This week, we only have 4 nights at home. And, S will be away for 2 of them.

Here is the plan:

Monday: frittata with sausage, potatoes, onions and tomatoes; salad
Tuesday: Steak, spinach, asparagus, potatoes, salad
Wednesday: Pasta TBD
Thursday: Leftover delight (we had a roast chicken on Sunday and there are sure to be other leftovers)

One of the keys that I’ve recently found in making cookie squares/bars is to line the baking dish with foil and then spray the foil with non-stick spray. I didn’t do this in the past and always had a few squares that were sacrificed in the cutting and removing from the dish. Actually, that wasn’t a problem, since the ugly ones taste the same as the pretty ones. However, it really is easier and we bought a big mandoline a few years ago for chopping and it makes the perfect tool for cutting cookie bars. The squares come out quite beautifully.

Best Ever Lemon Squares

makes 24

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
14 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (1 stick plus 6 Tbsp.)

4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lemon zest

Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 X 13″ metal pan with foil – length-wise and width-wise. Spray lined pan with non-stick cooking spray, or butter the foil.

In a medium bowl, stir together the 2 1/4 cups flour and the 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Add the melted butter and stir in, until well mixed. Sprinkle the mixture evenly into the prepared pan, then pat it down to form the crust. Using the bottom of a glass to pat it into the pan works well. Bake in the preheated oven for about 22-25 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown. Make sure that the crust looks cooked – you don’t want it to be under-done.

While the crust is cooking, make the lemon filling. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric beater until light in color. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour until there are no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Stir the lemon juice into the egg/sugar mixture. Then stir in the lemon zest. Pour over the crust when it comes out of the oven and is still warm.

Return the pan to the oven for an additional 40 minues, or until the bars are set. Cool completely

To cut the lemon squares, lift the foil from the pan and place onto a cutting board. Remove the foil from the edges of the lemon squares before you cut – if for some reason the foil has stuck to the bars (likely), slice very close to the edge of the bars (this actually gives you a very nice edge all around). Then, slice the bars into 24 pieces (6 on the long side, 4 on the short side), using a long, thin knife (dipped in water, if necessary, to prevent sticking).

Sift confectioner’s sugar over the tops of the bars just before serving.

It seems that I’ve been baking a lot lately. And, I’m not just baking. Really, I’m cooking too. Taking some pictures, not enough. I made Bahn Mi on Monday night using this recipe, but I replaced the pork with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and we use avocado instead of pate (I’m not a liver lover). I also broiled the chicken, in the same way that I broil the chicken for Teriyaki. I also made the version of Shrimp Saganaki that I posted about last year, for L’s birthday. I made Zuni Chicken with Bread Salad last week, and I used a pasture raised chicken that I bought at the Farmer’s Market. The oven needed to be cleaned after that dish, but we did enjoy the chicken and salad immensely.

A couple of weeks ago, I made a brisket using beer and barbeque sauce instead of wine and tomatoes. It was delicious! I took no photos and didn’t write down what I did for replication, but this is approximately what I did: 5 lb. brisket (seasond with salt, pepper, garlic powder overnight), 1 bottle of Anchor Steam, 1/2 of an 18 oz. bottle of TJ’s Barbeque Sauce, sear meat, add beer and barbeque sauce, bake, covered, at 300 for 4 hours, rest meat, slice, add back to pot with more sauce. Reheat, uncovered, at 350 for 1/2 hour. Served with corn, potato salad and steamed/buttered carrots. A big hit. Grandma and WG had leftovers to take home for a couple of nights of dinner. So easy.

And, even farther back, I made a wonderful pork shoulder roast with Asian spices. I used this recipe from Fine Cooking, but substituted, loosely, the Chinese Five Spice Rub also from Fine Cooking (for some reason I can’t copy the link). Oh, boy. A seriously rich and delicious preparation.

Nonetheless, the baking is what is fun for me right now. And, I’ve been a little bit obsessed with bundt cakes. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. Maybe it is because we watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (and strangely enough, I had made a chocolate bundt cake that day not knowing we’d see the move). Or, maybe it is because I’m looking for easy cake recipes that don’t call for creaming butter and sugar. We’ve enjoyed applesauce cake with caramel glaze, as well as a great chocolate bundt cake where I used the recipe for the glaze from here and the recipe for the cake from here. Actually, the recipe for the cake is from my old standby “Hershey’s Make It Chocolate!” cookbook, but the recipe isn’t on the Hershey’s site. Additionally, I tried a delicious recipe from a kids’ cookbook that I took out of J’s school library called “Baking Kids Love” by Cindy Mushet. There are some great looking baked goods in this cookbook – all very accessible. Being pumpkin bread AND gingerbread lovers, the recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread practically sang out of the book to me. I had to make it immediately – which I did. First time, I forgot to add the water. So before the cake was out of the oven, I had put together a second batch (but I used about 3/4 cup pumpkin and 1/4 cup applesauce because that is what I had left of the can of pumpkin from the first try). The second cake came out perfectly. But, truth be told, the first one was pretty good! And, I put on a maple glaze (powdered sugar mixed with maple syrup). Winner!

Finally, since we have a lot of lemons on our tree right now, I decided to make a lemon bundt cake. It was not easy to find the right recipe that combined ease of preparation (no creaming of butter and sugar) without using a cake mix. I finally did a search on “lemon bundt cake oil” and found a slew of recipes that called for olive oil. Since the cake baking has really been for the benefit of Grandma, who has a serious sweet tooth, but does not like olive oil, I decided that I could substitute corn oil. Good color, mild flavor. I upped the lemon rind to 2 lemons worth to make sure that the cake was lemony enough. The recipe I chose was from here and I added a simple glaze made with about 1 cup powdered sugar combined with some lemon juice (I just kept adding juice until I got the right consistency). I found that there was too much batter for my bundt pan, so I made four cupcakes with the extra batter (great for “poison testing”). This recipe is light, sweet, tender and delicious. The lemon flavor is more than delicate, but not tart and not assertive like in a cake that has been brushed with lemon syrup. The only concession that I made to ease of preparation is that the eggs are separated in this cake – the whipped whites are folded in at the end. No big deal. I think Grandma will really like it.

What next?!

I made an “Italian Almond Cake” for a dinner this week that was a total flop. I grabbed it off the web because it looked like it was quick and easy and a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time was coming over for dinner at the spur of the moment. The cake was pretty, and flavorful, but very dense….and, I will admit, a little undercooked in the center. Yuck.

Of course, this inspired me to try my own spin on the cake. Yesterday, also pressed for time, I experimented and today, I tried again. The batter lies somewhere between a madeleine, a genoise and a sponge cake. I looked it all up after I finished. Whatever it is, it is tasty. Nice with a cup of coffee or tea. And, it is very, very quick and easy to make.

Quick Almond Raspberry Baby Cakes

makes 24 baby cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3 extra large eggs, room temperature (to do this quickly, put eggs in hot tap water for a few minutes)
1 cup granulated sugar, plus about 2 tsp. for sprinkling
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Sliced almonds
fresh or frozen raspberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 cupcake (24) tins with baking spray (I use one that has flour in it).

2) In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the sugar on high speed until light and frothy – about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the extracts.

3) Sift together the flour and baking powder. Sprinkle over the egg/sugar mixture and fold in until there are no lumps. Pour in the melted butter and fold that in until there are no streaks of butter.

4) Distribute the batter in the tins – about 1 heaping tablespoonful per cake. Put a raspberry in the center of each cake. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Sprinkle with a little bit of granulated sugar.

5) Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees, until pale golden on the edges and the top. Remove pans from the oven and cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them and placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely. They also taste pretty good a little warm!

Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tuesday: Lentil Soup with Kielbasa, bread or rolls
Wednesday: Petrale Sole Meuniere, Israeli couscous, green beans, salad
Thursday: Quiche, salad
Friday: out
Saturday: out (girls will fix themselves something)
Sunday: BBQ chicken (oven), salad, veggies (TBD), cornbread, special dessert (TBD)

Ever since spending time in Paris, I’ve been obsessed with the French macaron. Not a “macaroon”, as this month’s recipe in Bon Appetit calls it – but a macaron. Macaroons are heavier – like the coconut cookies that you see at delis and at Passover, or the sweet almond macaroons made with almond paste. I love these, too, don’t get me wrong. But they are big and bold and dense. The french style sandwich cookies are light, airy, and delicate, in a multitude of flavors – some basic and some downright crazy (I’ve tried tomato and basil). You savor each bite. The legendary ones, in my mind, come from Laduree. Laduree is the epitome of a high gloss patisserie – but they have substance as well as style. I think others copy Laduree and try to enhance their more traditional fare. But, not to great effect. Laduree’s salted butter caramel cookie is beyond incredible, as are their chocolate and raspberry. In fact, the three on a plate together would be worth the trip to Paris. Add in a slice of tart tatin at the legendary ice cream shop, Berthillon, and there is no reason to come home.

Bon Appetit, in this December’s issue, has a wonderful recipe for Chocolate Macarons with Orange Ganache. The ganache in the recipe is quite heavy on the spices and I added about 1/4 the amount for just a hint of holiday spice. I also didn’t bother sifting the sugar/almond mixture – though I processed the heck out of it so that there weren’t any big lumps. But the recipe is easy and the cookies turned out beautifully. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago – 10 years or so – when you couldn’t find a decent macaron recipe. And, believe me, I looked long and hard. Now, they are everywhere: Cook’s Illustrated, Gourmet (they published the first good one, I think), Bon Appetit, you name it. The cookies can be found at bakeries all over the U.S. (at least in San Francisco!) as well – some good, most not so good. None as delicious as Laduree.

This recipe is more than good. The piping takes a little practice – my cookies came out a bit bigger than the magazines and so I got fewer than the recipe suggested it made. Similarly, I had barely enough ganache – not the big layer as in the Bon Appetit photo. It is essential to let these macarons rest overnight as they soften with time and the flavors meld. Oh, this is indeed a very good recipe.

To prove that all recipes for macaron are not created equal, in doing the search for this one so that I could post it, I noticed another recipe from 2001 by Pierre Herme - the noted pastry chef who has, literally, written the book on macarons. The picture doesn’t have the classic “foot” at the base and the method for the home chef is completely different. I guess it has taken a while to come up with the right technique so that these little treats can be made consistently in home kitchens.

Thank goodness for food science and french pastry.

L decided to “cook the cover” of Bon Appetit again this month. This time, the cover featured another meringue confection – Peppermint Meringue Cookies - a lot easier to make than the Lime Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie. These little meringues are simple, straightforward, beautiful and delicious. Yum, yum. L did a great job making them as a birthday present for 2 friends at school with birthdays this week. The really amazing thing about the cookies is the swirly color made by NOT mixing in the food coloring before putting the meringue in a piping bag. A winner. We will definitely make these again.

The recipe, called “Moroccan Slow-Cooked Lamb“, was one of the best recipes that I’ve made in a long while. It was even better than I thought it would be, given the rave reviews. I did make a couple of changes – not big – because I didn’t want the dish to be too sweet and I wanted additional veggies. So, I reduced the apricots to about 1/3 cup, chopped them coarsely; added a few chopped, pitted prunes; and, added about 3 big carrots cut into chunks. I found that I didn’t need to simmer the dish to reduce the sauce – it was already fairly thick, perhaps because I cooked the dish in a big enameled cast iron dutch oven, instead of in a large skillet. Chopped parsley seemed to be a better choice for us instead of cilantro. I made the couscous, as indicated in the recipe, with toasted almond slivers, chopped parsley and lemon zest. The whole wheat couscous was cooked with a little butter and chicken broth, and fluffed before adding the almonds, etc.

This was definitely a keeper. A truly succulent, flavorful dish that I will make again! Even though J doesn’t like lamb, I think she would have liked this meal, had she ventured to try it. As it was, she ate left-overs from our meal with Grandma and WG (this was our plan, ahead of time). S, L, Mrs. “D” and I ooo’ed and ahhh’ed over the lamb. No pictures – even though it was picture-worthy!

I made a menu for the week a couple of weeks ago and was surprised at how helpful it was. It really makes my grocery shopping easier because I can buy everything on Monday/Tuesday and not have to be running out for things last minute. And, I can make things in advance that I need. For instance, I know that Tuesday is always a busy night and that we have dinner late. So, Tuesday needs to be a day when I have things ready to go ahead of time. Carnitas burritos will be perfect because I can have the meat, beans, salsa and rice all done in advance. Warm up a few tortillas in the microwave when we are ready to sit down, and it is an easy dinner. If I don’t make a list early in the week, I’m also always forgetting little items that I might need – like parsley, or cheese, or beans – when I need them. Thinking ahead, means I have everything on hand. Theoretically, at least.

Now that our big event (and thus the leftover delight tonight) is over, I can re-dedicate myself to trying to keep up my blog. I am hoping to try some new recipes next week….then, of course, the gear-up for thanksgiving.

I also tried a new recipe – a savory riff on the finger treat. I saw the recipe for Spicy Cheddar Witch Fingers in October’s Food & Wine magazine. It is quite similar to a cheese cracker that I make with rice krispies, but without the krispies. They turned out well, even though I used orange cheddar and glazed with egg white (leftover from the finger cookies). A keeper, though I think that I will add few dashes of Tabasco next time.

Happy Halloween 2011! This year, J made a giant origami paper crane and attached it to her back – very original (I looked for instructions on the web, thinking that there would be something….nada). L, getting a little old for trick-or-treating, went as a very adorable Pippi Longstocking. One of her best ever.

Here is the updated recipe for Halloween Finger Cookies.

Halloween Finger Cookies
adapted from CookEatShare

makes approximately 50-60 cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
2 2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Sliced almonds
Raspberry jam (preferably seedless)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream butter and sugar together, until well combined, but not fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and mix together well. Add in the extracts and blend in. Add the flour and kosher salt. Mix well – you will get a crumbly dough that holds together well when you squeeze it in your hand. Take heaping teaspoons-ful of dough (smaller than a walnut, about the size of a peanut shell when you roll it into the finger shape) and squeeze them in your hand so that the ridges between your fingers make marks on the dough and you get a 2-inch- 2 1/2-inch long finger shaped cookie. You can elongate the cookie by gently squeezing the sides. Place the fingers on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Take well formed almond slices and press them into the ends of each cookie – they will look like fingernails. Using the back of a butter-knife, make knuckle ridges.

Chill the formed cookies in the refrigerator until they are hardened, about 15 minutes.

Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 22-25 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges and bottom. Cool completely.

To finish off the cookies: place a large spoonful of raspberry jam in a zip-lock style sandwich bag. Seal the bag. Snip off a little corner of the bag so that you can pipe the jam out of the corner. If the almond nails are loose, remove them and place a little jam where the nail was – replace the almond on top of the jam. If the almond nails are not loose, simply pipe a little jam at the base of the nail for that bleeding look.

Serve and enjoy.