alisahuntsman

pink grapefruit tart; a tuesdays with dorie post

Published on February 24, 2015 by alisahuntsman9 Comments

While procrastinating, a favorite pastime of mine, I came across a list of what people were planning to give up for Lent. My favorite answer on the list; winter. Yes, I think giving up winter for Lent sounds like a great idea and as I sit here on my couch watching more snow fall and accumulate, I really cannot wait for winter to end! Even so, there is one good thing to come from winter other than Christmas presents, it is actually peak season for citrus fruits.

Growing up, my mother would always treat us to grapefruits, usually white ones, and I can remember cutting them in half, pouring sugar over the top and eating the sections. When I went out on my own, I found I preferred ruby red grapefruits to the white ones from my childhood but these days, I skip the sugar and just peel them and eat the segments. Occasionally, I will pick up some juice but, I buy small quantities so that it does not go to waste. However, taking those lovely fruits and making a cooked curd filled tart topped with yet more fresh grapefruit segments never really occurred to me. After reading the recipe, I was rather skeptical that this would work for me.

Even though I read the recipe before starting on this tart, I was surprised by just how much time it took to come together. The recipe calls for using a food processor to make the dough for the tart shell, my favorite method for tart and pie dough. My other favorite tart/pie method; using coffee filters and marbles when prebaking the shell. Believe it or not, coffee filters are really the best choice for the task. Parchment paper becomes brittle when baked, creases in a piece of foil can cut the shell and break it and wax paper is covered in wax-who wants that in a tart shell? Coffee filters are very strong; they hold the weight of wet coffee as water pours through it. If you can get restaurant sized filters, you will only need one otherwise you will need to use about 4 of the 8-12 cup filters. The butter in the tart shell will keep the filter from sticking to the dough but if the shell is frozen and allowed to thaw before baking, give the inside of the shell a spritz of spray. Keep in mind that the flour you rolled the dough out with and any condensation that forms on the surface make a thin layer of paste that can glue the filter in place making it difficult to remove and you could either leave some of the filter behind or it could take sections of the crust with it. So if you are worried, err on the side of caution and give it a spritz.

Then there is the question of marbles as pie weights. Well let’s just call them a solution to a dilemma I had; I couldn’t justify using a bag of beans or rice once and then tossing them when I remembered I had a collection of glass marbles. The marbles stepped up to the plate and I have been using them ever since. They conduct heat pretty well, they do not shatter in the oven-at least mine haven’t in all the years I have used them as weights and they are easy to clean. The only down side; marbles bounce. Trust me, if you drop them, they will bounce a few times before disappearing and finally rolling down the basement stairs for the cat to play with…Yes, I have lost a few of my marbles over the years but, I still have enough to do the job.

The whole point of this post is the tart, so how did it taste? Let’s just say that it is not my most favorite tart ever. The use of two fillings may seem excessive but it is actually close to genius if you ask this pastry chef. The lemon-almond filling serves to buffer the crust from the moisture of the grapefruit cremeux. There is nothing worse than realizing that your crust is soggy and gummy from the filling! The lemon-almond filling is almost like a frangipan and I toasted the almond flour to give it a little more flavor. The grapefruit cremeux was extremely flavorful but I wonder if it could be made more like a curd and stiffer without the use of gelatin, something I do not enjoy working with-especially now that I do not have a microwave in my kitchen. At first, I wondered about the addition of Campari; I was not sure of the actual flavor of it and decided to taste it and I suggest you learn from my experience and do not drink it straight. However, I am now completely aware of why it is called “bitters” and I was shocked at how well it blended with the grapefruit flavor of the cremeux without making it bitter.

The final step is to slice up the fruit so that you have segments to work with. Because the grapefruits are so juicy, they need to be laid out on paper towels and allowed to dry for a few hours. The dry segments are arranged over the two fillings in the baked shell. My fruits varied in color and I was hoping to make an ombre pattern over the top but had to settle for just two shades of pink. All the components come together to give you a strong grapefruit flavor with creamy and sandy textures wrapped around the fresh fruit. It was nice, but not my favorite. Having seen a few photos of some of the other bakers tarts as they prepared them this past weekend, I thought the use of blood oranges or tangerines just for the top might have been better. However, If I make this one again, I am thinking I might like to use fresh raspberries on top of the grapefruit cremeux.

You can see the layers; the crisp tart shell, the softer and sandy lemon-almond filling, the creamy grapefruit cremeux and the fresh grapefruit segments. The bright flavors of winter’s bounty will have to get us through the snowy weather and cold temperatures but let this be a warning to that rodent in Pennsylvania-your days are numbered…

To see how the other bakers fared with this recipe, be sure to visit the Tuesdays with Dorie website. Want to bake with us? Pick up the book and get to work! We post the upcoming recipes on the website and you can bake some of the recipes or all of them-you decide. Our only request, buy the book because we do not post the recipes.

chocolate chiffon bundt cake with drunken caramel; a tuesdays with dorie post

Published on February 17, 2015February 16, 2015 by alisahuntsman6 Comments

Winter is once again showing us just who is in control. Not only is it laughing at us, winter is flipping us the bird, repeatedly. While I shouldn’t complain too loudly, it’s not like I live in the Boston area (sorry sis!), but as I sit here typing this, the weather forecast is calling for up to 15″ of snow to fall in the next 24 hours. My complaint isn’t that it will snow but that 15″ is three times our average annual snowfall of 5 inches!

With the temperatures well below freezing with the wind chill, I was glad to be in my kitchen baking a chocolate cake. And if there is one thing I am sure we can all agree on, chocolate cake fixes just about everything, especially if you serve it with a generous drizzle of drunken caramel sauce! The cake, as the recipe is written in Baking with Julia, is supposed to be served with fresh raspberries soaked in liqueur and rich creme anglaise sauce that gets bruleed with a torch. Well, I did not have raspberries or a torch and I did not want to make the creme anglaise sauce because it is just too rich for me. But I did think a drizzle of caramel sauce would be nice and then I saw the bottle of Pennington’s and I couldn’t help myself…

The cake itself is a typical chiffon cake; spongy and light and completely dependent upon the cocoa powder for flavor. Because the cocoa powder is practically the sole component of the flavor profile, I suggest you use a high quality cocoa powder, I used Valrhona cocoa powder because I wanted that chocolate punch I knew Valrhona would give to the cake. If I had used a cocoa powder typically found in the grocery store, I might have gotten decent results but the lack of raspberries and the creme anglaise would have been really obvious and I am not sure that a few dollops of my drunken caramel would have worked as well. That caramel sauce packs a punch especially with the use of Pennington’s. If you are not familiar with Pennington’s, let me tell you that you should get your hands on a bottle if you can. It is distilled in Nashville and they use real strawberry flavor-not the fake stuff so it tastes like ripe juicy berries, the perfect companion for a chocolate cake.
Drunken Caramel Sauce

makes about 1 1/4 cups

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cinnamon stick

1″ piece of a vanilla bean, split open

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4 cup booze-dark rum, bourbon, or whiskey (I highly recommend Pennington’s Strawberry Rye Whiskey)

Pour the cream into a small pot with the cinnamon stick, vanilla bean (the seeds scraped out and added to the pot) and the butter and place it over very low heat to warm it. Place the sugar and corn syrup in a deep, heavy bottom pot with 1/4 cup of water. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to melt the sugar. Wash the sides of the pot with a wet brush to prevent crystals from forming. Allow the sugar to boil until it turns amber in color. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour in the warm cream mixture, stirring to combine. It will boil up violently so take caution when stirring. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and stir gently to dissolve the caramelized sugar at the bottom and sides of the pot. Do not boil the mixture, just stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is combined. Remove from the heat again and carefully stir in the booze. Pour the caramel through a mesh strainer remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod and into a heat proof serving pitcher or a bowl. Allow it to cool to about 100 degrees before serving, store in the fridge and reheat as needed.

To see how the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers did with this recipe, check out the “LYL” page on the website. If you would like to join us as we bake our way through Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi, get your hands on the books and get to work-the more the merrier!

finding inspiration at the grocery store; $10 tomato sauce

Published on February 15, 2015February 15, 2015 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

Maintaining a blog page that centers around food means I spend time looking for recipe ideas. Using someone else’s recipe (with proper credits of course) is always a possibility but it does not say much for my own abilities in the kitchen. Having a constant stream of original recipe ideas is challenging and I never know where inspiration may strike. As some of you already know, I am a member of the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group and once a week, we post a recipe from either Baking with Julia or Baking Chez Moi. But that is only one day out of seven and what will I do for the other six days?

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I found my inspiration in the pasta and tomato sauce aisle. Actually, to be more accurate, I found myself stunned that anyone would pay nearly $10 for a jar of tomato sauce. When I was growing up, the only tomato sauce we ate was my mothers homemade cooked they way my great-grandmother taught her to make sauce. It has always been the standard by which I judge tomato sauce. As my children were growing up, I found myself struggling to keep up and generally relied on a jar of sauce from the store. When money was short, and it frequently was, a jar of sauce and a pound of pasta could feed us affordably and there would be leftovers. Needless to say, $10 for a jar of sauce nearly knocked me down; I am in the wrong line of work it seems!

It wasn’t hard to figure out what I would be making, photographing and posting on the blog after that. With so many interesting flavors to choose from, I decided I would make up a batch of sauce and leave the high dollar jars at the store. Knowing I had some butternut squash to work with, I decided on a batch of butternut tomato sauce. The two flavors compliment each other well. The squash which adds a nice velvety texture to the sauce also has enough natural sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes without the addition of sugar.

Because I like a tomato sauce with more than tomatoes in it, I also chopped up some carrots, celery, mushrooms and onions too and tossed them with the butternut squash and a little olive oil.

Roasting vegetables gives color as well as flavor and after about 45 minutes at 425 degrees, the vegetables were soft enough. First, they went into the pot with all of the other ingredients and I let it simmer a bit then I pureed the mixture. If you use a regular blender for the job, be sure to do it in small batches, cover it but leave a small gap for steam to escape and drape a towel over the top of the blender. Hold the top in place and blend on low-speed. Do not do this unless you are holding the top down or the lid could pop off and send hot sauce flying all over!

Perciatelli is a hollow spaghetti tube and it was the perfect choice for such a creamy sauce. Some folks will tell you that you should never toss cook pasta with oil to keep it from clumping. The oil will make the pasta slippery and keep the sauce from sticking to it. Maybe so but I generally add the oil anyway, but I do make an effort to add only the smallest amount possible.

Roasted Butternut Tomato Sauce

makes about 3 pints

1 1/2 pounds of butternut squash

2 medium carrots

1-2 stalks celery

3-4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

1 cup button mushrooms, about 8-10

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 (28 oz) can plum tomatoes

3-4 sprigs fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1-2 bay leaves (one if fresh are used)

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, divided

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Peel the squash and cut into large cubes. Peel the carrots and cut them along with the celery into 1″ slices. Roughly chop the onions. Halve the garlic cloves and the mushrooms and combine all of the vegetables in a bowl with the olive oil. Toss to coat and dump them onto a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or foil. Roast the vegetables until the carrot and squash are fork tender, about 45 minutes. Dump the roasted vegetables into a heavy bottomed stock pot with at least a 3 quart capacity.

Add the tomatoes to the pot and using your hands, crush the tomatoes a bit to break them up. Add the basil, thyme, bay leaf, turmeric and smoked paprika. Add 1 cup of the broth and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes. Using an immersion blender (if you have one) or a regular blender, puree the sauce; be sure to take precautions with a regular blender-read the warning above! Return the sauce to the pot and using the additional 1/2 cup of broth, adjust the consistency of the sauce to your preference. Season with the salt and pepper and serve with your favorite pasta. Garnish with additional fresh parsley sprigs and grated Romano cheese if you like. The sauce can be canned using the same method for tomato sauce or it can be frozen in containers.

Personally, I am planning to grow butternut squash and plum tomatoes in the garden just so I can make more sauce this summer!

marquise au chocolat and salsa quitza; a tuesdays with dorie post

Published on February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by alisahuntsman12 Comments

After a weeks absence, I am back in the kitchen, completely. Let’s just say that if you have the chance to avoid the flu-do it. It has been more than 10 years since I was that sick and honestly, I hope it doesn’t happen again for a long time! The simplicity of this recipe was the perfect way to ease back into the kitchen.

The recipe for Marquise au Chocolat makes a large, rich loaf of frozen chocolate mousse which is meant to be served in slices. Since there are just two of us, I cut the recipe and made only a quarter of the batch and since it was so small, I made the decision to press the filling into a six-inch round cake pan that I had lined with lady fingers. This will be the perfect little pick-me-up since I also spiked it with some single barrel Kentucky Bourbon. Finally, a drizzle of blackberry syrup and a few plump berries and dessert is served! Something tells me my husband will not think twice about eating this one!

As I mentioned earlier, I was sick last week, came down with it all so that I was too sick to make the Salsa Quitza which was my plan for Superbowl Sunday. We were supposed to go to a friends house to watch the game but since we were both miserable, we sprawled out on the couch and did not move all day. Needless to say, my plan of making the quitza to bring to the party was cancelled. If you ask me, that wasn’t such a bad thing. Honestly, I was doubting the results as stated in the recipe and after reading the comments from plenty of the other bakers last Tuesday, I am glad I had a chance to follow my personal instincts.

The idea of spreading the dough out into a large cake pan and topping it with cream cheese had me thinking it would be messy to eat and for the two of us, just too cheesey. My bakers sense (kinda like Spiderman’s “spidey” sense…) had me thinking it would make a nice focaccia. Guess what-it did! With just half a batch of dough, I made a quarter sheet pan sized piece of focaccia that was the perfect side dish for our dinner of grilled swordfish and salad.

If you want to make this the way I did, use blue corn meal. Believe it or not, it doesn’t lend any color to the dough but it does add a nice nutty flavor along with dark flecks and crunch. Several bakers commented on the salsa being really wet and I honestly think that the recipe probably should call for “pico de gallo” and not chunky salsa. If you aren’t familiar with pico de gallo, it is a fresh mixture of finely chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro with lemon juice. I measured out nearly a cup and let it sit in a strainer for about an hour to drip dry and then sprinkled it over the top of the dough after shaping. A generous topping of shredded Mexican cheeses over the salsa and then into the oven it went. It baked up fast, just 20 minutes and it was done. After cooling for a while, I sliced off strips and cut them into diamonds; two-bite pieces to pair with dinner.

The dough itself was fairly easy to make with a mixer if you do not have a bread machine. It was a bit soft and sticky but after mixing it for about 2 minutes, I turned the mixer off and let the dough sit in the bowl for 10 minutes. This rest, autolyse is the technical term, let the dough absorb all of moisture and as a result, it was not quite as sticky as it could have been. This is definitely a dough recipe worth having in my repertoire. It just might make another appearance in my kitchen.

To see what the other bakers came up with, visit the Tuesdays with Dorie website and look for the LYL (leave your links) page. If this seems interesting to you, consider baking along with us as we prepare each of the recipes in Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi. You will have to purchase or borrow the books if you do not already have them; out of respect for the author, we do not publish the recipes!

Country White bread; the learning curve

Published on January 31, 2015January 24, 2015 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

Recently, I picked up a copy of Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery. If you aren’t familiar with the book or the bakery, it is a Los Angeles area landmark and a the breads are the type that most home bakers only dream of making. The focus of the book is to start and maintain your own sourdough culture and to use it to make bread using the recipes that follow. Sounds simple but I will warn you, there is not much room for creativity; the procedures and recipes need to be followed closely if you want the loaf to resemble those sold in the bakery.

Another note, this book is not for the beginner and to get the most out of it, you really should have some idea of bread baking. That said, I will suggest that if you have had some experience (at home, in a restaurant or a bakery) and you want to take it a step further, pick up a copy of this book and start at the very beginning. This is one of the few books that I feel you really must read all the information that comes before the recipes and then, read it again a few more times. Yes folks, this is more like a textbook and a workbook rolled into a collection of recipes.

Personally, making artisan breads leavened with a natural yeast culture is another of those skills I have always wanted to develop but even though I am a pastry chef and I bake for a living, I have never pursued bread baking as a career. Having had some time to spend in my new kitchen, I decided to take my own sourdough culture out of the fridge and try it in one of the recipes. Because there is a need for exact measurements and conditions, I took a cup of my starter and began the process of feeding it as the book instructs. And to test it, I started with the Country White bread, the very first recipe in the book.

Nancy instructs you “not to do a thing until you read the recipe carefully and calculate the times involved” and that is just the beginning. This recipe is 14 pages long. Suddenly, I was intimidated and the reasons I have never sought out a job baking bread for a living were staring me in the face. Never the less, I did as told and read, reread and then read the recipe again. Once I had written out my bread schedule, I got to work on making my first loaf, a two-day bread baking experience.

There are so many steps, resting periods and so forth that I would be in danger of plagiarizing the book if I typed it out here so let me suggest that if you want to try making a loaf, get a copy of the book. Truly this book is a worthwhile reference on bread making and it deserves a space on the shelf of serious bread bakers. For a first attempt, I think the bread turned out pretty good and if I judge it by the amount my husband ate that first day, I would say it was a successful attempt. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Somehow, I added too much flour to the dough and I will say that the way the instructions for mixing by machine are written, they tell you to add the flour, meaning all(measured with a scale-not by the cup) of it at once. It isn’t until several sentences later that it suggests holding some back to adjust the consistency. Too late. My dough was a little stiffer than it should have been and it made the machine kneading process impossible-I could hear my 6 quart Kitchen Aid struggling and switched to kneading by hand. This was not an easy task and I kneaded the dough quite a bit longer than called for.

Just as the instructions are involved, so are the ingredients called for throughout the book. A quick glance at a few recipes had me wondering where I could find rye chops and food grade lye near my home. Then I looked at the equipment needed, I really need to find some english muffin rings or tuna cans that can be opened on both ends…This will be a learning experience, a slow one and one I plan to enjoy, one loaf at a time.

out and about in Portsmouth, VA

Published on January 30, 2015January 24, 2015 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

On a recent and showery Saturday, we ventured down the peninsula to Portsmouth. Our primary purpose was to visit the monthly Antiques to Flea Market, a free event held each month in the Middle Street parking garage. We also planned on walking around the Olde Towne area and to find a place for lunch. Like many of the cities in the area, there are many historical sites, some predating the Revolutionary war while others are related to the Civil war. To learn more about these sites, stop by the Visitor’s Center and pick up a map for the self guided walking tour.

A good place to start is on the water front by taking a stroll along the sea wall. The view of the Norfolk Shipyard and downtown Norfolk are just a part of what you will see there. In warmer months, the Lightship Portsmouth museum is open for tours. However, there are several other museums in the area and the ferry that travels across the Elizabeth River to the downtown Norfolk area to keep you busy. If you are looking to grab lunch, venture over to High Street. Both sides of the street in this shopping district are lined with just about every type of restaurant imaginable. We took the recommendations of a nice family walking past us and ventured into the Bier Garden for some authentic Bavarian food in the hopes of taking the chill off.

If the weather had been a little warmer and drier, we would have spent more time exploring the waterfront. We thought about taking a ride on the ferry but it requires exact change ($1.75/$3.50 per person/round trip) which we did not have with us and because it was drizzly and cold, it did not seem like the best idea.

At first glance, this ship does not look that big until you notice the tug boat out front. It quickly provides a scale to judge the size and also makes the river seem so much larger as well. Portsmouth is an old port and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway begins with mile marker “0” in the water between Portsmouth and Norfolk.

A chance to ride the paddle boat ferry will be just one of the reasons we go back to Portsmouth. The schedule is available in the Visitor’s Center, just remember to bring plenty of change and small bills to get on.

Also available is a map of the historic homes in the area. We took a short walk around looked at the houses. If only it was a little warmer…

This house was rather unique in the fact that the fenced in yard was huge. We were in the process of having a picket fence installed in our backyard and this one held our attention, perhaps a little too long…
Blame it on this guy! He followed us as we walked the length of the property and more than once, he jumped up and barked at us. We stopped and petted him a few times, his tag told us his name is Crosby and he was very friendly. Don’t you just love the bow tie? See you next time Crosby!

brown butter and vanilla bean weekend cake; a tuesdays with dorie post

Published on January 27, 2015January 24, 2015 by alisahuntsman15 Comments

Another dreary, rainy weekend, but it still put a smile on my face. For a change, I would have perfectly diffused light to take photos. As I rummaged through drawers searching for the exact linens needed, I came across an envelope. Tucked inside was a pretty little square of Swedish bobbin lace that my mother-in-law brought home from one of her trips to Europe. For years, that envelope has made appearances as I shuffled things from drawer to drawer and today, with a flash of inspiration I can only blame on the rain, I thought it would be the perfect stencil for my cake.

The recipe for the cake calls for baking it in a 9″x5″ loaf pan but I wanted to make just half the batter-which is still too much for the two of us. After picking through boxes and pans, I settled on a small granite-ware skillet which would make a nice, round cake; a perfectly boring round cake…Luckily, with that flash of brilliance and a tub of powdered sugar, the cake would be anything but ordinary in appearance.

While I have no idea how bobbin lace is made, I am envious of those who are skilled in the craft. The photos I have seen show slender, intricately carved bobbins made from wood or bone and weighted with spangles of glass beads as well as pins, lots of pins. The work is intricate and obviously time-consuming but the results are lovely and delicate; a true work of art.

A lucky break-the square fit perfectly over the cake and left very little space uncovered. The hearts are my favorite part of the design. The way the threads between them make a star or a flower depends on how you look at it.

Sifting powdered sugar using a large wire mesh is the best method. If tapped gently, you can cover a large area with a fine layer of sugar.

Now for the tricky part, removing the lace without ruining the pattern. This is a one and done method. If it doesn’t work the first time, it is unfortunate because once there is some sugar on the surface, you can not move the lace and try again. With fingers crossed, I gently lifted the lace making an effort not to smear the design or dump any of the excess sugar off the lace and onto the surface of the cake.

It truly was my lucky day! Not only did the design transfer well, I was able to lift the lace without incident!!!

The flower pattern between the hearts transferred nicely and so did the delicate scalloped edge. But that square in the center…I just love the little beads of sugar and that barely there dusting in the center. This may not be what the lace was intended for but I can say that I will use it again.

It almost seemed sacrilegious to cut it but I have no will power where cake is concerned! So how did it taste? Well, the recipe calls for browning the butter and I did that, but I think I should have gone a little further with it. Since my supply of vanilla beans is really sparse and I am not sure of a reasonably priced local source, I decided to go with vanilla extract and because we did not have any rum, I used the next best thing, bourbon. In my opinion, it could use more flavor and I do not think it is worth sacrificing a vanilla bean to get that extra punch. Personally, I think a little more butter, maybe an extra tablespoon, browned to a color no less than my tabletop in the photo would help add flavor and a little more moisture. Also, the added fat can help prevent the gluten from developing as the flour is mixed in; my cake had tunnels in it that I am sure were caused by over mixing when I whisked in the flour as directed by the recipe. The amount of vanilla extract initially seemed excessive but now, maybe not, however, it was strong enough that the bourbon was not noticeable. In the future, I might cut the vanilla by 25% and increase the bourbon by 50%. This is a recipe that I can see myself using again when I need a simple cake and because it is basically a blank slate, I can also see it being the base of a shortcake or part of a trifle. And lastly, serving it plain with a simple dusting of sugar is good but I have a feeling it could also stand up to being slathered with buttercream frosting.

If you enjoy reading my Tuesdays with Dorie posts, be sure to visit the website and look for the “LYL” post to see how the other bakers made out with the recipe, and if you are feeling left out, JOIN US!!! Pick up a copy of Baking Chez Moi or Baking with Julia and bake along with us as we work towards our goal of baking every recipe in the two books.

making the most of your morning cuppa; starbucks grounds for gardens program

Published on January 26, 2015January 22, 2015 by alisahuntsman1 Comment

Our passion for gardening is no secret. We joined the Master Gardener program in 2008 and became certified members in Nashville. We quickly began transforming our yard into a small farm by adding fruit trees, herb plants, multiple vegetable beds and a beehive and all along, we were composting everything we could to help enrich the soil as well as improve the heavy clay structure. It was a labor of love and at times, coffee. Okay, I know that did not make sense, a labor of coffee??? Yes, coffee. We discovered that a Starbucks store near our home in Nashville would segregate the coffee grinds and place them in a dedicated bin for composting. Anyone who wanted to go around to the back of the store could take as many bags as they needed and then use them in the garden to help improve the soil. It was a true win-win because as your garden flourished, Starbucks reduced the amount of trash from the store being land filled. Then almost as suddenly as we discovered the source of grounds, the program was eliminated. There was never a real explanation, we can only suspect that the property management did not care for the number of people rummaging through the trash in search of black gold.

Needless to say, we were disappointed and moved on to other sources of compostable items to support our growing need in the yard at home. Over the years, we would see the occasional poster advertising that grounds were available while we were out and about in the Nashville area. However, when we would question the employees about the actual availability, we were often met with blank stares, a clueless response or simply the declaration, “oh we don’t really do that here.” On a rare occasion, an employee would inform us that if we wanted to, we could bring them a bucket, they would happily save them but we would have to come and get them that day or they would be thrown away along with the bucket. Again, we moved on, it just did not seem like we could make it work without having to make multiple trips and phone calls and so on.

Then in September 2014, we relocated to Williamsburg, VA. It was a bit traumatic to leave our garden behind. All the work, the plants, the compost…Reality hit hard when we realized we would have to start all over again. Even worse was the realization that our new yard, while smaller, square in shape and flatter (a big plus in our book) was built on solid clay. The soil is so compacted that a small amount of rain turns the yard into a squishy mess that leaves you feeling as if you are walking on wet sponges. There was no way we could build beds in this soil without massive amounts of soil amendments. That was not only going to be a back-breaking amount of work, it was going to be expensive. We quickly realized we would have to do what we could with what we already had; truckloads of leaves from the trees in the yard. To prepare the beds, we first mulched the leaves by running them over with the lawn mower. Bag by bag, we formed piles of leaves all over the front yard so that they could begin the process of composting. Our front yard quickly began looking like it was covered in graves. We actually considered making a few fake headstones for Halloween and I told more than one person that this was what we did to the neighbors we didn’t like…

However, leaves alone are not enough and despite the fact that we had more than 20 large piles of leaves, once fully composted, they would not provide enough material to work with. To supplement the leaves, I began composting our kitchen scraps but in all honesty, two people do not generate that much to work with. While out shopping one morning, we stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee and lo and behold, a bucket with bags of coffee grounds greeted us as we stood in line waiting to place our order. Could it be that the program was not dead after all???? Apparently, it is not and we have been going back to this particular store on a regular basis for grounds. Sometimes, they are in the mylar bag that the beans are shipped in but mostly, they are in 13 gallon trash bags. The employees are quite used to gardeners coming in to retrieve the grounds and they have a small trash pail dedicated for the collection of used grounds. Now that we have a source, we make 3 or 4 trips to the store each week to pick up bags and at this point, I estimate we have used about 300 pounds of them in our beds and compost pile.

And because I am not stupid, I expect some people to criticize me for using non-organic materials in my gardens. Go ahead. There is always someone waiting to rain on your parade and I am sure I will hear a few negative comments about this. If not because of the conventional growing methods used in the coffee then it will be because I am giving a massive company free publicity. So let me just say this, I am not getting paid to say this, no where in this article to I mention a love of their coffee, just the availability of free used coffee grinds. As someone who is currently unemployed, I cannot afford to buy the amendments needed for the soil in our yard and I have to use what I can get for free. We are not the only ones in town collecting the grounds. On more than one occasion, another gardener has beat us to the store and we have walked away empty-handed which ultimately means that hundreds and hundreds of pounds of coffee grounds are going to be composted rather than land filled; that in itself is a big plus for the environment.

The plus of coffee grounds added to compost is simple, they add nitrogen and nothing helps heat up a compost pile faster than nitrogen. It doesn’t stop there, they also add much-needed minerals that can help your garden grow. Sunset magazine did some research on using Starbucks coffee grounds in a garden and they actually had them tested. It seems that adding them to the garden really is a good thing as long as they do not make up more than 35% of the soil content. If you would like to read the article, here is a link.
Since our garden is being built in our front yard, we are putting down sheets of cardboard to kill the lawn first. The coffee is being spread over the cardboard and then it is topped off with a thick layer of leaves. This first year, we will be using straw bales to garden in because the leaves are not yet composted. To do this, we will simply place the bales on top of the leaves. As the seasons progress, the leaves will continue to break down and by the time winter returns, the straw bales will also begin to degrade. At that time, we will simply cut the cords off the bales, spread the rotting straw over the leaves and continue the process of layering on top of the clay soil. Eventually, we will have some beautiful compost that we can turn into the clay to lighten the structure and allow for better drainage.

Right now, we are planning for the arrival of our hens. We ordered our pullets this week and will be purchasing the coop and the run next week. Once the girls have matured enough to live outside, they will not only provide us with eggs, they will be supplying the garden with fresh manure. But because the best compost has a variety of materials in it, coffee grounds from Starbucks will still be collected and added. So, do your garden some good, ask your local coffeehouse (whichever one you choose) to give you grounds for your garden and get out there and grow something!

If you are the least bit interested, read about Starbucks plan for sustainability and global responsibility here. If nothing else, it is food for thought and perhaps the start of some meaningful conversations.

scratching one off my baking bucket list; kouign amann

Published on January 24, 2015January 18, 2015 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

While I cannot recall exactly when I first heard of Kouign Amann, I knew that when I came across them again this week that I had to finally make them. The photos not only left me drooling as only a pastry chef could, they intrigued me as well. So many flaky layers of dough and sugar…As with most other baked items that call for a laminated dough, kouign amann got pushed to the back burner where it languished on my bucket list of things I wanted to learn how to make. Then, while passing time and flipping through my twitter feed, I saw a link to an easy version and immediately clicked on it. The link took me to the wonderful website of Irvin Lin, Eat the Love and his beautiful photo tutorial on kouign amann. After reading through the post and taking a quick inventory of pantry, I knew this would be my entertainment for the day.

Read through the tutorial and you will learn how Irvin came to this recipe; after taking a class on laminated doughs, he developed this recipe in order to simplify the process. He also did something I frequently do, he turned to a book written by Nick Malgieri. In Nick’s The Modern Baker, there is a kouign amann recipe that consists of a simpler method for laminating dough. However, Irvin simplified it even further by using what is commonly referred to as a blitz method. While not exactly a new method, it is also not the most common shortcut for making a laminated dough but for the novice, it is a game changer. Even so, with a little investigating, you will find this method being used by professionals too. Two such examples I have come across are in a danish dough recipe from Baking with Julia contributed to the book by Beatrice Ojakangas and in a puff pastry recipe from Dessert Circus by Jacques Torres. Both books were released in the late 1990’s, so as you can see, this quick mixing method has been around for years. To take advantage of this shortcut, you will make a loose dough with large pieces of cold fat throughout. The dough is then given a series of folds and turns and if done properly, it does a great job of simulating the traditional method of folding in a block of butter to make an extremely forgiving and nearly foolproof dough.

What I really loved about the tutorial was the information Irvin gives. He tells you to brush away as much of the flour as possible and you really must take his advice. Invest in a natural bristle brush and keep it in your workspace for just this purpose. If you leave the flour behind, it will form a barrier between the layers of dough and rather than have a thick series of flaky layers you will have three thin and rather distinct layers which are more crispy than flaky.

This is the blitz method at its finest! By eliminating the traditional method of rolling the dough out, folding it up like a book and repeating 3-6 times, you fold the dough in thirds and roll it up. Although a bit crude looking, that is actually a lot of layers of fat chunks and dough which will become many flaky layers in the oven. This step alone is enough to make me want to hug Irvin and I am a professional pastry chef!!!

The prepared dough is given a rest in the fridge and then covered in sugar, rolled, folded and rolled again in more sugar before being cut and placed into pans to rise until it is time to be baked.

The worst part about moving is figuring out which box your stuff is in. I still cannot find my small muffin pans and the one I chose has only 9 cups in it-some day I need to figure out why that pan only has 9 cups. To bake off the rest of the pastries, I chose little brioche pans. Can I just say that unless you want to have a hard time getting them out of the little pans, do not do this. They gave them the perfect shape but they were so hard to get out of the pan!

Can you see the layers? And the sugar?

And here they are, hot out of the oven. It was so hard to wait. Heed the warning, get them out of the cups before they cool off or they will stick. If this happens, put them back into the hot oven for 2-3 minutes to warm the sugar and they will lift out of the cups.

Just look at all the caramelized flaky goodness
A beautiful way to spend an afternoon and not only cross something off the bucket list but also get to eat!

They are every bit of richness that the photo suggests, try them with a cup of hot, dark coffee or strong tea and if you like, do as my husband did, dunk, dunk and dunk some more…
That crust on the top-pure sugary goodness! Thanks to Irvin Lin for teaching this old girl something new. For the complete recipe and tutorial, be sure to visit his website by following this link.

out and about in Smithfield, VA

Published on January 23, 2015January 18, 2015 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

One of the exciting things that come with moving to a new city is what you discover in your own backyard. When we chose our new home, we focused on location because it was important to us that Darry not have a long commute to work. His schedule is erratic at times and 14 hour days are not unusual, a long commute was not an option. We were lucky and found this home quickly and now he has a 3.9 mile commute to work each day.

The other added perk to our location, exactly that; the location. We are within the Historic Triangle which means we are a stones throw from the Historic Jamestown settlement, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown. However, there is so much more here besides the very first Colonial Settlement and Revolutionary War battlefields. We are located near the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay but also between the York River and the James River. And where there are rivers, bays and oceans, there are a multitude of cities, large and small and the Middle Peninsula of Virginia is no exception.

As we settle in here, we venture further out and recently spent an afternoon in Smithfield. If that name sounds familiar, it should because just about everyone who eats ham has heard of Smithfield hams. However, when we headed that way to spend the day in the quaint downtown area, we didn’t have ham on our minds. For us, it was an excuse to take the Jamestown-Scotland ferry.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the ferry is only 2 miles from our house, you can drive your car right onto it and it is free. Yes, I said free. You would think that it would be hard to get on the ferry because of the affordable price but we did not have to wait long. The schedule has the two ferries criss-crossing back and forth several times per hour and since it is a short trip, about 15-20 minutes, you will not wait long. The view from the ferry is typical, shoreline, houses, trees and water birds but the one thing that sets it apart, a sweeping view of the first settlement, the true birthplace of our nation, Jamestown. If you are new to the area, you will also be surprised by the width of the James river, it is about a mile wide here.

Since it was such a sunny day, we got out of the car and took in the view from the side of the ferry. Darry and Devon had fun as I took photos. Hard to believe it was winter and we were wearing thin jackets. After a quick voyage across the river, we landed in Scotland and drove on towards Smithfield which was another 15 miles or so.

Smithfield has a thriving art community and sights like this are all over the downtown area. Look for the pig statues that have each been painted by local artists.

Since it was near Christmas, many of the businesses were completely decked out and it added to the festive feel. The downtown streets are lined with Victorian homes, many of which have been completely restored. We enjoyed walking and looking-it was like being back in San Francisco or Cape May, two of my favorite places to look at Victorian houses.

Parking the car was easy; on the street or in a lot, it was free for a couple of hours and that was plenty of time to stroll around, visit shops and have lunch in the Smithfield Gourmet Bakery Cafe. Do not let the bakery part of the name fool you, it was a cafe and we had some great sandwiches and salads. The cafe prepares everything from scratch and that includes the breads. We went home with a loaf of their Honey Almond bread, a large fluffy sandwich bread that made wonderful toast.

And then it was time to head home. We caught the ferry just as the sun began to set. Again we chose to stand out on the deck and we were lucky enough to spot a pair of Bald Eagles resting on a platform in the river.

The sun set quickly as we traveled across the river towards home. There are many points of interest between the ferry landing and the city of Smithfield and we will go to each one after the winter closures end and the weather improves.