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Inspiration for wholesome weeknight & weekend cooking.

Archive for ‘June, 2013’

Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies

When I came across Katharine Hepburn’s family recipe for brownies in Gourmet Magazine, my curiosity was piqued.  Katharine Hepburn — wouldn’t you think she would hold something to the highest standards and be associated with something very classic, old-fashioned, and American as a delicious homemade brownie?  I did…  Indeed, this is the best brownie recipe I’ve tried. You can really taste the butter, salt, chocolate and nuts in each bite and they are nice and moist in the middle yet crispy on the top.  Delicious!  The recipe only makes 9 brownies, and that’s just not going to be enough (trust me), so you might want to double the recipe.  Note:  I thought 1/2 cup chopped walnuts was plenty.

Brownie

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine.

Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies

Makes 9 brownies.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation

1. Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate and take the saucepan off the heat.

2. Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, 1 cup chopped walnuts is added here as well.)

4. Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8-inch-square pan at 325°F for about 40 minutes.

You can cut these brownies into squares, once they have cooled, and eat them out of the pan, but it is so much nicer to pile them on a fancy plate, from which people are going to eat them with their hands anyway. If you want to smarten up your act you can put a square of brownie on a plate with a little blob of créme fraîche and a scattering of shaved chocolate.

Original source: “A Harried Cook’s Guide to Some Fast Food” by Laurie Colwin

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Zucchini Bread

I have a weakness for zucchini bread and banana bread.  It’s great to snack on and great toasted with butter for breakfast.  This is my favorite zucchini bread recipe – I don’t think it gets any better than this!

Zucchini Bread

Recipe slightly adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook.

Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

“For best flavor, wrap the breads when cool and let stand overnight before serving.  With its sugar, spice and nuts, this is a tea bread, almost cake-like.”

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sweet butter, melted or at room temperature (plus an extra 2 teaspoons for greasing loaf pans)

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated unpeeled raw zucchini

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup shelled walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter two 9×5 inch loaf pans.  Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and brush with butter.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until light and thick.  Fold the grated zucchini into the oil mixture.

3. Sift the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Stir into zucchini mixture until just blended.  Fold in the walnuts.

4. Pour the batter into the buttered loaf pans.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool slightly, remove from pans, and cool completely on a rack.

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Turkey Sausage Patties

My friend Sarah told me about this healthy breakfast sausage recipe that she makes for her family.  It’s great!  Next time I think I will make it with “dark” ground turkey (available at the meat counter at Whole Foods) since it is a bit more flavorful and less dry.  Mix this up the night before and it will brighten your Saturday or Sunday morning!  Note: I did use a pinch of Herbs de Provence, plus a little extra fennel seed, plus a bit of fresh rosemary.  Also, you can grind the spices in a mini prep processor or I have an extra coffee grinder that I dedicate to grinding nuts and spices only, and that worked well for this.

Turkey Sausage Patties

Recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog Goop.

Homemade Turkey Sausage Patties

“Sausage patties are one of the easiest things to make and are so much healthier and tastier than the scary processed options. Here I use a salt that I get at Borough Market in London that’s mixed with herbs de Provençe. If you can’t find it, simply use a pinch of herbs de Provençe, a little extra fennel seed and maybe a bit of rosemary.”

Serves: 4
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • pinch of hot chili flakes
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • pinch of herbs de Provençe salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
  • 1/2 pound ground turkey
  • 2 teaspoons real Vermont maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Using a mortar and pestle, Flavor Shaker (gotta love Jamie Oliver) or mini food processor, bash the fennel seeds, chili, cayenne, salts and black pepper together. Combine this spice mixture with the sage, turkey and maple syrup in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

2. Form the mixture into 12 small, thin patties. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages for about a minute and a half on each side, pressing down with your spatula to really brown them and keep them thin. Serve warm.

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Caramelized Onion Ricotta Tart

This is my “go to” hors d’oeuvre to serve with cocktails.  It’s light and fresh tasting and I think it’s nice to serve people something warm out of the oven.  When thawing my puff pastry, I do set a kitchen timer for the thawing time (40 minutes) on the counter (if you let it sit much longer than that, it can get sticky and really hard to handle and mess up your whole recipe).  I’ve heard you can also thaw it in the fridge, but I haven’t tried that yet.

Caramelized Onion Tart

Recipe from blog Annie’s Eats.

Caramelized Onion Ricotta Tart
Serves: 8-12

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter

1 medium-large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. white wine (optional)
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 egg yolk
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Minced fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F.  In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the sliced onion, thyme, sugar, salt, pepper and white wine to the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have fully caramelized and are golden brown in color, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.  In a small bowl whisk together the ricotta and egg yolk until smooth.
  • To assemble the tart, lay the puff pastry sheet on a baking sheet and fold in each edge about 1 inch.  Spread the ricotta mixture over the puff pastry (you may not use it all).  Sprinkle about half of the Parmesan cheese over the ricotta mixture.  Layer the caramelized onions evenly over the ricotta mixture.  Top with the remaining Parmesan.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden and baked through.  Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.  Slice into squares or rectangles and serve warm.
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Kale Chips

Although you can’t tell from the picture, these kale chips are light as air!  They are delicate and crispy and dissolve in your mouth when you eat them.  They are really a healthy replacement to potato chips and fun to have out as a snack or appetizer before dinner.  My friend Ashley made them for us and the kids and adults all loved them.  It’s great to have yet another way to serve this superfood.

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh kale

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Wash kale and dry thoroughly with paper towels.  Drying the kale well is key or your kale chips will turn moist and chewy just hours after you bake them.  Remove the large ribs and roughly tear the leaves into 2 inch pieces.  Spread them out onto 2 rimmed baking sheets (so they are not too crowded or they will steam) and toss with olive oil and salt.  Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.  Season to taste with additional salt  if needed.  Serve warm or at room temperature within an hour or two of baking (or they may turn chewy).

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