  The weather was perfect.

Oh, how I miss Stumptown Coffee.  Matt and Ana's wedding reception was held at the fabulous Kennedy School, a converted elementary school that now hosts restaurants, bars, a hotel, a movie theater, reception halls and a hot tub.

The Kennedy School is owned by McMenamins, a company that also happens to brew Terminator Stout.  They will make this formidable beer into a heavenly stout-chocolate milkshake.  The next day we met my friend Kenna's beautiful new daughter, Isadora, and ate brunch at the Cup and Saucer Cafe.

We spent one afternoon wandering around Reed College. I found this noble chair in the faculty lounge  The staircase leads to the old chapel in Eliot Hall that is used for small musical acts and author readings.

The blue bridge connects the two sides of campus that are divided by a small river canyon.  The lights that illuminate the bridge at night are blue.  This giant tree sits in the middle of our quad.

I somehow spent many hours in the Reed Pool Hall, without playing much pool. This door with the inspired decoration leads to my old Renn Fayre office, which had a similar decorating scheme.

Laney, my grandmother Schwab's best friend growing up in Chicago, now lives in Portland.  She is a wonderfully sweet, intelligent, and startlingly energetic woman. She was sort of a proxy grandmother to me during my time at Reed, even attending my graduation. Here we are sitting on the steps of Eliot Hall with my parents.

And finally, we made a stop at Otto's Sausage Kitchen, just up the street from my alma mater.  They grill sausages outside and have a delicious deli and beverage section as well.

To Portland, with love.

The Best Granola

About one year ago I made my first batch of homemade granola using the Rancho La Puerta recipe.  The results were good and I gave away small gift bags of it around the holidays. I spent some time trying to modify the recipe to exactly suit my tastes -- but on a recent vacation to the San Juan Islands, I found that the Harrison House Bed and Breakfast had already done the work for me.  They served us the best granola I have ever tasted.

On that first morning I decided that I wasn't leaving without the recipe.  Luckily, this was an easy task thanks to the cookbook they sell, which one of our party purchased.  (They also sell their granola on their website.)

This hearty granola is heavy on the nuts, light on the grain, and has the perfect spice and sweetness.  It won a blue ribbon at the San Juan County Fair.

Harrison House Granola
Adapted from La Cucina Anna Maria

Ingredients

7 C steel cut oats
.5 C brown sugar
.5 C light olive oil
.5 tsp sea salt
.5 C almonds
.5 C pecans
.5 C cashews
.5 C raw pumpkin seeds
.5 C sesame seeds
.5 C flax seed meal
.5 C millet
.5 C oat bran
.5 C unsweetened coconut
.5 C raw sunflower seeds
.75 C honey
1 Tbl vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 300F

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Clumps are OK.

Spread mixture on two large baking sheets, lined with silicone mats.

Bake about 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and let cool on sheets, stirring periodically.  The granola will continue to cook.

Store in airtight containers when cool.

(More photos of San Juan can be found here on my flickr site.)

Matcha Pancakes

From the archives.

There's nothing like a warm pancake on a cold morning.  My father, while he doesn't cook much, has a curious natural talent for breakfast foods.  His pancakes were a common feature on weekend mornings when I was growing up and they always included fresh sliced strawberries and real maple syrup.

I find myself craving warm, butter-fried dough in the winter months. I recently shared my recipe for savory Chive & Sour Cream Waffles with you.  In keeping with this theme, here is my recipe for fluffy Matcha Pancakes.

Matcha Pancakes

Ingredients

1.5 C flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl matcha powder
.25 tsp ground ginger
.25 tsp ground cinnamon
1 C milk
3 eggs
4 Tbl unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus more for greasing the pan)

Method

Whisk or sift together all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
Whisk wet ingredients in another medium sized bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix until the batter just comes together. Do not over mix or your pancakes will be flat and dense.
Let batter sit for at least 15 minutes.

Heat a pan on low-medium heat.  Melt some butter in the pan.  I used my crumpet rings to give these pancakes their uniform shape and height.  If you are doing so, be sure to grease the insides of the crumpet rings as well. (Crumpet rings are also great for cooking uniformly shaped eggs.)
Fill the crumpet rings halfway with batter.
When bubbles begin to form on the tops of the pancakes and the bottoms have nicely browned, flip them.
Cook about one more minute or until golden brown.

I mixed together some vanilla yogurt and a few pinches of matcha powder to make a complimentary topping. A small dusting of matcha powder over the pancake stack makes for a pleasing presentation. Real maple syrup or fresh fruit would also work well.

Banana Muffins

From the archives.

These golden brown muffins owe their airy crumb and glossy exterior to egg whites used in place of full eggs (it also makes them healthier too, but that's not really the point).  Serve them warm with butter or jam for a delicious breakfast or in addition to a brunch menu.

Banana Muffins
Makes about 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 C sugar
4 egg whites
1/2 C butter, softened
2 ripe bananas
1/4 C milk
2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method

Preheat oven to 350F and butter a muffin pan.

In a large bowl mix the butter, sugar and egg whites.

In a second bowl mash the bananas and milk together.

In a third bowl mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda.

Add the one third of the banana mixture to the butter mixture - combining gently.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture - combining gently.  Repeat until all ingredients have been incorporated.  Do not over-mix.

Pour batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake about 40 minutes. 

Baked and Fried Stale Breads (IMBB #25)

IMBB#25 is hosted this month by An Obsession With Food.  Head over to the Is My Blog Burning? website to learn more about this and other food events.  Derrick chose the excellent theme of stale bread.  As a home bread baker and a bread addict, I tend to have a fair amount of the stuff around.  Once in a while a baguette, or more rarely some delectable levain, will end up fairly stale.  Panzanella, pain perdu, croutons, and bread pudding are all excellent and frequent uses, but for this IMBB I chose to mimic a cooking technique that I recently saw a friend in Moscow use. 

I tried both a fried and baked version.

Fried Stale Bread with Pseudo-Coddled Eggs

The moistened bread, coddled eggs, and butter created a lovely creamy texture and taste.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of stale French or Italian style bread (I used D'Amato's Home Style Filone)
1 C hot water
1 tsp salt
4 Tbl butter
4 eggs
1 Tbl shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
1 Tbl grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 Tbl greens or julienned vegetables
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread into 1 inch slices.  Make a small depression in the center of each with your thumb.  Mix the hot water and salt in a bowl and dip each side of the bread slices into the water -- do not soak.  Place on a paper towel to get rid of the excess moisture.

Butter the sides without the depressions liberally and place into a frying pan over medium heat.  Break an egg into the depression of each slice.  The egg will spill over the sides.  Sprinkle on the rosemary. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes.  In the last minute add a bit of each type of cheese to the tops.  The eggs are ready when the whites are opaque.  (You may cook them longer if you prefer more solid whites, though it is best to leave the yolks runny.)  Season to taste, top with greens or vegetables and serve warm.

Stale Bread Baked with Eggs and Tomato Chutney

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of stale French or Italian style bread (I used D'Amato's Home Style Filone)
2 eggs
4 Tbl butter
2 Tbl shredded Cheddar
4 Tbl homemade tomato sauce or tomato chutney.
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350F

Slice the bread into 1 inch sections.  Remove the very center from two of the slices.  Liberally butter one side of the intact slices.  Place buttered side down on a baking sheet, top each with one of the remaining slices, and break an egg into the holes in the top slices.

Bake for about 10 minutes, watching carefully.  When the whites are just set add the cheese and chutney to the tops of each.  Bake a further 3 or 4 minutes until toppings are warmed.  Season to taste.

English Muffins

These English muffins were one of the last yeast breads that I made in our old apartment. I used a recipe from The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters. This is also what I used the last of my sourdough starter on, though I have learned from my readers that I had a plethora of other options.

I used my molds to get the shapes correct and to encourage tall and fluffly muffins. Be careful not to fill the molds too much, or you will get thick and cakey muffins instead of light ones.

Enjoy, of course, toasted and with plenty of butter.

Apple, Banana, and Strawberry French Toast

As you read this post I should be arriving in London to begin our journey. Today, Saturday, my mother made a delicious breakfast of french toast using apple bread that is sold at a coffee shop in Woodstock. She also added some bananas to the egg mixture and topped the stacks with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Mmmm, this was a great meal to have as my last breakfast with them for a while. I will miss my mom and dad.