Meyer lemon scones

I can’t believe I lived more than 40 years without tasting a Meyer lemon.  I feel like the Children of Israel, wandering in the desert for 40 years.  My first taste was life changing.  (Much the same as my first taste of Balsamic vinegar. ) I have become the Meyer lemon evangelist.  I can’t stop talking about them, cooking with them, and forcing other people to have a taste.  (Best hot toddies, ever!)

There is a reason I haven’t tasted them before.  I don’t live where they grow, and they don’t travel well.  I had some last year because a friend got them in a care package from his friend in California.  (Yes, I did live in California long ago, but it was Death Valley, people.  Not a lot of citrus trees growing there.)

This year, I found the little balls of sunshine hiding in the vast stacks of fruit at my local Costco.  They came in a pack of about a dozen.  The first pack I made almost exclusively into cocktails.  When I went back and there were more, I used those for cooking, replacing any other citrus I would normally use.  And I made marmalade so that I would have something to remember.  I am on my third package now.

We have been enjoying the marmalade at brunch for a couple weeks, and I thought maybe we should have Meyer lemon overload this week.  So, on the the scones.

This recipe is adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s Mastering the Art of Baking & Pastry.   (Get out your scale for this one or use my rough conversions.)

180 g AP unbleached flour (1 2/3 cups)

180 g cake flour (1 1/3 cups)

14 g baking powder (1 tablespoon)

1 g salt (1 tsp)

45 g  sugar (1/4 c)

120 g cold butter, cut into cubes (1 ½ sticks)

1 large egg, plus 1 yolk (reserve white for egg wash)

250 ml heavy cream (1 cup) minus 1 tablespoon for egg wash

zest of 2 Meyer lemons

Preheat oven to 400°

Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder & zest.  Add butter and incorporate thoroughly (I like a food processor, but you can use a stand mixer or your fingers.)

In a separate container, mix egg, yolk  & cream, then add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface (I use a large silicone mat) and work as little as possible until the dough is a cohesive mass.  Roll out to about an inch thick.

Cut to your preferred size and place (shoulder to shoulder, just touching) on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Handle scraps as little as possible while re-rolling.

Mix the remaining egg white with a the reserved cream and brush the tops of the scones.  Let sit a few minutes and brush again.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating pan once if necessary for even browning.

I am going to try making these into chocolate scones for our Valentine’s Wine Tasting this week.  I will let you know how it goes. 

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I love brisket and brisket loves me

Brisket.  The one dish (aside from chili, of course) that defines a region.  How you like this cut of meat tells people something about you.  Do you prefer it corned, with cabbage & potatoes?  Sliced thin on a sandwich? Slow smoked over hickory? Kosher and lean for celebrations?

Those of you who know that I spent my formative years in Texas may assume that I am of the smoked (or BBQ) persuasion.  You would be mistaken.

To me, brisket is a dish that can barely hold itself together, braised all day, and tossed in BBQ sauce before serving (preferably with a stack of fresh flour tortillas.)  It was the dish made at the long-gone Molinar’s Tortilla Factory on South Tacoma Way that made me less homesick and helped my kids have a taste of West Texas.  (Oh Julian, where are you, dear?)

I don’t make brisket often.  Rarely do I come across a piece of meat that hasn’t had the fat cap removed.  You cannot cook brisket all day if there is no fat cap.  It is what bastes the meat and keeps it moist.  If I am having a party, I will go out of my way to get to a real butcher shop and get a whole, big, monster brisket, but that is overkill for my small family’s dinner.

So it is an unexpected treat to see a shrink wrapped slab in the case that the in-store butcher hasn’t gotten a hold of to ruin by trimming the fat.  On those rare magical days, I snag it.  Days of giddy anticipation follow with me regularly opening the fridge to show anyone in the kitchen what I have found.  Tee hee!

I make my own rub with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, house seasoning & sugar.

Throw that big boy into a roasting pan, fat side up and toss in some aromatic vegetables if you have any.  I used an onion and some celery.  You need a little liquid to get started.  Use about a cup of beer, wine or fruit juice.  Now, cover the pan and put it in a 250° oven for about 10 hours.  (If you have an electric slow cooker big enough, go ahead and use it!)

When the meat easily pulls away with gentle tension, scrape off the remaining solid fat.  Remove the meat to a cutting board and discard most of the dripping liquid and the solid bits.  (A mesh strainer works pretty well.)

Leave a smidge of the liquid in the pan and add a bottle of make some quick BBQ sauce.

You need something tomato.  I used paste, but catsup works, too.

And something sweet.  I used brown sugar, but molasses or corn syrup are also great.

And something bubbly.  I used Club Soda, but some people swear by Coke or Dr. Pepper or even beer.

And something acidic.  I used a Meyer lemon (because I have some and they are awesome!)  Apple cider vinegar is traditional.

Add some smoked paprika and salt to taste and whisk that baby up.  Look at us!  We don’t need no stinking bottled sauce.

Now, back to that brisket.  Time to slice (if you can) or shred.  When slicing, be sure to cut across the grain.  Notice how the grain shifts on this cut.  I adjust my slicing.  Now all that’s left is to toss the meat into the sauce and let it hang out somewhere warm so they can get to know each other.

I am crying a little just telling you about it.

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Grab & Go Breakfast

No time for a sit down breakfast?  That is no reason to eat crap!  Grab one of these on your way out the door.  If you make them ahead, you can eat them cold or pop them in the toaster oven for a few minutes while you do your hair.

What are these magical morsels?  Kind of like quiche, kind of like a frittata, in the end it’s really just scrambled eggs & a biscuit.

In that case, we had better make some biscuit dough.

2 Cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons chilled bacon drippings*

1 cup buttermilk or heavy cream

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, add fat by the tablespoon, mix by hand until evenly incorporated, stir in dairy.  Roll it out about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.

Grease up your muffin pan (I like butter.)

Find something with about a 4″ diameter to use as a template and cut out six circles.

Stretch the circles a bit by hand, beginning to shape them in to cups before placing them in the tins.

Mix 6 eggs with a splash of cream and salt & pepper.

Place a few crumbles of bacon in each cup, pour in eggs (don’t over-fill or you will run out!) and top with grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Bake at 400° until eggs are just set.  (You want a TINY bit of movement when you shake the tray, but not much.  The eggs will firm up while they cool.  It is a fine line between runny and rubbery.)

Wrap them in a paper towel and throw them at your family as they run out the door.  Or dunk into a little sour cream.  Or take them to work and have them for lunch.

*Did I lose you with the bacon drippings?  You can use butter in it’s place, but would you just try it once?  If you cook bacon, you have bacon drippings.  It used to be common for that fat to be saved for other uses, but somehow we have stopped.  I keep a plastic container of it in the fridge and I can measure it out by the tablespoon quite easily.  It also mixes into the flour more easily because it is softer than butter.  Just try it, will ya?

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Chicken Bog – Deconstructed

We can thank my client (from South Carolina) and Facebook for tonight’s dinner.  A few weeks ago she  said she was going to make Chicken Bog.  I had never heard of it.  Research ensued.    I was intrigued, but just couldn’t get excited about the idea of wet, bog-like rice.  Still, the ingredients sounded good: chicken, sausage, rice.  Perhaps it was the name.  I should never have told the family what it was called.  Today I decided to use the Bog as inspiration for a dish about which I thought we could all get excited.

Step one, the core: instead of smoked sausage, how about beer bratwurst?  Heh? OK.  And some nice organic, free range drumsticks (more budget friendly than the split breasts.)

Next, how shall we make it?  The Bog calls for boiling one (cut up) chicken, then removing it from the water and taking it off the bone while cooking the rice in the water.  When the rice is almost done, you add the meat back into the pot.  Since I was keeping the legs intact, I wanted crispy skin, so I had a different plan.

Big, oven-proof skillet. Onions in olive oil.  And then the seasoned chicken*.  Browned on all sides.  (Mmm.  Smells good.)  Now the stock and the covered pot go into a 375° oven for half an hour.

Let’s crisp up our chicken, shall we?  Onto a sheet pan with some olive oil and back in to the oven. Turn a time or two.

Meanwhile, back on the stove top, let’s add the brats & the (plain old long grain white) rice to the hot broth.  (Kitchen tip: When I bring a skillet from the oven, I slip an oven mitt on the handle to remind me that it is hot and to keep from burning my delicate hands.)

Twenty minutes later, the rice and brats are done, but it turns out that brats are kind of gray and unattractive when they are steamed.  Toss them into the oven with the chicken.  Let’s brown them up a bit.

So, here’s what we have: tender, delicious chicken that falls off the bone AND has crisp skin, beer bratwurst (good on its own, but the extra flavor from the stock makes it great) really flavorful rice.  And only a skillet and a sheet pan to wash.  Not too shabby!

*My preferred house seasoning is one of Costco’s Kirkland Signature Spice blends.  We really like the Organic Salt-free blend of 21 herbs, spices & vegetables.  It is often my starting block for building flavors.  Today I used it with Kosher salt & garlic powder.

(Side note: I have ordered some equipment to improve my photography.  Let’s hope it helps.)

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But wait, there’s more!

Before there was Booze, Biscuits & Bacon, there was Get Some Hairapy!

You can find other great recipes (like this one!) there.  Check it out.  Type “recipe” or “recipes” in the search box.  (Surprisingly, they return different results!)

Re-creating a beloved soup from group memory

September 14, 2009

When Azarra was young, we had a Thursday ritual.  Whomever wasn’t busy would drive downtown to O’Sheas and fetch enough New Orleans Artichoke Soup for the whole salon.  It was luscious.  And then O’Sheas closed.  They re-opened as a catering operation under new management (who claimed no knowledge of this magnificent soup!)  It has since become the stuff of legend. The soup against which all others are judged (and found wanting!)  So, as part of the culinary exploration project, we set out to re-create this soup from memory.  This was pretty dang close.  Enjoy! And if anyone reading this worked at O’Sheas back then and has the dang recipe, please let us know if we are missing something!

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic or shallots

3 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups water

14oz. can quarter cut artichokes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning blend

1 cup of warm whipping cream

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in pot, then add carrots, celery, onion. Saute 10 min (until soft) Add 3 Tbsp butter, then add flour and whisk together, simmering for about 5 mins. Add chicken broth, water, artichokes, and all seasonings.

Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add cream, heat through, and serve.

Simple tomato puree – then soup!

A stick of butter, a can of tomatoes and an onion.

That’s a recipe?

Yup.  I have been seeing it around online and people just ooo and ahh over it.

So here we go.

Grate, mince, shred or otherwise render a sweet onion into small bits and/or juice.

Add it and the butter to a saucepan and make it all hot & melty & aromatic.

Add (1) 28 ounce can of really good canned tomatoes (whole, diced or crushed and the sauce in which they are packed).  If you have canned your own tomatoes, by all means use them!

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a couple of hours. (This would be a good use for your slow cooker. It could go all day while you are at work.)

Use an immersion blender and whiz out any remaining chunks.

Now you have a nice tomato sauce that you can use for pizza or over pasta, etc.

But my favorite is to add it to a quart of hot stock and whiz it together to make soup!

If you are using boxed stock, you will need to add some seasoning because that stuff is always painfully bland.  Add a good handful of some tasty herbs and a bit of salt to taste.

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Loaded Baked Potato Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450

2 cups four
2 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T salt
1/2 cup chopped bacon
1/2 shredded cheese
1/2 cup chilled bacon drippings (or butter)
1 cup leftover potato (mashed or baked)
1 cup sour cream

In food processor, combine flour, leavening & salt. Add bacon & cheese & mix thoroughly. Add fat in small clumps or cubes, process until no lumps remain.

Mix potatoes & sour cream together, add to previous mixture & pulse until it barely comes together as dough. Turn onto a floured surface and fold and pat by hand to fully combine adding more flour as necessary if dough is too sticky. Pat out 1 inch think and cut with 2″ biscuit cutter.

Place on baking sheet (lined with parchment or silicone sheet) or stone baking slab with edges just touching. When combining scraps to re-cut, use as few motions as possible to keep dough from getting tough.

Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and bake for 18-24 minutes, turning tray once, halfway through.

Immediately upon removing from oven, brush again with melted butter. Serve warm.

Spread some sunshine on shortcakes

So, now you have Meyer lemon marmalade. It is some mighty tasty stuff.  You might be tempted to eat it by the spoonful like one of my co-workers, but I suggest shortcake.

Now, as we get to know each other, you will see that my biscuit recipes always make a half sheet pan full.  But Aura, you say, there are only 2.5 people in your house.  How can you eat all these?  Well, every Sunday I go to Brunch.  This is a standing date with friends/family.  There may be 10 people there or there may be two dozen.  It is bad form to run out of biscuits (or scones, or shortcake, etc.)  Some people like to take a couple home for Monday breakfast, and I like to have a couple for nibbling while preparing Sunday Dinner.  Feel free to cut the recipe in half.  Or don’t. Take some to work, to church or to school and be a hero.

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour (another half cup on the board)
2 T plus 2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T sea salt
1/4 Cup sugar
8 T (1 stick) cold butter
1 Pint cold heavy cream

1/2 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 450°.

The traditional method:

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and stir together. Add fat in small cubes and using fingertips, work flour into fat until grainy.

Make a well and add buttermilk. Stir until just incorporated and turn out lumpy mass onto lightly floured work surface.
Turn over itself as few times as possible to get something that looks like dough.

Aura’s method:

Combine dry ingredients in food processor.  Add chilled butter (I like to cube it up small and put it in the freezer while I assemble everything else.  I have heard some people freeze & grate their butter.) Mix until you can’t see big chunks.  Add cream and pulse until it is sort of clumping together, then dump on to a silicone baking mat that you have dusted with 1/2 cup of flour.

Use a rolling pin or your hands to pat it out about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut with a 2″ cutter and place on a parchment covered baking sheet (or silicone baking mat) five across, just touching.
Fold scraps gently back together for second pass. Any scrap from that pass, hand form to similar size.

Paint melted butter over the top.  Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes (look for golden brown) rotating pan once.

Remove from tray when just cool enough to pick up.  Now spread a little dollop of Meyer lemon marmalade and get ready to smile.

When life gives you Meyer lemons

These Meyer lemons did not grow on a tree in my rain sodden yard. Nor were they a loving care package sent from a friend in a place where such miracles grow.  They came from Costco. Two weeks in a row during the winter holidays I purchased a case of 12.  The first 12 went into everything I could imagine, but mainly they went into bourbon & soda.  Sometimes warm, sometimes over ice.  Always amazing.

When I had only six left from the second batch, I started to think about the day they would be gone. When there would be none to put in my roasting chickens or zested into gremolata sprinkled over braised boneless beef  short ribs (also found at Costco.)

Preserving food is something my mother did on occasion when I was a kid. Other than freezing things in Foodsaver bags, I had never tried. But these seemed too good, too special to let slip away.

First option: Moroccan style preserving in salt. Interesting idea, but it takes a while to work. No instant gratification.

Second option: Marmalade. The recipe sounds simple. They sell canning stuff at my local grocery store. While I am a little intimidated by the idea of canning, various sources assure me that this is a fairly safe way to try the concept.

So, it is decided.  I will follow directions and hope that no one gets poisoned.  Since I didn’t know if I ever wanted to do this again, I didn’t want to buy the big canning pot, funnel & tongs, so I bought short little 4 ounce jars so that I could use me big soup pot for boiling them.  (Needed the water to be two inches over the top of the jars.)

Here’s what I did:

Slice the ends off the lemons to remove the thickest part of the peel, slice in to thin wedges and slice the wedges finely.  I didn’t want big hunks of peel in the finished product.

The recipe I found called for equal parts (by weight) of lemons (6, which I had!) sugar & water, plus one packet of pectin.

Now, after the fact, I decided that I should have sliced the lemons into a colander and let the juice drain out so that I would have measured the weight of the fruit and used the juice as part of the water measure. But I didn’t. Next time.

Put the lemons & water in a pan and bring to a boil, keep boiling for ten minutes.

Add the sugar & pectin & boil at full tilt (you should not be able to stir down the boil) for another ten minutes.

Ladle the goo into your jars as directed.

(If you are new to canning, go here to get info on how to prepare your jars, etc.)

I had to do two batches in the water.

The jars made the popping sound that proves they are sealed quite soon after removing from the water. It made me nervous that I had done something wrong, but I went with it.

Because I am a giving soul, and because I am still not convinced that I haven’t created something that will eventually poison us, I gave half of the pots as gifts. The little jars of sunshine were happily received in the middle of the dark, dreary,  drizzly winter.

I envy those who live in climates where such treasures as Meyer lemons are commonly available.  Because they do not travel well, it is not something we see here regularly.  But keep yours eyes open and if you have a chance to get your hands on some there are worse things you can do than make marmalade.

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