Everyday Dorie: Caramel-Pear and Five-Spice Upside-Down Cake
October 28, 2022 at 3:40 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, everyday dorie, groups, simple cakes, sweet things | 5 CommentsTags: cake, everyday dorie
I do appreciate a good upside-down cake, and have made several here, using all different kinds of fruit. The bulk of them Dorie’s, of course, since this blog has for many years been basically a DG stan account (I think I used that term correctly). This Caramel-Pear and Five-Spice Upside-Down Cake uses a technique I don’t remember doing before with any of them– making the batter in the food processor– and it worked brilliantly!
Everything about this was good, from the soft texture of the blitzed cake, to the caramelized pear topping (no sticking!), to the flavorings. I did make a citrus switch. As I didn’t have a lemon, I used orange instead, which I think of as a natural partner to five-spice anyway. I made half a recipe of the cake and baked it my 7″ cake pan, which had space for a nice pinwheel of pears on top.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our cakes this week.
Everyday Dorie: Marinated and Pan-Seared Chicken Cutlets
October 14, 2022 at 10:21 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, snacks | 5 CommentsTags: dip, everyday dorie, savory
The title of this recipe is actually, “Marinated and Pan-Seared Hanger, Skirt, Flank or Take-Your-Pick Steak.” I don’t eat red meat, so my pick was going to be taking a pass on this recipe. Then I noticed Dorie made a little note about the marinade also being good for chicken cutlets, and I felt like I couldn’t take the week off after all. The marinade is Asian-inspired with curry paste, soy, ginger, lime, garlic and cilantro (it would probably be good with pork or shrimp, too…maybe she should rename it, “Marinated Take-Your-Pick Meat”). I used thin-sliced chicken breasts and marinated them for a few hours. They cooked super quickly in my cast iron pan, so this actually wound up being an easy, fast and flavorful weekday dinner that I’m glad I didn’t skip out on.
The night I made these cutlets, we had them over rice with some green beans. There were a couple of cutlets left over, so I saved them to turn into chicken sandwiches for work-at-home lunch day (on the excellent Daily Bread from Baking with Dorie).
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
Everyday Dorie: Peach Flognarde
September 9, 2022 at 12:09 am | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, everyday dorie, groups, muffins/quick breads, pudding/mousse, simple cakes, sweet things | 6 CommentsTags: custard, everyday dorie
If you’re wondering what a flognarde, join the club. Well, I do know what one is, but only because I just made one. Flognarde is what you call the classic French country dessert clafoutis when it’s made with fruit other than cherries. Here I did a spin on Dorie’s recipe with plums and made a Peach Flognarde.
To make this, a simple crêpe-like batter is poured over sliced fruit. As the batter bakes, it soufflés around the fruit and, as it cools, it settles into something that’s more like a sliceable custard. This one baked really beautifully, truly custardy inside and not rubbery, and I love the edging. I swapped the spices in the recipe for a splash of almond extract and the cognac for a glug of Combier, both of which I thought would pair well with the peaches. Now I want to try this out with all the fruits!
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our cakes this week.
Everyday Dorie: Butter-Poached Corn with Egg Noodles
August 26, 2022 at 9:40 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, pasta, savory things | 4 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, pasta, savory
Butter-Poached Corn with Egg Noodles sounds a bit like something off the children’s menu, but I’m down for buttery carb-on-carb action and I like to try corn all the ways this time of year. This is actually a really tasty summer dinner, and it can be a really quick one, too, since fresh corn kernels and egg noodles take little time to cook. I did turn this into a bit of a project by making my own noodles, but store-bought fresh pasta would be great here. I broke out the “fancy” salted butter I usually save for toast to poach the corn and slick up this dish. I’m tempted to make this again and let a handful of cherry tomatoes burst in the butter bath along with the corn.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.
Everyday Dorie: Shrimp-Mousse Squash Blossoms
August 12, 2022 at 10:05 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, snacks, veggies | 6 CommentsTags: everyday dorie
This time of year, zucchini abounds at my farmers’ market, and thankfully, a couple of farm stalls sell the blossoms, too. I buy them frequently in the summer; usually for Mexican recipes, like soups or quesadillas with flor de calabaza. I also do love me an Italian-style cheese-stuffed squash blossom, although I usually only order them out because I don’t love me a pot filled with fryer oil. That said, I have, a few times, made those cheesy ones myself so I was game to try these Shrimp-Mousse Squash Blossoms.
These zucchini flowers are stuffed with a chunky “mousse” of chopped shrimp and herbs and spices bound with egg white. The stuffed blossoms get dunked in a tempura batter and fried up. I only made six and didn’t use nearly the amount of oil Dorie calls for, but instead did a true shallow fry…one side and then the other. They did wind up super crisp and the filling reminded me of what’s probably my favorite fried shrimpy treat– shrimp toast. I’ll have to give that a try next!
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
Everyday Dorie: Basta Pasta Potato Salad
July 23, 2022 at 9:49 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, pickles, salads, savory things, veggies | 2 CommentsTags: everyday dorie, salad, savory
This Basta Pasta Potato Salad really threw me for a loop. I judged a recipe by its name and not its actual ingredient list and was thoroughly convinced it was a pasta and potato salad. Sounds unusual, but mash-ups are all the rage, and I’m down for some carb-on-carb action. I saved aside a small portion of a twisty little dried pasta shape that I thought would look cute in photos just for this. Imagine my surprise when I finally set out to make the salad and there was no pasta to be found in the recipe.
What this recipe (based on a potato salad Dorie had at a restaurant called Basta Pasta– mystery of the missing pasta solved!) does have are typical pot sally mix-ins like mayo, scallions, capers and pickles, as well as some not-so-typical ones like saffron, wasabi, OJ and cukes. Dorie wouldn’t lead us too far down a crazy path, though, and it all works together nicely. It’s kind of what you’re used to, but with a twist, and sometimes it feels good to keep things interesting.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
Everyday Dorie: Cornmeal-Buttermilk Skillet Cake
July 8, 2022 at 3:29 pm | Posted in breakfast things, cakes & tortes, everyday dorie, groups, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things | 3 CommentsTags: cake, everyday dorie
This Cornmeal-Buttermilk Skillet Cake with Strawberries is one I actually whipped up a couple of years ago. With the pandemic in full swing, summer 2020 was all around good times. I, like most you, was cooking with whatever I could get my hands on or had already. Saturdays were my shopping days, masked up at the farmers’ market and wondering what would be left after waiting in block-long socially distanced lines, and then going to the grocery store for the other stuff and finding the shelves half empty. But if you know how to cook, you can make some pretty good stuff in all kinds of different circumstances…you can even have cake.
This was an easy, dump-and-stir type of cake that can be baked off as a loaf or a round (I went with the cast iron skillet option). It’s made similar to cornbread, but a little sweeter. I stirred in some strawberries, but you can use whatever berries you have, or none at all. Maybe I should make it again this summer, while the blackberries are around and more readily available.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our cakes this week.
Everyday Dorie: Mostly Rhubarb Tart
June 24, 2022 at 2:05 pm | Posted in everyday dorie, general pastry, groups, pies & tarts, sweet things | 7 CommentsTags: everyday dorie
Mostly Rhubarb Tart is just what the name says…a tart that’s mostly rhubarb, but with a little extra stuff, too. Macerated rhubarb covers the bottom of a par-baked Sweet Tart Dough crust. An easy custard, quickly whisked together but delicately rose-scented, fills in all the gaps. Then some halved strawberries are arranged here-and-there on top. I was pleased to find hot pink stalks of rhubarb at my greenmarket, and by placing the strawberries on top of everything else, they get direct heat and concentrate into deep red jammy pops. Anyway, the whole thing was very pretty and tasted like a spring day.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see all of our tarts this week.
Everyday Dorie: Portuguese-Style Fish and Beans en Papillote
June 10, 2022 at 7:59 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, snacks | 3 CommentsTags: dip, everyday dorie, savory
It’s been a minute since I’ve cooked something en papillote, but gosh, what a good technique to be reminded of with this Portuguese-Style Fish and Beans en Papillote. I don’t really cook fish that often, and usually save it for eating out, but this was an easy and excellent dinner. No stuck-to-the-pan skin or disappointingly shredded up flesh or accidental overcooking happening here. Not even any fishy splatters to clean off the stovetop. Everything– layers of sliced lemon and tomatoes sandwiching garlic-and-paprika-marinated cannellini beans and a similarly-seasoned fish fillet–steams nicely in contained bundle in the oven.
Dorie uses cod in her recipe, but I went with some striped bass from Long Island, because that’s what my fish guy had today and recommended. She also uses thyme and scallions in her bundles, but I swapped those for parsley and garlic scapes. A drizzle of olive oil and white wine helps kickstart the formation of a flavorful broth, which turned out brick red for me, as I used a heavy hand with the paprika in my seasoning….I regret nothing. Tied up in a parchment pouch, it all comes out of the oven perfectly cooked in just 15 minutes, including the jammy and delicious lemon slices, which I’m glad I didn’t just push aside. Technically, this is a complete meal in pouch, but I roasted some broccolini while the oven was on and warmed up a piece of bread, too, to mop up all that yummy broth.
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
Everyday Dorie: Soy-Sauce Eggs and Sticky Rice
May 27, 2022 at 6:20 pm | Posted in cook the book fridays, everyday dorie, groups, other savory, savory things, snacks | 3 CommentsTags: dip, everyday dorie, savory
I think the Soy-Sauce Eggs and Sticky Rice recipe has been nominated for CTBF a few times, but it didn’t survive the final group vote until now. I can understand that a cured egg yolk may not be everyone’s bag, but I thought it sounded like a pretty intriguing technique. I made a special egg-gathering trip to the big greenmarket in Union Square, just to get the freshest I could. The yolks then pickle (I went overnight) in a bath of soy and mirin. Each yolk turns out perfectly seasoned and jammy inside (that color!!), and when stirred through hot sushi rice, coats the grains in a most luxurious way.
Before even reading Dorie’s headnote description of the dish, I looked at the photo and thought, “That’s drinking food,” and cooked up some maitake mushrooms and greens to go with. Turns out, while it’s great with a cold beer for lunch or late-night, I can see it being a good breakfast, too, and apparently even kids love it!
For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see what we all thought.
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