“Award-Winning” Almond Florentines

The revered judges of the annual Washington bureau holiday bake-off have spoken…. and they’ve crowned these almond florentines as king in 2009!  Sources tell me it was the “ooooh” factor that tipped the scale vis a vis some of the formidable competition.  And that reaction is not all that surprising, since these are indeed surprisingly tasty (read: addictive) cookie-candies.

The florentine is not quite a “brittle” or a “bark”:  it’s a thin, carmel-sugary crisp with a hint of chewiness and a light layer of bittersweet chocolate on the outside. It’s virtually all sliced almonds held together by a honey-butter-sugar mixture that gets golden brown when baked for 10 minutes.

Almond Florentines

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup whipping cream

4 cups sliced almonds

1 cup semisweet chocolate

6 foil pans

(1) Preheat the oven to 375. Grease the aluminum pans.

(2) Over medium heat, combine the butter, sugar, honey and cream. Cook until boiling — stirring constantly for 1 1/2 mins at boiling.

(3) Remove from heat and add almonds.  Then, divide the mixture between the 6 pans. The layer should be very, very thin.

(4) Bake at 10-14 minutes until bubbling around the edges and a rich golden brown. Watch closely so as not to burn!

(5) Cool the florentines completely in the pans, even refrigerating or freezing if needed. After 5-10 minutes, pop them out onto wax paper.

(6) Melt the chocolate over low heat and then spread a thin layer atop the florentine discs. Allow chocolate to cool and harden completely.

(7) Slice using a sharp, long knife and serve!

Stuffed “Holiday” Bell Peppers

Bell peppers stuffed with rice, beef and fresh herbs are a nutritious and delicious “classic American” weeknight meal that also make great leftovers.  But don’t interpret “classic” and “nutritious” to mean old school, boring and tasteless. These are packed with flavor and interesting textures.  A half cup of white and wild rice mix is steamed in chicken stock and then combined with a pound of browned, organic beef, onion, garlic, and worcestershire sauce.  Add in an 8 oz can of Italian seasoned tomato sauce and a hearty helping of fresh chopped parsley. Fill up the pepper hulls and top off with some shredded cheese, bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 and voila!

A Cook-Along With Friends

What do you get when you give a bunch of professional journalists sharp knives, a couple bottles of champagne, and instructions to work together to prepare a gourmet meal?  An incredibly lively — and dangerously unpredictable! — dinner party that you’ll never forget. Some of the best times among friends are spent in the kitchen, and this night proved that once again.  Check out this rockin’ menu we compiled and prepared with help from our friends at the DC-based cooking school “Company’s Coming:”

Appetizers: Portuguese Tuna and Beans; Goat Cheese Spread; Sizzling Lemon Shrimp with Garlic; Selection of Grilled Gourmet Sausages

Entree: Flat Iron Steak with Shallot Confit; Rissotto with Red Wine, Pancetta, and Parmesan; Boston Lettuce Salad with Pine Nuts

Dessert: Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberries

Wines: Montelliana, Prosecco, ‘Montello e Colli Asolani’; 2007 La Carraia, ‘Orvieto,’ Classico; 2007 Banfi, ‘Chianti Classico’

And now the winning take-away recipe from the evening….Molten Chocolate Cake!  ( This is not, repeat not, a healthy dessert, but it’s a divine re-creation of a classic steakhouse favorite that I love to order when I’m out.)

Molten Chocolate Cake from Ed and Jinny Fleischman

1 cup butter

8 oz bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs

4 egg yolks (in addition to the 4 whole eggs!)

1/2 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons of flour

(1) Prepare ceramic ramekins or other small baking cups by buttering the inside and dusting with flour.  Repeat twice for each cup – this is key so the cake will pop out.

(2) Melt butter over low heat in saucepan. Add chocolate and stir until just melted.

(3) Beat eggs, yolks and sugar until light and thick. Stir the butter and chocolate together and add in the egg mixture. Quickly beat in the flour.

(4) Divide mixture evenly between ramekins. Either refrigerate for later baking or continue by baking.

(5) Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes at 450 degrees. (Note: the center will not be firm but the sides will be set.)

(6) Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 seconds before flipping out of the mold.

Stoia “Morning Glory” Bread

In the wonderful world of breakfast bread baking, rarely have I strayed so far into unfamiliar territory as the amalgamation of ingredients in this recipe.  Grated zucchini, sweet potato, carrots, banana, nuts, raisins, olive oil…. What on earth was all-star New York Front Runner Chris Stoia thinking when he first folded the entire kitchen garden into a sweet bread batter?!

The result, ladies and gentlemen, is an incredible — and healthy — treat packed with moist, hearty flavor.  Slices of the warm “morning glory” goodness are irresistible!

Chris tells me you can tweak the fruit and veggie ingredients as long as you keep the ratio to around 2 cups.  With the 3 cups of flour, feel free to swap in a cup of oats or flaxseed meal or whole wheat flour.

Stoia “Morning Glory” Bread

2 cups sugar — I used 1 cup white, 1 cup brown sugar in the raw

3 eggs

3/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups grated zucchini, sweet potato, carrot, bananas, etc.

3 cups flour — I used 1 cup flaxseed meal

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup raisins or dried fruit

(1) Cream together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil in a large bowl.  Add grated veggies and fruits.

(2) In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Gradually stir into the wet mixture to create a batter.

(3) Add nuts and dried fruit and combine lightly.

(4) Divide the batter between two greased, floured loaf pans.

(5) Bake at 350 for one hour, or until a knife comes out clean and top is golden brown.

Roasted Turkey With Butter, White Wine, Orange Glaze

Turkey is celebration food. And this weekend I had much to celebrate, including a new kitchen!  Beautiful granite countertops, stainless appliances, a gas range — and a dishwasher! — make this a wonderful place to cook a Thanksgiving meal.  And my 12-pound, free-range turkey from Whole Foods did not disappoint: the meat was flavorful and moist, the skin golden crisp.

I stuffed my bird with two whole lemons, garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, green onion, and parsley.  For beneath the skin, I created a rub of sea salt, cracked pepper, sage, oregano, thyme and garlic.  And in an unusual twist, I took a page out of my mother’s cookbook and covered the bird in cheesecloth soaked in a butter, white wine, orange juice glaze.

The cloth kept the skin infused with flavor as I continued to moisten/baste it every 30 minutes or so. Parts of it did turn dark brown, and I was concerned about it burning, but it didn’t matter.  About 2 hours into the roasting, I removed the cloth and let the skin get crispy. The result was amazing.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding Cake

Strawberry and rhubarb season has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t reminisce about this Peanutbuttermilk favorite combination! This quick and easy dessert (Gourmet, April 2007) is a cross between a cobbler and a cake: The gooey, sweet and tart fruit mixture is topped with a buttery, moist vanilla cake. Scooped up warm and into your bowl, it’s perfect with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Takes about 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake.

Even though the fresh rhubarb is long gone, you can usually find frozen rhubarb in your grocer’s freezer.  Strawberries are the easier ingredient to find (although a bit pricier in the off season), with most produce aisles stocking the fresh, red berries year-round. Fresh or frozen fruit, this cake is a crowd pleaser!

Mom’s Baked Spinach Soufflè

It’s only early November, but I’m already dreaming of mom’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast: baked spinach and cheese soufflè.  This wonderfully delicate, cheesy egg dish is loaded with fresh chopped spinach leaves and sprinkled with coarse cracked black pepper. I love a generous slice — hot out of the oven — with a couple of crispy pieces of toast on the side and a hot, black cup of coffee. Delic!

I made the souffle recently for dinner and it was a fabulous meal and it reheats well. And although it’s not the healthiest recipe out there, it’s loaded with protein!

Baked Spinach and Cheese Soufflè

1 large container of 2% cottage cheese

6 large eggs

1/4 lb butter, cut in small cubes

1/2 lb velveta cheese cut into thumbnail size pieces (can also use cheddar)

1 lb bag spinach cut into ribbons

6 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper

(1) One at a time, mix the eggs with the cottage cheese in a large bowl. Then, add butter and cheese and combine.

(2) Stir in flour — two tablespoons at a time. Add the spinach and coat with cheese mixture.

(3) Pour the mix into a buttered 9×13 pan and bake for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean (325 glass / 350 metal).

*Soufflè can be made ahead of time and refrigerated before baking.

Iced Apple Coffee Cake

I haven’t made it out to pick apples this fall, but I did recently endeavor to do the next best thing: picking apples from among the mounds of varieties in wooden crates that line the tents just outside the Eastern Market on weekends. The apples — Gala, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Fuji – are trucked in directly from the orchards of West Virginia and rural Maryland.

Returning home with a bag full of the fall fruit is then the perfect reason to break out the recipe book and cook up all but a handful to be saved for lunchtime eating. This iced apple coffee cake is great for putting your fresh-peck of tart apples to good use and makes an awesome breakfast sweet to accompany your coffee or tea. It’s moist and semi-tart on the inside with a light, vanilla sugar glaze on top. Vanilla yogurt and cinnamon add a dimension of flavor.

Iced Apple Coffee Cake

For the Cake:
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tart cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons orange juice
1⁄3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

For the vanilla glaze:
3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(1)Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.

(2) Toss the apples with the juice. Then, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Add to the apples and toss to coat. Set aside.

(3)  Combine the butter, yogurt, granulated sugar and vanilla and beat together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

(4) In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions to the creamed mix. Beat well until smooth before gently folding in the apples until evenly distributed.

(5) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

(6) Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, the  milk and the vanilla until smooth and pourable. While the cake is warm, drizzle with the glaze. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

“The Brick” at Market Lunch

If you’re a breakfast fan, the Market Lunch at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill is the place to be on a Saturday or Sunday morning. The food counter, on the north end of the South Hall, is a huge draw; but don’t be intimidated by the long line that snakes around the kitchen’s single long table.  It moves quickly and the pay off is well worth it: the food is fresh, cooked to order, and a real bargain.  And don’t panic that you won’t have a place to sit and enjoy your meal — there’s always space to sit at the counter since workers help facilitate the turnover.  At the top of the menu is one of the most unbelievable breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had (!!):  ”The Brick” — egg, cheese, potato and meat on a toasted portuguese roll.

The thick-cut smoked bacon is crispy and meaty, earning two thumbs up. But the ham, sausage, turkey sausage and scrapple all appeared to be equally compelling choices.  The grilled new potatoes have slightly crunchy skin and warm, pillowy insides – all topped with melted cheddar cheese. Add a fried egg in between – with a little hot sauce – and you’ve got a killer sandwich. I was very impressed with the raw ingredients here and the freshness: despite it’s name, it was not dripping in grease and didn’t deliver a punch to the gut.  If you have appetite to spare, definitely get a side order of yellow North Carolina grits and/or the “Blue Bucks” — blueberry buckwheat pancakes.

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love a crunchy cookie with lots of “stuff” in it — nuts, chips, oats, raisins, coconut, peanut butter… Certainly not all those things at once.  But, the combination of a few of those ingredients in a single cookie always pleases the palate. These oatmeal-coconut-chocolate chippers are crispy and hearty. Delicious with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee!  This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet, mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup flaked coconut

(1) Preheat oven to 350.

(2) Cream butter and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla.

(3) Whisk dry ingredients together and then fold into the butter mixture. Add chocolate chips and coconut.

(4) Drop tablespoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool cookies on a baking rack.