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Christmas Stollen

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It’s December. How did that happen? I’m really not sure. Have I really been out of a college and working for a year and a half? Have I seriously had the same pair of sunglasses (a holiday gift last year) for almost a whole a year? Wow… I’m getting old and responsible.

This time of year is always an interesting time in my family .Not because we hate each other or any of the typical reasons most families claim the holidays are crazy, but because  my family doesn’t really have holiday traditions. I grew up with my mom’s family celebrating Christmas and dad’s family celebrating Hanukkah. It took my mom 10 year of marriage and begging to finally get a “Hanukkah Bush” in the house.  I was seven. It was life changing. Not only did I end up totally confused being raised with both holidays, my dad happened to be born on December 25th.

If you have the pleasure of knowing my dad you know that the world revolves around him. Not because he is full of himself, it’s because he just kicks major butt.  This makes for an interesting dynamic when someone who is so used to everything being the way he wants having to celebrate his birthday on a commercially exploited holiday that he does not observe. He takes it in stride.  The big Christmas tree went up at the outdoor mall near us. My dad took a photo to send to me with the caption “It’s beginning to feel a lot like my birthday”.

I would love to say that we have amazing traditions, but we don’t. Some years we’re home, some years we are at my parents house in Hawaii. Some years theres a Hanukkah bush, some years theres no home cooked meal, and last year… well it was Palm Beach where my sister was living at the time. The last few years all 5 of us haven’t even been together. The one constant to this season for me is baking.

Since we lack holiday traditions, I try to make every singly traditional thing I see on the covers of magazines, websites, or Martha Stewart. I thought I’d start December off with a really wintery treat. Stollen. I’d never made one until now. I also forgot to look for all the ingredients before starting… turns out my family eats lots of dried fruit and I didn’t have what was called for on hand and improvised.Instead of those listed below in the recipe I used dried tart cherries, figs and currants.

I have to say… This was easy and very delicious. It made the whole house smell great. The yeasty dough baking woke my mom up. It’s that good. It better than waking up to the smell of bacon. I will make this again, and take some to the German Grandma and hopefully get her stamp of approval!

Recipe (From the LA Times)

1/2 cup seedless raisins

1/2 cup dried currants

1 cup diced mixed candied citrus peel ( 1/4 -inch dice)

1/2 cup candied cranberries

1/2 cup brandy (or water if you don’t cook with alcohol)

4 to 5 cups flour, divided

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 package (7 ounces) marzipan

Melted butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

  • combine the raisins, currants, candied peel and candied cranberries. Pour the brandy over the fruit and let stand 1 hour. Drain, reserving the brandy. Pat the fruit dry with paper towels
  •  In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over one-fourth cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees) and stir until dissolved. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let stand until the yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.
  • over medium heat, heat the milk, salt, butter and remaining sugar to warm (110 to 115 degrees).
  • In a large bowl mix flour with the milk mixture, vanilla extract and eggs to the yeast mixture and beat in a mixer or by hand with a fork or wooden spoon until combined Beat in the reserved brandy.
  •  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Flatten the dough out, then knead in the candied fruit, adding flour to the board as needed
  •  Shape the dough into a ball and put the dough into a buttered glass bowl. Turn the dough buttered side up and loosely cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  •  Punch down the dough and divide into two equal parts. Place one half aside. Roll the other half into a 12-by-8-inch oval. Brush with melted butter.
  • Cut the marzipan into quarters and roll each quarter into a 12-inch rope. Put two of the ropes alongside each other along the length of the dough, leaving a 1 1/2 – to 2-inch border between the two ropes in the center of the rolled-out dough. Fold the long side of the dough over to the center of the oval. Fold over the other long side so that it overlaps the center by about 1 inch, pressing down gently but firmly. Lightly taper the ends of the loaf. Put the finished loaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with the reserved dough.
  • Let the two loaves rise until each has doubled in size. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes until dark golden brown. Dust loaves with powdered sugar.

Candy For The Win

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It’s sunday morning… I’ve been up since 5:30. Why??? I have a feeling it’s the adrenaline still pumping through my veins from USC’s win last night over Oregon. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would revolve 12 Saturdays (until we are off probation and back in bowl games) a year around football, I would laugh in your face. If someone were to then tell me I would be screaming at the top of my lungs cheering with my Dad who went to UCLA for the Trojans… well… I’d tell you that you’re off your rocker and should get your head checked out. But it’s true. Sanctions and all, I love USC football. My bruin father even loves USC football. We have victory dances. And my poor mom… she doesn’t understand how after 27 years of marriage my dad has a new could love of football.

At least my mom didn’t have to suffer too much through a football filled night. She had a whole batch of fresh made penuche fudge to keep her company. And marshmallows. And Gingersnaps.

You might be asking yourself what is penuche? The best was I can answer this is with another question… have you ever had a butterscotch square from See’s Candy? That center is basically penuche. A rich, brown sugary, smooth but somewhat crumbly soft candy. Growing up my mom would go to See’s and make us wait in a long line so she could get a custom box… one pound of butterscotch squares. So every once in a blue moon I make penuche for her. It’s very simple to make. Almost too easy. And the best part is i get to sue my favorite new toy… a laser thermometer! Basically its a little wand that has a laser reader on the bottom, you press a button the laser measures the surface temperature of the candy and you don’t have to clean it! Who knows how many thermometers I’ve broken… I’ve dropped them, cooked sugar onto them, put them in the dish washer… you name it… I’ve broken one doing it. Or just got so damn frustrated cleaning the thing I threw it out.

I love this new laser thing… I get super excited over dorky things like this. I have looked for a reason to use it for months and finally it was cool enough of in SoCal to make some candy. If you’re a novice candy maker this is a great recipe to start with. All the ingredients are easy to find, the technique is very easy and it’s something that most people aren’t familiar with, so it’s fun to introduce it to people.

I use a Martha Stewart recipe, because it’s somewhat hard to find a recipe of this confection. And its a good recipe, I leave out the nuts though (since See’s doesn’t have nuts in their butterscotch squares)

Penuche 

Ingredients

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar

5 ounces (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Coat a 5-by-10-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.

Bring evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 236 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 25 minutes.

Transfer to a mixer bowl, and beat in confectioners’ sugar on low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. 

Increase speed to medium, and beat until mixture is thickened and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla.

Spread mixture in pan, smoothing top. Refrigerate, uncovered, until firm, about 25 minutes.

Unmold fudge using plastic overhang, and discard plastic. Cut into pieces.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. It went pretty quickly, and I never got a picture after I cut the candy. Now that football season is over I will be a more diligent blogger. Or just make another batch… and maybe coat them in chocolate this time. Yum

Dutch Crunch Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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I know there’s no way I’m the only person that has ever wanted fresh home made crusty bread, without the day long process. I love my sourdough, I really do, But sometimes I want something NOW. Or sometimes I didn’t think yesterday that today I was going to want some delicious bread for something special I’m making for dinner. Because of all these reasons (and that it is just flat out delicious)  I’m so glad I came across this bread.

There’s a sandwich shop by my work that has dutch crunch bread and people rave about it. I’m not really a sandwich person, but my love of bread lead me to do some research. I found picture after picture of this gorgeous crusty bread and I was determined to make some rolls. When reading several recipes there were a few things I liked 1) the reasonable amount of dough the recipe made 2) that from start to finish it only takes 2 hours and 3) that it used a technique I’d never tried before - The crunch on this bread is actually produced by making a second dough, or “paste”, and placing it on top of the shaped rolls, letting it rise for about 15 minutes and baking. I’d seen similar techniques used in Latin American sweet breads and never tried it.

This bread is just flat out awesome. This is totally a recipe for yeastspotting. I made a batch the next day to go with soup! The inside is so fluffy, and the taste is yeasty, without being overwhelming. It was the perfect roll to go with the pulled pork I made. Below is the recipe for both the bread and the pork. It was a perfect meal, and eating it while watching USC destroy Notre Dame made it that much better…

Recipe From Baking Bites

Bread dough

1 package of instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2.5 – 3.5 cups all-purpose flour

Topping

1 tablespoon yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup rice flour

Directions

  • milk water and milk together in a small bowl or measuring cup, add sugar and yeast, let sit until foamy.
  • In a large bowl mix 2.5 cups of flour and the salt.
  • Add the foamy yeast mixture and oil to the flour. mix together. Add more flour if the dough is very sticky.
  • Turn the dough out out the counter and knead a few times until it smooth, then place in a lightly oiled bowl to proof covered with plastic wrap from an hour.
  • Heat the oven to 375° F
  • One the dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a floured surface and divide into 6 equal pieces.
  • Shape each sixth into balls – start by flattening out the dough and then folding the top half down over itself, followed by the two sides in towards each outehr and finish like rolling a burrito.
  • repeat with the remaining 5 pieces. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. lightly oil the roll and cover with plastic wrap so they do not form a skin. (the oil is only to prevent the plastic from sticking).
  • Mix all of the ingredients for the topping together and let rise. The mixture will become puffy quickly. remember this is rice flour, so it will not look like a normal dough ( I was convinced I had not done something right at first)
  • Once the mixture is puffy, uncover the rolls and start placing equal amounts of the topping on each roll. 
  • Let the dough with the topping rise for an additional 15 minutes
  • bake rolls in the 375° F oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the rolls are golden brown and crunchy.
Momofuku Pork Seen on Yummy Supper
Recipe
3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt per pound of pork
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar per pound of pork
black pepper
Directions
  • Mix salt and sugar together with pepper, Rub on all areas of the pork.
  • wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge over night.
  • When you are ready to make the pork, take it out of the fridge, and heat the oven to 250°F.
  • Place pork in a roasting pan, and place in the oven to cook for 6 hours.
  • After 6 hours, Crank the oven up to as high as it goes and flip the pork on to all sides for about 3 minutes to get the whole exterior crispy (it’s the best part!)
  • take the pork from the oven, let it rest for a half hour or so. Then use forks to break apart the pork.
I used the pork for sandwiches and added barbaque sauce and a vinegar based coleslaw. YUM! 

Pumpkin Harvest Cinnamon Rolls

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I’m a southern California girl. We don’t get these things called seasons. We have hot (like today is supposed to be 98°) and cool (it was about 55° and it rained last week) with an average of pretty fortunate. Growing up, there was not an abundance of leaves changing. We only saw snow on vacations or in the distant mountains. And there was never a shift in what we ate because of the seasons. I can only remember eating anything pumpkin on Thanksgiving.

I don’t know what is responsible for my late awakening to autumnal flavors. Maybe I just grew up in a place that didn’t feel the effects of the seasons? Or is it just that there has been saturation in the market of seasonal flavors in recent years? I think Starbucks and the pumpkin spice and gingerbread lattes really made this autumnal flavor thing trendy, and I wasn’t missing out on these things throughout my childhood. Regardless of if this is true, I want to believe it so I don’t start thinking I was deprived of anything growing up.

I hear it’s fall. The only proof I have of this is that the sun is starting to set too early for my liking. There’s pumpkin patches on street corners and fresh apples in the store too. So I thought I’d try my hand at something pumpkin. I keep seeing pumpkin cinnamon rolls online. I felt because of my love for yeasted things, this should be what I attempt. But the recipes seemed a little… too alike.

I started browsing my kitchen for inspiration… and there it was, in the spice cabinet. Here is my take on the pumpkin cinnamon roll… taken to a new level with my friends the apple, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. I have to say, for not growing up cooking with pumpkin these are pretty damn good. My parents both went crazy for them this morning. And my dog is still holding a grudge that no one gave her any.

This makes a pretty big batch (I used two 9 x 13 Pyrex dishes). I took a whole tray into work. They were quickly devoured. Must share on Yeastspotting!

Recipe

Pumpkin Yeast dough

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/4 ounce packages instant yeast

1/2 cup milk

4 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 cups bread flour

2 cups whole wheat white flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 cup pumpkin puree

Filling

2 tablespoons butter (soft at room temperature)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 large apple, grated. (I used honey crisp)

Frosting

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons cream

2 cups (or more if needed) powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

  • In a small bowl combine water and yeast, let proof
  • In a large bowl combine flours, sugar, spices and salt.
  • Add the melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients as well as the yeast mixture. Mix the dough a bit.
  • Add the pumpkin puree and continue mixing. 
  • Dump dough out of the bowl onto a counter or cutting board and knead until the dough is smooth and bounces back when poked. 
  • Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. let proof rise until doubled in size. 
  • Make the filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon and ginger together.
  • grate the apple and squeeze out all extra moisture.
  • After the dough has risen dump out onto a working surface (I use a marble counter top, and since the dough has enough butter in it, it doesn’t stick without flour). Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 18 inches by 12 inches.
  • spread the soft butter on every inch of the dough
  • follow by sprinkling the sugar mixture over the butter and then the apple. 
  • roll the dough into a log and cut into about 12 rolls.
  • Place the rolls in a greased baking dish and let proof either in the fridge over night or at least an hour before baking. 
  • When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350° and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating during the baking.
  • Make the frosting - Start with the soft butter and the cream. Whip together. add the extracts and powdered sugar. Beat on a low-speed until everything is incorporated. You may need to add more cream to thin out the frosting. You want it to be stiff, but spreadable.
  • Take the rolls out of the oven when they are still somewhat soft and a nice golden brown. Cover with frosting and enjoy!

Challah

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Besides a Bat Mitzvah for my cousin, I have been to Temple once. It was with my Grandma, and I went because I had to attend a religious service for a world religions class in college. I sat there for two hours as the words went in one ear and out the other. I felt ashamed that I really did not know anything substantial about the religion that has been such an identifying factor of my dad’s family, and a catalyst for many things, including leaving Nazi Germany and somehow ending up in America.

I don’t know the prayers or the majority of traditions. but I know the food. And I love the food. Growing up I spent a good portion of my childhood in New York City. We had an apartment a few blocks from the mecca known as Carnagie deli. We would arrive in the city late at night after the long flight from LA and immediately order matzoh ball soup, latkes and Reubens. There is nothing I miss more about New York than Carnagie’s soup… and being able to order it and have it delivered at all hours of the night.

While I may not practice the religion, matzoh ball soup and rye bread are in my DNA. I look forward to the high holidays as an excuse to have any and all of the above. And most of all… I look forward to the baking. This past week was Rosh Hashanah, Every website was overflowing with recipes for honey and apples and brisket. All very tempting, but all I wanted was some Challah. I wanted a sweet eggy bread to cover with jam for breakfast. I wanted something to munch on at dinner, and I wanted to make french toast with the left overs.

I’ve tried my fair share of challah recipes. It was the first yeasted bread I ever made on my own. I was probably 12 or 13 and I remember how proud I was that I could braid it. It seemed like it took all day and I remember thinking how proud my dad and his mother would be. Needless to say, this bread is near and dear to my heart. This past week I didn’t turn to the legendary new york times recipe, or a hand-written recipe my mom received from a friend. I went with a recipe from Saveur that was conveniently in my email inbox.

It was challah. Nothing more, nothing less. My brother used it for a sandwich that he said was pretty good. But for some reason I found it resistible. Maybe I would have liked it more if it had raisins in it, or poppy seeds on top. Or maybe it’s like what happens when you over play one of your favorite songs and decide you don’t want to listen to it anymore.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy it… and for a few hours I felt connected to my heritage. And it was very pretty. Off to yeastspotting it goes.

Recipe Saveur

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk,  heated to 115°
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 tbsp. unsalted butter,  melted, plus more for greasing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg yolk

Directions

  • Stir together milk, 1 tsp. sugar, and yeast in a large bowl; let sit until foamy, 10 minutes.
  •  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together butter and eggs. Add to yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add flour, remaining sugar, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 6–8 minutes.
  •  Transfer to a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Uncover, punch dough down, and re-cover; let sit until slightly puffed, 30 minutes.
  •  Uncover dough, divide into 3 equal portions, and roll each into a 16″-long rope.
  •  Align dough ropes side by side, perpendicular to you, and pinch together ends farthest from you to form one end of loaf. 
  • Braid ropes and pinch ends together to seal. Transfer braided loaf to a parchment paper—lined baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let proof for 1 hour.
  • Heat oven to 375°. Stir together egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water in a small bowl and brush all over surface of loaf.
  • Bake until loaf is dark golden brown, 30–35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Happy Birthday to Me

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I turned 24 last week. I got out of bed that morning, looked for any wrinkles, and went off to work like any other Monday. I kept to myself and avoided any unsolicited birthday attention – except letting my best friend buy me frozen yogurt. All day I was less than enthusiastic and kept telling myself, “this is part of getting older; birthdays aren’t as special as they used to be.” And then I was proven wrong.

I arrived home from work to find Williams Sonoma boxes from the 2 most important (and brilliant) guys in my life waiting on the kitchen counter for me.  As I unwrapped my new Vitamix and cookbooks my faith in birthdays was restored.  I was reminded of how loved I am (and that I must really be getting old if a blender is my favorite birthday present). And then I realized there’s a group of people out there who really believe in my baking and cooking. And if they do, I should too!

So, today I’m starting a blog. I’m very excited! I feel like I have a new purpose, and even better – a new challenge!

And about those brilliant guys, my dad and brother, who know any kitchen appliance or cookbook they give me will ultimately be to their benefit (and that I would feel indebted forever for a mixer that could be a down payment on a car); I have to thank them for being such honest taste testers. And I will show my gratitude in the only way I know how – making them something really special.

Stay tuned…