kitchen adventure: daniel holzman’s sloppy lamb

the cannibal's "sloppy lamb"

when the new york weather was cool, but mild enough to enjoy lunch outside (not this recent glorious tuesday. i mean, back in october) allison and i convened at mad square eats where we met casey, of  the cannibal. he prepared for us a memorably delicious and hearty sloppy lamb sandwich.

casey!

how cute is he, in his "stackhouse" jersey?

the sloppy stuff and i go way back.

in elementary school, one of my classmates –let’s call her miss b– would bring manwiches for lunch.

i want to say she had them every day –that’s what it seemed like to me, anyway. but surely any and every time she sat across from me it was the most terrible torture. not that her actual sandwich inspired envy — a modest amount of manwich, spread between two slices of untoasted white bread (never a bun, so that the sauce would soak through. the whole thing transformed into a mottled orange mess as she cuddled it.) she ate with a creepy, finger-licking gusto– the scene was an appetite suppressant, really. but i could separate the experience of watching her with my understanding of the thing itself: a saucy ground meat fest. i wanted my own.

a short time later, i started cooking on my own, using the “i can cookbook” by sophie kay (which i still have). sloppy joes (or, in ms. kay’s volume “the texas dean”) were what i made best and most often. i overstuffed mine (that is, when i bothered to eat it properly, with bread).

i hadn’t made a single one since…the 80s? but casey and the cannibal’s “grown-up” lamb version got me thinking…

i found a recipe online. this source has meat-cred: daniel holzman, of the the meatball shop .

here’s how it turned out:

I ate it (with gusto) every day for a week.

hope you’ll try it and like it, too:

Lamb Sloppy Joes

Recipe by Daniel Holzman, chef of The Meatball Shop via men’s health

What You’ll Need:
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb shoulder
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 bell peppers (green, yellow, and red), seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp paprika
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne
3 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup white wine
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar
8 brioche or kaiser buns, toasted
How to Make It:
1. In a large pot, sauté the lamb in the olive oil over high heat, stirring frequently until browned and beginning to crisp, about 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the pan and reserve , being careful to leave any oil and rendered fat in the pot.
2. Lower the heat to medium, add the vegetables and spices to the pan and continue to cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, vinegar, sugar, 1/2 cup water, salt, and reserved lamb. Bring the stew to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Serve on buns.

***

ps. i chose to make this without the red, green, and yellow peppers — i made a side salad with good greens instead.

***

photos © anita aguilar

kitchen adventure: donna hay’s pavlova

the photo was haunting me…

i had been tossing around the idea of trying to make pavlova for months, but  i then stumbled upon donna hay’s recipe–doesn’t it look divine?–and  i looked at it every day, a few times a day, for a couple of weeks. i read the recipe over and over and over. there could be no more waiting. would it be possible for me and my sunbeam mixmaster 2485 hand mixer to turn out sky high meringue? i had to try.

and, as if i need one final “sign” to go for it: pavlova is a traditional australian dessert. this recipe find was made during one of my favorite tennis occasions, the first grand slam of the season – the australian open.

game on.

***

here’s the recipe, and the results of my grand slam experiment:

PAVLOVA – recipe and notes via donna hay at donnahay.com.au

• 150ml eggwhite (approximately 4 eggs)
• 1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch), sifted
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
• ½ cup passionfruit pulp (approximately 4 passionfruit)
• 250g strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Reduce oven to 120°C (250°F) and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Spread over the pavlova, top with passionfruit and strawberries and serve immediately. Serves 8–10.

* You’ll know when the meringue is stiff and glossy because the mixture will have tripled in volume and stands up when the beaters are lifted.

* The low heat puffs up the meringue while the long cooking time dries it out to give you a lovely crisp shell.

* Store your pavlova, undressed, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

***

some notes from me : i “settled” for the regular granulated sugar that i had in my cupboard, rather than the super fine stuff. it worked just fine.

i couldn’t find single pouring cream. i researched the equivalent: light cream. but i couldn’t manage to thicken it (now i have a cup of  very well-aerated light cream for the morning coffee). i ended up using regular heavy cream. it didn’t weigh down or overpower the meringue as i feared it might–after all, it’s only 1 cup– so don’t worry about trying to find “single pouring” stuff. (but if you have tips on how to make the light cream into a thick cream, i’d love to know…)

the vinegar: i was a little alarmed that the smell of a mere 2 teaspoons of vinegar would linger after i put the meringue in the oven. i consulted other recipes, including the joy of cooking, and their measurements for both the vinegar and cornstarch were all different, but none had as many as 2 teaspoons. was it a misprint? but no reason to fear: ms. hay’s measurements worked perfectly.

ah, the advantage of using a hand mixer: you can feel the consistency of the egg whites change.

i have the same problem with holding the mixer that i used to have with a tennis racquet: the death grip. it makes sense, really. in tennis and baking–especially if you’re relatively new to it– feel is important. the tighter your grip, the less feel you have. i never quite mastered it in tennis (woe is my serve), but it’s easy with baking — i feel the tension right away and  just remind myself not to “muscle it.”  and just as i imagine it would be so in tennis,  it’s much easier on my arm. i can feel the egg whites build and start to pull away.

this is the fun part: loosen your grip enough, your mixer will make crazy whorls and striations. meringue art.

i made the meringue twice. both times the mixture felt great — thick, yet spreadable and easy to shape. both of my 10 inch wide circles looked flat in comparison to ms. hay’s, so i worried that  they would turn out not quite right.

(they rose a bit in the oven…)

one thing that makes pavlova a perfect winter dessert: it needs to bake for about an hour and 20 minutes.

you’ll also need to leave it in the oven for as long as it take for your oven to cool down.

i kept the precise baking temperature and time that was recommended.

(based on my experience this weekend: after you’ve turned off the timer at 1 hour, 20 minutes, don’t let yourself be so distracted by the pretty thing that you forget to turn off the oven.)

with both attempts–the over-baked and the proper-baked –the meringue was no longer pure white when it came out of the oven–i wondered if that meant it was overdone? (there’s lots of wondering with a first try at a recipe, isn’t there?)

***

here’s mine, fully-dressed: maybe not sky-high, but pretty heavenly to taste…

my worrying had been for naught. the meringue that i overbaked was pretty good, the one that i baked properly was exactly as i’d remember it should taste (possibly better): a crisp, crumbly, sugary shell, and a marshmallow-y middle. the cream mellows the intensity of the sugar. the tart strawberries are the necessary foil.

the origin of pavlova is disputed: both new zealand and australia developed recipes at around the same time in the late 1920s, and each recipe is said to have been inspired by the ballerina anna pavlova, who toured the region at the time. the russian ballerina — known perhaps most famously for her role as “the dying swan” — endeared herself to audiences with her “frail, etheral look” — and whether you trust wikipedia or not, based on how this dessert turns out, the name makes some sense.

it’s easy to get carried away in the eating. four of us ate half of one in a sitting and probably could have finished the whole thing had we not chosen the route of restraint.

we finished the rest of the batch the next day.

it cheered us a bit (ok, me especially) after watching our favorite player give a full-hearted, all-the-strength-he-could-muster performance during a historic 5-hour and 53 minute battle for the men’s championship, and fall short of a victory.

but i was cheered even more by his words and other wise musings on the match.

he’ll be back next year — and i’ll make the pavlova again, for sure. it’s going to be my australian open tradition. i’m pretty confident both will be better in 2013, but in any case, we will “enjoy.”

(if you try making this, i hope you will enjoy, too.)

***

all photos (except donna hay’s perfect pavlova) © anita aguilar

los angeles 2011: food, part 1

upon hearing that i was going to travel to los angeles for work this november, i didn’t even blink before starting to  research food in L.A. i got some great recommendations from friends and some terrific picks from nytimes and serious eats, and i headed out on what ended up being a three day eating adventure.

lunch at pinches tacos:

i started out at pinche’s tacos, a local (and almost fast-food like) taco joint, with multiple locations in the city. i ordered the carnitas and the al pastor, and both were incredible. tons of flavor and some spice, with just light toppings on the wonderfully flavored meats. and who doesn’t love a squeeze of lime to top it off?

breakfast at huckleberry’s: a must

one of the highlights of my trip was the breakfast at huckleberry’s in santa monica. one bite of their breakfast burrito and maple bacon biscuit and i was in heaven. that biscuit is savory, sweet, crunchy, salty and doughy all at once. yes, please.

lunch at umami burger:

this is the classic umami burger: beef patty,  shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup. super juicy and an absolutely excellent burger. so what if i made a mess of myself (stain still on shirt) after one bite?

pizza mozza: snack

i heard from more people about pizza mozza than i did any other place in L.A. – the mario batali/nancy silverton pizza joint really has a cult following, and we soon learned why. that dough is so puffy and crispy, and you can actually taste how simple and fresh each topping and ingredients is. if i weren’t so stuffed, i might have even ordered a second pie. if i did, i think it would have been a tie between the squash blossoms, tomato & burrata pie and the funghi pie with taleggio and fontina. i wish they delivered to new york…

kitchen adventure: yotam ottolenghi’s caramelized garlic tart

one of my favorite discoveries of 2011 was the good food podcast on kcrw, hosted by the warm and excitable evan kleiman. hearing her coo over the week’s bounty at the santa monica farmer’s market or simplethings‘ salted caramel pie cheered me through a summer spent under dismal office lights. the extension of the blog –the “piecast”– was particularly inspiring. I even made myself a birthday pie (though i tried to spin it as a “father’s day pie”).

i haven’t cooked or baked anything “new”  in recent months, but i chose this to be one of the recipes to get me back into the kitchen.

i chose wisely.

this is especially easy if you use store-bought puff pastry. i wasn’t sure if it was necessary to follow mr. ottolenghi’s advice and pre-bake the pastry (the brand i chose — trader joe’s– suggested it wasn’t). so i tried both ways. pre-baking gives you something more crisp and flaky, and it also gives a little lift to the sides, which is great for cradling the custard. i didn’t have a tart pan for this (i used a flat sheet pan), so without the prebake, the custard ran amok. it wasn’t a deadly sin, the whole tart just looked less neat. but  it’s worth noting the crust that is topped and popped right into the oven is chewier, has nice pull. my sister said its more like a bread. so the choice is yours.

the rest of the recipe is easy and true. there are a few steps to caramelize the garlic — i wondered later if roasting the garlic in its skins would be more efficient. but this caramelized garlic is mellower from the blanching. i would suggest making a bigger batch of garlic–double or even triple the recipe. it won’t hurt the tart to add a bit more of the stuff, and you can save the rest for another spread or dip.

this tart would wow a party of any size and almost any occasion.  (i would not make this for my date, unless we mutually agreed to chase it with a lot of wine. is “lots of wine” a cure for garlic breath? i think i made that up. but i do love how it sounds). the recipe seems easily adaptable –you can experiment with other favorite cheeses, add some thinly sliced potato. even anchovy, if that’s how you like to roll. but give it a try his way –even those who profess to not love goat cheese find it really delicious here.

hope you’ll like the results as much as we did:

***

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Caramelized Garlic Tart (via the good food blog)

Serves 8

Ingredients

13 oz puff pastry

3 medium heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup water

¾ tbsp sugar

1 tsp chopped rosemary

1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole sprigs to finishsalt

4½ oz soft, creamy goat cheese (such as chèvre)

4½ oz hard, mature goat cheese (such as goat gouda)

2 eggs

6½ tbsp heavy cream

6½ tbsp crème fraîche

black pepper

Have ready a shallow, loose-bottomed, 11-inch fluted tart pan. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom and sides of the pan, plus a little extra. Line the pan with the pastry. Place a large circle of waxed paper on the bottom and fill up with pie weights or dried beans. Leave to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the tart shell in the oven and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and paper, then bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside. Leave the oven on.

While the tart shell is baking, make the caramelized garlic. Put the cloves in a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, then drain well. Dry the saucepan, return the cloves to it and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic cloves on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue simmering on a medium flame for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.

To assemble the tart, break both types of goat cheese into pieces and scatter in the tart shell. Spoon the garlic cloves and syrup evenly over the cheese. In a jug whisk together the eggs, cream, crème fraîche, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour this custard over the tart filling to fill the gaps, making sure that you can still see the garlic and cheese over the surface.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and place the tart inside. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. Then take out of pan, trim the pastry edge if needed, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm (it reheats well!) with a crisp salad.

***

photo © anita aguilar

recipe: new york style crumb cake

it’s hard to find a better way to start the day than a fresh piece of crumb cake and a mug of coffee. my fantasy? someone wakes me up from a blissful slumber on a saturday around 10:00 with a nice little plate of two small pieces of crumb cakes, a cup of strong coffee with a little cream and sugar, and a big glass of water. i decided to take matters into my own hands and create a situation like this on a recent saturday. (ok, a few things were different. a) i woke up at 8 am because they are drilling outside of my apartment), and b) i made the crumb cake and by the time it was done, my coffee was gone. but still! this crumb cake was so delicious.

the recipe comes from the baked explorations cookbook, by matt lewis and renato poliafito, owners of baked bakery in red hook, brooklyn and charleston, south carolina. their version stays true to the iconic new york recipe, and it is perfectly graced with what i consider just the right amount of cinnamon.

the batter, before the crumb topping is put on it (it was a thick batter, and quite tasty)

the cinnamon sugar crumbs atop the batter, ready to go in the oven

the final product: moist cake with an extra crumbly, cinnamony topping

recipe courtesy of baked: explorations

makes and 8×8 sheet of crumb cake

*note – i halved this recipe and condensed the instructions

sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

i think in another life i had a southern grandmother. the intensity with which i love home-cooked southern comfort food (and the idea of it) is really unwarranted, being that i have no nostalgic ties to anywhere that could even be classified as “almost the south,” and i didn’t ever have anyone cooking me memorable southern meals as a child.

however, when i think of things like  biscuits (especially sweet potato ones like these), i just picture myself sitting on a worn-in chair on a grandmother’s porch in a house in charleston, sipping sweet tea and laughing with her, as we munch on warm sweet potato, ham and honey biscuits.

these biscuits, although delicious, were consumed in new jersey, not charleston, and i ate them with my parents with our easter ham. maybe when i look back, i’ll embellish the story and say that we at least ate them on a porch while drinking sweet tea. the recipe is below.

mixing the sweet potato mixture in with all of the other ingredients

the dough, flattened and rolled out

the biscuits as they enter the oven…

the finished product, topped with a thin slice of ham and a teaspoon of honey, just like my fake southern grandmother used to make!

recipe: sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

makes 12

roast sweet potato until inside is tender. scoop out flesh.

preheat oven to 400°F. butter bottom of a baking sheet.

mix all of the dry ingredients together. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. whisk mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to dry ingredients; toss with fork. gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. roll dough to 1 1/2 inch circle. using 11/2-inch round biscuit cutter or the top of a glass, cut out biscuits.

arrange biscuits side by side in on baking sheet. bake until slightly golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 15 minutes. cool and remove from baking sheet. slice in half if you like, and spread honey and ham on top.

where else? elsewhere

on wednesday evening, sister and i met for an impromptu dinner.

we both wanted something “good” and on the light side. it was about 9pm, and we were a couple of block south of times square, across the street from a “whopper bar.” i wasn’t encouraged.

first instinct: walk north and west.

we passed a well-jammed, flashy new shake shack and, across the street, smith’s bar (its neon sign seeming subdued, its retro fonts, cooler relative to its new neighbor’s)  and as we edged the hell’s kitchen neighborhood, don giovanni’s (whose “bella mia” – fried egg, artichoke, pepperoni, mushrooms– makes my list of favorite ny pizza pies, even though i only had it once about 15 years ago), and the fancy marseille…

then we remembered ELSEWHERE.

the thought was inspired; the meal was genius.

here are the photos:

menage a trois:dates stuffed with roaring forties blue cheese, pancetta, and fresh orange marmalade…

according to our server, chris, this was the newest addition to the starters section of the menu, and one of his favorites. it turns out chris is very, very trustworthy– this was the first of a few good tips.

i love dates in any form. (in fact, i am right now typing this without the use of my right thumb and index finger, as they bear the sticky, sweet traces of a fancy medjool date, a healthful at-home “dessert.” i digress.)

this appetizer is perfect: the sweet paste of a med-jewel, plumped with a mild blue cheese. pancetta bits are a crisp flourish. the difference maker here? the fresh orange marmalade and the magic carpet orange slice it all lays on. at first, i wasn’t sure we were supposed to eat it? the bitter rind had been mellowed, probably poached, but still provided an effective contrast.

mussels with a beautiful butter and white wine sauce…i spooned the sauce like soup. my question: is bread no longer compulsory at fine dining establishments these days? this is another instance where i would have made good use of a spongy loaf…

bay scallops with celery root puree and  i think a little dried sage?

i don’t love scallops–in fact, i ordered these as a test of whether or not i really liked them. (i do.) they were given a nice, golden crust. i liked that they were petite.

but below is the showstopper:

chicken liver pâté toast with apple butter.

my sister ordered this (chris gave a hearty endorsement).

she had high but realistic hopes, i.e. good pate on a few dainty toasts.

this was a pate orgy.

two big baguette toast slices, blanketed in faintly minerally liver puree. a thick stripe of homemade apple butter, a little runnier and a lot sweeter, was a perfect touch. the thyme sparkled on plate and palate. creme fraiche, with cute little pink peppercorns, is served on the side.

if you like liver of any kind, this super-sized chicken liver pate toast appetizer should not be missed.

***

as to the desserts…

on my first visit to elsewhere, i wasn’t enthralled by the sweet selection. but wednesday night’s dessert menu was almost entirely different. chris raved about the encyclopedic dessert repertoire of leigh friend, the dessert maven at both elsewhere and casellula cheese & wine cafe. i was mightily tempted by a couple of items this time, including the bourbon chocolate ice box cake… but we opted for ice cream:

2 scoops red velvet ice cream and a swing marshmallow chocolate crunch (as suggested by new best mate, chris)

red velvet ice cream? i expected a vanilla or cream cheese based ice cream with bits of red velvet cake. but ms. friend, my friend, is much more thoughtful. it was icier than a regular ice cream, i could discern bits of refreshing cream cheese, a hint of cocoa. chris confirmed that there was no cake in the mix, but all of the “red velvet cake” flavors here (down to the touch of food dye) make it an authentic and truly interesting interpretation.

the marshmallow chocolate crunch was more traditional: creamier and sweeter. i loved the chewy marshmallow pieces and the airy, crunchy, chocolate balls…

DELIGHTFUL, DELICIOUS and DUNZO.

***

elsewhere is in the theater district/lower hell’s kitchen.

403 w. 43rd st. (off 9th ave), new york, ny 10036

212-315-2121 or reserve via opentable.com

recipe: slow-cooker pulled pork

my history with slow-cookers goes back about one year. i had wanted one for awhile, and thinking that they were expensive, when i saw one at a garage sale for $20 i snatched it up right away. for two reasons, it turns out i got majorly ripped off.  one, slow-cookers are really affordable! you can get a pretty good one in the $20-$40 range almost anywhere. and two, the slow-cooker i so quickly bought at the garage sale didn’t come with….a lid. how did i not notice that?

cut to this christmas, when my boyfriend’s mom gave me a slow-cooker for christmas (thanks, mrs. renzulli)! i was so excited about all of the new hassle-free meals and tender meat i would be cooking in this helpful little gadget.

i knew i wanted to start with pulled pork and this recipe does not disappoint. the pork comes out perfectly, and you feel as though you have slaved over the stove for hours; juicy, incredibly moist and so flavorful. my favorite toppings for this yummy meat served atop a nice fresh bun? coleslaw, caramelized onions and grated cheddar cheese. try it, you will love it!

all of the ingredients placed in the slow-cooker

the finished product (look at all of the juices!)

love these sandwiches so much..and there were leftovers for days!

recipe: slow-cooker pulled pork

serves 6

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
• 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3-pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
• 6 crusty rolls
• toppings of your choice

directions:

in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together ketchup, bbq sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sage, apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cut pork in half lengthwise; add to slow cooker, turning to coat. cover, and cook on low until meat is  falling apart and easy to shred, about 8 hours (or on high for 6 hours).

skim off and discard any fat from the, and with two forks or a pair of tongs, pull the meat apart. place the pork in a serving bowl and serve with rolls and any toppings you like!

recipe: tarte tatin

i love anything with apples in it. apple pie, apple bread, apple crisp – you name it, i’ll eat it. just mention “tarte tatin” and i’ll start salivating. this classic french dessert with a layer of apples covered in caramel, sheltered with dough, baked and inverted, is kind of like a more refined version of an upside down cake. i don’t know why, but i have always been intimidated by this dessert. sitting in my kitchen with a bag of apples and not knowing what to do with them, it dawned on me: i will make tarte tatin! i’m up for the challenge!

the dessert proved to be much easier than i had imagined. i used clotilde dusolier’s recipe from her book, chocolate and zucchini. it was perfect!

recipe: tarte tatin

(from the chocolate & zucchini cookbook, by clotilde dusolier), serves 8

ingredients:

for the dough:

½ cup sugar

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

8 tbsp. butter (1 stick) chilled, plus more for greasing the pan

1 to 2 tbsp. milk

for the caramel and filling:

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

3 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature

2 lbs. apples (about 4 medium)

directions:

1. prepare the dough: in a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers or a wire pastry blender, until the mixture resembles course meal. add 1 tbsp. milk and knead the dough gently until it forms a smooth ball. if the dough doesn’t come together after a minute, add a little more milk and knead again. this can all also be done in a food processor. gather into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. butter the sides of a 9 or 10-inch cake pan (not springform) or quiche pan with the pat of butter.

3. combine the brown sugar and 1 tbsp. water in a small saucepan and melt the sugar slowly over medium heat. swish the pan around from time to time, but don’t stir. as soon as bubbles form on the surface (avoid overcooking the caramel – it can get bitter), remove from heat. add the salt and butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted and blended into a paste with the caramel. pour immediately into the pan and use the back of your spoon to spread it over the bottom of the pan. the entire surface doesn’t need to be covered, but make it as even as you can. set aside.

4. preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge. rinse, core and peel the apples and slice into eighths. arrange the apple pieces in a circular pattern over the caramel in the pan, stirring from the outside.

5. roll the dough into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter if you use a 9-inch pan, 11 inches if you use a 10-inch pan. prick the dough all over with a fork and fold loosely over the rolling pin, lay it over the apples in the pan and tuck in the flaps of dough.

6. bake for 45 minutes or until the dough turns golden.

7. take the pan out of the oven, run a knife around the sides and turn onto a serving dish (serve warm but not piping hot). you can always reheat this at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. best enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla gelato!

recipe: roast chicken with stuffing

why do we only eat stuffing on thanksgiving? this is a question that has really irked me for quite some time. stuffing is one of my favorite foods, and i only get to have it once a year! seems unfair. however, it dawned on me that i could make an easy, virtually no-fuss stuffing inside of a simple roast chicken. roast chicken itself makes for an excellent weeknight dinner, and now that you’ve got stuffing, you no longer need to make a side dish! the leftover chicken is perfect for sandwiches the next day, too.

recipe:

ingredients:

directions:

below: the ingredients for the stuffing (i also included scallions because i had them in my fridge)

below: the chicken, stuffed, right before it went in the oven

below: the roasted, stuffed chicken, crisp on the outside and packed with a delicious, moist and really flavorful stuffing

below:  the stuffing!