Sabayon

For my birthday I made the most delicious cake ever (hint, it was flour less so none of the flavor was diluted).  I'll post more on that later.  But I ended up with 6 extra egg yolks.  In looking for something to do with them, I came up with a great idea: sabayon.  This recipe from David Lebovitz seemed like a good call: simple and from a trusted source.  So at my birthday party, I whipped up a batch and had a friend who was coming late bring (and cut up) strawberries.  It was great!  And it's a cool party trick.  I don't have any pretty bowls, but I served it in wine glasses and it was pretty and super classy. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture.

Browned Butter Blondies

So while I am no longer a graduate student, I am going to complete this blog with recipes I made while I was still in graduate school.  I am thinking about creating a new blog, I am taking recommendations for names :).  While my situation has changed somewhat, it is still true that I face situations that aren't addressed by a lot of blogs: I still have a tiny kitchen, I am still cooking for one or for company, but rarely for 3-4.  And I am basically vegetarian, but not strictly.  I try to make healthy changes to a lot of things, but I avoid things like stevia.  However, I'll be playing with chia seeds for a while.

As for the recipe: per the suggestion of a friend, I discovered that chocolate chip cookies should ALWAYS be made with browned (and cooled) butter.  It imparts a caramel-y, nutty, richer flavor.  (And pecans and a sprinkling of sea salt really round it out).  So I found blondies that were made this way.  I made these while I was preparing to move over the summer and trying to use up the things i had in my cupboard (in particular, I had a Costco bag of brown sugar and vanilla with a broken cap).  The original recipe is here, I really only doubled it and added toffee pieces, but I think it made them excellent and there were plenty to share!

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped toffee pieces

Procedures

1. 1
   Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease pan with butter.
2. 2
   Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted. Continue to cook (the butter will foam) until it is fragrant and a nutty brown color. Take off the heat and pour through a sieve into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature.
3. 3
   In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. 4
   Add brown sugar to bowl with butter and whisk until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and whisk to combine. Stir in dry ingredients until just incorporated. Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 20-30 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Almond Biscotti

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures or modifications to this recipe, all I can do is vouch for it.  But that's good enough for me (because then the next time I want to make it I know which recipe is good).

Last semester a couple of new math professors hosted a house warming party.  As a lowly graduate student, I didn't really want to bring them wine (it's more expensive and I don't know their taste).  So I did the only obvious thing I could think of: I decided to bake something.  A loaf of homemade bread is one of my favorite gifts for hosts (but with the gluten free craze it may be risky now).  I think I was a little pressed for time, so I decided on a baked dessert and I wanted something that could be transported easily but was still classy.  Having never made biscotti, it seemed like the perfect option.  And I chose almond because I always have more than enough almonds.  It was a good recipe, I think I baked the biscotti a little longer than recommended in the second bake, which is good: they came out nice and crisp.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/12/almond-biscotti-recipe.html

Honeyed Nut Tart

As I will be moving in about a month, I am trying to use up the food in my cabinets.  I have a lot of nuts, so I was looking for nut recipes and I came across this one.  Admittedly, it's not really my thing, but I thought it sounded like a good thing to make for a group and a good way to use up my brown sugar, honey, nuts, and rose flower water.

I had people over for enchiladas for cinco de Mayo and thought this seemed like a nice dessert.  A friend who doesn't like fruit didn't think it was to fruity (there is the zest and juice of an orange in the tart crust) and it is okay for anyone with a (not too severe) peanut allergy, but not really any other nut allergies.  It went over pretty well; I think most people liked it more than I did, which is generally what I look for in a shared dessert (if I liked it so much, I wouldn't want to share it)!  It's also nice for company because the crust is a press in rather than roll out, which makes clean up/counter space a little easier to manage.

The receipe can be found here.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread

It's been so long since I've posted.  I've actually made lots of things and I've been keeping them as tabs in my browser.  There are now way too many tabs and I want to close them, but first I need to post them.

I'll start with one of my favorites.  I made Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana bread for a brunch with a couple of friends.  There are so many banana bread recipes with various bells and whistles.  And on any given day, I want different bells and whistles.  Sometimes I want pineapple banana bread, sometimes I want buttermilk banana bread, sometimes I want banana's foster banana bread.  But I can't see myself ever NOT wanting this one.

The recipe is here.

But this post is to let you know that you should be on the lookout!  I hope to post more soon!