Biscuits: Buttermilk vs. Cream

Buttermilk are light and fluffy warm from the oven, with lots of flaky layers due to all of that cold butter. I make my buttermilk biscuits with just a touch of sugar, they pair beautifully with berry preserves and dare-I-say more butter! Perfect as a sweet snack or in place of toast for breakfast.

Cream are savory, rich and hearty with a touch of flake straight from the oven. They are dense and hold up well to herbs, cheeses and meats. The golden biscuits above are my Cream Pecorino Biscuits and the light golden biscuits below are the buttermilk. The difference in color is that I simply adorned my buttermilk biscuits with a touch of buttermilk and raw sugar before baking and my Pecorino Biscuits I slathered with egg wash prior to baking. The perfect pairing for these cheesy biscuits is a dollop of fig & orange preserves or a simple drizzle of honey & of course butter.

I do love both, but buttermilk biscuits tend to win my heart; all of that butter lends to such a flaky layered consistency and of course they are a bit more sweet than savory.

Lebanese Sweets

I had the privilege of meeting my good friend M's mom last month when she was in town from Jordan. I spent a day in the kitchen with the two of them making traditional Lebanese sweets. We made Awameh, we like to call them Sweet Balloons as M's mom kept saying, "Make a balloon." It was important to have the little air bubble to create the correct texture.

These little sweeties are typically found piled high in Arabic Sweet Shops, you can purchase by the kilo. Not traditionally made at home, which reminds me a bit of France with their gorgeous boulangeries, why bother to make desserts at home? When you can just walk down the street and find a tasty sweet concoction ready-to-eat! I'm sure you're well aware by now, I could never imagine NOT making desserts at home!

Awameh Sweet Balloons
1 cup water, divided
1 teaspoon yeast
1 cup AP flour
1 cup corn starch

2 teaspoons sugar
pinch of salt

Blossom Syrup
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

½ of a lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon rose water

In a small bowl, bloom ¼ cup of tepid water with yeast for 2-3 minutes. In a larger bowl, mix all of the remaining ingredients together and stir in the water & yeast mixture. Let sit for half of an hour.

Meanwhile, heat a neutral high heat oil such as safflower, sunflower or refined canola oil over medium-high heat until reaches a good temperature for frying, approximately 350 degrees F.

Also, create the blossom syrup. By bringing the sugar and the water to a boil, shutting off the heat and stirring in the lemon juice, orange blossom water and rose water. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

After the batter has rested for half of an hour. Pick up the batter with your hands and make a vertical fist...squeezing the batter to form “very little balloons,”catch the little balloons with a spoon, and drop the little balloon of batter into the hot oil. We will call this the Little Balloon technique. Turn the balloons over in the hot oil until a deep golden color, pull out with a slotted spoon and place directly into the blossom syrup. Let sit in the solution for a few seconds until well coated and then pull out and place into a serving dish.

You will most likely have quite a few left-over, as they are delicious but this recipe yields quite a few. Simply store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

M and I also created the most scrumptious Baklava I have tasted. The trick, ghee, and we learned that we should have used less, but that's okay a little more butter was blissful! Another Lebanese trick, simple syrup, in fact never honey at least not in M's family!

I think Baklava should only ever have pistachios, no walnuts, no pecans, only pistachios. We will definitely put in a much thicker layer of pistachios next time.

The process for brushing is pictured below, patience is a must for this dish. Thin layers of filo dough gently brushed with ghee and eventually sprinkled with a thick layer of hand-chopped pistachios. Cut before baking, as it's merely impossible after baking. All of the crispy thin layers will break apart into little shards. Bake until cooked through and light golden. Set on a cooling rack and immediately pour simple syrup over the top. Let cool, put in an airtight container and chill. Eat directly from fridge.

Thanks so much Mrs. H & M for sharing some of your treasured family recipes. I haven't made Baklava since culinary school, so nearly a decade ago and I'm pretty sure we used honey instead of simple syrup as well as a mixture of nuts rather than straight pistachios. It was a blast learning some of the sweets reminiscent of M's childhood, including the Zayneb and Tamryeh that M is so fond of.

Gelato al Cioccolato

As my my friends know, gelato is my all-time favorite dessert. During the summer of '99 while attending UW, I lived in Siena. My friend Whitney and I would walk up to our local gelateria nearly every night to get our coppa di gelato. Her favorite stracciatella and mine was typically bacio (hazelnut & chocolate) or a mixture of cioccolato (chocolate) and pistachio. We are both chocolate lovers. I created this recipe as an ode to our summer evenings spent walking and nibbling!

Gelato al Ciccolato

Yields: scant 5 cups

3 cups whole milk

3/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened & non-alkaline

3 ounces 70% chocolate, preferably Theo Chocolate, broken into small bits

5 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

In a medium saucepan bring the milk, cream and sugar to a light simmer over medium heat while stirring. Once the sugar is melted, turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Once well mixed whisk in the 70% chocolate until well melted.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Using a ladle, temper the egg yolks with warm chocolate mixture (by adding a little of the hot mixture at a time). Once tempered add the egg yolk chocolate mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until thickened and the temperature registers 180 degrees F (or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon).

Strain the mixture through a sieve, stir in the vanilla and the sea salt. Place plastic wrap over the top of the mixture and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can chill faster by placing in an ice bath and stirring until cool.

When chilled, pour the gelato base into the bowl of an ice-cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions.

Freeze for at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

Can be made several days ahead of serving. If making ahead, pull out of the freezer 10-15 minutes prior to serving to soften.

Serve with fresh berries and espresso for an Italian treat!

Buon Appetito!

Pasta Workshop

Last night I taught at Dish it up! in Magnolia. My Italian Summer Supper class which will be coming up again in a few weeks at the Ballard location. A bit demonstration and lots of hands-on Pasta making during my Pasta Workshop.

A handful of my students last night had never made fresh pasta before so it was a blast to see their reaction to the process. We had a few veterans that of course made perfect dough and rolled out gorgeous sheets of pasta! Even the first-timers rolled out sheets of pasta like pros! The best part of the Pasta Workshop by far was witnessing what we ended up with..... adorable and uniquely organic shapes of Ravioli. Some tiny bursting with filling and others massively large with a tiny bit of filling. All different shapes and sizes, but we kneaded and worked the dough with love so every single ravioli was delicious!

These summer ravioli can be stuffed with any of your favorite cheese combinations. When ambling through the farmers' market this summer fill your basket with squash blossoms and fresh basil. If you can't find squash blossoms, go for fresh oregano, basil, Italian parsley and baby spinach. Flour is important when making fresh pasta, venture out to a specialty market to pick-up Tipo 00 flour!

Victoria's Egg Pasta Dough

1lb Tipo 00 Flour

10 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

On a counter-top or in a bowl place the flour in a mound and make a well in the middle of the pile. Crack the eggs into the well and using your fingers or a fork stir the eggs together and slowly incorporate into the flour. Work the eggs into the flour until a dough forms. If you started in a bowl, dump the mixture out onto a counter-top and knead the dough for 3-5 minutes by pressing, pulling and squashing into the table. Reshape and knead. This process develops the gluten and creates springy and silky pasta so make sure to work with it for a least a few minutes. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

While dough is resting make Summer Cheese Filling.

Rolling Pasta Dough

The mammas of Italy roll their dough by hand. However, I was taught in a Tuscan kitchen with a good old-fashioned pasta machine. I recently bought the Kitchen-Aid pasta roller attachment which is fabulous!! Although I'm quite fond of my old pasta machine, no amount of hand-rolling can ever equal that of a pasta machine, whether it's electric or hand-powered.

Dust your work surface with a bit of flour. Through this process lightly dust pasta with flour if it is at all sticky.

Cut a small piece of dough about the size of an orange from the ball. Flatten with your hand into a disk.

Set your pasta machine to the widest setting and roll the flattened dough through the machine. Repeat this step.

Click the machine down to the next setting and roll through. Fold in half lengthwise and click back up to the widest setting. Roll the dough through this setting and then click down a setting and roll through. Again fold in half and repeat this step several times.

Roll through all of the settings from the widest to the narrowest, or whatever your preference is. For Ravioli and Noodles you may want to go down to the 2nd or 3rd narrowest setting.

After rolling down to desired thickness. Fold in half lengthwise, then in half again, repeat 2 more times until you have a square piece. Turn 90 degrees and feed through the machine at the widest setting down to desired thickness.

Filling Ravioli

Lay the pasta sheets out on a well-floured surface. Place a heaping teaspoonful of filling on the dough approximately 2-inches apart. Using a pastry brush dipped in water lightly brush water around the filling. Place another sheet of pasta dough on top of the sheet of dough with filling and gently press the dough down and around each of the fillings; properly sealing ravioli is a must, otherwise you'll end up with all of the filling in your cooking water and empty noodles. After properly sealed, cut into ravioli shapes with a fluted pastry wheel. After cut and sealed, cook in gently boiling salted water for a few minutes. Toss with Beurre Noisette (recipe below) and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Summer Cheese Filling

1/8 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large handfuls of squash blossoms, chopped

small bunch fresh basil, chopped

10 ounces fresh ricotta

4 ounces fresh goat cheese

4 ounces pecorino romano

pinch or 2 of sea salt

In a medium saute pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until soft, add chopped squash blossoms and cook for approximately 30-seconds to 1 minute. Let the mixture cool. In a bowl mix together the cooled garlic and squash blossoms with the basil and cheeses.

A Note on Squash Blossoms

If squash blossoms aren't available, don't fear....saute a few cups of baby spinach with the garlic. Make sure to squeeze dry once cool if the mixture becomes wet. Also delicious and one of my favorite summer ravioli recipes is to increase the basil to a large bunch and leave out the blossoms. Summertime is the time for Porcini mushrooms aka Cepes, so saute with a few sprigs of oregano and thyme, pull out the stems before mixing with the cheese.

Beurre Noisette (Brown Butter Sauce)

1/2lb or 2 sticks unsalted butter

small wedge of Parmesan, grated

In a saucepan set over medium heat warm the butter until just starting to turn golden brown and the aroma becomes toasted and nutty. Pull off heat and toss with freshly boiled Summer Cheese Ravioli. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.

Buon Appetito!!

4th of July Ice-Cream Sandwiches

My apologies to those of you that follow my blog. I realize I've been neglecting both of my blogs a bit, no posts at all through June. Well June was quite a crazy busy month. I was offered a position in pastry at a lovely new french restaurant in Seattle. Everything has moved so fast...out with the old and in with the new. So I have been working at the restaurant and teaching on my days off so it's left little time for blogging. But I'm here, baking & cooking away. Below is a melting version of the ice cream sandwiches I made for the 4th. We had a BBQ with our family and this was the sweet I served before the Fireworks started. Finally the sun has peaked out here in the PNW, just in time for BBQ's and sticky, messy and gooey desserts!

Melting in the gorgeous sunlight my ice-cream sandwiches. The key to making ice cream sandwiches is having all of your ingredients cold. Even your cookies can spend some time after baking and cooling in the freezer for a bit. These cookies are a cross between a brownie and a cookie. A recipe I tried from Jill O'Connor's adorable "desserts for the serious sweet tooth" Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. The Cookie, O'Connor's Triple-Chocolate.....The Ice-Cream, Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio....The Chocolate, Theo (of course). The Ice-Cream Sandwich, scrumptious!

So I altered O'Connor's recipe a smidgen, due to her chocolate selection, she uses a mixture of Semisweet, Unsweetened and Milk Chocolate. I decided on a blend of Theo's Classic 70% Dark & 45% Milk Chocolate. You'll find her original recipe below along with my chocolate notes!

Sticky Fingers Triple-Chocolate Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Adapted from Jill O'Connor's Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

Makes 12 Ice-Cream Sandwiches

For the Triple-Chocolate Cookies:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (For those Theo Fans try a blend of 70% & 45% Milk)

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (If using Theo, no need for this addition)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour (I ALWAYS use Unbleached, you know less chemicals for our bodies!)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chunks

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (Again, Theo 70% works beautifully here)

1 1/2 Quarts Ice-Cream of your choice

Confectioner's Sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the cookies: Combine the semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. If the mixture is not completely melted, continue to microwave for 30-second intervals, and stir until smooth.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, sugars and vanilla with an electric mixer set at medium speed until fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in the melted chocolate mixture. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks.

Drop the batter into 24 dollops (about 1/4 cup each) onto the baking sheets at least 3 inches apart. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are firm and have a glossy, crackled exterior similar to a brownie but are still moist inside, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

When the cookies are completely cool, sandwich with the ice cream. Gently spread a 1/2-cup scoop of softened ice cream onto the flat side of a cookie. Top with a second cookie, flat-side down, and press together gently. Store the finished sandwiches in the freezer while you continue with the remaining cookies and ice cream. Serve immediately, sprinkled with confectioner's sugar if desired.

The only change I'll make for future decadent Ice-Cream sandwiches is to make miniature versions. As these were large and difficult for many to finish. So maybe 3-4 bite sandwiches in the future.

Happy Summer to you all and Buon Appetito!

Fire Roasted Chile & Cheese Empanadas

Mexican Fiesta begins tonight! We'll start off with a favorite, Fire Roasted Chile & Queso Empanadas served with a sweet & spicy Mango Salsa.

Nothing But Oyster Shells Here....

Fresh Oysters in May? It's been a cold Spring here in the Pacific Northwest and there are still delicious oysters to be had.

Tossed on the grill, shucked, dipped in garlic butter & drizzled with fresh lemon juice. These delicate beauties were gone before I managed to get any photos.