Harvest

Magnificent Marmalade

In reverse chronological order apparently! Enjoy :)

Happy Solstice! - Chocolate Roulade Recipe for Bouche de Noel

Happy Winter Solstice! I made a yule log (Bouche de Noel) for the first time as part of my celebration, and while I was initially intimidated, I found the entire process really simple. I'm pretty sure I could make this entire recipe--start to finish--in an hour. Amazing, since this was met with rave reviews at my solstice celebration.

I found the recipe the day before in the cookbook Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home--my new favorite cookbook! It's full of amazing recipes, including Julia Child's brilliant country apple tart recipe which I saw her make on her television show with Jacques Pepin. I'll never forget her arguing with him about how much sugar to add to the apples, saying, "Oh, Jacques, desserts are supposed to be sweet!" Hah. Awesome.

I made my own milk chocolate frosting for this Bouche de Noel after discussion with my friend Jesse, and used purple basil flowers and mint I had growing in my porch garden for decorations. I also used flower petals from my weekly salad mix from Happy Boy Farms. Finally, I used some chipped and grated single-source Colombian chocolate I had in the cupboard for the dusting of wood shavings. Enjoy!

James' Milk Chocolate Frosting

1 package organic cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 stick of organic butter, at room temperature

6 ounces milk chocolate, broken into small pieces

2 Tbs heavy cream

1 Cup (approximately) organic powdered sugar

Heat the cream to a simmer and add the milk chocolate pieces, stirring to until smooth and completely melted. Remove from heat. Mix cream cheese and butter in a food processor until smooth. Add the melted chocolate (it should be cool enough that it doesn't melt the cream cheese and butter), and mix again. Next, begin adding powdered sugar, about a quarter cup at a time. Taste after adding a half cup, and add more sugar slowly until you reach the desired sweetness, mixing again with each addition.

Jacques's Chocolate Roulade

A ganache is a combination of cream and fine bittersweet chocolate from which chocolatiers and pastry chefs make truffles and glaze cakes. Here the rich mixture is combined with egg whites to make a flourless batter which is baked into a tender, thin sheet cake. It is then spread with softly whipped cream--creme Chantilly--and rolled up jelly-roll-style, into a delectable roulade.

Rich though it may sound, a slice of roulade is light, moist, and full of chocolate flavor. this is also a large dessert you can literally whip up by hand in about 10 minutes--and the sheet cake takes less than a quarter of an hour in the oven.

The roulade needs no garnish other than a dusting of cocoa powder, but would be delicious served with our creme anglaise or chocolate sauce, or just an extra dollop of creme Chantilly

Yield: a 15-inch cake roll, serving 10-12

For the souflle:

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in small pieces

7 egg whites, at room temperature

2 Tbs granulated sugar

For the creme-Chantilly filling

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled

1-1/2 Tbs granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs cognac

1 Tbs butter for the pan and parchment

1 Tbs or so unsweetened cocoa powder

For garnish

Powdered sugar

Cocoa powder

Strawberries

Special equipment

An 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan or 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking pan (a "half sheet"); baking parchment; a fine-meshed sieve; a large oval or rectangular serving platter (at least 15 inches long)

Getting ready

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the baking sheet with buttered parchment paper.

Making the ganache and batter

Heat the cream to the simmer in a medium saucepan (1-1/2 quarts). Add the chocolate pieces all at once, lower the heat, and stir briskly with a small wire whisk to melt the chocolate thoroughly. As soon as the ganache is completely smooth and a uniform dark color, remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Whip the egg whites and the 2 tablespoons of sugar either by hand or in an electric mixer until they have formed stiff peaks with a glossy sheen--don't let them become dry or grainy-looking.

Scoop about one-fourth of the beaten whites into the saucepan of ganache and stir briefly with a wire whisk to blend. Pour the lightened ganache back onto the remaining egg whites in the mixing bowl and fold them together gently with a rubber spatula. Work quickly, breaking up any large lumps of egg white until the ganache is thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer with a rubber spatula.

Baking the souffle sheet

Place the pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven to bake for 10 to 12 minutes. When done, the cake should be nicely set and puffy. Remove the pan from the oven to a wire cooling rack, and allow the cake to cool, still in the pan, to room temperature.

Filling and forming the roulade

Whip the cream with the sugar, vanilla, and cognac to make the creme-Chantilly filling.

Lift the parchment to remove the cake from the pan, which should be cool, and set it on a flat work surface, with a long side facing you. Using a fine-meshed sieve, lightly dust the top with cocoa powder, then spread all of the whipped cream over the cake evenly, covering the entire surface.

Lift up the near edge of the cake and parchment, fold it away from you about 2 or 3 inches over the whipped cream, and begin to peel the paper off the cake. Roll the cake another few inches, pressing against the parchment to make a tight spiral, and then gently peeling it off as the cake layer rolls away from you. Complete the roll, keeping it just on the far edge of the parchment sheet. Cover the roll by tucking the loose parchment around and underneath so that the cylinder is well wrapped and can be moved easily. The roulade can now be refrigerated in the paper for 3 or 4 hours or transferred immediately to a platter for serving.

Serving the cake

When ready to serve, transfer the roulade to the serving platter. Remove the parchment paper, gently rolling the cake into the center of the platter, with the seam on the bottom. (If the roll has slumped or twisted, lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top and sides and reshape with your hands).

With a sharp knife, trim both ends of the roll with neat crosswise or diagonal cuts and discard (meaning, eat them yourself). Dust the top of the roulade with powdered sugar and cocoa, and garnish with strawberries.

To serve, cut the roll into 1-inch-thick slices and lay them flat on dessert plates. Top with additional creme Chantilly if you like.

Lavender, Lemon Verbena, and Mint Tea

Okay, so this isn't a recipe so much as a... well, let's just call it a response to popular demand. I've made this tea lots of times for lots of people over the last few months, and I got a lot of incredulous looks from people when I told them "where I found it".

So, this tea is made from organically grown herbs and flowers: lavender flowers (dried from what I grew last summer--ah, glorious, sweet scent of Provence), lemon verbena (dried, from my friends at Full Belly Farm), and fresh mint (sometimes "chocolate" mint, other times spearmint or peppermint, which I have growing always). You just crumble the dried herbs, and crush the mint a bit before putting it into a tea pot and steep with hot water.

I sometimes add a bit of local honey for some sweetness (I prefer honey from apple and blackberry blossoms from Pescadero--yum!).

Voila! Some of the best herbal tea ever, now with a "recipe" immortalized on and legitimized by the internets. Hah! ;)

Cauliflower is the New Cauliflower!

Ok, I'll admit it: I've never been a huge fan of cauliflower. I dig it in a good curry, but otherwise, I haven't been enamored. Until now. I've finally emerged from beneath whatever rock it was that was keeping me from seeing and tasting the wonder of cauliflower. Yum!

I found the version of this recipe below on Epicurious, originally published in Bon Apetit. As far as I'm concerned, you *could* stop after the initial roasting--it will be the best food you have ever tasted.

However, completing the recipe will also result in the best food you have ever tasted. Really!

Cauliflower with Mustard-Lemon Butter
1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter rimmed baking sheet. Cut cauliflower in half, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle with salt. Roast until cauliflower is slightly softened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in lemon juice, mustard, and lemon peel.

Spoon mustard-lemon butter evenly over cauliflower and roast until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes longer. DO AHEADCan be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. If desired, rewarm in 350°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Transfer cauliflower to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

from Bon Appétit
November 2006

Apricot Blueberry Crostata

An impromptu dinner for friends includes some extra special items: organic apricots and blueberries become a sweet crostata, and some pizza dough from Gialina's in San Francisco (thanks Ned!) will become a very special pizza. Here is the crostata...

Here is the recipe, from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Substitute apricots and blueberries for the cherries in this recipes. I've also made this using peaches, plums, apples, apples and pears, or apples, pears, and quince.

Fresh Cherry Crostata

Tart Dough:
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons salt
1 cup (1/2 pound) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup ice water, or more if needed
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
4 cups pitted fresh cherries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon


1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
2 teaspoons coarse sugar

Make the tart dough: Combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir together the 1/4 cup ice water and the vanilla and sprinkle it over the mixture in the processor. Pulse just until a dough forms, adding a little extra ice water if necessary. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a 1-inch thick round. Wrap 1 disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Freeze the other half for future use.

Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 425F for 45 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling to soften it slightly.

Place the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 13-inch round, flouring the round lightly as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Slide a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet under the bottom sheet of parchment.

Make the filling: Combine the cherries, granulated sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss well. Fill the center of the dough round with the cherries in an even layer, leaving a border of about 1-1/2 inches. Fold the border up and over the cherries to make a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim the excess parchment with scissors.

Use the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer the crostata, still with parchment underneath, to the oven, sliding it, along with the paper, directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the cherries are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven with the peel or baking sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

Yum.

Fresh Cherry Crostata

OMG. :)

Here is the recipe, from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking

Fresh Cherry Crostata

Tart Dough:
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons salt
1 cup (1/2 pound) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup ice water, or more if needed
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
4 cups pitted fresh cherries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon


1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
2 teaspoons coarse sugar

Make the tart dough: Combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir together the 1/4 cup ice water and the vanilla and sprinkle it over the mixture in the processor. Pulse just until a dough forms, adding a little extra ice water if necessary. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a 1-inch thick round. Wrap 1 disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Freeze the other half for future use.

Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 425F for 45 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling to soften it slightly.

Place the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 13-inch round, flouring the round lightly as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Slide a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet under the bottom sheet of parchment.

Make the filling: Combine the cherries, granulated sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss well. Fill the center of the dough round with the cherries in an even layer, leaving a border of about 1-1/2 inches. Fold the border up and over the cherries to make a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim the excess parchment with scissors.

Use the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer the crostata, still with parchment underneath, to the oven, sliding it, along with the paper, directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the cherries are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven with the peel or baking sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

Yum.

Happy Tomato Flowers

'nuf said.

Chewy Organic Oatmeal Cookies

You want thick, chewy oatmeal cookies? You came to the right place! This is the best oatmeal cookie recipe I know of--enjoy.

2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 pound), softened but still firm 
1 cup light brown sugar 
1 cup granulated sugar 
2 eggs 
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon table salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 
3 cups rolled oats 

1. Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time.

2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together, then stir them into butter-sugar mixture with wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in oats and optional raisins.

3. Form dough into sixteen to twenty 2-inch balls, placing each dough round onto one of two parchment paper–covered, large cookie sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. (Halfway during baking, turn cookie sheets from front to back and also switch them from top to bottom.) Slide cookies on parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Organic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

These are thick, chewy cookies... yum.

I use organic stone ground flour and free-range, organic eggs from my friends at Full Belly Farm. The chickens that lay the eggs roam free, and help keep the farm land healthy by eating insects and grubs, scratching and helping turn and aerate the soil, and fertilizing as they go. Quite a system when you think about it. The butter is from Strauss Family Creamery in Marin County. All these folks care deeply about how they produce food, and I respect their organic, thoughtful, and sustainable approaches. Support your local food community!

On to the cookies, and a quick story: these cookies also make great gifts. This batch is a thank you gift for the owner of the shop that recently managed to press the wrinkles out of my fancy-go-to-city duds within an hour after I dropped them off.  One of these days, I'll own an iron. Until then, I'll keep trading favors with my friends and neighbors. :)

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions, and heat your oven to 325F. 
   
2. Sift dry ingredients together; set aside.
   
3. Mix butter and both sugars until thoroughly combined. 
   
4. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. 
   
5. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips.
   
6. Roll a bit less than 1/2 cup of dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the pieces 90 degrees so the rough surfaces face up, and place  onto cookie sheet.
   
7. Bake about 18 minutes, (alternating the baking sheets on the rack after 9 minutes) until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden. The centers should be soft and a little puffy.
   
8. Cool the cookies until you can move them without breaking, then move to wire racks. 
   
9. Makes about a dozen big, chewy cookies.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well it's finally really raining, and I decided to go ultra-cozy and bake some chocolate chip cookes.  These are yummy-chewy-chocolately, and I think you'll like them.

1 cup flour

1/4 cup oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/8 cup canola oil

1/8 cup vanilla soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp molasses

In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, brown sugar, oil, soymilk, vanilla, and molasses together, whipping it a little to emulsify the oil.

In a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, then add to the sugar mixture, mixing to form a stiff dough. Add a few more oats if it's not stiff enough, or add a little more soymilk if it's too stiff.

Spoon onto a baking sheet, and bake at about 360F for between 8-12 minutes, watching carefully to pull them out just as they begin to turn golden brown. Remove from baking sheet right away to cool on a rack, but start eating them as fast as you can because they are so good. :)

Vegan Apple Crisp

I recently found myself afloat in apples (if you've read my previous posts about apples, then you understand why!), and decided to make an apple crisp to bring along to an impromptu dinner with friends.  Use these amounts as a guide, and adjust if you use more apples or if you like extra topping (like me!). 

4-6 locally grown, organic apples, or more

juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup brown sugar or other sweetener

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup canola oil

Wash, peel, core, and slice the apples. I use thick slices, but do whatever you'd like--it'll all work out. :)  Toss together with the lemon juice, and pour them into a baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix the brown sugar, flour, and oats together and add the canola oil, mixing until it comes together. Sprinkle this topping on the apples. 

Bake for 45 minutes at 375F, or until the apples are soft and the topping is browned.